Pack Roleplay

Sakura pointed with her nose to a young elk closest to the patrol; she had noticed it was the one elk who was not with the herd. "That one."

"Well let's go then, first one that brings it down gets the first bite!" Paddfoot snuck off around the area to get a better angle of attack. He waited for the others to get in position before signalling them with his tail that he was ready to attack.

Sakura got into postition and waited for the signal. The moment Paddfoot flicked his tail, Suki quickly crawled forward, her pelt somewhat blending in with the grass. The she-wolf squinted so that her pink eyes wouldn't give her away. She advanced on the elk, going around it so that she was between it and the herd. They better not jump from the other side of the prey, she thought, her eyes moving towards the rest of the patrol.

"Ok GO!" Paddfoot jumped into a run, "Wait!" he screamed mentally causing him to collapse silently back into cover. He looked at the herd chewing merrily beyond the elk, "oops wrong side..." Paddfoot snuck around and nodded sheepishly to Sakura, "Ok now i'm ready...drive it to Blackwind..." Paddfoot waited a moment before repeating his charge panicking the elk and causing it to dash away from the herd. Paddfoot kept up and waited for Blackwing or Sakura to make her move...

Sakura muttered to Paddfoot, "Nice save." before dashing towards the already panicked elk. The herd behind her had moved a few feet away, so Suki had plenty of space to run. She sprinted towards the elk, matching it's pace when she was beside it. She aimed for it's leg before jumping to the side, catching the elk's leg with her muzzle. The she-wolf concentrated on holding on, but it was harder than it looks.

Blackwind's ears twitched as she listened to the strategy, nodding. She stayed where she was as she watched Paddfoot and Sakura circle around, waiting for them to cause the young elk to run towards her. There was a bit of shouting, and then there it was, charging straight towards her without knowing. To surprise it, she jumped out of the tall grass and snarled, her black-and-gray pelt a shadow against the trees. She leaped to aim for its neck, sinking her fangs into the area between its shoulder and the base of its neck. She had missed her target, but it was better than nothing, and she stayed at its front, ready to pounce again if it tried to run away from Sakura and Paddfoot.

Suddenly the elk stopped running and started walking backwards, almost running in to Sakura. She rolled away just as the elk reared up on it's hind legs.

Riley walked out of the den and watched the her pack mates run off on a hunting patrol. She grinned inwardly before trotting off in a different direction, towards the rival pack's territory. Riley's smile faded as her expression became more serious, her green eyes focused ahead, shifting from side to side for any sign of an attacker.

The cream wolf padded along the border. She was not intent on going in, rather just patrol. But she couldn't help but hope to catch a wolf on the pack's territory. She was itching for some action, but she didn't want blood shed. She sighed and padded on, there was nothing so far. "Well this is just-" She paused, scenting the air. She wrinkled her nose at the stench that she drew in, pulling her head back in disgust.

Riley snorted and cautiously padded forward. Ahead lay an elk carcass, she assumed from a tresspassing wolf as it was too far into the territory. She frowned as she saw a bear hovering over the kill, knawing away at what meat was left on the bones. She growled. With the pack on a hunting patrol nearby the bear would be drawn to their kill after it was finished with this one. She gulped, attempting to swallow her fears of facing the beast, but she couldn't let it chase off the pack's kill, or severely injure any members.

Riley barked and leaped forward from behind. The she-wolf sunk her teeth into the bear's neck, raking her claws down it's back. She gripped on the best she could as it reared onto it's back legs in a roar of agony.

Paddfoot ran around to the side of the elk while the elk was distracted with Sakura and he prepared himself. He ran at full speed and leapt at its torso, easily making contact and bashing into its side just as it wa about to buck. The elk was immediately forced off balance and it crashed to the floor with Paddfoot ontop holding it down. Although he had downed the beast, it kicked and struggled leaving him trapped and hanging on, barely holding it down. He motioned for one of the other wolves to finish it as it was obvious he wouldn't be able to hold it down for much longer.

