Oh cats...[Any]

[Squeeji]

A huffling growly noise emerged from the bushes, near the closest edge of the farthest south western border of Arnlan, there were strange animals here, ones that Levy had never seen and assumed they were trespassing, they didn't belong here, and he had certainly never seen such animals in his life. It made him quite protective and irksome.

They were odd, small creatures with slitted eyes, small pointed ears and tails that moved the wrong way...they made a noise that sounded like "Ow..." Or something to that extent. Either way, the short squat and rather bitey young wolf kept them at bay at the Arnlan/Hallow border.

There were three of them, one large, two smaller, the bigger one was male, the two smaller ones, well Levy didn't know or care what they were. Such odd deformed little carnivores, they smelled vaguely like humans, and reminded him a little bit like dogs. Animals with all the wild taken out.

He just sat there, staring at the cats daring them to come over that border, and they just kept staring back at him-unblinking. Neither moving, both growling to some extent.

[grebo]

(I may be slow posting - but I haven't exercised Grebo for a while!)

Grebo was running through the woods of Arnlan, toning his muscles and kind of on the lookout for something to eat. A little light work every day kept him sane, and for some reason made him feel like he was doing his duty. A few tendrils of steam rose from his coat, and his two white paws were brown with mud, but his golden eyes were alive and watchful.

A strange smell tickled his nose, and he slowed to a halt. Lifting his head, he sniffed again and turned to follow the scent. It was another wolf: that he was sure of, but there were other things as well. When he found them, he charged immediately right at them, snarling ferociously. Grebo did not know whether these things that looked like devils were welcome or not, but he assumed from the other wolf;s reaction that they were most unwelcome.

[Bandersnatch]

One, two, one, two. Footprint after footprint littered the snow in a neat line behind her. Crow's steps had become rhythmic in her bordeom. The morning had been humdrum - so far there had been nothing at all out of place. Still she marched on, not trying too hard to stifle the occasional yawn.
It wasn't until she approched the south-western edge of the pack that something quite interested reared its head. The murky-coloured wolfess inhaled deeper. Scents of wolves, unkown to her but part of Arnlan, were filtered out leaving a particular and definate stench.
Cats. She had not had many run-ins with the smaller carnivores, but what she had witnessed did not give them a positive spin. Pesky little creatures with erroneously inflated egos. On occassion they crossed the dark land's borders to poach prey. The pack's prey. It was generally in the coming cold winter months when food was scarse that they dared such theivery, so the presence was hardly a surprise.

Her feet leapt into action, swiftly carrying her over the rocky ground to the source of the disturbance.
Studying the scene as she approched, she quickly made out the two darker forms of wolves and, as she drew closer, the smaller figures of cats. She ended the sprint with a pounce, landing neatly in the center of where the cats had been. Border or no, they were not meant to be there.
She gave them a cool look, her teeth revealed from parted lips as she growled silently. The felines were most certainly not welcome here, lest they wished the tables to turn and become prey themselves.

She quickly glanced to the males, an approving glint in her eye. It was obvious they had been holding these pests off, and she was pleased by that. Perhaps they were to have futures as Sentrys.

[Squeeji]

Levy stood when the other male came along, making his diminutive stature painfully obvious, but at least now he had back up, the fur raised upon his hackles, and he sneezed at the cats, who took a tentative step back now that there were more wolves than one piddly midget.

"They're stubborn." He informed the other, however, other than smelling like Arnlan, Levy had very little idea of who Grebo was, "I scare them away, they just come back..." He flashed teeth at the cats again who were slowly stepping forward again.

"But I can't exactly run over the border and get them can I?" He sighed, licking his nose in frustration, "If I do, I'll get in trouble for leaving the packlands without the alphas' permission, and I think those nasty little sneaks know that...they're smart." He made a growly woofling sound and stomped his big front feet.

