Post by Earth Hearted on Jul 6, 2016 11:27:39 GMT -6
❊ Winterspark ❊
Winterspark gazed around the serene landscape. Why had he come here again? Frowning, he thought, I really should get back to the Pack. Am I avoiding them...? A fear suddenly shot through him, as if electricity were traveling down his spine. Am I becoming Thunderspark? He winced at his own thought, but it was a fear that he held everyday. Their last alpha had ditched the Pack and ran off when the Pack was weak with an epidemic. Winterspark was forced to take the reins and shoulder the responsibility. They had pulled through, and he was proud of himself for helping them through that. The Pack was doing much better now...
No. I'm just taking a break, he told himself. He did not have the desire to return home. He hadn't had alone time for some while, especially during the sickness, when he was needed most. He'd raced around comforting wolves and trying to convince them to hold onto life a little bit longer, and to keep fighting. Their numbers needed to be replenished. Winterspark was worried that Oakspark would be thinking about launching another attack.
He looked into the distance towards the volcanoes, where the exiled Pack was staying. Would they ever have the strength to regroup? Is this what this is about? he asked himself. You're stressing about them? What was the use of fretting? If things got worse, to the point where they were ambushed, the other two Packs would help. It wasn't like Southern Snow was alone. They had bigger problems to worry about. Winterspark narrowed his eyes. He should really go back.
Then again, it was nice to have some peace for a while.
WITH THE rolling grace of the countless years under his belt, the large brute slipped easily down the slope toward the shimmering pool with a haughty look on his expression. Ah, Winter - of course. And here he'd been thinking he'd smelled the rancid scent of a lounging caribou.
Oakspark had been forging for whatever scraps of meat he could hunt down - seeing as most had fled the territory after the rude interruption of North, West, and South - when he'd caught notice of the figure laying near the shore of the glassy lake. Of course, he didn't hold hard feelings toward the other male. Sure, his pack had been brutally murdered by the combined terror-driven might of the other three. And, of course, the earthen wolf had been left to drag the remaining few out of the carnage and blood himself. No hard feelings.
The alpha cocked his head as he now ambled toward Winter, golden eye glinting. "Well, what a pleasant surprise to see you here, my friend," he greeted with a contemptuousness edge in his tone. "Was it the blizzards or the bovine that chased you out?"
With a sudden flurry of stars and a couple droplets of water, a blue and white, winged wolf stood at the edge of the slope on Eastern Rock's side of the neutral zone. The male transport wolf spread his wings regally, then smirked down at the brown wolf below him.
"I think snowball here is waiting for a mysterious lover, Oaky. Hmm, maybe it was you? Your fat head is quite nice." he complimented and insulted in one sentence. With a strong beat of his wings, he glided down to join the other two males at the edge of Spark Pool. He sighed wistfully, swirling a small circle in the water with his mind.
"Or maybe he just wants a break from your pretty, fat head." he snarked, glancing over at the large alpha with an unamused look, his gaze not matching his usual, playful voice. He let the water drop as he sat back on his haunches, bobbed tail bunching up at the base of his spine.
The earthen wolf closed his eye for a brief moment, an amused and faintly disbelieving expression on his face.
"And here I thought you'd finally left for good," he surmised, brow raised, and plastered a falsely pleasant smile on his maw. Hydro. Oak would have been pleased to think the spark-forsaken transport had been caught in the aftermath of the Fall, but... Well, miracles were hard to come by these days, weren't they? "Don't you have a funeral to attend, my friend? Yours, perhaps?"
Oakspark regarded Hydro with an air of contempt as he flicked an ear.
OOC: It'd be interesting to see who Winterspark aligns with ;D
The white alpha jerked his head up sharply as a stench washed over him. He hadn't smelled the scent too often, but it was one he'd hoped to never smell again.
Eastern Rock.
Stifling a growl, he watched as Oakspark sauntered up to him. Well, he couldn't fight. It was the law of the SparkPack to not stir up a battle in the Neutral Circle. But would Oakspark have the nerve to do it? Does he still follow any morals? thought Winterspark.
"Well, what a pleasant surprise to see you here, my friend," Oakspark said in an oily tone. "Was it the blizzards or the bovine that chased you away?"
