Bramblepoint Let me make you an offer

"Want that."

Those two words were probably the most used words in Shrike's vocabulary. His bright, silver eyes lit up as soon as he saw something that he wanted, and this time it was an antler, bleached white in the sunlight that had captured his interest. Not that he liked all bones and antlers- only the ones which were quite clean and no longer smelled of meat. He circled the item, counting each of the tines and deciding that it belonged to quite a buck. He bent closer to investigate the antler, turning it over with a shove of his narrow muzzle and scrutinizing the underside. It was slightly darker, given that it'd been sitting on the moist earth, but he felt confident that if he dried out both sides, it would look just fine. 

When he picked it up, both sides stretched out further than his ribs, making him look even more gaunt than usual as he trotted back toward the area he'd chosen for his den. It had been a den once before, but he'd improved it, softening the ground inside it and pulling the brambles closer to the entrance so it was much harder to spot. The antler was placed just outside the entrance, alongside a couple stones he'd selected from then riverbed. Those too had merited a chipper "Want that," and had been cleaned and collected. Satisfied, he left his new densite and set out at a trot, enjoying the feeling of the warm morning sun on his back as he searched for more den decorations like a crow searching for shiny things to adorn its den.

Hi there! :)

While he would not be leaving Moonspear for any substantial length of time until Aria came back for him, Floki saw nothing wrong with day trips. Once the sun rose -- and he with it -- he spent some time marking the borders, ensuring that his scent was heavily spread alongside Charon's and Amekaze's. Then he traipsed south, seeking the shade of Bramblepoint as the day warmed.

He moved slowly through the thick trees, dodging the gnarled branches and twisted thorns that reached for his sides. The scout drank everything in with all of his senses, mapping out the unfamiliar territory in his mind. This was more for his own personal gain than for any benefit of his pack and he became lost in his task for a short while, until the rustle of paws against the ground drew his attention.

The youth stiffened, wary as he peered through the underbrush. He paused as his gaze fell on a grey wolf and he announced his presence with a chuff, one forepaw suspended in midair.

Given that Shrike was almost always on alert, his response to anything surprising was usually alarm. To the quiet chuff, he spun around on his heels, creating a small cloud of dust as he whirled toward the sound, ears flinging forward and silver eyes searching. His posture was lowered, as though to ground himself should the earth suddenly begin to quake. He stared blatantly at the wolf who'd surprised him for a moment, but, in seeing no hostility on the male's features, he relaxed and drew his gaze away. He nodded his head once in greeting, and remained rooted to his position. 

Avoiding eye contact, he analyzed the wolf before him. Young, fit, with nice, broad shoulders and a grey pelt, though his legs looked as though the fur there had been permanently stained with dust. He looked younger than Shrike, perhaps a yearling or so, but he'd already begun to fill out, suggesting he'd had a good upbringing. His bright blue eyes were not hostile but quiet, and he smelled of other wolves, which indicated to Shrike that he belonged to a pack. Shrike's ears turned back in respect, hoping he hadn't strayed too close to the wolf's homelands.

Floki stood in place as the other wolf whirled, apparently surprised by his breathy greeting. His tail whisked gently between his hind legs, remaining low to express his neutrality. Although he normally avoided eye contact while traveling -- for he could never know how a stranger would react to a gesture that could be perceived as threatening -- his gaze was drawn to the dark smudges high at this wolf's temples.

Neither male made to approach the other. Floki didn't want to crowd his companion, so he addressed him from a distance. "I'm Floki, from Moonspear," he called out, motioning over his shoulder -- though when he turned his snout back, he realized that the peak was completely obscured by the thick canopy of leaves overhead. He gave a sheepish shrug as he looked back at the other wolf through the dappled shade.

