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Leland had spent the past few days rather lazily. His pace before he had hit these lands had been quick, he spent very little time stopping (only to eat and drink). Now he was rather enjoying himself, seeing the sights, smelling the smells and just in general fooling around with his time. Perhaps it was because he had met someone in whatever territory he wandered through. First Iskata, than the wolf with a husky’s pelt (at least the markings had been too strange to be a wolf’s coat). After so long on the road, a little conversation, even with a stranger, was a very welcome change. Plus a long rest after traveling so far was not uncalled for either. The only thing that he regretted was the weather. If he was going to bum about, he wished that the weather would be a little more sunny.
When he came to a pack, Leland thought about just going around the claimed land, but part of him wanted to see how a pack functioned in these areas. The last two wolves had been members of a pack, but neither of them had been in their pack lands. That meant they acted differently than when they were at home. Coming up to the borders he sat himself down, ready to wait until someone accidently stumbled across him. Leland knew he could howl and still be understood, but he also knew that his call sounded quite differently than the calls wolves could make. In his old clan, the wolves had always been amused at the dogs who would howl, and even more so at those that couldn’t howl at all. It was good natured laughter, they were always picking fun at each other, but Leland also didn’t know if the wolves here, would even welcome a dog visitor such as himself.
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She had really never seen anything like him. Naniko had been spending most of her days buried deep within the packlands, surrounded by familiar sounds and smells, comforting ones, but today she'd branched out a little. She wanted to make sure that she could still do this, that she could go to the border and smell Conri's scent without becoming afraid and turning back. His scent was still all over the place, hiding, creeping up on her when she thought she'd gotten him out of her head. The large wolf lay out over a dark rock, taking in whatever sunlight had managed to escape the cloud cover that swirled overhead. She was getting used to this weather, all of the rain, but wondered what it would be like in the winter. Lots of snow? It certainly did rain here a lot, compared to the last place she'd lived, so she wondered if there would be a lot of snow. Or...maybe less. She wasn't sure. Naniko had been watching the creature for some time, now, as he walked toward the border, reached it, stopped, and sat down. She wasn't sure how to react to something like him...whatever he was. She'd heard stories about dogs before, of course, from Physe...(he'd met one!) but had never actually seen one before. She just thought that they were a myth, like the "Loch Ness Monster" and the "internet" that she had read about. The ivory pelted one stood up, stretching her front legs out in front of her before slipping down from the rock, heading toward the stranger. She didn't know if it would understand her, if it really was one of those dog things... "Uhhh...Hello?" She called from a short distance away. Hello was a good start.
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Uhhh...Hello? Leland’s ears perked at the female’s voice. His odd eyes turned to meet those of the wolf’s and then he broke into a grin. Her greeting had sounded so unsure that it both amused and depressed Leland at the same time, he wasn’t sure which feeling was stronger and in order to accurately judge he’d have to hear her say it again, and asking such a silly request would just be rude. Either way her timid hello was endearing, and Leland’s tail began to thump against the ground, though it was not a conscious action. “Good afternoon Miss. I hope I’m not intruding?” If he was, he would just have to turn around and go. Leland didn’t want to disturb anyone.
Although he forgot his wolf manners and did not bow or show submission in anyway, he remained seated. He wasn’t quite sure if the female would let him onto her lands, and he knew better than to just waltz up to her. Maybe though, she would mind if he just had a look around. “My name’s Leland, an’ I was just passing through. I noticed there was a pack here, and you see, I was just curious as to see it. Wonderin’ if wolf packs here are anything like the wolf packs back home, not that there’d be any reason for them to be different.” No, there was no reason they would be different, but Leland wanted to see all the same. And he wanted to meet the wolves of these lands, because even if he didn’t stay, at least he would have some stories to share at the next place he did stop and settle. “Shame the weather’s so dreary, eh?”
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He was very polite, something that she liked from the get-go. Naniko enjoyed getting along with people, helping them out and being helped in return, and friendliness never hurt. It was a big goal of hers to make as many friends as she could. Or at least aquaintences. "Of course not. I was interested when I saw you...I wasn't sure what you were, to be honest."She wasn't up to shouting, so she stepped a bit closer. She didn't want to scare him away, though. "Does everyone look like you where you come from? If you don't mind my asking, anyway?" She motioned for him to walk with her, beginning to pad along the borderline. "I've heard stories. You've live with wolves? I'm Naniko--the leader here in Twilight Vale."
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Leland smiled at the female, pleased to be the center of her attention for the moment. Slay had been right, coats like their’s did seem to get a lot of attention, and Leland didn’t mind. Not. One. Bit. Willingly he rose from his seated position and followed closely as the lady lead him, his bi-colored eyes darting about, taking in the lands that he now knew were called Twilight Vale. “Well miss Naniko, I’m a dog. Husky I guess you could say.” Most wolves didn’t care about dog breeds, and more and more his own clan didn’t either. Breeds were becoming too muddled to mean much, and most of them died off if they didn’t mix with the northern breeds anyway. Thick coats and broad paws certainly had their advantages in the winter.
