This is a roleplay between Rancour and me :)

Reference thread: Looking for Love And Death

Discussion Thread

archeron x roro

two packs formed a fragile alliance to face their common enemy: humans.

It was Year 277 in the known wolf realm. The second month of Summer.

Summer was in full blast. Gone were tranquil nights as the crickets seemed to insist on outperforming each other every night. Not that Roro had ever known peace in the dark hours. Their Goddess might be diurnal, but her devotees remained nocturnal hunters. They roamed under the starry sky, searching for prey.

Especially now that Roro had finally gotten the position she had coveted for months, having ascended to the Alpha Female position by the third month of Spring.

The female was large, much more so than the Alpha lying down on the other side of the cave. Muscles rippled beneath her thin fur as she stirred ever so slightly, trying to ease the dull pain from last night's struggle with the gator.

"Sleepless morning again, My Love? Perhaps you should have let me cuddle you. You'll find blissful slumber in my embrace."

Roro bristled at the honey-glazed voice, velvety and deep, tinged with amusement. Her eyelids opened, revealing a pair of striking emerald eyes. They would have been beautiful had they not been so frigid and resentful.

"Have mercy on me, Roro." The Alpha huffed. "If you want to be the True Alpha so badly, you can always challenge me one-on-one."

Roro's snout twisted in rage, showing a row of fearfully large canines. "Don't feign foolishness. I may just make it reality."

"Then you should know better, Alpha's Bonded." Hayam's voice was cool as the male sauntered towards Roro with express confidence. Her hackles raised as he moved closer, but she did not raise from her position, lowered on the ground. "I may had been weaker than you, but the Goddess' blessing strengthens me. Day, by blessed, day."

He tilted his head slightly in mockery. "Soon I might be able to handle you myself, no need to beckon that female."

He dipped his head down, as if he was going to kiss her, but he stopped as Roro couldn't hold back a vicious growl slipping from her parted lips upon feeling his cold breath on her nose.

"My, my. I was just trying to cheer you up, My Love. Why so serious?" Hayam sprang up, turned away from her, and laughed as he made his way back to his dwelling spot across the cave. "Take a walk, sunlight will make you sleepy. Go, Alpha's order."

"One day, I will tear out your pathetic neck." As Roro rose, the size difference grew undeniable. Hayam was still taller than she was, yes, yet she had twice the muscle pound-by-pound. A terrifying sight. Hayam's eyes glided over her briefly, expression unreadable. Then the lanky male returned to his easy-going stance, swishing his tail as if he had no care in the world. "Out, now. Your insomnia is messing with my beauty sleep. Lakeswara is already starting to give me a run for my mush."

As the female wolf emerged from the cave, the crepuscular rays of the morning sun cast behind her a long shadow, contouring her muscled body. The canid's cream fur appeared sienna, dappled with dried dirt that fell out as she shook her body.

Roro closed her eyes. The phospenes danced behind her eyelids, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. The air was filled by the sweet scent of petrichor, dampness still clung to the soil, left behind by the summer rain the night before. The early morning cold nipped at the tips of her mitts and her tail. Roro tried to take in the heat of the sunlight, but there was not enough yet to battle the cold. Soon, this cold would be replaced by blistering heat.

"Out with it." The she-wolf finally addressed the one who had been sitting near the cave entrance, watching Roro ever since she made her first step into the damp, rocky ground.

The white female's lithe, sinewy form was like a tightly coiled spring, rippling with power beneath her sleek fur. Every movement was a study in grace and fluidity, as she bowed down to Roro. Roro's lips pulled in anger, knowing full well that it was merely performative deference from the beta female.

"Alpha. Has a decision been made about what we are to do about the iron-bearers?"

Roro's prediction was correct. Parardya was here to apply pressure on the new alphas, as she had done for the past two months ever since Hayam took over the throne from her. Parardya and her Bonded, Bimo, were the Founders of Jawa Supremacy Pack. They ruled the pack for eight months- starting from the pack's formation prior to Roro and Hayam's arrival as The Goddess Ciriin's Chosen Ones, up to the second month of Spring when they lost Roro's Fall pup: Raras. A devastating blow after Roro's first pup loss in Winter. Two of the incidents that Hayam used as leverage to take over Alpha position.

