put on your war paint.

Dusty stood in his boxers only in his room. He studied his reflection in the mirror, hating what he saw. How could someone like him ever be considered for Alpha? He didn't want the position to be handed to him just because the current Alpha was his father. Well, he didn't want the position at all, but he could never admit it. His father was counting on him to take over when he was passed away, and Dusty didn't want to let him down - though he knew he would.

There had been a lot on Marco's mind lately, and the leadership system in the pack was just the latest addition to the mess that was in his head. It wasn't that Marco had a problem with authority (okay - maybe he had a small problem with authority) but he wasn't going to follow just anyone. He had noticed how the current Alpha had begun preparing his son to take the position, regardless of whether or not his son was right for the role. The Alpha was supposed to be strong, confident, able to lead the pack in the right direction - maybe Marco didn't know this guy very well, but he thought he could do a better job once the current Alpha passed on.

Marco stalked through the forest, trying and failing to clear his head, and his walk turned into more of a run the angrier he got about the whole thing. Shouldn't everyone else at least get a chance to prove themselves as worthy of being the Alpha? He just needed to blow off some steam, maybe punch a few trees, you know, the usual. Without realizing where he had been going, he suddenly found himself out of the forest and in a clearing. It was a good thing that he had a great sense of direction, because otherwise he would have found himself very lost.

(Wonderful. Beautiful post.)

Dusty sighed when he heard his father calling for him. He wasn't ready yet. "In a minute, father," he called politely. He was meeting with other prominent members of the pack, and some other pack leaders that their pack had truces with. He changed into nicer clothes, biting on his lip shyly, making his way down to the meeting room. He recognized a few of those that were in the meeting room.

[Aww thank you! Also sorry this took so long - last week was my finals week and it was super hectic.]

Marco knew that right about now, the 'important' members of the pack were having a meeting - he knew, because his own mother was there as a prominent pack member, but Marco had yet to be invited along to one of these meetings. His mother continued to tell him that eventually he would but he simply wasn't ready. Whatever that meant. She was always so cryptic. Besides, there was no doubt in his mind that the Alpha's son - who was around Marco's age - would be there.

A light breeze blew through the air, rustling Marco's brunette curls as he scanned this clearing that he had stumbled upon. It was secluded, serene - the grass was soft against his legs, as he had worn shorts for the day. Marco made a mental note to remember this place, because he thought it would be a perfect spot to get away from everything when his anger flared up.

Spreading his arms out the side, Marco fell backward into the tall grass, the grass cushioning his fall and allowing for a soft landing. His dark eyes stared up at the sky - the sun was trying to come out from behind the curtain of clouds, though it was already a rather warm day. Marco thought about crashing the meeting, but knew that would only make it more likely that he would never be invited along. Instead, he let his eyes flutter closed and breathed deeply to calm himself down.

Unfortunately the meeting did not take too long... Dusty was hoping it would have taken longer, as he didn't want to go on patrol - Marco's mother had requested he go look for her son. Dusty and Marco didn't get along too well, and Dusty wasn't looking forward to how things would go. Before long, he was walking through the woods, trying to think like Marco, which was ridiculous, as he knew nothing about his fellow pack member. His thoughts were racing as he walked along, mainly about how he didn't want to be Alpha and who would be better for the job. Thank god his father couldn't sense these thoughts, or there would be trouble.

(You're welcome. And it's no problem. I was at my cousin's wedding for the past few days.)

The tall grass felt soft against Marco's outstretched arms, his eyes looking toward the sky as the sun finally began to peek out of the clouds. The rays of sunshine warmed Marco's body and he felt himself finally settle into a peaceful calm as he basked in the heat. Sometimes getting away from it all - the people, the modernity, the community as a whole - was the best cure for his rage. Nature would never let him down.

There were suddenly noises not too far off from where Marco lay, and his ears perked up in response. He was nearly invisible in his current position, because the grass was so tall that it shrouded him from sight. It sounded like footsteps, human definitely, so Marco automatically assumed it was someone from his pack. He wanted to just be left alone, but it was as though he owned the forest or this clearing that he had stumbled upon. If they got too close, they might very well trip over Marco. The thought almost made him laugh.

As things would go, Dusty stumbled over Marco. He glared at the other male from his sprawled out position, but he let the glare fade to a neutral expression before speaking. "Your mom wanted me to find you," he said, standing up from the ground, shaking his head slightly.

Rather than alert this person - whoever they were - to his position, Marco just let events unfold naturally; just as expected, the person tripped over him and fell into the grass. Marco was just about to laugh about the whole thing until he saw who it was: Dusty, son of the alpha and next-in-line to be the pack leader himself. Marco's mouth formed a tight line as he rose into a sitting position.

