Misfit wolves

Dresden sighed as he entered the pack house, everyone had only just arrived with all their things and proper introductions had yet to be made. He ran his fingers through his black hair, his amber colored eyes roaming over the inside of the house. It was a fairly spacious place, with a living room big enough to house them all if they wanted to watch TV, a kitchen that could accommodate the appetites of wolves, and enough bedrooms for them all to get one. The house was built specifically for wolves, using sound proof walls and doors to give the members of the pack a measure of privacy.

Dresden walked in and checked out the house, looking over the rooms and checking them to make sure they would work out alright. Then he sent a minor effort of will through the pack bonds to summon the others inside. The first to arrive was his second, Bill. Bill looked around and whistled. "Nice place for a bunch of 'undesirables' like us" he said. Dresden growled. "Were not undesirables...the members of this pack just have trouble fitting in...that's why I'm here." he said softly. "We'll wait until the others are all here then we will figure out who gets what room and do a round of introductions."

Bill walked a brief circle around the living room, his eyes taking in the space. "Whatever you say boss." he said, scratching himself behind the ear and letting out a sigh. He wondered how the wolves would deal with having the 5th most dominating wolf in North America put in charge of them.

Cynthia Wheeler, better known to the few who knew her well as just Cyn, had arrived much earlier, slipping through the house to her room with little more than a backpack and duffel bag. One of the Marroks enforcers for the past thirty years and an ex street rat before she'd been turned she'd never really been a fan of lots of baggage and *things*. She didn't need Things. Just a roof and bed and place to be.

The call to the main room cause her to sigh. Time to go play nice with the new pack. It would be so much *fun*. Everyone loved an enforcer. Really. No one ever looked at her and considered the fact she might one day be the one sent to kill them. That *never* happened.

At least barely five feet tall with a lean frame, soft green eyes, and long bright red hair she looked about as least threatening as any of the enforcers.

Former enforcers? She thought as she entered the main room. She'd been banished here after all. ("Not banished" She could practically hear the Marrok say in her head. "Reassigned. You're there to protect them. It's a position of great importance to me.") She huffed mentally, Shadow right behind her in feeling forlorne about their collective banishment.

"Hi." She said with a little wave to the new alpha, looking around, smelling and sensing the approach of the other two, still making their way downstaris.

Dresden turned his eyes on Cynthia when she walked in and gave her a nod. "You're the enforcer girl right?" he asked softly. His eyes glanced over her, obviously taking her measure. He knew she was a wolf like him, he knew she was someone trained to kill and good at it. He knew to appreciate and even fear her a bit, but he couldn't help feeling like, in another time and place he would have wanted to sweep the girl off her feet. An adorable little thing like her was right up his alley.

He turned his eyes away, he hadn't had a significant partner in a very long time, he himself was older than Charles, born in the old world. He had a wife once, but when they were both savaged he found that she had not survived to change. That had taken a bite out of his spirit, he had been a submissive wolf for a while, never fighting his superiors or challenging them in any way. In time his emotional wounds had healed and many were surprised to see just how dominant and powerful he actually was, it had surprised him just as much though he hadn't mentioned that. Like the Marrok he had been born of Witch blood, so he had special abilities that made him different from other Alpha wolves.

Cyn felt the appraising eyes on her, watch the slight changes in expression. Even before becoming a werewolf she'd been hyperaware of people's reactions to her. It had been necessary to survive. Always.

She'd never admit it but being reffered to as 'The Enforcer Girl' still stung a little bit. Maybe because it was from her new Alpha and told her a lot about how she'd be veiwed or maybe because it made her miss Charels just a little bit more. He'd been an Enforcer. He treated her right.

Until she'd been banished. Shadow gloomed again. She'd been told most couldn't tell exactly the words their wolves were thinking but she always knew exactly what and when Shadow was telling her. And if she was in a bad mood over their banishment Shadow was entierly depressed and a little heart broken.

