Letting down her burden—the leg of a deer that she'd been dragging awkwardly along the ground—Sialuk licked her lips with a soft, satisfied grumble. The pack had successfully taken down a deer and feasted well. Their fortune must have been running high, for the wolves didn't eat nearly as much as they could in hungrier times, and there was ample meat left over. Sialuk had volunteered herself to carry some to a cache in the pack's western quadrant, which is where she headed now.
She bent to pick the leg up in her mouth once more, took a few moments to readjust it so that it was more comfortable, and began to wind her way through the conifers once more. Her deep blue eyes were set firmly ahead; she was relying on her ears, which were turned to her rear, to alert her of anyone or anything trying to sneak up behind her. After all, one couldn't be too wary of ambush, even in their own pack's territory.
O hai.
Sidewinder had not forgotten why he had come here. He had to remain sharp and alert. When the weather warmed, he would retreat from this place and go about his way. Not that any of these wolves needed to know about that. He had parted from the pack feeding frenzy early, if only because his lower rank meant he would get the very last of the specimen. Just now, he was heading back toward it, hoping to scrounge up a few nibbles before the rest was stored away for future keepings. Not that the caches were bad, exactly... he just preferred the warm, fresh meat to the old and dry.
As he continued along his path, he spotted a figure coming toward him. He bristled momentarily, the months of solitude still making him wary of
anybody who came close to him, but he quickly realized that she was one of the spine wolves. Nothing more. In her jaws, she carried a sizeable hunk of meat, and Winder licked his lips. He continued forward at a more eager pace, and when he was close enough, he attempted to grab the cache-intended meat from her and claim it for himself.
What Sialuk expected as an ambush and what actually happened turned out to be very different. She was alert for coyotes or bears that thought they'd make a quick meal out of the pack's spoils, but the true danger was right in front of her, an approaching wolf as white as herself. She moved as though to place the leg down, but even before she'd fully dropped it, Sidewinder swooped in and latched onto it.
A surprised growl bubbled between her teeth as she set her jaw, holding the leg as firmly as she could. The meat was meant for the pack, so nature dictated she let it go and allow Sidewinder to have it, but she held on for two reasons: Sidewinder's lack of submission and the temptation of tug of war. She growled more fiercely now, bristling her hackles to look larger, and jerked herself backward to try to wrest it from him. She wanted only to intimidate him into submitting, after which she would gladly part with the prize in her jaws. Until then, she would fight him for it in a desperate tugging match.
Sidewinder managed to get a grip on the leg of meat, but the bristling white female was not willing to let go so easily. When she tugged back, a growl rumbled deep in Winder's throat. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and lowered his head, front legs acting as a lever against the ground and his snout. His lips were curled back, and he tugged against her as she pulled backward, determined to have the piece of meat for himself.
But after a few moments of this back and forth game, Winder realized he was no longer a lone wolf. He was not just a vagabond, not here. Sidewinder released his grip on the meat, licking his lips and backing away from the pale wolf who mirrored him in that regard. Something between a whine and a growl gurgled forth from the Numitor's lips, and his gaze was cast downward in defeat.
Sidewinder tugged and Sialuk tugged back with a louder, firmer growl. The male seemed to forget himself, or else fancied her place in the pack, something Sialuk was unwilling to give over to him. He was a pack mate, so she thought him nonthreatening for that reason—this was more of a dominance tussle in her opinion than a serious confrontation, though Sidewinder might not feel the same.
Eventually, the Lambda seemed to realize he was bested or remembered himself and backed away. Sialuk observed him for a moment, still bristling her pelt in case he thought to try again, and then she placed the leg gently on the ground. Using one paw, she rocked it toward him, inviting him to it now that he'd submitted.
"I am Sialuk," she said quietly as she backed away, though she sat nearby. "I will take what's left to a cache," she said to explain her presence, though she looked away into the trees to give Sidewinder time to eat his fill.
“Sidewinder,” was the only thing he offered her before tearing into the leg of meat. His teeth ripped apart the sinewy muscle like it was nothing, and it left smudges of blood and animal matter along his muzzle and paws as he ate, but he paid them no mind. A watchful eye did not depart from Sialuk as he ate, though, wary of her presence so close, even if she had backed away to give him more space. He did not blame her for her behavior. In fact, it was expected of her. He was, after all, lower in the hierarchy than she, and he would have to fight for a higher rank if he wished for one.
When he finished taking his fill (which was roughly three quarters of the leg), Winder backed away from what remained and glanced at Sialuk. He was in search of something, as always, and he knew it would not hurt to ask the whereabouts of the white-eyed wolf. If she happened to know, it would help him. If not, he could not see a way in which it would hurt. “Have you seen a white-eyed, white-coated wolf?” he asked. “I was told he might live here.” Winder had all but given up hope that the wolf still lived here, but there was always the chance that he was still in the area and she had spotted him.
To further emphasize that she wasn't intending to interfere with his feeding, the Arctic female continued to back up until Sidewinder started to eat. She looked away, not willing to look as though she was challenging him for his food. Only when he finished did she look back, intent on bringing what was left to a cache, but his question caught her attention before she could collect the remaining meat.
"I haven't," she said with a frown, "but I haven't been here so long as to say I know all who live here. A friend of yours...?" A wolf with white eyes wouldn't easily be forgotten by many. If said wolf had lived in this pack, then it was only a matter of time before Sidewinder found someone who'd known him. She was unfortunately of little help, but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep an eye out from now on for such a rare creature.
“Something like that,” he replied, though he dare not divulge any further information. Sooner or later, somebody was going to ask him for more, but he saw no reason to give up any more than he absolutely had to. “I had actually come to Ouroboros Spine because I had heard he lived here,” Sidewinder said, telling the truth in that instance. “Nobody seems to have seen or heard from him in quite some time.” And the more time dragged on, the less likely Winder was to run into him, it seemed.
But that only seemed to make the conversation fall flat. Sialuk did not seem to have any further information on the white-eyed beast, and so Winder went about his day.