The Story of Lily & Rowen: Amarusa

Chapter III: The White She-Wolf

It had taken Rowen and Bryce a good hour and a half to reach their destination along the Shield Pack's Easternmost border. When they had arrived, Rowen realized that he was not acquainted with the area as well as he had previously assumed. The topography was very similar to his home, but he feared that Angelo's goal in assigning the new border guards to areas near their homes may have been in vain. At least in his case. Rowen had certainly been to the border several times before during desperate hunting runs, but not enough to the extent that he would have retained intimate knowledge of his surroundings.

Nevertheless, the black-furred male made a point to memorize and scan his surroundings. He made note of trees that were unique, odd rocks, water holes, and many other natural landmarks that would make navigation easier for him in the future. It was certainly a productive use of his time. Much more so than paying attention to Bryce's ramblings, complaints, and generally uninteresting musings. Bryce had been quiet the rest of their journey, but as soon as they had arrived at their destination, he assumed a dominant and commandeering role. It was, Rowen figured, obviously an attempt to make him feel intimidated and subordinate. The latter of which was perhaps appropriate from a technical standpoint, but if he was honest, Rowen felt nothing like a subordinate to the overbearing gray male.

"Now I know what lil' Angelo told y'all about bein' nice and such." Bryce turned his head to Rowen as he negotiated a fallen tree log across a small stream. "It sounds nice when you're caught up in the moment, feelin' all prideful about yourself. But lemme tell ya..." Bryce, seemingly having been too focused on his own words, didn't respect the log's positioning and it began to turn, throwing the large male off balance.

"Aww no!" Bryce yelped as he fell off the log into the muddy water below.

It took Rowen a moment or so to realize what had happened, but being splashed with muddy water had a way of pulling one back into reality. With his head angled away from the incident, Rowen opened one eye and struggled to hold back a laugh as he saw the gray-furred male covered in dirty water and struggling to regain his footing. Rowen realized that his descent into the water had made a particularly loud sound, and he briefly scanned his surroundings. After all, they were no longer nestled well-within pack territory. They were on the potentially volatile border where anything could happen. A low profile, most assuredly, was preferred. Carelessly falling off of a log and making quite a splash fell somewhat short of that philosophy.

Rowen walked over to Bryce. "You're alright." he said, somewhat provocatively. "This used to happen on a daily basis when I was a hunter." Rowen said almost dismissively as he carefully stepped over the stream.

The attitude, it seemed, reinvigorated the dark-gray male's dominance and balance and he was up and about almost immediately following Rowen's words.

"Yeah and? You think I ain't ever physically exerted myself before?" Bryce growled slightly at Rowen. "It's happened plenty'a'times before to me."

'I'm not surprised.' Rowen had wanted to say, but did not. "It happens to the best of us. Though we should be more careful, I doubt Angelo would be particularly impressed if it turns out a fallen tree is the most deadly thing out here." Rowen joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"You an' Angelo. Angelo this, Angelo that." Bryce rolled his eyes as he walked out of the water and shook his coat, deliberately flinging mud at Rowen. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yea. Trespassers. Trespassin' doesn't fly with me. Angelo told me to teach you what I know, and lemme tell you, this is one of those things that's real important." Bryce explained, taking the lead out of a sense of insecurity. According to Rowen, at least.

"It must be very important if your methods violate what seemed to be a direct order from the alpha's son." Rowen pointed out as he shook his fur clean of the mud and followed Bryce.