Hooligans[closed]

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

Twisting through the tree trunks as if they had been born there, Manaaki and Kanga raced across the forest floor. Kanga was in the lead, as ever, but Manaaki was a hair's breadth behind. An occasional snap passed from the older twin to his younger brother, but not hard enough to draw blood (usually). As they wound their way across the woods, a fork in the make-shift path appeared. There was a path that led up and away, and one that stayed the course. Manaaki gained a few precious inches as Kanga hesitated.
"You're going to have to do better than that, old man," He snarled, and disappeared up the high-path. Manaaki didn't miss a beat, speeding forward along the straighter and (slightly) more narrow path.

Kanga's chosen path proved to climb for quite a ways until it started to drop again, and by that time he was getting rather worried that his brother had pulled ahead. Manaaki, on the other hand, didn't think of anything except beating his brother to the clearing between the trees and the meadow that they had found earlier that day.
Soon enough the forest thinned and turned to stumps, and Manaaki burst into the Amphitheater, victorious. He gradually slowed down, doing a slow loop and scanning the perimeter for Kanga. With no sign of his brother, Manaaki's broad jaw split into a dangerous grin.

Soon enough, a snap of branches caused Manaaki to swivel just in time to see Kanga break out from the trees. Kanga was so hell-bent on beating his brother that he failed to see the stump closest to him and careened into it. Being far-taller than the stump, it only took out his legs, but all the same he toppled to the ground in a heap.
When he finally came to a halt and looked up with a snarl, all he could see was Manaaki, sitting a few feet away and smiling sweetly.
"You're just lucky nobody else saw that," Kanga huffed.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

The silver-gray male wound through the familiar area with mixed emotions. It had been a long time since he'd been to Hidden Glade; it had been one of the last places he'd visited before howling to join Secluded Sunrise and he'd seldom left the territory after calling it his home. One time was to get a power, the other was to go hunting with the rest of the pack. Alphess Blaise had promoted him for his performance in that hunt - and now she didn't trust him. It was complicated what had happened that had turned the alphess's already chilly attitude outright cold towards him and he was tired of thinking and worrying about it, but it wouldn't leave his mind. He'd been working so hard to make it work, to forget why he was a wanderer, he'd been starting to think of the woods as home - but knowing the alphess didn't trust him got him all unsettled again and the small progress he'd made was undone. What did she want from him? You don't turn away a bleeding yearling, and you can't exactly ask them to wait either: injuries needed immediate attention. He had been nothing but loyal to the pack since joining, he would never let any harm come to the Sapling Grove! So why did he feel guilty and haunted there now? He'd needed some space, to clear his head, to breathe so he'd gone for a wander.

He hadn't wandered since joining the pack, it felt wrong, disloyal almost, but so natural at the same time. It was in his blood to move and wander around, not stay in any one place. Briefly he wondered if he should drop membership altogether - if he wasn't trusted anyway then there really wasn't much point in staying, but at the same time he'd promised his life to Secluded Sunrise - whether his alphess trusted him or not she'd asked him to guard and fight for the pack: that was something he couldn't easily walk away from.

Shoot, his head was hurting thinking about it. So he decided not to. He needed to run. Abruptly the white paws shot out from under him and he started to bound, claws reaching out to tear up the sod and legs pumping to cover ground, outrun the worry, outrun the pain.

Reaching the sea of stumps in the Amphitheatre he stopped, two new scents told him he wasn't alone. Someone else was here: two someones, both male, the question now was friend or foe?

Since he was apparently thoughtless and reckless anyway he decided he may as well investigate; if nothing else it would be the distraction he needed and if the wolves attacked...He liked to think he would be able to handle it. So following the scents he came upon two males, one sitting placidly, the other recovering from a stumble over one of the outlying stumps. He hadn't seen that? Embarrassing...

[Meds]

As Kanga snarled at Manaaki and leaped to his feet, Manaaki mimicked him. His eyes flashed. Kanga couldn't help but grin. It always made him smile when his usually-much-wiser brother gave way to the wild blood within them both. He had a good deal less of the stuff than Kanga did, it was true, but he still loved to play.
"Don't laugh at me," Kanga said, tossing his head and flashing his teeth. Manaaki planted his feet and grinned, but then his gaze flicked downward.
"You're bleeding," He said, a hint of concern dripping into the playful growl. Kanga glanced downwards. His dark thigh was stained, mostly with dirt, but with a good helping of blood too. He had really scuffed himself.
"Isn't one of us always bleeding?" He asked, his throaty laugh filling the clearing. Manaaki smiled and was about to reply, but the wind shifted. Kanga smelled it at the same time, and immediately the two brawny males were side-by-side, facing the direction of the wind.
All pretenses of play-fighting were dropped, and they now moved and breathed almost as one, their eyes scanning in exactly the opposite directions, effectively looking over everything.

