¤ C O N Q U E S T ¤

War has broken out between two rival wolf packs. Both have raised their families in a lush temperate valley - but they cannot coexist. Who will triumph?

DEVILFERN'S PACK ~ Notaihe

Name: Roark
Age: 5 years
Gender: Male
Pack: Notaihe
Rank: Alpha male
Appearance: Large and imposing, with dark gray fur. Toes on each foot are black. His eyes are a dark blue gray, and his tail fades to black at the tip.
Personality: Quiet, calm and serious, Roark can keep a clear head in a crisis. His strength and wisdom make him a role model for all members of his pack. He is generally very quiet, watching and listening rather than speaking.

Name: Nanise
Age: 5 years
Gender: Female
Pack: Notaihe
Rank: Alpha female
Appearance: Slender and quick, but well built. Fur is a deep russet color, and her eyes are a pale blue green. Along the ridge of her spine, her fur is a darker shade.
Personality: Elegant and serene. She is a no-nonsense female, quick to scold if she finds fault with something. She is very intelligent and quick to notice nuance and problems. Together with Roark, Nanise rules over her pack well.

Name: Ghant
Age: 4 years
Gender: Male
Pack: Notaihe
Rank: Beta male
Appearance: Ghant is large for a wolf. His fur is a light, almost bluish gray, with darker rings around his eyes.
Personality: He is bright and clear-headed, and Roark's chief advisor. He is the lead hunter for the pack and an excellent tracker. He is friendly and charming, and will play along with the pups for hours. He secretly wants Viah for his mate.

Name: Mora
Age: 3 years
Gender: Female
Pack: Notaihe
Rank: Gamma
Appearance: Mora is very slight and slim. Her fur is almost a calico pattern - browns, reds, and tans mixed together. Her eyes are a deep gold.
Personality: She is generally quiet and shy, tending to keep her thoughts to herself. She enjoys being on her own, but is very loyal to her pack. Her sister is Viah.

Name: Viah
Age: 3 years
Gender: Female
Pack: Notaihe
Appearance: Slender and attractive. Her fur is a deep chocolate brown, and her eyes are a bright spring green. She has darker flecks in her fur along her tail and legs.
Personality: Vivacious, endearing, and brave. She is the #2 hunter in the pack, and has a strong but playful rivalry going with Ghant. She despises Sine.

Name: Sine
Age: 3 years
Gender: Male
Pack: Notaihe
Rank: Gamma/Omega
Appearance: Medium sized, with a sharp face. His fur is black, and generally slightly ruffled. His eyes are a golden-green.
Personality: Sarcastic and cynical, he is the tag-along in the pack. The others treat him kindly when he doesn't bother them too much. He spends most of his time with Mora or Ghant, as they are the only two that will tolerate him for long periods.

VANIDAR'S PACK - AusTal

Name: Xander
Age: 7 years
Gender: Male
Pack: AusTal
Rank: Alpha male
Appearance: Huge, as alpha he has never stopped growing. His snowy coat is quite long, seeming more suited for the Arctic than his lush valley. The inside of each ear, the very tip of his tail, the fur between his toes, and his skin under his fur are all black.
Personality: A kind leader, he is always the one to do whatever it takes to provide for his pack. Fierce fighter when he needs to be.

Name: Nonalee
Age: 5 years
Gender: Female
Pack: AusTal
Rank: Alpha Female
Appearance: Tiny compared to her mate, she is a typical grey wolf; her fur is mottled brown, grey, black, and white. Her underbelly, the backs of her legs, throat, and paws are all solid white.
Personality: Laid back and easy going she does act as disciplinarian to her pups and underlings when necessary.

Name: To-lee
Age: 6 mnths
Gender: Female
Pack: AusTal
Rank: Pup
Appearance: Much like her mother but with much more black. Most of her tail is black as is much of her face.
Personality: Playful and hyper she's quite a troublemaker. She is very mischievious.

Name: Koonai
Age: 6 mnths
Gender: Male
Pack: AusTal
Rank: Pup
Appearance: Nearly completely brown with some gray and white on his underbelly. Some black streaks on his back and tail with black ''coon eyes''.
Personality: Much more laid back than his sister, he is curious and would much rather sleep than wreak havoc.

