Virtually every muscle in his body ached. Kiv did not remember how long he had been walking, traveling, searching. It would not be so bad, really, if only he was not doing it alone. His mother's last warning kept ringing in his mind; a wolf does not survive for long on his own. The long days had blended into the even longer nights and Kiv knew that if he did not find a pack that would accept him soon, he would seriously need to reevaluate his strategy for survival. He could hunt, at least small game, on his own and he knew enough about the rest of nature to be able to live off of the land, thanks to his mother.

He paused for a moment and looked down to check the Alder leaves that he had smeared on the cut on his left foreleg. It was probably time to switch that one out for some Dock leaves, but he had been a little preoccupied with putting one paw in front of the other that he had not realized it. His bright green eyes flicked around where he was at the moment, hoping that, by chance, he could find some, but to no avail. Heaving a slight sigh, Kiv set off once more, tail hanging down between his legs and head low. His ears, though, remained on a constant swivel, searching for any sounds that would indicate a change in his environment.

A little bit after midday, Kiv actually managed to find a Dock plant. It was small, but it was big enough to serve his purpose. Laying down next to the plant, he tore off a couple of the leaves and chewed them gently, snarling slightly at the rather bitter taste. Once he was satisfied with that, he used his right paw to gently scrape off as much of the Alder as he could and then carefully laid the chewed Dock leaves on the long scratch along his leg, using his snout to make sure that it stayed suitably shaped to cover the wound.

He heaved a sigh almost immediately as he felt the coolness of the herbs on his wound. The scratch, similarly to the scar beside his left eye, was a souvenir of a past attempt to join a pack. To be honest, he was lucky that he had as few wounds as he did. But, time was wasting and, while Kiv had no destination, per say, he certainly had a goal. Heaving himself back to his paws, he continued on his enduring trek, searching for somewhere that he just might be able to call home.

A couple hours later, or maybe several--Kiv had stopped caring about the passage of time--when the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon, Kiv froze in his tracks. He took a careful sniff of the air and then lowered his head. Yes, that was definitely a scent marker. So, here he had discovered yet another territory claimed by at least one wolf. He began to make his way further into the claimed territory, but then paused once more and sniffed. That was definitely a different scent marker, but not covering the first. So, this was indeed the territory of a pack.

Gathering the last shreds of his courage, Kiv tipped his head back and gave a fairly short, doleful howl, making sure to announce his presence to any of the pack wolves that may be nearby. It wouldn't really do for them to find him slinking about and think the worst. Kiv was a quick learner and had gotten that lesson through his head on the first try. This time, he waited right nearby where he had first howled so that if anyone did come looking for him, they wouldn't have any trouble in finding him. After walking for so long, but also being denied repeatedly, Kiv was somewhat startled to find a small flame of hope flaring in his breast. Could this possibly be a place that he could call home?

It had only been a few short hours since Azul had granted him the position of Delta. With pride still swelling in his chest Marrok had made his way from the den and decided on taking a walk to search for his new mentor. Not being completely sure where Kenai was the strong blast of wind gave a faint scent of the Elite by the northern boarder. Perking up slightly the sable male picked up speed and started his long walk towards the north. With strong and purposeful steps the large male picked up speed and soon fell into a soft lope.

Around him the defiant signs of spring screamed at him. Trees in almost full leaf, flowers peppered against the now green landscape and preys scents abound. Almost sick at all the life around him a glimmer of something worth his excitement came into his mind in the form of an image. Juno's face fluttered in his mind, soft and vibrant like a new flower. Her black coat was bright in the light and her beautiful eyes pulled him into a trance as he ran. His eyes started to half close as his mind gave her motion in his mind, calling to him. Going now into a trance Marrok almost didn't see a pricker bush in front of him.

Yelping slightly the male dodged just as his side brushed against the sharp thorns, leaving three to graze his skin. Feeling foolish now he shock out his coat, dislodging all but one in his fur. Pausing to pluck out the annoying thorn his brown ears perked at the sound of a far off howl. Confused as to how he should respond the words of Azul echoed in his mind. He could meet wolves at the boarder. Gulping slightly at this opportunity Marrok shock off any insecurities he had and straightened up. Rolling his shoulders back the male brought his tail up in dominance, though only slight. Past memories of this position flooding in his mind and soon his body remembered the thrill of being on top.

With strong steps Marrok closed the distance between the howl's origin and himself until soon he saw its creator. The male was smaller than himself, but that impression didn't settle in Marrok's mind. Many a time those who showed little strength proved him wrong with speed or cleverness. Walking closer the sable male cleared his throat to the new comer. "Greetings male, you have tread on to the lands of Alpha Azul's pack. What is it you wish here?" He questioned, standing tall with his tail higher than the male's.

