It takes long enough but wanting to make sure the territory is empty had been the first goal in mind. With Shadow Mountain settling on the other side of the lake, telling him no one else resided nearby, he hadn’t been as convinced. Asterr is a quiet woman, without wanting to bring too much attention to her followers, and he feared the possibility they’d grown small in numbers and holed up in the lair, coming out only when necessary. Do her children still reside there? Children he’d been meant to raise, only to find out they hadn’t been his at all. Ukko licks his lips at the thought, still feeling a little fire in his chest but it is extinguished just as quickly.
The seasons have worn on the later; the emptiness weighs heavily on his shoulder. There’s no indicated how long they’ve been gone. There are no scents, not even stale ones left behind. The caches have disappeared into the earth and what was left returned to its rightful place in the earth. Any gardens the former mistress kept are overgrown with weeds and unkempt, not even worthy of the title. Just like the emptiness in his chest, the lair reflects his own, and he meanders his way aimlessly as the sun shines in from the opening above his head.
Ukko’s stare is disrupted by the commotion of another, loping down the side of stone. He does not notice the prey in front of him at first until his posture changes as he darts after it, scooping it up by the back leg and ultimately, after a few whacks, its death. Watching the process from start to finish might once stun him but he blinks a few times as if to brush it off, curiosity taking its place.
Now that the other wolf is up close, his signature marks around his muzzle and head are evident enough not to be fresh blood, except for the newest addition from the rodent now draped across his shoulder. Fiery gaze travels down to stare at it a moment longer as the other moves closer with an unceremonious swagger, pulling back to the blood stains and shrugs, indifferent to the display.
It takes a few seconds to register what the bloody brute is indicating. Ukko wrinkles his nose, feeling somewhat self-conscious all of a sudden but the other somehow evens it out and he’s curious. One brow lifts, turning to watch as he moves on by. “Is blood your natural color?” he calls after him, just as the head snaps free and hits the ground. Dark eyes watch as it rolls back toward him and he moves his foot a little so he can stop it from going further. Ukko huffs a laugh and shakes his head, roughly (and with little skill) attempts to kick the head back toward the other.