“You can ask any qustion you want, I’m as much for answerin’ them as I am for askin’ them.” Leland liked to learn about others, and once he knew a person was friendly, he wasn’t shy in asking them whatever popped into his head. Still, he liked just as much when someone was asking him about himself. “A lot of ‘em look like me back home. ‘Course our coat colors are different, some all white, some with black markings where my red ones are, some brown, a few with three, four colors on em. Some of them have floppy ears though, or smoother tails, even thinner coats some of them... but those ones don’t like leaving the den in the winter. ” Leland couldn’t really describe the genetic diversity in all the different dogs of his clan, but he did the best he could.
“I lived with dogs and wolves... one group mostly the dogs, one mostly the wolves. But we helped each other out and there was no problem in mixing us up or anything. A wolf-dog pup looks mighty cute, if I do say so myself.” They did. Lela’s and Rue’s children would be adorable, and Leland wouldn’t be around to see them. He loved puppies, and he would have loved their puppies, even if seeing them would have broken his heart every single time. “Is there a lot of wolves in this pack? And for that matter, a lot of packs in these lands?” He had already run into two other wolves, both in separate packs. Just how many could there be?
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Naniko was glad to hear of his life, what it was like where he came from. She had only known this area, this place all of her life...or...the place over the mountain. Twilight Vale itself was pretty new, as packs went. Sometimes packs didn't make it, but she was planning on staying here until the very end, until there was nobody left for her to lead. She loved being a leader, showing the youngsters how to act...pack rules, border marking. All of it was great. "Five packs right now, I think. I wonder if a few of them might combine later on, though. I think that if something like that happened, where my pack was too small to help each other out....that I would combine with another pack, definitely. But I would have trouble leaving these lands behind, now that we claimed them." She nodded. "There are about ten living here right now, with varying ages. Mostly black wolves, though. It's kind of funny...black was once a rare color to find on a wolf, but now it's what we've got the most of. Were there many black wolves in your old lands?" She wanted to ask him why he had left his old lands, too, but wasn't sure if that would be asking too much. They were nearing the mansion, and she stopped when they reached the front porch. "This is Haven Manor"
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Leland was surprised at the numbers Naniko gave him. Her pack seemed pretty small compared to the one he had come from. The dogs numbers in the forties, and the wolves had a few less than that but not a notable difference. Yet there had only been two packs, and here there was five. Were they all so small as that? It was interesting to think that they spread themselves out instead of just banning together to make one big pack, but different folks lived differently he supposed. Her next question surprised him. Black wolves?
“Hrrmmm. Well, most wolves were big grey ones, but we had a few blacks ones, and a few white ones like yerself. Only those ones, they usually came and found us, decided to stay, a few of them were born into the pack, not many though. Once though, this brown looking wolf came to stay with us. Goofy fellow, he was.” He smiled at Naniko, knowing full well that many thought him, Leland, a goofy fellow, which was perhaps why those that were a little different or eccentric stuck out in his mind. The lady came to a big building and Leland stared up at it. It was rare that he saw a building standing, they didn’t have any standing human ruins back home, and if they had, he never had seen them. Haven Manor? “What do you use this place for?” What in the world, was a human building good for?
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"Shelter" She grinned, glad that she could explain something foreign to him. Everything about his life sounded so strange, so magical...big groups of dogs and wolves that lived together, in peace? It sounded great. She wondered why more of them hadn't come North, though; she would have loved to meet more. Naniko paused as her stomach lurched; she'd been feeling a little ill lately, a touch of her morning sickness still remaining, and she'd walked a lot today. Usually she spent most of the day resting and was fine. "We should go inside. There are many rooms, one for each member of our pack if they choose to come and live inside. It might be fun to explore"
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Leland knew the answer shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. It made sense, that such a big building that was in good condition was to be used for shelter, but the thought had honestly never crossed him mind before. He had seen a few buildings in his travels, but he had never actually entered one. "Yes, let’s go inside." Leland wagged his tail in agreement and followed the alabaster female into her home.
Odd colored eyes blinked as they adjusted to the different in lighting, and then he peered around. There were many doors that led to who knew where, and large pieces of furniture. Vaguely Leland wondered if they sat and slept on these, like the humans had, but he suppose that if they bothered to live in a building, they probably had no qualms about using furniture either. "Huh... I’ve never been inside one of these before. Does most yer pack live here?" Leland looked kindly at the female, she seemed a little less chipper than when they first met, perhaps it was the heat, but she didn’t seem sick enough for him to voice concern.
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She wasn't sure what parts of the house he would want to explore, so she left that open for him to decide. She would be willing to show him most parts of their mansion, even one of the secret passageways that she had found beneath the complex, but she wouldn't go upstairs. There were plenty of rooms on this floor, and the basement...along with the other buildings outside. "never before? Conri lived in one in his old pack. But in Clouded Tears, the pack we recently came from, we all lived in dens. Did you all stay beneath ground?"
