all for one and one for all

The man lowered himself to the ground as he stalked the elk in front of him, huffing slightly. He probably shouldn't be doing this alone, but he wasn't really one to hunt with others. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to working with others, but he felt more comfortable relying on himself. 

His eyes flickered between the ones within the herd, annoyed that he couldn't particularly find one that was injured or younger than the others. Instead, he turned his attention on a doe that seemed rather distant from the herd. Within moments, he pushed himself forward, aiming for the creature. 

He gripped the creature's shoulder, trying to pull it down. He was successful in that, however as they went down, hooves went flying, kicking at his shoulder. He winced slightly but moved his grip to its neck, letting it bleed out quickly. 

After a few moments, he would back away, panting slightly. Turning to look at his shoulder, he huffed. There was a decent sized wound on his shoulder, his fur matted down slightly by the blood from himself and the doe. With a shrug though, as he wasn't a medical creature, he would begin to drag the food back to the cache, hoping to deposit it and head back to his den to lick his wound.

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The scent of blood was one that the lupine nose was easily attuned. Pregnancy heightened her sense of smell, and the cessation of her nausea left an incredible hunger in its wake. Even from a distance, mere moments after the saline notes took to wind, it wound up drifting in an around Olive’s nose — her immediate response was autonomic in that she had little control of it; the hunger in her belly roared, and the salivation immediately filled her bottom palette. The gravid woman swallowed the wetness, hoisting herself (yes, we must use verbs like ‘haul’ and ‘hoist’ now) upon legs that seemed too-small for her growing midsection, and allowed her nose to lead the way.

In all likelihood, it was Tiberius who had felled some creature to bring to her for this very reason — the man was nothing but guarding, marking, hunting and preparing these days — so she figured she’d save him the trouble of dragging it all the way to her. It was likely that there would be little left after she had sated herself, as growing puppies was difficult work, and she rightfully craved the calories needed to do so.

Only in her final descent, like a vulture circling a carcass, did the Priestess realize this was not Tiberius but a different dark and burly man — it was the mysterious Genghis, who guarded Duskguard so fiercely, yet somehow still remained anonymous to her. He himself was bleeding (not only the elk), and Olive became far less forward after this realization, ears sliding backwards at her own recognition of a misstep; but she still continued to hover ever-closer, mouth silent but big, moony eyes asking the thousand questions she wouldn’t dare to speak. After all, how did one gracefully tell a veritable stranger I need to eat this right now, and no it cannot wait even one second longer?

 

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Typically upon hearing footfalls towards him, he would meet them with snarls and raised hackles. However, this time the scent of his female leader stopped him from doing so. He was confused though, by why she was out here, wasn't she about to pop? One look as he turned towards her confirmed that she was, indeed pregnant which confused him more. However, he did find it amusing that she just inched closer and stared up at him with puppy dog eyes. It was clear what she wanted, not that he minded at all. After all, the meal was intended for the pack anyway. 

So, in response he would move to the carcass, picking it up with a small grunt. It didn't take him too long to pull it towards her, depositing it so that it was directly in front of her. She hadn't spoken to him, and as he was a man of little words, he didn't speak to her either. It wasn't that he was being unfriendly, he just didn't see why he would need to say anything else. After all, actions spoke louder than words and his actions showed that yes, she could eat as much as she wanted to. 

Wanting to give her space as she ate, he would turn away, walking a few feet away to lay himself down. He was no medical dog and resorted to simply licking the wound to ease the blood that dripped down his arm.

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Words didn’t seem necessary for a transaction that was so deeply engrained in their biology. He provided, and she consumed; the favor would be returned to him of course, likely by other means — it was no secret that her talents fell in realms other than hunting, especially not — but in this moment, there would be no declining her.
 
He made an attempt to bring the carcass to her,  but Olive met him in his advance; directly her pinprick teeth and refined jawbone to the wounds that already existed on the poor creature, tugging the tear open wider and fitting her muzzle neatly inside, not even exchanging a hello or a thank you before indulging in her meal. It was warm and so fresh that the blood still ran freely, which it did down the white of throat and chest as she ate hungrily. The taste was almost better than anything she had ever tasted before, but such was the quality of a craving sated! She could not help but emit audible noises to denote how supremely delicious the elk was.

If her eyes were open, one could see that they were rolling into the back her head.
 
Even the hungriest pregnant woman had to contend with one poignant factor: that the room in her stomach was little, and growing smaller every day. So she filled herself quickly, especially eating with such voraciousness; but only when the clawing hunger quieted down did Olive open her eyes and glance meekly over at Genghis, who was sitting off to the side, dabbing at his bleeding leg. Olive carved off a small section that was nearly a lovely shade of deep, fresh red, and walked it over to him — if he wanted to eat more, there was an entire elk laying just over there. If not, it was a small token of her gratitude for his work.
 
Olive’s attention drifted down to linger on his own wound. “I have no doubt that you will recover fully,” she said with well-intentioned snark and veracity. “But I can look at that with a healer’s eye, if you desire.”

