Post by Althaea on Mar 3, 2014 23:31:38 GMT -5
Summary: Sometimes an leader needs help, other times a pack can use the same.
Woodland Clearing
Involved: Althaea ( F. Wolf ), Ikuna ( M. Alpha Wolf )
***
All things green have now become a brilliant shade of orange and yellow as the prolonging Autumn drags out, bringing in cool winds from down the mountain. A sight still worthy of being watched, Althaea sits at the clearings center as leaves fall from their perches high in the trees and dance to the ground in harmony with rays of sunlight. Watching each in subtle glances, the shewolf appears content amongst the sleepers of her pack, taking in her surrounded in deep breath.
Time just keeps on passing, doesn't it? Things fall into patterns, and Ikuna... is returning now from one of those. The habit of patrols, seeing how autumn has taken each part of the packlands and changed it. He comes back to the center now, voicing a wuff of greeting, soft to not rouse the sleepers.
Ensuring the safety of the pack, even now, has been a part of Althaea's life ever since they settled within the clearing. Ever since she bore a family which she took a break to care for. Her family all but grown now, she finds herself back doing the old., eyes scanning the open areas till they fall upon her uncle and alpha; his wuff pointing her in the right direction. A nod greets him as she stands. All was well she hoped, taking a few steps toward him.
Every wolf has reasons to keep the pack safe, but some have more than others. Ikuna's pace is unhurried - a good sign that things are well - as he approaches. "Hello, Althaea." He smiles. "Things have been quiet here?" He expects so - he can see the sleepers - but he still asks.
She nods. A tad too quiet some days but it wasn't a reason to complain. "Afternoon, uncle." she says with a smile before looking out across the sleepers. "Yes." It made the days boring but Althaea was a mother of four so such times as this are cherished. "I assume its the same out there?" She turns out, first stopping on the wolf who stands unharmed and unworried, then past him.
Some noise is better than quiet, but the wrong sort of noise... Ikuna nods to Althaea. "Yes. The deer are beginning to find their winter homes. I've been marking their paths." He studies her a moment, then asks, "How are your pups doing?" Hardly pups anymore - adolescents coming into their second winter - but still. "Are they hunting well?"
Althaea imagines they would at this point. It'll be hard to find them at all soon enough, something that worries her just enough to bring a brief frown over her muzzle. Ear perking at the question, she looks to the side for a moment to one of her offspring, "They are well." Say says turning to her uncle. Some are proving to rival their father in size but she's not overly worried. "Well enough for their age I suppose." They'll rise to the occasion when the time needs.
Those large wolves will need more food through the winter - perhaps that's why Ikuna asks about their skill at hunting. He nods to Althaea's answer. "You've been leading them on hunts?" There's a thoughtful tone to his voice, and he sits down, getting comfortable.
Althaea is quiet. When it came to her pups, they've proven as unruly as any adolescent, making teaching a challenge but she has indeed managed several decent hunts with them. "I have." She usually ends up doing most of the work, but thats expected right.
Ikuna regards Althaea as she thinks over the question. Perhaps he's remembering his own time as an adolescent, or that of other pups he's watched grow up. "Good," he says, and smiles. "They will be the heart of the pack in times to come. The rest of us will not last forever."
As the only pups to be born into the pack in years, they are not just the heart of the pack but its future. This is something Althaea is honored to be a part of. "Forever no, but long enough to see them live lives of their own. To see the pack flourish around them." If something like that were even possible again. Ute has been quiet. Not many, if any at all, have come to these lands and it was saddening. Yet she remains hopeful, stance ever tall.
The pack has ebbed in some ways, but the future heart... that lies with the pups. Ikuna smiles. "So I hope," he says. "And you..." he regards his niece. "You are their teacher. Their mother. The one who guides them into that future." He tilts his head, looking around. "The one who guides the pack into the future."
Althaea is quiet, ensure really want to say to something like that. She's taken on the role of teacher but a leader. When the pack was strong, it was a thing of possibility but now.. She looks at her uncle with a curious gaze. "It is the alpha that leads." She tells him. "I am no... I do whats needed to keep us from living in fear." What keeps them all a live. She has only lead because it's require of her. Was this what he was suggesting of her. Was her leadership needed...