"You dare rush your Alpha? Need I remind you of your disgraceful leadership, pup?"

Propelled by the kick of powerful hindquarters, Roro sprang at Parardya. The white she-wolf side-stepped Roro's attack, almost as if she had predicted it. "I dare not," Parardya replied, tone polite yet anger gurgled behind it. "Forgive my impudence, alpha. Allow me to return to my place."

Pairs of eyes snapped to them, watching from the clearing below where the rest of the pack were resting from the night's hunt. Roro growled, but Parardya's gaze gleamed dangerously. If Roro's eyes were green with a tinge of feral amber, Parardya's green eyes were pale and colder, more resembling a precious gem, honed by her childhood in a pack dynamic. Roro, on the other hand, knew nothing of all the pomp and circumstances. Her lone wolf mother was barely around to show her much etiquette. Parardya unnerved her greatly, right from their first meeting.

Parardya was nothing but a scrawny juvenile when Roro first met her, so neglected in her previous pack that she hadn't even the skill to stalk rabbit without her excited tail rustling the leaves. Yet, months of the Goddess' blessing, reserved mainly for the Alpha, had transformed Parardya beyond recognition. The bundle of skin and bones had transformed into a bundle of muscles and deadly skills to match. Having witnessed it first-hand in their hunts, Roro had all the reason to fear the current Parardya even if the three year old remained smaller than her. Parardya, on the other hand, couldn't shake her first fearsome impression of the massive and muscular former lone wolf either. The two remained at an impasse.

"Leave." Roro's guttural voice pierced the tension that filled the air, and her command was swiftly heeded.

When the argument spurted into resonant and muffled snarls, Archeron bode halfhearted and came to an understanding that it was fruitless to eavesdrop. There was practically no sound information to deplete from their quarrel, not like there was anything to grasp for, so Archeron had deserted the scene, tassel whisking in the frigid, whistling breeze.

And made his course to his cavern, his smallish, sheltered lair. But amidst the footpath that ushered him to his grotto, the raucous yip splitting the ambiance from behind beckoned Archeron to halt. ''Archeron!'' the mere call of his name had Archeron's backbone fur to bristle but his contorted face, bide the same. Gladres was an underling, an outsider that has been accommodated and classed as a hunter, a shoddy spirit to aid Archeron if he needed it. Archeron did not mind Gladres' presence, but sometimes inquiries over inquiries, the endless inquisitiveness had gotten bothersome, and encountering tranquility was more essential. But Archeron had not shared any hatred with the poor underling and accepted his presence even if how irking it was. ''How was the patrol?'' when Archeron had halted and beamed back at the approaching canine, Gladres asked, nearly instantly.

''Could've been better, but nothing outlandish happened,'' Archeron retorted, his flaxen irises boring into Gladres droopy ones.

And nothing outlandish did happen. It was all so somnolent, so tranquil, and yet so pacifying. Despite the earliest hours of dawn, and the drowsiness steering Archeron into a reverie, he liked the equilibrium that washed over his heart like a gurgling tide on a gritty seaside. ''Then...why did Dune react so negatively..'' the muster of his voice and the bewildered glint on Gladres face coerced Archeron to swivel around, bushy tassel whipping Gladres shoulder.

''Oppressive, personal issues, presumably.'' his voice like a sonorous reverberation that succumbed the clamorous grove into lethal stillness was not a pleasant, uplifting response for Gladres' quizzical heart. ''Can't be...he's been so frazzled since this matter began,'' Gladres resumed, pestering Archeron like a blood-sucking leech and tailing after the atramentous brute with more queries in mind than Archeron presumed. It wasn't disturbing him, yet. But to be left solitary for an hour or more was sounding more wonderful than answering some arbitrary and impractical questions for a wolfling that was just, simply put, impracticable of use.

