[$] The Wolf (w/KIWI <3)

[knux33]

The Wolf

For creatures of myth and legend, the world has drastically changed. The world of the wild has shrunk, and civilization has swelled to nearly swallow all but the most inhospitable landscapes of the planet. Many of the mythical have been forced to integrate into this human-ruled society, either secretly or openly.

But there are the few, the proud (and perhaps the stupid) who've refused to join mankind and their technological conveniences. Mostly werewolf packs, and others of shifter race as well. Those with a wild side who decided to give up their humanity instead of trying to learn to suppress their untamed natures. They've flocked to the far reaches of the globes and laid down their territorial lines, ignoring manmade laws of property and instead reminding men of the laws of tooth and claw.

But what is primal warfare against a hunter and his gun?

Entire packs and family groups were wiped out when push came to shove: wolf, feline, bear, and every kind of shifter in-between. It was join civilization, or die. It seemed that small battle was lost; but the war was not over. In the land man didn't care about, that man didn't want to fight for, some remained.

With time, man noticed them too: the secretive, the strong, the wary individuals living more like animals of incredible prowess than the mixed wild/tribal societies that shifters of old favored so much. Man, as man does, grew curious of these feral being living on the very edge of survival. Amazing and frightening. Beautiful and ugly in their ways of living; not like the shifters now dwelling partly-tamed in their cities. This was a true kind of wild, and like most of the true wild left on the earth, mankind wanted to know more about it, understand it, document it ...

Film it.

Of course the proposal itself was met with extremely mixed reactions. Most shifters in that field strongly debated against it, seeing their feral kin as a sad shadow of what had once been, and that they deserved to live as they wised: unobserved and on their own terms as they live and die. But human curiosity would not go unsated, arguing back that the wild ones lived as animals and showed no signs of sentient cognition. Their speech had devolved to nothing more than growls and snarls of their animal forms, and very rarely one-word back-and-forths of a primitive nature when in human form.

Surely so long as the individuals going out into the wild went without being intrusive, without letting the wilds know they were watched, it would be fine. It wasn't like the feral shifters knew what a camera even looked like anyway, let alone the very-camouflaged high-end cameras made to look like nothing more than normal rocks, tree branches, and the like. The real trick was to get the cameras set up without a trace of any intruders being there.

The plan was simple: to go into the werewolves spring denning sight after the pack had left it with that season's pups on the long journey to new hunting grounds for the summer months. It was even decided the cameras would be set up by a very small team those of races who can become undetectable in the woods.

Should all go well, by the middle of next winter the beginning of the feral shifter's life will be filmed, and the camera team will be able to keep tabs on the equipment as well as send transmitted feed from those same cameras to the main headquarters far away from the wilds for specialists to observe. And to, of course, put together a little television special to help funding for further scientific observations.

If all goes according to plan.  

[knux33]

Characters + Information:

The Pack:
*Note: The names are what the team have come to calling the wolves. The pack recognize one another by scent, sight, and sound.

'Big Guy' 'Big Black': Alpha male. Completely black coat with yellow-green eyes. Biggest male, and ruler of the pack. Fearless, matchless, and merciless.

'The Big Bad b***h' 'b***h': Alpha female. Regular Timber coat. Yellow eyes. As a mother she is highly devoted to her young. As a wolf she is oddly skittish for an Alpha shifter, Snaps a lot at fellow pack mates, and is very touchy. Deceased. Killed by Big Black when trying to flee with their pups.

'Laugher' 'Smiley': Beta male. Amber eyes. An almost unremarkable timber wolf, except the tilt of his jowls makes it always seem like he's smiling. Because of this trait (or maybe because he really is smiling) his actions always seem friendly or joking ... except when the Alpha Female is concerned. Very level-headed and seems to be a voice of reason and strong pillar within the pack structure. Unrelated to alpha pair.

'Ghost' 'Little Gray' 'Casper': Yearling. Beta male. A surviving member of last-year's litter. Neon Green eyes. Cautious like his mother, but unflinching like his father. A calm stalker in the forest and looks like a ghost with his odd gray-peppered-white coat.

'Lil Halfie' 'Chewtoy', Danny: Omega male. Mossy green eyes. Largely-russet coat. He is missing half of his right ear, and half of his tail from in-pack fights. He is the smallest wolf in the pack, and lives off of scraps and what rabbits and squirrels he can catch without the other wolves noticing. He lives on the outer fringe of pack life, tolerated by the Alpha male but is friends with no wolf. It is unknown whether whether he is related to the alpha pair or just a wanderer who came to live with the pack.

Three Unnamed Pups: b***h x Black's last litter together. Little siblings to Ghost.

Other Ferals of Note:
*These wolves are not part of the pack, but may be seen poaching on their territory or nearby.

'Old One-Eye' Bullrack (or 'Bull' for short): Alpha Male. It is speculated he was perhaps once Alpha of the territory Big Black now rules. He shows his age, meaning he is likely soon to die, and perhaps between 300 and 400 years old. He is missing his left eye; his remaining eye is a standard wolf yellow. His timber fur is heavily snowed with gray and white strands (especially around the muzzle and legs) because of his age, and shows signs of arthritis. It is speculated Laugher is one of his offspring.

The Cameramen:

Salin: One of the researchers and a well known scientist. He has been watching wolves and feral wolves for long than most of the others he works with though it is simple to do so considering he is one of the few elves left around. He is generally calm and focused on his work but he has a strong avocation for keeping wild things wild and only interfering when necessary. He has red slightly curly hair and green eyes, often he is described as short and thin but it a pleasant way.

Lincoln: A Eurasian Lynx shifter. He has orange hair that fades to white, with a few stripes of black. Orange-yellow eyes. He knows the tec inside and out, and has the hardware parts to do anything bigger than general repair work.A bit of a boaster, but also has good instincts when it comes to finding paths prey (and therefore what hunts them) will travel. Unlike many others of his kind, Lincoln thinks this is a great opportunity for shifters of all kinds to learn more about themselves, and what their kind may have lost by becoming 'tame'.

The Cityfolk

Mathas: Salin's father and main funder of the project.

Other:
-Feral shifters rarely, if ever, use human form. Their langue skills verbally are extremely limited, if they know any words at all.
-Feral shifters are at high risk of becoming mentally unstable or going completely insane. Especially in high-stress situations outside of their natural environment. A few rich idiots attempted to have a few feral shifters captured for breeding purposes, only for the bests to flip beyond any hope of calming or control when they found themselves in enclosed spaces with so many foreign smells. They entered a blood frenzy and died within a few days.
-Some believe feral shifters, having a far higher hunting success rate than regular animals, are a high risk to the natural balance of an ecosystem.
-Some also believe feral shifters could pose a serious threat to not only livestock, but the farmers that work their herds.  

[knux33]

Lincoln grinned like a Cheshire cat as the systems booted up, rubbing his hands together and looking like he wanted to kiss their tiny little electrical generator that was small, easily moved, didn't overheat, and best of all: was silent. The lynx shifter stood up from his seat and moved quickly through their bunker, checking wires and watching screens. And it really was a bunker; for an operation of this length a treehouse would be too small and easy for the wolves to spot and possibly even spook away from. But a big new 'den' that stank of lynx? That would be nothing to cause too much suspicion, hopefully. Nothing like this had been tried, and the earlier team who'd gone out here to find the wolf pack had been spotted after the first few weeks, after which the ferals had vanished into the woods like smoke. They'd even left the den site, this site, slightly earlier than what might be considered 'normal' because of it. Lincoln only hoped the wolves wouldn't be spooked from this site for good because of it.

"Well, everything's good ta go. All the key cameras passed all the filter checks and everything's coming in loud and clear. Though a few far-out cams will need a little help," he said towards his slightly-taller and more pointy-eared companion, eyes flicking between the cameras overlooking woods paths, others surrounding the den site, and even night-vision green-colored cameras inside the den itself.

Satisfied, the shifter went around and pulled drapes off of the very few bits of furniture; he and Salin hadn't been here in months since first setting up everything, letting their scents go stale and hopefully fade completely. The big risk with that, of course, were chances of technological malfunction rose quite high after being alone to face the elements. Even if the stuff was built for it, tec could and would fail under these circumstances. But that was also why they'd set up more than one camera in key locations that they likely wouldn't be able to get to once the pack settled in (like the birthing den itself and most of the area close to it) and only had one for most of the woodland areas; those could still be got to and fixed either by the elf or himself. Though Salin would need to rub Lincoln all over himself to small more like a lynx than elf when out and about. Human scent alone had spooked the wolves with the last team, and since as far as anyone knew elves weren't a native species it would be better to be labeled a 'weird lynx' than 'unknown', which could spook the pack ... or make them curious.

Even as a shifter himself Lincoln would really rather not be a subject of interest to an entire feral pack that would fight or flee. Because that was a fight he would loose, and if the pack fled his pay-day and hopes of learning from them went right out the window.

