The young Alpha slept later then she normally did, however she still managed to get up with the rest of the pack. Right as the sun was coming up. Laika's jaws open in a large yawn, lapping at her fur for a quick wash. Then after stretching, she leaps up, trotting out of her den. Already she could see most of the pack had already eaten breakfast and were gathered by the base of the rock that the Alpha often used for meetings. Laika trots over, weaving her way through the wolves, hearing a few growls but not enough to bother her. Laika takes a seat between her Beta's as the rest of the wolves gather.

Laika begins to sort patrols and for the first time since she had put Aragorn in his place in front of the pack, she had a incredibly rebellious wolf. Phantom, one of Aragorn's closest friends. "Lilith... Take Phantom, Ignatius, and.... Do you mind taking Eyre for me?" The female dips her head,"Of course not." Eyre and Ignatius get up to join Lilith, before all three turn to wait for Phantom. However the young wolf was stalking closer to his Alpha, a gleam in his eye. Laika flicks an ear,"Phantom. Go with Lilith."

Phantom bares his teeth,"Why should I take orders from you, pup?" Laika scoffs,"You're barely a year older then me, you don't have much room to call me pup, pup." Phantom peels his lips back, revealing sharp teeth,"This pack needs a strong leader who will lead them well. Not a softie like you." Phantom lifts his head,"I challenge you for Alpha." There were mutters of disbelief and Seraphina rises to her paws,"Challenging for Alpha is against Pack Laws. The Alpha must be chosen by the Elders, and we would never chose you." The other Elders mutter agreement and Phantom turns on the Elders, snarling,"Shut up! The laws are dumb! Half of them don't make sense. It's time for a new Alpha, and perhaps even new laws."

Laika gets to her paws, eyes blazing,"You will not speak to the Elders that way." Phantom spins back on Laika, flames flickering along his pelt,"I can speak to them however I wish." Laika snarls,"Do you wish to join Aragorn in the Elders den? Perhaps they can teach you some respect you clearly lack." Phantom snaps,"Make me." Laika's eyes widen, as her own flames grow, and Phantom grins maliciously. Then the young Alpha gains control of her temper, calmly replying.

"I won't make you do anything. But if you wish to not respect our Elders and our laws, then you can no longer be a Ignis Lupi wolf." Laika narrows her eyes,"Phantom, I have no choice but to exile you." Laika turns her back on the wolf as she heads back to her spot,"Escort him out as you go, Lilith." Laika sensed Phantom's pounce long before she heard it, but even then she barely avoided being tackled by the young wolf.

Laika spins neatly, her teeth peeling back, just in time to receive a powerful blow to the face. She reels back, pain exploding above her eye and seconds later her right eye was filled with blood. Laika snarls and Phantom taunts,"Can't even defend yourself! What kind of Alpha are you?" Laika snarls back,"The one who honors her pack." She launches herself forward and the two fall into a tussle. Phantom manages to toss Laika aside and the Alpha skids, and quite a few members of the pack advance on Phantom. Laika shakes, shaking the blood off,"Back off. He's mine. The wolf needs a lesson."

Laika launches herself forward and slams into Phantom, sinking her teeth into Phantom's scruff and forcing his head down to till his nose was in the dirt. Laika uses her paws to pin Phantom's flanks and haunches down. Growling through a mouthful of fur,"You are still exiled, Phantom. And I will be sure to alert the other packs of your betrayal. You will have no home for what you have done today." Growls of agreement rise up and soon Phantom found his way shoved out of camp, escorted out by Lilith, Eyre, and both of Laika's brothers.

The rest of the day, Laika spent in the healer's den getting her wounds treated as the pack continued on their patrols. Though as the young Alpha emerged from her den that evening, she received many respectful and admirable looks as she makes her way to the prey pile. The rising moonlight shone on her pelt, showing off her freshly treated wounds and instead of lingering with her pack, she retreats to her den where she rests, slowly snacking. Then finally it was time to go. Wincing as she wriggled out, the young Alpha was soon on the move.

It didn't take long for her to arrive at the meeting place where she could already see Ferox. Laika grins as she bounds up, well sort of bounds, she was more limping. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I got caught up today."