Kanga felt his twin's body change as soon as Manaaki saw the newcomer, and as one their heads swiveled to face him. He was a large wolf—not unlike themselves. That was a rare quality to find in anybody else. It brought a smile to Kanga's lips. Manaaki felt his brother's muscles relax and for a fleeting moment wondered what on earth he was doing. Then, as he considered it, what could really happen, anyway? They were in an unclaimed part of the valley, so unless he was from one of the Evil packs, there was hardly anything to worry about.

"Hello," Manaaki called. His voice was just as deep as his brother's, but within his words there was always a measure of peace and calm. His voice was smooth, whereas Kanga's voice was more brawny. Neither of the brothers were in a defensive position, but Kanga was not as outwardly relaxed as Manaaki. Of course, Manaaki wasn't quite relaxed either, but he was better at hiding his body language.
The wind picked up again in the other direction and rustled softly against the stumps of the Amphitheater, blowing the boys' fur and shifting their colouring. Their smell would be carried over to the approaching wolf now, but there was nothing left to hide.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

The two were conversing amiably and the brown one let out a throaty laugh - it wasn't a mean or scornful laugh, but a simple note of enjoyment. If they could laugh then hopefully that meant they wouldn't be too hostile - which he was suddenly hoping for very hard because they were both larger, heavier wolves like himself and obviously a team. He didn't exactly doubt his fighting abilities (although it had been a while), he wasn't too eager to see how a two-against-one match would go.

The wind shifted and they quickly spun on their heels, working in unison to look toward the intruder the wind had warned them of. Obviously they'd been friends for a long, long time to have that kind of coordination. Good for them. The two spotted him quickly (it was easy enough, white and bright blue showed up pretty well in a sea of green and brown) and the russet one relaxed slightly, even grinning a little: this had been the one who had laughed too, good-tempered and easy-going, for that Epsilon was grateful and glad to know.

The gray one called out in greeting, his voice level and casual; his stance was alert and curious - but not defensive which was a good sign. The russet - though smiling was physically slightly more aware and ready for a confrontation - which made sense - he could now catch a whiff of coppery blood, that fall had sent him down hard. While Epsilon had never been much for conversation he needed any sort of distraction he could get at the moment and trying to have a conversation (he really wasn't very good at it at all) was probably his best bet. "'Morning," he nodded in reply, casually making his way through the obstacles to a more convenient distance for talking. "What brings you to the Hidden Glade?"

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

The approaching male was very observant—Manaaki could tell immediately. Though he appeared relaxed and even casual, his eyes never stilled. Manaaki was fully confident that he had already seen the way they interacted with each other, sized up the situation, taken in the way each of them had reacted to him, and based an opinion from there. Good observational skills were valued by Manaaki—indeed by anybody.
Kanga watched the new male's casual, nonthreatening approach. He, like Blaise the Alphess had been, was very brightly coloured. His fur looked like it started out as gray, but then from there a hodgepodge of green and blue stripes danced across him. Even his eyes were a deep, glowing, sapphire blue. Perhaps that was something they would get used to, living here. As he got closer, they were able to see that indeed—he was every inch as big as they thought he was. Kanga's tail quivered in anticipation, rustling the fur and causing the red there and on his rump to show through.

"Morning," The male said. His voice was smooth, gentle, and struck Manaaki as sounding very sincere. He asked what the twins were doing in the Hidden Glade. For half-a-heartbeat, Kanga thought he was asking them why they were there because they weren't allowed to be. He turned and looked around the Amphitheater, taking it all in with one big arc of his big neck. There was nobody else there, at least—but had they passed over a territory marking unknowingly, again? He couldn't imagine they would be as lucky a second time as they had been with Blaise.
He turned back to the male as Manaaki nodded and replied. Manaaki cleared his throat and dipped his head a little bit, a gesture which Kanga knew to mean that Manaaki was slightly embarrassed.
"Racing, honestly. My brother and I were accepted into the Secluded Sunrise pack in late Spring. Neither of us have been given official positions within the body yet, so we were scoping out the territory. I smelled one of our pack's markers a while back, and haven't picked up any since. Am I right in assuming this is unclaimed land?"
Kanga's head flicked to his brother in slight disbelief. He had known it was unclaimed and hadn't told him. Kanga rolled his eyes ever so slightly before turning back to the newcomer with the smallest of smiles. Had Manaaki seen this it would have astounded him, because such a gesture from Kanga was no small thing.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