Once the furniture was revealed, Lincoln grabbed his pack and claimed one corner of the dirt-floor bunker to roll out his sleeping bag. They had few comforts here, and while the lack of a roaring fire sucked the lynx just began hoarding the many hot water bottle's he'd brought into his sleeping bag to get it nice and toasty. It had been a long trek just to get to this bunker, and the feral's den was still farther away than even that, so when he and Salin went out of their hidey-hole contact with their subjects would be kept to zero.

"Well, hopefully in the next couple of day's we'll see them moving in. Looks like no one's home yet." Lincoln looked to the still-glowing screens that showed nothing more than snowy landscapes, and an empty den.

*

Long legs and solid chest plowing easily through the snow, the big black male led his pack, tail held high and nose quivering as he marched forward. His beta was right behind him, tongue wagging and face as happy as a dog getting to stick its head outside a car window, enjoying the chill winter win flowing against their fur as they hurried along, alpha female right behind the beta and able to take good advantage of the small 'road' the alpha and beta males had made in the snow while their group traveled single file.

Well, almost. The b***h turned and whined with a little grumbled growl on the end as the gray pup bounded through the snow instead in big hops off of the beaten trail, nearly year old but still very much a puppy in many respects: not quite a full Beta size yet, with his ears and paws still looking a little too big for him. She gave a sharp bark and he quickly returned, head low and tail giving a little wag, excited by all the travel instead of tired out by it. Especially with how much meat they could catch almost easily in this weather. The cold and lack of green weakened their prey, and forced herbivores to cluster close to where the few reaming sources of their food were this winter. It was meat easy to find, and with a pack this size not too difficult to bring down. His mother made that even more obvious with her belly that looked a little fat: pups growing within.

The female was a little reluctant to return to their usual den, though the big black had nipped her forward with a sharp growl with her first protests, quieting her effectively (and also amusing Laugher further, who gave a few high barks and then hopped with snow spraying around him as he took off after the b***h tried to n** him for his 'laughter'). Ghost was as eager as any kid to go back to the old 'home' where he'd been born, remembering warmth and lazy days where white stuff didn't cover all the world associated with the space.

And so far behind the more close-knit members of the pack he was barely in sight, Chewtoy the Omega kept up the rear of the group as they left the plains and began to enter the woodlands, skeletal trees stretching high into the sky and a few carrion crows following their group hopefully before eventually leaving for better prospects in this icy land.

The big black male huffed out a visible warm breath and slowed the pace as they entered the woods, nose and ears working full-time but there were no hints of the dangerous scents they's got whiff of last year. Slowly, cautiously, the Alpha relaxed, tail wagging a little in his own excitement. More little ones would be had this year, their pack would grow, and they would be the stronger for it.

When they finally came to the den, the female Alpha zipped right into the hole that led to the earthy sanctuary and did not come back out, only scratching out rocks and dirt from the dark space to make it 'homey' once more for herself and the helpless pups to come. Ghost bounced around with Laugher, the two finding a stray stick sticking out of the snow and playing 'keep away' with it, the Beta holding the stick while the pup barreled after him.

The massive alpha circled the den site, nose scrunching at old lynx smell that barely registered but otherwise satisfied all was well. After the long trip here, the black wolf curled up on a patch of snow and watched the fun and listened to his mate grumble from inside the den as she 'neatened' it to her liking. They would hunt and explore soon; she would need more meat and they could all use a fresh meal after so long a trek through the tundra. The alpha yawned then licked his lips, thinking of which big, fatty prey he wanted to eat.

((Bah, shorter than I'd thought it'd be >V ))  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Salin hated the cold, hated it with a passion, and here he was out in the middle of nowhere faced with the cold. He was currently sitting at the front of the den staring at the cursed snow, glaring at the white stuff, and trying not to shudder from the cold. All the clothes he had on smelled heavily of lynx, which the red head could only slightly smell with his better than average senses, it was always so weird to smell like someone else when out on these sorts of jobs. Sure he had signed up for it, hell his father was the one funding the whole expedition, but that didn't mean he was overly fond of snow and smelling of lynx. Of course he fared better than Lincoln coming out here, his elf blood making it easy for him to walk on top of the snow instead of falling in it, but that just lead to a few snowballs finding their way smashed into the back of his head.

Salin didn't get angry though, he liked that him and Lincoln were at least really close to being friends, it made things easier when you had to be around someone day in and day out for so long. Salin stood and shuffled himself into the den just as Lincoln spoke up, the lights from all the machines on, he set his bag down and headed over the screens to check everything out himself. "I am surprised we haven't already had a malfunction. Good work on setting up those cameras in the den Lincoln. I had been the most worried about those since we can't exactly reach those." Salin pushed loose strands of hair behind his ears, the curled mess back in a pony tail, he hated having his hair down even in the winter. It often lead to questions as to why he even kept it so long in the first place but there were rare occasions when he let it down… but it was usually to try and get the attention of someone he wanted to court for a bit of fun.

Then again his hair was long even for and elf, reaching near the middle of his back, he should really look into having it cut when they were done here. Salin looked over to the Lynx with a raised eye brow as he started to already turn in, it was always so strange when so many people needed so much sleep, his family slept only two or three days out of a week and he was very used to that. Of course just as Lincoln was settling down Salin saw movement on the camera and threw a wad of paper at him. "Wrong. Look, they are showing up now, looks like we have perfect timing…. You have all the extra drivers right?" Salin had a few spares just in case, though one of them just had information on it for the computer that he had brought along as well as a spare generator.

He was always very prepared and as he watched the group of wolves start heading into the familiar place he grinned and instantly started taking notes. They didn't really need them because they had the footage but Salin wanted to be able to take notes in the moment as well instead of just rewatching footage later. Get a first impression instead of seeing all of it then going back with his mind already full of information and noting everything down later. It was like a diary, of sorts, a log that he wanted to keep and would most likely shove together and publish later.

"I am surprised, Chewtoy is still around, but it looks like they only came back with the one pup… The female looked like she was having many more than that." Salin jotted down some notes before looking through his papers from the previous group he had not gone with. It seemed that they had guessed she would be having three, maybe four, from her size and what was already known but to end up with only one left? Apparently leaving early had caused more trouble than anyone thought.

**

Ghost bounded after Laugher who had the stick, yipping and whining as he went, his tail wagging hard enough to fling up the snow he landed in. His mother had already retreated into the den, already pregnant with his brothers and sister, he didn't mind much. His mother could be mean, nipped a lot at him and wouldn’t let him play, it only got worse too when she started to swell with new little ones. Ghost wasn't a fan of the idea of not being the only puppy, though he was getting to big to be one anymore, soon he would have to hunt on his own and he just didn't like the idea. Ghost yipped loudly at Laugher, just barely missing the stick, before he suddenly tripped and tumbled into the snow. The shock made his heart jump which in turn sent his body twinging and when his head popped back out it was with pale skin instead of fur and a very human face.

His nose scrunched up and he growled, the sudden changes never any fun and even less so when his body was suddenly furless and in snow, it took a lot of concentration to get back to being a puppy and a lot of the time it was with the yips and "laughter" of laugher in the air. His dad never laughed at him though, and neither did chew toy, they knew how hard it could be and it was never very pleasant. Ghost pushed at the snow with cold hands, already shivering, before with a growl and huff he was sliding back to normal and popping out the snow like it meant nothing. At his young age it was easy to change back and forth, his body still hadn't fused certain bones together which mad eit easier, but in a few months his shifting would calm down and he would be able to stay one way with out having to worry.

Of course the random shifting ended the play, the pup now cold and just wanting to curl up with someone warm, of course he didn't see "warm" as an option with his mother so instead he trotted over to Big Black and licked the alphas face before laying next to him with a shiver. He like his dad best, he was warm and though he was the alpha he still played with him sometimes, his mom didn't like to play and snapped at him a lot. Big Black didn't, and he was warm, which was all a really nice bonus considering how small the pack was.

Chewtoy was off to the side on some nice shrubs, cleaning his paws, he looked a bit more well fe than the last time they had been here but then again he had some luck with hunting while they were traveling. Big Black didn't seem to notice, or let the rather thing wolf eat what he would catch, because more often than not when he put in work to catch something it was quickly taken away by the b***h. He watched, mildly amused, as Ghost bounded around with his tail high until ending up naked and cold in a pile of snow. A few moments later he was bounding out of the snow again and off to go lay with Big Black as he often did.