Name: Ribald
Age: 3 years
Gender: Male
Pack: AusTal
Rank: Beta
Appearance: A smoky gray color with lighter gray on his paws, face, and tail. His tail begins as a dark gray color and fades; the tip is nearly white.
Personality: Rambunctious and active, he is a fighter. He is headstrong and doesn't give up on anything easily.

Xander layed in his favorite spot at the top of a grassy knoll in the middle of his packs den site. His body was stretched out and his head lolled back as his eyes drifted shut. He was nearly asleep. Or at least he was. His ear pricked forward and he smiled but didn't move as he heard his children stalking toward him.

"Come on Koonai... He won't do anything." To-lee said quietly, almost whispered, to her brother as she crawled flat on her belly toward their father. He was completely asleep, he wouldn't even know what hit him.

Koonai rolled his eyes at his sister as he to got on his stomach and began a slow crawl toward Xander. He wasn't into this game at all but he had nothing better to do. Though that patch of sun down there at the mouth of the den looked very inviting... He couldn't help the yawn that came from him when he thought about sleeping.

Nonalee was also enjoying the peace of the warm sunny day. The dry grass around the rocky den ruffled in a slight breeze and she breathed in the scent of it. There was nothing better than knowing her family was well-fed and happy. The scent of the breeze brought something else to. It was a scent that she'd smelled much to frequently the past few weeks: the scent of another pack. Suddenly she wished that her other son hadn't left so recently. He'd gone off with a rogue female who'd wandered in to start a pack of his own. She sighed; it was for the better, it wouldn't be good to have 3 full grown males in a pack. Two was nearly too many.

Ribald trotted the perimeter of the territory. He'd had to do this more often lately; the whole pack had. The other pack had been growing steadily the past few years and lately had decided to push its borders out. He stopped every ten feet or so to scent mark. His scent covered that of another wolf more than once. Not good not good not good... They have more than we do...

"Come on, hurry up!"

Viah was in high spirits that morning. The brisk breeze carried interesting and exciting scents, the sun was shining, and she could hear birds singing in the trees. It was a good day to be out and about. She trotted briskly through the woods, ears alert and tail high. Her glossy coat shone in the dappled sunlight, sending glints of golden brown into the air. She paused and turned to look over her shoulder. "Ghant!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ghant drew up alongside her and rolled his eyes. The two of them had been sent on a scouting party to their borders. Roark was hoping to find evidence of the other pack in the area. All the members of Notaihe knew that they were bumping up against another pack. Their numbers had been growing recently - even though Roark and Nanise's last litter had been killed by a mountain lion, they needed more space. This didn't bother Viah, but it worried Ghant. He thought Roark was being too rash with his conquest of the valley, but what could he say? Roark was the alpha, and Ghant was only the beta.

