The Feral North

((OOC: As a note, as I am starting this thread I'm going to go ahead and take the reigns and dictate the size as I am one to do and threads such as this. So the general break down will be four posts each; an introduction in which each character gives his/her thoughts on the situation, a reactionary and question post where characters can discuss or ask the Ulfric details, a searching post which is fairly self explanatory, and a closing post where all the wolves discover the scent and come together to seethe and be generally wolfish at the prospect of hunting a feline. Happy posting to all! Please note that these posts do not have to be massive, just clear cut on your characters thoughts and opinions.))


The cacophonous sound of his slamming door was the final blow of the hammer the Ulfric needed to seal his ever souring mood. The drive to the Chronicle's main building was filled with silent seething and several near accidents as he raced his Mustang at fast pace through the multitude of cars who seemed not at all pressed to keep up with momentum the alpha wolf dictated on the road. The Fastback roared and hummed, masking and singing in time to the Ulfric's own guttural growls and silent curses which he spat every few seconds both to the other assholes on the road, and to himself for having no ability to protect the people who were as of now still under his care. Approaching the tall building where Kae was still suppose to be working, he thought to himself that maybe if he couldn't keep them safe, then they were better off in the hands of someone more experienced. Best not to think that right now. He assured himself as he walked toward the other parking car, his eyes staring into the reflective windshield at the older alpha under his command.

"Come on, let's go." he said sharply as his hand reached out to give the hood of the Pops Mobile a couple of firm slaps. Giving a quick turn of his hand above his head, his eyes flicked from Jaxon to the exiting wolves, his voice coming out quick and deep as he was still unable to contain all the rolling aggression and power that was his natural energy as the wolf king of Thunder Bay. His black clear-water eyes studied the faces of his alpha wolves and bolverk, taking in their reactions and expressions as they came to him. "Alright," he started slowly, setting both of his hands onto his hips to grip and knead at the muscle that wanted nothing more then to run. No, not run, to chase. "Seth said his fight took place not to far from here." The Ulfric nodded his head slowly, his still reflectively black eyes shifting from face to face as he waited for some agreement. "I doubt this asshole would of stuck around the area if he knew that Seth got away alive. Whoever he is, he knows we work as a unit, and he knows a lot about Kae. Which means he knows about us." Jace released a soft but determined growl at that thought, not liking it one little bit.

"Keep that in mind, alright." Jace went still, very still, his eyes glancing up the tall building that somewhere housed the form of the werefox that was under his protection and protection of his pack. More and more he was feeling the pressure of being a good leader, or as he felt in that instant, not being a good leader. One of his hands reached instinctively for Jaxon's, but fell away after just a soft brush of fingertips. He needed that, but he knew he couldn't lean on her completely if he was going to be the one to steer them in the direction he thought best. Do I even know best? He mused in his mind, his eyes still taking in the sight of the Chronicle's main building. "Kae is still unaware of what's going on, and I want to keep it that way." he said as if absent mindedly shuffling through all the things going through his mind at that moment. Straightening his posture and flexing his torso lightly, the Ulfric found himself trying to loosen his frustrations physically by further kneading the muscles on his hips, which his hands had returned to quickly. He was nervous clearly, antsy with murder in the beat of his heart. He didn't like feeling this way, so trapped and useless while at the same time having to stay in control to be what everyone needed him to be. Anymore stress and his hair was likely to go as gray as Pop's.

Slipping into the Mustang, the Geri had her game face on. Though, she had expected to ride with Alastair, as Jenner was acting Skoll or Hati and should be riding with the Ulfric. However, at this moment, given the movement of his lips and the bobbing of his Adam's Apple, well, she figured she was there so Jace would remain a bit calmer and Jenner wouldn't wind up foamy from shared agitation. Jaxx had to admit, even her own wolf was pacing back and forth. Normally the neutral party, she couldn't help that it sometimes fed from her emotions. The time they had been together, her wolf and her had only been 'married' for a little more than eight years and a handful of months, yet, every year that passed she spent with her wolf the better blended they seem to be. It didn't help that she, as a woman, adored the freedom of her animal form. One of the things she had learned with the mashing of personalities was that they were both very forward and dominating. Always the wolf wanted to prove that it was the highest on the food chain. On top of that, it wanted to protect those that it saw as being hers. This included everyone in the pack by default, and her friends outside the pack, that were weaker than she was. If Morgan ever came in hurt. Someone's head was going to roll, that was for damned sure. Seth was no exception, and neither was Kae.

