Suddenly and without warning, Rex stopped. Reggie followed suit. They sniffed the air leading to Reggie rolling his eyes, “Oh, man… Not these guys.”
“Reggie, shush!”
“Well, that wasn’t very polite. Rex, you just shushed me.”
“Reggie, they have never approached us at night, this is not a social call. Be on guard, no funny business.”
The animals they sensed near were sending a clear message by crossing over onto their territory in that manner. A strong and united front was needed to show that this land and their keepers were not to be toyed with or disrespected.
Rex hopped on to a fallen tree, Reggie stayed beneath him on the ground.
“An idiot would have sensed your foul stench by now, so why don’t you do us all a favor and show yourselves.” Rex announced.
“Note that he said selves. We already know there are at least six hiding, or five with one of you having a really bad case of gas today.” Reggie added.
Five rugged wolves popped out of the cover of trees and scattered in a line; their alpha in the middle. He stepped forward. Rex and Reggie were no strangers to this pack who were by all accounts their neighbors.
This specific pack grew in popularity and numbers but were held back by wolf law in how they could behave with outsiders.
It’s common knowledge that a herd or pack can implement any rule into their own group; however, each species has unbreakable rules that govern how the groups within a community behave with one another. This is meant to reduce any hostility between packs of the same kind.
The ancient law dictates how different species relate to each other and governs how those interactions proceed. It is such a law that does not allow lions to eat too many members of one family of zebras or prevent a herd of deer from grazing on one set of land more than another causing it to go bear. These laws were made by the wisest of each species and their effects continued for generations.
“I see yr out having fun this fine evening, Rex.” Said the middle wolf.
“I see you’re out of your territory, Butch.” Rex replied.
“I just came to check on ya; ya know the pack of two can be a terribly weak group. Just wanna make sure yr ok…” Butch said as he looked around.
“This pack of two is just fine, and if you continue to trespass, we will gladly show you how we defend ourselves.” Rex answered.
“You and the thing there, come on. We can take you guys before breakfast.” Said one of the minions with a laugh.
“And yet you never have…” Rex confidently said while keeping direct eye contact with Butch.
Butch grunted at the direction of the rogue comment then continued, “Now, Rex just bein’ neighborly… We don’t need anyone makin’ threats now do we?”
“Oh my goodness, where did this guy come from? Why er ya tawking like ya crowled from under that rock ther yonder? We have heard you talk before! This fake thing you got going on to make you look good in gray isn’t working…” Reggie said with a chuckle that was then shared by his brother.
Butch growled at Reggie. This behavior was not tolerated by Rex, not on his territory. He hunched his back, readied his hind legs, dug his front paws into the tree beneath him, revealed his fangs that shined in the night declaring he would attack at any given moment. Reggie took on an attack position following Rex’s leadership.
Butch was not careless enough to instigate an attack on a pack without proper cause and so, he backed down. This gesture allowed the wolf brothers to stop growling, yet they maintained their attack positions.
“Get off of our land, Butch. And know this, the next time you’re here uninvited, I will attack. You will regret it, and there will be consequences.” Rex said firmly. “Your entire pack is no longer welcome here, seeing any of you here is an open gesture of war.”
The minion wolves took a step back.
“As I’m sure you know, according to wolf law, once a pack leader announces that another pack has trespassed and is not welcome, any future attacks are fair game. And I’m even more sure you don’t want to deal with Rex, especially now that you have angered him.” Reggie said.
The minion wolves turned around and walked away showing their acceptance of the terms and more importantly their defeat. Butch remained, “This land is prosperous, highly coveted. It will be mine, Rex. One day, it will be.”
“This land follows the ancient laws set forth by our elders and that’s why it’s prosperous and yours is in decay. There is respect for every living soul here, while it appears your subordinates don’t even respect you. Leave old timer, leave with your dignity still intact and maybe one day you’ll die with a half-decent legacy to be spoken of.” Rex proudly said, raising his chest.
Butch did indeed leave but trouble was not over.