The russet male looked to be relaxing but the gray one looked slightly nervous at his question, even embarrassed. Clearly this one was the more responsible and thoughtful of the two, but still given to plenty of distractions. He confessed to racing (no great crime last time Epsilon had checked, and he'd been tearing along at a pretty reckless pace himself not too long ago) then he mentioned Secluded Sunrise. These were pack-mates! Accepted some time in late spring...the same time he'd lost Blaise's trust. Shoot, why did he have to keep thinking about that? He went for a ramble to get away from his problems, why did they follow him? Still, these two looked friendly and amiable, the familiar scent of the Grove wasn't heavy on them so he figured they hadn't spent much time there in general and probably hadn't heard much about their new neighbors - a good chance they wouldn't have the same stand-offishness the alphess seemed to have and for some reason nearly everyone else as well. Finally, a real chance to start over.

Gray sheepishly continued an explanation with his russet companion jumping between expressions of shock, distaste and some sort of sarcasm - why he couldn't quite understand but he could find out later. Gray asked if they'd trespassed and Epsilon bobbed his huge, silver head. "Last time I checked it was - there might be a few loners camping out in the Basin but the Glade has been empty of a pack for years. But Sapling Grove?" he almost smiled - maybe these three wanderers weren't so different from each other. "Looks like we're all a long way from home."

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

Loners. He had mentioned Loners. Immedietly, Kanga's head flicked towards the area the male had indicated. With his head turned like that, only Manaaki could see his face. Kanga's eyes were flashing. Manaaki watched him for a fraction of a second in worry. So soon? They had only been in a pack for a few weeks—but, old habits die hard. He cleared his throat meaningfully and when Kanga heard he turned back as if nothing had happened. They met each other's gaze for a minute and then looked away.
"We really aren't as jumpy as we seem," Manaaki said, hoping the male hadn't noticed what had happened. It had only been about a second-long, anyway. "My name is Manaaki." (man-ah-KEE) He was about to introduce Kanga, but to his immense surprise his twin spoke up for himself.
"Kanga," He said, his broad head trained on the male. He smiled yet again. Manaaki was blown away. There must have been some quality that Kanga sensed in the male that was causing him to be so at ease. Kanga usually wasn't even this easy-going when meeting pups for the first time, and never other adults. Manaaki chuckled deep in his throat. Classic Kanga—never predictable.

"Looks like we're all a long way from home."
Ahh, so he was a Neutrally alligned wolf as well, and even from the same pack. Well, that made things considerably more simple, Kanga thought. There wouldn't be a fight today.
The stranger looked as if he wanted to smile, but something held him back. Manaaki caught that right away, and even Kanga picked up on the almost-unnoticable hesitations in his speech and body language. Neither of the twins thought much of it, though—after all, aside from this time, when had Kanga ever been Mr. Cheery on a first meeting?
"How long have you been a part of Secluded Sunrise?" Manaaki asked after another minute or so of silence.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

...And this was why he wasn't good at conversation. The two immediately peered over and or around him trying to see if they could pick up a hint of the loners he'd mentioned might possibly live in the Glade. He hadn't exactly meant that loners currently did live there at the moment or that he was trying to defend his own wandering space, he'd just been answering...in his usual mixed-up way that urged him to keep his mouth shut. The russet male growled low in his throat and bristled slightly, the gray one cleared his throat purposefully: probably a silent warning of some kind to keep calm and watch his temper. Whatever the silent message was he immediately relaxed without a second thought. His temper was good, but quick and short - he'd have to keep that in mind.

The gray one quickly apologized for their jumpiness and introduced himself as Manaaki, the russet one followed suit and called himself Kanga. Maanaki and Kanga, very different names from his own, wherever they were from before the Valley (he'd never known a Valley-born wolf to have such simple colors), it was a very different place as far as sounds and names went as well.