"Yeah. Thats me." Cyn said, not snarking, knowing better than to snark at a new Alpha, but the echo of it was in there somewhere. She wasn't exactly a super dominant wolf but she wasn't a submissive. She'd get her nudges in where she could. The only one ever to really silence that had been...

"Hey all!" A happy voice announced the arrival of one of the pack's submissives. Newly turned a couple years ago at most, tall, lanky, and still not even twenty five years old he seemed way to please and smelled scared.

"Mac Brown." She greeted him calmly. She'd seen his file. Shadow dryly amused to watch him backpeddle away from her quickly but already shifting to be on guard. He was new enough a room full of dominant wolves scared him. No wonder he was considered a misfit.

Dresden watched the slight changes in her expression, he also picked up the slight snark in her comment. He wasn't a very aggressive dominant. Dresden was really something of an enigma, he was definitely an Alpha wolf but he did not have the same level of aggression as other wolves. He could keep a level head regardless of the threat, his wolf was even thought to have developed a personality of its own that was basically a mirror image of his own.

Dresden smiled wryly as Cynthia made the new wolf nearly crap himself. "Don't scare the newbie now Cynthia...Were all here to get along and become a big happy if slightly dysfunctional family" he said softly, taking a step forward, he held out his hand to the young wolf. "Mac brown? My name is Dresden Carmichael."

After shaking hands with Mac he turned his eyes back to Cynthia. "You don't seem happy to be here." he said softly, she knew he wasn't using the pack bonds to look at her emotions, her own instincts would tell her exactly what was true, Dresden could just see her emotions plainly, without any effort. That was another thing that un-nerved others about Dresden, their emotions were all open to him even without wolf senses to assist him. He could sense a lie over the phone just as the Marrok could, and even if his sense of smell was taken away he seemed 'aware' of what was around him.

A young girl entered now, her name was Lucy Johnson and she was here simply for the fact she seemed to not understand the social rules of a pack very well. In fact, even as a human she wasn't very socially savi. This made her a danger to herself in most packs, as others would take it as an excuse to kill her. That was part of why Cynthia was here, to make sure this girl wasn't killed simply for being ignorant. "Hey all" Lucy said a little awkwardly. Dresden nodded to her. "Welcome, there's two more isn't there? Do you know where they are-" he started to ask, but then he sensed the anger of the two remaining wolves as they prepared to change and fight. Dresden growled and took a few steps forward, then before anyone, including Cynthia even noticed, he was suddenly outside the door and blurring over the yard to the two fighters.

Cynthia gave the Alpha a look somewhere between "Must you deprive me of all my fun?" and "I didn't do anything!" It wasn't her fault if the newbie was so jumpy. He needed to learn to be around others if he was going to survive.

Her expression darkened at the mention of her not wanting to be there but she didn't have to explain (or get a chance to complain) about how she'd been banished. You do know you're holding onto that word like a bone Shadow snarked at her.

Lucy appeared and yeah. This was going to be one large dysfunctional family.

Before she had a chance to respond to the new arrival Shadow's hackles went up and she tensed, ready for a fight, probably scaring Mac. She didn't know the source but something was...

And suddenly the alpha was gone and Cyn was racing after him. She didn't entierly know what was wrong, though she was getting a clearer sense, but if an Alpha runs like that an enforcer should follow. Either they're running away from something (and when an alpha runs you know it's bad) or, more likely, trying to stop something.

She reached the yard only a second or so after the Alpha hurrying to follow his lead dealing with these two. The two other dominants of the pack. Already trying to see who's was bigger. Typical.

Dresden slammed into both of them like a speeding freight train and flew several yards away before pinning them both to the ground and snarling, the rest of the pack felt the barest tickle of his dominance, but it was enough for someone like Cynthia to be able to see just how dominant he was, while he may not be on the same level as Charles he was definitely strong. Dresden stared both the new guys down then slowly got to his feet, letting them up. Both of them got up and brushed themselves off, then followed the Alpha back inside without a word.