Chewtoy sighed heavily, looking out into the woods, he liked this spot. He liked to look and see everything around them. Despite what most would think, that he wanted nothing to do with the pack, it was actually the opposite. Chewtoy was mistreated by b***h but the others were not that bad, his job was to live on the edges and look for trouble, he liked being able to be the first to sound for trouble. He felt important even if he had poor status, because he wasn't the best hunter or fighter. He wasn't aggressive, never wanted to be, and so the position of Omega fit him very well and being a guard was actually quite a bit of fun. Plus he had a bit more freedom to run off and do what ever he wanted during the day. He wasn't a great hunter and so often was just kept out of the way so that meant he could go out looking while the others were hunting.

And by looking he completely mean searching for one eye. The wolf didn't have a pack and Chewtoy enjoyed finding the wolf the few times he did, trying to give the old man some company, though Chewtoy knew it would be a long while before he was in the area, preferring to stay away from the cold, he hoped he would get to annoy him soemtime soon.


((I totally thought mine would be shorter.))  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

"Yep, those little ******** are made of the most reliable recording tec the company's money could buy. Plus, ya know, a little tweeks I put in ta help 'em along," Lincoln added with a grin, never one to completely deny credit where it was due. He peeled off his outer puffy jacket and pants, sliding right into his now-toasty sleeping bag. Though, technically speaking, his kind were from frozen environments his human form still needed a lot of help to keep warm in this winter wonderland. The feline was pulling up the lip of the sleeping bag and ready for a cat-nap when suddenly something hit him with a crinkling noise and Salin was saying the ferals had arrived. Lincoln scrambled back up and hurried over to the monitors, watching with apt attention while Salin took his own notes.

"Drivers? Of course, I've got drivers and enough spare parts to rebuild every camera four times over, and the computers twice. Sure wasn't fun carrying all that here, and hopefully we won't have to use too much of it, but as my pop always loves ta say, we're better safe then sorry," Lincoln said almost absent-mindedly now, focus on the wolves and not able to hold back a little snicker when the pup had a shifting hiccup. "Aw, poor little gray ghostie. That age is never fun. That could be why there was such a high morality rate though ... I mean, it's hard enough being a little wolf in the wild; I can't imagine them popping between toddlers and back without being a very tasty-looking sort of snack for most other predators. Especially since they had to leave the den early ..."

Walking around the bunker Lincoln grabbed the general log book that had the description of the pack, its members, and their 'code-names'. "What should we name the tyke, do ya think? I've never seen a feral with those sorts of colors."

*

Big Black accepted the 'kiss' from his son and didn't make a single hostile move as the smaller gray werewolf curled up close against him. The father licked his son between the ears, then rested his head over the gray one's shoulders in a small kind of 'hug' while also making it so the other would warm faster.

Laugher tossed the stick up into the air and hopped around it a bit, then flopped down onto the snow and rubbing his back against the white powders panting joyfully before stretching all his limbs out and arching his back in a full-body stretch. Once that was done he rolled onto his side, amber eyes flicking between the father and son pair, the dark den entrance, and the outcast omega as if pondering who to try to entice into gameplay. The beta was like an overgrown pup himself sometimes, especially now as winter was halfway through. They were all eating well in these times, even the omega, and the fun of new little pups was an event well on its way. It was a glorious time, so Laugher was feeling playful. He was about to try to get Big Black and the little gray to play when the queen came out of her den, apparently satisfied it was in good shape and trotted over to Big Black and softly mouthed the alpha's ear with a demanding growl.

With a heavy sigh Big Black rose to his feet, nuzzling the yearling up too and giving Laugher a look. Time to hit the meat trail, so ordered Her Highness. The pregnant female eagerly took the lead for two yards then looked over her shoulder and gave a long while Big Black's way; never liking being front point of the pack for long.

The king nudged Ghost up; the pup would warm more with movement and the yearling could use all the hunting experience he could get. They would need the pup to pick up the slack once the b***h was stuck full-time feeding the new to-be-born litter. So the male beta and alpha took the front, noses high and low searching for hints of deer track. Or, if they were lucky, moose track. The pack took off, omega left to his own devices for now seeing as his small size, as Chewtoy well knew, quite less than helpful to the much larger Betas and Alphas when it came down to their hunting strategy: track large prey and pull it down with sheer power.

And for a week, things seemed to continue along with events all happening much like this. The wolf pack acted as if all was normal and whatever odd human intruders had stumbled upon them last year were now long gone, unaware they were being watched. Lincoln and Salin took to their full-time job as watchers well, only leaving to get snow to melt into water or to snag fresher ingredients to make otherwise dry, dull, and stale travel rations into something a bit more manageable. Lincoln, in lynx form, quite enjoyed using his break time (when not sleeping) to go out and get some fresh meat for himself.

The female alpha had gotten to the point where she hardly left the den at all anymore, clearly getting ready and settled as her stomach got too large for hunting to be safe for her. Her grace had turned into a more ungainliness, which seemed to make her even snappier than ever. Laugher was licking at his muzzle on a bleeping wound the queen had recently given him for just walking by the den entrance, the Beta now laying well away from the dark hole, while Big Black was gnawing on an old bone even farther away from the den than the Beta was.

The weather was nicer than it had been, the sun feeling a little warm against their fur. The spring melt had begun its slow victory over winter, meaning the white stretches would soon be covered in green once again. A few trees were even beginning to sprout bright green buds at the tips of their bony branches.

Laugher not wanting to remain where the female alpha was, the Beta stood and trotted off to go grab a bite from the nearly picked-clean carcass of the deer they'd brought down just the day before.

*

"s**t." Lincoln was looking at the screens, particularly one that had gone black. "Looks like one of us is goin' ta need to take a trip. One camera's gone down." Sighing, the lynx leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head. "Luckily, it's not near the den site. Just down by the river. So, should we flip a coin for it?"  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Salin looked up at the other with a small grin, thinking the name ghost was already rather apt for the small pup, before looking back to the screen. "Lets wait and see. I personally think the name fits rather well, Ghost, we'll see where it leads him." Salin chuckled before continuing his notes in rather vivid detail, even drawing a picture of Ghost and BigBlack laying together, the alpha wolf very attentative to his son compared to the mother who seemed to want nothing to do with the other.

**

When Ghost saw his mother leave the den he huffed into the snow, already able to tell what she was after, and then Ghost was having to get up to help everyone hunt. He followed after his mother, father, and laugher with his tail hung more in boredom than anything else. He was a good hunter, he knew how to catch things, and all this practice was tedious when he just wanted to curl up happy and warm and nap. Of course that’s never how it was and over the next week it became a routine with his mother getting more and more snappy. He was still a pup himself so trouble was the name of the game for him but getting into trouble around his snappish mother had lead to a small little nick on his neck that had him nearly tucking his tail and running.

Ghost was sat with Chewtoy, gnawing on a stick with a fair bit of indignation, while the Omega wolf licked the wound clean. The Omega had managed to escape the bitches wrath purely by the fact that he was on the far outside and he was happy for that. Perhaps he could make it through this season without nearly having his throat torn open. The little pup huffed, and growled, expressing his discomfort before standing with the stick when Chewtoy was done and wandering off. He wanted to go explore, tired of sitting around and being nipped at, he made a point though to take of running right past the entrance to the den, just like a grumpy kid would to get back at their mom when spanked.

**

Salin was sitting on his sleeping bag currently jotting down some information from watching the video feed. He had already gathered so much about these wolves and how they lived that it was starting to fill up his little sketch book. Salin looked up when Lincoln mentioned something about a camera before jumping up to see which one it was by the river. Salin knew where that was, he had done some scouting out of the place on their second day, and he could really use a bit of legs stretching despite the cold. "No need to flip a coin, I'll go, I need to give my legs a stretch after being stuck in here for so long. The snow is starting to melt so it's probably just some water in the system. I will go check it out." Salin grinned widely before grabbing the few things he had still coated in the lynx scent before heading out to go and fix the camera with a few basic parts.

Meanwhile ghost was heading for the river, his long limbs taking him there rather fast, he might still be running out of the worry that his mother would chase him but that thought was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he felt the wind on his face. He didn't like being around the pack all the time, they never shifted, and he liked shifting when it was on purpose. They wanted him to be a wolf all the time but he liked how tall he was on two legs and the things he could reach like that. You can't climb a tree as a wolf, you can't reach fruit was a wolf, and Ghost liked the sweet things that hung off bushes and trees during the spring and late winter.

When he finally reached the river he was panting and out of breath, excited and wanting to play, but he was all alone as usual when he went out on these little adventures so with a quick glance around he changed and started climbing a tree. It wasn't normal, he knew that, most wolves didn't like changing willy nilly and Ghost had never seen his mother and father shift, but in a way wasn't that what they were? They could change like this so why did they never use it? It was all four legs all the time and Ghost like being on two. He could reach branches and throw things with his…. What ever they were. He could grab things without having it poke the inside of his mouth. His father always wanted him to change back but Ghost enjoyed this, even more so as he started pulling himself up on limbs and climbing.