Adjusting in her seat, she had almost wished she had gotten the chance to change. Part of her wanted to slip into leather pants, with that diamond patch sewn in the connecting seams at the crotch, don a red tank top and then have a loose leather jacket to cover it all. Add in a pair of hiking boots and mirrored sunglasses. That would have been such a badass hunter look... why was she thinking about fashion? Oh, yeah, so she didn't start gnawing on something out of agitation. Deciding that she should pull her hair up, deft fingers stroked through her hair and in the trip she had arranged her tresses into a strict and tight french braid. The tie had just been curled around the end when they pulled to the building. Licking her lips she opened the door and slipped outward. Her wolf filling her up so much that, anyone looking that had any kind of powers or psychic gift would have seen a metaphysical wolf superimposed over her face. Her chin already lifted into the wind, filtering through the symphony of scents to pick out blood, hyena and blood. If nothing was on the wind, logic dictated that they were up wind of it. Blinking, she turned to Jace and waited patiently for instruction, nodding as needed. Her hands curled and uncurled, then wiggled her fingers as her leader spoke.

The asshole that attacked Seth may have known about the wolves, but knew dick fuck all about the individuals within the pack. Watching his movements, Jaxx didn't expect the brush of fingers, yet, it made her smile something she hid and kept secret. Though, she offered him a returned brush of fingers, nothing more. He looked wound up tight. In her mind she wondered if it would be a good thing to provoke him later, to start a fight or not. Or just invite him into a little spar. Pushing that thought aside, Jaxx turned her head upward and hinted at in the air. "Divide and search? Four of us, four directions?" It made sense in her mind, "If anyone finds the scene and scent or the cat, corner it, but don't engage. Call," referring to their amazing ability to howl. She kind of really wanted to find the cat and partake in all of them ripping it into little bitty pieces. Jaxx didn't know Kae all that well, yet she was still pack. Anyone that threatened her pack, well, Jaxon would try to personally see what the inside of her head looked like.

Though the air was heavy with the very serious nature of their little family outing, Alastair found the drive to be no less enjoyable than any other drive. There was nothing particularly different about the road they traveled on, after all. It was simply, the destination or rather the purpose at the end of their journey that was different. He passed the time, with pleasant conversation to the young Bolverk in the backseat. He touched on subjects that had very little to do with the current objective. Instead, he reminisced about a neighborhood when they happened to pass by it, offering it as a comparison to one that his mother and father lived in. The lack of wild flowers along the road had become a topic of the weather, and how they could do with a few good days of rain. Except for the speed at which the car now traveled the roads with, there seemed nothing out of the ordinary from a picturesque Sunday drive of those by gone years. Well, except perhaps his current companion in the back. He had done this for as much his companion's benefit as his own. Driving angry in his book was almost as bad as driving under the influence, only anger festered. He did not blame anyone at this moment for being angry. Even he, who often remained calm in almost everything was not amused, but giving in to so much of it this early in the game could result in the ruin of them all if not properly checked.

It was crucial that they find the maggot responsible, and they would. He had no doubts on that account, it was only a matter of when they would find him. He recalled the Wicked Witch in Oz, and how she exclaimed, "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too." that seemed fitting for how the old wolf currently felt. While he had not known either Seth or Kae very long, that had hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things. He had instantly found himself persuaded by their charming personalities and immediately felt the need to protect them. Though admittedly he felt more protective over the redhead, than Seth for obvious reasons. This same overwhelming desire to keep those weaker than himself safe was not limited to Pack alone. It applied to everyone. Perhaps it was because he was raised what was now considered old fashioned. He always liked to believe, that it was what any good person would do.