"Oh did she?" Marco raised an eyebrow up at Dusty in an unamused manner, leaning back with his palms against the ground to support himself, "Figures she'd send you out after me. Don't you have something more important to do, being the next alpha and all?" Marco definitely wasn't bitter. Nope, not one bit.

Dusty stiffened, eyes narrowing. "Screw you, Marco. You're not as hot as you think you are." He couldn't have thought up anything better, and he sure as hell wasn't telling Marco about his desire to not be an Alpha. He shook his head slightly, hoping Marco couldn't figure him out.

A mischievous smirk tugged at the corner of Marco's lips. Dusty was just asking to start a fight, and Marco would be too happy to oblige. He liked fighting, that was for sure, and if his opponent happened to be someone he didn't get along with, well then all the better. "Hey man, I'm just wondering why you're being sent out like an errand boy," Marco taunted, getting to his feet and running a hand through his curls, "I suppose my mom expects you to bring me back, huh?"

Dusty snarled quietly when Marco spoke to him like that. "You better watch yourself. And yes, she is requesting your presence." He was pissed off at Marco, but he wasn't about to admit that he didn't want to be Alpha. His hands clenched by his side, as he reminded himself that fighting wasn't a good option.

Although he would love nothing more than to start a fight with Dusty, Marco figured his mother wouldn't be too pleased with him if he picked a fight with the Alpha's son. "I'm just messing with you," Marco teased, though there wasn't anything particularly friendly about his tone, "Though I have to tell you, I have no idea how I got here so you're going to have to lead the way back." Looking around at the trees, Marco realized that he may have overestimated his sense of direction. Everything had started looking the same the longer he had lay down in the grass.

Dusty's eyes focused in on something past Marco, and he stopped concentrating on everything Marco was saying. His eyes widened slightly. "We crossed into another pack's territory," he whispered. He should've known when the territory of their own pack had ended.

Once Dusty said that, Marco immediately went into a defensive position, his eyes scanning the area for any possible threat or members of another pack. No wonder he hadn't recognized this place - not only had he never been there before, he really shouldn't have been there in the first place. "All the more reason we should get the hell out of here," Marco told Dusty, his voice barely above a whisper. They had agreements with other packs, and part of those agreements meant that each pack stayed within their own territory unless invited.

Dusty shook his head. "It's too late," he said as a growl sounded from behind Marco. He knew this was bad, very bad. He wasn't sure that he and Marco would be set free by the other pack, as they were more aggressive and loved taking prisoners. "Run, Marco. I'll hold them off," he said quietly.

Marco heard rustling coming from the bushes, accompanied by a growl that sounded anything but friendly. He knew that Dusty was right, but he wasn't about to leave his fellow pack mate alone to deal with these guys. That just wasn't Marco's style, even if he and Dusty didn't exactly get along. "No way, man," Marco shook his head, turning to face where the sound was coming from, "If you're fighting, I'm going to fight too."

Dusty stiffened, about to order Marco to leave him, going to use his rank, though he wasn't Alpha yet. But before he could talk, much less shift, a wolf raced from the trees and pinned him to the ground, teeth ready to tear his throat out, as a warning to Marco to get him to back up. As he was an Alpha's son, they figured he would be worth more, but still wanted Marco, too. Dusty swallowed, managing to keep a calm expression on his face.

[I'm so so sorry this took so long. I'm in Japan and haven't had Internet for five days.]

Like hell Marco was going to leave Dusty to wolves from another pack. Even though Dusty was the next in line to be Alpha, Marco always wanted to prove himself as a leader, and a leader would never leave someone behind to save their own skin. Marco could see that Dusty was going to argue but before either of them could do anything, a wolf seemed to come out of nowhere and charged at Dusty. It seemed to be a warning for Marco not to even think about shifting or reacting. "Whoa, whoa, hey," Marco held his hands out to show that he wasn't about to try anything, backing up as he spoke, "No one's going to try anything. Maybe we can just talk this out like reasonable folks?" Talking his way out of a situation was always worth a shot - punching and clawing his way out was a back-up plan.

Dusty shivered, finally letting a flicker of fear pass over his face as Marco spoke. He didn't think these wolves were reasonable, based on the way they had attacked him. Their Alpha came out of the woods in human form, eyes narrowing at Marco. "Why are you even talking? Are you the Alpha?" He was very strict with his pack, and expected other packs to be the same. Dusty struggled when he heard this Alpha's voice. He knew that things wouldn't end well for he and Marco.