Salin on the other hand wasn't that far off from the pup, Ghost not paying enough attention for him to be seen, and just watched in amusement as the pup started climbing. Clearly it was something he was very used to, and something he enjoyed, but it seemed as if Ghost was the only wolf that took advantage of the fact they were in fact shifters. He had seen the pup pick at late winter blue berries and eat them like they were the best treat, and prance around in a warmer area where there was no snow. His feet were naturally tough but he got a few scrapes and bruises that didn't seem to bring him down at all.

Salin chuckled a bit, having already fixed the camera, as he watched Ghost climb upside down on a tree branch with every intent of getting to the other side of the river. Of course the only problem with the concentration the small wolf had of climbing was the fact that it calmed him down to the point that, without warning, he suddenly shifted and fell into the rushing water. Salin gasped and without really thinking he ran towards the river. They had just started studying these ferrals he wouldn’t lose one of them if he could stop it. Which was how he found himself diving into that cursed cold water and grabbing hold to the struggling pup to bring him to shore. Ghost fought at first, scared and water logged, but when he found himself once again on shore and able to breath but freezing all he did was snarl at the elf who still had hold of him and was rubbing him.

At first Ghost was perplexed by this creature, he had thought he smelled a lynx but now it was something completely different, and this thing (clearly male) was now rubbing him and pushing all the water off. Ghost felt the snarl slowly fall off his face as he realized he was warming up very quickly but parts of the strange creatures face were turning blue, something he had seen on his siblings before they got really tired and fell asleep without waking up. Ghost growled a moment before whining and licking the strange things face, long hair tangled in the pony tail her had, and moved closer to try and warm up the thing that had saved him.

Of course they were not alone for long and Ghost soon smelt the rest of his pack coming, he tried to nudge the creature to get it away, he had seen his father kill a wolf before for being around his pack, but the creature wouldn’t go and just kept trying to warm him up until suddenly there was the pack and the creature went still for a second before continuing with a much slower movement. Ghost laid his ears back, a whine in his chest, everyone was snarling and angry at the creature but Ghost didn't want him hurt! The pup stood with a growl of his own and when one of them tried to snip at the creature he was more than happy to bite the opposes muzzle. He liked this thing, it had saved him and warmed him up, he wasn't going to let anyone eat it. He wasn't even sure it would taste nice at all so instead he opposed those who wanted to n** and bite, glancing back a moment at the shivering creature that seemed far to calm for the situation at hand.

Then again Salin was a complete wreck in his head, he didn't know what to do and part of the shaking was from fear. He didn't truly have the luxury of putting himself in danger, he was part of a truly dying race, and he had done so well over his few hundred years that now, staring in the face of danger, he was seriously regretting what he had done. Of course Lincoln was probably ripping out his hair at the moment.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Lincoln sat back in his seat, clearly relived he didn't have to go out in the slushy wet (ew, wet, he hated getting wet; the only time he even tolerated it was when he was fishing up something delicious) and giving Salin a thumb's up. "Do your thing; by the time you get back I'll have some delicious travel rations all ready to have for lunch, out of their wrappers and everything!" Of course the joke being rations hardly needed any 'preparing' at all besides getting them out of their containers. The lynx stood and got to work on making a presentable meal that almost looked like a decent lunch when the camera feed flicked back on ... and not too long after Lincoln was nearly spitting out his cheese-and-crackers at the sight of the little gray ghost coming on-screen. But, of course, the elf's skills were made as obvious as they always were: the pup seemed to not have any inkling there had been or even was anyone else around but himself as he put on a very unheard of display of his shifting: and not just to grab berries or dance around either.

As far as the lynx knew, feral shifters avoided their weaker human forms at all costs. But this was why they were here: seeing what was true and what was false with the secrets of feral life. Lincoln watched avidly as the pup showed quite the problem-solving skills to used his human form to nearly get across the river without getting wet. Nearly. Then the pup had a shifting hiccup and fell into the fat, quick river nearly bursting with run-off snowmelt. The lynx winced, bitterly disapointed and thinking the chances of the pup's survial had just gone down the drain, especially if he didn't surface soon--

And then the elf ran on camera and Lincoln could only watch with a massive amount of anger (this intervention could potentially have the entire group fleeing like last time) at first which soon turned into bone-chilling fear as the pack arrived. Thelynx grabbed the satillite cell-phone that had just for this kind of emergency before freezing; if he called this in the project was screwed. Ferals were largely considered animals, and since there was no hope of help coming from several hundred miles away in time to save Salin hesitating now to see if the elf could somehow, miraculously, make it out of there alive--

Lincoln had never put much stalk in miracles. The shifter cursed up a storm as the confutation seemed to reach a stand-off between the protective puppy and his pack, so the shifter pulled off his clothes and hurried out the door, the wide paws of his lynx form hitting the snow silently as he took off towards the river. At the very least if everything went to hell he could at least try to make a big enough distraction and lead the pack away so Salin could escape. Like hell he was going to sit like a useless rabbit behind the camera screen while his comrade-in-science got torn apart by a pack of ferals.

*

It was Laughter who got to the scene first, having heard the pup's snarls from where he'd been feeding and sent up a alarm howl when he saw something far too close to the pup. The Beta had no smile as he snarled warningly, but when the human-ish creature did not move away he moved to strike it down, only for Ghost to get a mouthful of his cheek with a not-gentle bite. Laughter lept back in confusion, snarling his frustration at getting bit by the very puppy he was trying to get to safety. The male alpha was nearly roaring his rage, snarls loud and ugly as they came from his maw, teeth fully revealed as he ran up. But as Ghost snapped at Laughter the alpha slowed his charge, hackles raised and posture stiff-legged as he took in the situation, the alpha female the last to arrive.

Her eyes were wide and ears back, but kept her distance behind the males and snarled her piece. Her belly was large, and her full concern right now: she would not go at an unknown odd-smelling not-lynx and risk both herself and future young for one pup.

Big Black approached, lip lowered a little but teeth still a thin visible line of white against his black fur as he walked forward one step after the other, glaring hard at ghost to get the pup to stand down. It was only after a few long battle of father staring down equally-stubborn son in freezing silence that the yearling eventually broke the gaze first. It was then Big Black stiffly walked close to elf and little werewolf both, sniffing the elf's head intently, tail held stiffly.

By some miracle the alpha's demeanor suddenly changed. Big Black dropped his lip and his hackles, tilting his head and then nearly sticking his nose down Salin's shirt in an attempt to get a stronger whiff of the scent below the lynx-musk, then sneezed when he found the masking smell was even stronger on the wet clothes. He wanted to inhale the elf's true scent, the smell coy and enticing, alluring. Arousing. Like the scent of the female alpha in heat, only warmer, fuller.

The alpha male shook his entire body, as if shaking off any last hostility and then looking over his pup. Both were wet, both were cold. Posture much more relaxed but tail still high like a flagpole claiming everything around him as his, Big black walked a small distance away and began digging: kicking away snow and wet vegetation until he hit dry dirt. Laughter and the female watched in confusion, the female growling anxiously and looking highly confused while the timber beta just tilted his head at the spectacle.

Once he was satisfied with his hole, the alpha male went over to elf and pup and nudged both of them towards the center of his little dirt=nest, and then curled around both of them as if it were just Ghost and not some interloper, pressing the pair close against his own fur and beginning to lick the elf and pup dry, seeming particularly frustrated at Salin's wet clothes when seemed to be useless, wet, and in his way of drying his new property. Laughter, one more calm and changeable than most, padded over and proceeded to help licking Ghost (as Big Black didn't seem too keen on the Beta getting his jaws anywhere near the elf). The alpha female growled and whined almost piteously from where she stood, then beat an ungainly retreat. This was all too confusing and she desperately wanted the safety and comfort of her den.

From the cover of the woods, Lincoln was both relived and knew they were in deep s**t. Because looking at this behavior, it was pretty obvious the elf was wolf-napped. Any attempt the redhead made at leaving the black animals make-shift 'nest' had the alpha giving a chiding growl and grabbing the elf by his shirt to drag the other back into the warmth of his thick, adult coat and it's heat. The black fur hardly seemed to even get damp, much of the wet just sliding down and off; something Ghost didn't have to his own advantage quite yet.

Lincoln watched for what seemed like at least an hour or two, the Beta keeping watch while Big Black got both son and stranger dry and warm to his satisfaction. Then the Alpha uncurled, nudging both elf and pup towards the den site as if it were the natural thing to do, Laughter still seeming a little cautious and keeping his distance.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

When the Alpha approached Salin was expecting a lot of things. Myabe a n**, or to just be outright killed, perhaps if he got away from ghost fast enough he could dive into the water and beat a speedy retreat with the trees. He was thankful that Ghost was protecting him, the pup very clearly showing he didn't want this stranger hurt, and then BigBlack was stepping closer and sniffing him. Salin went completely rigid, breath catching in his throat at the first sniff, and then suddenly the Alpha wolf changed his demeanor completely and he was coming in for a much longer sniff. Salin was surprised by the action and a bit confused, Ghost whining at his side and licking the red heads cheek when he sensed the mood change.

