A Winter Patrol (Tarmalo)

[Kai]

Boy this post is really terrible. I hope it gives you enough to work with though!

Fenris had yet to show his face in the sky, the morning was still too early. Even when the sun god would make his appearance, his rays of shining light would do nothing to warm the land; they would only serve to somewhat brighten an otherwise overcast day. Winter thusfar had been harsh, though not overly so. When compared with the barren seasons of the past, it seemed like one should be thankful that Wolfbane had, for the meantime, loosened his hold on the land. Prey was still scarce, yes, and the weather still chilled Varg to the bone, though they would survive now as they always had, and there was always that to be thankful for.

A form as black as charcoal roamed over the otherwise white blanket of land. His form was lithe, yet well-muscled, and he moved with a sort of grace as only one who knew the lands well could. A single set of paw prints seemed to continue forever behind him, disturbing the pristine, flawless snow; should one follow them, they would discover that they lead back to a den in the heartland of Koran. The pack's Beta was on his morning patrol, a duty that had become routine since his promotion a few seasons ago. Even prior to that he had fancied wandering, for even in solitude he was never really lonely. Following the border allowed him to stretch his legs and satiate the part of him that longed for adventure.

Amber eyes roved over the horizon where the gray sky seemed to meld together with the white land. Satisfied with the lack of activity, he let out a contented sigh. He had been fortunate that lately there had been no disturbances on or near the Koran territory, and though he had plenty to think about, he couldn't help but wish for something different, a change of pace. Pausing for a moment, he decided on taking a quick break. Falling back onto his haunches he sat, not caring as the snow passed through his thick fur, and let his breath drift in spirals through the cold air.

[Tarmalo]

^{[[gah! took me long enough, I hope this is alright]]}

“Yet another pale sun in the sky above in the winter season, how tiresome,” thought Tarmalo as he walked into the lands of Koran once again. For the past season and a half Tarmalo had been on numerous scout missions to pretty much everywhere around Transylvania, but in reality Tarmalo had been looking for Sabla, for her sudden disappearance troubled him. He had searched and searched, but what he found he chose to put out of his mind, he was tired now, tired of everything. Tarmalo stopped, sat his ebony and snow tipped body in the snow, then turned his eyes to the sky above.“Fenris,” whispered Tarmalo. “I want things to change, I’m tired.” Tarmalo was tired of being a shadow in the dark, he was tired of being a ghost, he wanted to be recognized, and not just a black phantom in the mist giving Koran warnings and being the packs messenger boy to other packs. Tarmalo stood up and shook off a small portion of snow and sighed as he brought his head from the sky.

“I want to fight,” whispered Tarmalo as he moved along the borders of Koran. As Tarmalo walked through the seemingly empty forests of Koran, he came upon a set of tracks. He raised his haunches as he caught the scent of another wolf, but immediately relaxed when he realized that it was one of his pack mates. Tarmalo lowered his nostrils to the snow to examine the scent better. The scent seemed unfamiliar, yet it carried the distinct scent of Koran, yet the scent was still strong. He looked up to see that the tracks traced the boundaries of Koran.

“Who could be on patrol?” asked Tarmalo. “I thought it was my turn to do patrol duty.” Slowly but surely Tarmalo began to follow the un-mysterious tracks from Koran. Tarmalo kept his nose to the ground as the scent grew closer. How much longer would it be before he caught up with the un-mysterious patroller? Tarmalo looked up and saw a black wolf twenty yards ahead of him. Upon seeing the wolf Tarmalo immediately knew who it was he was following…Kai. Maybe Tarmalo made a mistake.

[Kai]

All was in place as the noble Varg sat, his keen eyes passing over the shapes the bordering trees branches made against the washed out sky. Even in the dead of winter Koran maintained a serene sort of beauty. Despite his early doubts regarding whether or not he was meant for pack life, he knew as he sat that he could never leave the land he called home. He felt more a part of the packland than anything he had ever known, everything about it welcomed him with open arms and promised comfort and security. The male took great pride in his home, though he was not boastful, and he knew now that nothing could ever compromise that.

