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Post by Calypso on Jan 11, 2018 6:13:49 GMT -5
Nanouk;
When the female made her first comment, Nanouk had almost felt like Koa had moments before. She already knew that determination and confidence weren't the only things needed to start a pack. She was sure that every wolf knew that. She had just said it to give Koa a little boost. But she pushed it off and allowed the female to continue speaking.
The next statement she made was actually not about her pack at all, but rather about food. Honestly she wasn't all that hungry, but her thoughts were unknowingly similar to Koa's at that moment. In order to truly judge what a wolf was like, you had to look at how they hunted. If this Koa was confident but rushed into things, that wasn't something to look forward to. If she was too slow and thought things over way to much and overthought things, it wouldn't be as bad but it also wasn't the best. A wolf that took in the situation, chose their move quickly but also logically, and went forward with it was the way to go. Though she would be kind of biased since that was how she hunted herself.
"I suppose, though where?"
(In a rush)
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Post by Meds on Jan 11, 2018 12:49:58 GMT -5
((All good! I just like replies ^^ Plus you write quite well for somebody in a rush!! xD))
Koa;
Nanouk hadn't taken Koa's light joking well. She didn't comment on it outwardly, but a slight flash in the eyes told Koa that this female was not one to question—not unlike herself. This wasn't a bad thing, nor did it upset Koa. It was just good to learn about and to take notice of. She gave a slight nod to herself, vowing not to forget in the future. It was interesting, though. A female who was confident enough in herself to take questioning poorly, though not poorly enough to get bent out of shape by it. Very like herself, Koa thought. And a very good quality to have in a leader-position. Koa's mind had started turning already. Suddenly, she could see Nanouk in a position of power within Ivory Wild; that is, if Koa even asked her, and if she even wanted to join.
"I heard some rustling on my way over here," Koa said in response to her question, nodding behind her. It wasn't a path, but Koa was confident that they wouldn't get lost; besides, in the worst case scenario, Koa had a feeling that the strange old tree would call them right back anyway, which would make getting lost nearly impossible. "Fancy some rabbit? Though it could have been a boar drift. Slightly more challenging, but bacon is never a bad thing." She winked in good nature, then ducked her head and passed through the branches encircling the Adoette Tree. She hoped Nanouk would follow—but if she didn't, Koa supposed she could just hunt on her own.
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Post by Calypso on Jan 13, 2018 11:32:05 GMT -5
Nanouk;
Koa seemed to examine her reaction for a moment, which she didn't mind. She had done the same thing not too long before with another wolf, but now wasn't the time to think about that. She glanced towards the bushes where the storm-furred female had mentioned rabbit. She herself hadn't smelled anything when she got there, but, then again, she had arrived quite a while before Koa did, and things were always moving in the forest.
She actually hadn't heard the comment that the female made about boar, for she had been momentarily distracted. By what, she wasn't quite sure herself. She had just looked back at the eyes of the female when she saw her wink. She took note of the action, but was unsure whether to think anything of it. She then watched as the female turned and began to crouch through the bushes that surrounded the large tree. For a second she debated whether or not she should go along with this plan. But she remembered what she had been thinking earlier, what had made her perk up in front of this female, and she decided.
The black and gold she-wolf had approached and crouched down, falling in-step at side-length with Koa. Her eyes scanned the foliage and her nose would occasionally sniff a few times to catch any sign of prey in the area. Her light paws didn't make much sound and she kept her long tail still behind her as to not hit any branches and make sound with it.
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Post by Meds on Jan 14, 2018 21:06:25 GMT -5
Koa;
Koa did not hear Nanouk's footsteps behind her right away. She didn't glance back to see if the female was following, though. Nanouk was an interesting female, one that Koa could see herself either getting along very well with, or butting heads with. They were rather similar in attitude, she guessed, and wolves like that were either well-suited for each other, or weren't. She would pay very close attention to that before asking Nanouk to start a pack with her. It wouldn't do to have a wolf the alpha butted heads with as a Gamma or (Power-forbid) a Beta.
Eventually, however, Koa heard her behind her. She was crouched, sidling up beside as they scanned the area for a quick snack. The rabbits Koa had thought she heard turned out to be black and white, two of them, and nibbling on some grass up ahead. Koa gave a quick nod, then dipped to the left, circling around until she was behind them. Her eyes flicked to Nanouk's golden gaze. This was where Koa would see how she behaved in a group setting. So far, she had seemed very much like a loner. But first impressions could be wrong.