BigBlack shook his body, hackles now lowered, and Salin just stared in confusion. This wasn't something he had ever seen, not with a wolf, he was fully expecting to find himself bleeding out and throatless by now but instead BigBlack dug out a nice little hole in the snow then he was coming back over and nudging the two soaking wet individuals over to it. Ghost did marvel a moment at the fact this strange creature seemed to not sink into the snow but that was forgotten as both him and this new creature his father seemed to like found themselves curled up against the big black beast.

Salin scrunched his not at the licking, a few times trying to get away when if got a bit to "invasive" for his liking, but it seemed that he was well and truly trapped in the wolfs grasp. Perhaps it was a ploy, the wolf would kill him later, but Salin knew these shifters didn't have the ability to think like that. They thought more like wolves, no true strategy like with their non-feral cousins, so to add in the aspect fo the human mind was just silly. Eventually Salin resigned himself to just having to stay where he was, pushing a muzzle from parts he would rather let air dry with little luck, before he was pulling the loose pony tail into a rather tight bun so that it would be left alone.

Ghost grinned at the drying, huffing and rolling around a bit, he dried much faster than Salin but stayed next to the creature anyway. He didn't mind, he liked him because he saved him, and his dad liked this new thing too so that meant he could stay around. Unlike laugher he was allowed to lick Salin, but his licks were just wet an sloppy, they were more from excitement than anything else. Ghost knew what this was, they were keeping this new thing, and the new thing smelled like fruit so Ghost was happy. He liked fruit, and flowers, he wondered when the flowers would come back and with that thought he was bounding up to start digging at th snow to see the grass. He tried for a moment to step on te snow like Salin, put weight down and not fall in, but when it didn't work he decided to try more later.

Of course all thoughts of "flowers" and "spring" halted as BigBlack stood and started nudging the group back the way they came from, heading for the den, and Salin was forced to just sort of go along. He tried to step away at a few points, just wander off, but every attempt was met with him being caught and pulled back toward the path in front of him. Salin gently pet ghost, the pup off to one side of him to sort of fence this new creature in, and chuckled as the pup leaned into the touch. He felt surprisingly calm knowing he at least had the pup on his side for sure… he wasn't to positive about BigBlack and that was the thing that scared him.

As they stepped toward the den Salin felt his heart skip a little. He had seen so many picture, watched video feed for days, he had seen this place more times than he could count but to actually be there and look at the den was so different. He could smell wolf everywhere, though honestly at the moment it just smelled like damp dog, and he could see Chewtoy off to the side just sort of lounging as he always did. The wolf looked up, curious as to what was going on, but only bothered a few moments before huffing and lowering his head to his paws. He was a surprisingly good watch dog, had yelped out the concern for Ghost rather adeptly, but the puncture on the side of his face really showed just how much the b***h cared for his concern over her pup.

Ghost bounded over to Chewtoy a moment, giving his wound a thoughtful lick before returning and sniffing at Salin for a moment. This creature smelled so strange, but his father seemed to like the smell, and all the licking had washed away the scent of Lynx that had seemed to hang on him. Ghost hopped around for a moment, seemingly unfazed by what had happened earlier only to catch sight of something in the red colored hair the creature had. He was a puppy, curiosity got the best of him, he had seen human with this strange fur before but never the black thing that seemed so thin.

Ghost shifted around eagerly staring at the red head as he look around before suddenly shifting and pulling out the hairband before taking off and shifting with it in his mouth. Salin let out a surprised sort of squeak then chased after the other, being very careful not to shout anything out, these creatures didn't speak even when human so he didn't know how they would handle any kind of speech. Salin stumbled at the pup only to have the thing stop the moment he turned back too look at him. There was so much hair there, long and flowing, Ghost had only ever seen one wolf like that and she had been older. He hair almost white, the blondish brown color completely faded, heading quickly into old age where shifting grew harder and most of the time the human form was easier to sleep in.

Ghost stared for a moment then when Salin grabbed for the hair band, slowly, he released it and watched as this strange creature pulled the hair back and just like that it was gone. Salin shuttered a bit, he was still damp under the outer layer and standing out in the cold was just making it worse. He didn't know what to do though, he couldn’t exactly ask any questions, all eh was stuck doing was standing there looking around very confused and shaking. He felt like a trapped mouse, and he very well may have been, because there was no way he could fend against a back of wolves should they decide they really where more cunning than they looked.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

Lincoln followed the pack as close as he dared, climbing a tree on a hill above the den site and looking down silently with a mix of awe and dread. This was the oddest, most stressful thing he'd ever seen in his life. This pack, clearly, was hostile and cautious towards humanoids not of the pack, and yet the alpha had just taken Salin like the elf was some lost pup to be adopted. Sure, Salin had saved Ghost, but the pack had no way of knowing that, not really. No way to communicate it besides the two being wet and Ghost defending Salin, but even then the ferals might not have enough mental prowess to think constructively enough to put two random facts together. So why was the alpha suddenly so interested in what was only an intruder on his land? It didn't make any sense. It was good Salin wasn't dead, but these wolves had just become unpredictable, and that made this situation extremely dangerous.

He needed to get the elf out of there ... but how?

*

Big Black's gaze slowly took in the den site, the scent of angry female, and the fresh wound on Chewtoy's face. After Ghost had done his lick and bounced away, the alpha approached the omega slowly, stride smooth and untense. Lowering his face, the alpha sniffed the omega's face before giving a few swipes of his own tongue over the wound, before turning to look after his new prize. That was the most the omega could ever expect as positive attention for the ruling alpha.

The massive werewolf padded to the shaking elf, head tilted. He'd see the other's hair doing weird things, flaring out and then getting bundled back up. He didn't understand how this came about, and sniffed curiously at the elf's head to see if the scent had changed, and just to get another whiff of the wonderful smell. Not satisfied, the alpha curled around the elf with one massive clawed paw holding the redhead close as Big Black sniffed a little more before resting his head down on the snow, apparently having gotten the other's message of 'not interested'. Big Black was used to having to wait, and with much less gentle rebuffs than a hand pushing his curious snout away. The queen usually gave him a good bite for any behavior she didn't want in the mating season until she was good and ready.

Amber eyes watched the alpha and elf, Laughter creeping close before laying own and staring at Salin, head tilted. He gave a small cough of a woof, as if to see if the elf would startle and bolt like a rabbit, but one sleepy grumble from Big Black and there were no more such woofs. Instead, the timber beta trotted over to the bone Big Black had been gnawing on and playfully tossed and gnawed it, butt in the air as if to entice the alpha or elf into playing. Big black ignored him, and the alpha also ignored the worried whines coming from the den once the b***h had caught scent of the elf so close to her birthing den.

For once the alpha didn't give into his mate's demands, keeping the elf close for the remainder of the day, and all night afterwards. It was the next morning Queen crept out of her den more like a mouse than a werewolf, going as fast as her pregnant body could to the bare-bones of the last hunted deer, gnawing at the scraps but still very hungry. The need to keep her children full more than fear of this strange not-lynx not-quite-human-thing in her life drove the female close to Big Black even with the alpha male curled up around ... the thing. The unknown possibly dangerous thing. She whined and grumbled loudly, crouched low and tense.

Big Black wrinkled his nose, then looked Laugher's way and gave a low grumble, gaze also turning towards Ghost with a ear-flick.

The Beta rose from where he'd slept curled up the night looking very uncertain but eventually obeying the order and herding Ghost along with him. The Betas would be hunting solo, without the muscle and strength of their alpha at their back's to easily break neckbones and crush windpipes with one bite. Hunting would not be impossible, but it would be more tricky with just two wolves.

Seemingly satisfied as son. and Beta went off, Big Black sniffed and gazed curiously at the elf while the female alpha crept back to her den. Though food was on its way, she was oddly disatisified and angry to see her mate not attempting to feed his to-be children.

It was then, alpha and omega alone in the outer den site and enough time passed that the hunters would be out of earshot, that Lincoln made his move. Big Black was started to alertness first by the omega's warning howl, that priced the chill dying winter's air, massive black head swinging around to see a large lynx bounding towards him near-silently on the snow. Something clicked in Big Black's mind: his prize had smelled of lynx: this lynx. The lynx wanted the prize back.

Suddenly full of unexplainible rage just at the thought, the alpha uncurled and bounded right at Lincoln with clearly lethal intent. If the lynx hadn't skidded to a stop and turned to spring away in flight the moment the omega had given him away, he would've been dead. As it was the alpha's massive jaws snapped inches away from his back legs as the lynx ran for his life, black death snarling at his heels and all the times Big Black had easily snapped a deer's neck with one well-placed bite playing through his head as he ran. Luckily, Lincoln was faster than the wolf when it came to sprinting and soon had a decent lead.

