The further behind her she put the plateau, the more at ease Saena felt. The decision to descend from its height and strike out in a random direction was made on a whim, born of the hurt and humiliation she felt at losing to Osprey and being unacknowledged by the Alpha male for her contribution. She'd really expected Dante to settle the challenge in her favour. It was selfish and Saena knew it, but the very thought that her tradeless aunt was of higher esteem than her made her pheromone-induced rage all the hotter.
Now that she wasn't assaulted by the stench of two females in heat, the youth could feel her anger dissipating. It was replaced by a longing to be recognized. Dante couldn't possibly know the damper that his lack of physical encouragement put on the young aspiring Alpha; it was proof, albeit inconclusive, that he didn't think she was worthy. And if he didn't think so, then her dreams died there.
Drowning in her thoughts and feeling self-conscious, Saena turned toward Silvertip Mountain, intending to pass it and visit Stavanger Bay. Maybe Gunnar would be able to help her sort her thoughts out and decide what to do next. Besides, she'd been meaning to spread word of the cannibal mutants and knew that the Bay would appreciate word of them.
Saena never made it to the Bay, though. Instead, she found herself faced with the sudden strong scent of a fresh claim just as she passed the hot springs. She needed to investigate only a little before she concluded that this new pack inhabited Silvertip Mountain. Changing her plans abruptly, the Outrider loosed a tentative call for someone of import to speak with her.
A call went up, requesting someone at the borders and FitzDutiful felt a moment of pride. This was to be his first encounter where someone actually respected the borders of the newly formed pack. After checking Raissa was asleep, he decided that it was safe to leave her unattended for a brief moment and wander down the mountainside to the one that waited.
As he grew closer to the border in question, he noted that the smell was that of the plateau. He wondered if Finn had reported their presence to Dante and if they would remember that he used to be one of them. He hadn't been at the plateau long before he had left for the caldera with Peregrine and Fox. Now he'd been away from there long enough for their scent to fade from him too. Realistically, there was no reason for any wolf at their borders to associated him with the plateau or the caldera unless they had met him or heard about him by name.
"Welcome," he said as he reached the young female at the borders. "FitzDutful, Alpha, at your service." Ever the dutiful wolf, allowing himself to be at the service of others. In truth, it was the best decision he'd ever made to become an alpha of his own pack. He thought he was handling it well.
Saena suspected she wouldn't have to wait long if indeed this was a new pack territory, and she was correct; soon a strapping male was approaching. His regal stance made him unmistakable. A brief, hot flash of jealousy skipped through Saena's stomach—why was it so easy for some wolves to lead while she struggled to get even,basic respect from her pack mates?
The moment passed quickly, though, when his name tickled a part of her memory locked away. "Don't I know you?" she asked, scrunching her nose a little as she tried to recall where from. She'd never met him face to face, but something about him was familiar, like his scent or his face...
"Anyway, I came from Blacktail Deer Plateau with a warning. We've been seeing bodies lately, wolf bodies, that have been consumed by wolves' teeth. It would be best if you and yours stick to your territory, and only leave if necessary." Her tail swayed slowly behind her as she added, "we believe there are at least three cannibals. They're easy to spot, they don't look like normal wolves."
The female wondered if she knew him but FitzDutiful just let the question slide away. It wasn't really important if she recognised him or not. He wasn't hiding his past, he just wasn't being all that open about it. He was a Silvertip Mountain wolf now and that was all that mattered in the here and now. The next thing to pass her muzzle was a warning and FitzDutiful had to fight himself not to respond angrily. Instead he took three breaths before speaking to ensure his voice was calm and steady.
"Thank you for the warning," he replied, deciding that it wasn't an official warning from the Plateau and more of a cautionary warning that was coming across abruptly from a young girl. "We were recently attacked from some things that were similar to wolves, but not wolves - dogs I believe they are called - and there were five of them. Could these be your culprits instead of actual cannibalistic wolves?" He couldn't say exactly how bad that situation had been, he just knew that he never wanted that repeated in his lifetime - but the thought of cannibal wolves was scarier than those dogs.