His pointed auds flicked, sensing a distubrance in the otherwise perfect silence. The faint crunching of snow filled the void, and the male whipped his head around to see who could possible be awake at this hour, and within such close proximity. Not far off he could see the ebon form of another, using the Beta's tracks as a trail. Kai's brow creased as the scent of a fellow Koran Varg caught his attention and his mind whirred, trying to pick out a name to match the face. Finally it dawned on him, this must be Tarmalo, one of the pack's scouts, also out on a morning patrol. The mann seemed to have paused, somewhat apprehensious of the higher-ranking male. At this Kai let out a chuckle, finding humor in the fact that he seemed to have stolen the scout's job with his self-assigned mourning routine.

"Tarmalo, is it?" His rich voice rang out clear in the still morning air. "You're up early, are you on patrol as well? There is no need to stand so far off, please, come closer." The beta flashed his white fangs in a genuine smile as he rose to his feet, his tail wagging and helping to displace some of the snow that had clung to his pelt.

[Tarmalo]

Tarmalo stopped, he didn’t know how to respond to his superior.
“I…uh, yes sir,” stuttered Tarmalo as he began to slowly walk towards Kai. He slightly curled his ebony and black tail between his legs as he approached Kia.
“I’m sorry to disturb you sir,” said Tarmalo. “But my instructions were to patrol the boundries after I returned form my scouting mission from across the great river.”

Tarmalo felt a cool winter breeze flow through his ebony and snow white tipped fur, his fur almost twinkled along with the snow as the sun shone through the temporarily dead branches of Koran. Kai’s voice seemed gentle and welcoming, a voice he was not familiar with, and likewise he had no idea how to respond in kind.

“How awkward,” thought Tarmalo. “What should I say?” He slightly averted his eyes, to the left, and something caught his eye. A bird of prey flying out of the forest, for a second Tarmalo thought how nice it would be to fly, to go anywhere he pleased, and watch the ground disappear under him. Then something flashed in his mind, his thoughts from when he re-enterd the packlands. “Change,” he thought. “That would be nice.” Slowly, a grin shone upon his muzzle.

“Sir, can I ask you something,” asked Tarmalo. His thoughts raced for surely Fenris has answered his pleas.
“I know that each position in the pack is important, and we all must do our part for the betterment of our pack,” continued Tarmalo. “But I cant stand hiding in the shadows, I mean, I’m good at it and all, but I want to fight sir.” Tarmalo stopped, maybe what he had said was too much. He hoped that what he said wasn’t out of place, or a form of insubordination.

He lifted his golden and steel tipped eyes to the sky. Whenever he flet alone, or in trouble he would look towards its endless mass in hope for answers buts its dead silence always semmed to comfort him in his time of need.
“I appologize sir,” said Tarmalo. “I did not mean to speak out of turn.” Yet nomatter what he said he had the desire to fight, to protect his new home, and for some odd reason he felt kinship towards Kai. Could it be that they shared the common desire to better their pack, or perhaps another reason that lay deep beneath waiting to be uncovered.

[Kai]

As his smooth tones faded into the brisk morning air, the scout was hesitant to respond, but finally stammered a reply. The male's movements were cautious as though he was on edge for some reason. Baffled by this odd behavior, Kai took a look around, his pointed auds swiveling as he surveyed the nearby terra. Seeing nothing of interest that might cause such a reaction, it dawned on him that he must be the cause for such a timid approach. The idea in itself seemed silly and ridiculous, considering he was no Dragga and his frequent absences barely entitled him to the title of Beta.

At Tarmalo's nervous apology, Kai tilted his head. He hated to think that his mere presence was causing such unrest in the male. "Tarmalo," he spoke kindly, sounding slightly amused. "Relax, would you? You have no reason to be so nervous, I assure you." He fell back onto his haunches as if to emphasize his point that he wanted this encounter to be more casual than this male was perhaps expecting. "I'm not sizing you up, and you haven't disturbed me." He spoke almost idly, "Perhaps I should be apologizing to you. I hadn't realized you have been assigned border patrol. I took it upon myself to fulfill the task moons ago, it has since become habit. There's no reason that more than one Varg can't patrol, though. You can never be too careful," he offered a good-natured wink.

