DJ Hoofbeats+Agapi 1x1

Unless you are DJ Hoofbeats or myself do not comment.

Mars is their character, Oni is mine.

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Mars found himself slowly waking up from a deep sleep that he suspected would leave him groggy for a few minutes. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that he was enclosed by silver bars, forming a small cage around him, but the door was wide open leaving him to leave whenever he wanted. Pleased to have a bit of freedom, he stepped out of his cage. The air was much warmer than he would have liked and he found himself panting after several minutes of just walking around. Not at all like the cool forest he used to live in. Although he did suppose it was better than the zoo where children would spend hours watching every move he made in his cramped enclosure. That was another thing about this place, it was just land, land, land as far as Mars could see. Few trees dotted the land and about the only other thing he could see was some sort group of animals that looked almost like himself. But they couldn't be wolves. Mars couldn't imagine any wolf living here.
"I guess I'll just have to go see what they are," he said to himself, starting to run towards the strange pack.

Oni, who was lazily lounging in the spotty shade under a large overhanging rock, looked up when she heard the pack begin to move as if something was stalking them. "I thought the hy-" Oni began, yawning, but was cut off when she saw what it was. It was another canine, though it looked like a sort of tamed dog the humans had to protect their animals.
Quickly standing up, careful not to hit her head on the rock, she slowly padded forward, standing behind the Leader, who had his eyes locked on the newcomer as it made its way closer.
"Should I get Tania and Ryuke?" She whispered in the Leader's ear. Surely her ster and Ryuke would be better at warding off this stranger than Oni and a few of the elders who sat in the shade of the same rock. But then again, who knew? Maybe this strange one meant no harm.
But Oni wouldn't share that with her leader, she never did share her opinions. It was pointless. No one cared what she thought, and she didn't care what anyone thought, of her or of other things.
Though she was slightly lonely, but she pushed the thought aside as she waited the answer of her lead, or the newcomer to apget closer. Whichever happened next.

As Mars approached, he could see what the animals were. They were definitely canine, with large round ears and tan coats almost dappled with black. One of the canines stood up. He held himself with authority and was in the center of the pack, so he could have been the leader. Or maybe all of the pack did that.
"Who are you?" the leader barked with unwavering confidence, "What do you want?"
Mars paused for a moment. What did he want? This land probably had many predators that he might not be able to fight off on his own. And the pack seemed strong, and an enemy Mars did not want to make. His best chance was to try to join the pack. Joining a strange pack was not ideal for Mars, since it meant giving up on his old pack, but if he wanted to survive, he had to know how.
"I am Mars of the wolves," he said, trying to match the leader's confidence. The last thing he needed right now was for the pack to think he was weak. "And I wish to join your pack."
Time seemed to stand still as the leader stared at Mars, no doubt watching for every subtle move he made. Mars tried to read the leader, but he gave no sign of what he was planning. All Mars could tell was that he was being judged, and he wasn't sure what would happen.

Oni watched as the canine came within earshot of the pack. He spoke boldly, and full of confidence, as if he was testing the Leader. Poor choice... She said to herslef silently, watching and listening to him as he spoke. Mars of the wolves? Did the "wolves" always introduce themselves with long titles and odd names without meanings?
On oddity he is, out here in the Savannah. The closest thing to him here are the Jackals... The jackals looked similar to him, but smaller, bigger ears, longer tail, differently colored. Oni looked over this "Mars" once more.
Finally the leader, Abasi, spoke. "You are not one of us. You do not understand our customs, the simplest of which even our cubs understand. You never challenge a higher ranking male like you just did to myself." He said in what the pack would say was a fairly neutral tone, though must seem to the newcomer as a growl.
Oni nudged Abasi with a small whimper. "Exactly, sire, he does not know our customs, how could he know he was in the wrong by taking a dominant stance and tone? I fail to see wh-" Oni was cut off by something biting her tail, sending waves of pain through her body.
Turning to look at who was abusing her tail, she saw Ryuke growling behind her, walking forward he pushed her back. "Do you know no better than to question Abasi's actions?" He growled, after Oni was shoved back again, this time by her sister Tania.
Ignoring it, Oni walked away in her submissive stance, tail between her legs and ears flat as she laid under the rock overhang once more, still observing the wolf, waiting to hear his response and how this would all play out.

"Forgive me," Mars said in a softer tone, bowing his head, "It is only that with the wolves, you must not show a single sign of submission and always act strong and fierce, or you will be seen as weak and thrown out of the pack. As the wolves see it, a pack can not be strong if the members are weak. And a weak pack is easily slaughtered."
Mars stood for a second as the leader decided how to respond. He imagined this pack and its customs. In his old pack, whenever the alpha, Wildheart, was around, you would bow then act confident and strong, proving that you were worthy of the pack. Mars had heard rumors about a pack of outcasts, put he had never actually seen them. Wildheart probably figured that if they weren't strong enough to be in the pack, they weren't worth his time. In this pack, what would happen to those who were weak? How could the leader even tell who was actually strong when they were all acting like a bunch of scared pups? Maybe the pack had no rivals, so there was no need for a strong pack. In the forest, there was constant danger of bears and mountain lions, and worst of all, human hunters. The wolves that were taken were never seen again, which made Mars wonder who else had been captured. The leader growled again, bringing, Mars out of his thoughts. There was no time to dwell on memories and possibilities. Now, he had to hear what the leader had to say.