Here was the silence that always came: that horrible awkward silence. Brilliant choice of a distraction there Epsilon, he was about to give himself a face-paw out of sheer dismay for his stupidity and how it had caught up to him when Manaaki rescued the conversation. How long had he been a part of the pack? That took some thinking. How long had he been with the pack? "About a year, give or take a few moons,", his answer surprised even him. A whole year? Four whole seasons? Why then was the Grove still so alien to him? Not so much the land but those who lived in it, why didn't he actually call it his home?

Oh...Shoot he was supposed to ask a question in return right? This was why he tried to keep away from conversation. Uuhh-hhmm....he was drawing up a blank...dang it! Why couldn't he think things through?? Err... "I can't talk..." Geist strike him dead! Did he say that out-loud? ...Yes...a face-paw was definitely in order, he wanted to melt into a puddle of nothing and just disappear.

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

"I can't talk."

...

...

...

Kanga's wild face split into a full-toothed grin, and he tossed his big head back into the air and laughed deafeningly. It was a deep, viberating sound that echoed around the clearing, a very familiar sound to Manaaki. It meant he no longer felt any distrust around the male—indeed, such an action proved he was almost comfortable. Manaaki's light tail swept back and forth through the air as he tried to look appropriately embarrassed by his twin. Kanga pawed the ground below and snorted, leaving a small divet in the dry earth. Manaaki grinned at his idiot-brother, then turned back to the male. All was well. He took a few steps forward and spoke loudly over Kanga.
"He isn't laughing at you, I assure you; rather, I think he's laughing with you."

Kanga brought his head back down, dizzy from throwing it back so violently. He spread his broad legs to keep balance.
"It's just—" He paused to laugh a few more times and catch his breath. Giving up, he sat with such force that Manaaki felt the tremor in the ground where he stood. "Usually wolves would reply with their name. But not only did you not give your name, you stated why you didn't give your name, making it even funnier."

A shadow of concern passed over Manaaki's face. Easy there, Kanga, he thought. The three of them weren't friends yet. Must his younger brother always overplay everything and risk geting them into trouble? First he says nothing at all, and then he's best friend with a stranger and says far too much. Would he ever change? Of course, Manaaki was more than capable of (usually) talking their way out of trouble, and if that failed both boys were perfectly keen to fight their way out if need be—but it did get exhausting after a while.
Manaaki looked at Epsilon to gauge his reaction. At least he couldn't think Kanga was being aggressive, what with the laughter and the sitting and the snorting. The worst they could expect would be if he became offended.
"Sorry about him. As you can see, not only is he also bad at talking, it seems as if his brain doesn't quite connect even when he does speak."

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

Crud! He'd said it out-loud...and they'd heard him...clearly. Kanga's face about split in half with a grin of sheer delight and he almost fell over backward as he roughly threw his head back and guffawed at Epsilon's stupidity. Totally face-paw time, Epsilon sheepishly threw a paw over the bridge of his nose in embarrassment - why...oh why? Couldn't he talk sense??? He was really too big to still be using that shy expression from when he was a pup, now he looked utterly ridiculous doing it since he usually towered over everyone he met, but he needed to hide the infuriating heat rising under his coat.

Manaaki's tail wavered apologetically and he tried to make peace. "He isn't laughing at you, I assure you; rather, I think he's laughing with you." ...First off Epsilon was definitely not laughing, he was flushing down to his foot-pads in safe, familiar silence, and secondly he saw absolutely no reason why Kanga shouldn't have been laughing. He'd been a full-out idiot: plenty of reason to laugh, if he'd been anyone else with fewer problems on his mind he might have been laughing at himself too. Kanga confessed that he was indeed laughing at him and tried to apologize in his own way as he lost his footing and rolled over trying to regain his breath. "Normal wolves would reply with their name. But not only did you not give your name, you stated why you didn't give you name, making it even funnier." His name! Is blasted, burning name!! Why hadn't he given his name? Deciding he couldn't possibly look any more idiotic than he already did he let out a groan and finally gave himself a face-paw, smacking himself a couple of times before slapping the paw back over the bridge of his nose again.

Manaaki obviously understood to some degree the horrific situation Epsilon now found himself in and apologized for Kanga's behavior. Epsilon shook his head and brought his paw down to not hinder his speech, "No, don't apologize. I'm an idiot, I know it." a hesitant grin now that the worst of it was over came over him and tugged at his mouth. "And my name - guess that's what I should have said - is Epsilon. Good to meet you Manaaki and Kanga."

