Perhaps I Should Rest?[OPEN]

Guest

The bitter air was hard on his body, once so full of life, now aging and falling apart it seemed like. Who was he anymore? Did he even know? The male limped slightly when he moved, he had a slight wheezing in his breath. His ribs showed, his sunken in stomach growled but he was not hungry, he knew his time would come eventually and lately all Grimm could think about was death. Maybe it was because of the loss of his past mate, Cassadaga, he loved her so much. He sighed at the thought of her face, she was so beautiful to him. He missed being an alpha, he had saved that pack... who cared now? No one. Not even him. He flicked his tail as he looked up and wondered where he had walked to.

His eyes fell on the land before him, frozen water and snow covered banks. Had he died? He looked behind him, his large paw prints showing where he came from. Should he follow them back? Back to where? Where did he come from? He had been so deep in thought he was confused at why he had even started walking. He pondered as he stepped towards the waters edge. It was frozen solid, his one paw touched the frigid form. Why had he come here? Was it a sign? His ears stay flat against his scarred head. His eyes lifeless as usual. Who cared? Not him. He flicked his tail again, he did the often if you'll care to notice. His hunched back made it hard for him to move really fast so he often moved his tail to help him balance or see if anyone was sneaking up on him.

He looked down at the snow and the ice, he stepped onto it, it cracked beneath his weight. He stepped back and just watched it instead, his reflection barely noticeable against the rippled and distorted surface. He was ugly anyway, he knew that. What Cassadaga saw in him, he'd never know. He turned around slowly and began to walk along the frozen waters edge, he listened to the silence, and the sound of the snow crunching under his large paws. He was such a beast, a scary frightening beast. Maybe he'd be alone forever? Who cared? Not him. He huffed gently and watched his breath seep into the air. He put his head down and began to aimlessly walk again.

"Who am I?"

His deep hoarse voice said in a low whisper, speaking to himself of course, no one was around, as far as he knew. He flicked his tail as he oddly moved along, his shoulder rolling lazily in their sockets with each step, his sunken in hips swaying and cracking every now and again. Things would get better, wouldn't they? He could only hope, he thinks to much for any kind of real interaction with anyone. He was rude and ignorant at the worst of times. But the one thing Grimm wasn't afraid of, was dying and that sometimes got him, in quite a bit of trouble. He continued to move silently along, not really paying much attention to anything

(WC:530)

Guest

The water was calm and still: a perfect mirror, undisturbed and full of tranquility. If any of the pack feuds had come here, it certainly hadn't made a dent on the landscape. It seemed as though this lake was timeless - as though whatever happened on it's banks, it would always be there, quietly watching, a silent spectator to all the goings-on for hundreds and hundreds of years. What stories could this lake tell, if it could speak for just a mere hour? Even when it was frozen solid, as it was right now, it was clear - as clear as the muddy bottom of the lake, which could be seen through the fragile film of ice - that this lake had seen many things, from love to betrayal to war, and that it would, too, see many more as the years went on. Places like this lake were timeless, removed from the ageing and death of creatures above and below it's waters.

Admiral himself, after all that had gone on, liked the silence. Having broken through the ice at the banks, his pink tongue lapped up the water, relishing it's pure taste and the cold wave of liquid that crashed towards the back of his throat. It had been a long time since he had had pure water like this, without any sort of debris or muck floating at the top of the water like pond scum: it was nice, too, to have a home and to not have to worry about what went on before. True, his position was one that he had to share with someone who he wasn't sure was up the job, but that was Calypso's problem - not his, by any rate. No: he was happy with his lot, and as the new Beta of the pack, he was looking forward to using his powers and living in luxury for the first time in a long while. Of course, there were duties too, and he wasn't going to forget that he'd have to pull his weight - far more pulling than that other Beta, he was sure - but that would come later. For the moment, Admiral could relax, knowing that he'd soon have other wolves serving under him.