The presence of another wolf and Levy was about to blush if he could...had he really made that much of a fuss? Or was it just a slow news day at the pack? He gave Crow a shaky smile as she stepped forward to scare the stubborn critters, who as expected, scattered for a bit, then came back, only this time, there were two felines than the original three.

"Gah...its like the time my denmate Warren got nits...just when you think you're rid of them...the things come back worse!" he groaned "Where the hell are they coming from?"

[grebo]

Grebo glared hard at the cats as he listened to Levy explain. He would definitely get in trouble if he left the packlands - if he was seen. Even though the female that now approached leapt straight over the border, it might be some kind of test of their loyalty. She might be a higher ranking wolf, seeing if they would let themselves be lured across the border.

"Hang on," Grebo stopped, and backed off a bit. "If we back away from the border, they'll come over. Then we can kill them." He turned his back to the things, keeping an eye on them. If they didn't come over, they weren't a threat to the packlands. Trivial though it was, things outside the border didn't concern the wolves unless they crossed over. He would definitely stick around though, and make sure they went away. It wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"They must be stray cats from the man village," he said to Levy, who had asked where they had come from. "I'm Grebo, by the way."

[Bandersnatch]

[So sorry guys D: Hopefully I havn't killed this thread]

Crow's gaze softened to confusion as her eyes met with the smaller wolf's briefly. His was a look of... well, it seemed she'd startled him. She gave a quick half-smile apology. Had she really been that over-dramatic? He gave a shaky smile, uncertainly shining through. He was a small one, indeed - and that coupled with his rounded figure completed quite a pup-like image. Such looks, however much they annoyed him, appealed to her motherly side. And he was... hmm? Looking at something past her? The sepia wolfess twisted her head to peer over her shoulder.
Her ears flattened down. It was difficault for her not to roll her eyes at the appearance of yet more cats.

"Gah...its like the time my denmate Warren got nits...just when you think you're rid of them...the things come back worse! Where the hell are they coming from?"
It was an... odd anaolgy certainly, but none the less true.

"Hang on. If we back away from the border, they'll come over. Then we can kill them."
Though she was looking away it was obvious, not only by the vocal differences but his words - sharper, more self-assured than the other. Tearing her eyes from the felines, she looked instead at him, ears perked and listening.
Crow didn't care much for the idea of a readilly defined 'border'. Sure it was always roughly in the same spots, but where scent was exactly marked varied with the season, growing or waning by a couple of yards. These cats, as she saw it, were threatening to breach whatever was there, and techinically over the border or not... in the long run, it didn't really matter. A certain wariness was surely held by the other two - it was understandable that they wouldn't want to upset the alphas only a few seasons after their arrival.
Well, regardless, the older female was curious as to the reactions of her packmates. Arnlan's ranks, after all, were decidedly empty and if she could make some helpful hints to Sofika...
For this reason, she quite contently mirrored the larger wolf's movement away.

What the seemingly younger one had asked... Where they were hiding nearby was certainly unclear, but as to where they came from...
"They must be stray cats from the man village."
The mute nodded gently in agreement. She'd never been near the town, but somehow she didn't have a difficult time imagining such a place swarming with the pesty little beasts.
"I'm Grebo, by the way."
Crow focused her attention momentarily back to the white-striped ebony wolf, an offering (as much as she could) of politeness.

[Squeeji]

"Oh...right...I'm Levy." The young wolf quickly replied after noticing his ignorance of introductions. And nodded curtly to both Grebo and the very quiet female, he didn't ask questions about her, and guessed, like the younger wolf he had met that could only speak deer, there was probably something wrong with her voice. Pressing the matter would be rude. And Levy tried to never be pushy or rude.

Levy sighed and then stepped away from the border with a huff, and sat down again, his back to the border, fine. He would ignore these cats and hope that perhaps they would go away, or get dumb enough to get into the packlands proper, then Grebo, the female and he could make quick work of them.

He fidgeted while he waited, licking his nose, opening and closing his jaws, Levy would just not hold still right.