He pulled in behind the Ulfric in time to watch him not only get out but slap the hood of his car. Alastair let out a great sigh, and thanked God it had not been any harder. He slipped out of the car soon after, holding the door open for Jenner before locking and closing it behind him. Dark browns drifted over the area, casting one long glance toward the Chronicle Journal's building before nodding to Jace and Jaxon. With any luck, this bullshit was going to end right here and now.

For awhile, the massive wolf's head rested along the headrest of the front seat. The bulk of the beast filled the back seat, so much so that long limbs were tucked beneath him like some fat pug in a purse. Gray eyes had unerringly remained locked on the Ulfric's car, pupils wide with the agitation of not being able to be near his dominant, the one he was supposed to protect, in a situation that clearly he was needed for. But that was just the tip of what was working up the Bolverk. Someone had attacked one of his pack, leaving the other for dead. He didn't even realize that he had stopped thinking of the hyena as just a hanger on to the pack and started thinking of him as one of their own, someone to kill to get revenge for. If it had been anyone else's car he would have been tearing the seats apart. As it was, hackles were raised in a stiff line along the black beast's back where there was enough fur left to do so.

At least that was before the Freki started rambling off about tea cups and rugs. With a groan, the Bolverk's head sank down to the back seat, muzzle buried beneath forelimbs. While he had moments ago been near vibrating with the need to run something into the ground and savage it, now he was just left wondering what he had done to deserve this antiquing torture. He might have been able to stop the flood of useless fact about things he didn't care about if he had simply shifted back to his other skin and said something, but that would have been weirdly problematic. Mostly from the lack of spare cloths. And while he didn't give a shit, people on the street might notice an old fuck driving around with a naked younger guy in the car. Which to the Bolverk seemed way less worrisome than a giant animal.

But maybe that was just him.

As the car parked and the door opened, he scrabbled out of the small space, head weaseling out of the car into the cold night air. One leg slid out of the car, far enough to let him feel the pavement before he froze. Ears pricked towards the Ulfric, head canting to the side as he listened to the instructions from his leader and the Geri. A heavy exhale and a scruff ruffling shake of his head showed exactly what the Bolverk thought of having to wait for others if he found the cat, but that he was resigned to it nonetheless. Claws rasped against pavement as he tensed in anticipation for the hunt, the smells and moods from the rest of the pack serving to gear the black wolf back from where the talk of old tables had settled him. What he wanted was to lunge from the car, find a scent and follow that smell until he found what needed killing.

But instead...he pulled back into the car, only showing as a darker stain within the interior shadows. He remembered that running around in that skin in the middle of the city was a no-no. An impatient whine skittered out from the car, the Bolverk swiftly losing that patience to wait for anything. Tongue washed across nose, bringing a sharper edge to the smells swirling around the night and only serving to wind the wolf tighter, tempting him to spill from the car and give chase whatever the consequences might be. The bag of clothes that thumped into the front seat snared his attention just long enough to keep him from following that train of thought.

Moments later he was pulling on a pair of pants that were just a little too snug, wondering why the fuck Shannon's pants were so small. Head popped out of the car, dark hair tousled even after he ran a hand through it. "I don't think we need to split that much. Pairs would work." Face lifted to the sky, nostrils flaring as he worked through all the lingering scents of the city. "Its not that fucking hard to find a smell we know and if we catch up to it, cornering works better with two."

The Ulfric nodded slow at the words of his Geri, his arms crossing tight around the thick part of his chest. His eyes were still staring down at the ground, his brows furrowed and lining his forehead with an immense amount of worry. It wasn't until Jenner piped up that the alpha shot his gaze up, aimed for the Bolverk. "Don't take this the wrong way Jenner. But why don't you stand there and have a big bowl of shut the fuck up while I give the orders. Unless you think you can do a better job in making the decisions for this pack." Jace unlaced his arms from around his chest, his hands hanging loosely at his sides, flexed and wound up like the rest of the Ulfric. "I value your input, but I value your ability to do as your told a hell of a lot more." He spat at the smaller male, his eyes glancing at the other two alphas soon after. "That goes for you two as well. This is anything but a democracy, and I'm not about to sacrifice time or my patience in dealing with ideas you think are better then mine."