(Sorry I completely forgot about this! Would you like to continue?)

It's okay that you forgot. Sure, let's continue it.

(Alrighty)

Abasi growled again, turning and discussing what to do with Ryuke and Tania. Finally he nodded and turned back to the wolf as they made a decision. "You may join, but only under the agreement that you learn and abide by our laws and customs." He said sternly, the hair along his spine settled, though he was obviously still not pleased with the wolf.
Tania stepped forward, though was still standing behind the shoulder of Abasi. "The omega, Oni, will be your teacher and will be watching you until you are trusted within the pack." The female curled her lip as she looked at her sister in disgust.
At the sound of her name, Oni lifted her head. Trotting back to the small group, she nodded. "Well umm....let's go then, Mars. I'll start teaching you about our laws and customs while we hunt." She said with a small smile, though her ears were still pinned and her tail tucked in submission as she refrained from making eye contact with anyone there.

Mars slowly trotted after the omega. He knew that once you joined a pack, you started low in the rankings; he was careful to keep the same submissive pose as Oni since his status probably wasn't much higher than her's, if it was higher at all. His nervous mind began to fill with worries of his rank. He might have the last scraps of food, do all the dirty work, spend months tirelessly obeying every order of the pack. Not wanting to let his anxieties show, Mars pushed the paranoia out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. Hunting. He was good at hunting, he at least knew that. His muscles missed crouching in the undergrowth, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Hunting in this foreign land would be a little different, Mars reminded himself, but couldn't be too bad. Hopefully.

Oni looked over at the wolf. Smart one he was, taking on her own submissive stance. "Well first of all, you should know, you shouldn't hunt alone. Out here in the open you can be seen easily with your coat, and will be an easy target for hyenas or rogue lions." She said with a sigh as she remembered the death of her best friend, killed by a lone hyena. "So once we get going we can start on codes and laws and everything." She said, her ears slowly perking again and slowly losing her submissive stance as the went further from the pack and near the hunting grounds.
"But before we start, any big questions?" She said as she stopped, turning to look at him. He wasn't hard to look at, but he was different. Almost like a larger, darker, more muscular dole. But then again, if his personality was anything like the doles, he would quickly be banished from the pack, or even killed. Doles weren't well liked by anyone, especially Oni's pack, who had lost many pups and helpless expecting females to them.

Mars wondered for a second what to ask. He had so many questions, but too many would make it seem like he knew nothing. Well, he did know nothing, but he couldn't let that slip to the leader who was probably just waiting for an opportunity to banish him from the pack. Knowing how to move up in the ranks would be very helpful. The higher in the ranks, the better you lived after all.
"What's the ranking system like?" Mars began, choosing his words carefully. "And where do new-comers usually start off." Mars knew it was important to know where he was right now, who he had authority over, how submissive to act. Alphas had no tolerance for cocky omegas. Acting more dominant than they were was normally the last thing they ever did.

Oni listened carefully, sitting down as her ears twitched from Mars to the world around them, then back again. "Well, we haven't had any new comers since before my birth, to my knowledge. But typically new comers are just above myself, the omega, but below everyone else. But unless you are the Leader, his second hand, or either of their mates you don't really hold authority over anyone." She said, before taking a breath.
"Except of course the elders. So you met our Leader, Abasi. He has no mate. Then Ryuke is the second hand, then my sister is his mate, Tania. Our elders you will meet eventually." She was staring back at the way they had come now, not paying much attention to anything, her eyes not focused on anything particular.
"But yeah, expecting or nursing mothers eat first, then elders, then Abasi, Ryuke and Tania, then all of the pack, then me if anything is left. I'm not allowed to hunt for myself, whatever is caught by a lower ranking regular or myself is open to the choosing of anyone else before we may eat. So I wouldn't suggest hunting for yourself unless you are well liked within the pack quickly." She shrugged as her eyes turned back to focus on Mars.

Mars thought about this very carefully, mentally setting up different scenarios in his mind. He imagined feeding time. He would wait for the other pack members to eat then he would take his turn. He would have to pay close attention to see if he were supposed to only eat a certain amount or eat all he needed. He thought about other things too, like hunting. After Mars was sure that he understood it all, he was positive he would not slip up and give that Abasi a reason to banish him. Mars would stay in that pack, he would make sure of that. But he couldn't stand to be just above the omega forever, even if finding out how not to made him sound eager and inexperienced.
"How does one climb in the rankings?" Mars ventured, his mind filling with possibilities. Fighting the rank above him, proving his worth, waiting for a higher member to mess up and get demoted. While Mars paused for an answer, his grumbling stomach brought up his next question. What do we even hunt out here?