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The man remained silent as she ate, simply choosing to groom his mass of fur, eyes only flickering up to to her as words floated towards him. A simple shake of his head could be seen before he spoke up, his voice deep as it rolled off his tongue. "No my lady, focus on yourself." He said simply before standing up. Slowly, he would make his way over to the rest of the carcass, noticing that she had eaten her fill. There was no way he was going to let her try to carry that anywhere. He was grateful that she didn't try to. 

So, wordlessly, he would aim to lift it up, moving to begin dragging it back towards the cache pile. He was a man of little words and would simply pause as he lifted it up, glancing over at her. Silently, he would wait to see if she was heading back and, if she was, whether or not she wanted an escort back.

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He was a formal man in every sense, and it was of supreme curiosity to Olive. So was anyone who chose to dedicate their bodies and livelihood to the betterment of Duskguard; but she, like Genghis, saw the genius in the titan named Tiberius. It was in him, that they all stowed their confidence and hopes for the future. Even Olive, she was a sham as a priestess, a mere puppet of godlike-thoughts when compared with the ink dark chieftain. In this, she and Genghis were equals. 

He rebuffed her offer of healing, which Olive took in stride; she hadn't truly expected him to take it (not him) but she had offered it anyways mostly out of pleasantries. He went to haul the carcass to the frozen cache to be eaten forevermore, and she waited for him. Upon his return, she commented rather inanely “I hope you ate your fill. You’ve earned it, soldier.” It was a way of saying thank you, she supposed, but also an attempt to express appreciation for the dedication the burly man gave Duskguard, every day.

“I don’t know much about you,” she admitted, twitching her tail into a half-wag, “but I would like to know more.” Olive turned her shoulder, preparing to walk whenever he was going to walk; she would even do rounds with him, if it meant to glean a parcel more info about the mysterious centurion.

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Like he usually was, the man fell silent again, not having much he felt like voicing for the most part. Diligently he would take the carcass back to the cache, placing it there for anyone who wished to take part of it. At first, he thought about just heading out again and patrolling the borders, as it had been about a day since he last did so, but instead, he noticed the queen still standing there waiting for him. Not wanting to be someone who kept her waiting, he would make his way back, letting out a deep chuckle at her words. It was odd that she voiced a concern about him, but instead, he would nod. He never ate first thing in the morning, a large meal once mid day was enough for him. It was getting close to time for him to eat, but he wanted to finish his work first. 

"I have not yet, but I will once I finish my duties. I only eat once a day." He figured that, as she was a wolf, the concept of only eating once a day would be odd to her. Nonetheless, he would sit himself down, cocking his head to the side as he watched her. "Please my queen, ask away." He hadn't expected her to get ready to do his rounds along side him, and for a moment, he thought about declining as he tended to walk with a purpose and climb rocks and hills around their lands, making sure no one was hiding in the crevices. 

Instead, he would stand himself up and begin walking, moving slowly to accommodate her pregnant belly as he mapped out the treck in his mind. He would make sure to stick to the regular trails this time, though silently he made a mental note to add in another border patrol to his to do list later today.

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Certainly his patrol would be slower and far less effective with her waddling along beside him, but what was the true risk? Olive often appreciated the security of the Vale, made so by manmade effort, but also by the divine rupture of earth that pierced the sky and cast an aegis over them all. So safe were they truly, that perhaps they shouldn't even be thinking of this as a patrol, more like a short meandering with a friend, near to the outskirts of their realm.

Olive was interested to learn that he only ate once a day; methodical, constant, never-ending routine. It was so like Genghis that she had a smile, because it was so like Olive to eat as she did: whenever the mood struck her, and in whatever amount suited her fancy. Cue her now remarkably full belly, which swayed as she walked, to one side as her legs extended and then to the other as they drew in. This was her gait these days, where she had a recent meal of elk or not.

She muttered a low hmmm as she thought, raising an eyebrow to him as if the answer was written in the folds of his face. "It's a two-part question,” she prefaced with a smile. "Where are you from, and how did you get here?” There were normal questions to ask when first getting to know someone — and yet, though they had been under the name of Duskguard for many moons now, somehow here they were, posing these compulsory first questions. Better now, than never.

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The man didn't mind the walk, though it was much slower than he was used to. Perhaps this was exactly what he needed though, a way to relax himself and not be in overdrive all day every day. Still, he would diligantly wait for her to ask her question, cocking his head to the side slightly when he heard the two in one question. Of course she would ask the largest questions she could. Not that he minded. 

Still, it did take him a moment to think before answering. "Hmm, I honestly do not remember details of my past, I have been in these lands for years now. From what I remember, I was a асран хамгаалагч, a guardian in  my past life. I guarded what was called 'livestock'. I lived with humans and protected their sheep and cows and, in return, I got to run free through the mountains and they helped me on the rare times I needed it." He wasn't trying to boast about the fact that he didn't need help often, it was simply that up on the mountains he couldn't always go to them for help and typically had to deal with it alone. Still, he would continue, eyes flickering to check the areas around them. 