Ikuna smiles as he nods to Althaea. "The alpha leads. But he's not the only one. The alpha..." He laughs, the sound a short one. "Sometimes, wolves don't come to the alpha. He's too distant. Too much a leader for those who follow. He has... bigger concerns. But not all concerns are big. Some of them are small... and those are no less important. The pack needs someone to follow those, to chase hares instead of elk. To know the life of the pack and keep it... healthy."
Althaea blinks, taking a seat, head tilting even. What was he getting at? She's always known the alpha to lead, to guide.. to chase whatever it was that was best. She was confused only for a while longer, continuing to listen with a nod. An alpha could only do so much, that much she understands; he would sometimes need assistance for what he was unable to do this other could. Tail flicking out behind her, Alth nods once more. "I... think I understand. There are some who would follow those they know better over those appointed and in such those looked to must be open to guiding where an alpha can not." Should he be found incapable would the pack truely fall behind her? A question of curiosity.
There may be many questions. Ikuna... oh, he might have some answers, were they asked. He might not; some questions can only be answered when - if - the time comes. As it is, he smiles. "Many, I think. I am not..." He shakes his head. "Ute is not about forcing wolves to follow. It's about friendships. It's about working together. A rank... it's a way of recognizing those who work together with others, who help make Ute a better pack."
Althaea has always found herself welcoming fate, maybe not always with a smile but regardless of what may of been she welcomed it. Gaze falling once more to those around her she is quiet, each wolf looked at in turn before turning back to her uncle. Friendships within the pack haven't exactly been one of her fortes; least not since adolescence. There were of course many reasons for that but it never stopped them from working together when it really mattered most. "It hasn't been easy." she speaks of bettering the pack. "Though we've managed to hold on, better ourselves with what we have, who we have." She does agree with Ikuna. They aren't a pack if they cant rely on those around them.
Wolves both here and absent claim the name of Ute - or once did. "Life isn't easy, Althaea." Ikuna smiles, and leans over to offer an affectionate bump to her shoulder. "All we can do is make the best of it, as best we can." He turns to look out into the forest, thoughtful for a moment before he sighs. "That's all we can ever do." A shake of his head, and Ikuna looks back to Althaea. "Take your pups on a hunt before the snows fall. Tell them..." He smiles. "Tell them the alpha will test their skills come spring, but this winter, they train with the beta."
Another thing that she can agree on. Althaea, of all wolves, should know. Life has never been easy, not that she can remember. From losing her siblings, her home.. its a surprise she's found any sort of happiness. Following her uncles look out into the forest she nods then smiles looking at him only slightly as she bumps her shoulder. Looking up into the tree tops as he speaks, the branches bare and the air chilled she estimates the time before the snows. Just before her gaze falls back down an ear swivels. The beta? But Ute doesn't have a... Alth looks at him in silence for a moment. Was he calling her that, but why. "I.." she starts caught by surprise. His smile though, she returns it with a nod. "I dont know what to say. Thank you." What an honor.
Ute didn't have a beta. Ikuna smiles slightly, but he lets Althaea figure it out on her own. Wits are one of the requirements of rank, after all - even if they don't always have to be all that quick. So long as a wolf gets there in the end... his smile widens as she does, the alpha inclining his head to acknowledge it. "That's a good start," he says with a touch of tease. "You'll make more sense of it with time, I'm sure, and I'm here if you have questions." He chuckles. "As much as I know things, at least." Even if - in theory - he should know it all. He's the alpha!
Althaea didn't exactly expect such a title to fall upon her at any point in life. She always thought it to be Ahiga and Tala if not because they were friends but because they had experienced more out of life. She was young with plenty of things still to learn, though she why should that change things. She could still learn them. Beta was simply another thing in life to learn. With added nod to her acceptance she again says, "Thank you." All would make sense in time just as he says. The only question that bogs her though is what of her mate. How does this impact him. "Have you spoken with Brutal?"
Perhaps the fact that Ikuna _is_ friends with Ahiga and Tala is part of why he's chosen to broaden the leadership of Ute. Or perhaps there are other reasons, but whatever they are, he's made his choice. Althaea is the new beta of Ute, with more to learn and new room to grow and improve. Ikuna nods again to her thanks, then tilts his head slightly to her question. Brutal. His niece's mate. His /beta's/ mate. "Not about this," Ikuna says. Which likely isn't really what she meant to ask. "He is... I would welcome him as a member of this pack." At this point, at least. "He will not be beta with you. He is..." Ikuna shakes his head a little. "He has too much of his old pack's ways about him. It would be too easy for him to fall back on them instead of reaching for Ute's future."
