Concerning Jack

Alpha. The word resounded within Locke's mind as he glanced over at the thickly built scimitar. Jack was his alpha. His leader. It was a role that commanded respect from those who followed him. The pack contained twenty-three scimitars, which was a rather large number. Locke came to be in his position not so long ago when, during his solo hunt a bull mammoth came through some brush and knocked him off his paws. His fate had been sealed, so he thought.

He remembered it clearly. Whether by pure coincidence or sincere intervention, he found himself amid a battle between Jacks pack and the mammoth that had assaulted him. Locke, after receiving a rather intense blow to the head from the throw had found out the mammoth had a calf with it, as well as a cow that it was fiercely attempting to protect. The calf ran, paying no attention to him as it brushed passed his leg during its attempt to flee. The small calf didn't get very far before three scimitars trapped it by a tree a few meters away.

Locke raised himself up, shaky legs quickly found solidity and in moments he was back in the action. He wasn't about to let an opposing pack get to his kill. One thing that Locke had notably gained confidence in was his ability to surprise his targets. He put it to good use, creeping up on the cows unsuspecting throat as it tried to ward off the three assailants that were cornering the calf.

As the cow lashed out, he used its exposed throat as a kill point. He lunged at it, burying his sharp teeth into the mammoth's jugular. He used his claws to clamp down on its body, riding the thrashing mammal that was clinging to life.

He was nearing success but found his grip to be weak. Scimitars weren't built to take down mammoths, but if such an animal was tactically inclined… with haste he dug his claws into the mammoth's right flank, now at the mercy of the giant mammals' thrashing. It reared itself to the left, causing Locke to lose his grip. The male scimitar was flung from the mammoth into a tree.

"Get up!" He felt a shoulder press on his own, and Locke found the strength to get back in the fight. His eyes met the other scimitars, and for a fleeting moment a strange sense of familiarity washed over him. Patches of blood stained his shoulder, not his own.

"Art, corner him! Leave the calf!" He bellowed. One of his other members, an older male turned away from the quivering calf. With a single nod he and the other two males returned to the what Locke perceived to be the leaders' side.

"You just let an easy meal get away!" Art stated, dodging a swipe from the cow.

"It's a child, Art. Leave it be!" The larger male commanded. Art growled but submitted to the alphas word. Two more scimitars jumped into the fight, as the cow bumped into a tree and stumbled. Its right flank had been exposed, and Art took the chance to jump on top of it, slashing at it with his deadly claws. It let out a pained trumpet, swinging its trunk wildly at the attackers.

Mere moments passed before the bull stopped moving. The pack drew itself upon the fallen prey, taking their fill. They ravaged the carcass, paying no attention to Locke, who decided to tend to his paw, having sustained a rather nasty puncture wound that he had not seen before.

Jack, having eaten his fill padded over to the male. Locke hadn't paid any attention, licking his paw to stop the bleeding when he felt the alpha's presence. He looked up to see Jacks eyes staring into his own. It was an awkward feeling, considering that just moments ago Locke was facing certain death at the tusks of a several ton mammoth.

"It doesn't look that bad." Jack commented lowly.

"I'll heal." Locke replied, rising to meet the other scimitar face to face. Jack cleared his throat, looking back at the pack which had almost completely devoured the animal.

"Art! Leave some for the outsider." He returned his gaze to the wounded male. "A gift for you. For helping us take this thing down."

Locke stared in confusion, "Why?"

Jack sat on his haunches, sighing softly, "I already told you."

"No. I mean why did you save me?" Locke inquired, stepping forward. Jack didn't tarry. Instead, the male tilted his head, as if contemplating his answer. Or, Locke suggested to himself that the scimitar was debating something.

"Should I not have?"

Good point... "Well, thank you for doing that, Jack."

Jack nodded, "You know… you look familiar to me. Like we've met before."

Locke shook his head slightly, shifting his gaze to the kill behind them. "Not likely. I don't normally travel this far into others territory. Let alone this being my first time hunting this area."

"Never thought about joining a pack?"

"Not particularly."

Jack nodded once again. He paused, glancing at the sky to witness the overcast glide above the treetops. A slight breeze passed through his fur, causing him to shudder the tiniest bit. "I feel as though you have your reasons, Locke."

It was spoken in a lighter tone. Comfortable… He seemed a bit more comfortable talking to the stranger now. Locke took notice.

"I'm bad luck."

"Superstition… you sound like my mate," he spoke, a soft chuckle escaping him. His smirk fell back to a frown, "The world has a way of making things seem more than what they are."

Locke didn't understand where the older male was going with this conversation. "I'm not one to question such things."

"You're a simple man, then."

"Not that simple." Locke replied.

"Hm." Was all Jack let out. He sat there for a moment, contemplation once again taking over the conversation. He breathed in, locking eyes on the lone scimitar. "If you don't wish to join my pack, I won't hold it against you. You can use our grounds for hunting as long as you stand by your word that you'll only take what you need."

Really trying to reel me in, aren't ya… The male thought for a moment, about this decision. "I owe you a life debt, Jack. I'm a man of my word. I'll agree to use your hunting grounds."

II

Locke had found solitude to be of a more comforting entity. His lack of responsibility has given him a sense of freedom. It was tranquil, the idea of roaming freely was an idea that he had kept in the back of his mind ever since he was a cub. The chains of running with a pack had carried no interest in his mind. Alone for most of his life, the male scimitar found beauty in the noiselessness. It brought a lot of thought, ideas for what to do next.

Then he met Jack. Now, for what it was at least, Locke couldn't think of any reason to continue his lonesome trek to nowhere in particular. Why it was that the alpha of the pack just openly invited him was beyond him. But he knew this… debts had to be paid.

He never figured himself for one to believe in anything beyond conventionality. It wasn't natural. Until now the concept was mute, null and out of mind. So, what made him change his mind like that? What was it about this opportunity that made things seem so different? He proposed an idea…

"Jack."

The pack surrounded the two, faces of all kinds eyeing the duo, waiting to see what would occur.

"Yes?" The larger male replied to the outsider. He relaxed upon realizing who it was. "Locke, what brings you here?"

Locke waited a moment to reply, "I figured it would be rude to decline an open invitation."

"I knew you would join." Jack stated simply.

This comment caused the hairs on Locke's neck to stand up, unsure if it was a serious comment or a figure of speech at best. He chose his next words carefully to get an answer. "Like it was destiny, right?"

"No. You belong here, Locke. That much I knew. Now you have a role to fill, just like everyone else."