a [SHARD] of luck

[S h a r d]

Shard inhaled deeply, bathing himself in the intricate web of scents rolling to greet him from all directions, each and every one of them thrilling him with their newness and unfamiliarity. The faintest of the smells, however, was the one which caught his attention the most sharply, causing his ears and tail to come up hopefully. It was the smell of urine, scent markers placed around the border of a territory. The closest border which he could scent was some way away. Shard breathed in again, this time honing in closely on the rancid scent of urine in the hope of finding anything closer, but fainter.

Nothing.

Which was exactly what he had been hoping for. For Shard was pacing excitedly in the midst of closely packed trees, the canopy above dappling him in a soft, green glow. He could feel life all around him, pulsing gently against his dark fur, the forest teeming with prey. Streams and brooks chattered like female cubs on their bubbling journeys. It was the perfect patch of land for territory ... and no one owned it. The entire expanse around him was his for the taking.

It was exactly what he had been searching for for the past six months. The end of his search was so sudden and decisive that Shard was barely able to comprehend that it was happening. For never-ending weeks he had paced between marked boundaries, listening to the hunting howls of full and successful Packs around him, not being able to help but to feel a pang of jealousy whenever he picked out the stronger, more authorative notes of the leaders. That, he had always said, would be him one day.

And today, it would be. Shard padded in a full circle, drinking in the surroundings thirstily, tail swinging powerfully from side to side. The trees groaned around him in response as boughs, knitted so closely together, scraped and rubbed. Dry leaves whispered to him, but Shard barely had the patience to listen. Even the ceaseless drilling of a nearby woodpecker, a noise which usually never failed to set his teeth on edge, failed to irritate him. The colours around him suddenly seemed sharper, the air crisper.

There was no on here to challenge him as of yet, but that could change. And Shard had no doubt that claiming this patch of forest would not be nearly as easy as it seemed to him right now. The large, black wolf gave himself a few more moments to revel in the luck and the chance of it all before he snapped himself back to reality, forcing his humming mind to clear.

What did he have to do first? Well, that was easy, release a challenging howl. Invite any surrounding wolves to object to him here and now, otherwise he would lay claim to the land himself. Shard wasn't too sure what to do, but his calm and rational nature was beginning to resume control over his actions. His tail stilled and hung from the ground, brilliant eyes narrowed as he thought, ears rammed forward alertly. Shaking himself briskly, Shard gave him no more time to wonder and lifted his great head smoothly, his lips forming a perfect "o" and a haunting, powerful note sounding from his lungs, punching through the canopy and leaking into the wind to bear it where it will. His individual howl was particularly low and soft by nature, but he had ensured that the edges had been sharp and tense, implicating that he was willing to defend this claim with violence if need be.

He hoped it wouldn't come to that, of course. But Shard wasn't one to fear or make an effort to avoid a fight. He was still barely over the excitement of finding a vacant piece of land, he wasn't keen on watching it go to some stranger now. No, Shard would fight for this aspiration of his. And once he had it under his mighty paws, he would begin his search for recruitments to his ranks. He would be a great leader, he could sense promising qualities in himself.

Shard arched his neck and pressed his nose to the forest floor, carefully nosing twigs aside in order to better sniff at the firm earth underneath. Though the smells of a hundred different animals struck his senses and made his head reel at first, he didn't feel that wolf was a dominating scent at the moment. Which was a considerably good sign for Shard. Nor could he smell any forest predators which may pose a threat to his own life, such as bear or lynx. Shard growled in satisfaction and looked about himself, the glimmer of sun on water catching his eye.

Trotting to investigate, Shard looked down into a wide stream flowing strongly from the mountains in the distance, the water looking clean and cool. Picking his way cautiously down the bank, Shard lowered his muzzle to drink, grunting with pleasure as the cold liquid oozed down his throat, which burned with eagerness. A minnow shot past in terror, weaving between rocks and nudging Shard's tongue as it passed. Shard allowed its passing to distract him for a moment before he twisted to explore some other wonder of this place.

He hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings as he had journeyed. Now that the chance had arisen for him to lay claim to such a heavenly place, however, Shard couldn't tear his gaze away from what was around him. The sky was a clear, flawless blue and Shard caught snatches of it between the gossiping leaves. The sun stabbed through the canopy in spear-like shafts, and Shard stood beneath each for minutes at a time, simply soaking up energy from the warmth it stroked along his muscular back.

Shard twitched the corners of his lips into a contented grimace.

Thinking that all of this could be his couldn't fail to elate him.

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[Ebona]

(( I was just wondering, have you ever considered writing a book? XD lol ))


There was a time for loitering; lounging about, dreaming of long-past memories and successful hunts. From forget-me-not skies with boundless expanses of dark green fields, to the fresh crispness of an autumn day with its brilliant colors and the crunch under your paws from fallen leaves. There was also a time for being vigilant; patrolling your territory and ensuring, with ravenous hunger, that you get your fill of that's day hunt. And for a Goddess, fulfilling your duties as an overseer. Today was one of those days for Ebona.

While it was rare for the midnight-hued she-wolf to come down from her heavenly expanse of forests to mingle with the mortal wolves of Animalia, a low, haunting call had called to her, pulling her down from the stars like a fish on a hook. It was her duty to grant newly-risen Alphas, and those who wished to lay claim to a piece of earthly land, the powers that only a leader had. It was one of the few things she had that gave her a reason to place her paws on the solid ground which now lay beneath her.

Ebona was said to be Goddess of New Life, for the only ones who saw her celestial form was she-wolves in throes of labor and newly instated Alphas, finally risen to the top of the heap. It was rare, however, for her to be called to give her blessings to a currently uninhabited territory. She was surprised at first, when her startling, emerald eyes took in the sights of the forest she had appeared in. It was a land of immense wealth and beauty; one that surely would not have been vacated or gone amiss for no reason. As she stood there, she came to realize that the wolf who had summoned her, was standing not a few pawsteps away. He was strong looking, and almost a replica of herself. His eyes were the most interesting to her; green with a ring of amber. Green was not a common color for a wolf, as she knew.

She would not be surprised if the wolf was startled by her sudden appearance. The sunlight, which on normal pelts would have dappled her appearance, instead seemed to fill her up, shining outwards like a giant prism, yet without diminishing the color of her fur. The placement of her body and her purposeful stride would tell him that she bore the gracefulness and authority of an Alpha; a wolf of high importance. Although the male wolf was large, she had no trouble looking down at him.

When she spoke, her voice was one which spoke for the trees; as powerful as an unyielding oak, yet elegant like the willow, ending with tones that sounded like leaves whispering to each other.

"I presume, young one, that you would like to become the Lord over this land? Otherwise, I see no need as to why I was summoned."

((That was terrible. x.x It was only in the beginning, but I think I over-did it. I haven't roleplayed in a long time.))

[S h a r d]

Shard blinked and turned slightly, a sudden scent hitting his senses hard. His brilliant eyes narrowed a little as they settled apon the glorious form of Ebona standing so close, and he allowed himself a moment to wonder how he had not heard her approach. He did not linger on this unsettling curiosity, however; Shard was a rational thing, and he figured that how she came to be here made absolutely no difference to the fact that she was standing infront of him now.

He dipped his head to her in an act of general courtesy, acknowledging that he recognised her authority. An interested smile played around his mouth and he found himself raising his head and tail ever so slightly so that they were just below the level of her own. He did not want to appear intimidating, but neither did he want to lead her to believe that he was a complete push-over.

Summoned? Shard’s ears twitched curiously and he pondered on an answer for a brief moment. Her voice alone caught his undivided attention and held it there, and he appreciated this quality about her. She was a female, yet Shard couldn’t think of her as inferior in any way. In but a few words, Ebona had provoked Shard’s respect, and earned herself a flash of his lovable lop-sided grin.

“Yes, ma’am,” he growled politely, catching her eye contact for a moment before staring firmly at a point somewhere over her shoulder. As opposed to her strong and graceful tone, his was low, gentlemanly and almost amused at the whole situation. “Unless you have some objection, I wish to claim this area as my own. I’m willing to perform any necessary, ah, formalities.”