It was a good mile away Lincoln, stamina nearly spent while he knew the werewolf behind him could keep a running speed for far longer than he, finally treed himself, clawing up the bark and panting as the alpha below him raged and snarled and snapped at low branches ... but did not revert to human form to follow the lynx. Rage still boiling the alpha paced below the tree, growling up a low promised of a horrific end if the lynx so much as dared to come close.

While back at the den the alpha female was at the back of the den, silent and tense until noise of her mate wrathfully chasing away some threat had her relaxing and feeling better about his earlier recent slight. It had been good the big, strong, alpha had remained to protect her and their children to-be; of course she could have no idea the alpha's thoughts had been more with the elf than her. The elf currently left alone with the omega.

*

Laughter's ears had pricked straight up and head whipped around at the distant alert howl of the omega, body tense. But when the howl died away, not repeated for reinforcements to be called, the Beta relaxed, figuring all was handled at the den by the alpha, and tried to get Ghost to continue with him on the hunt for food.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Salin soon found himself curled up with the wolf again, pressed against something warm, and while he would much rather be anywhere but there at the moment he figured that this was the best that could be had. Of course BigBlack had a firm hold on Salin, the elf finding himself mostly pressed against the wolfs side, and as his stay grew longer and longer, well into the night, he found himself not minding a great deal for the added warmth. Of course Ghost whined, wishing he could play with his new friend, but it was soon forgotten as he played with Laugher till he collapsed on the snow with the other beta.

When day came around again Salin woke to the female alpha scrounging at a deer carcass and then slinking over to ask for BigBlack to hunt for food. Honestly Salin was expecting the wolf to get up and go, she was his mate after all, but as it seemed the alpha had no intent to move. Instead Ghost and Laugher were up, the little yearling bounding happily with Laugher at the thought of hunting when he had nothing better to do, but he did worry about leaving his new friend alone with his father, he hoped the creature didn't make him angry, but as it seemed the only irritating thing in BigBlacks life was his pregnant mate.

Salin was sat up, staring at the wolfs side, before he carefully slid his fingers into the dark furr. BigBlack was huge, bigger than anything that Salin had seen, and now that he had the time to actually look he was so intrigued by it all. It was fascinating to be around such creatures that seemed to have completely dismissed the human side of themselves. Not because of some disease but because that was how they were born, born into being feral, Salin couldn’t help but wonder though what had made them forsake speech and the ability to hunt more efficiently. They were great as large wolves but what made them depend so much on something like their wolf form? Did the older ones ever change form? Salin had to wonder considering Ghost seemed to enjoy changing about as often as he could get away with.

Salin was focused on feeling the furr on the others side so when he heard the howl he was surprised and then suddenly big black was jumping up and Salin was left sitting on the spot he had slept on the night before just staring after the very irate wolf. The red head didn't know what to do for a moment, just stared until the growls and howls got a bit further away. It was the perfect chance to get up in run but Chewtoy was watching him very carefully which meant it wasn't completely easy. He could also hear yips from Ghost further off, the wolf getting concerned by the noise, and he knew that if he wanted to run he had to do it quickly.

When he suddenly jumped to his feet and started running Chewtoy took off after Salin, chasing the red head down in the hoped of catching him before he hurt himself, but of course there was one advantage the elf had… he could climb. That didn't mean much though when the first tree you came too didn't have any other close enough to build any sort of momentum. Salin stared down at Chewtoy, the wolf barking and spinning around at the bottom of the tree, he howled out to BigBlack and the others new by. He had seen pups up trees before, they were never happy and often got very injured trying to get down, so to see something that looked a bit like a pup trapped in a tree had the Omega on edge.

Eventually the others made it to where he was and Salin just stared down at all of them, lounging on a branch and wondering how long it would take until they left him alone. He broke off a twig or two and tossed them down at BigBlack, not noticing Ghost going around the back of the tree and shifting to start his climb up. The little grey wolf was a good climber, the best in his own head as long as he managed to hold the shift, but right now he was less concerned about falling out of the tree then getting Salin out so that his dad wouldn’t get to angry with the elf.

Then again when a new member joined a pack they sometimes did this, they got scared when there was trouble and tried to hide, apparently Salin had gotten scared with all the trouble being had so when Ghost stepped onto the branch it was gently and without intent of scaring the creature. Of course that didn't go so well and the male almost tumbled of the tree when he turned to look at Ghost. The pup was careful and slow, trying to put the on edge creature at ease, but of course it wasn't working overly well and as he tried to get close Salin slunk further and further to the thinner part of the branch.

Below them the noise had all but ceased beside a few low whines at the situation. Or course Salin didn't pay attention to the sound of crack under him… not until he found himself suddenly falling as Ghost tried to grab for him. He fully expected to hit the ground ,it wouldn’t have hurt too bad, but instead he found himself hitting something much different and his eyes snapped open in surprise. It certainly wasn't something he expected, and apparently neither had Ghost seeing as he had never seen his father as anything but a wolf.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

When Big Black heard the omega's call to rally back near the den he very, very reluctantly left the tree'd lynx, anger still boiling. But soon his attention was souly on Salin once again as he, Laugher, and Ghost all converged on where Chewtoy was looking up a tree at the elf. The female alpha absent, keeping safe in the den. The alpha shifted his weight from one paw to another, 'dancing' anxiously in place while Laughter didn't seem to know what to do either. BB was sure this was the lynx's fault; the damned cat had frightened the elf up the tree because he was small and fleshy. The panicking below just becoming more heightened when they realized Ghost was up there too.

The wolves from below watched the upper proceedings with rapt attention and worry, Laugher not smiling at all as he whined up at Ghost, crouching as if making ready to leap up to the pup's rescue, though that was impossible at the height they were at. And then the branch snapped, and something equally as impossible seemed to happen. Big Black saw the redhead falling and pushed his front legs up off of the ground, jaws half-open but it clicked he could not safely catch the elf that way without breaking skin, and possibly bone. So suddenly he was in human form with hands spread where balancing paws had been, and the elf fell there instead of the hard ground. It was har dto tell who was more suprised: Big Black or Salin.

The alpha's mouth was slightly open, stringy black hair hanging down as long as his chin, and face covered in an even black beard that was unkept, but looked like it had grown to an even half-inch. The big alpha was just as big and impressive in human form, hair curly and thick-growing in the usual human spots on his body. His yellow-green eyes stared back at Salin's untainted emerald orbs, head tilting a little as he just stared and the wolrd seemed to just hold it's breath for one, long, timeless moment.

And then reality hit, and Big Black felt his man-parts (no longer in a warm sheath or completely covered in warm black fur) shrinking in search of shelter from winter's last dying breaths. Finding this situation not-pleasing, the alpha dropped Salin into the snow and shifted back into wolf form, shaking his coat and giving a huff.

Laugher barked anxiously up at Ghost, clearly wanting the pup to come down sooner rather than later. Big Bad himself sat and scratched behind one ear with his hind leg, gazing up as well and waiting patiently, elf reacquired and lynx chased off.

*

When Lincoln finally got back to the bunker and found Salin was not there (and a quick look at the screens showed his plan had failed completely) the shifter sat down heavily and ran a hand through his hair. This was so bad. The cell phone felt heavy in his hand as he picked it up and dialed the number for HQ, quickly requesting transfer to the big boss. While calming elevator music played as the lynx waited, Lincoln was anything but calm or content. All he could see was the werewolves suddenly turning on the elf and tearing Salin apart right before his very eyes. Or a full-out SWAT team being called to swiftly kill the animals, bathing the place where new life was supposed to be born red.

"Hello, sir?" Lincoln swallowed hard, but knew he had to continue. This was beyond just one lynx now; he'd failed and he couldn't risk his own life again. If he died, Salin would be left alone with no one knowing what had happened for several months. "There's been an incident. Salin was in the field and intervened with one of the subjects. The ferals have taken an interest in him, and it appears they won't be letting him go anytime soon, if at all. I attempted to extract him myself, but failed. We need a rescue team sent here, asap."  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Something in Salins chest did a small little jump, strangely light and making his head spin, as he stared up at this large man that had once been a wolf. It was a surprise to see him like this and even more of a surprise to have his chest give such a strange pang of almost longing. Salin didn't have long to think about it, just enough time to stare into the wolfs eyes, before he was being dropped onto the snow and everyone was waiting for Ghost to get down. The pup had an easy time of it, not being scared at all of the height, and when he hit the snow he instantly changed forms to warm himself back up. He yipped and nipped at Salin before nuzzling him and sniffing him to make sure he had not received any injuries. He found a few cuts on the there hands from the rough bark but beside that his friend seemed fine and that made the pup feel better.