At the distressed signal, Blackwind leaped in, holding its neck down with her paws, claws unsheathed, and biting into the area just behind its jaw. Its movement slowed down until it stopped forever, and the black-and-gray she-wolf backed off so Paddfoot could eat first. "Good work," she praised, nodding and sitting back. She could hardly remember being part of a pack, but she knew by instinct that those higher up ate first. She would probably wait for Sakura to eat, too, since Sakura was less new to the pack.

Relief came to Edwyn as he finally scented pack territory.
He'd been stumbling around for most of the night, and now that it was day, he was starving. He also scented rabbit and soon a fuzzy white body sprang to life and hopped madly away from him. Quickly reacting, Edwyn ran towards the rabbit until he was at biting distance. He leaped and landed dead-center on the rabbit. He found the rabbit's neck and bit it as hard as he could.
Once he had finished eating his fill, he headed towards the den, in need of a good nap.

Riley yelped as the bear threw her off it's back and to the ground. She growled and got back up to her feet, avoiding a hard blow she launched herself into the air, sinking her teeth into the bear's paw. She tugged, causing the bear to roar in pain once more. She felt it start to lower itself to the ground and she quickly released her grip and ran off a little ways. Riley looked back over her shoulder to see the bear charging at her.
The unexpected charge caught her off guard. Riley turned a fled, doding around trees that crossed her path. Though the bear kept hot pursuit behind her.

Paddfoot munched into the elk first as he had won his own bet. He felt guilty at first but his childish greed soon took over. Once he had his fill, which wasn't very much, Paddfoot stepped back and smiled to the others, "It's good! Well done!" He then waited impatiently by a nearby tree which had a low branch that seemed to keep him amused. It was a flexible branch and it was just low enough to grab from a jump. Paddfoot leapt up the tree and grabbed the branch and pulled it down. He then released his strong grip and watched amused as the tree slapped itself, scaring all the birds out of its canopy.

Edwyn stood up, after waking up from a good and refreshing nap. Uncharacteristically happy, he took in the fresh air before half-trotting, half-skipping towards the pack's fresh-kill pile. With a full belly, he set out towards the pack's territory to familiarize himself with it.

Paddfoot woke up late in the evening. He was suprised when he left the den to find the light of day had abandoned him, "Wow I really have overslept,". Paddfoot was half expecting this though,the last few days of activity had drained him mentally and emotionally. Paddfoot shook his fur in the cool evening air and casually padded off out into the fores, making sure not to wake anyone when he left. For a moment he stopped to look at the moon that shone brightly as if it was proud that it had once again replaced the sun in the sky. Paddfoot also noticed that it was perfectly spherical and with that the strange humans with their pets would come out and make their strange noises. Paddfoot pondered over that for a moment and decided that the humans 'chants' was actually their mating call.
"What strange creatures..." he muttered silently to himself as he scrambled over a fallen log.

Eventually Paddfoot reached a small pool of water which he uses when he wants to get away from everything. It had brightly coloured plants lining the edge of the pool and a few water lilies growing from its depths. A small ring of mushrooms bulged from the ground nearby amusing Paddfoot with its perfect roundness. However it wasn't buzzing with much activity, the veil of darkness had silenced the place with its cold and disturbing grip. Paddfoot felt like he was the only soul for miles around which put him on edge slightly before h lowered his head for a nervous drink. A few minutes passed and he eventually relaxed. He drove his head underwater and then lifted it quickly into the sky, splashing lots of water into the nearby shrubbery. His sodden hair ran down his neck like it was struggling to hold on. After a moment Paddfoot returned his gaze to the surface of the water. As the ripples settled down, a reflection of himself slowly formed. In the reflection a trio of scars could just be seen on his neck through the soaked network of hair that had setlled in different directions. Paddfoot gazed on his scars for a while until gravity pulled his hair down, hiding the marks from the world once more. "How did I get it?" asked Paddfoot to himself, secretly hoping that his reflection would answer him. As usual it repeated what he said, much to his own annoyance.