(This one feels really long, apologizes^^)

Laika grins at Ferox, as she trots closer. Then he notices the limp and wounds on her, and his smile fades, causing her own to fall. Laika shivers slightly as Ferox sniffs her wounds,"I'm fine. Just had a bit of an issue this morning with one of the rebellious wolves. I had to exile him, and he didn't like it." Laika's shoulders lift in a shrug,"I took care of it, and it's over." Laika blinks at Ferox, noting the anger that had seemed to rise. "I promise, it's fine. I knew what I was taking on when I was chosen as Alpha." I just didn't know it would get to that degree, Laika quietly adds to herself, as she blinks at Ferox.

(Nah, XD, we always go back and forth between reply lengths anyways. It's all good, XD)

Laika dips her head, her gaze hardening a little. "I did what I had to do. He didn't respect our Elders or our Laws." Laika glances at Ferox, frowning as he grows quiet. Perhaps exile wasn't a thing in his pack. Well it wasn't really one in her pack either, as long as the wolves didn't deserve to get exiled. Ferox wags his tail and speaks and Laika agrees,"For now." Laika then sighs,"Hopefully." Laika frowns,"Or maybe they'll just see me as a wolf who violence as a answer." Laika tips her head,"He did pounce first." Laika's ears pin,"I don't know how my packmates feel about the fight." At the question of the pond, Laika perks up,"Yes!"

(XD)

Ferox nodded his head. "Then you had good cause," he said. Ferox waited until Laika finished talking, then he stepped forward and touched his nose to hers. "If they saw you fight and win, then they'll probably respect you more," he said, feeling a pang of regret that he was unable to handle Steel as well as Laika had handled the wolf she exiled. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said. "It won't hurt your reputation, unless the wolf had close friends." Ferox wagged his tail and was about to challenge Laika to a race, but he remembered her limp. "Come on, lets go," he said cheerfully, gently bumping her with his shoulder in a friendly manner as he began walking toward the unclaimed lands.

Laika sighs,"I suppose so." Laika blinks warmly at Ferox as his nose touches her,"I hope so." At Ferox's next comment, Laika sighs,"He did have close friends. Aragorn.. And some other young wolves." Laika shakes her head, before shrugging,"I'll handle the backlash of that." Laika perks up,"But for now, yes, let's go." Laika chuckles as she walks forward. The limp was still there, but already it was getting better with every step. After all she had only pulled it, and with every step it shifted back in place, and it felt good.

Ferox walked alongside Laika as they followed the border toward the edge of the territories, and soon after they had left pack land, Ferox could smell the water not far off. Once they arrived at the pond, Ferox trotted to the water's edge and took a long drink, then flopped to the ground with a sigh and rolled onto his back, allowing the worries of the day fade to the back of his mind. It was fairly easy; just being in Laika's presence relaxed him and made him happy. With a wag of his tail, Ferox looked over at Laika. "How's your leg?" he asked, noting that she was still limping a little, and that walk they had just taken probably hadn't helped.

Laika stays quiet the whole way, just enjoying the peaceful moment after the day she had. With the wolf she loved and the calm quiet air, it was awesome. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the pond even with the slow pace and as soon as they got there. Laika dips her muzzle to the water, getting some water. Then she takes a few paces back, settling down. Watching as Ferox took a long drink of water before flopping on his back. Laika chuckles slightly as she rolls her aching shoulders. Laika flicks an ear,"Better. It'll be fine soon, I just pulled it when Phantom threw me across the clearing." Laika chuckles,"He may be arrogant and unable to fight, but he is strong." Laika bares her teeth,"But I showed him, then exiled him."

Ferox smiled and nodded. "I'm glad it's not too serious," he said. He tilted his head at Laika's description, then added, "That must have been a serious fight. I would have liked to watch you win that one." Ferox gave a rueful sigh as he rolled back over and got to his paws, shaking grass out of his fur and walking over to sit beside Laika. A sudden thought struck him, and he looked worriedly at her. "If you exiled him, then he's out here somewhere," he said, looking around. "What if he finds us together? Do you think he'd try and go back to the pack to tell your Elders?" Ferox began looking around worriedly, although he could detect no other scents besides his and Laika's. Satisfied that no one else was around, he looked back at her, although he was still worried.