''And so is Shikari, but her appeal is on her brood than some huntsman,'' the grumble in his throat was resonant but the tenderness of his tone was discernable. No trace of bitterness or nuisance in his response was laced, it was a spartan answer from Archeron's perspective. ''They both are hotheads and have zero expertise in headship,'' he chimed in, nose flaring. Whatever, Archeron had observed through the time he spent here, was unfolding in certitude. They were both too occupied to increase the pack than take consideration of the members abiding. It was a botched blight, piling on one another, molding havoc, and many more tribulations than the present one. ''Because the time is grim, I'm sure they aren't so horrendous at their roles,'' Gladres seemed promising, cranium tilted and lobes positioned lower to his head.

''We can hope for that,'' were the final words from Archeron before he tiptoed back to his cove, left by Gladres and everyone else.

Parardya retreated with a sinuous grace, vanishing from view as she descended into the clearing. Roro watched her depart, her heart pounding in her bosom. She could not afford to let her guard down, not even for a moment. As the new alpha, she must remain strong and vigilant at all times, lest her reign be cut short.

Taking a deep breath, Roro descended to the clearing below. The rest of the pack greeted her with a mixture of deference and defiance. Parardya sidled up with her mate, Bimo, a wolf colossal enough to eclipse Roro. It was patent to Roro that Parardya had chosen him for his appearance, a contemptible decision. He was ample in more adipose tissue than muscle, an unwieldy burden. Months of being the Alpha's Bonded had not altered his worthlessness. Roro was relieved she no longer had to bear the shame of having such an Alpha Male.

The pack was scattered about surrounding Parardya, casting Roro with thinly veiled disdain. Only a pair of juveniles, both next in line to be Retainers, looked at her with an even-keeled gaze. The Blessed One with ever-changing pelt, Lakeswara Ibn Lirios, and The Beloved One, Garin Ibnat Gitarja. The two half-siblings were very close, always together and working as one. Perhaps it was because their mothers were paramours.

Despite their mothers' disdain towards Roro, the juveniles appeared to respect her as their mentor. It was far from unwavering loyalty like what Parardya had from Bimo, Lirio, and Gitarja, however.

Only Roro's beloved son, Raksa, the only one left of her Fall pups, came over to her side with a soft wag of his tail. The sole alpha heir, having gifted the position that was torn away from Payada Ibn Parardya by Hayam's ascend to the throne. He greeted her with the soft touch of his nose, and stood tall by her side her as a silent pillar of unbreakable support.

Hayam was wrong. One needs their own flesh and blood to have true reign. To overcome the Original Alphas' influence. Hayam might be Alpha now, but without his own blood to cement his position how long could he keep that up?

"Listen up," she growled, her voice carrying across the clearing. "The iron-bearers are growing stronger in our new territory, yet we will not be doing such a thing as cower in fear like weaklings. The Swamp remains unconquered, and until we earn the Goddess' protection there, we shall not rest. We will obliterate anything that stands in our way, and we will show no mercy."

Her voice dropped to a low, guttural growl. "Weakness will not be tolerated by your Alpha. From this moment on, no expedition team shall leave without my approval or that of Hayam's. Anyone who dares to challenge this will face dire consequences. Is that understood?"

"Understood, Alpha."

There were murmurs of assent from the pack, but also murmurs of skepticism. They knew that the iron-bearers were a formidable adversary, equipped with weapons that could fell even the hardiest of wolves. But Roro was undaunted. She had confronted many trials in her life, and she was confident that she could surmount this one as well.

When Archeron and Gladres beelined to their dens, he entered his quiet serene cavern with a sense of purpose whilst the urging ripples of apprehension opposed within his heart chasms. His movements were fluid and nimble as he made his way over the gravel and stones that bestrewed the entrance. The grotto was opaque, but his keen acuity of odor and hearing entitled him to helm it with ease. He could hear the outlying sound of his pack bellowing in the distance, stirring unease in the pit of his stomach. Because despite the current situation, the pack was perishing.

And settling down in a restful aperture in the cavern, his thoughts diverted to the pack's issues. He knew that the lead heads were hotspurs and had no background in leading the pack. They were too immersed in affirming their dominance over the other canines, rather than laboring together for the good of the pack. Archeron knew that something had to alter if the bunch wanted to weather the harrowing situation stirring presently.

