⌘ Magne ⌘

"Oh Mamma," he spoke about his mother with compassion, "I didn't need siblings, I have a whole fucking family."
"Well they're born, you can't change her mind now," his uncle, the alpha, nudged his cheek and Magne sighed. He felt happy that his mother was less sad, at least. Maybe pups is just what she needed.
-
"Can you remember freedom?" Magne heard the voice of the alphas, it was raspy and weak, but he still said the words in a weird way.
"If it feels far away, we'll go far away, my friend," the alphas mate, Fåk, responded in a somber song. That's why his words sounded weird, he was trying to sing. After a moment of silence, Fåk met Magne at the entrance of the alphas cave.
"Oh, I don't think you should go in there, he needs to rest," Fåk said as she walked past Magne, still not attempting to stop him. Magne followed her.
"He's getting worse?" Magnes question made her sigh sorrowfully.
"No, but he's sad and worried," she looked down, "he's stressed about, you know.."
Magne nodded. There was no one eligible to be the alpha, must be a hard choice then, if all heirs are equally as badly suited.
"So where are you going then?" Magne questioned her leaving him like this.
"I'm going to go get him some fish, it might cheer him up," a small smile showed on her face, "he used to love fishing, you know."
Magne stopped on the trail, causing Fåk to look back at him and stop, too.
"You should bring him."
"I can't, Magne, he's just too weak," she sighed, "and so am I, I might drop him.."
Magne turned around.
"Come on, I'll help you," Magne didn't doubt his own ability to help an old man walk. He could understand Fåks concern with it though, but, "he shouldn't spend his last time in that dark cave."
-
Somehow, it had been easy before, to do all those things that helped the pack, to lead them even. But when he was appointed as the alpha, it all felt so huge. The painting of the now deceased Borg loomed over him, and Magne missed him. He longed for guidance, or for someone else to take the role. Magne took every chance to show his capability as an alpha, he was active, scared off enemies and brought home food, and was careful to speak tenderly to his pack. It was what he had to do in order to feel like he had earned such a position, such an act of trust.
-
"Fuck!" He exclaimed as he limped onto the alpha hill, "Fucking shit."
He laid down and grumbled some more about ass and piss, similarly to what he had been mumbling the whole way home.
"Argh!" he exclaimed and rubbed his face with his paw. Suddenly two yellow eyes peeked up at him.
"You shouldn't swear," she said. Magne tilted his head and squinted his eyes. He could tell by the blaze that this was a relative of his, and her voixe kind of made him think of his mother. Was this one of his siblings? The pup continued, "Mamma said swearing is bad."
"Hah!" Magne laughed, how bizarre, to think his mother would say something like that, it must be someone elses pup, he dismissed her, "oh, really."
"Are you saying swearing is okay?" The pup put her front paws on the rock she had been peeking up from under, looking at him with curious eyes.
"You should listen to your mother," Magne instructed, and the pup pouted.
"But you don't have to listen to her," she argued, "not fair."
"I'm the alpha, and an adult," Magne started while licking the wound on his paw, but then he realized, the pup must be his sister, why else would he listen to her mother? Magne looked up at her, inspecting her. She was quite grown already, almost adolescent, and Magne was shocked at himself that he hadn't visited his siblings yet. The pup had a bright blaze, it almost appeared to be glowing from her forehead, bright yellow eyes and she was dark brown in colour.
"What's your name?" He wasn't shy about not knowing it.
"Mamma named me Bärnt, she said it is the name of a rock that isn't actually a rock, it's more like hardened tree sap, but it's pretty, she said something about bears too but I don't remember, maybe I wasn't listening," the pup started blabbering and there wasn't any doubt that this pup came from his family.
"Nice to meet you, Bärnt," Magne said, "now go play with your friends."
The pup nodded and then left, surprisingly attentive to his orders.
-
Fresh spring winds play and whisper around the groves like lovers do, the streams rush, finding no rest 'til down in the depths the crashing wave falls
Magnes pack was celebrating spring, and their new bard, Måne, was singing, raising everyones moods to the max. The spring song was not optional during these times, and later that evening they were going to hold a big bonfire.
