[PRP] Zoinks! Zerkers?! (Willow Bark x Thrush)

[RuIerr]

Willow Bark woke up with a start, stirring from a bad dream while blinking sleep out of his eyes. A yawn escaped his mouth, wide and accompanied by a piercing sound only wolves and dogs seemed to be able to emit. The dream he had awoken from was... it was weird. If Willow believed in magic and all that nefarious what-you-call-it, he might've thought it was a premonition. A vision. But no, it was just a regular nightmare involving giant wolves, covered in dark, malevolent-like colors and baring fangs unrivaled by any dire. He knew who he had to seek out: his best friend, confidant, and boss, Thrush.

The dream wasn't too far from a reality that Willow knew must exist - and while the pack already had an established policy on those poor hybrid creatures, they had no yet convened on what to do if a bigger, stronger wolf showed up at their borders. Would they admit them? Or would their size only prove a threat to the Point's legitimacy?

Willow Bark stalked out of his den and glanced about, almost immediately spotting Thrush. He quickly trotted over to the deep oak-colored wolf, and immediately started talking.

"I just had a dream, and I think we need to talk about it." He made no effort to segue into the conversation, but instead just started blabbing. Surely, Thrush was used to this sort of stream-of-consciousness from Willow. "There... there are wolves out there that are bigger and badder than any dires we've ever seen. What do we do if one shows up at our borders?

I can't shake the thought of it. They're terrifying, and I fear they could threaten the Point, but would also pose an incredible asset if they were loyal. Do you think beasts such as those are capable of loyalty of that depth?"

Willow Bark finally stopped speaking and looked over at Thrush expectantly.

{WC: 317}

In Good Faith

 

[In Good Faith]

Swiftfell life had been running smoothly lately. The pack was thriving, the people were happy, and the summer was prosperous in prey and health. As with any bloom of a flower, though, there was of course the danger of a frost, a rainstorm, or change of wind.

There had been numerous reports of new scents in the area, migrating closer to pack territory. There was enough of the scent, though, to know it wasn’t one or two loners from the same area. No, it was a pack. A new pack. They didn’t know their name or their way of life yet, but patrol had been sent to survey what they could, without getting too close or within danger… They brought back what they saw, some of which he found disturbing. There had been reports of large wolves… larger than normal. Larger than Thrush... Much larger.

He’d sought out of the beta with his concerns, knowing he would likely find him near the dens as daylight was still high in the sky. Find him... or well, Willow Bark finding him it seemed, brought him up short. "Willow Bark, I..." The alpha was stalled in the brain. How could his best friend, his beta... how was it even possible? Thrush couldn't begin to wrap his mind around it. He had more pressing issues to address.

"Willow." He proceeded to inform him of the patrol's reports. “They say there isn’t nearly the same number as we have, but the wolves vary in size… vary greatly. At least three were seen and were massive, Willow. We do have the numbers were they to be hostel, but I’m concerned for what the birds bring in news. You are our head of defense when it comes to these matters. Have you seen or heard anything of the like?”

WC: 302

RuIerr

 

[RuIerr]

Willow nodded, indicating that he had heard word. While there hadn't been anything specific - just rumors - it didn't seem real to him until he was face to face with one of the beasts in his dream. Just gathering the understanding of the sheer size of the creature was hard to process.

"I have, but nothing concrete. It seems as if they're getting closer to pack lands, but patrols that have gone out haven't found anything just yet. However, we're not sending them out nearly far enough. If we want to be aggressive about this, and show whoever they might be that we are not to be messed with, then we should send our largest wolves out further. We need to figure out these wolves. I'm not okay with one of them simply showing up and expecting to be given shelter and a hot meal." A hardness glistened in his eyes - strange, for the normally genial wolf. But he was a bit scared - who wouldn't be?! Thrush and he had done a great job of running the pack, he thought, and he feared anything that threatened that.

{WC: 186}
{Total WC: 503}

In Good Faith

just added a final wc~

 

[In Good Faith]

Willow Bark's sense of determination was both tangible and contagious. He felt his fur bristle and his eye glisten. He was right. The largest of the pack—himself included—would need to be deployed further than the pack territory. In pairs, or triplets, if need be. Safety was the utmost importance, of course; he told Willow Bark his thoughts in so many words.

"I will rely on you to spread the word and you will double my patrolling shifts." As it had been, the Alpha rarely patrolled the pack lands when so much was to be done in the core of the pack territory. Now was the time to change that. "Put me on with Halcyon and you interchanging, if you like. Hunters will be expected to pull weight too, I expect. I trust your judgment in moving forward. Until we know more about this species, or this pack, we can't be too careful."

"Go now. I will tell my family, and will meet with you tonight to run through the first changes in protocol." Thrush turned from Willow now, his sense of foreboding somewhat lifted, but replaced with an eerie sense that Willow shouldn't have known about the size of those wolves. Not unless... the alpha shook his head and neck roughly, ignoring the buzzing of concern that caused it. No, there was no such thing as "seers." It was all fancy and fairytales.

In any event, he took another look at Willow over his shoulder before stalking back to his den.

WC: 253

RuIerr