Viah grinned at her companion. "You keep falling behind. Come on, we're almost at the border."

~~~

Nanise sighed. She was seated outside the cave that the pack had recently been spending the night in. Mora was lying beside her silently, only twitching her ears occasionally as birdsong reached her from the surrounding trees. Mora was good company if you wanted to think, but right then Nanise was restless. She wanted someone to talk to. The elegant female wolf stood.

"I'm going out for a bit, Mora. Let me know when Roark gets back?"

Xander rolled as his rowdy young daughter reached him, pinning her to the ground. She squeaked loudly making her mother jump slightly. Her brother immediately stood and ran back to exactly the spot of sunlight he'd pined over earlier. After only a few moments, Xander released the small female; both of them were laughing. She pounced on him once then ran to her brother and tried to engage him in a wrestling match.

The Alpha stood and shook out his coat; dust flew from it and settled on the ground with a quiet sighing sound. Looking around the clearing, he trotted to its edge and lowered his nose to the ground to find Ribalds scent. "I'll be back soon. I need to help him. The Notaihe have been around much more than I care to say." He drifted into the shadows and his huge white body disappeared into its darkness.

Away from the clearing, Xander was all business. He quickly found and followed the same path that Ribald had; its length hugging the edge of his territory closely. He marked the same places his faithful beta had and more, his own stronger scent mixing with the previous scent markers there. He even marked a bit farther out, covering the scents of the other pack; there was no way he was going to lose his territory.

Back in the clearing, Nonalee watched Xander disappear with a look of calm acceptance. Their peaceful day couldn't last: there was work to be done. With the pups playing nearby, Nonalee stood too. She stretched, gave a quick shake, and disappeared into the den to clean it out and tidy up a bit. It had been a while since she'd brought in any fresh bedding and the den greatly needed it; the old was starting to smell and attract bugs.

To-lee pounced on her brother repeatedly, trying to rouse him into a wrestling mood. She was always hyper and wanted to play. With a sigh, she gave up after just a few minutes. She was distracted by a new, funny smell on the breeze that had picked up a bit. Being curious as always, she followed it. Her small but keen nose led her to the edge of the clearing. Quivering with excitement and fear (she'd rarely left the clearing yet and never alone) she plunged into the underbrush.

((I have an idea...since Nanise and Roark just lost their last litter, could Nanise perhaps find To-lee and adopt her as her own? Or at least try to? :lol: That could make things interesting.))

Ghant and Viah made their way through the forest in amiable silence. They enjoyed going out together on border patrols and hunts. Viah's nose and sense of direction were almost as good as Ghant's - something that he greatly admired her for. She delighted in his attention, and so they got along very well. Viah was walking a few steps ahead of her larger companion, occasionally pausing to sniff the air and glance about. Ghant, as well, took opportunities to mark the territory every now and again. This area was well known to the two of them - it was neutral, neither possessed by Notaihe or AusTal. Until now, neither of them had had need of the space.

Suddenly, Viah stopped. "Ghant..." She said, her ears perked up and eyes scanning for any sign of movement. "There's a stranger near." Ghant nodded as he drew along side her.

"I know. A straggler?"
"No. AusTal."

~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Nanise was making her own way along a quiet riverbank. Her russet colored fur glistened in the bright sunshine and danced off the waters. Nanise sighed and turned her face into the wind, hoping to catch an interesting scent in the shifting breeze. She felt so lonely after her pups had been taken from her, and Roark had been spending much more time by himself lately. She too had been withdrawing herself from social activities. Her heart was still wounded by the memory, and she didn't want to reveal the hurt to anyone just yet.

((Sounds like an idea :) I'll run with it))

To-lee was excited. The scent she'd only just dectected in the clearing grew stronger with each step she took. Her mind, easily distracted on most days, was extremely focused now; so much so that she didn't realize it when she passed out of her territory into the no mans land between the territories...

Nonalee reappeared from the den backward, kicking a pile of debris from inside the den out into the open. She paused in her work and looked around. To-lee wasn't with her brother anymore; she guessed beause the little female had gotten bored of trying to rouse the sleepy boy. Looking around, just to make sure that the pup was safe, she was shocked to see that To-lee was nowhere in sight. She ran from the den entrance to her son. Sniffing around, she found the place where To-lee's scent was strongest and followed it. She stopped at the edge of the clearing for a moment then continued on. A bad feeling was starting to grow in her stomach but she told herself not to worry. Not just yet. She followed the strong scent path as far as the border to the territory and just a few feet farther. Coming back to her own territory she sat down and, with a heavy heart and an awful feeling, raised her head to the sky. She howled as loud as she could, a calling howl that was meant to bring the pack to her. She ran as fast as was possible for her and reached the clearing where she sat and howled again and again.

Xander had joined Ribald by now and the two were circling the territory making friendly conversation; a rarity for an alpha and beta. Both instantly stopped the moment they heard the howl. With only enough pause to glance at each other and exchange a worried look, they sprinted toward the clearing.

Viah cocked her head to one side. "That's strange...it's gone now." She glanced back at her companion, who wore an expression just as bewildered as hers. "Well - more room for us, I suppose." She grinned.

Ghant shook his head. "I wish you wouldn't talk about this that way, Viah. The AusTal are dangerous. There may be a full out war soon. Please try to take it more seriously, I wouldn't want to see...anyone...get hurt."

~~~~~~~

Nanise's nose twitched. A new scent had come to her on the breeze, the scent of a stranger, yet something about it was familiar. Nanise smiled slightly to herself. It was a pup's smell. The she-wolf padded along the bank of the river, following the scent. She could detect no hint of another wolf along with the pup. It must be alone. Partly out of mothering instinct, and partly because she was curious, Nanise pursued the scent farther, off the riverbank and into the trees. The scent was much stronger here. Nanise was looking about to determine her next course when she noticed the flash of gray in the greens and browns of the forest.

"Hello? Is there someone there?"

