History's in Our Blood

[Deleted]

"Well, it wasn't the large sweeping fields of other packlands. But for who we were, what we were, it was impressive and fitting. Honovi's were strong as the stones they lived amongst."

The words of her father hung heavy in Alu's chest. Her head turned slowly as she looked over the vast area. She tried to imagine her father as a young pup, playing amongst the rocks and the trees. She missed him dearly. But she had kept her word to him, while he lived and breathed she would not return to this place. The place where he lost so much, including his own father, a Honovi Alpha himself. Her grandparents had never seemed real to her, having never met them they were merely characters in the stories her father would tell her.

She wondered what her life would have been like had her father not been pushed from his home. Her family was a family of drifters. They roamed the lands together, moving with the weather and the food sources. They stayed with packs sometimes if they crossed paths, but she'd never been a part of one. Could she have been an Alphess of this one had her father stayed? The thought seemed overwhelming, it felt like it was physically dragging her body down.

She let her hindquarters fall softly onto the rock below her and took a deep breath inward. She didn't want to linger on the borders much longer without announcing her presence. But what would she be met with, would she be met at all? She could certainly smell wolves in the air, but it had been a generation since anyone she had known had tread paw on these stones. A lot could change in time.

Tilting her speckled muzzle to the sky she let out a long and simple howl.

"Honovi, are you there?"

[Juice]

ooc: Sorry for the late reply Howie! >.< I moved this week so I haven't had a lot of time to reply to threads.

The cool breeze of autumn felt good against Cameo's face as he trotted along the borders. It had been only last night when he had arrived on the borders to find an injured female with pups in desperate need of care. He had been thinking about those wolves and the comrade he had enlisted to take them to White Magic all night. Border patrol this morning had been uneventful so he'd had a lot of time alone with his thoughts. Suddenly the cream colored brute's brown ears caught the sound of a howl and he began loping forward to meet the wolf who had made the call.

Cameo saw the she wolf seated on the rock, waiting patiently for the arrival of a pack member to greet her. Cameo raised his tail slightly but was mindful to keep it from going straight up. After all, that was a tail position for an alpha which he no longer was. "Greetings. I am Cameo, Beta of the Honovi pack. What is it that you seek with us?"

[Deleted]

ooc-Hey man real life is a big ol' b-word whenever she pleases. No worries!

The autumn breeze brought the scent of an approaching wolf to Alu's nostrils. She turned her head and ears towards the direction of the smell, and was soon met with the appearance of male. He looked almost like he had been standing in mud, her lips curled into the smallest of smiles at the thought. It'd been a bit of time since she'd interacted with another wolf, the travel to White Wolf Mountain hadn't been well populated.

"Greetings. I am Cameo, Beta of the Honovi pack. What is it that you seek with us?"

He was an average sized male, his build reminded her of her father; strong but not bulky. As he approached she noted he held his tail almost straight. Out of respect, she curled hers around her hindquarters and lowered her head slightly.

"Greetings Cameo, my names Alu. I have family ties to this place. My father was a member, but asked I not return here while he lived given the great tragedy he found in this place. I was wondering if there are any members of your pack with the same blood, or maybe knew of my family. I've never been part of a pack before, but if I were to join any I believe it should be my father's."

She did not reveal her ancestral roots to power, while this wolf seemed friendly enough she did not know anything about him. When she decided the information to be relevant and safe to reveal, she would speak.

[Juice]

Cameo smiled as the she-wolf showed her respect by lowering her head and curling her tail. He was happy to see a wolf that knew the laws of pack life as so many that had joined him recently were unaware of these laws. Cameo nodded his head respectfully as the wolf spoke. "Ahh so you have sought Honovi for the same reasons as many who have come here - to rejoin your ancestral roots. I too am of original Honovi blood. I was born just outside the mountain in a small valley that was home to many Honovi refugees that fled there during the time of Kerberos." Cameo wasn't exactly sure if Alu was aware of the pack's history but he found it would probably be rude to ask outright since she did claim to have Honovi blood in her veins. "My grandmother, Kala, was an advisor to the alphas Acka and Condor who originally established Honovi. My mother died soon after I was born so it was Kala that raised me. She relayed much of the pack's history to me during my upbringing and when she passed I felt the call of the mountain and so I left my valley home to find out where I belonged. It has been almost a full four season rotations since my arrival here and the pack has definitely experienced some ups and downs." Cameo thought about his history after coming here and, although brief, it was packed with good and bad happenings.

