Styx & Others

Hedes was up front with Pistol as the two older wolves lead the way to the Wolf Center. Where they would be meeting the Ankhian Lurkers for the first time, other than Pistol. Styx a light black in color brute, almost light enough to pass as grey, has a quarter size white marking on his chest. His bluish green soul holders looked around. Luna walked with Athena and Grace as they talked about getting a new home. Even though they had only been in the Alleys for a few months. Argolis word was law though and they all knew that. Apache is light brown in color that fades to white on his legs. He has deep blue eyes and was walking to the side of Pistol. Ares and Song traveled next to Hope. Somewhere in the middle behind the two older wolves was Spirit. Spirit is brindle in color, taking after the Akita side of the family with dark blue eyes. With him was Layla and Cassandra. Whisper is grey in color, with brown eyes, and had Keiran and Zephyr beside him as they walked behind Zelda, Kali, and Rain. Keiran is very light grey in color that fades to white on his undersides and legs, he has brown eyes. Zephyr is white with a patch of gray on his chest and on the tip of his tail, he has blue eyes. Adriana and Eris brought up the rear with Daren, Bandit, Damon, and Lotus. Daren is medium gray and has green eyes. Bandit is solid black without any markings and his eyes are so dark blue that they seem black. Damon is solid white like his mother and has dark blue eyes. Lotus is almost a spitting image of his father, only he is a lighter gray. He has his father's same white markings. He has green eyes. Each wolf were the size of adults and could almost be classified as such, other than Hedes. He had been an adult for a little while. Once they made it, they stopped and waited, excited and nervous to meet their new pack members.

Ankh & Others

The trip from the Alleys to the Wolf Center was not a terribly long one, and most of the journey saw them traveling south along the edge of the coast. Today was a little cooler than what it had been during the unusually hot summer, and Pistol for one enjoyed the the fresh breeze that came in from the ocean. After traveling some distance though, the group was lead away from the coast and further into the forest, where eventually they came to the Wolf Center, where two larger building sat separated from a multi-acre enclosure. The scent of humans here was incredibly faint, suggesting they had not been here for some time, which was part of the reason Ankh had decided to claim this area as the pack's new home. And it was at the edge of one of these fences where Pistol and Hedes came to a stop, and were soon greeted by Ankh and his followers.

The ebony-coated hybrid was easily recognized by his dense ruff, and how it almost made his head and the rest of his body look too small. Indeed, the alpha had been one of the smallest in the litter, but he had been cunning, bold, and aggressive enough to branch out and start of pack of his own; and he had led that pack successfully for years now. "This is quite a crowd." The long-muzzled leader said as he padded up and came to a stop in front of Hedes and Pistol, and observed the other canines behind them. At his side was Snowy Owl, a pale-cream female with speckles of blue-grey scattered through her coat, giving her heritage away as a hybrid. As the alphess of the pack, she held herself high and proud, but there was a softness in her eyes and a gentleness in the way she smiled at the newcomers that contradicted Ankh's sterner look. She spoke after her mate, "Welcome, friends. We have only just begun to secure this land as our new home, and we are happy to have so many of you wishing to join us. My name is Snowy Owl, and this is Ankh." Snowy turned her muzzle back to nod at another female in the pack, one who looked almost identical to Ankh, but with a broader muzzle, "This is Blackfrost, and beside her is Snowpaw." The hybrid standing next to Blackfrost was a slate-gray brute with a black mask and black ears. Scent would tell the newcomers that these two were siblings, and both offspring of Ankh and Snowy Owl.

Next to arrive was a more slender fae, and one who carried herself strongly. Her coat was light gray, with a bluish-gray tinge around her neck, and dark amber eyes. Passing by her younger siblings, she stood tall beside her father Ankh and greeted the group with a smile, "Welcome to the Anhkian Lurkers. My name is ShearWind. Unfortunately, our other three pack members are not here with us today, but you will meet them soon."

Styx & Others

Hedes watched the small group meet them, and it didn’t take long before the alpha presented himself. A smile was given to his reaction of how large they were. Then again the wolf center was large too. He must be Ankh. Beside him a female spoke up next, her voice softer than her mate as she gave them welcome. Her name was Snowy Owl. The two younger wolves were introduced as Blackfrost and Snowpaw. He nodded to each as he could detect some whispering behind him. It was mostly the females, because when SheerWind arrived she caught most of the males attention. Styx was even brave enough to wink at her after she spoke.

Apache took it upon himself to step forward and introduce them all with names. When a wolfs name was called, they either walked forward or nodded to show who they were. Thank you for accepting us into your pack. Was what he finished with.