Lament, my heart, beat and hear, the sound of the horn dies among the cliffs, the stream wolf is howling, the sorrows are sharing their wake over mountain and valley
Times were calm and peaceful and Magne saw no reason to change that. Magne had little knowledge of their old enemy pack, who were no longer a threat, but he had no plans on making friends with them, which was how everyone wanted it. Well, everyone except Skugga. Skugga tried to talk to Magne about it, but alas nothing came of it and Skugga became old and died.
He didn't say anything, but he purposely kept his sister at an arms length. She was the Beta, and she was damn good at it, but Magne feared she wanted more power. This was bothersome though, as Magne depserately wanted someone to help him bear the responsibility. And just like that, the help arrived. With a firm but gentle paw, Borgs daughter Arla was leading Vårs family. She had been practically invisible, she might as well have been born fully grown yesterday, with all her wisdom and morals already in place. Arla attended council meetings, and she observed quietly, sometimes inquiring something softly and the others always agreed. Magne didn't think much of it, until she suddenly became his most trusted advisor. It was a huge relief for Magne, and he was so grateful to have her in his life.
-
"No, I truly don't care about it," Magne sighed as his little sister pestered him.
"Didn't you like your niece when she was a puppy?" Bärnt tried and failed to sound offended.
"I still love Fjun, she will always be a puppy to me," Magne paused to pick up a branch and throw it on the pile they were making for tonights bonfire, "just like you, except less fucking annoying."
Bärnt rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Then why are you so against having pups of your own?"
"I'm not against it, I'm just not interested," Magne growled, ending the conversation.
-
Magne didn't like going to the market to buy food, it felt embarrassing. His pack should be able to sustain itself independently, but it couldn't. They had quite a lot to trade with though, thanks to the packs crafters and painters. Well, in the beginning, at least. This was currency that the alphas before him had aqcuired and gathered and protected, and it was disappearing before his eyes. They were spending more than they were earning. Magne started feeling stressed out. The council meetings were bringing it up. Arlas black eyes were watching silently, as usual, but it was increasingly annoying. Magne asked her for advice after the meeting.
"We need to protect our families, that's what a pack is about," she said, but Magne needed more. He asked his Beta for help, the first time in his life.
"An alpha needs subjects that recognize his importance, otherwise what is he ruling over?" She said. Magne pondered. He needed to keep his pack fed and healthy, but they were losing money, they were too big.
His solution, he had to kick out some wolves.
Magne visited every family.
Gerds family only had four members, two females and two males, he let them stay, but the mother to the pups, while beautiful and young, had to leave. She was of no use to them after her mate had died.
Skades family had only four as well, but only one male. Magne looked them over. He didn't have the heart to chase away Skuggas children, and the other ones were from different lines, so he left them alone.
Ulls family had just had a litter of actually good pups, but they were three from the same litter. Magne warned them to get rid of at least one of them, soon, or he would do it himself. When he left, Freja ran up to him.
"Alpha please allow me to have more litter, I'm sure I can have a good one again!" Freja was referring to her pup who died, "once I have had a good pup, I can leave the pack if I have to, please just let me help continue Ulls line."
Magne nodded and left.
When he came to his own family, Vårs family, he saw the abundance of wolves and sighed. He put his feelings aside, and he told his cousin Sten to leave the pack. My ran up to them and begged and begged to let Sten stay, that My could leave instead.
"One of you are leaving, I don't care which," Magne said, coldly, but his heart was aching as he saw Sten crying and My comforting him, before she left to live in the outskirts while finding a new pack.
Magne wanted to chase away Arlas sister, Asta. She didn't contribute very much to the pack, and she had a daughter they didn't need either. Magne wanted them both gone, but he couldn't do it. They were both very beautiful wolves, and Magne was scared Arla wouldn't forgive him.
"Why are you letting my sister and niece stay?" Arla asked him. He hadn't even known she was there, she always snuck up on him, and he had admitted to himself that he enjoyed it.