Winterspark yawned before answering. He wasn't born when Oakspark had launched his attack upon the other three Packs, so he didn't hold anything personal against Oakspark. But he had heard his fair share of stories from the retirees of Southern Snow, all of them which vilified the notorious Eastern Rock alpha.
However, Winterspark wasn't one to follow anything anyone said without seeing the evidence of it himself. Oakspark was rude, he knew that, and he irritated Winterspark with his crude and nasty language and behaviors. Shrugging all former impressions aside, he decided to address Oakspark neutrally.
"All right there, Oakspark?" he asked, holding the other male's gaze. "If you must know, I make the blizzards; they don't chase me away. I use them to chase others away." Sitting up, he stretched.
All of a sudden, there was the sound of wings. Winterspark turned; another white wolf had appeared before them. This one had wings, and Winterspark bit back a sigh of annoyance. It was one of those Transport wolves who always seemed to poke their noses into everything. Not that all of them were like that, but Winterspark was one to generalize.
"I think snowball here is waiting for a mysterious lover, Oaky. Hmm, maybe it was you? Your fat head is quite nice," said the wolf.
There was a pregnant pause as the wolf ambled over to them with arrogance in his gaze and step, which began to irritate Winterspark. "Or maybe he just wants a break from your pretty, fat head," the white wolf continued.
And here I thought you'd finally left for good," Oakspark said before Winterspark could say anything. "Don't you have a funeral to attend, my friend? Yours, perhaps?"
"Well, I believe Oakspark and I were in the middle of starting what could've possibly been a pleasant conversation," Winterspark interjected, without sharpness. His eyes, however, sparkled in a manner that betrayed his stoic mask. "Until you rudely interrupted and began to antagonize Oakspark. Although we both know that he's definitely not the best wolf, it's really not your place to start a conversation in such a unpleasant way, especially in the Neutral Circle," Winterspark said, irritation bordering his tone. He was more annoyed at Hydro than at Oakspark; Transport wolves seemed to think they were the connoisseurs of everything. "Now, if you really want to fight, I suggest you take it out of here. I'm not in the mood to witness an unnecessary bloodshed, and neither is SparkPack."
A roll of silver eyes answered the Earthern brute's remark. Hydro pulled a wing forward and bit at a couple of feathers, repositioning the blue plumage. The alpha's threats had no hold on Hydro. He wasn't afraid of the lumbering male. He was nothing like Fleshspark, as much as he acts like it; but, of course, he was close enough to make Hydro despise the murderous beast.
"I'm fairly certain that it is you who should be in the ground. After all, you are dirt. Hey, that made me think of something! Is your huge face made of worm poo, too? Worm poo and rotted organisms make up a large percent of the dirt." he asked curiously, tilting his head. His eyes glanced up and down Oakspark's body as he feigned to think for a moment.
"No, Winterspark certainly isn't here for you. No one would want to get worm poo Dirtspark stuck under their tongue. That's a whole different level to the term 'dirty.' It's too much, even for moi." he continued, ignoring the Southern alpha for a moment. He then addressed Winterspark, settling his jovial eyes on the white male.
"Oh, please. Stop with that Spark Pack threat. I don't follow them. I have a couple chats with the beloved Silentspark, yeah, but they have no power of me, Winterspark." he laughed with an edge of sarcasm. He then turned back to the pool.
"When I die, I will join Odin's ranks and hunt in the stars. 'How do you know.' you ask? I searched for my mother. We're from Thoria. We follow the All Father, Odin. Spark Pack can growl and snap their teeth all they want, but they know they can't do anything with me."
Oakspark looked on with growing boredom as the two other males bickered ceaselessly. This deity says this and that deity does that, blah blah blah. Sparks, it was making his head pound with the nonsense of the matter.
"No one would want to get worm poo Dirtspark stuck under their tongue," Hydro had jabbed, blatantly flaunting his lack of sensical intelligence like a banner. Then, seeing that his childish insults had been duly delivered, the transport wolf had turned and taken to parading his devotion to an 'All Father'. As if he believed others actually liked the sound of his voice. "Sparkpack can growl and snap their teeth all they want, but they know they can't do anything with me."