Ankh & Others

The Ankhian Lurkers had always been a fairly small pack, especially once they had given up their territory and went nomadic. But now that they had claimed a large chunk of space, Ankh knew they would need all the support they could get in order to defend it, and to rally the Lurker's numbers and strength in the Valley. This addition was a very welcome one. Once his mate and daughter had finished speaking, and Apache had introduced each of the new wolves, Ankh spoke up again, "It's my honor to have you here. There is strength in numbers, and today our pack has more than double in size." Small of stature as Ankh was, his voice was deep and his words powerful, "I want you all to carry the Lurker banner proudly. And I want you to know that as Lurkers, loyalty is everything - we live and breath for our family, and we will fight to the death to protect each other and our home."

While her father addressed the newcomers and gave them a hearty speech, ShearWind sat back on her haunches and listened attentively. She'd been scanning over the sea of furry faces before her and beginning to memorize the various individuals, though she knew it would take some time before all of those names stuck. One canine that caught her attention above all the others was Styx and his wink at her. Shear grinned back at him in response, and had it in mind to speak to this male once the speech was over. For now, she continued to listen to what Ankh had to say. "Now, I know that you've been told that we don't touch humans. Well, that rule only applies to the Shadow Lurkers; out here, there is no such rule. If you come across a straggling human, take them down if you want. Hunt their animals, and steal their food. Humans are not off limits to the Ankhian Lurkers." It was well known, at least amongst the older population of Lurkers, that Ankh was notoriously anti-human, as his attacks against the ranch and past alliance with Taijya's group had proven.

Styx & Others

Hedes listened attentively as Ankh spoke again, his words carrying the authority of an alpha. He couldn't help but nod at the end of his little speech, to show he agreed about the loyalty thing. In fact he noticed that quite a few of the others gave smiles, nods, or some inclination to what he said as they agreed strongly with him.

Apache noticed how ShearWind was looking to them all, and he gave a friendly smile to the female when she looked to him. Styx noticed her grin and he smirked for a minute before turning his attention back to Ankh. Humans? Messing with them ought to be fun, and his tail wagged at the idea. After the meeting he was actually thinking about it.

Little did they know, that they weren't the only wild animals around here. They would find out shortly though. It seemed the humans haven’t evacuated all the animals and that was if they got rid of any before they deserted this place.

Ankh & Others

Seeing that his audience was an attentive, agreeable one, Ankh felt all the better about taking up Argolis' offer to house the new members. The small-bodied alpha waited for a moment after his speech to see if there were any questions, which he doubted there would be considering that everyone seemed content with what he had to say. "I will give you all time to explore our new territory and get to know your new pack. We are in the process of securing our borders, so feel free to scent mark, and if you come across anything unusual or anything that needs my attention, let me know." The ebony hybrid scanned the group once more, "We will hunt at dusk."

ShearWind waited until her father had finished the speech, having returned a shared smile with Apache as she waited. Once Ankh had concluded his speech and started to move forward to greet the new pack members personally, Shear herself moved forward as well, her first stop being the male who'd winked at her. "Styx, isn't it?" The lean-built hybrid questioned. "How do like your new home, compared to the Alleys?" She had a side-grin stretched across her muzzle, because personally, Shear found the Alleys too claustrophobic and noisy for her liking.

Styx & Others

When Ankh finished, they started breaking up to go explore. Some of the wolves left to go along the border and scent marked. Others went deeper inside the territory. Styx saw her approaching and waited for her. Bluish green eyes watched her as she questioned him. He gave a nod even as he replied. ShearWind, right? It was obvious that he was jesting with her, seeing as he didn’t have to remember as many names as she did. He was about to answer her next question when a furious howl sounded in the air. Ears pricked he looked in the direction it came from. What's that? Without really waiting for an answer he headed in the direction the call came from, expecting his new pack mate to follow.

Arriving on the scene, he could see that Hope, Ares, and Apache were already there. Inside the gate were Nyx, Selene, Serena, Apollo, Ares, and Orion. The humans have obviously forgotten about them. Nyx was currently trying to talk her way out of the cage by trying to get Apache to release her. Hope and Ares had refused until their alpha or someone of rank came. So she was trying to seduce Apache in to getting them out. She stopped when she noticed the other wolves approaching. Let us out. Please had left her vocabulary by then, even though she had tried to be civil with the first three.

Ankh & Others

As the pack split up, Ankh and the others split up with them, the alphas heading with one group, and Blackfrost and the others going with the second. That left ShearWind with Styx for a few moments, where she got the first taste of his personality, and had to grin at his joking nature. "ShearWind it is, but most call me Shear." The way the wolfess was holding herself in a confident, proud posture suggested she was of high ranking, but the looseness of her gently swaying tail declared that she was more content to be on equal footing right now, and simply get to know Styx and the others, and worry about reinforcing her rank later. As she waited for his next answer, a howl disrupted the pair, and immediately Styx had taken off. Shear was after him in a heartbeat, and this time her tail was up; not in the alpha position, but in the beta's.