A grin formed on the silver-tinged mann's muzzle, seeming to materialize out of thin air. As Kai pondered the reason behind such amusement, his silent inquiries were soon met with an explanation. "You want to fight?" Kai asked, somewhat surprised. So far he was the only warrior that Koran had to its name, and though he was a fine warrior, an army of one was nowhere near enough to properly defend a pack. He had been aware of this fact for some time, and had even been hoping to recruit some young blood to add strength and numbers to the sparse ranks. "I see..." he mused outloud. Amber eyes studied Tarmalo's face, his eyes were a striking emerald hue not unlike the green lanterns of his oldest friend. "While it's no secret that Koran is in need of defenders, I would hate to see you, or anyone else, fighting for the wrong reasons. Being a warrior is more than bragging rights," he said sternly, though not accusingly. "It is a privilege, an honor." In his mind he mulled over the pros and cons of taking on this male for training. He was sure that Tarmalo would not abuse the privilege; this notion, coupled with the obvious needs of Koran, seemed to make the decision for him. "As you said, in a pack, each role is as important as the next, though for different reasons. You are a fine scout, and I have no doubt that you could also make a fine warrior, if that is what you truly wanted." He grew silent, the faint breeze ruffling his pelt as it passed through, though it did noting to ease the silence. If Kai was to train this mann, he had to be certain that his intentions were pure and that his will was strong.

[Tarmalo]

^{[[Finally, lol. I know its a bit short, but i'm hungry. sleepy, n I did it yeah!!!]]}

Kai’s casual tones slowly brought Tarmalo’s personality out of his shell. He relaxed and sat down closer to Kai in an almost lazy fashion. Tarmalo didn't like using much effort unless it was for the hunting or scout missions, a lot of his stealth missions required a lot of agility, and endurance, especially in enemy territory. He lowered his shaggy head from his thoughts and focused more on Kai. Then something dawned on him, he had just returned from a scouting mission and he hadn't slept in almost four days, or ate anything for that matter either. This was becoming a regular routine for Tarmalo, he would often take missions that would lead him to the far corners of Transylvania. He could easily be gone for weeks at a time, worst yet, he chose to go alone, and secretly comb the land for his missing mate. Tarmalo thought about how rugged he probably looked, yet he sat there with an almost blank look on his face that said he had been through much worse.

He casually sat back, and scratched himself as he watched Kai mentally play out his potential future as a warrior of Koran. He was actually surprised that Kai would even consider his offer after the way he just blurted it out, but he was nervous, and often tended to jump the gun on those type of situations. Half the time he would be tense as a rock, and the other half of the time he spent being lazy in the sun, recovering from perilous journey’s. Then when Tarmalo’s potential future left the beta’s eyes, the black warrior turned to him and gave him his speech on Koran’s warriors and the responsibility they carry. He lifted his golden and steel flawed eyes, and gazed into the eyes of the beta. His dirty, shaggy muzzle slightly waved side-to-side in a swaying motion from lack of sleep. However, no matter how ragged his fur got, no matter how tired he was, you could still see the bright energy he kept primmed beneath his eyes, as if he was all ready for battle, and not coming from it.

It was not until Kai said he would make a fine warrior when Tarmalo showed just how much energy he had left. He went from a relaxed casual pose to tip toes and wagging his tail.
“You mean it?” asked Tarmalo. “It would be great to fight for my pack and defend it.”
“Does that mean you’ll train me too?”

[Kai]

((Short and sweet :P))

His amber eyes carefully studied the smaller ebon form beside him as his own rich vocals faded into silence. There was a brightness in the male's eyes showing he understood, though the green orbs appeared clouded too, with fatigue and darker emotions he could not decipher as easily. The scout's frame showed obvious signs of wear and tear, though nothing resulting from battles or injury. His fur was long and unkempt, the mats it held preventing it from blowing as freely as his own in the spontaneous breezes. The male's sunken orbs showed he was sleep deprived, a fact that was only reinfoced by his resigned expression and swaying form.

Kai's brow furrowed as he took in these details. He wondered if the lifestyle of a scout had instilled these changes on the male, or if it was some sort of deepseated worry that had gotten a hold of him and shaken his spirit until he no longer carried the noble form of a Varg. Regardless of the cause, the result was unacceptable for a warrior. Kai could only imagine what a league of soldiers would look like if they were bearers of such exhastion. "Hold on now," he said sternly as he gathered his thoughts, noting Tarmalo's instant excitement. "The first step of becoming a great warrior is not only taking care of those around you, but taking care of yourself. Your enthusiasm is promising, though you'll do no good to anyone tired as you are. If I am to teach you anything, you will first have to recover from this trance you've become set in." He did not intend to sound arrogant or bossy, though certain demands would have to be met if Tarmalo was to begin training, and this one was simple enough.