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Post by Calypso on Jan 15, 2018 13:49:50 GMT -5
Nanouk;
As the two of them came close to their prey, she saw a flash of black and white ahead of them. She took note of the nod she received from Koa, watching her drift to the left of the two rabbits. She thought for a mere second before beginning to rear off to the right, keeping her eye on the two rabbits. She made sure to remain in the shadows, making sure that she had aligned herself opposite of Koa. She then faced the two rabbits, bracing herself. Right now she only found one thing that was on her mind. Was it her that would trigger the rabbits or Koa? She decided to merely see how it played out. If it was she who would startle them, she would rely on Koa to catch at least one of them. If it was Koa that would startle them, she positioned herself in a way that if they scattered in different directions, she could go either direction quickly.
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Post by Meds on Jan 15, 2018 18:20:53 GMT -5
Koa;
Perfect, it seemed that Nanouk had at least a general idea of what to do when hunting as a pair. Koa gave a wicked smile, then leapt forward towards the lagomorphs and snarled magnificently. Both rabbits shot out at different angles, but as Koa doubled back around the bluff, she saw that Nanouk had positioned herself in the perfect place to run in either direction after the beasts. She smiled.
-
Once the hunt was over and they had caught their prize, Koa settled down onto the forested floor, fixing Nanouk with a calculating look. A light smile was tugging at her lips, and her mint-frosted eyes were keen. Nanouk had worked as a team with Koa without very much communication. That was something Koa had been looking for. To be able to not only work together, but also formulate some semblance of a plan that benefited both parties, with little to no communication beforehand, was not an easy task. It was something that would be a good trait in a Gammess. Koa was getting ahead of herself there, to be sure, but she was excited and it couldn't be helped. She didn't even know if Nanouk was a pack-wolf yet. She hadn't exactly expressed interest in Ivory Wild as of yet; in fact, she had mostly shot-down the idea. Koa's instinct was to ask right out if she could ever see herself in a pack role, but somehow she swallowed that and made herself hesitate for once.
"That was some good work to get those rabbits—especially because I wasn't very forthcoming with the details." She chuckled, sitting down in front of the gold and black wolf, waiting until she divided the kill between them. She knew a lot of what had happened had been instinct—but the fact that those instincts were strong with Nanouk was positive. Perhaps Koa's half-formed ideas weren't so far-off after all. She stretched, glancing first at the spongy ground then back at her company. "Have you hunted in a group often?" She could only assume that Nanouk had been in a pack at least once before in her life, and finding out a little bit more about this new acquaintance would not be a bad thing. It was a safe question, and one that might open it up for all sorts of other information, as well. Had she hunted before? Did she hate working as a group, preferring to go off alone? These were all things that Koa was dying to know, but also that she was too clever to blurt out all at once.
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Post by Calypso on Jan 16, 2018 13:41:08 GMT -5
Nanouk;
The hunt had gone surprisingly well for one that wasn't planned or thought through properly. They had managed to get themselves a meal without talking about how they would do so. Whether or not that was just experience working with other wolves during hunts was kind of unknown really. Nanouk herself didn't know. She just felt like the move that she made was the right one to do since she wasn't the only one hunting.
As the two of them laid presumably near the large tree once again, both eating their portion of the rabbit, she noticed that the female had approached. She then heard Koa speak and glanced upwards at her, no longer chewing on the rabbit but didn't quite lift her head yet. She heard the compliment about her hunting and wasn't really sure what to say; it wasn't because she was flattered or speechless, but she just didn't know how to respond. Luckily, Koa had more to say. She listened as the storm-furred wolf asked about her hunting habits, more focusing on whether she had worked in a group.
She looked away for a moment, thinking. The answer was pretty easy, honestly, but she still wanted to think of how to word it before she spilled out anything that didn't need said. She then looked back at the possible future-Alphess of this "Ivory Wild". "Not recently, but I used to. Me and two other wolves often hunted together, but that was before I came to this valley."