He hoped that was the right thing to say. He didn’t have a clue what formalities were involved in taking over a territory, but he was sure there would be something he needed to do. His ears flicked back a little; Hell, he hoped this she-wolf wasn’t going to try and fight him. He would hold his own, but he really did hate fighting with females. It just felt wrong, somehow. Nevertheless, he wanted this. He wanted this badly, and he had waited far too long to give up on it now.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, ma’am,” he said in a clearer, firmer voice, “but may I ask who you are?” His grin had faded now and his gaze shifted a little closer to Ebona’s face, his features composed and all seriousness. He felt that he needed to get down to business, and right about now was the perfect time to show that he was going to be responsible and leaderly about this. He had no idea who this she-wolf was, but she seemed to have something to do with this whole process.

He didn’t understand how he had summoned her, though. His howl? That must have been it, though it hadn’t realised that he was calling her in particular at the time. Jeez, he had a lot to learn about this. He shrugged at himself mentally. He’d get there. How hard could it be, really? And anyway, she’d called him ‘young’. All that said to Shard was that he needed to be layering himself in maturity right now to show just how much adult quality he had and could apply to his Alphaship. Though he hoped he wasn’t expected to be all serious all of the time. Something close to fear gripped his stomach at that thought. Of all the things the youthfully fun Shard feared the most, growing up was one of them.

Oh God, what was he letting himself in for?

[OoC : // Ah crap. It's short and trashy, but there it is. xD]

[/size]

[Ebona]

<sup>(( >.> Oh yeah. That's soooo short. *luffly sarcasm* ))

Ebona's ears picked up the gentle tones that came from the male wolf in front of her. She had met many would-be Alphas in her days, and all of them were brutal and barely below the respectful 'belt', so to speak. This one, however, seemed to respect her for what she was, although she had a feeling he was not sure who she was. Her suspicions were confirmed when he voiced a question as to the identity of herself.

"I? I am Ebona, Goddess of this world and Reigning Alpha of the Star Valley Pack. If I assume correctly, the tales of Old ran out long ago from your birth pack. Otherwise, you would not be asking who I am." her voice was level, but with a hint of remorse. It seemed that more and more wolves were forgetting their origins. What happened to the Elders who would tell stories of her and her brother to the young pups? They were dying out, replaced by the invading wolves who came from beyond the seas, in a land not ruled by her. Their Gods ruled in different skies.

Putting her troubles from her mind, she paced around Shard for a while, looking him up and down. This was a male she wanted to rule. He was strong, but more importantly, respectful; not crass and self-serving like some of the Alphas in the older packs. He was to start a new pack, one she would make sure to mold to her liking and keep it from falling into the fates of the others.

"You want to be Alpha. I shall grant you this wish. I must warn you to watch out for the bordering packs. They will not hesitate to run you out, or kill you if need be. There is-" she said, but cut short, a pained look in her face. "Nevermind. I grant you all the wisdom and strength befitting of an Alpha." she said, her voice once more taking on the authoritative tones of before. "By the power invested in me, you will be able to make the journey to the Plains of a 1000 Echos to find suitable members for your pack. A word of caution, you would do well to choose ones with desirable qualities." she added, placing her nose on his forehead. It glowed white hot before dimming, to be replaced with a single gem.

Pulling away, Ebona walked backwards, fading gently as she did so until she was gone. "Remember these words and thrive."

((I decided that there would need to be some factor that gives Alphas their powers (increased skills and the ability to make it to the Plains, which other wolves can not. I didn't like collars or amulets, so I used those. x3 If you don't mind.

I'll give Ebona an Opal one and Ivori a Fire Opal one.

You may pick the gem and the color that you want. =3))</sup>

[Ebona]

^{((By the way, I will need you to PM me the name of your Pack, and three places that can be roleplayed in your territory ASAP. You may use the Star Valley and Burning Peak pack boards as examples.))}