Once inside Dresden had all of them stand in a circle, though he didn't speak they simply 'knew' that was what he wanted. Once everyone fell in hew looked around at them all with a level expression. "Alright, time for some introductions...My name is Dresden Carmichael...I'm your Alpha...I'm here to try and help you all find a place to fit in...consider yourselves lucky...normally wolves that can't adapt are killed. All of you introduce yourselves and say a piece. I suppose a bunch of immortal wolves can introduce themselves the way mortal school children do...and stay civil about it." he said.

Bill stepped forward. "Hey, names Bill Bonds...make fun of it at your own risk. I'm Dresden's second...something I like...playing Pool and ogling girls in swimwear." he said with a smirk in the direction of Cynthia and Lucy. Lucy crossed her hands over herself protectively and looked down at the ground. Dresden growled at Bill who put his hands up and lowered his eyes to his alpha. "Sorry boss."

next in line was one of the new boys who had come in, the fighters. He looked sort of like a scrawny Viking warrior, though that was because his muscles were developed like a runners rather than a fighters, he had long dirty blond hair and blue eyes. "The names Daniel...I like MMA fighting..." he said simply. Next was Lucy, who was next to Cynthia. "My name is Lucy...Lucy Johnson...um...I like..games." she said a little shyly. She had jet black hair and green eyes, she was built much like Cynthia except a little bit taller.

{I take it it's going to be a little awkward between Bill and Cyn when Cyn ends up the beta.}

Cyn nodded, mildly impressed at the controled dominance, following the nudge back toward the circle and following the unspoken direction. Shadow nudged at her mentally, telling her what Cyn herself was already getting a sense of. Dresden was far older and far more dominant than her let on and a bit more of both than would normally be sent to participate in this kind of pet project.

Maybe he been banished to.

Cyn listened to the various members introduce themselve before it got to her. "Cynthia Wheeler. Fourth Enforcer for the Marrok. It was my bright idea to throw you lot in together and the Marrok, in his enternal wisdom, thought I should be sent along as an extra set of eyes and claws." She said the last bit looking toward the Alpha, hoping Charles had at least told him that she was there to assist rather than to be re-socialized. Turning away she found Mac's eyes and smiled. "That said I've been told it's my job to protect you lot and I take the jobs the Marrok gives me very seriously." She willed him to see it for what it was, a promise for protection rather than the threat Mac obviously saw from her.

Oh well. Whatever.

Next to her, the other fighting wolf introduced himself stiffly. Short for a man and built like a soldier his hair was grown long and he had the beginings of a beard but something in the way he held himself said he'd been in the military once upon a time. "Ariel, El, Tenor." He practically growled the second part. "Like gardening and cookin' and if any of you've got somethin' to say to that..." The threat was left unsaid before he went silent.

Well. At least someone was mostly secure in his masculinity Cyn thought.

On El's other side Mac gave a short half awkward wave. "Mac Brown. I like computers and video games and not being dead."

And at least someone had a sense of humor.

"Good...Now I already noticed that Cynthia picked herself a room...the rest of you go do the same now." he said, a sense of dismissal to his words, everyone but Cynthia went to pick their rooms and start settling in. Dresden's eyes turned on Cynthia and he watched her silently for a moment, then he spoke softly so his voice wouldn't carry upstairs. "Yes...I am older and more dominant than a lot of wolves...the Marrok wanted this effort taken seriously...Also...I sort of fit the bill for this lot." he said with a rueful smile.

"I understand you're my extra eyes and claws around here...but don't give the others too much of a feeling that you're miss security wolf...won't help them fit if you're looming there all unfriendly like...especially since your role is known...I don't expect you to be a bubbly little social butterfly, I get the feeling it would be stupid to expect that anyways, just try to keep pleasant around them." he walked to the kitchen and pulled a big jug of water from the giant fridge they had and drank half of it in the first handful of gulps.

Cyn nodded her responses to the Alphas orders, making mental notes of the comments. Despite what she thought he seemed... appropriate for this group. Not too friendly. Not too distant. Not overly hand wringing about the fact that a year from now there'd be evaluations and the result might mean one or more of the pack got put down or the pack itself might be disbanded all together.

