Frumos Teren (The Spring Territory)

"Yeah a little." Kali stood up excitedly and flicked her tail, "I was thinking about going hunting, wanna come?" Before Hope could respond she trotted into the woods in search of something to eat. These woods were unfamiliar to Kali but a place to get food all the same. It consisted of many trees oak, maple, pine, and several others. She put her nose in the air and quickly caught scent of a sickly rabbit nearby. Easy prey, Kali thought and headed off in the direction of the scent.

Hope was just about to chase after Kali, however, a strong, stern commanding howl pierced through the quite atmosphere, stopping her in her tracks. She pointed an ear up, and it twitched slightly. Then, she barked into the forest, said bark directed at Kali. It was merely a bark to notify Kali that the fae had not forgotten about her. After doing so, Hope darted off towards the source of the sound, dodging the cliffs that lead to death or pain. She let her nose guide her, and before she knew it, she arrived where the Alpha and mysterious male stood. She bowed to the Alpha, not one question asked, and scaled up the rock she had previously been laying on; she had decided that this would be her signature resting area when she was lazing around.

Kali returned to the clearing with her maw red with flesh blood. She was still hungry but the rabbit had subdued it enough to make it bearable. She perked her ears as the alpha howled and settled herself nearby the male. "What is it?" she chided. Her tail tingled with excitement as she thought about what rank she'll achieve. Hunter? No I can barely down a fawn much less an entire deer. Warrior? No, I'm so small the other pack would EAT me. Scout, maybe I'll just have to wait and see.

"You ARE the alpha! It is your DESTINY! Stop pretending you aren't. It's getting on my nerves. You will be the Alpha; who else will get the pack straight? Without you it is total and utter chaos!"

Pandora offered Kyan no words. Instead, she prepared to back away in order to give herself room to think without the Healer's face in hers. Before she got the chance, Kyan muttered under her breath as the alpha's howl echoed in the air. The young fae followed Kyan, only because she wished to hear what the "brillant" male had to say. To her, it seemed as if he would know nothing about the territory. She had known that since he mentioned that he had only just arrived here. Would the others be able to survive? Why did they simply follow this male after he asserted himself? Had Pandora been of a different gender, she would have challenged him and taken the role. Since that was not to be, she simply listened with a scornful look in her eyes.

No one had heard his approach. Though, such a thing was to be expected due to his high level of training. The male lay in a large yew bush, his jet coloured coat blending with the shadows but contrasting with the whiteness of the mist. His large head was on his paws and both ears were set in different directions, alternating at all times in order to catch the sound of any nearing force. Never had he been found when he did not wish to be; he expected this to be no different from all others. So far, it had shown the optimal results that he had guessed at. Those pale amber eyes that sat on opposite sides of his face were keen enough to capture all movement and inform him of the body language of the wolves who sat and conversed with one another in the clearing. There was a male who lifted his muzzle to the air and let a howl bounce off all the trees.

The sound echoed in Akihiko's ear drums and he slightly lowered said hearing devices in order to preserve their precious use. He did not wish to become deaf quite so early in his life. Despite being nearly five years of age, he found himself more active than many younger wolves. There was the fact that his entire life was spent on him keeping his body as perfectly fit as he possibly could; such a thing could have assisted him now. This male had a large pool of stamina which allowed him to run for much longer periods of time when compared to many different animals of his species. It would not be difficult for him to leave the area if he were discovered because, in his mind, no one would be able to keep up with his brisk pace and the long distance he would transverse. Being confident in his abilities as a fast endurance runner, the dark coloured wolf allowed himself to stay and observe all that he could about everyone in the clearing.

Those pale amber eyes first glanced at the fiery dark-and-light grey coloured female who sat with a scornful look in her blue-grey hues. Her gaze was locked onto a mottled red-orange-black-and white male. It appeared that the two had a history, no matter how short it was. He had only arrived a few short moments ago; he had no clue as to the arguement that the newly named alpha and the female had been engaged in. The first thing he had seen was the appearance of the male called Nightmare. His eyes had caught Akihiko by surprise but soon that feeling fled into the darkness of the scout's heart. He cared not of the abnormalties that others possessed. They meant little in the long run.