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Post by Meds on Jan 16, 2018 16:12:32 GMT -5
Koa;
Koa settled the rabbit between her paws and ripped her piece apart. She really was snackish, and it was quite a clean kill. Nanouk was not an awful hunter, that was for sure. Of course, most wolves could hunt to some degree, but some were sloppy, murdering their prey beyond recognition and rendering the thing hopeless for sharing. This was quite nice, though, as if she had killed it herself. When she voiced her question to Nanouk, the other female looked away and thought for a moment. Koa appreciated well-thought out answers.
So Nanouk had previously hunted in a small group, but not in the valley. Koa nodded slowly. "Only two others? Oh. I had thought that maybe you were in a pack before coming out this way—" She smiled politely. "—but didn't exactly want to pry. But as you pointed out, it takes wolves to start a pack. Unless it was a very small pack, or you were one of the designated hunters...?" She flushed and ducked her head back to her rabbit. "Please, don't answer if it makes you at all uncomfortable—I'm just making conversation. Food makes me chatty. I know not everybody wants to gab about their past." She finished off her last bite then leaned back onto her haunches.
"The pack I was born into was relatively easy-going and prosperous. We always had enough to eat, there was no real drama—you know. That's part of why I'm interested in starting my own," She said, blinking and glancing to the shadowed canopy above them. "I had such a good experience growing up that I want to start something like that here."
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Post by Calypso on Jan 16, 2018 16:24:28 GMT -5
Nanouk;
The female seemed to take her answer well, though she continued on with questions of her past. She listened to Koa continue while she ate her part of the rabbit, considering what she would say after this was done. The other female seemed to constantly think of a new question that would branch off from the last. Has she ever hunted in a group? Was she a part of a pack? Was it a small pack, if so? Was she only a hunter? These were all questions that were easy to answer with just a short explanation, but she went on.
This time it wasn't questions or statements about Nanouk, but rather herself, which was fine. She gave a brief backstory with not many details, but it wasn't like Nanouk had asked for it anyway, so that was understandable. She listened as Koa stated that she wanted to start a pack similar to her own when she was a pup in the valley, which was also easy to understand. She nodded, taking in what the female said. She glanced down at her rabbit, thinking back to before she got to the valley. She felt a painful pang in her heart for a moment, but she pushed it away, lifting her head to look at Koa.
"I was a part of a pack, though I guess you can say it wasn't a...traditional pack." She glanced away, looking up at the tree that towered over them as she continued. "All of us in the pack were family. Not as in we saw each other as family; we actually were all related by blood. All of us had our own small branches and direct families, so having so many wolves in one small area was difficult. All of us lived in the same territory, but had our own dens and separate areas that belonged to us. Sometimes all of us would come together on special occasions and have a feast or have an entire-pack hunt. But most of the time we fended for ourselves." She looked back at Koa again. "The two wolves I primarily hunted with were my siblings. They were older than me, but they still remained around our area since they didn't have mates or families of their own."
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Post by Meds on Jan 16, 2018 16:50:04 GMT -5
Koa;
Nanouk seemed comfortable enough answering Koa's questions out loud, but then her body language and a few flashes in her eyes made Koa wonder if she really was all that comfortable. She was certainly calculating—but that wasn't necessarily bad. Honestly, Koa just wanted to know more about her and make conversation in general. She was curious about this female with the golden stripe; curious where she came from, and weather or not she would fit in with the idea of Ivory Wild. She seemed quite nonplussed by Koa's own backstory, but at least nodded along and seemed to follow it. There was nothing worse than wolves who didn't listen when being spoken to. At least have the decency to shut the speaker up if you weren't planning on listening. They made Koa's blood boil, those kinds of wolves. But thankfully, Nanouk did not seem to be the type.
Then surprisingly, Koa seemed to have asked just the right question, because before she knew it, Nanouk was telling her all about where she had come from, and details about her birth-pack. It turned out that they had all been a family, a literal family, and her hunting partners had been her very own siblings. Koa's eyebrows raised. Well, she didn't imagine a wolf who had grown up in such a nice environment would have left by choice. Perhaps that was why Nanouk was somewhat closed off and slow to open up. Koa promised herself to tread lightly, for families were almost always a sensitive topic. Rather than pry anymore, for she really hadn't meant to brush over anything painful, she decided to highlight some of the more positive elements of the story.
