With the irritation of continued failure creeping up her neck, Emma skulked up to the next border on her way. Her heavy breaths forced their way from her nostrils heavily, though she continued on through the frustration. Emèlie was livid, but she couldn't allow that to jeopardize her alibi. She remained far enough from the border to keep a respectful view, but still close enough to see and be seen. She turned her head upwards and howled for the superiors of the land, all the while trying to keep her composure.
Her path along the borderlands was led astray at the sound of the call -- and from a voice she did not recognize at all. She narrowed her eyes and moved over the landscape of her claim, smooth, and with her tail stiffening as she began to discern what this could be about. The message of the call itself did not allude to many details, just that it asked for the leaders of the mountain, which left her hoping that this would be worth her time.
She caught sight of a large female wolf lingering nearby, so presumed it was her that had called. Approaching confidently with her long strides and tail arcing upward, the dark alpha would waste little time. "What do you need?" she asked, and leveled a pointed stare afterward that suggested her no-nonsense attitude towards this.
I've recently lost someone Emma began and I've come to see if she's here. A family member by the name of Althaia has gone missing with her pups. I'm worried for them, but perhaps they are here? I only wish to see them, if they are. Unlike with the other stops on her route, Emma showed no weakness in her approach. This was more of a concerned façade, as though she was just a curious intellectual.
As Floki made his way towards the borders, he could see from a distance that Amekaze had arrived first. This didn't deter him from approaching, however; although the Alpha female could certainly handle herself without any backup, he still prowled up behind her, blue eyes narrowed as he surveyed the stranger and pressed his ears forward to hear the last of her statement.
He had never known Althaia by her proper name, so there was no recognition on his face; all he knew was that there were no puppies here other than the Alphas' brood. He regarded the unfamiliar female coolly from his position near Amekaze's shoulder, her silent second-in-command.
It wasn't anything she had not heard before at first, and accordingly, her expression lacked any initial sympathy. But, it was the name that brought a new layer of scrutiny about, so her eyes narrowed soon after. She'd heard it spoken so few times, and remembered it was likely Harley that had even brought it up at all. Instead, to her, she was the worthless thrall.
Pups, too, was noted -- although of absolutely no surprise to her, for they were the very offense that got her ran off this mountain, after all. All a confirmation to her in that being the right move on her part. She'd enjoy that smug satisfaction more later, in private. For now, she kept all of her senses trained on this stranger. "You are of the dark Woods? I did not know she had family there," she sniffed plainly, and knew the scent from interacting with others of their pack; they were a longstanding facet of the Teekon as she knew it. Before she spoke on next, she glanced at Floki's approach. "But no, she has no place here." Even if these pups this random wolf spoke about were actually Charon's. Amekaze would have none of it, and none of it would make her concerned for their wellbeings. Her hackles threatened to give rise at the very thought. "I have not seen her for a few moons now." When she'd personally ran her off with teeth first -- and sending her hybrid mate with her too.
A small growl edged from Emèlie's lips before she realized that these weren't her borders not were these wolves her target. She licked at her snout and whimpered softly in submission, checking herself for the previous act.
Thank you, I'll be going. Then she was off, once again, going to the next line for questioning.
Last from Em. I'll archive if no one else does by midnight :)
Amekaze provided the explanation that Floki was unable to, and he turned to look at her as she spoke. Realization slowly dawned on him; he insinuated by Amekaze's tone and facial expressions that they were speaking of the wolf that had been called Filth. He frowned, shifting his gaze back to the she-wolf. He expected more questioning from her, but the simpering female thanked them and departed.
He watched her go, his lips pursed, then commented, "That was weird." Then, to clarify, he said, "She was talking about Filth?" The whole thing seemed a little fishy, but Floki couldn't quite figure out why. He looked back in the direction that the stranger had gone, as if ensuring that she wasn't coming back.
Her eyes flashed with a hidden ire at the sound of the other wolf's small growl, and although it seemed.. unintended, for it didn't really fit with the flow of the conversation (to her perceptions), Amekaze dared her to try more than that. Instead, she seemed to rein herself back in the next breath. The dark alpha observed in her stern silence, and then when the stranger spoke next, it was all brought to a conclusion. She nodded to the thanks, chuffed something akin to a reply, and watched her go with a careful stare.
"Very weird.." she agreed alongside a sigh, and still felt herself squinting suspiciously as she attempted to decide what to take from that brief encounter. "She was.. but, that seemed awfully suspicious to me," and knowing Blackfeather's involvement veiled it in a new sort of mystery, too. While the female had said she was just looking for missing family, somehow, Amekaze still didn't think that added up as neatly as it seemed to on the surface. If Althaia had family just relatively nearby in the flatlands, why hadn't none come looking for her during her time kept here? "Wonder what her carelessness got her into this time.. or if Harley is still involved at all." she scoffed, tail lashing and all assuming he would want to be invested in those pups -- if they'd even been his.
The nameless wolf didn't seem to be rounding back towards them, but she was not ready to move on. Not yet.
Floki agreed; that visit had been suspicious, to say the least, and left him with a bad taste in his mouth. There was apparently a whole story that had unraveled after Filth and Harley left Moonspear, and as Floki stared into the distance, he found himself glad that they were gone. The Omega had been trouble from the start -- it was her rash and thoughtless behavior that had landed her as Charon's thrall in the first place, and she hadn't been smart enough to simply lay low. "Who knows," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
He didn't care much about her, believing that she had lived up to her cruel nickname, but he did have questions about the dark woods that Amekaze had referenced. "You mentioned that she-wolf was from the dark woods -- what is that?" he asked. He didn't realize that he had met a Blackfeather wolf before, during his hunt for Lazarus; the strange male known as Cicero was far from his mind at that moment.
Amekaze would have been fine to never hear of Althaia again, and now that she had, the suspicion surrounding all of this was not going to go away easily. However, the stranger showed no signs of turning back and faded from sight.
"Blackfeather Woods, over in the flatlands," she jerked her muzzle appropriately, having been more familiar with their location when at the Sunspire. By Teekon standards, they had certainly lasted longer than the average around here, and never had they been a problem to her specifically (much unlike the Redhawks). A mystery, though, and worthy of inspiring a share of curiosities. "As shadowy as the name might suggest. I have only met a few," she mentioned halfheartedly and licked the backs of her teeth. "I want to freshen up some marks out here," she rumbled before setting off, letting Floki decide if he wished to join her (and potentially hear more, should he have the questions for it) or branch off on his own.
He committed the information to memory, somewhat intrigued by the limited knowledge that Amekaze shared. He gave a soft hum, a thoughtful noise, as he glanced one more time in the direction that the stranger had gone. At the very least, these Blackfeather wolves seemed to have questionable motives; he wondered briefly what would become of Filth if the female found her, but didn't think of it for long.
"I'll help you," Floki offered as Amekaze made to take a sweep of the borders. He fell into step with her and they went on their way.