The male had to admit that it had been a dose of good luck, managing to get this position in the pack: Calypso must have been hit hard by the wars that she had talked about before if she was so eager to get wolves in that she promoted them straight away. Admiral had imagined that it would take ages to get into a pack - after all, there were background checks to be done in case he was known by other packs in the area as a traitor, and the checks to see if he was physically fit and the checks to see.....well, he was used to a higher standard, and had expected, naturally, the same wary treatment as any wolf would have received if he had entered his father's pack. To be accepted, just like that, was a surprise, and one that the male was still getting used to even now. How easy it had been just to get in! For all Calypso knew, he could be a murdering....well, she had no idea, that was the point he was trying to make with himself. She had no idea, and that was a risk that he hopefully was going to shut off when he talked to Calypso about letting wolves in on a permanent basis to live within the pack. He had wanted to talk to her about other things, too.....

Admiral roused himself from his reverie as he heard shuffling somewhere nearby - something which sounded like someone was being dragged through the snow, complete with the occasional groan. Alert now, he lifted his head, eyes narrowing as he tried to find the perpetrator behind the noise. He was aware that he was in the rogue areas, so strangers were expected, but even so....he didn't feel comfortable with the noise, and he wondered if someone was in trouble or was injured. Given what Calypso had said earlier, this wouldn't surprise him, quite frankly, but he wanted to check the wolf was alright all the same. For one thing, they could be a good ally to his new pack. It was easy to spot the male. Haunched over, he was practically skin and bones, like a walking skeleton - he obviously hadn't eaten for a while. Narrowing his eyes further until they were slits, he approached warily, his body language showing his position in the neighbouring pack: he was a Beta, and made sure that this stranger knew that. He opened his jaws, stating the obvious. "You look unwell, my friend."

Guest

His aching bones continued to move his large mass, he surely would die soon, he was much to large to see past his 7th year of life. His brother was a disgusting mass, looked like him but taller. How they got their size he would never know. He moved slowly, his nose twitching to the scent of a male, his ears stay flat, they always were flat regardless of his mood. He looked forward and kept moving. His left hind leg stiff in stepping and dragging slightly. The pain didn't bother him any. He listened as this male approached his side, Grimm halted in his tracks and growled lowly. His long hackles lifted along his hunched spine as his head slowly turned to face the male. His tail flicked gently as long canines showed.

"Do I? I hadn't noticed..."

He said in deep quiet vocals, Grimm rarely ever spoke loudly or anywhere close to a pitch that was noticeable for anyone to hear. He turned his head back and took another step forward, his mind flashed to Cassadaga, he was gonna get nowhere being that way to other wolves, but what did he really care?? He was a brute, he always was, yet Cassadaga found it in her heart to love him till her dying day... that tragic day. He sighed as he halted again, he turned his body slowly around and since the hunch on his back prevented him from lifting his head to the height others could, he looked up at the male though Grimm was much larger then the average wolf.

"Why do you go out of your way to talk to a stranger? Surely I am not easy on the eyes, and I am aware of how I look..."

His voice was quiet and calm, though his eyes held nothing but half hidden pain, his ears stay flat and his body stretched out long, his front paws supporting his top heavy body, his hing legs spread slightly and extended back a bit with a slight crouch, much like a German Shepard would stand. His long fur around his neck blew in the breeze, like a lions mane. His short fur along his ribs and hind end had a small bit of ice on the tips of it. He wasn't cold though, he was used to this weather, though it was hard on his body, he was much better in the summer, faster, no pain. He huffed quietly as he caught his breath, he often did that along with his odd collection of noises he had. He couldn't help it, it was just who he was.

"Who are you?"

He asked in a voice that had no real emotion or interest, his eyes scanned over the other male, Grimm's head was lowered as usual, he couldn't lift it up much higher then it was without hurting himself. His large paws shifted in the snow as Grimm slowly but surely sat his hind end down with a long groan. His ears flicked forward then back again as he stretched his front limbs out, his spine cracking a bit here and there. His tail curled around his hind leg as he sat oddly in the snow looking eye to eye with this other male now. He was a very odd wolf that was for sure, his appearance wasn't all that was off about him.

(WC:566)

Guest

At first, Admiral thought that he would not receive a reply: the other male was so hunched over, so wounded - so old - that it seemed odd to even consider him a normal, functioning wolf at all, as though he was some misshapen mutant, which had dragged itself out of some cave just for the purpose of coming down to the lake to drink. Could he even reply? The Beta didn't even know this, for although the male seemed capable of growling, he hadn't made any sort of effort to make conversation whatsoever - despite Admiral's attempts to help him. Already, he could feel annoyance blooming in his heart. The least this stranger could do was reply, or at least try to communicate, somehow! He thought of this as some sort of dire injustice made to himself, considering he had initially tried to help.