After a brief moment in the calming pool, Paddfoot walked out while making sure to cover his scent. He walked for a little longer and eventually started to hear the noises that he expected. It was the chanting of the humans and it was unusually appealing. Paddfoot's curiosity took over once more and, in the cover of darkness, he ran off to see what was happening.

Creeping up slowly to the same camp he visited before, Paddfoot silently gazed at the chanting humans, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. He stayed behind the same tree he used last time and used the gnarled bark for cover as his muzzle poked around the corner so he could peep out. As he watched the fire flicker he did not notice another shadow forming behind him. suddenly and with a loud yelp Paddfoot was pounced on and pinned down by a large, black female wolf-dog, "A-ha I knew it. It was you! Paddie where have you been all this time?" She smiled and wagged her tail but she soon calmed down and gave a puzzled look as Paddfoot started to growl before trying to wriggle free, "How do you know my name?" he scowled knowing he only had a short amount of time to get away. The black female was shocked, "Paddie...it's me Echo...your childhood friend..."
"You...you knew me?" asked Paddfoot shocked. He suddenly lost his aggression and his body went limp underneith Echo before the humans arrived on the scene to inspect what all the noise was about. Paddfoot rolled his eyes when he saw the light of the campfire being blocked out by their impressively tall stature.
"I can't believe you can't remember me. Do you not remember anything at all?" She huffed at Paddfoot's vacant expression, "You haven't changed at all...you're still a pup. Come on stay with us for a while I'm sure you'll be welcomed back."
"I...don't know..." Paddfoot knew he should of left there and then but he couldn't refuse an offer to know about his past.

Paddfoot soon found himself enticed to the campfire by the humans who seemed very happy to offer him meat in exchange for petting him. One thing he couldn't help notice was the wolf dog Echo who was sitting very close to him, listening very intently to his stories and about the pack and looking extremely happy. When questioned she said it was just because she thought he was dead. The meal was nice and the company was strangely reassuring which gave him a strange feeling of being safe. The humans didn't seem to bad either even though he had caused a stirr among them making even more of them showed up to look at him.

"By the looks of this..." muttered Echo, "...You have been welcomed back. Look the others are coming..." Paddfoot noticed that more people this time with other wolf dogs ranging in age. They gathered around him, most looking confused as to what was happening but others greeted him as if they had been friends long ago. Paddfoot laid low into the ground, feeling completely overwhelmed by everything. Echo sttod up and barked at the others telling them to back off and give him space. She then whispered to the eldest wolf dog with a wiry grey pelt and slightly shakey legs, "He's forgotten everything so let him in slowly...he still thinks he's a wolf..." The eldest wolf stared at Echo in shock before giving a sympathetic smile to Paddfoot, "We will meet again soon..." he commented formally before barking at the others to return to the village.

As the night fell, Ed gave up trying to catalog every single landmark he had seen since leaving the den. Noticing the full moon, he relaxed in it's glow before reminiscing about his days when he was still in his pack. A bitter taste rose in his mouth however, and he stopped to truly remember the bittersweet memories. Sighing, he muttered his old friend's names before looking around once again, making sure he was truly alone.
"This is not good." He tried to tell himself. "Rule Number one. Keep moving forward." He repeated time and time again, but it proved futile that night. To lighten the mood, he tried to focus on his loner memories, but they mostly composed of his first days of fear, anger, disbelief, and sheer determination to find his father. "STOP IT!" He yelled out loud, Trotting at first, then sprinting, as if trying to escape the memories.

Later, as he neared the pack borders, he stopped. He thought of how simple it could be to just run, run from it all as he had done nearly two years ago. He shook that thought of his head. "No, remember how far you've come, all those hardships, could you just leave what you've begun? No, you're part of a pack now, and you can't back down." He remembered his father's last words and closed his eyes, picturing his face, almost as if he was back atop that cliff, with him. He remembered his words, and stopped. He sighed, and turned back.