The cats on the other hand watched the three wolves with rapt fascination. Their large eyes blinking rarely as they cocked their heads at the animals' behavior. They spoke among themselves in hushed tones stopping ever so often to look back up at the wolves.

[grebo]

(Again: Sorry!)

Grebo stared at the cats, his expressionless face willing them to come over. What were they thinking? Did they think themselves able to defeat a wolf in battle? Could they even talk?

"Come on, then. If you're going to cross, cross. Stop wasting our time," he said in a sharp voice. He didn't mention what their fate would be if they were foolish enough to come over.

The female wolf stepped back to join him, and he was suddenly aware that he didn't know her name. She had replied only with a nod. "You can't talk, can you?" he said to her. "Not much point in words. They never achieve anything." Grebo could not tiptoe around anything. He was tactless, and never understood why other wolves were not the same as him.

The other wolf, Levy, who had been there first stepped away from the border and turned away from the cats. Perhaps it was a good idea, thought Grebo. I will listen out for them, though. Wouldn't want the little renegades to escape into Arnlan. He turned his back to them, hackles bristling with frustration.

The cats began whispering to each other. So they can talk, Grebo thought. I wonder what they're planning. Perhaps they will rush us and try to bring them down. Perhaps they're playing with us. He tried to listen to what they were saying, but their voices were too quiet for him to hear. "Could you speak up, please," he said in a deep voice. "I'd like to know what you're planning." It crossed his mind that the cats could be a diversion. The oldest trick in the book, but one that had worked so far, if that was why they were doing this. "Perhaps one of us should scout around," he suggested. He didn't know what rank the female was: she seemed higher than both him and Levy. He certainly didn't want to give orders. "They could be trying to distract us from something."

[Bandersnatch]

(Urg – don’t worry Grebo, I’ve been much worse!)

"Oh...right...I'm Levy." Crow inclined her head in some sort of informally polite
recognition. The whole situation seemed to be exasperating the poor young fellow, though his actions demonstrated dedication to the pack’s wellbeing and just enough guts to stand up for himself, for his pack, to these strange and frustrating creatures. The way he fidgeted about, she guessed, spoke of a slight nervousness, but, his back to the cats, the small male seemed to have come up with a plan of his own. If she had to guess, she would have guessed him to be a similar age, perhaps a little younger, to what Ziko would have been by those days. His softly rounded features made it difficult to come up with something exact.
Whatever had happened to Ziko, anyway? It had been before her… departure that she had last seen him, and she had heard nothing of him since. Was he out there somewhere in the packlands, proving his worth? He had always seemed such a quiet, gentle young pup.

"Come on, then. If you're going to cross, cross. Stop wasting our time." The sudden, unexpected voice of the other made the sepia female jolt back from her wandered mind. A small, amused smile tugged at her maw. Somehow, what with the scarcely hidden agitation and threat in his voice, she doubted the little beasts would be happily crossing the borders – not with the trio there.
"You can't talk, can you?" he said to her. "Not much point in words. They never achieve anything." Crow’s gaze turned to the larger of the dark males, and she blinked quickly in surprise. It seemed these days that her packmates guessed her malady more and more quickly. She gave a nod, regardless. It was good to get it out of the way, for others to rely so heavily on words. He was… brash, certainly, but there was something quite sincere to him. Bustling, protective.

Finally, she turned her attention to the huddled cats, whispering among themselves. Her ears pressed back as she frowned bitterly. Why did they refuse to go away? They were proving to be a simple headache, and at not much more than the numbers of one on one with the wolves they had little chance. Were there more of them, scuffling about in the bushes somewhere?
"Perhaps one of us should scout around," he suggested. "They could be trying to distract us from something."
Crow nodded in agreement. Know thy enemy, right? It was her job, anyway. Since the two seemed reluctant to step over the invisible line, she would do it. She didn’t hesitate in taking a step forward and glancing back to the other two, a demonstration of her intention.

[grebo]

(bump)