"A few of the current pack members have Honovi blood in them as well. For example, two wolves that live here, Calamity and Coria, lived with me in the valley when we were all youngsters. They too are descendants of original Honovi blood and they too sought their ancestral lands. Also, our Alphess Treason is a descendent of Kiowa, one of the powerful generals of Honovi from the past. " Cameo paused and wondered if he was telling Alu too much but he wanted her to know that the land and the pack was rich with history and that any who were of Honovi blood would always be welcome.

"I would be honored if you were to join our pack. However, there is something you should know. The general Kiowa found that she had a calling to be evil more so than neutral and left Honovi to begin a pack with a wolf named Misdemeanor. This pack was called Frigid Plague. Long before even your father's time, our pack called the Sequoia Woods home but when Kerberos attacked the pack dispersed. During their absence, Frigid Plague took over the then abandoned territory. When the Honovi returned Kiowa offered an alliance between the two packs. In return for this alliance, Misdemeanor and the Honovi pack members created a small oasis here in the Bleak Bluffs which is why we now call this territory home. I know it doesn't look like much at first glance but we have made a home here and I believe you'll find it more than comfortable if you choose to settle here. However, Honovi is still a very strong ally to the evil pack Frigid Plague and their current Alphess Perjury. In fact, our leader, Treason was born in Frigid Plague but followed her heart to become a neutral wolf. I know all of this information must be overwhelming but if you can accept our pack's alliance with Frigid Plague than I readily welcome you into the Honovi." Cameo finished finally and hoped he hadn't frightened Alu away with such a spew of the pack's history.

[Gyllbane]

(ooc: ack! I'm so sorry for dropping the ball, this week has been ridiculous.)

Treason padded up to where the two wolves stood at the border; she'd been further away on the border when the call went out, and she was glad to see that Cameo had responded, though was slightly embarrassed that she had taken so long to get there. She picked up on the tail end of their conversation and smiled - another recruit interested in the pack's history? As she grew close, she could see a light in Cameo's eyes; was there something special about the new wolf?

She waited until Cameo was finished speaking before giving him a nod and turning to the new wolf. "Greetings, and I apologize for not arriving sooner. I am alphess Treason - I see you have already met Cameo. May I ask your name?" She smiled softly. Clearly Cameo had had a reason for giving what sounded like the tail end of a history spiel.

[Deleted]

Listening to Cameo tell stories of this land, Alu felt a warm glow pulling through her. She could not contain the soft smile creeping onto her muzzle. It was like hearing the second part of a story she didn't know had even continued. At the mention of the names of her grandparents, she felt herself perk up. Her ears twitched forward, her tail even moved slightly in a small wag. The patches around her of tough, hardy grass that could penetrate the hard soil of the land seemed to green ever so slightly, as if a bit of life had been breathed upon them.

She had heard stories of Kiowa as well, like a sister to her grandmother. Apparently, there had been a history with her and her grandfather as well; but pestering about those stories had always made her father ornery. Hearing that the current Alphess was a descendent of her line brought a strange feeling to Alu; while not related by blood, she had a deep, ancestral connection to this she-wolf. She had never felt that before, all she had known was her own family; everyone else had been strangers to her. Now it seems almost every wolf that lived in her grandparent's land were connected to her in some way. She decided it was a pleasant feeling, this feeling of belong.

As Cameo finished his story, she caught wind of another coming toward them. Turning her eyes she watched as the sizeable wolf padded towards them. Her fur was ruddy and deep like her own. Her father had told her she got that from her grandfather. She was the only one in her litter to sport red, and she saw others so rarely with the same color; she was felt immediately comforted.

Greetings, and I apologize for not arriving sooner. I am alphess Treason - I see you have already met Cameo. May I ask your name?"

Her voice was pleasant, and not unkind. When she had finished speaking Alu bowed her head low to the Alphess, curling her tail tightly around her hindquarters.

"Greetings and no worries, I've quite enjoyed my history lesson. My name is Alu, as I've already told Cameo I have family ties to this place, and have come with curiosity to your pack lands. It's been incredible and satisfying to hear that the blood of Honovi has not run dry, my father would be happy."

She paused in her speech for a moment. She had been offered a place in the pack by Cameo, the history of the Honovi ran deep in her veins and she could not deny its call.