"I bet a sibling bond during hunting would be near-unbeatable." She smiled, glancing up to the trees again. It was getting later, but the air was still comfortable, as it was in spring. "My litter-mates and I got on just fine—but I don't know that any of them would have necessarily been good hunting partners." Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. "Not the brightest, my brothers." She directed her smile to Nanouk, trying to smooth over any potentially-uncomfortable conversation pieces she might have drawn attention to. "I think a family pack would be very strong, indeed. I've never heard of one like that, either. It's very interesting." Of course, or her to start a pack like that she would first need a mate, and after that, pups. Then they would need mates and pups of their own. The whole idea almost made her shudder. Maybe one day, if a male could ever catch her eye rather than her attitude. She smiled quietly once more.
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Post by Calypso on Jan 17, 2018 21:00:41 GMT -5
Nanouk;
Koa had noticed her slight uncomfortable shifting, but she didn't mind. She had merely gave an accidental hint for the storm-furred she-wolf to watch what she said or brought up. Luckily, it had worked. She had somewhat changed the topic over to only Nanouk's siblings and family as a whole, as well as her own siblings. She had stated that a sibling bond during a hunt would be unbeatable and that a pack made of all family would be strong. For once, a proud smile formed on Nanouk's face. Her ears perked and she seemed more attentive.
"Yes. Me and my siblings were strong when put together. Each of us played our own part and knew that part by heart. As for the pack, we were one of the strongest. The familial motivation of wanting to keep all of our own safe made us dangerous in battle. Other packs that lived around us knew this and stayed away, so most of the time we were peaceful." For a moment the words 'most of the time' went through her head and a flash, an image, of a certain scene crossed her mind, one she didn't want to remember. But it went away quickly, knowing that now wasn't the time. She couldn't just appear proud one moment and be down the next. She had to show this female what she was like.
(It's kinda short, but that Navy Gold post knocked it out of me haha)
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Post by Meds on Jan 18, 2018 12:09:37 GMT -5
Koa;
Again, Koa seemed to have hit the right mark, as Nanouk's eyes suddenly brightened and a smile that was clearly proud spread across her face. Even her ears perked, and Koa was hit with the unmistakable knowledge that now, for perhaps the first time, Nanouk was really and truly engaged. Koa grinned as Nanouk spoke of her siblings and highlighted a bit of the way her pack had worked.
Koa drank up the information. More knowledge as to how other packs (and successful packs at that) worked was invaluable. The more Koa could learn about other packs, the more she could log the information away and take pieces from if she ever needed to. As Nanouk brought up the danger and strength of her family in battle, Koa shivered. She could picture it now. Wolves of all the same blood line, with an unbreakable family bond, would surely tear up a battle field.
Then, Koa's ears caught on the phrase 'most of the time', and she thought she saw a shadow of discomfort on Nanouk's face for a moment, but then it was gone and she was confident once more.
"I didn't have much battle experience in the pack I was born into, honestly," Koa said, spinning the conversation back to what seemed like more sturdy ground. "We were the only large pack for miles around, and honestly, I don't ever recall a fight or a battle; then again, I left when I was quite young." She smiled. Her family had been against it, but Koa had been independent even then. She had thirsted to prove herself to herself, and to not be just an extra mouth to feed for her family. With that mindset, she had struck out into the world very young. "That isn't to say I can't fight." She flashed a toothy smirk. "Such a young wolf on her own was bound to meet up with the occasional hostile loner. But I'm here, I'm alive. I have no deforming scars to speak of..." She shared a private, quiet laugh with herself. That in itself was miraculous. She had had run-ins with loners, and though she had always escaped with her life, it had sometimes been close. But as she had pointed out, her body was whole, and she was no lesser a wolf because of it.
"But I can just picture you guys on the battle field." She shivered again. "A force to be reckoned with, I'm sure."
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Post by Calypso on Jan 19, 2018 14:01:58 GMT -5
Nanouk;
As the two of them spoke about their past packs, how they worked, their size and strength, thoughts came back to her again. She thought of what it was like being in her old pack. She was surrounded by family and wolves that she shared a close relationship with. They would work together, protect one another. Did she want that again? Why was she even thinking about packs? Even though her and Koa were taking about packs, she only just met Koa not to long ago. It wasn't like she could think about joining a pack with wolves she didn't know. And it wasn't like Koa would consider her for her pack, anyway. They just met! They hardly knew each other.
But...she had to decide what she wanted. She then realized something. It had been Koa that began asking about her past and about her previous pack. Koa had been the one that initiated the whole conversation of packs in the first place.