However, soon enough the male spoke, and Admiral's thoughts were quietened into a somewhat awkward silence. The Beta's eyes narrowed as the stranger took a while to speak, his ears straining to hear the whispered, quiet tones. What was he saying? It took him a moment to 'decode' what the older male was muttering under his breath. The sarcasm in what he had said was not go amiss, but he remained silent, sensing that the stranger had more to say. Besides, he wasn't quite sure what to say in reaction to that - what could he reply with? Admiral was aware that he was younger and smaller than the other, unknown male, and despite his status as a Beta, found himself feeling strangely inadequate. For it was true that the stranger was weak and battered by the elements, but he was more worldly wide, and this unsettled Admiral. He was, surely, the only one supposed to feel in power here, and yet here a stranger was, managing to make his presence known but at the same time not even batting an eyelid towards Admiral himself. The initial annoyance he felt was now overcome with an anger, an anger which stemmed from the feelings of inferiority he was getting from this conversation. If it could even be called a conversation at all, for the stranger seemed to be half talking to himself.

Then the battered old wolf spoke again, and once more Admiral had to strain his ears to catch the faintly uttered words. There was no escape here - he'd have to answer the question. He moistened his lips before speaking, the feeling of inferiority still fluttering within his chest like some anxious creature, begging to be let out and to be known. His ocean blue eyes could not help but notice how the stranger crouched in the face of the wind, and how his short fur was ruffled by the breeze. This was clearly a wolf who had seen it all, and would - perhaps - be able to tell the tale. "It is not in my nature to let a fellow wolf lie in the snow alone," he commented, keeping his true intentions hidden. Somehow, Admiral felt that if he made it known that he was just trying to get new blood into his pack to earn respect, it wouldn't go down well. With another male, he might have tried that out, mentioned his pack jokingly - but not with this male. For some reason, Admiral disliked this particular prospect, despite the stranger's obviously weak frame. When I have my position assured in the pack, he thought to himself, I'll have more confidence. Yes, that was right: he was just edgy, that was all.

The stranger's eyes locked onto his own, and the male found himself almost squirming under his gaze - it seemed so unnatural, the way how the eyes just gazed out onto the world without any sense of curiosity, just inner pain. If the eyes were truly windows into the soul, Admiral certainly didn't want to see this particular wolf's soul: it seemed empty and lifeless, full of pain. It was alienating, and put him off his answer. For who really was he? Admiral, perhaps, hadn't even worked this out himself. "Admiral, Beta of the Eastern Pack," he said, introducing himself. "And yourself...?" It was only fair to ask the same question back, but even so, Admiral found himself wondering if this was a dangerous thing to do or not. Something about the older male gave him a feeling of hidden danger - that the male could strike out if he wanted to.

But maybe the male was just what he seemed: an old wolf who had obviously been on the bad side of a few packs and had managed to drag himself through the wilderness until he had met Admiral. Yes. That would work. However, the Beta knew that he wasn't quite happy with this answer.

Guest

The other male that stood before him spoke his answer. Grimm didn't care much if he was alone or not, this new male didn't have to stop to talk to him, Grimm wasn't much of a talker, he wasn't very talkative. He flicked his tail gently as he listened as the male introduce himself. Grimm took into account the males voice, he could feel the males slight anger and agitation, Grimm didn't care much, he may of been slow as of right now but he could hold his own. He watched the male's body language the way he shifted and his muscles flexing with a rather agitated appeal. Grimm still didn't care. He was never to worried, he wasn't scared of much and certainly not this, Admiral, as he called himself.

"I am Grimm, just Grimm"

His voice more audible as he spoke, his ears lay flat against his head still as he answered. He lifted an invisible brow as he sat in the snow, the breeze coming by again and pulling at his long fur. He huffed and made an odd noise as he caught his breath once more. He shifted his front paws and curled his tail a bit as he moved his hind end to switch the leg he rested on. He groaned as he repositioned and slumped onto the ground once more with a sigh of relief. Grimm was only 4, his size is what made him look and act like he was 13 years old. He was certainly aged on to the outside and inside more then he should be. He looked back at this 'Admiral' he had just met.