"I ended up dying one night, a pack of wolves came to attack my flock so I protected them. I ended up killing the ones that attacked, but I ended up dying later from bloodloss." It was only then that he realized he was talking to a wolf about killing wolves. "Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I do not have issues with any wolves, I simply will do what I must to protect my flock which, now, is Duskguard." He finally fell silent, having talked more now than he had any other time. It wasn't that he hated talking, he just simply never really had much to say until now.

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Perhaps Olive should have assumed that his past wasn't excessively favorable, seeing that he was no longer living that path, that timeline. Or, perhaps (more likely) Olive shouldn't have asked something so blasé, casting a larges enough net to catch a couple ill fated trigger-fish. She listened attentively, unsure what to make of so many newfound ideas, not all of which settled easily in her too-full tummy.

Such a strange land, where being could die and be reborn into the same body and keep on living. Such a strange canid, to now reside amongst the very creatures that had killed him. What were those things that Benry had also mentioned to her once, humans? but Olive was well-versed in accepting things she didn't understanding. Such a thing was a foundational value to the core of who she was. So Olive allowed for the appropriate amount of solemnity mete onto her expression, as if experiencing some sort of second-hand regret.

"I hadn't realized how well-suited for the northern mountains you truly are," she acknowledged, not wanting to immediately hone in on the worst parts of his past. Bobbing her head along as they walked, she gently (vaguely) intoned "Do you ever feel... worried?" asking about his current residence, with his current flock. Perhaps he innately understood that she and Tiberius were different from most; that they weren't bloodthirsty speciesists. 

After all, some night sleep never found her, for she still worried the walrus king would come back to finally end her. The fact that she was nowhere near the ocean did nothing to quell this delusion.

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He continued to walk, slowly beginning to relax as they did so, his muscles no longer tight in a ready stance and his head tilted more towards Olive to look at her as they walked instead of constantly scanning the area around them. When she spoke of how well he was suited for the mountains, he would nod slightly, a soft chuckle escaping him. "Yes my lady, though I can survive in higher temperatures as well. My coat helps regulate my body temperature, keeping me colder in the heat." He wasn't sure if wolves were the same and found himself glancing down at her, eyes looking at her pelt to see if she had the same undercoat insulation that he did. He had never really paused to think about how different his kind and wolves really were. 

However, as she clearly paused, quietly asking her next question, he would stop walking, turning to face her entirely. "My Queen, please do not be afraid to ask me anything. But to answer the question, no not at all." He would cock his head to the side slightly before continuing to speak. "I trust you and the King, just as I hope you trust me. I know that if there comes something I can not handle, King Tiberius will help me and if I get hurt to the point I need help, you will heal me." He paused for a moment, watching her facial expressions for a moment, noticing that she was a bit on edge. "I will not let anything happen to you or the pack. Just as I did for my last flock, I will protect you with my life." He would bow his head to her, his words ringing with determination.

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It was a strange thing, to be called Queen. Olive didn't believe herself to be a Queen, nor did she subscribe to a hierarchy that resembled a Queendom. But the words that surrounded the moniker were sincere, and Olive found herself grateful to have a man like Genghis within Duskguard's ranks. How did Tiberius find such a man, in need of a flock?! It was unlikely that Olive would have ever been able to recruit a stalwart guardian such as the canine before her. She felt safer because he was here, because he took his job as seriously as she took her job.

He had a clear idea how all of this worked, and was so blunt and forward with his words, that Olive had no reason not to believe him. It was a tragic price to pay, truly — she only hoped his current flock could support him better than his past flock had.

"I hear you,” the woman commended him, moving forward to touch his shoulder with her nose, almost as if she were knighting him, "and I see you.” Quickly did she shuffle backwards, unsure how he was to react to the physical touch. He had been so open and vulnerable, and she had wanted to return that somehow. Olive knew that she and Tiberius had leadership roles to divvy up amongst the most trusted of Duskguard's peoples. As she regarded Genghis, she couldn't help but think that he was a man made to bear weight of such responsibility. 

"There are those with good hearts and those with bad intentions, no matter their species. That's why we are open to members of all equally kinds, and scrutinize all the same, too.” Olive didn't know if Duskguard was different than most, accepting species of all kinds within their borders. Still, she felt somehow gifted with the knowledge that danger came in all forms too. Sometimes, in places one would never assume.

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The man froze as she moved closer, not wanting to startle her. He was a canine, just like her, but he was much larger than her. If he wanted to, he could probably cause serious damage to her, which was probably why he stayed so still as she touched his shoulder, lowering himself slightly so that she didn't have to stretch. He did notice how she scrambled away, causing him to look up at her. "You are alright my Queen." He said simply, letting her know that he would never try to do anything to put her in danger. 

As she spoke of the pack, he would slowly stand up, nodding slightly. "And that is why I accepted King Tiberius' proposal when we first met. He was the kind of leader that I would be willing to follow, same as you. You both care very deeply about Duskguard and from what I gather, would give your lives to protect the creatures that call this place home." As much as he vowed to never let that happen, he knew they would both do so if they had to.

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