Her head turned and her golden eyes found the future Alphess. "Koa, why have you asked me all of this? Surely there's a reason behind your questioning?"
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Post by Meds on Jan 19, 2018 17:54:45 GMT -5
Koa;
Koa allowed a somewhat bashful smile to creep onto her lips when Nanouk questioned her motives. She was quick, and sharp. Koa cast around, looking towards the canopy above once again, deciding how best to answer. After a short moment she chuckled. "Well, partly I was genuinely interested. I've never heard of a pack dynamic like that before, and I'm still quite curious about it." She shuffled her paws below her and met the black an golden wolf's eyes. They barely knew each other, but Koa had made a decision. She had supposed that wolves wanting to join a pack, who were petitioning at the border, wouldn't be all that well-known by Alphas either, when they were accepted. Perhaps that was part of a strong pack—being willing to take slight risks, with the overarching hope and belief that it would benefit them later on, and not be a detriment. It was with these thoughts in mind that Koa cleared her throat once more.
"And the other part, well—" She blinked and tried to appear as casual as possible, so as not to frighten Nanouk off. "I really am serious about starting Ivory Wild. But as you pointed out a good few times—I need wolves to do that. I was half-considering, that... perhaps I could find some wolves who would be willing to start it with me. And if I could find a few, it would only follow that they could hold positions of power within the pack—if they wanted." She blinked slowly once, getting her bearings and stilling her beating heart. If ever there was a time to be confident, it was now. Koa reopened her eyes and fixed Nanouk with a small smile. "And, though this is just my opinion... a wolf such as yourself, with such interesting and valuable strategy experience in battles and hunts—would probably make a very good Gammess." Her tail quivered behind her and she tossed her head lightly. "That's just speculation on my part, of course... but that was part of the reason I was questioning you so thoroughly."
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Post by Calypso on Jan 19, 2018 20:11:59 GMT -5
Nanouk;
Koa's first explanation made sense. Many traditional packs were made up of a bunch of loners and strangers who didn't know each other originally but grew to know each other. They often lived in the same general area, did everything together, and were mainly just one as a pack. But Nanouk's birthpack was different. It wasn't just loners who happened to form together and make a pack, nor was it a case where they were just a pack. They were family. All of them knew each other by name, scent, personality, who they were related to, what their relation was to you, and sometimes even the extended families of their mates. It, at times, got complicated, but it brought all of them together and kept them that way, not only as a pack, but as a family. When she thought about it, she was lucky to have born in a pack like that. It was a shame that it was all taken from her...
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Koa went on to explain that the other reason she had questioned her was because she was looking for wolves to bring into ranks of power in the pack that she could put her trust in, or at least that's what Nanouk got from it. She understood that much, but she didn't see what this reasoning had to do with her. Her thoughts were then answered by the she-wolf's next statement. Her ears perked and her eyes slightly widened.
Me? In Ivory Wild? As a Gammess? With the recent events of this encounter, the consideration of being a part of another pack ran through her mind multiple times, but she never thought it would happen. Nor did she ever think that she would be seen in a rank that held power in any pack. She was surprised by this, but she soon began to have memories in her mind.
In a somewhat large den made of packed dirt, leaves, and covered in a layer of moss, two wolves laid at the entrance. One, a dark gray she-wolf with green eyes, and the other, a black male with golden markings and deep blue eyes, both supervised a little scene in front of the den. Two young-adult wolves, both two shades of gray with darker and lighter markings, were playing along side a small pup. The pup was tiny, pure black, had a golden stripe down its back and long tail, and golden eyes that glowed like the sun. "She takes a lot after your grandfather, you know. Many of the others see her taking after him when she gets older, " the dark gray she-wolf in the den stated, nuzzling the male next to her. "What, become the Alpha? Do they think that my father is going to choose her as his heir?" The black male sounded surprised, but also expected something like this. Both of them watched the long-tailed, golden-eyed pup with smiles on their faces.
Nanouk shook the memory from her brain and glanced down at the ground. Mom was telling me about when that happened not to long before...
She looked back up at Koa, somewhat unsure of what to say. She stayed silent for a moment, considering the future Alphess' words. "Is that an offer for me to join you?" Her voice was slightly deeper than it had been before. It wasn't necessarily curiosity that caused this change of tone, but it also wasn't being portrayed as an idea that she was for or against. She merely wanted to be sure.
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