"Do you want me to get rid of them?" Magne asked. He didn't look at her, hoping she didn't realize the question wasn't a threat or sarcasm, hoping she didn't realize his heart was in it. He would do anything for her.
"No, I love them," Arla hurried up to him and looked intently at his face, which he tried to ignore, while they walked, "but why?"
"I think they can stay," Magne shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but it wasn't working for Arla, her eyes grew big.
"You fancy them?"
"They are certainly beautiful, but not my type," Magne huffed. Arla didn't seem to believe him, so he growled, "don't question your alpha."
"The pack is overpopulated, Magne," Arla talked quietly.
"You're annoying me," he growled again.
"Someone has to go, isn't that true?" There was no question she didn't want her sister to leave the pack, but she was pushing him. He snarled at her and went to Skades family, telling Tindra to find a new pack. They all looked shocked, and Ivar, the head of the family, looked at Magne with narrow eyes before turning away to comfort his sister. Magne didn't want this. He didn't want his family to be split up. But he had to do something.
Later, to try to fix the issue once again, Magne went to the common caves. The wolves that Bärnt called "his subjects" lived here. They were his friends, elders and felt like his family. But he put on a stern face, and he started evaluating them. One female had a pup that lived there, too, so Magne told them he could leave. Males were of less use than females, since his male cousins needed to find mates to make future heirs. A pair of white wolves caught his eye.
"Who are those two?" Magne asked his friend, Mattis. The female was laughing at the male as he pretended to pout at her, and Magne had a strange feeling.
"Those two are pups of Vinter," he responded, so they were siblings, Magnes weird feeling went away but he felt like he recognized the female, "one of them is the daughter of Fåk."
"Oh," Magne let it slip out.
-
Magne had been, well, sort of, terrorizing his pack. Not intentionally. It was more like a haunting. Everyone knew the pack was still in a crisis, and they were scared they were in line to be kicked out. Some despised him, while some tried to stay on his good side in order to hopefully gain his favor. The white female was doing none of that, she was playing with the butterflies by the meadow, as if she was a pup.
A council meeting was held, and there was a list of wolves that his council members deemed unecessary to the pack, and that's not how he wanted to learn her name.
"Hjördis is the daughter of two wolves, who already have established lines in the pack. She shouldn't logically breed with anyone," Ivar said and then moved on to the next name, "Nina had a pup and her mate died, does she really need more?"
The list went on, and it didn't mention any royal family members, as that might start conflicts between the families. Those questions were up to the alpha.
This time she didn't hide. Arla approached him after the meeting.
"Magne.." she never adressed him properly, but this time her voice had a begging tone, almost as if she did show him the respect she should, "there's something I need to tell you."
She looked concerned, and sad, in a way he had never seen her before. Magne nodded and sat down to listen.
"I hope you won't be mad at me," she said, before explaining that she had been sneaking off food to a neighbouring pack that she had promised her mother to keep an eye on. Magne felt bad, because Arla was crying for the first time and all he wanted was to hug her, but he was also angry.
"What the fuck, Arla?" He snapped, "Our pack has been struggling and you've been giving handouts to enemies?"
Arla sat silently, with her head hanging down. Magne had never seen her so shameful.
"This is outrageous. Maybe your fucking family doesn't deserve to stay in this pack," Magne growled and he didn't regret it.
"No, please," Arla begged, something he had never seen her do before either, "let them stay, I can go. I'll even take the other pack with me, you'll never see me again. I just want my sisters to be safe, Magne, please."
Magne paced back and forth for a second. He didn't like seeing Arla this sad.
"I'll fix this fucking mess for you," he said.
When he came back home, he plopped down on his soft bedding in his alpha cave up on his alpha hill. Banishing people was exhausting. But at least Arla was safe and staying in the pack, that's all that mattered to him.
-
But his actions weren't favorable to everyone.

His decision to allow Tore and Ninnis mother to stay in the pack only if she found another royal to mate with was troubling Gerds family. Ingrid suggested that Brunkol should be the one, but Brunkol found the idea strange. His children would then be both cousins and siblings, it sounded truly strange to him. Maybe another royal family was better suited? No one asked Armon herself what she wanted, and she felt like she was being passed around to anyone who would have her, all just so she could stay close to the pups she had with her true love and mate.