"A bit proud of ourselves, aren't we, Hydro?" the earthen wolf chided as he cocked his head. Of course, he'd have loved nothing more than to take up a verbal war with the transport, but with Winter here... Well, he had more important business than entertaining an overgrown child. "All bark and no bite? Surely you have better places to be, other than pestering us Incandiances."
OOC: Yes, I am aware that Winterspark says some human swear words, but since "damn" and "ass" are actual words that don't specifically relate to something human, I'll assume that wolves can say them, too. I wouldn't have him saying something like "hell" because that's a human thing. "I'm fairly certain that it is you who should be in the ground. After all, you are dirt. Hey, that made me think of something! Is your huge face made of worm poo, too? Worm poo and rotted organisms make up a large percent of the dirt," Hydro shot back.
It took all Winterspark's will not to roll his eyes. What in the spark...? What kind of pup did Hydro think he was?
"No, Winterspark certainly isn't here for you. No one would want to get worm poo Dirtspark stuck under their tongue. That's a whole different level to the term 'dirty.' It's too much, even for moi."
What in the spark does moi mean...? Winterspark's face knit into a judgmental frown, and he cocked an eyebrow, letting out a small scoff of a laugh.
"Oh, please. Stop with that Spark Pack threat. I don't follow them. I have a couple chats with the beloved Silentspark, yeah, but they have no power of me, Winterspark," Hydro continued. "When I die, I will join Odin's ranks and hunt in the stars. 'How do you know.' you ask? I searched for my mother. We're from Thoria. We follow the All Father, Odin. Spark Pack can growl and snap their teeth all they want, but they know they can't do anything with me."
"A bit proud of ourselves, aren't we, Hydro?" Oakspark interjected, looking half amused and half bored as he cocked his head. "All bark and no bite? Surely you have better places to be, other than pestering us Incandiances."
Finally releasing a long-due sigh, Winterspark sat up. "I came here to relax," he said, "and now I have to listen to some Transport wolf acting like a child and trying, but failing miserably, to insult someone." He stood up next to Oakspark, giving Hydro a half-bored glare, but he was quite annoyed now, by Hydro's lack of good verbal attacks and his arrogance. For some reason, he felt more aligned towards Oakspark than the Transport wolf, even if he didn't like the older alpha any more than Hydro. "First of all, your jabs suck. A pup could do better than that. Second, I don't give a damn about your religion. I didn't ask to hear where you'll go when you die, I asked you to grow up. Don't you have something better to do than to annoy others with your halfass insults?"
The eastern rock alpha raised a brow and lifted his head higher as Winterspark let loose a long-overdue retort. Well, at least he wasn't a pushover as had been expected. Oakspark was pleasantly surprised by the new bit of information, in fact.
"Don't you have something better to do than to annoy others with your halfass insults?" the male had snorted in a tone that reminded Oak faintly of a scolding mother. Not that he'd ever mention that to the Southern Snow alpha, of course.
"He clearly doesn't, my friend. I'm afraid our attention is the only he ever receives..." With a look of mock pity, he turned his attention toward Hydro.
Hydro busied himself with making a small water show in the pool while the alphas yapped and grumbled beside him. The last five sentences drew his attention back though.
"First of all, your jabs suck. A pup could do better than that. Second, I don't give a damn about your religion. I didn't ask to hear where you'll go when you die, I asked you to grow up. Don't you have something better to do than to annoy others with your halfass insults?" Winterspark had scolded him, making Hydro cock his head to the side, mildly amused. The Oakspark opened his dumb mouth as well.
"He clearly doesn't, my friend. I'm afraid our attention is the only he ever receives..."
Hydro couldn't keep back a small laugh at that. "You two think your mockery is better? And you actually think I care of how you mangy, murderous pack wolves view me? I do not slaughter my own kind over stupid bits of dirt."
With a glance to the pool, Hydro allowed the wall of water drop back down. He shifted his wings and stood. His cheeky smile returned to his lips with ease. "Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll watch the leaves turn. Much more fun than the two of you. Tah-tah."
Giving the alphas a dramatic, low bow, Hydro smirked up at them and beat his wings, disappearing in a cloud of sparkling star dust.
