Time To Find A Strategy

Gaoth stalked around the barn, hoping to wake no one up but those she sought out for. She needed silence to think with her comrades. She poked her head into the barn, hoping Tiny was there. "Tiny." she whispered harshly, looking for him.

OOC: BNLARG

Tiny's ears cocked, and he st up. Sticking his head out the barn, he saw Gaoth barking at a now vacant barn. Who knew where the brothers had gone.

A brown wolf treaded cautiously into the farm, followed by about nine wolves. These included his beta, his shaman, an elder, and his most trusted Gammas. Kadal gave a soft bark to announce their return.

Kadal gave a growl. "Unless someone stops Kestrel there will be no packs left Zeke. And we are the Shen. If they dare insult us then by Yang's fangs I will rip out their throats and offer them to the crows. If anything, they aid us more than we aid them."

"What?" It didn't seem to make sense. She needed him, but she wanted him out? "Should I go to Citali?"

Tiny gave a quick nod, and slunk through the door, running to the instructed place.

Kadal snarled. "Just because we haven't noticed does not mean he has not done anything. He is cunning, and is probably thinking everything through before acting."

Gaoth sighed quickly with relief and turned tail, forcing herself to calm down as she padded out to meet the wolves. She gave a quick friendly smile, "Back so soon?" she looked beyond Kadal's shoulders. "And with friends, I see." Dipping her wide, white head, she made her ears flatten as Gaoth went submissive. Loyalty and friendship would be somewhat important in avoiding fights and acquiring agreements. She might as well show hers.

Zeke stifled a growl. "Then we can at least hope the others will join us." he said simply, shutting his mouth as the white dog spoke. He felt his neck fur bristle, and the urge to fight was strong. He hated dogs.


ooc: i'm expirementin' wit da colors.

"As promised lady Gaoth. I warn that you are wary. Though my pack are loyal, many mistrust dogs, with good reason too, and they may look for any excuse to attack." He gave Zeke a meaningful but quick glance.

Zeke narrowed his gaze, only to let out a slight growl when Kadal sent him a glance. He silenced it immediately, concerned he might offend his Alpha. He forced his hackles to lower as much as they would, along with the rest of his fur, it's fur flattening to look as if were only windblown.



"I wish for nothing more, Kadal." Gaoth replied politely. She decided maybe a word with the pack itself would lighten up the tension. So, as she stood taller and rose her head, she spoke. "I thank the Shen for their alliance and I personally give you permission to anything that might suite your needs. I realize that wolves might not get along with us dogs and if you truly cannot stand us, you are welcome to leave. I wish to have no bad blood between us if we are to work together. Your corroporation is all I ask. If not for me, than for your own Pack's safety." she ended, looking back at Kadal. "My own council is gathering now. Would you care to bring your's with you?" she beckoned him, nodding to the roof of the barn. A chicken coop beside the old barn gave easy passage to the lowest ledge of the barn, and then unto the barn.

Kadal gave a nod. Those had been the right words, for he could already smell the tension dropping. He was proud, but not easily offended, and overlooked Zeke's slight show. "We have some ideas. However, some of us should rest from the journey. We have brought many wolves to hunt more than to talk." All the NCPs where hunters, and all real characters followed Gaoth somewhere.

OOC: MINI POWERPLAY IS FUN :D

Gaoth nodded in turn to Kadal, "Eat until your bellies are sore, you'll need your strength. What is ours is yours." she barked kindly, flicking her tail and dipping her head slightly to the pack, not just Kadal. She turned and faced Tiny, Citali right behind him. "Come, we'll discuss matters somewhere else." she barked to her two followers, the smartest ones she had, practically the only ones she had.

She hopped up onto the barn roof, sitting on the far edge, the highest point so that she could keep an eye out for danger as she spoke. "I have plans as well, but you are wolf, and from what I am told, wolf are much more cunning than common canine. We will listen to your plans first." she looked at Kadal with an honest, clear gaze. Gaoth wasn't flattering him, she was being truthful. Hearing Kadal's plan would probably be best. It could be an opportunity to build upon his if she decided he's was far better than hers.



OOC: IK!!!!!! Where the frigger is Citali?

Kadal frowned, deciding not to explain that they would not take anything. The hunters where for the way back. "We have no real plan, just thoughts. It is hard to judge what to do. Kestrel keeps too to himself. He's always been the more cunning, and he had knowledge of both how the pack wolf's mind and the loner's mind work. He knows how to keep plans hidden from all that are not one of us, and I think he might even have a spy somewhere. Since he has done relatively little so far, except gather troupes, we do not know what he is doing. To fight the unknown is as futile as trying to hunt the clouds."

Gaoth stifled a growl, looking down crossly. "That's my main concern. We have no time to waste. We can't afford for him to make the first move." she looked up and down at the lawn of the barn. "I may have some resources I can use, but we need more than just an idea or two of where he is and what he intends to do first. I found a wolf no more than a few suns ago. He goes by the name of Kiluar, do you know of him?" she asked him, glancing back at the Alpha.

"No. He is not a pack wolf. Do you have any use of him? Any information that can be brought out? It would be unlikely that my brother would share his plans even with those closest to him, but surely he knows his location?" The brown Alpha frowned. She was as clueless as the packs. As in the dark as all the canines involved.