Of course now that they both were down they had to head back to the den, and Ghost needed to head back out with Laugher, while Salin followed along behind BigBlack and with Chewtoy at his rear. This was great, just perfect, he hadn't gotten away and now he had a need that was itching at the back of his mind. He wanted to see big black like a human again, he had a need to that burned inside him, and he had no idea why. Not that he had any idea why anything was happening currently with himself and BigBlack, why the wolf wanted anything to do with him, but for now there was nothing he could do but play along. Trying to escape would cause more harm than good and as long as Salin stayed away from b***h he figured he would be alright. Plus Chewtoy and Ghost seemed to like him enough, the Omega more curious than anything else, though Chewtoy had smelled someone else on the wind that would end up cutting down his play time.

Once they were back at the den, Salin with Gregory, Chewtoy slunk off into the woods to go chase down the scent he caught on the breeze.

**

Mathas was sitting at his desk staring at papers he didn't want to sign and thinking about what could be going on with the large project he had funded. He had warned his son many times about going on the trip, about doing this, but Salin was a child who did not care much for what his parent had to say which lead to a lot of… uncomftoable situations. Mathas sighed, staring at the papers but glancing at the phone every few moments. It wouldn’t hurt him to call would it? It couldn’t hurt to just check in on his son and colleague. Of course just as he thought that the phone gave a sharp trill and Mathas was grabbing it quickly.

Lincoln spoke before Mathas even had a chance to really ask why the other was calling, perhaps there was some sort of emergency, and as it turned out the man has thought right but emergency wasn't quite the word for it. Salin had found himself amongst wolf, a situation the young red head had been in before in a more figurative sense, but as it would seem they had no true intent on killing him. Mathas was silent for a few moments, thinking about the project and what his son would want, before he sighed. "I won't be sending anyone." He waited for the outrage before silencing the other man by clearing his throat.

"If what you are telling me is true then my son is completely safe and alright. He is with a band of wolves but they are not hostile towards him and the last thing we need right now is a farel back getting upset because we took one of it's member. For right now keep watching, and recording, see what happens and report back on it. I know this isn't the best way to conduct research but honestly I think this is was Salin would want from us instead of sending in a swat team." Mathas knew he was right, he knew his son, so with Lincolns arrogance to do nothing he hung up the phone and sighed. Suddenly so many complications… He knew Slain would have gotten himself in trouble and now thi paper work seemed even more trivial


((Bah. Short reply is short.))  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

((It's more than alright, my post was short too xD ))

Big Black sat down with a wide yawn, seemingly content to lay down and just watch the elf instead of holding the redhead close like he had the previous day, thinking the lynx 'spook' was enough to have the elf secure for now. The alpha tilted his head this way and that, looking the elf up-and-down now that the other wasn't pressed against him and the daylight shown strongly, This was not a man. But this was also not any sort of shape-changer the alpha had ever seen in his life. There was no animal smell about him, just a woodsy, fruity ... flowery scent, almost. Something rare in the natural wold but not unheard of.

Bitche's head could be seen poking out of her den, huffing at the sight o the elf and quickly retreating again, wanting nothing to do with him and thinking eventually her mate would grow bored of the plaything and throw it away.

Out hunting, Laugher was being oddly scolding before they could properly get to work, mouthing Ghost's scruff and giving him a little mock-shaking. Nothing to really hurt, but to just give the general idea of 'you did BAD'. Then, the dramatic Beta went over to a tree, stood up on his two wolf legs and touched the bark with his hind paws, giving a great yelp when he looked down, as if from a great height, then 'fell' backwards into a mound of snow, giving yelps and yowls as if mortally wounded from the 'great fall', miming what sort of danger the smaller Beta had put himself in. Show done, Laugher looked around--upside down--to see if the pup was watching intently to this serious safety lesson.

*

When Licoln hung up the phone, he was ashamed to find himself relived the project wasn't ruined, even if Salin was with a pack that, for reasons completely unknown, had focebly 'adopted' the elf. Shaking his head, the lynx looked back to the screens with a regretful glance at Salin's left-behind sketchbook before getting back to work.

*

Wet snow gave muffled crunches as One-Eye trotted sorefully along, tongue hanging long and body far leaner than it should be for an alpha. With his winter coat beginning to shed he looked even more scraggly and rough than usual, bones slightly visible where his summer coat was fully exposed while the thicker patches of winter fur still vainly tried to hide his weakness. He'd been following this bull moose for the past week, his pace slow but unyielding and the bull finally starting to waver enough that One-Eye caught glimpses of it and hints of the prey animal's fresh trail.

A trail that slid right into territory that was taken, but One-Eye didn't care. He could smell the scent markers had only been marked once recently; this was a pack kept too busy or too small to make constant patrols. Though there was one particularly annoying little thing in this pack that seemed to always sniff him out any time he was near. Scratching off another patch of winter coat, One-resumed focusing on food instead of omegas, and finally caught the bull off-guard in a grassy meadow where the snow had already melted, revealing tender, green new shoots of plantlife. One-Eye used the last of his strength and pushed his creaking joints to their limits, catching one of the bull's back legs with a crunch of his jaws. The other leg had already risen to kick him, sending exploding pain through his shoulder but at a great cost: the moose was down and struggled to get up.

With one bad front leg now the alpha limped as fast as he could around the front of the animal and finished the job with the throat before standing back as the moose entered its death throws. The aged alpha laid down in the grass, tongue hanging and dripping with sweat as he panted hard and whined to himself, gingerly licking his already-swelling shoulder. It could heal, it would heal, but it would take time. Age slowed that usually-fast process down, even for werewolves. Getting to his three good feet, the old one-eyed wolf sighed to himself and began chewing open the moose's gut, wanting to make as quick work of his meal as possible and hurting too much to pay great attention to his surroundings.  

[Killer_Kiwi_XD]

knux33

Chewtoy sniffed low, and high, following the scent that always brought him to someone he quite enjoyed. His mind travled back to the year before with the old wolf on their teritory, no one truly bothered with him because of his advanced age and Chewtoy thought it was probably for the best. He trotted along at a slow pace, coming across tufts of winter fur that made his ears lay back to see, a healthy wolf could shed the fur easily without the need to rub against some rough bark and he didn't like the thought of the old Alpha being so weak. Chewtoy whined low in his throat, stopping for a moment to sniff the ground, before he continued on with a slow trot.

He caught a rabbit along the way, the creature darting in front of his path when it mistakenly thought it was safe, a small morsel but he would be more than happy to give some to the old alpha with the missing eye. Chewtoy trotted along, nose stinging a bit from the injuries from b***h but all in all feeling rather good and looking sort of plump. He panted as he walked and after a short while more he managed to find himself in a snow free clearing, catching the older wolf just as he was finishing his meal. Chewtoy stared, curious, and inched his way over to the other wolf on his belly with the rabbit in his mouth.

He made sure to come up on the older wolfs good side, rolling onto his belly with the rabbit still in his mouth, and pawed at the others muzzle gently. He did this almost every time he saw the older wolf, appearing out of no where and trying to gain the wolfs attention, though when he noticed the others shoulder he went very still then flopped over onto his belly and changed. No one in his own pack had seen him changed but it was a common thing when he was around one eye. His main reason he didn't change though was that he couldn’t get it all right. A bushy tail and ears still on him as he very gently touched around the area.

"Ow" it was a simple word, very simple and one of the only ones he knew thanks to one eyes and having heard it from a hunter once. His tail wagged quickly, nervously, he always hated seeing one eye injured. It made him upset and he didn't understand why, he wasn’t up set when Big Black got injured so why with this alpha? Chewtoy stared at one eye, waiting for him to either nudge him away or change, Chewtoy knew it was always easier for the older wolf to heal when he wasn't having to walk on what was injured so he tried to prompt the other with a nudge and a lick before sitting back.

Despite being an Omega Chewtoy was… lovely. His tail and ear was damaged but it only seemed to add to the sweet looking face surrounded by long russet hair. His green eyes were always brighter in this form, full lips and a slender body that matched his small stature as a wolf, many alphas in the human world would be happy to have him as theirs simply because of the appealing look but as a wolf he was… less wanted. He wiggled his nose a bit, the cut on his face pulling but it wouldn’t scar, before smileing brightly when One eye finally decided to change.

He leaned over and licked the wolfs face, still not quite understanding the mechanics of being in this form, but One eye sometimes taught him things if he annoyed him enough. Though right right now was focusing on the others shoulder. "Ow" he frowned and glared at the animal that had been killed, it should know better, but that thought was soon forgotten as he remember the rabbit he had brought and grabbed it to start pulling off the fur. The last time they had seen each other Chewtoy had been ungodly thin, barely being able to get a nibble of anything with b***h around, he remembered the one time One eye had seen him and after only a moment offered him some of his kill but Chewtoy had declined and instead went and caught a small ferret.