"Thanks, dad." He said to the wind as it brushed past him, carrying away his troubled memories.

Paddfoot still felt suspicious about the new surroundings and slightly awkward when the black female stopped talking. After a few moments he broke the silence, "So...is this a welcome you give every wolf?"
Echo's smile broadened and she broke into hysterical laughter, "That's precious...No Paddie it's not a welcome we give to every wolf, it's just you're not every wolf..." She paused for a moment trying to think of the best way to put her next sentence, "Truth is...you're not a wolf...technically.Oh and we didn't meet by chance during our puphood. Paddie...you're a wolf dog, like us and this is your home. It always has been. We're just overjoyed that you found your way back to us. Look even the humans seem excited by your return."

Paddfoot's ears drooped and layed flat on his head. He felt like he had been hit by a falling tree leaving him stunned and speechless. The only thing he could utter was, "Oh..." He shook his head and then looked back in horror as Echo's words sank in, "What?! How can I be? I grew up in a pack!"
Echo shook her head, "No you didn't..." She sighed, "Surely you've noticed that your different to the others, the extra energy...eternal optimism and that sort of thing...You stand out because you're not who you think you are."

In an amazing coincidence Paddfoot was thrusted to the ground unexpectedly by a strong human hand as a collar, similar to the one Echo was wearing, was forced around his neck. Paddfoot yelped in suprise and as soon as he was let go, he picked himself onto his feet and bolted, not stopping until he made it back to the den.

"So...so is that who I am?" he muttered to himself as he stared at his collar in the reflection of a puddle. He had to admit the collar with various tribal markings did suit him and he couldn't deny anything Echo said. This only left one question unanswered...What happened to him?

Although the what happened to him was left unanswered, the who am I answer became less daunting and more uplifting. He decided that everything Echo said about him was true, "I am a wolf-dog..." he muttered proudly to the puddle as his reflection smiled back at him. He decided that there was no shame in being one and he could see no reason to hide it from the others. The only problem however was that he was pretty sure that this new group wanted him to join them on a more permant basis, which meant leaving the pack... Paddfoot shook away the thought, 'I can't leave here... it would kill Riley and the others' he thought. His tail shook merrily as he fidgeted outside of the den as he watched the sun rise.

Sakura blinked open her eyes. Noticing the full moon and that, even though it was slightly to the left, that it was a flawless sphere. "Great. I've been on holiday for longer than a moon." she said when noticing the lack of pack scent. The faintness of her own worried her. How long has it been since she last had a meal? She got up and quickly caught - and devoured - a rabbit before slowly going towards the moon. Pack or family. Pack or family.... she mentally made her decision to go to a meeting. She then decided to go back to the boundary after, since she clearly was not in it already. Suki shook herself off and sprinted away from the moon. She jumped across the river and jumped up the tree, leaving few claw marks. The she-wolf began hopping from treetop to treetop as though flying. She paused at a tree just before the lake and jumped down, making little noise if any at all. She scented no other wolves yet. Suki was early. She stalked towards the mystical lake, feeling the fog at her feet. She stared at the waters for what felt like a century - in reality but a few minutes - before her ears automatically swiveled behind her at the silent sound of paw steps. Six, she estimated, were behind her.
"Hello." she whispered, still facing the lake. The shadows whispered their hellos before swarming around the lake, just as some clouds drifted in front of the bright - now faint - moon. One wolf stepped forward to the left of Sakura.
"No wolf knows of the whereabouts of Swift Wind.he moon has chosen Cherry Blossom to step forward and lead us in the introduction of the band." Suki dipped her head and stepped up as the other wolf stepped back.
"Many thanks, Cricket. Now I shall begin." she began with the intros. After the intro was over, the rogues fell into a comfortable silence as a hawk glided above their heads. The wolves glanced at the moon, which was behind Suki now, one last time before the fog doubled in size, hiding the outlines of the band. Sakura became aware of the fact that she was the only one left.of the ninjas, their silent paw steps disappearing. "Farewell." she whispered before turning off and walking back to pack territory.