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

Kanga's laughs died to periodic giggles as Epsilon covered his face in deep embarrassment. He raised one eyebrow at the big wolf's stance. Kanga had never been allowed a proper puphood, and he hadn't really interacted with any pups in his life after that; therefore, it was a pretty unfamiliar reaction to hide one's face. Kanga never hid his face—not even when he was embarrassed. Who was there to look embarrassed for except others? Others didn't matter that much to Kanga. He blankly looked to Manaaki, whose face was stuck in equally confused concern.
"Easy there," Kanga rumbled as Epsilon started hitting himself over the face. Kanga didn't know what to do, and padded foot to foot for a moment or two. He decided that laughing again was not the right reaction. "Look, being an idiot's not so bad. Manaaki and I can be idiots. It's not the end of the world." His big tongue lolled out stupidly and his breath came in deep pulls. Manaaki rolled his eyes at his twin, sticking his chin a little higher, as if to impress upon the stranger that some of them were more idiotic than others.

Though his paw still hid his face, he eventually started to talk. The newcomer's name was Epsilon. Manaaki liked that. It was uncommon, like his and his brothers'. Uncommon names made for more interesting wolves, he thought. He had long-since lost count of the many Shadows and Saffrons he had met over the years.

"By the way, don't base anything on what Kanga says," Manaaki added when Epsilon didn't uncover his snout. "Just because he would have led with his name doesn't mean you have to. His name is the most intersting thing about him."
"Hey!" Kanga snarled, lips lifting to reveal long teeth. Anybody else would have taken this as quite the threat, and a dangerous one at that, but Manaaki only snorted and shouldered against his twin, hard. Kanga's snarl broke and he chuckled deep in his throat, shaking out his neck fur and flashing out the russet beneath.

"What brings you to the Amphitheater today?" Manaaki asked in his smooth voice as Kanga stretched his back leg up to scratch at a particularily itchy part of his neck. He shuddered when he hit the spot, smacking his lips together and only dropping his leg again once he was good and done.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

They must not have been used to this type of reaction; the two friends exchanged confused if not almost concerned glances as Epsilon reprimanded himself. "Easy there," Kanga warned, "Look, being an idiot's not so bad - It's not the end of the word." First off, Kanga hadn't been the genius who'd gone looking for a conversation, and then in the middle of the conversation had broken off, deciding they couldn't talk - what's more is Kanga had been laughing at it - not that Epsilon could blame him, it had to have been hilarious to watch, just not to be the one being that foolish. That's exactly what it was - it was being foolish, making dumb mistakes: if there was one thing Epsilon couldn't currently afford to do it was make mistakes. They'd gotten him into enough trouble as it was - he didn't, no, he couldn't make any more at the moment. Manaaki jumped in, probably noticing his prevailing discomfort and slight frustration and urged him not to take Kanga too seriously - nor did he have to give his name as Kanga suggested he should have - his name was the russet male's most interesting feature anyway. Kanga objected immediately and long, curved fangs peeped out from under his lip - they did more than peep, they jumped into full view as he bared them in warning at his companion. Epsilon's blue ears perked forward and his paw came down for good and he came alert to be ready for anything sudden. Manaaki patiently rolled his eyes and roughly but playfully shoved Kanga. Immediately the friendly, roguish smile was back and he chuckled, long ruff smoothing down as he shook the agitation out of himself. Whoever these two newcomers to Secluded Sunrise were, they'd been friends for a good, long time - they trusted each other. He envied that.

With good feelings restored between the other two giants Manaaki took his turn to ask what Epsilon was doing at the Amphitheater. The blue, green and gray male almost groaned to himself. If only he knew. If only he really could get away. No such luck. He shrugged, "Just needed to take a walk, take some time to breathe, to think...I might have been racing a little too but I don't really have anyone to race with." He winced as the words came out. "Idiot!" he wanted to smack himself again. He went for a run to clear his head, not fill it up again with old problems, old pains, old friends. Why did he have to be so painfully stupid? He was going to shake it off this time. He wasn't going to think about it, he couldn't deal with those memories right then.

He realized with another mental groan that it was his turn to ask the question again. Oh...dang it! Why did he keep doing this to himself? No, he was going to think of something....he was going to think of something! ...Maybe...? Wait - they'd been racing! "So who won?" Finally! Something intelligent came out of his mouth.