Once again his attention shifted. Now he was looking at the healer known as Kyan. She had shown herself to be fiesty like the grey fae. Her strength lay in her ability to use words and to use them correctly. To say the least, she was an arguer. By doing said form of speech, she was able to gather things about her pack mates that she may not have gained before. Even the alpha male did not know as much as he should about his pack. However, there would be plenty of time for him to grow bonds with the pack later.

A deep breath escaped his nose without a sound. He would wait patiently and learn everything he could about all the wolves before calling attention to himself. Until that happened, he would do what he was best at. The older wolf shifted his body slightly and studied them all.

Someone was out there. In the mist. Pandora's ears flicked slightly as they struggled to hear the sound of what had alerted her of the presence of yet another. Dimly, her sensitive ears picked up the sound of wandering pawsteps. Since they held no true direction, the she-wolf guessed that the wolf was lost in the mist. Despite her cold exterior towards the alpha and all the others, the young female did not wish for someone to remain lost in a land they knew not about.

With that, Pandora quietly slipped away in the shadows of the trees and headed towards the sound. There were many things that could have distracted her but when she was on a mission, nothing could break the intense concentration she was now portraying. Her nose was in constant motion as she tried to pin point where the wolf was. Every sense of hers was trained on the area of which she believed the loner was.

Soon she found him. He was wolf with a bright white coat that was coloured with many different blacks. They appeared on his back in the shape of lightening strikes, on his paws and the top half of his tail. Other than those few parts, he was a snow white animal. Slowly and cautiously, the grey mottled female stepped out of the mist and shadows; effectively making herself known to the male.

"Hello there."

"Whoa! I mean uh, - sorry. Hey."

A light of amusement shone in Pandora's blue-grey eyes at the male's responce to her appearance. Compared to all the appearances of the wolves, only the male standing before her had shown surprise at any of her sudden appearances. For that, she was glad. She loved the thought of startling another despite her small, lithe build. Then again, the male wouldn't see that she was lithe due to the huge volume of fur that cascaded down her entire body. Rather than give herself a more submissive pose, she held herself highly and decided to test out Kyan's words. If she were destined to be the other male's counterpart, she needed to see how she handled this situation.

"Are you lost?" She took a step forward and let a small smile grace her normally expressionless face. "If you are, I can lead you to a newly formed pack. They could help you."

Hope grinned mischievously, fangs gleaming, "De, sounds like fun." Her sharp amber shaded eyes searched keenly from one direction to the other before she silently bounded off of the boulder. She scampered into the darkness similar to that of the likes of a predatory cat. Current objective: scale the highest tree. She switched her pace to a steady, quiet run; and when a redwood appeared in front of her, she quickened her charge. She lept up on the trunk, steadily placing all four's on it like she had done many times, then bounced up. Thus jump placed her on rather narrow branch, but she kept her balance nonetheless. Thanks to her light weight, the branch did not give away. The climber's eyes looked above her, spotting a low branch. She jumped, aiming for the branch, and her jaw snapped shut onto the branch. Now, she was dangling from the limb like a streamer. Odd for a wolf? Yes. Odd for Hope? Not at all.

The fae hooked both of her front legs over the branch, swiftly pulling herself up. She repeated this process over and over. Though, sometimes a branch was far away enough that she could simply jump up to it. Other times, when a branch was above her yet too far away to hop onto, she would have to bound from the tree trunk to the branch. After several leaps and climbs, she made it far up in the tree. The branches were thick and sturdy, so there were nothing to be worried about. Her pack members stood below, and Hope merely watched them for moments, then gave a bark to signify where she was.

When the white coloured male lowered himself into a more submissive pose, Pandora felt a rising of warmth in her chest. Out of everyone, he was the first to show her respect. So far, she liked him the best. The young fea walked forward until she was almost nose to nose with the male. If she were to be the Alpha female, she was going to have to learn the scents of all the pack. Delicately, she sniffed the brute's face before pulling away and stepping back a few paces. To her, he smelled of pine and a species of wild grass. It was a pretty smell.

"Sure. Elsewhere than this maze would be great."