It was an experiement, one Charles was hoping worked, but the losses may be cut in the face of the changing world.

Cyn followed Dresden into the kitchen, watching as he drank, waiting for him to be finished before responding. "To answer your question I am not happy to be here." She stated, simply. "I've been a close aid to the Marrok since he was an enforcer and now I've been banished to babysit misfit wolves." She sighed, letting her annoyance show, the hint of petulance the only real sign she'd given so far of the fact that, despite her responsibilities, she was still relatively young as far as werewolves were concerned. "But I've been given an order and banishment or not I'll try to learn to play well with others."

The realization that, despite the fact she hadn't exactly been misfit, she might have been sent here in the sake of socializing her as well make her give another sigh.

Banishment because she didn't play well with others. She was an enforcer. It wasn't her job to play well with others. It was her job to make sure others played well with others.

She went to the frige, looking inside it absently before digging through a drawer and pulling out a notepad she stuck to the frige and labled "Shopping list". "See. There I am. Thinking pack like already."

Dresden watched her quietly as she spoke, a smile slowly spread over his lips at her tone. Yes she was quite young by wolf standards, he could understand her rebellious little attitude. Watching her he felt he might understand a bit as to why she was put in the pack with him, the Marrok didn't want this bright pretty little thing to turn into a wolf like Charles, feared and sometimes even detested. "Don't think of your time here as banishment...Think of it as something else..." he said, he smirked when she put the paper labeled shopping list on the fridge. "Oh boy...I hope we'll be able to afford feeding everyone here with the money we have been given." he said with a small laugh.

"Walk with me?" Dresden asked, but he was already walking to the back door. He expected even if it wasn't given as an order she would still follow him out.

She'd amused him somehow. She wasn't really sure. And she was kind of suprised by his response to her whining. She'd been really spending too much time in the Marrok's pack if she was already this free around a new Alpha.

Maybe Charles had been right when he told her the ghosts were gone. Shadow was playing again. She was poking at her new alpha and there was only a hint of the old...

She shook it off and followed after the Alpha as he started to walk away. "Well, the idea is for everyone to get a job. They pay dues to our pack to help pay for this house and food and everything." She'd belonged to a "normal" pack once upon a time. It had run similarly. Well it had mostly run similarly.

Part of why she was here was to make sure it didn't get too much like that pack.

"The Marrok told me to remind you we're two days run from the Restin Forrest. There's been rumors of the pack in control of the Northern parts of it causing trouble. Also he'd like a report back of how everyone's settled by tuesday."

She naturally fell into step to his right and half a step behind, a flanking position she used to when she was reporting to the Marrok while they went somewhere. Always busy she was used to having to have meetings with the Marrok while he was on the move.

{I'm signing off.}

{alrighty then, Hope ya hop on again soon!}

Dresden listened to her report and nodded when she finished, he sensed a slight tinge of unease in her, though for the most part she and her wolf seemed to be quite happy. "I see...hopefully we won't have trouble with that other pack but if it comes down to it we may step in...if I feel this pack is functional enough to handle it." he said in a soft tone. "How do you feel about this situation? This dysfunctional pack."

He noted how she walked a step behind him, while he approved and knew it was proper in the pecking order of things, he wasn't really used to it though. He walked around the yard, noting the pool and hot tub that they had access too.

Cyn didn't answer the question right away, following the Alpha as he wandered the grounds of the house thinking. She'd made the suggestion to Charles. When he'd told her he was interested but couldn't justify the time it'd take to look into it on just a whim she'd taken the few days off she had between jobs to do some research, draw up some basic proposals, and even find a couple of potentials for the program.

It was her idea, a product of decades spent being sent to put down werewolves who lost themselves and went wild and had to be taken out for the safety of all. So many had been loners or misfits or people who'd been looking for their place and never found it.

Who she would have been if not for Charles.