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

Kanga was quick to pick up that Epsilon took everything they said involving conversation very seriously. It was as if he was taking mental notes for next time. Poor guy, Kanga thought, careful to hide his thoughts from showing on his face. The interesting thing was that Kanga was probably just as awkward as poor Epsilon in casual conversation—but he just did it unapologetically. Where Epsilon mentally berated himself and seemed embarrassed if he made a mistake, Kanga just blissfully cruised through the awkwardness and let his freak flag fly.
It wasn't that Kanga was necessarily quirky, it was more that he didn't give one fig about what others thought. No shame, one could say.

Manaaki caught Epsilon's reaction to Kanga's snarl. It was immediate, well-hidden, and perfectly on cue. His ears swivled toward the newcomer. Wolves didn't come by those instincts without having been through a thing or two. Kanga noticed no such thing, and continued panting away.

After Epsilon explained what had brought him to the clearing, Kanga immedietly wanted to ask him to go deeper. Breathe from what? Think about what? His ears perked and Manaaki felt the curiosity pouring out of his twin, and spoke up before Kanga could.
"Well if you ever need somebody to race with, me or my brother would be more than willing." This was the first time they had introduced themselves as siblings. Kanga smiled, knowing exactly why Manaaki hadn't let him speak.
"We won't go easy on you though. Well, Manaaki might, but he's soft. But if you're ever up for a real challenge, I'm your wolf," He rumbled out, another laugh pulling itself from deep within his chest.
There was a slight lull in conversation, which neither of the boys found particularily uncomfortable, but their keen senses picked up that Epsilon certainly felt out of his element. They were basically torturing the poor wolf by making him speak.

"Me," Manaaki said, the first hint of his own rumbling, playful growl escaping his jaws. Kanga's eyes drooped and he huffed. He looked down at his bleeding leg and scowled.
"I would barely call that winning," He said to Epsilon, as if they were discussing the weather.
"Kanga, I had a camp set up here by the time you showed up."
"Okay, laying it on a little thick, there. Epsilon is very impressed," Kanga said, fixing Epsilon with an exasperated glance. Manaaki chuckled under his breath and winked behind his brother's back.

[Fierfly]

Epsilon:

He could have sworn the expressions on both wolves were a touch on the pitying side. They felt sorry for him - for his awkwardness (that blamed awkwardness!!), and Manaaki could definitely sense the underlying stress and frustration in his newly discovered pack mate. He wasn't sure if he appreciated the sympathy or wanted to pull a Kanga and bear his long white fangs in turn. On the one paw, at least someone understood his mortality, that some mistakes were bound to come for he was only a wolf (this made that vital mistake in the Clearing no less excusable, but it made him feel a little better anyway - sometimes mistakes were mistakes and were bound to happen). Part of him was grateful for this understanding, another part of him loathed to admit this fault, this shortcoming of his and another part resented the sympathy. Not out of pride necessarily, he hated thinking he was proud and tried not to, but he didn't want to let others down, and admitting he could make mistakes stung somehow. He was limited, he couldn't always help. ...Those helpless, frightened green eyes...he again had to reign in his thoughts to focus. Kanga sensed that there was more to the story, but not the emotions behind it.He hoped he wouldn't follow up on it. Please don't follow up on it. He couldn't handle that right now.

Manaaki - he could tell, he and the other gray giant were going to get along very well - jumped in before Kanga could follow up on anything too sensitive and offered to race sometime, either brother would be willing. Brother! So that's why they were so well acquainted with each other! They lacked actual resemblance in both coat and eyes, and even their builds were somewhat different - Kanga was brawnier while Manaaki's strength was more all-around and he wasn't so large and powerful in the shoulders; but one was not such an impressive size so easily. Obviously their size was related, and their eyes - come to think of it - were simply an inverse of each other: Manaaki's were light, ringed with a darker color, Kanga's were dark and ringed with a lighter color. They also had the same undercoat in that it added an iridescent effect to their colors overall, Kanga was actually a dark brown, but any disturbance revealed rich red and other warm, earthy tones. Manaaki looked a sensible grey but if his pelt was disturbed it showed white and silver as well. Interesting.