A strange voice roused To-lee from the depths of her mind. She was startled. She had no idea where she was and so she cowered into the underbrush hoping that her darker coloring would help her to blend into the shadows like her mother did. She couldn't see anyone and the only thing she could smell was her own fear scent. It was almost overpowering. If she'd been calmer, she could have discovered her own scent trail back to the clearing but she was too young and too naive to be calm and do what she should have. She started backing away from whoever was coming toward her; it wasn't someone from her pack. Her footsteps were silent. Until she stepped on a dry twig... and it cracked loudly underfoot. She went completely still, hoping whoever it was would just leave her be. Somewhere in teh back of her mind the thought, The smell you were following! It's overpowering here! This must be where it's coming from! She wasn't paying attention enough to realize that it was coming from the stranger.

Xander and Ribald appeared in the clearing at the same time. Neither were out of breath but both of their hearts was beating in overtime. Xanders heart nearly froze in his chest when he saw Nonalee sitting with only one of his pups. "Where's To-lee?" He demanded quietly. The same bad feeling was in his stomach now as was in Nonalee's earlier. "She left while I was in the den... She kept going... She's in the no-mans land..." Nonalee cried out

Ribalds heart, beating fast at first, nearly stopped when he heard Nonalees news. Koonai turned and ran to the mouth of the den where he lay, whimpering, his tail curled over his nose. The older wolf watched as Xander paced frantically, trying to figure out what to do.

"They outnumber us... We can't just go cruising into the unclaimed territory... They won't care if our pup is there, they'll kill her themselves if they get the chance. We have to do this secretly... They mustn't know. There is no way that we could win any fair fight against them right now. It's on our side that they don't know about my other son and his mate leaving. They think that we still number nearly equal with them..." Xander muttered to himself as he tried to figure out a plan to save his pup and not destroy the pack in the process. He finally decided.

"Ribald.. You must come with me. It won't do much, but the mud pit will help us disguise our scent. There is a possibility that To-lee wandered into their territory. Take no chances. Follow." He commanded and took off into the woods. Nonalee watched worriedly for a moment until even her keen eyes lost her packmates and her love disappear. When they had gone, she turned and joined her son in the den. She herded him inside and curled her body around him. Though he was getting much to big to do so, he snuggled close to her, finding comfort.

Nanise looked around, trying to discern the dark shape she had seen, but it had vanished. The scent was so strong though...she knew that there was another wolf nearby, a young one. Nanise's heart was quickening in her chest - a little spark of hope had flickered in her mind. Perhaps one of her children had escaped the attack..."Imbray? Ciase?" She whispered, half hoping. She took a step forward, and finally located the pup. It was cowering, scared half to death. Nanise gasped a little. It was not one of her own - she hadn't expected it to be. But the sight of the frightened pup alone tugged at her instinct. She lowered her head and made soothing noises, trying to convince the pup that she was a friend.

~~~~~~

Mora's eyelids flickered. She had been napping on a warm rock beside the den, letting the gentle afternoon envelop her. Familiar voices were approaching.
She opened her eyes lazily and yawned hugely, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Sleeping, Mora?" Mora felt a playful nip on her ear. She turned and gave her sister a shy smile.

"Hello, Viah. Back from patrol?" She said. Viah nodded and grinned.

"Have you seen Roark? We have some news for him - there was a stranger near the borderlands today. We were going to investigate further, but they took off."

Ghant had arrived while Viah was speaking. He shook his head. "I think it was just a straggler, Viah. We shouldn't get too worried about it. After all, they left, right?"

Viah frowned. "I don't think so. I have a bad feeling...I think that stranger was AusTal. I think something bad is going to happen soon."

"What's that, Viah?"

Viah turned to see her Alpha coming out of the den. His expression was serious. She dipped her head in respect, as did Ghant and Mora. They were fiercely loyal to Roark. He was wise and strong, like a leader aught to be, and he kept them safe. Ghant stepped forward and addressed the large dark gray wolf.

"We sensed a stranger in the borderlands, Roark."

To-lee's ears perked forward and her shaking slowed just a bit when she heard the stranger making soothing sounds. She tried to remember what her father had said. Don't listen to anyone who you don't know... If they don't smell like AusTal then they aren't AusTal and they are dangerous. No one is exempt. They will hurt you or kill you and anything they try to do to win your trust is merely a way to get close to you. It's always a trap. These thoughts were swirling in her mind, the stern but warm face of her father repeating them over and over. This didn't sound like a trap though. This wolf sounded kind. She sounded almost like her own mother.

"Hello..."She said softly, barely a whisper. "Wh..Who are you?" She continued. She hoped whoever it was was as nice as she believed they were.
~~~~~~~~~~

Xander and Ribald reached the mud pit. Though both despised doing so, being naturally very clean and always liking to keep themselves as such, the slogged in. The squelching mud swallowed their paws and they sunk up to their knees almost immediately. Both layed down and took a quick roll, just enough to mask their own scent. When they thought that they were well concealed enough the looked at each other. Both smiled a bit at the appearance of the other.