She'd given the plans to Charles and... now she was here. Banished. Because she had a bright idea.

"I really hope this works." She stated. "And not because it was my idea." She sighed. "If not for this program I promise you ten years from now every one of our pack would be dead and I'd probably have been the one to kill them. If this works then maybe we can do something before it's too late for them. I'd be out of work but... I can find something new to do. I could live without their blood on my hands."

The last sentence was said softer than she intended. She hadn't really meant to say it at all but... she was tired. Tired of the fight and now this new mess and as much as she might be focusing on the fact she was banished she'd been in a bad mood for a long time and...

Focusing on banishment kept her from focusing on the ghosts gaining on her or the fact she shouldn't get close to her pack because her next assignment could very well be to end them.

"I just hope this works."

Dresden suddenly stopped walking and looked at her, his expression was actually very sad. "You poor girl...you weren't banished at all...you can't even see why it is the Marrok gave you this assignment..." he said softly. He sighed and shook his head. "Hopefully in time you will see it...I hope for your sake that you do." he walked back into the house and got the others together for a meeting, planning out responsibilities and getting a run-down on the skills of each member to see where they would fit in best with the work force.

Dresden was for the most part silent for this exchange, Lucy was a nervous little thing, fidgeting while Bill watched her somewhat appreciatively. The Alpha really hoped he wouldn't have to stop his second from doing something he would likely not live to regret.

Cyn stopped short when the alpha addressed her, hackles raising as he spoke to her almost pityingly. She'd think about his words later, consider them, but something about them made Shadow growl in her mind. Shadow knew that tone. She'd heard that tone. She'd taken very great pains to make sure she was never on the receiving end of that tone again.

Then the Alpha was gone and she tried to sooth Shadow. The meeting being called had Cyn rushing to her room to grab a folder before joining the others. She'd been the one to put together much of this project and she came prepared.

She arrived after the others, drifting along the edge of the circle before finding a space and sitting down between Lucy and El again. She sent Bill a look across the circle that said something between "Don't go there" and "I'd like to be around when you try so I can laugh."

Lucy wasn't one of her original recomendations but she agreed entierly that she belonged here.

After a little discussion Cyn placed her folder on the table and cleared her throat. "I have some information from the Marrok." It wasn't exactly a lie. The information had originally come from Charles. She'd just done some work with it.

Without another word she opened the folder and passed job applications to the various members of the pack. A magic shop cashierer position for Lucy (she'd done enough research to know that with the eccentricies of the clientel Lucy wouldn't be too out of the ordinary), tech support at a local software company to Mac, personal trainer at a woman's gym (and nicely worded warning slipped inside) to Bill, a trainer at a MMA gym to Daniel, and the shopping list she'd snatched from the fridge to El.

El raised an eyebrow at her and she just smiled. "It's a full time job to keep this place running smooth, everything working, and everyone fed." She glanced toward the Alpha, checking in to see if he wanted input.

She'd been responsible for setting most of this up and helping them find something to do had just been part of that. In a pack their size that lived together it wasn't unusual to have a wolf who was basically in charge of feeding everyone and keeping house but she was wary of assigning that herself.

El was the logical choice. He'd been his pack's caretaker for half a century before being kidnapped by one of the few feral packs before the last Marrok was killed. Bound by the will of an extremely dominant alpha he'd been abused and used in ways his file only hinted at and guessed. By the time he'd been rescued thirty years later he'd gone almost completely feral himself. Rescue had helped him pull back enough he wasn't put down imediately and he'd improved over the past few years but keeping him close to home was probably for the best.

And she was hoping giving him back the job he'd once had, and by reports the job that had kept him sane in captivity, would help him pull back to the being he'd once been.

He was the logical choice, but assigning a pack caretaker was a little different than giving the others job applications. She could make a recomendation but she'd wait for the Alpha to make the final approval.