Gaoth frowned in turn, she was as lost as he was. "I don't know yet. He's still in the process of healing. Citali is feeding him herbs and keeping his wound clean. Eventually I will find out more, but now I'm stuck in mud, I'm afraid. We'll have to keep our ears open." she said, sighing.

Looking again at her paws, she blinked hard, her mind buzzing. Suddenly, she felt her ears prick and she looked up suddenly. Gaoth knew that Kadal had probably thought of this before, but it might as well be considered. "What if we had a wolf over there? Do you have any spare Omegas or anything of the like? It'd be wise to choose someone who didn't carry much of Shen scent." she noted, almost thinking to herself, no longer looking at Kadal, but still hoping he would answer. She turned to Tiny, "What do you think?" she really wished he or Citali would speak up instead of a one-on-one confrontation with the wolf Alpha Kadal. It's not that it was unnerving, it was that it would be pointless to bring someone to help her out if they didn't do a thing.

Kadal's eyes narrowed. "That wouldn't work. Not only would it be dangerous for a pack member, but Kestrel was once a Shen wolf too. He knows most of the older pack members. It would be safer for one of your own followers to investigate, but even that would have low chance of success."

Tiny could feel his back legs shaking. He was taller than any of these wolves, but they where stronger and longer, and he could smell the annoyance of some of them at being near dogs. Even then, his voice was pretty solid, only going slightly higher towards the end. "Is there anything that you know about Kestrel that could help? You have known him for longer than any of us, better than possibly even your own parents. The bond between litter-mates sometimes exceeds any other."

The Alpha's green eyes clouded with doubt. How long had it been since he had even talked to his brother? At least two years. He had only glimpsed him once since the white wolf had left the pack. He had made himself forget everything about Kestrel, and focus on the pack. But there was one thing, something important. He remembered when they where Subordinates, he had dared Kestrel to eat something, something putrid. He couldn't remember what is had been, perhaps a rotten rabbit, but when he had tried to eat it he had almost vomited. When his brother had chewed it however, he hadn't flinched, eating the whole thing. He had been sick for three weeks afterwards, and when Kadal had asked how he had done it, the reply had been that he couldn't taste anything. "Kestrel's nose doesn't work properly. He has no sense of taste or smell."

Gaoth growled openly, not bothering to hide her stress. Of course he would, Kestrel just couldn't be that dim. And she wouldn't have known, she had no idea of the white menace's weaknesses, none of his history. Narrowing her eyes as she concentrated, Tiny spoke up for the first time, and she almost sighed with relief. Finally. She looked up, waiting for the Alpha to reply. Smiling, she nodded. "Good, good. That's excellent. So there's still for a spy, but we'd have to choose carefully. One he doesn't recognize, but their scent must be one that his followers have never encountered. Any canidates we can think of?" It'd have to be a fighter, or at least one that had some sort of use. And an angry attitude, that much was for sure. That was the one common trait she found in his recruits.

"What about Kiluar? He's already trusted in the pack. Any chance of turning him over?" Tiny cokced his head. He didn't know much about their 'captive,' just his name and that he was injured.

Gaoth frowned, "I'm afraid there isn't much chance of him seeing our side of the story. He claims Kestrel to have saved his life, so he now owes eternal gratitude." she barked, "I can still try, but we shouldn't put too much faith into him. Perhaps it would better for a fellow wolf to speak to him about it, but I'm still unsure. It wouldn't be good to have our hopes up." Turning her head to face Citali, Gaoth's curiousity pricked up. "How is our wolf captive doing?"

Kadal frowned again. "Maybe. It sounds as if Kestrel's got himself at least one doubtingly loyal follower. How well did he fight?"

ooc: whoooops, I didn't know Citali was supposed to be here XD

Citali swiveled her ears toward Gaoth. "I've sealed his wounds and they should be closed within the next few days." she paused.
"What if we found a wolf from the town and convinced them to work with us? I could talk to them, if we found one."

ooc: perhaps Senka and/or Shadow could be applicable in this situation? Or no?

"Maybe, but could we trust them?" Tiny looked over at Gaoth. "What about that dog that came a while ago? He's half wolf. You know, the one who told you to go find that fox in the dunes."

Gaoth frowned, "He fought admirably, but he was holding back. He knew he wouldn't win." she felt a prickle of shame as she remembered how viciously she had fought, not caring about the wolf's life or not. He was right, she was no better than Kestrel.

Finally hearing her Healer's words, she looked over at the she-wolf. Her mind tingled with recognition, but she couldn't put a name on the dog who had visited her. "Yes, I do recall. But what was the creature called?"

Kadal gave a small growl. "A golden tan half-wolf? I believe his name is Locust. He pesters the packs a great deal, but we never actualyl catch him on our territory, so there's nothing we can do about it. He seems to be fairly harmless though."

The white dog nodded, "Yes, that's his name. As long as he stays out of harm's way, I'm fine with him." Gaoth looked over at Citali again, "Are you sure we should be inclined to ask him for our help? He does look like an intelligent one, but I'm not willing to lean on the chance of whether he may or may not be able to lie or spy well enough for our use." She didn't want to loose anyone, not now.