He didn't like taking from one eye, he wasn't sure if the other really meant it because sometimes b***h would trick him like that, but also the other wolf always looked like he needed it as well. Chewtoy stared down at the rabbit as he defurred it, humming a little, he wished he had a way to tell one eye about the strange new comer that had joined them.

**

Salin was glad that the wolf didn't try to keep him down this time because honestly he was wanting to look around. He apparently had quite the free range to poke around, though he stayed away from the den with b***h in it, he was curious like a pup that just walked into the real world with open eyes. He moved some things around, poked at the dead dear, before realizing that it was just him and BigBlack in the clearing. That was boring, exceedingly so, even more so because the wolf was just laying there as if he had nothing better to do. Salin sat in the snow for a moment, staring at the wolf, before he scooped up a hand full of white stuff and threw it at the wolf.

When it gained the attention of the Wolf Salin was looking somewhere else, staring at the sky like he hadn't just tossed the white slush at him. He was so used to beign able to watch all the wolves at once that just laying down with BigBlack was almost boring… he could get the other to do something. After a few moments Salin saw the wolfs eyes were closed so he carefully started a slow and silent crawl towards the wolf, laying on his belly when ever the alphas eyes opened and closing his eyes like he had decided to take a nap as well.

It took him a while but when he finally reach Big Black he slowly, and carefully, laid himself across the others side with his arms stretched wide around him and his ear to the wolfs chest so he could hear his heart thrumming. Salin was silent as he lay there in wonder, surprised Big Black hand't decided to move away from his irritating motions, before he could help but utter "oh wow…"

**

Ghost didn't like being scolded, he actually really hated it, but as Laugher put on such a dramatic display Ghost couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He waited till the other wolf was done with his ridiculousness before shaking his head and nudging him then shifting forms. He looked at Laugher and quite pointedly waited, and waited, till the other finally joined him. He then proceeded to grab onto the tree and show the wolf that he was safe. He was just fine like this, and how silly the other was to try and climb like a wolf. Ghost licked Laughers face, not having climbed very high, he understood that the other was worried but Ghost had been climbing by himself for so long that Laughers concern wouldn’t be stopping him anytime soon.  

[knux33]

Killer_Kiwi_XD

One Eye sat down by the now-gutted moose, stomach rounded with rich meat and licking his muzzle clean with a mighty yawn, revealing a maw still full of teeth. Because of their lifespan werewolves, much like sharks, never ran out of new teeth to replace old ones that rotted or broke. So his fangs were just as light a yellow as any young werewolf's, even at his age. He blinked and turned hi head ever so slightly when he noticed movement, nose still full of moose-blood scent, but relaxed almost immediately when he saw it was only Chewtoy. The wold wolf didn't move, letting the chewed-up omega come to him with his offering in the usual way and the old canine pretended he didn't even notice the other's pawing at first, as was his usual custom. Usually the old wolf would do this until the omega was whining and pleading with his little half-tail wagging eagerly because One-Eye always eventually gave in when it came to that point.

But today things happened differently, the omega spotting the way he was clearly favoring one leg over the other and just getting right to changing. One Eye gave a soft whining agreement with the “Ow” statement, though his good eye was on the wound on the omega's face as he did so, also leaning forward to lick the already well-cleaned wound. Chewtoy was always so sweet to him the old alpha struggled to make sense of how beat-up the little omega always seemed to get. It angered and frustrated him even to see a superficial wound on the russet-haired young man. He calmed at the other's insistent lick and nudge though, huffing his amusement and changing his form. It was easy to see the hints of what kind of man One Eye had been: his skin sagged slightly now in places where his muscles had been large than what they were now, but even now he was in good shape for an old guy. The massive, ugly bruise on his shoulder nonwithstanding, his boney frame still had muscle, and rugged peppered-gray hair matted with thicker patches like his wolf form had currently. His stomach in this form also clearly showed his engorged state, his recent feast still digesting and a little over half the moose still leftover to finish later. So, hopefully, the rich meal would help add some flesh to his bones.

Unlike Chewtoy's pack, the old alpha had gone south for the winter where snow was less dense … but also where prey remained strong and difficult to catch year-round. One Eye would've lingered a bit further north if he'd had a pack still to help him keep warm and hunt, but now he was just an old alpha all alone. Though Chewtoy's company, as much as he liked to play the annoyed old man, was a nice reason to keep returning here and watching the other gobble up all he could teach. It was enjoyable to see he curiosity burning in the omega, and the other trying to puzzle things out. The reward of seeing the other communicating, even so simply, was more than worth the trouble.

The lick he got to his face made the old man make his odd amused noise with a smile on his face: chuckling. As the omega finished glaring daggers at the dead moose One Eye settled in his sitting position, watching the omega as the smaller male began defuring the rabbit. Though, really, his gaze was traveling up and down the omega's body instead, pleased to see the younger male had put on weight. Without his ribs showing the omega looked … soft, like his russet fur, and like the soft humming coming from the other. Chewtoy was still thin, but now it was a strong, lithe thinness One Eye found himself lingering on and admiring as the omega worked on his rabbit.

Feeling full and mischievous with the warm beginning spring sun on his flesh, the older wolf reached over with his good hand and used two fingers to lightly knead the base of the omega's half-ear, liking the feeling of the soft fur turning into long, equally soft hair. It was an old habit, one from his parent's pack long since disbanded, though usually it would be one in human form teasing another in wolf form. One Eye liked how Chewtoy wasn't normal in that respect; it made the little russet one even more unique in One Eye's opinion.

“Ear.” One Eye said simply, knowing strings of words were far beyond what the other would understand. And even now 'ear' could probably mean the kneading or the spot being tended to, or anything else about the current moment that stood out to the younger wolf. Learning words was a slow and long process … but One Eye was willing to try. He was beginning to yearn for conversation … but just with the omega. He wanted to know more about the other, and why he always found him whenever the old wolf came this way in the spring. He wanted to be able to tell the omega about his own life and experiences.

But for now, one had to start with the basics. Leaning over and licking the stubby ear, One Eye repeated the word: “Ear.”

*

Big Black had his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of his dark coat absorbing and warming in the sunlight while his ears were turning discreetly in the elf's direction as the not-wolf explored their den site. Like twin satellite dishes the black cups turned lazily, listening more to the light rustle of clothes than crunching snow because the elf walked without hardly making a snowflake stir. From time to time he opened his eyes to watch the newcomer explore so innocently and curiously, before just listening as he laid like a large chunk of darkness to lazy to follow the rest of the night away instead.

The only warning he had didn't stir the alpha at all: a crunch of snow from the elf's direction. Then a clump of cold wet smacked right into his side, startling the alpha into jumping to his feet and looking wildly around in confusion. There were no branches above him, so logically no snow should've been able to fall on him. But the suspisious noise near the elf right before he'd been hit had the werewolf staring intently at Salin a few long seconds, but when the redhead niether appologised submissivly like any of his pack would've done or hopped over to play now that he was up, the alpha just snorted unhappily and shook and remainder of the snow off of his still winter-thick coat before laying back down, head on his paws and eyes soon closed again.

Picking up trace sounds of movement the wolf opened one eye to see the elf just laying down and napping too. He closed his eye, thinking all was well when he heard more sounds of movement. He raised his head and looked over at the now-closer elf, only Salin still appeared to be sleeping. Tilting his head first one way, then another, Big Black yawned and quickly grew bored when Salin did not move again, resuming his own nap. This mix of bemusement and dozing continued until the elf was right up against his side, arms around him in an unfamiliar physical embrace. But it was the odd noises that had Big Black's head turning quickly, two yellow-green eyes staring intently at the elf … and then tilting his head and giving a short: “Oof,” bark. Both noises had enough of an 'o' sound meshed in them to not sound completely alien but still … the alpha's hackles were up, showing his unease at the oddness of the not-quite-barks. They hadn't sounded like any usual animal noises either.

*

Laugher whined unhappily at Ghost's shifting and clear demand for him to do the same. But, of course, the other beta eventually gave in, smiling nervously with his hair a mix of his normal coloration as he watched Ghost climb on a low branch to demonstrate all was well with it. The older Beta just pouted sourly as Ghost licked his face from his perch, the older wolf huffing and thinking a moment before a grin spread across his face. Before the pup could react the more experienced male grabbed the pup by the ankles and overturned him so Ghost fell down into the wet snowdrift ringing the bottom of the tree (the well-shaded spots where snow would linger the longest and strongest until spring had truly arrived).

The Beta rang out in a real, human laugh—something he'd learned from his father—before shifting into his wolf form and taking off before the likely-wrathful youngster could retaliate. What ill was a little play and good old roughhousing before really starting the hunt, anyway? The b***h could wait a little longer; it wasn't like any of them were starving this season.