OOC: Sentinel , or you could bring in another guy ;D "He clearly doesn't, my friend. I'm afraid our attention is the only he ever receives..." Oakspark said, addressing Winterspark.
"Yes, I suppose," Winterspark replied, his eyes glittering now. "My pities for that Odin. Must've been him who sent this Transport here. Poor chap must've been overwhelmed by his fat mouth, and kicked his ass out."
"You two think your mockery is better? And you actually think I care of how you mangy, murderous pack wolves view me? I do not slaughter my own kind over stupid bits of dirt," leered Hydro.
"Yes, well, that's what we do, and that's part of who we are, so you might as well accept it. If you don't have anything good to say-- and by good I include good insults-- then you might as well not say anything to save what's left of your reputation," Winterspark said, now somewhat amused. So Hydro really thought he was above them. Interesting, considering that it was he who decided to taunt them for no particular reason. Winterspark bit back a smirk, and watched the Transport wolf bumble around, amusement mixed with scorn sparkling in his eyes.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I think I'll watch the leaves turn. Much more fun than the two of you. Tah-tah." With a shower of glitter, Hydro disappeared.
Winterspark looked at the place where the Transport wolf had been with mild disgust. "Good riddance," he muttered, "and no loss there." Turning to Oakspark, he looked at the older male with a mixed expression of wariness and expectation. "So," he began, "are you going to do what that bloke did and start a fight with no reason?"
He set himself down on his haunches and fixed the other alpha with a chiding expression. Did all wolves really think that badly of Eastern Rock? Oakspark, despite himself, felt a slight flash of pride at how preceding his reputation must be, if that were the case. Few others were smart enough or strong enough to survive the Fall, after all.
"Though, clearly, some seem to think so," he began, casting Winter a reprimanding glance, "I don't find amusement in useless fights, my friend. Don't you agree?" The large earthen wolf cocked his head with the slightest hint of a wry smirk creeping onto his maw. "No, I came here for different matters entirely. You see, after most of my pack was brutally slaughtered in our own home - thanks to you and your buddies, of course - we're finally getting back on track. New pups, fresh recruits... More mouths..."
He raised a brow, expression one of false pleasantry.
OOC: I dunno if Senti's gonna bring in another character, but I'm assuming no, so I'm just gonna comment again.
Also, sorry if my wording's kinda shitty. I wrote this in a hurry. ^^' "Though, clearly, some seem to think so," Oakspark replied, looking somewhat judgmental, "I don't find amusement in useless fights, my friend. Don't you agree?" The other alpha smiled crookedly. "I do think that I've already made my quite clear on that topic."
"No, I came here for different matters entirely. You see, after most of my pack was brutally slaughtered in our own home - thanks to you and your buddies, of course - we're finally getting back on track. New pups, fresh recruits... More mouths..." Oakspark raised an eyebrow.
Winterspark tilted his head, bowing it slightly at first. His ice-blue eyes had turned frosty and cold, and the spark had been replaced with a gleam to show that he was not off his guard. "My blessings to the well-being of Eastern Rock," he said. "I hope that you will rethink your actions and consider what is the best move for your Pack. I hope that you are not thinking of attacking us again, when you suffered such a crushing defeat. After all, you would have to rebuild from the start again-- and you have just replenished your numbers. If you must tread upon that topic, however, I will speak my reason and opinion.
"We formed Packs so each member could receive benefits, such as protection, from the rest of the Pack, and in turn would contribute to helping their other Packmates. Packmates fight together to benefit the Pack as a whole and to protect one another, yes?
"And, furthermore, the four Packs are to help each other whenever one is in dire need. However, it is also our duty to ensure peace to every Pack and each one of its members. Whenever something is viewed as a threat to that peace, we must eliminate it. And it is the choice of one to chose whether or not to be viewed as a threat. It is not our-- meaning us three Packs-- fault that the Eastern Rock Pack chose to vilify itself. It was you who chose to affiliate yourself with it. It was you who chose to slaughter Huskyspark's siblings.