Despite his desire to remain up and alert, waiting for a reply of some sort, Kiv found that his legs almost simply refused to support his weight any longer. With a fairly undignified flop, Kiv's haunches sank to the ground. He did have to admit, though, it felt wonderful to rest like that, regardless of the twitching of fatigued muscles.

Carefully, he lowered his muzzle to make sure that his makeshift bandage of Dock leaves was still in place. That shift of his weight, though, did nearly cause him to topple headlong to the ground. He managed to stagger forwards, though, and regain his balance enough to remain at least partially dignified, although, after a glance at his fur, which had not gotten as much attention as it should have these past several months, he wondered just how much dignity he could really muster.

But then, after a moment of fussing over his fur, Kiv just let out a soft whimper and settled to the ground. Did it really matter? What were the chances that this pack was going to be any different than the others that he had tried to join? What made him think that he had even a chance of joining this pack, after he had been turned away time and again? Resigning himself to the inevitable, Kiv lowered his head to the ground and gave a disconsolate sigh. Chances are he would have gotten up and left right then and there, if only he were not so exhausted. Traveling for months on end had a way of catching up to a young wolf.

Just as Kiv came to this realization, though, his head darted up from the ground, ears erect and straining to catch a sound that would match the scent that he had just caught. Another wolf was approaching. Struggling back to all four paws, Kiv was determined to stand his ground. However, when he saw ruddy brown wolf approaching, tail and head held high, that determination seemed to dwindle significantly. Kiv felt himself lowering to the ground, ears flat against his skull and tail tucked tightly between his legs, in an extremely submissive posture to show that he meant no threat. He lifted his bright brown eyes, but only for a moment before they dropped back to remain fixedly on the ground between the two.

"I--I have been traveling for...a long time and don't mean any harm. My name is Kiv and I would like to humbly request permission to join in your pack," he said. The entire time that he spoke, he was waiting for the sharp pinch of the other male's teeth digging into his skin. His tail quivered slightly in anticipation of the coming refusal.

The sight of the small male cowering before him might have made some wolves swell with pride, pleased with the sign of respect and power filled. For Marrok however he sympathized with the male and was curious if his slight show of dominance was what pushed him over the edge or something else. Looking him over the brute's gaze landed on the crudely wrapped injury on his leg. The scent of a certain herb filled his nose, which caused him to sniff at it further. It didn't smell putrid, but he should be seen by a healer soon. Straightening back up with dark amber eyes caught his gaze for a moment before the male went back to being submissive.

"I appreciate your show of respect Kiv, but the extent isn't necessary, please rise. You say you wish to join? What strengths do you have? What can you offer the pack?" He questioned, his voice firm yet soft in an attempt to relax the quivering brute. Marrok himself sat down before the male and wrapped his tail around his large paws. Looking him over again he saw that Kiv was a younger male, but appeared capable of defending himself.

"I am Delta Marrok by the way." He said letting the new rank role off his tongue like fresh blood. He liked the sound of it and hoped he could uphold the honor given to him. Looking back to the brute pity settled in his gut for him. He would be in a much different position if Steele had met him here. Fear for the brute rose up slightly, but was driven away quickly. Even though he was merciful Marrok wasn't an idiot or blind. He was here to do a job, and do the job well. Even though he was nothing like Steely he wouldn't sit back and let anyone walk all over him. Still, the sight of Kiv before him did tug on a few strings. What story did the male have? what made him act this way?

Kiv flinched slightly when the male approached and sniffed at the herb-wrapped cut on his leg. He really had taken good care of the injury, just like his mother had showed him, and it only hurt if he stepped on the leg wrong. Well, so far, this encounter was going much better than the others before it. Maybe Kiv had finally learned what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. Interacting with other, more dominant wolves was one lesson that his mother had not had much time to teach him, but, fortunately, Kiv was a fast learner.

At the male's insistence that the extent of his submission was not necessary, Kiv lifted his head a little bit, though he did still remain crouched down with his ears and tail lowered. What strengths did he have? Well, there was what he knew about herbs and plants. Did that count? "I do know a lot about plants and growing things. And my mother taught me how to take care of a bunch of different injuries and sickness, just using the things that can be found around us." He stuck his leg out a little bit, as a show of proof. "I cleaned this cut, and made sure that it didn't get infected with Alder leaves and then treated it with Dock leaves so it would heal faster. I did the same with this," he said, turning his head so that the male could see the scar that narrowly missed bifurcating his left eye.

When the other male, who introduced himself as Delta Marrok, sat down, it helped tremendously to put Kiv at ease and he managed to slide himself up into a sitting position, though his tail remained tucked close and his ears were still laid virtually straight back. He even managed to glance up again and look the other male in the eye for a moment. But, alas, only for a moment, as his eyes soon sought out the safety of the dirt.

