for anyone! tags for ref!
atautsikut.
heda stood back upon the land that the former duskfire wolves had found for themselves. she had scouted ahead, asking
@Veteran ahead instead of anyone else. ensio was affectionate and watchful. but heda had hunted with the other boy and knew him to be attentive to details.
she almost wanted to find an enemy as she scouted the left side of the summit, treading carefully amid the hissing steam and the odd, not unpleasant scent that hung around the stones.
a fox saw the red-striped girl and ran. heda gave playful chase.
Veteran had been eager to forge ahead with
@Heda, secretly a little pleased that he had been selected over Ensio. Most of his difficult feelings around his brother had subsided after
his chat with Meerkat, but every now and then he felt a little twinge of jealousy when he saw some evidence of how close Ensio and Heda had become.
Veteran had fallen slightly behind Heda when they passed through the glade at the base of the mountain. He had detected the scents of a few strangers in the pretty, sunlit copse. He could see how it might be an appealing place to linger. To dissuade anyone else from settling more permanently, he had emptied his bladder in key locations around the glade. Particular attention was paid to the areas closest to mountain, and up the path to Nimbus Summit.
He froze as movement caught his eye, and a flash or orange fur darted across the path. Not far after came Heda, flying along with playful, springy leaps. Veteran barked his encouragement.
"Yeah, get out of here, fox! We're Atautsikut, and we live here now!" Like Heda, he would have preferred to discover some more impressive opposition, but he was enjoying himself all the same.
there we go, all done!
Mature Content Warning
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Vorilye had been exploring the hinterlands for some time now; paranoia about Vex finding him, or worse, finding out about his transgression with Iris, had driven him deeper. He was so far from his home now. Surely, surely, he could start anew here. He had never really planned it, of course - but once he had found himself away from Vex, and with so many new opportunities... he'd started to enjoy the possibilities. Yes, he loved her, but she'd been even more unhinged than usual lately, of course due to Violante's betrayal and desertion. And even more so, he wanted to leave behind his father. Living beneath Jaganatha Cruor was it's own hell. All of his worries were scattered, however, when he came upon a scene - a pretty thing chasing after a fox. He would have given a loud woof, alerting her to his presence, but suddenly another youth arrived. He caught their words, and his brow furrowed.
"Fuck." Vorilye muttered. He hadn't noticed any border scents. Or perhaps their weren't that many yet. Swiftly, he decided to reveal himself. He crested a ridge and gave a quick, apologetic call of, "Greetings! I think I may have accidentally intruded - I was not aware there was a new pack in the area. My deepest apologies."
heda grinned, and this time it showed a little more in her face. she was just about to shout something similar at the fox when her instincts jerked her around with a screeching halt.
a stranger.
it was not her first time meeting strangers. but it had been a long time since she had met one without an adult. and this man was massive, easily dwarfing herself as well as anyone else she'd seen since the taiga. his words were apologetic but his eyes were like the inside of a glacier.
heda glanced at veteran. she gathered herself and tried to stand tall, the way that issorartuyok and lane waited at the borders. "we're new," the girl chose to begin. "our pack is called atautsikut." she was careful with the pronunciation. "all of us are claiming this mountain."
she wanted to be friendly but let him know that she and veteran were not alone. the girl watched him with her golden eyes.
the voices of children reached her, along with a voice she did not recognize. antha was quick to appear on the scene, silent and unimposing but with a subtly defensive cast to her posture. she moved to stand near heda and veteran, dipping her head to the stranger.
hello,
she looked between the newcomer and the youthful pair, but it was the stranger who caught her gaze finally. do you need something?
Soon, Veteran's unspoken desire was fulfilled: they came upon a real occupant of the mountain. He was big-- very big-- but Veteran was well-trained. He had tasted battle, and he could hold his own. The scar on his forehead was testament to that.
The boy's ruff raised protectively, and he moved closer to Heda. He was prepared to defend her, if needed.
Antha arrived so quickly that Veteran had to wonder if she'd been tailing them all along, watching out for the two child-scouts while allowing them the illusion that they were really out here on their own, trusted to do important work for the pack.
Veteran did not add words of his own. He watched the stranger curiously. The stranger had been quick to apologize, and his speech seemed genuine. This boded well, but Veteran would remain on guard just in case.
Another wolf arrived, questioning him. Vorilye bit back a huff. "I was merely passing through - I wasn't aware that there was a pack in the area. My apologies." Another apology, easily forced with a small, fake smile, hoping to appease them. "I'll be on my way." He would then turn and make to leave, lest they stopped him.
veteran stood close and did not speak. antha said something next but the man was turning. he did not seem keen upon engaging them in conversation of any kind. maybe it was best. they were still settling and she felt the instinctive bristle of protectiveness over their new land beginning to rise.
when he had gone, heda looked first to veteran and then to antha.
she had seen the pretty wolf with issorartuyok, but was not focused enough to assume anything between the pair of them. antha was a packmate and heda wagged her tail. "he was really big, wasn't he?"
hm. odd. he seemed in a hurry to leave; understandable, perhaps, but if the stranger was so scared of retaliation, why hadn't he seemed relieved or grateful for their comparatively warm reception? to walk out of a strange pack's territory unscathed was a blessing indeed, but the man seemed unaware of that.
antha allowed him to leave, silent and unsmiling as she watched him until his figure disappeared into the wilds. yes. and there was something suspicious about him,
she responded to heda, eyes finding the pair of youth again. perhaps i'm mistaken. did you notice anything strange about him before i arrived?
her question was posed to both of them.
Veteran nodded absentmindedly at the observation Heda shared. He was still watching after the stranger. Should Veteran follow the man, to make sure he really left? He felt like he probably should, but... Heda was right. He was really big...
Veteran's attention snapped to Antha when she mentioned noticing something suspicious. What had she seen? Had Veteran missed something? She turned the question on the children, and Veteran glanced to Heda. He could not tell if Antha was consulting them, or if she was instructing them.
"Um.. I think he was talking to someone," Veteran piped hesitantly. "Or maybe just to himself?" He shrugged, moving his gaze from Heda to Antha.
"talking to himself?" heda looked hard at veteran and then after the stranger. his large size and now assumed odd behavior set her on a higher alert. "i didn't see anything, but —" she frowned.
"i kinda want to go after him. i bet issorartuyok would want to make sure he's gone. what if he's a spy?" the girl asked in a small expression of shock.
again she glanced to veteran. antha was the adult here but he was her friend, and she aspired to the same sort of guardianship he had already achieved.