Turning on her haunches, Pandora flicked her tail in a wide arc. It was the invitation that said the male could follow her. She picked a slower walk because she did not wish to go head to head with the Alpha male about her supposed dominant rank. The first thing she'd have to do when she returned would be to establish herself as his equal and the one who would rule the pack alongside him.

"What's your name?" Pandora asked as she continued to walk. The voices of the others were getting louder and their scent was more potent in the air.

Thanks hope way to steal my thunder. Kali thought smugly. Kali's only real talent was climbing trees so there was only one way to show that ... showing hope up. Kali smirked at the idea. Kali quickly sprinted to the very same tree hope scaled and, within half the time of hope, was sitting beside the other female. "Hey, gotta go." she quickly said to hope before diving off the tree. She loved the adrenalin rush she got from this. She loved the feeling as if she were flying. Just before Kali hit the ground she latched her jaws onto the lowest branch and carefully placed herself on the ground. "How'd I do?" Kali asked still dizzy from the fall.

Hope chuckled at Kali's attempt to show her up. The Alpha had not stated that this was a competition, thus, in her eyes, Kali was just trying to be a show-off. And, if the Alpha was as wise as she had thought of him to be, he would notice her acts in seconds. Again, she chuckled to herself: What Kali had done acquired no skill.

The treasure hunter scaled down the tree, for she was much too lazy to take the elevator. She pranced along on her tip-toes, scanning over the territory, as if already scouting the boundaries. Her nose twitched. Once. Twice. A third. Once again, her curiosity overpowered her thoughts and she quietly adventured out to identify the owner of the smell.

Scent was also vital if you were to be a scout, this Hope knew well. She had not the most powerful nose in the world nor was it the weakest. However, it was trained enough to pinpoint the scent of the species of an animal, like any wolves' should be, scout or not. By the mere smell, Hope knew that the animal was a male wolf. Why hadn't she noticed him before?

The she-wolf tensed, her fur prickled up. This wolf must be very experienced. I must keep my guard up. She lightened her steps until they were silent, and she was careful to dodge twigs and whatnot. She quieted her breath once she felt the presence of the opposing wolf approaching. Her hawk-like eyes shined when she narrowed them at a dark figure in the distance...

She stopped a few paces after she spotted the male, muscles still tense. The jet black wolf was laying in a rather large bush, his coat blending in with the eerie darkness; she could only see the outline of his body even with her sharp eyes. She stood tall, tail and ears erect, "And you are?" Her tone held a snap to it, but, deep inside its chords was a quirk of fear.

Akihiko stayed quiet, occassionally shifting his position in order to remain comfortable and awake during his sentry duty. They were all communicating about ranks of the pack. Right now, they were showing their talents to their new leader. He stood there and simply watched them though not nearly as closely as Akihiko himself was watching. Those pale amber eyes were scanning the others quickly and efficiently. Everything he did was to assess the others and to know all that he possibly could about them. The two females who had previously been in the tree were now on the ground. Judging from the look in the fae's who's name he had learned to be Hope, she was not impressed with what Kali had done. He wasn't positive as to why. The knowledge to explain her displeasure was lost to do due to his lack of knowing her. To lack knowledge of anything truly was a blight on this creature. He needed the information in order to keep himself safe.

The sudden, almost sharp intake of air caused him to look at the source. It seemed that Hope had caught his musky, more masculine scent and realized that it did not belong to anyone in the pack as of yet. The brute flicked his ears as he realized the wind had changed; he was now upwind. Rather than move, the large male remained where he was, his amber eyes tracking Hope's movements as she walked closer and closer to his spot. A sudden tension in her muscles and a slight fur bristling informed him that she was wary of his presense and perhaps even afraid. For a moment, the male thought of leaving the scene to haunt the wolves for a while but then he thought better of it. He desired acceptance here; if he left now, he would lose his chance.

"And you are?"

Hope kept herself held high and her ears as well as her tail were erect. There was a snap to her question though he detected the slightly sense of fear deep within. It coloured her voice a mild violet. Every emotion that Akihiko knew of, he learned to associate it with a colour. Fluidly, the male stood and found that he effectively towered over Hope. His jet fur was sleek compared to the slightly ruffed fur of Hope.

"Akihiko." He offered his name but nothing more. It was not in his nature to talk and he would not change just for a greeting.