Althaea nods to this and understands. Was she curious to whether he would join her as Beta, yes. Just it wasn't a major concern of hers. He had told her a time back that he didn't seek out leadership. Once upon a time perhaps, but not now. Ute wouldn't allow it and the reasoning behind it was something she understood, something she honors and accepts. Alth wouldn't want the pack to follow someone they didn't know or even someone they didn't necessarily like. Brutal was more like someone to lean on these days anyway. "I have to agree. A welcomed member of the pack would suit him better than any title."
There may yet be those in the pack who would dispute having Brutal as a member, but Ikuna is willing to argue with them on that, to offer the massive and scarred wolf his place among them. Not every wolf needs be friends with every other, though Ute is built on friendships. There can be disputes, places where things don't work out quite the way people want, and the pack can survive them and even be stronger for them. Ikuna nods to Althaea. "That, he may have." The alpha smiles. "I would like to speak with him, but... I know he likes his solitude." Or at least, to keep to the company of his mate and pups, more often than note. "Perhaps as winter comes, we will all see each other more."
Ah yes. The burly wolf never was one for groups though in a way she kind of thinks he was pushing into that life style. Seeing him more involved may take some time but till then Althaea is willing to be his voice. "If its as cold at the last one." she smirks, shuddering just thinking about it. "We could be seeing more than we want of one another." She hopes it doesn't come down to that. The pack doesn't need another dark winter.
Ikuna smiles wryly. "We may. I hope the weather will prove more tolerant of us this year, but..." He casts his gaze up to the sky, gives his head a bit of a shake. "I don't know if it will. We've... not really any wolves among us that can read the seasons. Much as I might wish for it, some years."
Althaea follow his gaze toward the sky. It was hard to tell if the season would spare them the tragedy of lose or grant them good fortune by simply watching it. "We'll have to prepare for the worse and hope for the best." To endure. It was all they really could do just as they had done in years past. Looking down she casts a look to her uncle. "We will survive so long as to hold together."
Woodland Clearing
Involved: Althaea ( F. Wolf ), Ikuna ( M. Alpha Wolf )
***
All things green have now become a brilliant shade of orange and yellow as the prolonging Autumn drags out, bringing in cool winds from down the mountain. A sight still worthy of being watched, Althaea sits at the clearings center as leaves fall from their perches high in the trees and dance to the ground in harmony with rays of sunlight. Watching each in subtle glances, the shewolf appears content amongst the sleepers of her pack, taking in her surrounded in deep breath.
Time just keeps on passing, doesn't it? Things fall into patterns, and Ikuna... is returning now from one of those. The habit of patrols, seeing how autumn has taken each part of the packlands and changed it. He comes back to the center now, voicing a wuff of greeting, soft to not rouse the sleepers.
Ensuring the safety of the pack, even now, has been a part of Althaea's life ever since they settled within the clearing. Ever since she bore a family which she took a break to care for. Her family all but grown now, she finds herself back doing the old., eyes scanning the open areas till they fall upon her uncle and alpha; his wuff pointing her in the right direction. A nod greets him as she stands. All was well she hoped, taking a few steps toward him.
Every wolf has reasons to keep the pack safe, but some have more than others. Ikuna's pace is unhurried - a good sign that things are well - as he approaches. "Hello, Althaea." He smiles. "Things have been quiet here?" He expects so - he can see the sleepers - but he still asks.
She nods. A tad too quiet some days but it wasn't a reason to complain. "Afternoon, uncle." she says with a smile before looking out across the sleepers. "Yes." It made the days boring but Althaea was a mother of four so such times as this are cherished. "I assume its the same out there?" She turns out, first stopping on the wolf who stands unharmed and unworried, then past him.
Some noise is better than quiet, but the wrong sort of noise... Ikuna nods to Althaea. "Yes. The deer are beginning to find their winter homes. I've been marking their paths." He studies her a moment, then asks, "How are your pups doing?" Hardly pups anymore - adolescents coming into their second winter - but still. "Are they hunting well?"
