(sorry dude, was out cold)
"Arthur, hm? Where are you from, Arthur?" Marcus asked, putting his hands in the pockets of his long overcoat while James glanced around at the other werewolves. There were seven in total, James and Marcus included, and many looked curious, wary, or annoyed
(No worries! I was up before dawn so boredom was my own fault…)
Arthur glanced around, still wary, "I came from the eastern territories…" he said carefully, keeping his tone even. blowing a lock of red hair out of his eyes he looked around some more, not wanting to disturb anyone or anything before turning back to Marcus.
(yeah I'm sick atm so slower responses from me are probably gonna be the norm today)
"What brought you here then? Running away, hiding something?" Marcus began to question, seemingly about to get carried away before James shot him a look.
"Marcus, I think that's enough. Shouldn't you be in town with Andre?" he asked, though his tone sounded more like a command
Arthur tensed at the question, trying not to show that Marcus had hit a sore spot. In truth he was running away. Running away from a ton of issues he really should be taking care of, and he was…. but he knew he shouldn't have left the way he did….
(No problemo my friend!)
Marcus just turned away, grumbling something under his breath. But he didn't get far before James suddenly held out a hand, and with a flick of the wrist he yanked Marcus back by what looked like his throat. "Is there something you'd like to say?" he hissed, and when Marcus shook his head frantically, he dropped him unceremoniously on the grass
Arthur paled, backing away just a little. Okay then… definitely don't cross any lines with him… he thought, forcing himself to stay calm.
Marcus picked himself off, quickly walking off before shifting, jet-black fur and red markings being the last thing seen of him before he bounded off into the woods. James smiled at that, and he turned to Arthur as he dusted himself off. "Now, how about that food?"
(Will be back in a sec, i have to grab my lunch)
Arthur watched him warily, forcing himself to stay calm, "Yeah… that'd be nice…" he said hesitantly, attempting to hide the nervousness in his voice.
James nodded, walking over to where a few containers sat. "Preferences? We have deer, bear, elk…Unless you would like human food, in which case we should have some granola bars and such…"
"Anything is fine…." said Arthur shifting spontaneously again, padding warily behind the other.
James just nodded again, mumbling to himself before pulling a few granola bars out of one container before grabbing a chunk of deer out of another. "Here you are," he said
Arthur took it gratefully, taking the meat in his jaws padding to a quiet spot to eat quietly.
James sat down on a crate, helping himself to some of the food as well. Idly he found himself wanting to go into town to check on the others, but knew they were fine
Arthur finished off the meat quickly, shifting and pulling a waterbottle out of his pocket. Taking a long drink he capped it, relaxing back against the tree. He stayed silent, though he kept one eye on the other, and his other eye on his packmates.
James finished his own snacks relatively quickly, eventually standing and stretching. The others sitting down all seemed to be avoiding his gaze now, afraid of upsetting him
Arthur watched their actions carefully, noting how they reacted to the other. Watching his movements carefully, he stayed where he was. Well… whoever this guy is… he's definitely the Alpha, and a strong one too… Definitely not one to cross….
I would keep my guard up if I were you…
No duh!
"Finished?" James asked, smiling a bit as he spoke. He figured by now the other would be feeling at least somewhat better, since he knew he had been hungry before
Arthur nodded, "Yeah.. thank you…" he said it gratefully, being sure to keep any uneasiness out of his voice.
"Anything else you need?" James asked, sitting down again before stretching, thinking it funny how on edge Arthur seemed
"No…" he said quietly, closing his eyes for a second, "Though I did wanna ask you why you would help me out…" he said carefully, "After all I'm just a rogue…"
"Because as alpha of this pack, I take it upon myself to help strays such as yourself. We were all ones ourselves, once," James hummed
"A stray am I?" asked Arthur, leaning back and stretching out a bit. Well it looks like I was right about the Alpha bit….
"Obviously. Packless, unmarked. Wandering. I was the first, after I was nearly burned alive in the 1800's. And after that, we began to grow. Two. Then three. Then five. Then we grew until there were 23 of us total," James explained