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 Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:53 pm
 Dakota pranced alongside the border of Einherjar's territory. She had grown very fond of doing border patrols by her lonesome. It gave her the opportunity to be completely free, and act however she wanted, without the scrutiny and scolding of others. She was a little over a year old now, but had never quite let go of her youthful pup spirit. Her tongue lawled from her mouth as she sniffed the air. Her icy blue eyes were full of wondered as she peered into the sky. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shinning and a soft breeze rustled through the mountains. She stopped in her tracks as her nose picked up a new scent on the wind. Her eyes narrowed and she began to make her way to a nearby lookout rock. She quickly climbed to the summit and peered in the direction of the scent. She lowered herself to the rock and sat waiting for the owner of the scent to make its way from behind the treeline into the open. Her cool colored pelt blended well with the rock, and she knew she had the upper hand with the wind on her side. Excitement ran through her veins, her eyes unmoving, and her ears perked, waiting.
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Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:29 pm
"No," came a voice, distinctly female but rough, and lacking in any traditional femininity. "What good did a pack do for us as pups? I don't see any reason to join one."
"What do you mean, what good?" Came another voice, this time male. "We wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the pack. We could settle down. Stop wandering."
Two wolves came into view, one grey-brown, one black. They seemed at odds, but friendly, travelling close together and bickering as they approached the borders of Einherjar.
"Look, we've come close to this pack on the winds," the female said - apparently the lighter of the two - "and we haven't seen any pack wolves so far. If you're so determined to join up -"
"Vil," The dark male suddenly interrupted, silencing the pair. They held perfectly still, checking the air for danger. Their fur bristled; one with anticipation, one with fear.
"Hello?" Björn called out, sounding uncertain but hopeful. "Who's there?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:38 pm
Dakota eyes the two wolves as they came into view. Her ears perked up as the darker of the two spoke up. She sniffed the air once more, to make sure there were not more than two, for if there were, it would have been in her best interest to sneak off and get backup. When no more than the two scents reached her nose, she knew it was okay to reveal herself.
"Hello!" She shouted a little too excited. She knew that if anyone else from the pack was there, she would have been in trouble, so she quickly tried to contain her excitement. She loved meeting new people, and these two seemed to be friendly, or so she hoped. "I mean, Hello." She said more collectively, but there was still an edge of excitement to her tone. "I am Dakota, from Einherjar." She jumped from her place on the rock and came to their level. Her eyes were bright and friendly and her pelt glowed with the warm sun. "What brings you to our lands?" She asked, trying to sound as authoritative as possible.
Her eyes scanned the two wolves in front of her, the smaller of the two, who was female, had scars and scratches that were a bit disconcerting, but the stronger of the two, the male, wore a beautiful dark coat, and stood strong. Her icy eyes lingered on him as she waited for a reply.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:06 pm
"Einherjar," Björn parroted, as if tasting the word, and smiled. "We were just passing through."
"We're wanderers," Vildsvin interjected, and a glance between the friends revealed an undercurrent of tension. There was an awkward pause in which the male seemed to want to say something, but couldn't work up the courage. Finally the other wolf spoke on his behalf, turning her amber eyes upon the border guard, speculative, wary. "I'm Vildsvin. This is Björn. We caught the scent of a local pack and were just curious."
Björn nodded eagerly, eyeing Dakota very differently than his friend had. She seemed nice; far from the stiff, judgmental caricature of a packwolf that he'd almost convinced himself to expect. "It's nice to meet you," he mumbled, quiet excitement in his timid voice. Next to him, Vildsvin's ears tilted back with displeasure, almost imperceptibly.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:34 pm
Dakota stiffened a little as she caught an undertone of tension between the two. She eyed them both, but saw nothing that should concern her any further. She released her muscles with a sigh of relief. At least I was paying more attention than last time. She thought to herself.
Her ears perked up at the sound of wanderers. She loved being a pack wolf, but the outside world just past her packs boundaries always amazed her, and she wished she could see more sometimes. "It's a pleasure to meet you both and Einherjar welcomes your curiosity, but I must say, if you take advantage of our hospitality, you best be prepared." She knew she must say these words, even if it didn't seem like there was any threat at all.
With that she quickly changed her tone to the more playful upbeat one she typically had. "Well then! Would you two be interested in checking out Einherjar?" She smiled and wagged her tail excitedly. She loved new comers, and learning about the wonderful world around them, the places they had been, the things they had seen. It fascinated her. Quickly she stopped wagging her tail as she heard the nagging voice of one of her siblings in her mind. "Don't be too eager Dakota! You are only showing your weakness you do such things." She shook her head, clearing it of her siblings cautions. "They are even bossy when they arent around" she mumbled out loud unknowingly, her ears flat to her head in frustration.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:21 pm
A tacit conversation took place between the pair of wanderers; Björn glanced at Vildsvin, and she met his gaze, and he dropped his eyes, and then he sheepishly glanced back up again, and then she rolled her eyes and nodded very slightly. The tougher, scarred female was about to open her mouth to speak when Dakota muttered something strange. In unison, both Björn and Vildsvin tilted their heads in confusion. They shared another quick look and then Vildsvin declared,
"I'm going to go head for some wilderness away from any pack lines. I haven't made a kill in a few days. I'll call you if I catch anything." Without saying anything more, she turned and left. Björn watched her go with something poignant in his expression, then turned back to Dakota.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he said, with a quiet, shy smile. "I would really love to see your pack's lands, if you don't mind. Sorry about Vildsvin, by the way." Genuine regret touched his tone - he even seemed a bit embarrassed. "She's just not much for... socializing."
