Takes place just outside the pack's border.
Early that morning Jaws had made a few quick rounds to check on the pack's caches, which were still well stocked with various prey. Confident his gamekeeper 'chores' were in order, and the border's were secure with a combination of Peregrine's unwelcoming reputation and an out-of-the-way location, Jaws decided to leave the packlands for a few hours. Although he had partially explored some of the area surrounding the caldera prior to joining it, there were still areas he had not tread. He felt it prudent he do so, as in his mind he could better police their borders by knowing what lay around them. Truly, it was the realm of the outrider, but in this respect he saw the two trades as a compliment to one another.
So the coywolf set off south, passing the lake where he had first met Dove. He moved at a brisk pace and covered ground efficiently, appreciating the scent-bearing wind in his face which drifted to him the scent of border markers. He came to find the edge of another pack's territory about the same distance from the lake as his, but north of it. The coywolf's paws came to a halt before them, daring not a step past them. Peregrine had mentioned the names of a couple packs but Jaws could not fathom where they were situated relative to his own and thus did not know on whose doorstep he stood.
Kaname reluctantly left his den, shivering slightly at the staggering difference between the comfortable warmth of his mate and his home, to the chill of winter, which had not let go of the land, even though spring was getting into full swing. The Beta stretched, releasing the tension in all of his muscles, from his legs and back to his mouth and neck. He was getting old, as the man sensed a stiffness in his neck as he swiveled it. He was five years old now. It made no surprise to him that he was getting stiff joints.
Regardless of his soon-to-be-creaking limbs and joints, Kaname made his way to the borders, occasionally stopping to check the caches and scent trails of prey, noting where they were heavy and thick with animals tumbling together as they mated. The Spine would blossom with new life soon; the doe's were heavy with their fawns, the birds and small rodents were already scrambling to and from their dens as they fed their needy children. The assassin hoped that his pups would be able to see the glory of new life soon.
When he reached the borders, he lifted his leg and sprayed a strong marker on a bordering tree. As he finished, the Beta male saw an unfamiliar face sniffing by the borders, just a few pawlengths from where he had just marked. He snarled softly, annoyed that the wolf was just a step away from trespassing, which Kaname thought was too close for comfort. He strode towards the intruder, tail curled high above his back, ears pressed forward and glacial eyes narrowed. "Can I help you?"
If the cards were to be played in Jaws' favor, he would have been able to leave without ever seeing anyone, a mere breath of his scent to be the only clue that he had ever come; but that was not to be. One of the pack's residents had apparently not been far off, renewing the border markers. He approached Jaws in the traditional matter with his tail as a banner, ears to the front and eyes narrowing upon what they saw as a would-be trespasser. For many packwolves there seemed not to exist the concept of 'passing by'. Someone so near their territory must be inclined to trespass.
"Maybe." Jaws answered back in no particular tone and without making a move of any kind other than to quirk a brow. He regarded the dark wolf for a few moments, before throwing out a question. "Where am I?" Perhaps the other would be forthcoming with some information about the pack. Something Jaws could catalog in his mind for future reference.
Kaname's tail twitched as he regarded the coywolf. His disdain for the hybrids was always evidenced in a small sneer, his fangs bared slightly. Though, the sneer maybe thought as an attribute of him defending his territory, baring the sharp teeth in a defensive manner. Kaname despised the coywolves; he could not contemplate why a wolf would ever mate with a disgusting creature such as the coyote.
"Ouroboros Spine." He snorted, then taking in a whiff of the coywolf's scent. It was familiar: that of the Caldrea pack to the south. "You're from Redhawk? What are you doing all the way up here?"
Even before he caught a glimpse of fangs showing beneath a sneer, it was not lost on Jaws that this dark male wanted nothing to do with him, but he was uncertain if it was due to his bloodlines or his nearness to the pack's borders. Perhaps a combination of both. It would not have been the first time, though, for him to be ill-received solely because he was a hybrid. On some levels he could understand a dislike towards interbreeding among the species, but he still largely found it foolish.
"Ouroboros Spine," the other wolf shared. Peregrine had mentioned a 'spine', but not specifically that it held the name Ouroboros. Jaws could only assume the two were the same. His confronter next pointed out correctly that Jaws was part of Redhawk Caldera, leaving him to believe he was dealing with someone who had been established in the area for some time to hold such familiarity with the unique scent of another pack. "Yes," Jaws nodded, swallowing a snarky remark about how it was none of this wolf's business what he was doing. "I thought I should know what lay around my pack, if I am to be an outrider." Jaws almost added, "Is that okay with you?" but kept his tone level, not wanting to cause trouble between the two packs.
"So who are you? I'm Jaws." Time to dig for a bit more information.
Years of working as an assassin, spy, and infiltrator made Kaname skeptical as to why this coywolf was lingering at his borders. Had he been a few hundred pawsteps back, Kaname might have accepted the excuse and left him alone, so long as he didn't step any further. But it was very possible that Redhawk was sending it's wolves to gain information on their neighbors, for some plot Kaname didn't know of. It took them long enough. "Kaname." he said simply, not giving his rank out of anxiety.
Jaws stared blank-faced at the wolf, who offered nothing more than his name (after several moments of nothing). He had expected a rank at least, most pack wolves were all too eager to flaunt their rank to a potential trespasser. But this one was decidedly not a conversationalist, which made it difficult for the coywolf to extract tidbits of information from him. Jaws understood completely, of course, not being much for discussion himself, but he did not want to leave without as much as he could get. "So, I take it you guys don't like visitors or is it just me?" he ventured, not a direct question but one that could possibly lead to being told something noteworthy.
Kaname sucked his teeth in a disdainful manner. "Most packs don't." He wondered if the Redhawk pack would just let wolves walk all over their territory, or this coywolf did not get the memo about how packs work. Figures. "Most 'visitors' often visit our pack to steal things, be it food, or information." He hissed knowingly. Coywolves were usually used as spies, what with their sleek forms and overall cunning nature. Why else would Jaws be here? The Beta's tail twitched with annoyance. He did not want this intruder lingering here any longer. It was making him itch.
If you could make at least one more post so the thread can be complete for EXP, I'd appreciate it. :)
Jaws merely twitched an ear at the wolf's antics of sucking his teeth and hissing at him. What a bad tempered animal he was.
"I would have thought they came for the company," he replied evenly.
"What, with your obvious charm and all." Jaws flashed him a roguish smile, but the other male's waning tolerance of his presence was not lost on him. Not looking to pick a fight and definitely not looking to stir up trouble between the packs, the coywolf dipped his head respectfully as he bid a farewell.
"Thanks for your time, I suppose I should be getting home." But he did not immediately turn away, biding a moment in case Kaname had other ideas.
Kaname's tail rose even higher at the coywolf's indignance once again, but his face had not changed. In his mind he was mulling over the pros and cons of attacking the insolent hybrid. Pros: he could wipe that goddamn smile off of his face. He might kill the little bastard by accident. Cons: He might start a pack war by harming and/or killing him. The cons outweighed the pros, sadly, and the dark male was forced to watch the coywolf slink back to whence he came, his glacial eyes narrowed.
Jaws waited, readied, not knowing how far this wolf's irritation went, how brash and hasty he might be in picking fights. But Kaname had nothing further to say or do, other than hiking his tail higher, not at all receptive of the joke the coywolf had made at his expense. Jaws turned and briskly loped away with not a glance back, though he kept an ear turned and listening in case the other male changed his mind about letting him go peacefully.