The Ulfric glanced from face to face, his own hard and filled to the brim with yet unquenched anger and dominance. When no further challenges seemed to present themselves, Jace rolled the muscles in his back and neck and began to lay out his plan. "Were each going to take a corner of this square block. Pops will take the south." he said indicating the southern corner. "I'll be there." he said aiming his hand east. "Jaxon there." the western corner. "And Jenner the farthest corner." indicating north. "At the exact same time we will begin moving counter clockwise along the street. After circling a quarter of a block you should come a crossed one of our scents. When you do, close in a little and repeat the circuit. Eventually one of us will find the spot where this fight went down, and when we do it's just a matter of time before we all pile up on that person." The Ulfric looked from face to face, making sure everyone understood. "Take your time. Don't make mistakes. And if for some reason someone else should be out there, then do as Jaxon said and call for support. I do not want another incident like with Seth, do you understand?"

Jace stretched his body and shook himself out a little, in all honesty he hoped this cat hadn't gone all that far. It would mean that there was something worth killing in his city. "Any questions?" he asked, glaring at Jenner first before turning his eyes to the others once more.

She was all well and until Jace lashed out his anger at Jenner. It brought her posture to be tight and stiff, defiant to a man clearly larger than her. He may have been some big softy, but right now this was pack business, which left him as anything but. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at him, teeth gleaming into the night. Yeah, his temper for what was going on was the ruling emotion and causing him to act more like a dick than before.

Her wolf, the unruly thing it was, pushed to the surface and wanted to challenge. It whispered in her head to take him, that she had the tricks. "Anger is weakness." Damnit, for all that they both cared about him, his pissy attitude wasn't something that either one really could do without. But, after staring at him in the eye, a firm frown planted on her lips while the muscles in her jaw danced. Jaxon forced herself to look away, pissing her beast off. Now wasn't the time, she knew it and the wolf inside would have to just shut up and deal. Seth had been attacked and Kae was being stalked, now was definitely not the time.

She listened, lifted her eyes only to see where he had pointed. A nod came forward as she understood. Her arms gripping her biceps so hard that her hands were shaking and she was likely giving bruises to herself. In spite of herself, she let her shoulders drop, to let them relax. The Geri gave no answer to her Ulfric as he asked if there were any questions. Nope, she had none that would be smart to spout off with at the moment. She wanted to start a fight with him, the culmination of shit that had happened in the last two hours, well, it brought on the need to beat the stuffing out of something. Intentionally stepping into the street without an answer or a glance, giving Jace a bit of berth, as she wanted to do something stupid, Jaxon made for her corner. It took a few minutes and several ten counts to unbunch her panties over the actions of the ulfric. She had one hell of a time playing submissive when it came to the wolf.

He had taken to leaning against his car as casually as any one might under normal circumstances. Arms crossed over his chest. lifting one hand to his chin to absently stroke while in thought. All that was playing out before him was to be expected, however it was no less disappointing. The Ulfric was still young and from the old wolf's observation, still easily ruled by emotion. While Jace silenced Jenner, Alastair felt compelled to offer something along the lines of 'If you damn kids don't settle down, your mother and I will turn this entire kitten kicking adventure right around.' Somehow though, he did not think they would find the humor in it at this very moment. A great pity, even he every so often came out with something funny. Perhaps it would have some use another time, when things were not so dire and the Ulfric was in better spirits.

It would have been a wasted effort to offer any words at this moment to calm the young man. He imagined it would at this point in their endeavor only agitate his current state further. That and more unneeded words meant more time was lost on searching. Instead, he pushed away from his car, and began to head in his assigned direction. Absently fingers scratched at the side of his face as he offered, "If you will excuse me. I would like to get started, I am sure it's almost time for my cup of pills and bed at the old folks home. I hate to miss my cup of pills." When he passed Jace, a hand fell to the younger man's shoulder for a moment and nodded before he continued on. He had not offered anything to him then either, just a look of understanding. It was time to get to work.