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 5:16 pm
Dakota shook herself from her wandering mind as Vildsvin spoke. She nodded towards the female. "There is a small herd of deer just down the mountain" She said pointing with her nose towards the east. "You might find some luck down there." Dakota watched as the scarred female turned to leave. What an odd pair, she thought to herself as she watched the female retreat back into the underbrush.
Her focus turned back to Bjorn as he spoke. "Oh no it's fine, not everyone wants a taste of the pack life, it's understandable." She said smiling. "Well our pack covers a pretty vast area, where would you like to start?" She asked her tail wagging with excitement. Even when she tried her hardest to contain her happiness and eagerness, it always managed to seep out without her knowing.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:12 pm
With a sheepish smile, Björn watched her mottled tail wiggle and felt his own give a little involuntary wag. "Whatever you'd like. I ah - I don't know where I am, so. You're the expert." He seemed a bit at a loss, without Vildsvin there; somehow more vulnerable. But this was exciting; it seemed like a genuinely nice pack, to judge by Dakota, and the landscape their territory encompassed reminded him a lot of the pack he and Vildsvin had been born into. Ducking his head down, as if to hide his excited grin from his new acquaintance, Björn followed after her quietly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:32 pm
Dakota shook her head, "oh yes of course! Silly me!" She felt foolish for asking Bjorn where he would like to go in a place he knew nothing of. She didn't let her foolishness bring her down. Her fur jumped in excitement, a little too much excitement to most wolves, as an idea struck her. "OH I know!" She said happily. "I'll take you to the most amazing place our pack lands has to offer." Her tail wagged and she smiled most brilliantly. Quickly she stopped her tail and contained herself once more, but before long it was back to its excited wagging self. She hoped that she was not too overbearing for Bjorn, but she didn't dwell on the thought long, she was only being herself, and if her youthful spirit was too much for the newcomer, it would not be the first time. Finally Dakota jumped around to face towards the north, "It's on the other side of the territory, but we will get there justttt in time for sunest. It will be perfect!" She turned her head back in Bjorn's direction. "It will give us some time for some good ol' fashion conversation! Come on!" She said excitedly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:48 pm
Björn restrained a laugh at her enthusiasm, scrunching up his face to prevent the chortle from escaping. If he grinned any more, he would surely look like an absolute idiot to this bouncy wolf. "Okay," he said softly but earnestly, looking to her to take the lead. There was a distinct comfort, he found, in letting someone else lead the way. It took a great deal of stress off his shoulders, somehow, and allowed him to enjoy the scenery.
"What do you want to have a conversation about?" he ventured, eyes flickering in her direction. "I'm sure you're much more interesting than I am." The last part he blurted, shocked at his own forwardness.
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 5:42 pm
Dakota stopped dead in her tracks. "No way!" She laughed, "You've gotta be kidding me! I've lived my whole life in a pack! YOU on the other hand, you've seen the worllddd! You know what it's like out there!" She was so envious of Bjorn's life style, but would never admit it to anyone in her pack, especially her family. "You must have such great stories of your journeys." Her eyes glistened with wonderment and admiration for the strong dark wolf before her. She turned to continue walking. "I, on the other hand, have experienced no such things." She trotted along tail swaying side from side. "I've lived my whole life under the protection and pressure of that of my pack, and my family." A bird flying overhead caught her attention for an instant, and then it went to a small fly buzzing around her head. "I come from a litter of 5....." She glanced over her shoulder towards Bjorn. "Do you have any siblings?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 6:14 am
"A brother and a sister," he said ponderously, "Although I haven't seen them in a long time. I can kind of imagine what it would be like to have that many siblings. The pack I was born in was full of other pups my own age." Björn watched her attention dart from object to object, fascinated by how alert she was and interested in her world. "All the couples pretty much had their litters at the same time. There were... I think..." the dark male paused to try to count in his mind. Math had never been his strong suit. "Somewhere between ten and twenty pups all born around the same time. So it was kind of like having that many siblings, even though we weren't all related. Sometimes as a kid I forgot which ones were my real brother and sister."
He grinned, enjoying being able to talk about his birth pack. Vildsvin already know all the stories, all the people, so there wasn't really much opportunity to reminisce with her. She hadn't hated the pack, but she didn't look back on it fondly as Björn did. "You can see why they kicked us all out as adolescents. Is your pack a big pack? Did your parents just let you stay in the pack even when you were big enough to fend for yourself?"
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