they built you a temple and locked you away

@Haruki ^^

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So much had happened in the few days since River had joined. Reiko was injured, there'd been some issues at the border, the wolf who'd attacked the leader was still running around - as far as she knew, at least. And she was no fighter - really, who would be afraid of River's tiny stature? - but she was still determined to do her best for this newfound home of hers. 

That included making sure that there weren't any more issues at the border. She wasn't much of a deterrent, but the more scents around there, the better. And Riv was no Tiberius, but she certainly wasn't afraid to try and defend her new home. It was the least she could do, really, with Reiko so hurt and everything so up in the air. 

Maybe all the chaos would be enough to drive most wolves away, had they just joined the pack. River was not most wolves, and she was determined to stick around. 

She was still learning the terrain, however. The mountains - especially so ice-covered - were hard to traverse, and she had to take it pretty slow down a steeper section near the borders. At least it was more level down here, with evergreen trees standing tall above her. River took the time to brush up against one of the trunks, depositing her scent there. Tiberius did a lot of the marking, it seemed, so even if River wasn't a natural-born defender, she wanted to help where she could.
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^^The best thing about being a white wolf living in the tundra was that he could just chill wherever the hell he wanted, and he would be overlooked, especially from afar, and with so many issues going on within and out of Shiroshika, Haruki was determined to guard these borders, because one man was simply not enough.

So Haruki had stayed at the borders overnight, and did his best to stay up all night, but alas, he was not a robot and could not stay up all night and had eventually passed the fuck out - some guard he was, I know - but he was a light sleeper, and thus, the sounds of crunching snow, and the scent of another wolf as they marked the borders woke him up with a start and he quickly jumped up and looked around.

Did anyone notice he was asleep?? His ears pulled back, eyes narrowing on the nearest wolf by the border, as Haruki snarled and marched right up to her, still too groggy to catch her scent to realize she was one of their own.

“地獄で何をしていると思いますか？” — What in the HELL do you think you’re doing?

^^
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Woah, River had totally not seen this guy. It made sense that there were a lot of white wolves out on the tundra, but they blended in so well. It almost made her jealous - too bad there wasn't anywhere full of ginger snow that she could disappear into. The girl stepped back a bit, one paw pulling up to her chest in what she hoped was a placating gesture. 

"マーキング..." — Marking... she began, then wrinkled her nose a little, shaking her head a bit to clear it. "Marking the borders. We're on the same side, here, I'm pretty sure." At least, this boy smelled a lot like Reiko and Tiberius had. It was probably fair to assume that the two of them were in the same pack. She offered him a slight smile, hoping to dispel his worries. "I'm River - I joined a few days ago."

She didn't really stop to wonder why she had understood his question. The familiarity with the language was something she was getting used to - she couldn't remember anything before she woke up here, so she could only assume she'd known it before.
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^^Haruki had been so groggy, and so out of it that he hadn’t even realized what language had spilled out of his mouth until she spoke it back. This caused him to blink, wondering why she had spoken in japanese first, then english later. Was she not well versed in japanese enough to hold a full blown conversation?

Haruki's eyes narrowed, though his raised hackles did not lower. It would make sense that other wolves would want to step up and mark the borders, but this one was a stranger to him. Granted, so was the entirety of the pack.

“Give me the name of your recruiter, then.” and pray it was someone that Haruki actually knew.

^^
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River couldn’t really blame the guy for being so suspicious. The scent of Shiroshika had yet to mesh fully with her own, and things had been pretty damn weird around here, even in the few days since she joined.

Naturally, her own inclination was to defend herself, but she refrained. The boy wanted answers, and he smelled more like these mountains than she did, so it was up to her to explain.

”Tiberius invited me, and Reiko told me I could stay,” she replied, then offered the boy a crooked little smirk. ”Am I supposed to ask for your recruiter, now?” she teased lightly, hoping to ease the tension at least a bit.
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^^Haruki waited, hackles still raised, as he could feel his muscles growing tense, posed for an attack, and ready to launch himself at her and her pretty face, should she give the wrong name. Some part of him was disappointed, however, when she gave him a name he realized.

His hard features of mistrust transformed into amusement, thinking fondly of the Tundra Daddy for a brief moment, as he nodded his head and lowered his guard enough not to harass her anymore.

“Hi River. The name’s Haruki Izuka.” Haruki smiled, finally, taking in a deep breath and offering a sheepish smile, though if she joined so soon, would she even know who he was, based on the last name alone?

“I guess you could say that Reiko is my recruiter, because she’s also my mother.” Haruki smirked with the awkward wag of his tail.

^^
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His demeanor changed when she offered the names, which River was grateful for. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do if she and a packmate got into a disagreement - she’d actually been hoping not to get into that situation at all, actually. So she was glad when he decided her response was adequate.

Haruki Izuka. Same last name as Reiko, her mind supplied, and her suspicions were validated only moments later. ”Nice to meet ya, Haruki. Sorry for surprising you like that - I thought I was alone out here.” Her tail wagged slightly, only stalling a bit at his next words.