"Ribald my friend. Are you ready?" Xander asked, peering at the borderline. Ribald nodded and stepped up to the line of heavy scents and waited for Xander. Xander resisted the urge to shake out his fur and, without giving himself any chance to have second thoughts, padded softly across the grass. He followed the faint trail of scent that was his daughters to where it was strongest and continued farther into the no-mans land. Ribald followed behind very closely. It wouldn't do for them to be seperated here.

Nanise smiled. She was glad to see that the quivering pup had calmed a bit. "I am called Nanise. Who are you, small one?" She said. She purposefully left out any question of pack or clan - things were so tense between the two packs that any pup would have been frightened had they heard their pack talking about it. She didn't want the pup to distrust her, for she truly did want to help.

~~~~~~~~~~

Roark's face remained unchanged, but his blue eyes flickered slightly. Any stranger, whether straggler or AusTal, was a threat to his pack. He glanced around, looking at the worried faces of Mora, Viah and Ghant. "Where is my mate?" He asked. Nanise was no where to be seen.

"Maybe that stranger is her lover, Roark." A new voice sounded behind the group. Roark turned with a snarl to the slinky black creature behind him.

"Do not speak disrespectfully of your Alpha, Sine." Ghant said gravely. "Remember that you're only here because you're too pathetic to kill."

Sine shrugged and advanced on the group, his tail held rebelliously straight. There would be no cowering before Roark from him. Out of all the pack members, Sine was the only one who disliked Roark. There was a suspicion that he had been in love with Nanise when they were younger, and had contested with Roark for the Alpha status. He grinned. "I mean no disrespect, Roark."

Roark grunted, dismissing the Omega, and turned back to the others. "Ghant and Viah, come with me. We're going to see if we can find any more signs of this stranger. Mora, please look for Nanise. I don't want anyone to come to any harm."

"I... I'm To-lee AusTal." To-lee stated, using her pack name for a last name. Now her curiousity was piked and she slowly picked her way from the bowels of the bush she was hiding in. Though still somewhat scared, as she came into view, her black tail was low showing that she didn't want to fight. Not that she would do much good in a fight, but she wasn't aware of this and wanted to make sure that the other wolf didn't think she was going to try and hurt her.

To-lee was shocked and nearly bounced back into her bush when she saw the strange wolf standing in front of her. Now she realized where the scent was coming from. Raising her nose slightly, she took a deep breath and drew in a deep lungful of the scent.

~~~~~~~~~~
Xander and Ribald continued their trek into the uncharted territory. To-lee's scent was getting stronger now. With an inkling of dread, Xander detected another, much fainter scent along with his daughters. It was the scent of one of the Notaihe. The alpha upped the speed and clamped down all thoughts of anything bad happening to the little pup.

((I'm soooooo sorry it's been so long since I posted. Stuffs been gettin' in the way X_x))

Nanise smiled, but the name 'AusTal' had sent a shock through her. There she was, the alpha female of the Notaihe pack, standing by a lost pup of AusTal. She could be in terrible trouble for this...but To-lee looked so lost and alone. She sat down before the pup and nodded. "I'm a friend, To-lee. I won't hurt you. I'd like to help you find your way home."

~~~~~~~~~~

Roark strode through the trees, eyes fixed ahead of him and tail held high. Ghant and Viah behind him were moving more furtively, glancing about them anxiously. They were concerned - since tensions had been rising between AusTal and Notaihe, there hadn't been an incident of this magnitude. Now that there had been a stranger incursion on their lands, conflict was drawing closer.

Roark paused, his eyes narrowed. "I smell the stranger. Were you around here when you sensed them, Ghant?"

The gray wolf nodded. "Yes, a little farther ahead, Alpha. Perhaps the wind drifted. The scent was only present for a moment though. The stranger left once we got close."