Althaea imagines they would at this point. It'll be hard to find them at all soon enough, something that worries her just enough to bring a brief frown over her muzzle. Ear perking at the question, she looks to the side for a moment to one of her offspring, "They are well." Say says turning to her uncle. Some are proving to rival their father in size but she's not overly worried. "Well enough for their age I suppose." They'll rise to the occasion when the time needs.
Those large wolves will need more food through the winter - perhaps that's why Ikuna asks about their skill at hunting. He nods to Althaea's answer. "You've been leading them on hunts?" There's a thoughtful tone to his voice, and he sits down, getting comfortable.
Althaea is quiet. When it came to her pups, they've proven as unruly as any adolescent, making teaching a challenge but she has indeed managed several decent hunts with them. "I have." She usually ends up doing most of the work, but thats expected right.
Ikuna regards Althaea as she thinks over the question. Perhaps he's remembering his own time as an adolescent, or that of other pups he's watched grow up. "Good," he says, and smiles. "They will be the heart of the pack in times to come. The rest of us will not last forever."
As the only pups to be born into the pack in years, they are not just the heart of the pack but its future. This is something Althaea is honored to be a part of. "Forever no, but long enough to see them live lives of their own. To see the pack flourish around them." If something like that were even possible again. Ute has been quiet. Not many, if any at all, have come to these lands and it was saddening. Yet she remains hopeful, stance ever tall.
The pack has ebbed in some ways, but the future heart... that lies with the pups. Ikuna smiles. "So I hope," he says. "And you..." he regards his niece. "You are their teacher. Their mother. The one who guides them into that future." He tilts his head, looking around. "The one who guides the pack into the future."
Althaea is quiet, ensure really want to say to something like that. She's taken on the role of teacher but a leader. When the pack was strong, it was a thing of possibility but now.. She looks at her uncle with a curious gaze. "It is the alpha that leads." She tells him. "I am no... I do whats needed to keep us from living in fear." What keeps them all a live. She has only lead because it's require of her. Was this what he was suggesting of her. Was her leadership needed...
Ikuna smiles as he nods to Althaea. "The alpha leads. But he's not the only one. The alpha..." He laughs, the sound a short one. "Sometimes, wolves don't come to the alpha. He's too distant. Too much a leader for those who follow. He has... bigger concerns. But not all concerns are big. Some of them are small... and those are no less important. The pack needs someone to follow those, to chase hares instead of elk. To know the life of the pack and keep it... healthy."
Althaea blinks, taking a seat, head tilting even. What was he getting at? She's always known the alpha to lead, to guide.. to chase whatever it was that was best. She was confused only for a while longer, continuing to listen with a nod. An alpha could only do so much, that much she understands; he would sometimes need assistance for what he was unable to do this other could. Tail flicking out behind her, Alth nods once more. "I... think I understand. There are some who would follow those they know better over those appointed and in such those looked to must be open to guiding where an alpha can not." Should he be found incapable would the pack truely fall behind her? A question of curiosity.
There may be many questions. Ikuna... oh, he might have some answers, were they asked. He might not; some questions can only be answered when - if - the time comes. As it is, he smiles. "Many, I think. I am not..." He shakes his head. "Ute is not about forcing wolves to follow. It's about friendships. It's about working together. A rank... it's a way of recognizing those who work together with others, who help make Ute a better pack."
Althaea has always found herself welcoming fate, maybe not always with a smile but regardless of what may of been she welcomed it. Gaze falling once more to those around her she is quiet, each wolf looked at in turn before turning back to her uncle. Friendships within the pack haven't exactly been one of her fortes; least not since adolescence. There were of course many reasons for that but it never stopped them from working together when it really mattered most. "It hasn't been easy." she speaks of bettering the pack. "Though we've managed to hold on, better ourselves with what we have, who we have." She does agree with Ikuna. They aren't a pack if they cant rely on those around them.
Wolves both here and absent claim the name of Ute - or once did. "Life isn't easy, Althaea." Ikuna smiles, and leans over to offer an affectionate bump to her shoulder. "All we can do is make the best of it, as best we can." He turns to look out into the forest, thoughtful for a moment before he sighs. "That's all we can ever do." A shake of his head, and Ikuna looks back to Althaea. "Take your pups on a hunt before the snows fall. Tell them..." He smiles. "Tell them the alpha will test their skills come spring, but this winter, they train with the beta."
