Lorne padded through the early spring scrag of Broken Boulder. She had her nose down low, sniffing at the faint scents of the rogues.
Hopefully she could find one. She didn't want this to resort to violence, perhaps they would leave willingly. It would be in their best interest. Drageda was larger than the band of loners, at least she presumed it was.
Even if they were defeated by this pack, they would come back with reinforcements if necessary. If it came to that these rogues wouldn't be leaving alive. Heda could be ruthless she knew, like with that Phoenix boy who had unkowingly crossed the river. She had heard about that through the grapevine around the territory.
She came upon no fresh scents, all were old and stale. She was glad there would be no unnecessary conflict. She turned and made her way back to Thuring to let her know no one was here.
The group of loners looking to lay a claim here meant nothing to him, but for their own good, it was best that they had left already. He was finding no trace of them so far despite his efforts and keen nose, and every stride forward only seemed to solidify it for him. That would make this trip over here easy for them, but their point remained. If Heda deemed them unwelcome here, then that would be the way it was.
Dio was feeling good about this. He and Lorne had branched off to cover more ground, and while he wasn't staying immediately in her vicinity at all moments, he drifted in and out of paths aligning with hers and always at least stayed within earshot so he could get to her fast if she called. But, they covered more ground steadily and he wasn't running into anything noteworthy. It did not seem like she was, either.
After having scoped out of sight of her, he found himself circling back until he could see her characteristic streak of red. He joined his jog up beside her. "Anything on your end?" he asked, finally breaking the silence although he really suspected he knew the answer already.
Nothing. They seemed to be gone, which was a relief. There would be no unnecessary bloodshed or conflict between Drageda and the forming pack. She raised up from where she was sniffing the ground the wind ruffling her russet coat.
She turned as his footsteps approached, finding Dio behind her. She fell in step with him as they began their way back. Her ear twitched in his direction although her eyes didn't move.
She shook her head in response, not feeling words were necessary for answering that question. She and Hush looked eerily similar and they were alike in their vocabulary as well. While she wasn't mute she didn't speak much either. Many thought her unintelligent, others still believed her to be unnerving to be around.
Nothing. He continued to agree, even with more paces beneath him and his nose searching on both the winds and the grounds below. Evidently, the band of wolves had moved on. It was the wisest thing to do but admittedly, he was a touch disappointed in them not finding any excitement in this trip. He'd warmed up to the idea of a battle waiting for them here, even if it sounded greedy now with his reasons not being overly justifiable -- only that he thought it may be entertaining. Deep down he still knew it was in their best interest that they didn't find anyone to engage in a fight with so that they could all return home absolutely unscathed, though. No bloodshed was better in the long run.
He would still keep his senses shape and not let his guard down prematurely. There was the slightest of chances that they had done well to conceal their presence here, or holing up in a select spot of the territory, and were just laying in wait. Dio honestly didn't know what types of wolves they were dealing with, although his assumptions weren't of anything noteworthy -- just some loners looking to establish something somewhere with nothing remarkable about it, or this place they had almost chosen for themselves.
Taking her cue, he'd let the silence return. His mismatched eyes dutifully scanned the landscapes as they passed by him. Still, he did not see or smell anything to suggest a rival presence here.
I think this is the last from me
When she caught sight of Heda's dark fur she jerked her head in that direction to alert Dio. She changed course, padding her way over to them to report. It didn't seem she and Lucani were finding anything either.
His bright eyes follow after Lorne's gesture, and there ahead, he spies Heda and knows Lucani likely isn't far off. While the trek had been uneventful, at least they had positive enough news to report back to the group. With this phase of the mission nearing completion, it is almost time to deem this a success. Of course, it still depends on what Thuringwethil and Lucani had encountered, but frankly, he doubts it is anything noteworthy based on their own findings in this stretch of the landscape.
Dio stays quiet and follows dutifully after Lorne back to their superior.