PotA: Bet

First PotA for HayleyWolf of Ryker 28750~

bonuses: canon location (The Frost Dragons), dom companion (bear friend about to smash into that vent), story

Prompt 6: The spirits have recognized your tokota's worth - unfortunately, this includes the darker spirits as well as the benevolent. Will your tokota be tempted by the call of dark forces, or spurn them for the light?

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You can’t just go gallivanting off into some wild pack’s territory!

Bet.

That was how it had started.

Ryker was never one to back down from a challenge and he backed down to no Tokota – not even Fenrir. Well, in theory. He’d never actually met Fenrir to know if he could hold his own against the pureblood dire but no one needed to know that.

The halfmane would piss all over some wild pack’s territory just to show he feared no one. A rather pointless affair but it would certainly impress some ladies and earn him some status. That was enough for him.

Ryker hadn’t set off alone however. His bear companion – an excellent wingman – had come along under the pretense of verifying that his actions did happen. ‘Bear’ing witness, if you will.

Neither Ryker nor the bear knew what pack considered the Frost Dragons as part of their territory. It was always so shrouded in steam that all one could ever see were quick fleeting glimpses of figures that might have been another Tokota. Sometimes those turned out to just be strangely shaped vents that were made to look alive by the ever-shifting steam.

The dire sniffed at each vent with the help of his bear companion. Each time the two scented a marking, Ryker covered it with his own. He couldn’t deny that there was something exciting about claiming a territory as his. It made him feel bolder – prouder.

Some time into their vandalism, Ryker heard the first signs of life other than them. It was a soft flapping of wings at first – barely discernable above the hissing sounds of the vents – but soon it was accompanied with the cries of crows.

The big dire lifted his head and looked back over his shoulder, waiting to see a glimpse of them. When he did, his heart skipped a beat.

The birds were big – bigger than even regular sized crows – but more alarmingly instead of black beady eyes they had bright red ones. Even a pup could see that these were dark spirits.

“Guess we better move.” Ryker stated – his tone almost unsure. The bear lifted his head.

“What?”

“Move!” With little warning, Ryker shoved the mass of his head into the bear to force him into a run. The bear stumbled a bit on his paws but was quick to join the dire in a full sprint. He recognized the presence of the dark spirits now.

“Guess Aippaq got mad at me for stepping all over this pack’s territory.” Ryker barked, a big smirk across his maw.

“Don’t you mean trying to claim this pack’s territory?” The bear corrected.

“Details.” Ryker shrugged it off. His paws slammed into the permafrost beneath his paws as he tried his best to maneuver away from the volcanic rock that speckled and consumed the earth around the volcanic vents. Many were snow and ice covered but still had some sharp edges to them.

One of the crows swooped down, snapping its beak at the tip of Ryker’s ear. Instinctively, the dire swung his head around and tried to crush the bird between his fangs. The crow cawed and flapped its wings away frantically, reaching a safe height.

“Fuck off, ya sky rats.” Ryker cursed, his smirk gone now. The pests were persistent, feigning attacks as though they were going to pluck the fur off his back as they ran.

“Maybe th-“ The bear made a choked sound as he quickly shifted his direction so he wouldn’t crash face first into the vent before him. Damn things appeared from nowhere. Stupid steam. “Maybe there?” He finally finished between gasps for air.

Ryker looked ahead. There was a figure shrouded in the steam but it was clearly a Tokota. Light seemed to illuminate the silhouette. A light spirit?

“Good enough for me.” The dire responded, pushing his strained legs harder as they weaved along. A smile found its way to his muzzle again. “This is going to be so much better to tell them than our original plan.”

The bear let loose an exasperated sigh – to think about that of all things in this moment with literal demons chasing their tails. That was Ryker for you.

(702 words)

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