Paddfoot couldn't wait any longer and he darted back into the forest while the land was still covered in the veil of darkness. He stopped momentarily to think about what to do...In the end he grunted and decided to mark the territory again. He deliberately tried to avoid the human camp as he didn't want another awkward confrontation but as the sun rose, he had to mark that side of the territory.

Paddfoot stepped carefully as if he was within earshot of another wolf. He kind of enjoyed the stealth element. He got as close to the human camp as possible and quickly ran off when he finished marking. He sprinted for a while before panting behind a fallen log. He smiled with a job well done and he wanted to go gloat about his success to Riley but he hadn't seen her for a few days. His ears drooped slightly before he casually walked back to the den with a large smile and a confident stride.

It wasn't long, however, before Paddfoot's confident smirk was wiped off his face as he was ambushed for the second time that evening.
"Haha! Got ya again!" yelled Echo proudly as she pinned Paddfoot to the floor. Paddfoot growled momentarily in annoyance but he calmed down when he relaised that his assailant isn't an enemy. "Well done..." muttered Paddfoot.
"Aww don't be like that!" she chirped merrily, "Anyway why did you run? it took me all night to find you again."
"Because I was man handled by a human and i didn't like it..." grumbled Paddfoot who was still grumbling about not noticing the ambushes.
"They were just being heavy handed because your still kinda feral..." Echo slowed down at the end of her comment not sure that using feral was the right word.
"So you call us ferals? What a nice word..." mumbled Paddfoot with his eyes rolling.
"Aww why are you so gloomy? Well let's make this short..." Echo tilted her head back and howled long and slow, "They won't be long now. Oh and here's your warning, they'll probably be heavy handed with you again..."
Paddfoot struggled for a while and gave up with his own howl. He soon watched as the humans rushed around them. He saw Echo get petted and fed while the others attached a muzzle and a lead to him. Paddfoot was then half carried half dragged back to the camp and eventually to the village where his lead was attached to a peg that had been driven into the earth and didn't look like it was ever coming out. Paddfoot laid down and whimpered anxiously for a while, unsure if this was what he wanted.

Sakura trotted aimlessly around the territory for a while before settling in a tree near the river. This tree seamed special to Suki mainly because it was on a small hill so that she could see most, if not all, of the territory from that tree. Her ears twitched at a howl. Suki pinpointed the second howl and leaped down from the tree, running as soon as her feet touched the ground. She leaped, yet again, over the river and made progress across the territorry before stopping in her tracks - and gliding somewhat - as a strangly familiar scent drifted by the confused she-wolf. It took Sakura but a moment before recognising it. The scent was Paddie mixed with something else - Dog? - mixed with human. A scene played in her head of what might have happend:

Paddie: Doo dee doo. Walking - Running through a forest--- Then Suki scented a border marking, maybe ten minutes aged? - marking the territory. La la la.
Human accompied by a dog: Stop in the name of justice, fowl creature!
Paddie: Oh no!
Dog accompied by a human: Bark!
Human: Muahahahaha! I got you!
Paddie: Arrrrggggggg!
Dog: Woof!