"I am the daughter of Rochben, son of Acka and Condor; founding Alpha and Alphess of Honovi. Cameo has already offered me a place here with the Honovi, and should you approve Alphess, I will gladly stake a place amongst my living history."

[Juice]

Cameo smiled as Treason returned to the border. He was glad she was going to meet Alu first hand and be able to accept her personally rather than having to take Cameo's word for it. He wagged his tail and bowed his head in greeting to Treason before turning his attention back to Alu who began to speak. Cameo's yellow eyes widened as he realized Alu was a direct descendant of the original founders and alphas of the pack. He briefly wondered if this would cause trouble between Alu and Treason as it would seem Alu would want to claim her rightful place as heir to the Alphess position...but then again, he couldn't sense any negative vibes coming from her. The she wolf seemed humble and simply glad that she had returned to her ancestral home. Cameo decided to let Treason speak, as she was the alpha, and sat patiently awaiting her answer.

[Gyllbane]

Treason had to work hard to contain her surprise at the wolf's lineage. A direct descendant of Condor and Acka, here? She was reeling, but she kept her calm demeanor as best she could. She dipped her head low, a gesture of humility and respect.

"It is an honor to meet you, Alu. I did not know there were any descendants of Condor and Acka still in the valley - that you are here is a sure sign of the Honovi's growing strength." She paused, considering Alu's words and demeanor. She didn't seem to be at odds with the fact that Treason was the alphess - if she had come to reclaim the Honovi as her own, she was certainly calmer about it than Treason had been when she had arrived a year ago.

"I will gladly accept you into our ranks - you belong here just as much as Cameo and I, and I am glad that you have come. No doubt Cameo has already told you of my lineage. We share a similar birthright in the Honovi." She stopped again momentarily before continuing on, deciding that it was best to know Alu's intentions upfront.

"I only have one question, then - what rank is it you seek amongst us? What do you believe would fit you best?" Her question was honest and direct, thought not accusatory. She could not afford to beat around the bush, and a life spent in training for a leadership position had not been wasted on her.

[Deleted]

Watching Treason dip her muzzle to Alu seemed strange. She was so rarely on the receiving end of such things. But she appreciated it none the less. The respect for her ancestry only solidified her decision to become a part of the pack.

"You may be surprised to find how many of us there are." She laughed softly, she herself was a litter of four; and she knew her father had a brother and sister that survived Kerberos.

"I haven't come to take your packlands. My family have been drifters for as long as I've been alive, I've lived amongst packs but never within them. I know that I am not a suitable leader, and I feel no need to uproot a working system. That being said, I was raised by my father. He taught me well and while I may not see myself as an Alphess, my skills would be wasted as a regular pack member. You have Cameo as your Beta, if you are vacant of a Betan I would gladly take the rank."

She tried her best to sound respectful, not wanting to ruffle any feathers for no reason. Technically speaking, if she really wanted to she could fight for the role of Alphess; her lineage beat Treason's by the smallest amount. But it wasn't in her nature, or in her plans. Her father himself had spoken once or twice about he was sure his brother would have taken the roll as Alpha had history not decided to change course. She knew in her heart that the roll of Betan in his old home would have made him proud.

[Juice]

Treason was always direct and it was a quality Cameo greatly appreciated in her. He was glad she had come straight out and asked what had been on his mind and he was also pleased to hear Alu's answer. She was a very respectful wolf and working as her partner in Betahood seemed like a good idea to him. The pack had grown immensely in such a short period of time that Cameo and Treason could use help during border patrol. However, this was a decision for his alphess to make and he said nothing. If Treason asked his opinion, he would gladly give it but for now he stood stoically observing the scene in unfold in front of him.

[Gyllbane]

Treason gave an honest smile as Alu gave her part, and relaxed internally. The knot in her stomach had unwound; she was not here to challenge Treason. She seemed a smart wolf, and capable one too - there was much that Treason knew she could learn from the ruddy colored wolf. She would be a fool not to utilize such an asset to the pack.

"I would be more than happy to welcome you as a Beta alongside Cameo, as long as he harbors no objections." She looked to the male - he didn't seem troubled, but she wanted to let him speak up, if he had any concerns.

"If he does not, then I formally welcome you into the Honovi, Betan Alu." She grinned again, clearly happy with the new arrangement.

[Juice]

ooc: I'm just gonna go ahead and withdraw Cameo from this thread. Howie hasn't logged on in about 3 weeks so I don't know if she wants to continue this thread or what.