The White Guardian (Open)

When Mastilo noticed that the older wolf wasn’t trying to attack him nor chase him away he relaxed notoriously, taking a couple of steps to get closer and sniffing him with the curiosity that was so common in pups, enhanced by his personality. The white wolf didn’t look that young anymore even if he hadn’t even hit one year of age, toughened up by his life as a rogue, but his smaller than average size would be more than enough to make most wolves feel confused regarding his age after all even after hi hit such age.

His ears and tail were low, knowing that the territory wasn’t his and not wanting to show any kind of offense in case it was claimed by this wolf or a pack, but more often than not he involuntarily flicked an ear or his tail with excitement “Is there…hum…anything I can eat around here? I had been traveling for a while and…” His eyes landed on a flying insect as he spoke, his voice’s volume getting lower with his last words until he finally stopped talking, a second or two later he shook his head and his gaze returned to the older wolf “Uh…sorry, what were we talking about?”.

“Oh! Right, food! Food, travels, territory, tribe…uh…” He quickly enlisted some words that he had heard the older wolf mention before he stopped on the last one, tilting his head a bit and lowering his ears as he thought about it “What’s…a tribe?” He never had been in a pack territory before, and if he knew the term and what it meant, it was because of the stories that other loners had told to him about said groups during his past, but this was the first time he heard about something like a tribe. Was it something like a pack? Was it a terminology this wolf used to claim his territory?

Maybe he had just told him his name? “You said this is your territory, right? Is your name Tribe then?” Suddenly the pup realized one thing. If he had just told him his name he was being rude by not greeting him and doing the same! “Well…uh…nice to meet you Tribe! I’m Mastilo!” He barked cheerfully as he wagged his tail, smiling at the older wolf.

Mastilo lowered his ears, ashamed for his mistake and hoping he had waited for the answer to his first question instead of eagerly jumping into conclusions instead “Oh…sorry” He shuffled his paws a but, evading the gaze of the older wolf “I had heard about packs before…never seen one though, only loners” Even if he said that out loud it was almost Mastilo talking to himself. However, sooner than later he jumped without a warning with a huge smile on his muzzle “Can I see the tribe? Please? I won’t cause trouble, I swear”.

With his sudden movements, his current health state was shown to Malikai, as well as any wolf that could see the young white wolf. He was almost nothing but skin and bones at this point, and yet he still had the energy and curiosity of a well fed pup.

Mastilo smiled and nodded eagerly. Several wolves living together in a tribe, which was better than the packs he had been hearing about for so long…even if it was just a quick look he wouldn’t let the opportunity slip away, not when it could be the only one.

Almost bouncing with happiness, she followed Malikai near behind, his ears facing forwards and wagging his tail slightly, his mind already creating images of how the tribe could be, and wondering how living in a tribe would be compared to his current lifestyle. He had to admit that living in any kind of group seemed not only easier, but also safer for any wolf, but he highly doubted they would willingly take outsiders, even if just for a short amount of time.

Mastilo did his best to keep up with the older wolf, being forced to sprint fairly often as one of Malikai’s steps easily counted as two or three of his own, but didn’t complained nor asked him to go any slower. Several new scents started to reach his nose, and though he could spot a really faint smell of wolves he couldn’t really tell how far where they from their position, where exactly they were, or how many they would find. His eyes scanned the terrain around them restlessly, trying to spot any sign of the tribe without much success.

Unaware of Malikai’s concerns, he started to wag his tail as soon as he was informed of the proximity of the tribe, jumping from time to time as they walked in an attempt to get a better view of what was ahead of them. Being small had its perks, but the white pup could also recall several downsides to it, one being how hard it was to look too far when you’re closer to the ground. The only thing that kept him from literally bounce his way to the tribe was the fact that his paws, in a mix of exhaustion for his travels and lack of strength for malnourishment, wouldn’t allow him to do so, forcing him to recover from each jump before he could give another one “Are there many wolves? Are they big like you? Or they are small like me?” In all honesty he had never met another wolf as small as himself at his same age, though he still hoped to be able to do so.

Malikai stopped seeing as Ashen had noticed him, and of course the pup as well. He listened to the white yearling's question but didn't answer, he would find out. "Hello Ashen, have you seen Titan?" He glanced past the ash-colored female for a brief moment before meeting her gaze again.

He then realized she would probably want to know what a cub was doing here, he angled his ears down, appearing to point at the pup. "This cub was wandering through our territory, he didn't seem like much of a threat, considering how small and skinny he is." He informed, looking back up at the she-wolf.

Mastilo stopped right behind Malikai as a second adult wolf approached him, his ears high and nose pointed towards her. He didn’t interrupt their talk, though he was paying close attention to them…at least at the beginning.

There was some point within the talk between the two grown-ups that something caught his interest, making him walk silently right past them and get closer to the camp where the still somewhat small tribe was located, his eyes going wide with a mix of excitement and curiosity. As a lone wolf since he could remember, he never had crossed paths with more than one or two wolves at the same time, so even a still growing group like the Ruju tribe was fairly big on the young pup’s eyes “Here is where you live? Is this your tribe?” Mastilo’s voice sounded somewhat absent, as his attention was focused on the daily activities of the tribe instead of the two adult wolves talking behind him.

Ashen nodded a bit " No problem, Mali." She said, using her new nickname for the wolf as she looked down at the pup and then back to where the tribe was settling. She smiled slightly as she walked back up to where she was previously, waiting for the two as she looked around for Titan.