Skades family now only had three adult members, and the newborn pups weren't heir material. Ivar missed his sister dearly.

In Ulls family, Freja was trying her best to find the next stud she should mate with, she knew if she didn't have better pups her reputation would be damaged and she would have to live on her own.

Vårs family was the least affected one, they were indeed large in number and the other families took notice of this, it was not a good look for them. Arla could see their dislike, and she knew she had to do something.
-
One of Magnes problems solved itself, Måne came to beg Magne not to hold any council meetings until he had finished teaching Hjördis how to hunt, "so that she could survive on her own". But Magne sensed the love in his voice. So Hjördis found a royal to mate with. Later when he heard about the issues regarding Armon and her pups; She begged him to let her stay and look after her kids, that she would do anything and she told him all about the plan Brunkol and Ingrid had been talking about. Magne asked her if that's what she really wanted, and she insisted, so Magne told her he would help her find a suitable mate. This all got Magne thinking. If all of the non-royals just became the mate of royals, Magne wouldn't have to banish anyone. This was his new project.
-
Magnes wounds stung as Arla licked them.
"You were gone for so long, I thought you'd come back," Arla spoke so softly.
"I had to find her for you," Magne sighed. It hadn't been so hard to look through the fires, what was hard was resisting the urge to catch up with the pack just to tell Arla that Hjördis wasn't dead. His saving grace had been to think about how he would have to look at her worried face as he told her that she was still missing.
"You didn't need to," Arla said, and Magne knew she meant she could find her on her own. He had decided it was too dangerous for her to go on her own. Or maybe Magne just couldn't bear the thought of Arla getting hurt in the fires. He would much rather burn himself.
"Did you know your sister has as little respect for me as you do?" Magne changed the subject, and Arla smiled at his joke.
"Neither of us look down on you, especially not her," she responded and glanced over at her sister who was catching up with her friend.
-
Magne managed to cut down the size of the pack, and with their parasitic sister pack gone he felt confident, he started sending out more hutners at once to different biomes, he even fought for more territory to hunt in. Everything was going according to plan, but somehow more wolves joined the pack. Magne didn't have the heart to send off everyone.
-
"I just didn't see who it was, you know I have bad eyesight," Magne explained away that he didn't know the name of this charming wolf lady. As he looked at her more carefully, he did remember yes! He remembered a lot of things about her, as if he had never forgotten them at all, and suddenly his lie about bad eyes felt like it was probably the truth.
"Is your sense of smell going bad too and that's why you wandered so far from home?" She was beign sarcastic. Magne looked around him. Is this not home? That hill, it looks so familiar, it's like he's been here before, he remembers it. But there are less wolves, yes, it's barren and empty. Arla doesn't seem to think that this is home, and she's always known better than him, so maybe it isn't.
"No, actually.." Magne looked around at the tall trees, "actually I want to move the pack here!"
A smile crept up on his face as he sniffed around the place.
"Isn't it a better idea to stay where we are.. where we have all our things?" Arla sounded sceptical but this place felt like home, not even his most trusted advisor could talk him out of it.
When she came back along with the rest of the council, and the Beta, Magne was resting on top of his alpha hill, or, well, this hill.. that felt like an alpha hill.. Oh whatever, it was his alpha hill now.
"It's not an awful place," the light grey one said and the brown one nodded along.
"It's not that far," Bärnt sighed as she rolled her eyes, and Magne smiled, his little sister seemed to like her new home!
"We can't move everyone here just.. just like that," Arla was irritated.
"We can, if that's what the alpha wants," a handsome dark grey male disagreed with Arla.
"Måne come on, you're dragging Hjördis and the pups out here?" She snapped back, and the male, appearently called Måne which did ring some bells in Magnes mind, pulled her aside and they started whispering to eachother. Magnes eyes squinted and his expression felt heavy as an emotion nagged at him while watching the handsome male argue passionately with Arla.
-
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