Upon arriving at the gate, ShearWind could see that neither of her parents had arrived yet. She didn't bother to wait for them however; the soft gray wolfess approached the chain-link wall with caution, being as leery of it as she was the wolves behind it. "Who are you?" First and foremost, the beta had to figure out who they were dealing with, and... "..you're stuck in there? There is no other way out?" ShearWind had not had the time to explore the entire area or the many acres of land that the enclosure covered, and thus didn't immediately realize that Nyx and the others were stuck inside.

Styx & Others

Her grin made Styx return one as she said he had her name right, but most just call her Shear. Before anything else could be said though, he had taken off to find out what the sound was. His siblings that were already there only got a nod as he came to a stop. Shear had followed after, and now he noticed that she held herself in a high rank. Beta. Hmm, it seemed he hadn’t been talking to just any member like he had originally thought. Styx wasn’t bothered by it, in fact he even shot her a smile before looking to the wolves in the cage.

Growing beyond fed up, Apollo spoke up from where he was staring ShearWind down. Her questions had bothered him. Get us the hell out, and I might tell you my name, beautiful. His words were growled out to show that he was serious. His gaze seemed hungry on her, but not the kind for lust. Serena stood nearby, silent, tired, and hungry and not even bothering to try and calm her offspring off. Even though she could. Selene stood protectively over her mother, teeth bared at all the unknown canines. There were many and she smell them. Ares and Orion stood, pelts bristling as they waited. Nyx just stared out at them. If we weren’t stuck, then why the hell would we be in here? The humans used a button over there to open and close the gate. She looked around for that other female that had been in there with them.

Styx snarled at Apollo when he spoke to Shear, but otherwise remained waiting in a defensive posture for the beta to make up her mind. He stayed near her side, even when she went up the fence.

ShearWind & Others

ShearWind had caught the smile, but hadn't the frame of mind to return it as they bolted off. Later however, she would remember this particular male's charm, and would be more vested in getting to know him better. By the time she'd reached the gate and shared a few words with the other wolves, Shear was far from a smiling mood, and wasn't about to back down from Apollo's stare. Dark amber eyes locked onto his unblinkingly while her mind raced to figure out the situation - part of her felt defensive and territorial, as this was their newly claimed land, and this unknown male was threatening her; the other part of her mind begun to rationalize the rest of the data, including the fact that this other pack was apparently stuck here inside the strange wall of metal loops. "Tell me your name, or you can stay stuck behind the two-leggers wall." ShearWind was not the hot-head that her father was thankfully, or she'd have been bristling and snarling back insults at Apollo. Instead, she took more of her mother's calm head, and though she bristled a little and held herself with authority, the beta did not bare her fangs or let her voice rise too much.

Blackfrost was the next to arrive on the scene, and did so in time to hear most of what was spoken between the two groups. She kept her tail low but her hackles up to make her ebony body appear larger, just in case this other group had any ideas of attacking her or the other Lurkers. Cautiously, Blackfrost stalked closer to the fence and perked her ears at Nyx's words, and her eyes flashed briefly to the gate that had been mentioned. The yearling had never been around humans enough to know what a button was, but ShearWind would know.

Styx & others

Nyx saw Blackfrost, but she made no move to talk to the younger wolfess. Her attention was on ShearWind as she spoke. Apollo, his name is Apollo, now get us the hell out…please. She added the last word in an exasperated voice. Serena now rose and approached the front of the cage, her appearance somewhat haggard.

Styx stayed near ShearWind and gave Blackfrost a nod when she came closer to them.

Ares stepped closer to the fence as well and snarled up at the unknown wolves who were showing the beta such disrespect. Hope stood by Apache, a bit scared by the hostile show. Apache simply watched on, attentive and alert, with no hint of fear but of readiness if a fight came.

ShearWind & Others

If only that 'please' hadn't been tacked on at the end, ShearWind would have denied their request until her father and mother showed up. The fae sounded exasperated though, and Shear felt a twinge of uneasiness run down her spine at the idea of being corralled by the humans, like no more than sheep in a pasture. "Very well..." The female started, with warning in her voice and a hard stare glued to Apollo, "We'll let you out, so long as you cause no harm to our pack, and leave this place immediately." The beta stalked down towards the gate that Nyx had pointed out, and upon reaching it, she finally broke her gaze with Apollo and began to look the strange structure over. If only she knew what a 'button' was, this would be so much easier. As the wolfess examined the metal frame and the control panel on the side, her vocals rose again, "As a forewarning Apollo, this is only half of our pack. The rest are not far off."