The cavern was sweltering and musty, with stalactites and stalagmites jutting out from the divisions and canopy. The sole light came from a remote opening near the top of the cavern, which permitted a sliver of sunlight to filter in. Archeron could sense the mildewed odor of the moist earth, the wetness of the rocks, and the mold of the surrounding vegetation. He could hear the sound of wetness dribbling from somewhere resonant within the cavern and his own, sober breaths.

It was his own sheltered spot, a little thinker area, where his thoughts can ricochet around the cavern divisions, letting him reconsider and come to deductions.

"I heard," Hayam trilled as Roro reentered their den. He reclined with confidence in his spot, forelegs crossed and an amused expression etched upon his visage, evident in the drag of his tail across the den floor. "Weakness will not be tolerated by your Alpha? How frightening, My Love. I am not sure I have it in me to keep up with your expectations."

"You grew impatient, it was all over your hideous mug." Roro snarled, padding over to rest at her designated spot within the den.

"Did I, now?" Hayam mused. "You're always better at seeing an emotion in me I do not speak of. What bliss! Anyway, did the sun help?"

As much as Roro detested how Hayam seemed to have knowledge of things she never spoke of, he was correct. The instant the orders were conveyed without any pushback and Parardya vanished from sight, Roro found the morning sun planting seeds of slumber in her eyes.

She grunted as her body dropped onto the soft ground, and sleep swiftly took her into its embrace.

~

Roro startled awake. She shot to her feet and turned instantly, her backside against the cave wall, growls echoing through the cave walls. The aureate glow of dusk colored the cave, casting half of Hayam's face in the shadows. The male was sitting patiently with his tail wrapped around his paws, his thin fur unruffled. He had been sitting in that position for a while.

"Good evening, Sleepyhead," he spoke, and Roro's gaze trailed down to the pine cone that had undoubtedly not been present at her feet when she dozed off earlier that morning.

"Did you hurl a pine cone at me, you insane cur?"

"Aha. Did I?"

Roro sprung forward at him and Hayam rose in reflex. "I will end you."

"You would, if I had disturbed you during your nightmares. One must cherish his life."

There was a dark feeling still swirling in Roro's chest. He was right; she had another nightmare. The blasted Summer heat must've gotten to her.

"Come, we need to feed the pack tonight. More food to pile for Winter if the juveniles grow well through Fall. They're quite small, aren't they? The poor dears. Lirio told me Winter curses pups who meet it too quickly."

"Common sense," Roro rebuked. Hayam arched an eyebrow at her, sauntering towards the light and halting at the entrance to the den, awaiting her. "Then my lone wolf mother was senseless. No wonder I am small. Didn't affect my brain, though!"

Roro huffed in disagreement and made her way to his side. Together they step out of the cave. The remainder of the pack was still resting asleep on the clearing beneath.

"Rise and glimmer, my hunters and huntresses!" Hayam's velvety voice reverberated across the clearing. Ears perked up and the wolves rose. Roro swept her sharp gaze on them, locking eyes with each individual. "Another beautiful night to kill. Beta!"

The white she wolf stepped forward, followed by her mate close behind her. She bowed gracefully to them, her mate followed suit in bumbling movement.

"Where is Lakeswara?" Roro narrowed her eyes. The young male was nowhere to be seen.

Parardya answered without missing a beat. "He will have returned by the time the first hunting party comes back, Alpha."

Bimo, however, looked bewildered. He had just realized Lakeswara was absent. Hence, Parardya must be unaware of Lakeswara's whereabouts as the duo always shared each and any cognizance. Roro averted her gaze towards Garin, the one closest to Lakeswara. The young damsel had her ears pinned down in trepidation, diminishing her size, endeavoring to elude the Alpha's attention. She must know something.

"Need I repeat myself? Where is the youngling?"

"He is taking a walk in our conquered territory, Alpha." Parardya answered smoothly. "He did not go on a hunt, as you have ordered."

"You'll take responsibility for your words, Beta," Roro's voice dropped menacingly. "He must be here for the second hunt."

