It had been but two days since Pain had been accepted into Ernyx as a warrior. The first two of these days had been spent digging a den along with short breaks to go running through the expansive packlands for as long as he could. He opted to build the den a little ways off from the main pack clearing where he decided no one would bother him for the most part.

After two days of digging into the frozen snow buried soil it was complete. Pain relished in the labor, as it put his muscles to good use, and he could feel the ache of his muscles constantly now, which meant he was getting stronger ever so slightly, little by little. The runs over the course of many days would also increase his stamina given time, he was on such a run now, having just completed his den.

The large male thundered along the woods, inhaling and exhaling with every stride as he flew through the woods. He did not need to fear alerting predators here even though he would gladly kill anything that stood in his way, the marked borders as he knew would keep them away for the most part.

After running for what seemed like forever the star-lit forest gave way to a wide open moor, covered in recent snowfall. Here Pain paused for a moment, taking in the site before climbing to a nearby rock outcropping to get a better view over the area, snow crunching beneath his weight as he made his way over and hopped onto it. For as far as he could see was undisturbed snow gleaming in the moon-light with the occasional rock jutting out from the white ocean of snow.

It was a truly beautiful, peaceful sight to behold. Pain turned his back without a second thought however, heading back down the rock. Peace was a delusion, no where in this world was true peace to be found, violence and death would always prevail over peace. As he had learned peace was only a temporary, fickle thing that gave way to even the slightest disturbance to violence and death. Even now as Pain jumped off the rock into the untouched snow he could feel it greedily seeping away his warmth.

As he trotted along the moor, letting himself catching his breath but not letting his muscles cool off he began to think idly to the day he was accepted into the pack.

He had not really interacted with any others of the pack since that day, but from what he could tell many others in the pack were like the fae he had met; cold, calculating, and ruthless, along with a mixture of other characteristics. More important than anything else however - his packmates were strong, and he didn't need to fight any of them to figure that out. The training he was doing would simply not be enough, he thought. What he needed was more skill, he already had all the strength and stamina he could ever need. As he thought back to the fae he knew he needed something else, speed.

Snarling slightly, he swished his tail with a quick flick, he was not strong enough, how would he ever kill his brother at this rate?

Ariste galloped along the snow, concentrating. She made her pawsteps as light and quiet as possible, one paw never lingering for more than one second. She balanced her weight, focusing on keeping above the snow, not letting herself sink into the icy substance. She could hear the crunch of her paws hitting the snow, though her blood pounding in her ears mostly drowned other noises out. In order to be a good fighter, you had to be able to keep your balance anywhere, especially on ice. She flew over the terrain and great speed, the ice assisting her, as her muscles stretched with each long stride. She soon slowed to a trot,  then a walk, still careful not to sink down. As she reached the end of the Hunting Moor, she stopped, ear twitching. She drew in a deep breath, eyes narrowing. A wolf of Erenyx had been here very shortly before... Someone she had not yet met. She lifted a paw,  twsting around until she caught his scent, and began to follow it. She was curious as to who this wolf was, whom she had niether met, nor heard of.

She moved quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible, though the snow had other plans. Finally she noticed a wolf in the distance, walking along. Her black coat stood out a stark contrast against the pure white snow, and she hated it, though she could hide well in shadows. She sped up her pace, catching up with him. As she neared, she noticed he was quite large male, her cold gold and silver eyes surveying him from a distance. "Hello." She finally called, having enough of watching from a distance. Her voice was as frosty as the ice she stood on, as she moved towards him, ears forward, eyes narrowed somewhat. "Who might you be?" She questioned, stopping some feet aways from him. The muscles hidden under her coat rippled, as she moved, tensing her hind legs. Her tail hung between her legs, niether in dominance, nor submission, as she dug her claws in the snow, for more balance. She inhaled the fridged air, the cold fighting though her thick coat of fur, looking for her flesh, trying to chill her. Ice shards dug into her paws from running, though she didn't mind. Locking her multicolored  eyes onto the other male, she awaited his answer, holding back a growl.

'Why approach this brute? What does he matter? He's no concern of yours." The little voice that often pestered her nagged. I have to know all the members of my pack, and their strengths and weaknesses if I want to be better..' She thought, eyes sweeping over the land, before watching the male again. [color=green]'I suppose.. but don't use all your precious training time talking to him.' It snarled viciously, vanishing. Ariste shook her head,  stiffening and tensing her frame, in case he should attack her. She wasn't about to be caught off guard. Her orbs stared at him coldly, not betraying her feelings.

As he trotted along the snow it would not be long before he noticed an extra set of crunching sounds a little ways behind him, causing the brute to stop abruptly in his path to get a better listen in on whomever was coming. Whirling around quickly Pain would almost growl loudly at whoever was approaching before the wind shifted and he caught the Ernyx scent, a she-wolf he concluded as he caught sight of the black figure. It was slightly harder in the night to spot her, but the white backdrop would be quite helpful in spotting her, not many of the wolves in Ernyx were very inconspicuous in this season.