Similar to wolves, but not wolves. Saena's attention was hooked by this particular detail. It was possible they were speaking of the same creatures, but Saena's exposure to other animals was limited. Never had she seen or heard of a dog, so it was impossible to confirm FitzDutiful's suspicions. Nevertheless, they sounded like mutant wolves from the man's brief description.
"Maybe they're the same ones," mused the Blacktail, "but I'm not sure what a dog is. A few of these looked a bit like wolves." She chewed the tip of her tongue for just a moment before asking, "was there a fat black one with her ears stuck to the side of her head and tan markings?"
FitzDuitful thought for a moment, thinking back over them. "It was odd." he said to her, "They all looked so different. Even bone structure. Some were thin, racing types, others were small and fluffy, some seemed like they could pass as wolves, but there was one who seemed to fit. Her ears looked like they wouldn't move. She was bulky and off-putting with scars all over her face." It had been a terrifying encounter, he had been very worried that a fight was going to break out even after they had given the dogs a cache of good and told them they could have reign of the wolves.
"We had only just established ourselves when they attacked. They outnumbered us and so we tried to placate them by telling them to go to the forest near us." he nodded in the forest's direction. "I recommend not going in there in case they have done so. If you wish to pass in that direction I can offer you accompanied passage through the mountain pass."
"I have no plans to go anywhere they might frequent," Saena said while simultaneously shaking her head. She'd seen enough of the mutant wolves, or "dogs", to sate her curiosity for a lifetime. "Thank you for telling me where they are. I'm sorry you and yours encountered them. We've only seen them in isolated small groups, sometimes near our pack and sometimes not." Realizing how terrible vague that sounded and being unable to remember if she'd mentioned it or not, Saena added, "I'm an Outrider, so I see a lot.
Anyway, I just came to pass on that warning," she finished, giving no indication that she was interested in his claim or history whatsoever. The truth was that Saena really only cared about her own wolves, especially as she aged and matured and realized that it was impossible to keep tabs on things elsewhere without a great deal of work. She wasn't all that interested in maintaining long-distance relationships, certainly not with wolves who shared no relation. "Thanks for having me. I'll let my pack know this land isn't free any longer." She turned, readying herself to leave but waiting for any final messages he might wish to send along.
Saena reminded him a lot of Peregrine, though FitzDutiful couldn't have said for sure that she was his daughter. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened only that his children had been left at the plateau. Regardless, she had been kind and respectful while at his borders - something rare compared to most of the other wolves he had come across.
"Thank you," he responded when she said she had come to pass on the warning and that she would tell her pack the land was taken. As she turned to head off he realised this was a golden opportunity to try and cement something with Blacktail Deer Plateau in light of what had occurred.
"Will you pass a message onto... um..." he fought for the names that had been mentioned all those moons ago when they had left. "Randy or Blue Meadow... whoever it was that became the alpha of Blacktail Deer Plateau, for me?" They seemed close enough. "Nothing much, just that I'd like a meeting sometime to strengthen pack relations. No rush on it." he smiled, hoping she'd say yes. At this moment in time Silvertip Mountain had no outriders to pass messages with.
Saena turned back to listen when FitzDutiful spoke up, requesting that she bring a message to Randy or Blue Meadow. She didn't correct him, but smiled in amusement instead. She was sure their Alpha male would love to know he'd been called randy (pun intended) by another. "Sure, I'll tell 'em," she said when he'd finished, then with a final parting grin, departed with her tail shaking jovially behind her.
Luckily she agreed and FitzDutiful wondered if those names had been right after all. She hadn't corrected him but then he had saved it with the "whoever is alpha". He wondered whether to store it away as a name - it made sense to for when he met the alpha he'd need to have a name to call them by! In the future, Bindi would gain her outrider trade and FitzDutiful would be able to have her scout out some information about the pack leaders. For now, however, he just sat and watched Saena leave before picking himself up and heading into his territory to carry on with the task he had set to that day.