"Yes, Alpha." Parardya swiveled her head towards Lirio, Lakeswara's mother. The old huntress was visibly distressed, her eyes darting across the vicinity. Her mate, Gitarja, snuggled her for solace. The couple straightened up as Parardya turned her head towards them, and as Parardya spoke, their anxious countenances transformed into a certain, dutiful one.

"I will not tolerate weakness." Hayam spoke up coolly. Roro could feel his tail brushing hers on and off. His tail, which was not visible from the clearing under, was wagging. Roro stepped forward slightly, avoiding his touch, and growled at the wolves below. They bowed to their leaders, many ears pinned down in fear. "Yes, Alpha!"

"Now, the day is not getting younger," Hayam continued. "Alpha's Heir."

Raksa stepped forward, as stoic as usual. He bowed slightly. His tail, however, was swishing subtly. Raksa had grown the biggest compared to the other juveniles. Hayam looked at him fondly.

"Beta's Heir."

Payada stepped up. He had never been a striking wolf, yet now he looked particularly gaunt.

"That concludes the first expedition team."

~

The six wolves stood together at the edge of the forest, their keen eyes scanning the horizon as the sky began to shift from a brilliant orange and pink to a deep shade of blue. The air was thick with the heady scent of summer, a mixture of blooming wildflowers and fresh, dewy grass. As the sun sank lower in the sky, the shadows grew longer, stretching across the ground like the fingers of a giant. The trees began to rustle and sway, and a cool breeze picked up, causing the leaves to whisper secrets to one another. As the light faded, the sky began to fill with a million stars, each one shining like a tiny beacon in the darkness. The wolves could sense the energy in the air, the thrill of the hunt that pulsed through their veins. With a final glance at the waning light, they set off into the forest, their sleek forms disappearing into the shadows as they made their way towards new territories. The night was theirs.

When the gloaming had begun to ebb, chafing the fleeting ray from the vast biome. The solemn drowsiness drew across his irresolute gaze. Getting some restful slumber was much to be asked because when a strident voice rove the stillness into little fragments. The concord that was once gurgling in his heart, wavered.

"psst-" it said.

And the brittle, aural treads of mitts were discernable for the senior brute, who had his penetrating golden-threaded gaze fixated on the source of the voice. And not so astonished, his acute slits eased and his fuzzy cranium returned to his earlier position: curved near his hinds.

If this smallish, blackish wolfling desired to ask, it could've, by all means. Acheron was just fatigued and wanted least to keep his eyes idled and his brain at alleviation whilst this little heir had the discretion to pursue by being here.

"I escaped my mother!" it sounded enthusiastic and the least bit content.

A devilish act for a descendant - not shocked. But all Acheron could muster was a whirr, debased with viscosity and underlined with somnolence, no interest to emit verbal and unambiguous terms. But for such a joyous soul, it didn't matter. Nor Keres minded, a blithe character that understood Acheron better than any matured and ripened canine would.

"For a proper reason, of course.." the heir blubbered, sprawling beside Acheron's bristling and stout mane, her diminutive figure casting warmth.

And to that Acheron flared his nares, creating a sonorous sound that flushed the entire cove. The proper reason was, the mother did not give enough perusal to please the heir's heart, so without it, the heir coveted someone else keen to fill the barren space.

"You fled because your mother is resting.." he said, tone nonchalant yet remote and resonant amongst the bereft cavern.

"Maybe.." the heir cowered.

Her maybe was unfailingly a yes. Keres had merriment in pulling her words and playing dense, to replenish her satisfaction and impish side since no canine in the campground could. There were no peers for this heir to wrestle with, no descendants that could inflate her with frivolity.

Though before Acheron tilted his cranium to peer at the heir bear laughter, it approached and wilted against Acheron's viscous and downy mane, nuzzling into his emitting warmth that streamed like a heatwave. He did not find it intruding instead, he reminisced about his preadolescence and how his levity was also narrow. It was just all teaching, how the realm was cruel and how the life ahead of him will be unforgiving and merciless if he continues to act so playful and careless.

''Sleep if you're tired,'' he muttered, snout merely tipped before it decreased back down on the stony ground. ''Don't mutter, just sleep,'' he chimed, spitting out an augury to the restless heir tousling and nestling more into his teeming mane.