Lips twitched as the Bolverk resisted the urge to flash teeth at the Ulfric. It was well within the rights of the other to tell him to keep him mouth shut, but if there was one thing the smaller wolf knew how to do, it was hunting people. Which, call him crazy, seemed like something they were about to start doing. But instinct overruled the impulse to mouth back. Instead he turned pale eyes away as the Ulfric glared at him, conceding the point and submitting to the other's will. But all that did was let him see how well the Geri had taken that whole scene. Part of him stirred deep in the dark crevices of his psyche, a whisper that said he should nudge things along and watch to see if the female snapped at the leader, and then when only one was left standing to dive in and rip the remaining one apart.

He ignored it. Mostly. It wasn't a new thought and it wouldn't be the last time it occurred to him.

Instead of prodding already snarly wolves, he focused on the upcoming task. Shoulders rolled, popping joints as the Bolverk slowly stretched. He couldn't help but feel a little excited, however much the whole situation pissed them all off. It had been a long time since he had an excuse to hunt up another lycanthrope, or a human; anything that had enough smarts to make a chase half way entertaining. It was like a birthday present, delivered months late and still fresh in its box. Sure its delivery was in the form of his pack mates being attacked and stalked...but he still felt a tingle of excitement arc up his spine. The night was just one of those times where work and entertainment came together.

And while he might wish that times like that weren't as rare as they had become, the wolf had to admit that the payoff was actually worth it.

He drifted several feet down the sidewalk, moving casually in the direction the Ulfric had told him he would be taking. However much he might want to take off right then, he'd still wait until given the word to begin.

It was moments like these the Ulfric wanted little more then to do things on his own. As much as he liked and needed his alphas he could feel their disapproval oozing from their pores, it made him rigid in posture and turned his calm brown eyes a deeper shade of unnatural black. Alastair's sarcasm didn't help matters any, in fact it had something of an opposite effect on the Ulfric who was carrying several dominance issues around his shoulders like sand bags. At least he was moving away to do as he was told, that did appease the wolf king enough not to make an issue of it. When Jaxon left there was no appeasal from his mate, and Jace found himself mentally noting that when they got home, he would have to put her in once more into her place by force if he had to. Flicking his eyes to Jenner, Jace gave a small nod and signaled for the Bolverk to move out and start the circuit.

After a minute or two of walking, Jace found his own corner, and quickly began to stepping straight along the side walk with his nostrils flaring, drinking in the air and all the sour and wet smells that wafted from the grime of the evening sidewalks. After several minutes the Ulfric found the familiar scent of the wolf ahead of him, and his feet carried him a couple of feet inward. Again and again the tall man was forced to move in as the smell of blood did not present itself, only the scent of pavement and wolf in front of him. The more he walked, the more frustrated he became. Self doubt was plaguing him at every turn of his feet and body. Honestly if his luck had a face he would punch it until his fist was bloody and his luck was less then pudding.

Her nose twitched, as her fingertips curled and relaxed, the tissue under her fingertips throbbing and aching softly. Jaxon had done it to herself. It was while she was alone, dragging palette of scents into her nose and lungs over and over, she realized that she had done her leader wrong. Getting angry at him for being pissy, that should have been left away from the eyes of the others. Her wolf, on the other hand, though she should have issued a little snip at him. Sadly, they both knew that Jace was more powerful than she could ever be. Another drag of air pulled nothing outside 'normal' for her. Blood wasn't on the wind, nor was Seth.

Jaxon got her beast straightened away, having to establish that she, as a human, was in control. And Jace had needed her support instead of her snarls. The unit needed to be cohesive, the brush of his fingertips for reassurance should have jarred that in her mind. Fuck! She had fucked up. Another scent gave nothing even as her feet carried her forward. Her hands fell to her to sides, and her fingers twitched. Time was running out. Seth had promised them a ten minute window of opportunity and she was coming up with a negative on the whole blood or hyena thing.

Fur brushed inside her chest, tickling inside her ribs. It made fro better scenting to have her beast this close and co-operative. They would get things done more efficiently. Hmmm, perfume, cologne... acrid scent of burning tobacco, stale, cooked too long coffee, leather, produce... wrong, wrong, and more wrong. Hopefully, someone would howl here in a moment. Someone's voice would rise into the air and call to her.