The large male made the slow climb up the hilltop, towards the main denning area of the pack. His dark russet coat took on a blaze of orange in the setting light as he plodded along, his party trailing behind him. He had recently returned from a hunting party and delivered food to the Northern Border Outpost in the early morning hours, and the activities of the day were beginning to take its toll on him. He wouldn't admit it to the other wolves, but he was tired. Exhaustion seeped into his bones, weighing his paws down with every step he took. Yet he carried on with his head high, weakness wasn't taken kindly in this pack.
He made his way through the main denning area, where the higher ranked wolves and the prestiged individuals resided with their pups. The safest place to den the next generation, he supposed.
He continued on his way through the families, not bothering to give them attention as they did the same to him. He continued towards the edge of the hilltop, where the sloped dipped downward into a lumping summit. There were a few holes in the ground, small shelters for the lower ranking individuals of the pack. It was cramped, unstable, and completely useless from the onslaught of seasonal weather, but it was the best the pack had offered them.
Although he has risen in rank, he still spent his resting hours with his sister. He carefully made his way down the slope toward where her shelter spot would be. He poked his head into the small niche to find it unoccupied. Odd. He slid down the crumbling slope to investigate where she had wandered off to.
As Omega she was the lowest rank of the pack, which meant she took the brunt of many wolves. He did his best to shelter her from the pack, but being of Null Subordinate rank required him to be on his feet all day, and the higher ups had no reason not to give her grunt work during the day.
He skidded to a shaky halt when he reached the bottom, and managed to catch her scent. He wandered through the woodlands and his stomach dropped when he knew where she was going. He hoped she hadn't fallen into the river again.
He quickened his pace until he could see his sister, whole and healthy, sitting by the shallow stream. He was about to call out and meet her when another figure approached. After a moment he recognized her as Jazzy, the Alpha Pair's daughter. What would a wolf of such high prestige like her want to do with his sister.
As the higher ranking wolf approached, his sister sank into her proper submission poses. After a brief look over the she wolf nipped at the nape of her neck, which caused a flinch from the Omega. He bristled at that. When the she wolf gave a sharp tug a cry elicited from his sister's throat, and he stormed over there, ready to fight for his sister's safety once more.
His sister's herd perked up at him as he came stomping over, and her face lit up into an innocent smile, "Hey there brother, how has your duties been today?' He slowed his pace at his sister's light tone, and gave her a neutral look. She seemed perfectly fine.
"I've been hunting and delivering supplies to the Northern Outpost. I'm sorry I didn't come back earlier," he apologized, giving his sister a gentle nuzzle along her shoulder. He gave the higher ranking she wolf a sharp look, which was returned with a shy smile.
"It's nice to see you again Wawelski, I've been helping Dracorex with a tick behind her ear until you got here," she gave them both a gentle smile and a small wave of her tail. The scent of blood and a small patch of moisture along her scruff determined Jazzy's statement to be true, and Wawelski relaxed just a bit.
Jazzy seemed to take the loss of tension in his frame as an invitation, and she turned and gestured upstream, "I got a nice fat calf in a bush by the brooke, would you two like to join?" Dracorex seemed pleased with the offer, and she trotted up to her and started a conversation. Jazzy smiled back over her shoulder, inviting him to follow.
Wawelski stood there for a moment, and gave a begrudged sigh and followed them up. He glanced at the river, remembering back a few months before. Saving Jazzy wasn't his intention, but it didn't appear to have any negative side effects. If anything it was good luck to have plucked her from the rapids along with his sister. The two she wolves ahead of him were becoming fast friends, and he didn't mind the extra protection from a future Sub Alpha.
The meal they shared was a rather peaceful one, no tension or order of rank. It was a relaxed meal among packmates, with jokes and stories being shared between them. It were as if they were from the same litter. As if they were friends.
That gave him an interesting thought as he chewed through a foreleg. That seemed to fit the bill amongst them. No ranks, no submission or dominance. Just laughter and enjoyment. He caught Jazzy's eye, and she gave him a shy smile in return as she continued her conversation with Dracorex.
Yes, this was friendship.
Author's Note: Big boy Wawelski and Dracorex are my characters. Jazzy belongs to my friend on amino. You can find out more about Wawelski in this wiki:
/c/wolfquest/page/item/wawelski/882a_ndHXInGLoXLrabXzvBBXwZJznwk70