Marrok smiled as the male relaxed before him and rose into a sitting position. At this angle he could get a better look at the new wolf and could feel him out for a possible rank. Kiv started to speak and as he did so the image of another healer popped into his mind. "I take it your mother was a healer? My sister was one as well, its a very demanding job. Would you have any interest training under one of our healer? Perhaps heighten your skills? Or would the chance to be a warrior spark your interest more?"

He questioned unsure if he should just assign Kiv a position or let him have some input. Marrok liked the latter for a wolf happy with their position would work harder than one angry with it. He himself was content with his position and couldn't imagine someone handing him one he didn't like. Glancing to the male his eyes went to the injury again. "You did a good job on your leg and if you were to join us our first stop would be to a healer to look at it. We have a fine couple of healers here, very nice and knowledgeable." He said trying to further relax the male. Seeing him bring his body up slightly was a start, but if he were to survive the pack he would need to grow a backbone.

Marrok knew Steele would relish in the male's submissiveness, but deep down he feared the Beta would take advantage of him. Not wanting any harm to come to any wolf Marrok secretly wished Kiv would relax for his own safety. Listening to his words of the cut Marrok's gaze went to the scar across his face. It reminded him of Chiara's a kind fae who shared the scar. The male had many scars buried under his thick coat, but he didn't go flaunting or hiding them. They were simply apart of him like the breath in his lungs, signs of his past and present.

Kiv cocked his head to the side a little bit in a shrug. "I don't think she was. At least, she wasn't when I was born. We were pretty much on our own, by then," he answered. At the mention of possibly becoming a healer, Kiv's head and ears both shot up and his eyes fastened onto Marrok's. His tail even thumped against the ground once before he remembered himself and lowered his head and gaze once more, though his ears did not quite go back to their plastered back positions of before.

"I would like that very much, Delta Marrok," he replied. Just the thought of becoming a real healer in a real pack was enough to keep Kiv's tail twitching back and forth in a not-quite suppressed wag, despite his submissive posture. "I mean, if I can join your pack, that is." After a moment or two, Kiv's eyes slowly lifted and met those of the Delta. "Do you really think that they would let me study with them?" he asked, daring to actually hope that he may have found where he really did belong.

Marrok's sister had been trained by his aunt in his old pack. She had grown up gentle and loving and the position suited her well. Under the training she blossomed into a fine fae full of promise and knowledge. Looking at Kiv he saw the same promise within him. This thought was further emphasized by his sudden show of enthusiasm at the mention of training. Letting out a throaty chuckle Marrok pulled himself to his feet. "Well from what she did teach you certainly has stuck. Your would may have been far worse if you didn't have some knowledge of healing under your belt."

From his excited stance Marrok's face grew with pride that a rank he wanted was offered to him. Healer Creek would be perfect to train the exuberant male into a fine Healer. True she already had one apprentice, but he didn't see that a a problem. Lucy already had some training, as did Kiv, thus neither would require extensive training. Grinning down at Kiv his face softened, but a thought rang in his mind. As a Delta Marrok couldn't give Kiv a rank, but he could escort him to someone who could. . "I think you will fit in quite nicely with the pack Kiv, but as for rank that is for my Alpha to decide. We can go now if you want and tell him of your desire to train under a healer. I shall accompany you. He said with a large smile and a dip of his maw. In his mind the male would be a perfect apprentice for Creek who could tame his excitement and desires. Even though it wasn't up to him Marrok would put in a good word for Kiv if thats what he wanted.

Kiv felt a brief swell of pride when his work on his leg was complimented by the Delta. It did feel good to have his work approved of by someone other than himself. Hopefully there would not be a tremendous opportunity for that sort of thing in the future, given that that would mean that wolves were being hurt, but still, it was nice to know that someone else thought that he could do a good job. When Delta Marrok rose to his feet, Kiv flinched slightly, but managed to refrain from ducking his head again.

The small flame of pride in his chest was quickly quashed when Delta Marrok suggested that they go to see his alpha. Well, at least he had made it farther in this pack than any other that he had tried, and putting it off would only make it seem worse in his head, right? With those facts planted firmly in the forefront of his mind, Kiv nodded his head. "I would like that very much, yes please," he replied, both to being taken to the alpha and to Marrok accompanying him. It might be silly, sure, as he had literally just met this wolf, but he had been welcoming so far, so what was there to lose?

Slowly climbing to his feet, but being very careful to maintain his submissive posture, Kiv nodded once more to Delta Marrok. "I'm ready whenever you are," he told the male and tried very hard to convince himself of that fact, despite a small quiver that still plagued his rear right leg, due to exhaustion. However, before the pair started walking, Kiv could not help but lowering his head a little bit more and asking, "Do you think your alpha will be okay with me?