{Just to let you know, the title of Marrok was actually coined by Bran in the books, he's the first and only person in a position like that, also Bran is very VERY old}

Dresden had watched this exchange with a careful eye, noting the reactions of all the pack members. He saw the smile of acceptance from Lucy at her application, but then a frown and a sense of nervousness. He knew she was worried about if she would be able to handle the job. He looked at Bill, he seemed pleased about the job he had but Dresden could read into the underlying fear. Bill may talk big but all he really was was a lonely old wolf who had it hard in the past. Behind the smug face was a man afraid of scaring some poor woman at his job simply because of his instincts and desire to have a partner. His eyes moved over to Daniel and smirked a bit, he hoped the kid would work off some extra energy on the punching bags, but really hoped that Daniel didn't break them by accident, hitting them too hard.

Then Dresden's eyes moved to El, he found it appropriate he would be assigned to take care of the food as he enjoyed cooking. Also the fact the man enjoyed gardening meant they might have fresh vegetables for some of their meals. Dresden looked around the circle again and then straightened a bit. "Does anyone have a complaint as to the jobs they have been assigned?" he asked softly, his tone carried no threat to it, he urged them to speak freely of any concern. He was pleased by the fact no one spoke up and nodded, leaning back again and closing his eyes. "I suggest filling out those applications asap. For now, you have some free time, go get a feel for the area, take note of surroundings, of alleyways and other routes that would allow stealth. Hopefully you will never be in a situation where those routes will be necessary...If you can, get some place high...no one ever looks up."

After he finished speaking he stood up and stretched, cracking a few kinks out of his neck. He walked from the room. "Oh El...I'd look forward to a nice dinner at around 7." he said over his shoulder as he walked up the stairs to head to his room.

{In my search thread I mentioned that part of the premis for this was the marrok had been killed (thus causing some of the chaos). All this time Cyn's been reffering Charles when she talks about the Marrok. She just reffers to him as either Charles or The Marrok depending on the context since she's tried to seperate the man she worked with as an enforcer from the head of everything. If this is a problem though we could just have the old Marrok alive.}

Mac seemed thrilled by the prospect of his job, obviously more comfortable with computers than his current living situation. El didn't really react obviously. The set expression didn't change and he didn't smile but some of the tension eased out of his body.

To the alpha's statement he just nodded, excused himself, and muttered to no one in particular that he was headed to the store.

Cyn watched him go, glad no one had thought to ask what her job would be. She got a small allowance from the marrok for her protection of the watch and she'd probably still be sent out for the occasional offical job.

But if she could find a job flexable enough to accomidate that she might get one.

She watched Mac retreat back upstairs, gave a cautioning look to the few still remaining before exiting the room and heading for her own.

The rooms came furnished, bed, desk, dressers, lights. Plenty of room for personalization.

Cyn's first step had been to push everything against the walls. She didn't unpack her napsack or duffle. She'd lived out of both for decades. What little else she brought into the room would be put away but that was just window dressed. She'd always lived ready to leave at a moment's notice, everything essential kept light and ready to be picked up at a run.

Old dogs could learn new tricks but she was too set in her ways now to change without good reason.

"Unpacking" done she changed into sweats and a tank top. Work out clothes. The whole day. The whole situation had her riled. Doing a couple kattas would do her good.

Maybe, if pressed to spruce the place up, she'd invest in a punching bag.

{Ah, Sorry I guess I missed out on that part. We can go with Charles being the new Marrok.}

Dresden had noticed how bare Cyn's room had been left, he wondered what it was that went through her mind. While he could sometimes glean feelings from people and guess at their thoughts, he couldn't really read them. He was essentially the opposite of the former Marrok, who could speak telepathically to his wolves, instead he could receive their thoughts though not always at will. Dresden frowned as he remembered the old wolf, he had liked him and thought him a good leader. Thinking on it he realized he was now the 4th most dominant wolf in North America.

Walking down the hall he sensed Cyn come up, she was a curiosity to him, since her feelings seemed to be more readily available to him than other wolves, it was strange and new. He approached her room and then stopped, wondering how best to approach her.