"As for the final attack-- like I said before, it is our role, as soldiers, to bring peace to the Compass. Therefore, it was necessary to launch the ambush to make sure that Eastern Rock could not rise up and make another attempt to tyrannize us again. Although, in retrospect, I do admit that we didn't have to go so far as to kill so many of your Packmates, you now see exactly what your Pack has done to us-- for no reason, I might add. It was an action, for the majority of it, most justified."
Taking a breath, Winterspark, paused, letting his retort sink in. Wolves like Oakspark were likely to not listen; they never learned from their mistakes. They were too easily succumbed to the tyranny of violence. It was an addiction, something they were likely to never be free of. "I know that I'm probably boring you, my friend, but, in short, it is really up to you whether or not to use your new recruits and your soldiers to attack again, if you are willing to have the action be reciprocated. I assure you that we will take extra steps to make sure that Eastern Rock will not succeed, ever. It is not the place of one Pack to try to take over all the others. You were a foreigner, Oakspark, and so perhaps you still do not fully understand our codes-- I that is quite obvious. Tell me, Oakspark, for I am curious: what is your reason, behind your desire, you need, to attack us at all?"
He allowed the slightest hint of hostile indignity to creep into his composure as the other alpha began to lecture him.
"I do admit that we didn't have to go so far as to kill so many of your Packmates, you now see exactly what your Pack has done to us-- for no reason, I might add. It was an action, for the majority of it, most justified," Winter droned, his tone quite calm for one who professed such remorse. Then, seeming to think his tirade of ignorant blathering wasn't quite complete, he settled on concluding with, "Tell me, Oakspark, for I am curious: what is your reason, behind your desire, you need, to attack us at all?"
Oakspark was quite tempted to attack South's alpha then and there, but stilled himself and instead decided on a less bloodthirsty approach. "Your memory seems to be failing you, my friend," he growled, chin lifted and eye glinting with a cold scorn. "It was not my voice that gave the orders." No, it had been Chronospark, the alpha before him, who had followed in his own leader's wake. Oak himself had been left to drag the remains of Eastern Rock back onto it's paws. "I did what I was ordered to do, like every good wolf your alliance slaughtered."
Then, the alpha bit off choice words he was about to strike with next. No, he hadn't come all this way on a chance just to burn more bridges. "I can assure you, Winterspark, that I will not make the same mistakes of my predecessors." The large brute paused for a moment, cocking his head, and fixed the other male with a chiding glance. "I would think someone of your stature would be above jumping to conclusions."
OOC: The problem is, Winterspark's pretty good at jumping to conclusions most of the time. xP "Your memory seems to be failing you, my friend," Oakspark snarled, frustrated at last. "It was not my voice that gave the orders. I did what I was ordered to do, like every good wolf your alliance slaughtered. I can assure you, Winterspark, that I will not make the same mistakes of my predecessors." He paused momentarily. "I would think someone of your stature would be above jumping to conclusions."
Winterspark was getting tired of this verbal war. He had come, after all, for peace. He definitely hadn't expected Oakspark to make his unwelcome visit. This was becoming as stupid as Hydro's spats. But Winterspark wasn't about to let Oakspark go without injecting into his brain some words to make him consider.
He bit back a smirk. The large bloke seemed to be getting riled. "You misunderstand me," Winterspark said with a bark of a laugh. "Did I ever say it was your fault, old chap? No, you merely acted on the orders like Chronospark's marionette. I said it was you who chose to continue to ally yourself with him. You, as a foreigner, had the power to chose which Pack to reside in. You didn't have to chose such a brutal Pack, my friend, and I can see now that the poison of Eastern Rock has very much soaked into your head. You are blinded by your desire and need for violence and revenge, from which you will never be free. I pity you.
"But you have power over the Pack now. You are the alpha, Oakspark. Whatever you chose to do... you will be blamed for it. There will be no need for me to, as you put it, jump to conclusions."
Welcome to Compass Ross Packs territories. These wolves are... different than those of Earth. They live in a different realm, and the only way in or out is through the Transport wolves.
What are these wolves, you ask? These wolves have magic on their fur and the elements in their blood. These wolves have power. But will they use them for good, or for evil? That is up to you.
Compass Rose was created by Sentinel. Content is copyrighted to Compass Rose unless otherwise stated. The skin is created by Wolf of Gangnam Style. The board and thread remodel is by Kagney.