AW.
@Dawn is welcome to chase after him if she likes
his dreams lately had turned dark. he had paid a visit to the den, and saw the superficial injuries lavender had received at the border. not to mention grayday's eye, ripped from his head. now he had visions of chasing a dark shadow, missing its tails, his lips pulled back in a snarl, his jaws set wide.
to sink his teeth into the throat of the one who had threatened his family. . . adi had never been one for gratuitous violence, but by god, he wanted to do harm to this woman.
on this crisp, clear early winter morning, he woke early with blood in his eye and enraged passion in his joints. though he had gotten older and wiser over the seasons, aditya was born a wolf who thrived on impulsive decisions--and it shone through, even now, and especially today.
he rose from the den, where dawn slept close by, and padded out to the border, crossing the line with the confidence of a wolf one hundred percent sure of what he was doing. his nose inhaled deeply, picking up the various collaboration of scents that gathered here. lots of grayday, lots of dawn, lots of pema and engel and aditya himself. loners here and there. but there was one. . .
there it was. tinged with violence and sickness. it mingled heavily with grayday's strong smell and lavender's sweet, childish one. it had stayed here for a short while, then fled, heading. . .
he trotted off, nose low to the ground, trying to follow it. she seemed to have headed south, toward the mountains, toward the moonspear. he picked his way through the hot springs, enjoying the way the steam warmed his pelt in passing.
neither dawn nor her father would approve of his going out alone, and he would have to apologize for his snap decision later on.
but he would do so with her body at his feet and her blood in his mouth.
the hot springs was not a part of morningside's territory, but it was close enough that any intruder not smelling of the plateau gave aditya the tiniest bit of alarm. here was a male, by his scent and shape aging but sturdy, and one that adi had definitely never seen before.
the stranger had audibly announced his presence, at least, and with a soft chuff in return, he made his way over to the white-pelted male, guard hairs prickling slightly in wariness.
"it's nice, isn't it?" he asked casually, hoping to break the ice. if he were to know this man, and his intentions coming here, he must start off on the right foot. "the steam. the heat."
all the while, his nose was engaged in fact-finding, nostrils flaring as he read this man from ears to tail-tip. he did not have the scent of the caldera wolves, nor the pack from moonspear, nor still the scattered denizens of northstar vale.
instead, something putrid, yet sickly-sweet, rose from him, surrounding his pelt like a dark aura. holding back the base urge to wrinkle his nose at the stench, aditya surveyed the male with a neutral expression. that smell. . . was this a wolf from that foul pack to the south? had they come this far, without notice?
his voice, at least, dispelled the idea that this man was an immediate danger to morningside: it was calm and measured, almost friendly. this male was--probably--just here for a dip in the hot springs. after all, he clearly had a few years on aditya, and the springs were excellent for joint aches and pains associated with aging.
but morningside's scout could not shake the idea that something about his scent, his affiliation, was sinister, and so he responded, without hesitation, "vishal." it was his uncle's name, used as an alias several times in the past. he saved it only for times when wariness won out over friendliness. . .which was rare, for adi.
"what about you? where do you come from?" his voice was flat, businesslike. at a moment's notice, he could howl for backup; they were close enough to the plateau that a cry of urgency could summon several wolves within minutes.
just in case.
alarm bells went off in aditya's head as the white wolf dodged his question, although he did give his name, at least. that sort of mysterious non-answer was the last thing he had wanted, though he tried not to show it on his face, giving the man a bland smile instead.
"it's in my nature to ask questions. always have been a curious one." he paused to think on the man's query for him. to outright lie at this point would be a mistake, but surely this kove wouldn't take a dance around the question amiss. they were, after all, interrogating each other. it was quite clear to both of them.
"my pack lives on a nearby plateau. we keep mostly to the area," aditya responded. it was true--although dawn and her father had the spirit of adventure in them, it was winter, the pack newly relocated, and there was plenty of game to be found at home.
he stopped then, turning his golden gaze directly toward the man. "i'm looking for someone." he waited for his reaction.
he felt a flash of annoyance as kove persisted, but let it go without pursuing the feeling. grayday was quite established in the wilds; if the man didn't know the pack's name now, he certainly would soon. "morningside," he said succinctly.
"scrappy woman, no tail," he continued, anger filling him up as he thought of the woman he'd never seen yet knew so well. "she attacked my family. she might be a danger to others." like yours, he thought, though his face must convey the unspoken sentiment quite clearly.
that is, if she wasn't one of his already. eyewitnesses had sworn that she carried no pack-scent, but who knew. these southern wolves might be craftier than they could bargain for; she could have cloaked her scent in something.
his ears pricked slightly, intrigued at the other's query. in his experience, male wolves didn't ask about the welfare of children unless they had some running around at home to look after. if this man was a member of the southern pack, then that meant they might have babes.
and if so, it meant two things: they'd be more defensive, in a fight--and there was another generation ready to rise up if those before them fell.
"she attacked a child, yes," aditya responded, his voice flat. "without being provoked. she just did it."
aditya was ready to be done with this conversation that had done nothing but engender tension between the two of them. he pointed his muzzle in the direction of the moonspear, looking back at kove with a hawkish gaze. "she went that way. i'm heading there to see if she's taken shelter at moonspear," he explained.
he dipped his head in a respectful farewell to the older man. "safe travels home. wherever that is, for you." with a wave of his banner tail, he wheeled around and trotted off, keeping an ear out for movement behind him. it would do no good to be ambushed--not now, not ever.