tab “A trial,” they said. “You have to undergo a trial.”
tab Black Bone had remained silent, just as he had when he'd been lead deeper into the pack’s territory. He had no qualms with a trial for he had never experienced one before, trails of life as a rogue aside. It was all entirely new for him; these trials, gatherings of wolves in numbers greater than just two, the whispers that reached his ears.
tab When his escort took their leave of him, the pale bodied male simply sat down. He kept his spine rigid, a sign of a proud wolf, like his mother had taught him. His posture never once changed and, from a distance, it even seemed he dared not even breathe. He paid no mind to the voices around him and ignored the warmth that radiated from the body of a she-wolf brushing against his shoulder. The curious test of slightly pressure against his tail garnered no attention from him,either.
tab He focused, instead, on the last promise he had made to his mother. That simple vow of finding a home, a family kept him still as stone. The memory of her smile helped steel his spine when his muscles began to grow weary and the ache set in. The possibility that he may be fulfilling that promise gave him peace when he thought he heard her whispering amongst the wolves trying to break him.
tab The silence was the easy part. His voice was mostly gone anyhow. His throat ached from the hours spent lamenting his mother’s passing and the last thing he wanted to do was speak. His stomach, on the other paw, grumbled loudly and he still did not move. Hunger he could also deal with. It wouldn't be his first time going a day without food and may not be the last.
tab And suddenly he was being collected. Suddenly, he stood before the Alpha and had been asked for a reason they should accept him. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation, but he'd sworn he'd only just gotten here.
tab Black Bone blinked owlishly as he processed the question before he looked around himself. “Always a sick body around, or som’un gettin’ banged up. Figured you might could use an extra paw,” he rasped lowly, his tone rather matter-of-fact.