Another thing that she can agree on. Althaea, of all wolves, should know. Life has never been easy, not that she can remember. From losing her siblings, her home.. its a surprise she's found any sort of happiness. Following her uncles look out into the forest she nods then smiles looking at him only slightly as she bumps her shoulder. Looking up into the tree tops as he speaks, the branches bare and the air chilled she estimates the time before the snows. Just before her gaze falls back down an ear swivels. The beta? But Ute doesn't have a... Alth looks at him in silence for a moment. Was he calling her that, but why. "I.." she starts caught by surprise. His smile though, she returns it with a nod. "I dont know what to say. Thank you." What an honor.
Ute didn't have a beta. Ikuna smiles slightly, but he lets Althaea figure it out on her own. Wits are one of the requirements of rank, after all - even if they don't always have to be all that quick. So long as a wolf gets there in the end... his smile widens as she does, the alpha inclining his head to acknowledge it. "That's a good start," he says with a touch of tease. "You'll make more sense of it with time, I'm sure, and I'm here if you have questions." He chuckles. "As much as I know things, at least." Even if - in theory - he should know it all. He's the alpha!
Althaea didn't exactly expect such a title to fall upon her at any point in life. She always thought it to be Ahiga and Tala if not because they were friends but because they had experienced more out of life. She was young with plenty of things still to learn, though she why should that change things. She could still learn them. Beta was simply another thing in life to learn. With added nod to her acceptance she again says, "Thank you." All would make sense in time just as he says. The only question that bogs her though is what of her mate. How does this impact him. "Have you spoken with Brutal?"
Perhaps the fact that Ikuna _is_ friends with Ahiga and Tala is part of why he's chosen to broaden the leadership of Ute. Or perhaps there are other reasons, but whatever they are, he's made his choice. Althaea is the new beta of Ute, with more to learn and new room to grow and improve. Ikuna nods again to her thanks, then tilts his head slightly to her question. Brutal. His niece's mate. His /beta's/ mate. "Not about this," Ikuna says. Which likely isn't really what she meant to ask. "He is... I would welcome him as a member of this pack." At this point, at least. "He will not be beta with you. He is..." Ikuna shakes his head a little. "He has too much of his old pack's ways about him. It would be too easy for him to fall back on them instead of reaching for Ute's future."
Althaea nods to this and understands. Was she curious to whether he would join her as Beta, yes. Just it wasn't a major concern of hers. He had told her a time back that he didn't seek out leadership. Once upon a time perhaps, but not now. Ute wouldn't allow it and the reasoning behind it was something she understood, something she honors and accepts. Alth wouldn't want the pack to follow someone they didn't know or even someone they didn't necessarily like. Brutal was more like someone to lean on these days anyway. "I have to agree. A welcomed member of the pack would suit him better than any title."
There may yet be those in the pack who would dispute having Brutal as a member, but Ikuna is willing to argue with them on that, to offer the massive and scarred wolf his place among them. Not every wolf needs be friends with every other, though Ute is built on friendships. There can be disputes, places where things don't work out quite the way people want, and the pack can survive them and even be stronger for them. Ikuna nods to Althaea. "That, he may have." The alpha smiles. "I would like to speak with him, but... I know he likes his solitude." Or at least, to keep to the company of his mate and pups, more often than note. "Perhaps as winter comes, we will all see each other more."
Ah yes. The burly wolf never was one for groups though in a way she kind of thinks he was pushing into that life style. Seeing him more involved may take some time but till then Althaea is willing to be his voice. "If its as cold at the last one." she smirks, shuddering just thinking about it. "We could be seeing more than we want of one another." She hopes it doesn't come down to that. The pack doesn't need another dark winter.
Ikuna smiles wryly. "We may. I hope the weather will prove more tolerant of us this year, but..." He casts his gaze up to the sky, gives his head a bit of a shake. "I don't know if it will. We've... not really any wolves among us that can read the seasons. Much as I might wish for it, some years."
Althaea follow his gaze toward the sky. It was hard to tell if the season would spare them the tragedy of lose or grant them good fortune by simply watching it. "We'll have to prepare for the worse and hope for the best." To endure. It was all they really could do just as they had done in years past. Looking down she casts a look to her uncle. "We will survive so long as to hold together."