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Leland began to wander aimlessly around the room, poking his nose into the stuffed cushions of a couch inquisitively. His ears perked up as Naniko spoke, a name he did not recognize, which was no surprise as he really had only met a few others before meeting Naniko herself. "Conri? He lives here too?" Leland really didn’t care if the male did or not, chances were that he did as she spoke of his old pack. Yet Leland was very much a people person, and as Naniko had mentioned the name, the husky didn’t mind learning who strangers were, even before he met them.
Leland chuckled at the question of where his kind lived. "Nah. The dogs mostly slept outside, dug holes in the snow or huddled up together. If the winter got really bad, then we’d find ourselves a den or a cave. The wolves did like us mostly, some of them had dens they stayed in though.." Leland smiled again, his bushy tail waving behind him. "’Course if a mother was expecting pups, she got the best den of all, and we’d all go hunting for her. The whole clan. What kind of prey lives in these parts? " Leland guessed that the wolves in these areas were much like the wolves in his home, they hunted for their meals of course, but what did they hunt? It mattered to him, as smaller prey was easier for a dog to handle, the wolves had always had the upper hand on hunting large prey.
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"Hmmmm." She had to think about that for a moment. Naniko had been out hunting earlier that morning and had seen fairly normal things...a few rabbits, some squirrels. But she hadn't actually caught anything. "I did see some hares and squirrels. Sometimes near the lake deer come out, and we've had a few elk pass through, too, occasionally. Turkeys, small birds, those types of things. Did you have a specific diet where you lived? Oh! We have fish, too. I love fish."
For the longest time, fish had been all that she'd been able to keep down. Everything else had come right back up.
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Leland watched the large, alabaster female, his two toned eyes thoughtful. She seemed cheerful, despite the inkling suspicion the husky had earlier that the wolf hadn't been feeling well, and although she skirted his question on her pack mate she continued the conversation without breaking a stride. Shrugging he nodded at her and answered her question warmly, though he felt that perhaps he'd think her silly for his answer. "Well, the wolves ate anything and everything, and o-course we all have our own tastes, but the dogs, well we don't hunt so well. Not as well was wolves do, so we don't eat as much larger prey. Lots of fish though. And rabbits. " Of course Leland had no intention of ever hunting on claimed lands, so Twilight Vale was off limits, but whatever animals lived here were likely to live else where close by to this pack. "Yer pack hunts together a lot? Or do you guys fend fer yerselves?" From the mixed scents inside the manor it seemed many wolves lived here, but how close was the pack really? Leland's clan hunted together two or three times a week, though not always successful. They slept together, and everyone knew everyone else. He missed the closeness, wandering alone the past few months had been tough.
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[html]  ooc: whee!
"Both. We have a food cache in the basement that some eat out of when they don't feel like hunting. Other times we over-hunt a bit and carry food back to fill up the cache again. It's a hole in the ground covered with a big piece of wood to keep out bugs. I lined it with some plastic that I found...so the meat stays cool and fresh for a couple of days. Sometimes patients eat from it, too, and pups." She would be glad to be able to hunt again once the pups were born; right now it was a little hard for her to move swiftly and quietly.
"You're welcome to get something to eat before you go. We have a little extra right now" Cercelee had left a few weeks back, but some packmembers were still hunting as much as if she were still there. "I love fish. Rabbits, too. I'm really not too particular with what I eat. But lately I've been in more of a fishy mood." She nodded. "They just taste better" She took him to the stairs of the basement.
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Leland stared at Naniko in wonder. They stored their food in the manor? Leland knew that occasionally the wolves back home would catch more than they could eat and they’d bury it. Only the bravest of souls dug it back up to eat, and only if they failed at catching something fresh. The meat would be in the process of decaying, and Leland had never the stomach to even try it. Yes Naniko said her meat stayed fresh and cool, and that it was free of those pesky bugs. Leland still wasn’t sure if it was edible.
Leland followed the lady to the basement stairs and descended, the scent of flesh wafting up to him as he came nearer the bottom. Fresh flesh. His tail wagged at the familiar smell, and at his enjoyment at finding the meat was indeed edible. "Why, Miss Naniko, what a marvelous little room. Quite smart of you, if I do say so." Leland began to poke around and found a mostly whole rabbit laying in the store room. Looking back to the alabaster female he smiled, did she really mean to give him some? "I’d gladly take advantage of your kindness if you really mean it. Yer sure the pack doesn’t need all this? I do have a taste for rabbit right now."
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[html] ooc: Close in a few?
"Most of the pack does hunt for themselves...this is just for guests and emergencies" She was more than happy that he had accepted; it made her feel useful, that she could have something to offer the guests that came to the mansion. They didn't get a lot of guests who weren't injured or maimed in some way.
"This room was already here--we just noticed that it stayed cool all the time, even in the worst heat. It's nice to come down here and escape the heat on those really hot days"
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