Epsilon offered a grin at their suggestion to be racing buddies. He really didn't run that often, but being able to say he now had an excuse to get away now and then actually eased some of the burden on his mind and heart and his grin grew crooked on the left side as it always did when he was truly at ease or almost truly happy. Not something many wolves saw anymore. To his question Manaaki proudly boasted the title of winner which only made the grin broaden and the crooked corner quirk at a stranger angle because Kanga had just expressed definite confidence that he was the better of the two runners. Kanga protested, glancing at his injury, probably debating whether or not to use it as an excuse as to why he was not the victor. Manaaki protested and Epsilon let out a low baritone/bass chuckle of his own as Manaaki informed his brother that not only had he trounced him, he'd had camp set up ("probably had been getting ready to take a nap" Epsilon mused, the quip he'd employed in his younger years). Kanga rolled his eyes and basically told his brother to tone it down, their observer was already very impressed with it all. Not impressed - amused. The chuckle came back, richer and friendlier this time - these two were hilarious to watch. Manaaki winked roguishly behind his put-out brother's back and Epsilon nodded in response. "How 'bout this? I'll take on both. Name the time, name the place, then we'll see who's the better racer." Epsilon had not raced in a very long time now that he thought about it, but his shoulders were powerful and his legs were long and one did not grow up wandering the Valley and being a slow-poke. Sometimes they'd run from the mountains across the creek in one day just to have a better view of the sunrise the next morning. He was confident, even if he didn't win, he could hold his own.

[Meds]

Manaaki, Kanga;

Epsilon was an observer, that much was clear. He not only picked up on the unspoken cues from the twins (not on the same scale as they could each other, but more so than the average wolf), he formed his own opinions about their actions before they had actually done them. Such a gift was rare, and priceless amongst wolves. Of course, his size would make him a good fit for almost any position, but sometimes brains were in shorter supply than brawn. It seemed he had both. Manaaki, the more observant of the two brothers, deduced by looking at Epsilon's long legs, large paws, and powerful body, that he would be well-fit for hunting. Manaaki imagined that Epsilon could call forth not only speed, but also a clear-head if prey ever turned against him. But what was Epsilon's rank within the pack? Was he a hunter, or something else? And why did he appear so unspokenly uncomfortable whenever Secluded Sunrise was brought up? Manaaki blinked his dark-rimmed eyes and tilted his big head. He didn't look directly at Epsilon, for he didn't want to give away what he was thinking, but he certainly stayed quiet for a few moments.
Even Kanga, the slightly less observant twin, noticed the way Epsilon had tensed when he had been tempted to ask the reason he was so far from home. That brought up a whole new host of questions, but he composed his face into a mask and stayed quiet. Kanga could imagine what the new wolf was thinking by the way his bright-blue eyes shadowed or flashed (Imagine being perhaps a strong word—more of making an educated guess). When Kanga's own face had lit up at the prospect of asking questions, Epsilon's own eyes had grown dark—one of the main reasons he had let Manaaki inturupt him.
Kanga was not an ignorant or oblivious wolf; however, when paired with Manaaki not only was the contrast between them more pronounced and noticable, the younger brother will always be the younger brother—even if it's just by a few minutes. Had Epsilon met Kanga alone, not only would he have been far more laid back, but he wouldn't have been so quick to smile. It wasn't as though Kanga was a different wolf without Manaaki, but he felt more whole when the two of them were together.
Though not oblivious, Kanga was certainly the one who was slower to trust, and slower to forgive. Manaaki could act that way as well, but in general he was the more level-headed. Kanga was just more wild than he was. A good choice for a hunter or a warrior, if he could just keep his tongue in check long enough for an alpha or alphess to see it.

Epsilon fixed them with a crooked smile, then. Kanga raised his eyebrows. The grey, green and blue wolf hadn't smiled yet, at least not in such an easy way. It brought a grin to Kanga's face as well—the previously terrified-of-conversation wolf was getting more comfortable.
After a bout of bickering (which often seemed to plague the two of them when they were at ease), Epsilon joined in the fun and openly chuckled. Kanga was just about to call-off the argument and toss it up to a one-time thing, when Epsilon spoke up.
"Name the time, name the place."
"Whoooo," Kanga said, his brow creasing and a wild light coming into his eyes."Looks like Epsilon's got game." His tail thrashed behind him and he turned to Manaaki. Manaaki flashed his own devilish grin, and kneaded the ground with his formidible claws.
"I can assure you that will happen."
"Why not now?"
"Kanga, isn't losing once a day enough for you?"