Suki shook the thought out of her head. Nonesense. She stealthily crawled foreward into the bushes, a flashback entering her mind. Before it had a chance to create an effect on the she-wolf, Suki focused on squinting her eyes and decided to try to find out what was going on - and more importantly - what happened to Paddie. Crawling forward a little more, she caught a scent of the deranged pack mate, luckily she was downwind. Suki dodged to the right, careful not to make the bush rustle which, in turn, would give away the fact that the human camp had an intruder. Once while she was on her 'mission', Suki could have sworn she had saw one of the domestics perk their ears or glance her way, but with all the sudden daylight it was hard to know for sure. Suki crawled to the next bush before realising the closest bush - in the direction she was going - was two fox-liengths ahead. Darting like lightning, Suki quickly leaped to the next one, barely making the bush rustle. Apparently that was enough for the dogs, as they mumbled among themselves for a minute before one sauntered over to the very bush Sakura was in. Crap!
"Nice trick, Wolf. We know you are in there. Come out now or I'll bark so the humans will come over."
Suki sighed before slowly stepping out of the bush, wincing when the sunlight hit her eyes. "Before you say any more, I want to know if you have seen my friend." she said carefully, looking the dog streight in his eye, at the same time keeping her stance nutral.
The dog glanced back at the herd of other dogs, their scent reeking by the way, and mouthed something before turning back to Sakura and quietly barking two words, "One question."
Suki nodded. "Well his name is Paddfoot, he smells like a wolf - or something like me - and has been here oh, fifteen minutes ago." Suki paused for a moment before asking, "Do you know where he is?" she opened her bright pink eyes and waited for the dog's reply.

Paddfoot opened his eyes when he felt something brushing his side. He rolled his eyes when he realised that it was Echo who was sitting unusually close to him again.
"Oh...hello" he said, not even bothering to look in her direction.
"Are you being rude now Paddie, this isn't like you..." Mumbled Echo as she got the same reaction on numerous attempts.
"I can't help it, being tied up is really restricting." Paddfoot stood up and moved a few paces away from Echo as if he was re-establishing his personal space. He fidgeted some more before settling back down. Echo slowly crept over and rested her head on his back, "Aww don't worry it won't be for long. They just want to know that you're not aggressive and I know you're not."
Paddfoot eyes flared open in annoyance as if they had just burst into flames, "You don't know me! We may have been childhood friends but I grew up in the forest and that is my home not here!"
He found himself standing over the confused looking Echo. She stood up so her eyeline met his, "I lost you once and I don't want to lose you again, anyway didn't you come here looking for answers...Well there's only one way you're going to find them." Her slightly teary expression turned to a small grin as she knew Paddfoot couldn't respond to it. Paddfoot sat down stunned once more and he quickly found her head on his back once more, "Don't worry," she whispered, "it won't be long and I'll be here..." Paddfoot decided he couldn't be bothered to try and keep her away any longer, at least he'll be warm in the cold morning sun.

It suddenly clicked in Paddfoot's mind, he cursed himself for not seeing it sooner and then secretly laughed when he started to realise why this wolf-dog was so clingy. Paddfoot gave a small grin and closed his eyes to attempt to go to sleep.

Edwyn could not relax. Maybe it had been the fact that he had seen no pack members for a while, or that the fresh-kill pile was empty and he wasn't feeling like hunting. He remembered the Humans who had once fed him a couple weeks ago and decided to head towards their camp.
"After all, what could possibly go wrong?" He said while he trotted towards the camp.

Suki flicked her ear as she heard Edwyn coming. Great, she thought, glancing that direction out of the corner of her eye. The dog noticed her distraction and paused out of his long, pointless speal. "Something wrong, wolf?" Suki blinked and focused on the dog. "No, of corse not. Erm, if you'll excuse me..." she turned to leave but the dog stopped her in her tracks with four simple words: "Oh no you don't." Suki knew she should have made a run for it, but she didn't. "Why." she stated, still facing away.

Edwyn was humming silently to himself when he scented, aside from the usual dog, human, and fire, the scents of Paddfoot, and more faintly, Sakura. Cautious, he decided to take a stealthy approach to the camp, preparing himself for anything.
What he saw, however, almost made him laugh.
He saw Paddfoot sleeping in the camp, a dog right next to him. At the very edge of the camp were a couple or so dogs, apparently talking to a bush. He scented Sakura in that direction, and waited, making sure he was ready in case she needed help.