for anyone, really, but
@Fox is the intended <3
Lecter had little mind to learn of the other packs in the area, save to take what Silvertip needed from their borders, but the Creek had been his home for sometime, and the Vale was rife with their need of him. After he left Dawa, the witch pressed on, moving over the hotly contested land in the direction of Fox's lands, a sole slim frame moving through the thick grasses.
Beneath his paws, a hare and her kits rose, flushed by his encroachment; a lunge and a snap of his muzzle, and he caught one of the smaller bodies quite by luck. Choosing to carry it onward, as there was not a reason to carry such a small kill all the way back to Silvertip, Lecter emerged near the borders of Swiftcurrent and laid it at his paws, gazing intently into the territory, though he was far enough away to retreat if his former packmates did not take kindly to his visit.
He'll only pass through - once Fox arrives and dismisses him, I'll have him leave.
Overburdened by a sense of guilt, the man had thrown himself in to his duties with a new fervor since the vanishing of Bones. He hiked along the edge of the territory as swiftly as his hefty body would allow, pausing to inspect odd spots along the way; from time to time, he would reinforce the scents. As he traveled Njal noticed a figure upon the horizon - and at first mistook them for Bazi. But their gait was off. The closer he got, the more noticeable the stranger's lurching became; and so with a bristling spine Njal bayed a call for Fox, summoning her before the intercept. The call carried beyond him as he picked up pace but faded by the time Njal had reached the aged wolf, finally recognizing him as Lecter; except that the scent he held more closely resembled the Vale wolves - curious. The warden came to a halt but said nothing, guarding the witch while awaiting Fox's arrival.
His weight down more then when Lecter last saw him and a wound the size of a wolfs jaw untended upon his neck and shoulder Ferdie sat far enough away to watch but not interact. Njal had lecter guarded and Ferdie would only be useful as back up right now. He didn't want to interact with the wolf more then he must. if Fox required him he would be ever faithful at her side otherwise he would just watch Lecter with wariness.
Flustered by the amount of recent intruders, kidnappers, and loiterers, Fox heeded Njal's howl as quickly as her legs would allow her to. A whirlwind of things had happened one right after the other, and it was wearing the girl thin. She knew that, with the pack growing as much as it recently had, she was going to need help to manage it all. When it had just been herself and four or five others, it was no problem. But with more than ten wolves within their land, it was more than she could handle. Somebody would be chosen sooner rather than later.
Fox spotted Ferdie hanging back first, and approached him. She greeted him with a quick, friendly nip to his shoulder. “No need, Ferdie,” she said, glancing at Lecter, “I can handle this one.” He was welcome to hang back, but Lecter was an old man who could hardly damage her in any meaningful way. Fox then passed Njal, chuffing to him to signal that he was dismissed as well. Only when the others had withdrawn themselves did Fox turn her attention to Lecter.
She approached him as she would anybody at her borders, with her stance assertive but not aggressive. “Lecter,” she cooed, “You brought me a present?” She wondered what kind of poison it had been laced with. That was just the sort of thing she expected from the old kook. Her tone and expression changed to a slightly darker one as she continued. “Jinx needs to get her lot under control. The one who calls himself Majesty lingers nearby and does not leave when asked to, insisting that he is no threat to us. It was Jinx who threatened one of mine for being so close to her territory, and I will not ask nicely the next time one of yours loiters nearby.”
Njal arrived first, appearing hale beneath his gunmetal pelt. Ferdie was the second to follow, his haggard appearance provoking a low scoff from Lecter; it appeared his ministrations had been all for naught.
Fox's fiery frame stepped into view; she dismissed her wolves casually, with a confidence Lecter had not before seen in her, and her gently mocking purr brought a smile to his own lips. "Yes, the madman crooned, tossing the rabbit toward her. Lecter was aware that she would not eat the kit; he was not a trustworthy individual, but he did not see fit to combat her assumptions.
Ears inclined forward as Fox spoke of an encroaching Silvertip wolf who seemed stupid to the ear. He had not personally met the creature, but dipped his muzzle to the fireflame all the same. Were it his decision, he would have left Majesty to the mercy of the Swiftcurrent wolves, but it was not. The choice belonged to Jinx, though he had faith in his lover's swiftly meted justice toward those who would not listen. "I will speak with Majesty myself," Lecter muttered, a mad gleam lighting his eyes. "I do not believe he will come here again."
I'll just post my leave
Dismissed nonchalantly again Ferdie looked away from the small gathering pointedly ignoring them all for a moment and yet deferring to Fox in the same motion. Very decidedly the brute stood and walked away, not sparing the others a second glance.
He sighed silently to himself, as he made his way toward the boarders maybe to do a patrol but that wasn't something he did often he was more likely to spend time within the pack lands, not spying on the others but not missing much either....
Fox was happy to hear that Lecter would take care of the loiterer. But surely Lecter had not come here just to drop of a poisoned meal and be on his way. This place was far too removed from his new home to make a journey just for that. “So why are you really here, Lecter?” she asked, never one to beat around the bush.
If he had no business here, she would see to it that he was promptly removed from the borders. By force or otherwise. If she didn't enjoy his odd sense of... whatever it was, she would have chased him off by now. Strangely enough, she enjoyed his company in one way or another. But no matter how much she enjoyed his company, he was still nothing more than competition at the root of it all.
"You were always observant, Fox," Lecter muttered dryly, though his eyes leapt with good humour. "I have come to tell you that the Vale has been besieged by a rockslide. I have been tending their injured." One pale eartip flicked. "They will not last, Fox, and another pack may rise in their place. I suggest you stake claim to the hunting grounds they will leave as soon as possible, lest you find yourselves ... squeezed."
His reasons for his words were unclear, but the resonance of his voice promised truth; he did not lie, and while he liked Xi'nuata well enough, without a healer, with many wolves compromised, unable to be saved by any means, the Vale would crumble. Perhaps he offered the information as a gift to the firebolt, but Lecter did not himself know. It was doubtful even wily little Fox would, though he would not put it past her.
Fox narrowed her eyes at the old man. Why was he telling her this? What purpose did it serve? She and Silvertip were on no friendly terms, and yet he came here to suggest that she keep a close eye on her hunting grounds. It was odd, to say the least, but Lecter had always been an especially odd creature. Still, the news was good, and it meant that those of the vale would not be bothering them anymore (at least not for long).
"I see," she responded after a moment, her tone neutral. "Is that all?" If it was, she would see to it that Lecter was out of sight before she made her own leave. Fox was never one for smalltalk, especially with those who were not her comrades.
<333
He saw distrust in the slitting of her eyes, and understood it; he was mate to a former packmate, a former trusted one and rival. How could she trust the oil of his words. "That is all," Lecter declared, flexing beige toes in the loam before him. He did not think that he would return, but saw no need to tell the fireflame such.
With a vaguely mocking bow, as Lecter was not a beast inclined toward such gestures, he turned and departed, moving with the quick wolf-trot in the general direction of Silvertip and his mate.