"Beta? I once had an amazing Beta named Kantos... Seems like yesterday I had my own home..."

He said in an audible tone, vocals were deep and hoarse as usual. He barely used his voice he was more of a noise and action kind of guy. He huffed gently thinking about his pack that was so far gone now, he wasn't even close to home he had been traveling for a year now. He looked away from Admiral to look at the land around them. His ears twitched on his skull as he sighed one more time before looking to his paws, he couldn't stopped thinking about Cassadaga now, ,maybe that was why he didn't talk to any one and avoided all signs of life. He looked back up to Admiral as he exhaled a long breath. Long canines poking over his bottom lip as he flicked his tail again.

"It hasn't always been this way... I've had better days."

He said quietly and twitched his nose as the cool air hit it gently. He groaned as he very slowly picked his hind end up off the ground. His limbs cracked from the cold as he stood tall again. His ears flicked in every direction quick before flattening again, Grimm knew this wolf already, he had that about him, Grimm may of been ignorant but he wasn't stupid. He shook his body and a small yelp left his lips as he lifted his hind left leg in slight pain. He slowly put it back down on the ground, his eyes looked to Admiral again, his hackles blew back in the wind, a chill ran down Grimm's spine. He let his tongue run across his lips and canines as he stretched unnoticeabley. His body shifted as he stepped back, trying to get some clearance to turn.

"You must be new at your position..."

Grimm being an alpha for the majority of his life knew what it took, thats why he was how he was, he had that alpha attitude, he wasn't afraid, he was never intimidated and he didn't need any problems as much as he didn't care to face one. Grimm didn't care for anything since the love of his life was murdered, she was his everything, but now, what did he have to live for? His eyes narrowed as he looked at Admiral, he wasn't looking for an issue but he was just making it clear he wasn't afraid of this beta, he was nose to nose with an alpha, in Grimm's world he was, and this was no ones land. He wasn't angry though, he was calm, his eyes were calm, no signs of anything showed to Admiral, he just waited, listening and wondered what kind of conversation would come from this.

(WC:740)

Guest

Grimm. That was an unusual name, and Admiral himself had not heard of it before - it sounded old, like a name that wolves long ago would have. In fact, everything about this wolf seemed old, not just his name, and he wondered how old he really was. Thirteen? Fourteen, even? This wolf had clearly seen better days, to say the least, and his age would be the only reason why he was so haunched over and weak, surely. There was no other reason Admiral could think of which could lead to a wolf looking like that all the time. Unless he's exiled from his pack, a tiny voice said in his head, one of the sort which refused to go away, consistently nagging.

And then the male talked again, saying something about an old Beta he used to have. This just confirmed Admiral's suspicions that he was soft in the head: this reassured him, making him feel more comfortable rather than feeling inadequate as he had moments before. He could come out with anything, he thought, with a feeling of disgust. How could the stranger let himself go like that? He was a battered excuse for a wolf, and Admiral himself wondered why he had approached him in the first place. Just to get a new wolf into the pack! Well, Calypso really would have to be barmy to let this old bat in. Talk about having another mouth to feed. And a mouth that sprouted out nonsense, no less! He was surprised that the old man could stand upright. Far away from his disciplinarian parents, Admiral found it easy to call the old stranger these names: he had grown harder in his exile, and it didn't occur to him to speak and think kind words about the elder. With no one keeping him in check, the younger male did not even realise what he was saying went against his old, forgotten morals.

Almost as if the old man knew what was going on in Admiral's mind, he spoke again, noting how the younger male must be new at his position, and how he hadn't always been this way - this hunched, weak old figure. For not the first time that day, Admiral found his inward chatter silenced, and almost felt shifty, as though he was being told off from someone superior to himself. In a matter of speaking, he was. At the moment, he was Beta only in status. "That doesn't make me any less qualified," Admiral replied, bristling somewhat, feeling as though he needed to defend his title. Why would he? Grimm wasn't even angry, but somehow he felt the need to defend himself and to show this old, mad bat who he really was. He was about to speak again, but somehow the words died in his throat, and he looked down awkwardly, defeated - for the moment, at least.

» Welcome home [Open]
» Howling for the Alpha [Open]
» Can Anyone Hear Me? [Alpha/OPEN]
» The Calling (Border Acceptance/Open)
» Aero and Kalila's journey [OPEN]