"Shrike," Came the male's crisp response, his voice almost like a bark. He was still somewhat alarmed, though he calmed seeing Floki's tail waving gently between his ankles. So he was friendly, and the wolf who claimed to be from Moonspear- and he made a gesture that hinted to Shrike that the pack was in that direction- was neutral and calm. Shrike relaxed as well, allowing the fur at the nape of his neck to slick back down, and his own tail to settle and swing back and forth. 

"Redhawk Caldera." He said, his voice much calmer and warmer now that he'd settled. He didn't gesture in the pack's direction, though, as he wasn't particularly interested in giving away the location of his pack, just in case this male was not on good terms with the wolves of the Caldera. "You know of it?"

It took a moment for the other wolf to relax in Floki's presence, though he did introduce himself. The silver boy's posture remained inoffensive, but he stiffened visibly when Shrike gave the name of his pack. Redhawk Caldera. Immediately, Floki felt more defensive, if only because of his relationship with one of the caldera's former members. He had no idea if Wildfire had returned to her birth home or if she had moved on to greener pastures when she left Moonspear behind.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he stuttered, clearing his throat as he tried to recover from his surprise. How much information did he want to divulge to this stranger? And how did he knew that this wasn't some distant or close relative of Wildfire's? "I've visited there once before," he finally settled on.

Tension. It was there quite plainly when he spoke of the Caldera, and though he wasn't entirely sure which packs they were on good terms with, he felt fairly certain, given this male's response, that Moonspear and the Caldera weren't on the best of terms. Either that, or Floki knew something about the Caldera that he did not like, or had been warned about. Shrike immediately became suspicious, and went from being defensive and tense to being on the offense. Though he knew nothing about Moonspear, he wasn't about to trust this male who obviously harboured some hostility toward the Caldera....Either that, or he was lying.

"Who'd you meet?" Shrike asked, feigning a casual tone though the glint in his silver eyes hinted toward his inner tension. He wondered if Fox's name would come up, or Peregrine's- or perhaps a fake name, if this male was lyign completely about the Caldera in order to get information from him. Either way, Shrike was all ears.

The subtle shift in Shrike's countenance didn't go unnoticed by Floki. There was a look in the other wolf's eye that he couldn't quite discern, so he proceeded with caution. "Oh, just an old friend of mine," he answered casually. It was truthful, if not vague -- and this was not the time nor place to start unpacking the baggage of his relationship with Wildfire.

He did his best to smooth over his own appearance; it was apparent that Shrike found something about his response threatening, and that certainly hadn't been his intention. He swallowed his own worry, reminding himself that the Great Bear Wilderness was not as large as it seemed and that he was bound to run into someone from Redhawk Caldera sooner or later. And the fact that Shrike hadn't attacked him the minute he mentioned his name meant that, at the very least, Wildfire hadn't been talking shit about him to her family.

Shrike chuffed quietly in response to Floki's statement. Just an old friend of his? That was vague. It was enough to tell Shrike that he really needed nothing to do with this wolf, who seemed to be lying about knowing where the Caldera was. Though Shrike was actually quite far off from the truth, and was reading Floki's misdirection wrong, he couldn't help but feel suspicious and decided that he really didn't want to get to know Floki. He tasted the male's name on his tongue- as well as the name of the pack he said he was from and the direction in which he'd gestured, but decided that was all he needed to know. 

"Hmm. Wellen." He said. "I got somewhere to be. Nice...Meeting you." He said, with a curt nod, well aware that the hesitation had shown in his voice. Not that he cared particularly, though, and with a flick of his tail that might have also hinted at some kind of attitude, he began to stalk away.

Thanks for the thread! :)

The other male seemed to be considering Floki's words for a long moment, and he felt like he was under scrutiny. He shifted his weight, gaze fixing on Shrike's mouth as he spoke, and was relieved when the Redhawk wolf dismissed himself. "Right, you too," he replied, perhaps a bit too quickly, then turned on his own heel to depart in the other direction.

He didn't waste any time heading back towards Moonspear, not even stopping to see if Shrike was gone.