As she said hello, in a voice as cold as the winter air around them, the male was immediately put off. It seemed every wolf in this pack was the same, he could not help but bare his fangs at this. He was not too worried, this wolf did not outrank him. As she asked who he was he just snorted softly covering his fangs again ignoring the question for now, "What do you want?" he said flatly, flexing his muscles as she did when she took on a defensive, wishing to show her just how strong he was for a brute.

Ariste growled as he bared his fangs, wheeling to face her. He didn't seem thrilled to see her, not that she was surprised. She watched him, always instantly on the defensive, never trusting a wolf. He flexed his muscles pointedly, though she was niether impressed nor intimidated. Yes, he was large, but there wasn't much she was afraid of. And she had the advantage of being strong, but was more lithe, agile, and fast. She dipped her head in acknowledgement, but not for long. "I'm Warrior Ariste. I simply want to know every wolf in Erenyx." She said, eyes narrowing further, as she snorted. "Is there anything wrong with knowing everyone in your pack?" She questioned, daring him to say no.

The more she knew, the easier it would be to get better. But the fact she still needed someone to train with stood. Whether it was someone who ranked over her or not, she didn't care, but she needed help sparring. She lowered herself into a sitting position, showing the very tips of her fangs, making it very clear she wasn't afraid, but kept her legs tensed, should she need to jump up suddenly for some reason. Her tongue flicked out, licking her cold nose. Her tail wrapped around her body, resting on her paws as she eyed him, gauging the distance between them. She assumed it would only take two bounds to reach him, and judging from the distance between his pawsteps, he would be within biting distance with one leap, but not quite enough to land on her. She gazed at him evenly, as she stood once again, fully facing him. "So, are you out here training?" She murmured, enough for him to here. The wind brushed her silky fur back, as she waited for him to speak.

Pain scowled for a moment after she spoke, taking a few seconds to compose himself again, but not letting his guard down until she did. It was true he was somewhat defensive, paranoid even, but the she-wolf walking in on him so suddenly was more of an annoyance. Even so his features returned to a more neutral look as she said her name, Warrior Ariste.

Pain turned the name over in his mind a few times, it was a mildly interesting name. He was about to introduce himself as she sat down when she spoke again, questioning him further. His piercing amber eyes held her gaze for a moment as if contemplating whether he should answer before he actually did, "Yes, I was training." he said remaining standing. After a brief pause he added, "And I am Warrior Pain."

She watch him closely, and stopped squinting, but still gazed at him with a stone cold gaze. It was clear he wasvery pleased of her presence. She nodded when he confirmed he was training, raising one eyebrow when he said his name, but said nothing. "Well, Warrior Pain, I too am training out here on this cold evening." She said, rolling her shoulders to stretch.

She paced slightly, keeping one eye on him at all times. "What are you training for?" She asked, restless and curious. She paused, one paw raised in the air, turning to fully look at him. 'Wasting good time..' The voice spat, hissing angerily at her use of time. She surpressed another growl, focusing back on him.




(Sorry about the shortness...)

(its alright)

Pain didn't give any comment when she stated she was out here training as well. Instead his amber eyes just tracked her as she started pacing, his stance was now more relaxed, he doubted she would try anything. She was of the same pack as him after all, he would need to trust some other wolves if he was to get anywhere in a pack. Even though she was sort of annoying he would hear her out.

When she asked him what he was training for he almost went back on the defensive, but instead he just took a moment to respond, weighing the benefits of lies against the truth. He finally decided on part of the truth however, "I am training here so I can become strong enough to kill a certain wolf." he stated, not offering any further details. With that he smirked slightly, "So if you are training here as well, how about a spar?"

[hope you don't mind me joining in]

Nashoba followed a snow hare quietly waiting for his chance to pounce. He was not yet close enough so he stalked forward closer to it. He noticed its ear twitching and could smell two wolves nearby. He took the distraction as a chance to get the rabbit, 'Now!' a voice shouted in his head. He jumped forward closing his jaws around the hare. He bit into it hard making it so it was paralyzed. He dropped it letting the life drain out of it, he felt no reason to share his meal with anybody so he devoured it and walked to the edge of the moor. He noticed Warrior Ariste and Warrior Pain. He stepped out of the woods and walked over to them, "Hello there, I hope I am not bothering you guys. I am Warrior Nashoba, I do not believe we have met." He looked to Pain. He had heard of him but never met him face to face although he saw him at a spar in the neutral territories. He heard what Pain had said about killing a certain wolf and wondered if he meant the alpha or someone from his past. Nashoba didn't really care if he was bothering them, he just wanted to meet more people.