His mother. River didn’t have a mother that she knew of, but it must be difficult to be in that situation, with a family member hurt and nothing you could do would change it.

”I can see the resemblance,” she responded with a smile. Same pretty face, same petite build. They weren’t far off the same size, she didn’t think, but there was something more elegant about these Izuka wolves. But she doubted he’d want to talk much about his mother right now - not with her so hurt. And especially not to a stranger. ”Say… I was, uh, making sure the scent markers were strong and that nothing bad was going on around the borders. Would you maybe wanna come with me?” That would make the scent marking doubly effective, give River some time to get to know a packmate, and also hopefully cheer him up a little. If Reiko had family, they were no doubt stressed right now. She wanted to help out where she could.
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^^Haruki felt the pains of regret in his stomach the moment he opened his mouth, because what would happen if River here wanted to talk about his mother and her condition? Haruki was having a hard enough time keeping it all together, and didn’t need some stranger asking questions. He shouldn’t have told her that Reiko was his mother. Please don't ask about my mother; please don't ask about my mother..

He was freaking out as he tried to keep cool, nodding his head with an awkward smile. “I tried to stay up all night to guard the borders, and then fell asleep on the job,” Haruki admitted, offering a chuckle and a wag of his tail as she mentioned the resemblance.

And then, there it was, she was beginning to ask him something and his ears lowered. He winced and cringed, waiting for some question about his mother, or her condolences, or something, but he never came. He blinked, ears lifting - she wanted his help with marking the borders?

“W-what? What did you just.. say?” Tears swelled in his eyes, but not to the point of actually crying, as he looked at her. Staring, for the longest time, tilting his head. “I… er.. ” Bro, stop, this is how you get emotions. “I-i… would really love that, actually. T-thank you.”

^^
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Luckily for the both of them, Riv had enough tact not to pry too much into it. The situation was too fresh, and Haruki was probably still really struggling, and she really didn’t think it would help him to push. At least, that’s not what she would want, if she was in his shoes.

It also probably wasn’t a good idea to stay up all night to guard the borders, but she didn’t know if she should push that either. ”That would probably be hard to do on your own. I’d have fallen asleep right after the sun went down,” she responded instead, a small laugh escaping her and a wag settling in her tail.

Her brows drew together ever so slightly at the sight of tears brewing in his eyes. It would probably embarrass him to mention them, so River patiently waited for the boy to work through what he was dealing with, so he could finish his sentence.

”Great!” she enthused, offering him a smile and gesturing with her head for him to follow. ”You don’t need to thank me - I’m the one in a bind here. I could use a guide. Tiberius kinda took me on a tour the other day, but I’m still learning the layout and stuff.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, but she also didn’t want Haruki to think she was doing this out of pity. She waved her tail and grinned over her shoulder. ”And maybe you can teach me some of those words you were saying earlier, too?”
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^^Haruki found himself enjoying the fact that this one seemed to know where to keep her nose - which was out of his business. Either she was extremely polite, or she wanted to make a good impression; maybe both. He didn’t know, he didn’t care, but it made him enjoy her more. Like the friend he didn’t know he needed.

“Yeah, you’re right. I should have asked for a buddy to help me, but I don’t know anyone here.” Haruki admitted with a frown. He did know some people, though, but he associated them all with the pack drama, and honestly, didn’t want to think about all of that right now.

A guide, huh? Well, if that’s what she wanted to call it. “Heck, I wish I went on that tour with him. Ma showed me when I got back, but I don’t remember most of it. A tour might have helped. Reiko’s my mother, but I’ve only recently reunited with her, and don’t really know my way around, but at least if we get lost, we’ll get lost together, and it won’t be so bad, right?” Haruki paused a moment, listening to her additional request. “Hey, yeah, I can even teach you more japanese.”

^^
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"Well, you know someone here now. If you ever wanna stay up and guard borders again, you can come get me and we can make sure we both stay up," she offered with a wag of her tail and a lopsided smile. It may not be the most appealing thing, to stay awake all night, but River liked this guy, and if a packmate needed some help, she'd be happy to offer. 

The comment about only recently reuniting with his mother almost made her falter, but River instead focused on other parts of the boy's words. "Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot of it either. Maybe we can make up names for some of the landmarks," she offered with a grin, tail swishing. "And being lost isn't that bad either. If we really can't find our way back, we can yell and maybe Tiberius will come save us." 

His offer to teach her Japanese - that was what the language was called! - was kind, and she jumped on that train of thought immediately. "Great! I think I know it, actually, because it sounds familiar. I just can't remember everything yet, so I'd really appreciate the help. So, about what you said earlier, what exactly did that question mean?" She had a hunch, but she did want to know if she'd gotten it right. 

Maybe the two of them would get lost later, or maybe not. It really didn't matter much to River. For a moment, she let herself wonder if all Shiroshika wolves were this cool.

[fade]
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