Sometimes Stark felt like there was no hope - not truly. The Ostregas were gone, Octavia was gone, and things around the Wilds seemed strangely shifting. There were packs vanishing around him and it left questions as to the state of his own. He felt they were more secure now than they had been a month ago, having Banner help him was a huge relief. Things seemed to be on the right track, at any rate. The nearby pack had vanished and Stark was exploring their territory when an unknown scent caught his nose. 

He didn't know enough about the Dragons other than the whispers of what Octavia had said months ago - but now, honestly, he second guessed nearly everything that she had told him when they had met. How long had her mind been slipping like this, struggling to make sense of what was going on. How long had her reality been different from what everyone else knew? Still, in a measure of good faith and not wanting to drum up any other altercations, the Alpha lifted his head and released a howl - just calling for anyone nearby. There was no urgency, no threat in his call. Just common interest in information. 

Stark had a few options; seek out whoever was nearby, run the potential of finding someone who was aggressive, he also ran the risk of showing some cowardice and losing that information. He wasn't willing to do so. Still he tried to test out the waters, trying to catch the scents on the wind but he wasn't familiar at all with their group. If he knew more, he might have realized that Portia was there. He hadn't thought of the woman in months, the female while unusually marked and beautiful for it, had come and gone from his thoughts as quickly as so many who had come before her. 

After a bit there was a return call, one beckoning him closer. Stark had a considerable ego, yes, but the lure of knowledge pulled him closer. He made his way closer and took his time doing so - making sure the terrain didn't trip him up. When he finally approached he found another wolf as dark as he was and gave a small dip of his head. "You answered me?" He sought to confirm, before another wolf showed up - not that it would necessarily be a bad thing but he was still feeding off the paranoia of Octavia and her promised words of hostility. 

So far, the more he thought about it, the only wolves that he had encountered that had been trouble had some sort of ties to the woman. 

This isn't the only scent he can pick up and it makes him more aware that while his wolves are close they aren't right there. He might have paid more attention and called for them, but, really, Stark has never worried that much. Instead he had gone out with the same confidence that he always had. Even if they did make some move against him he's confident in his pack that they'll rally to his call quickly enough. 

His posture matches hers for a moment, if he's not a touch more dominant given how close he is to his pack's lands, and Stark levels his blue gaze on her as she speaks. Heda means nothing to him, and her name seems like a hundred dollar word when compared to his own name, but Stark gets the gist of what she's asking about. "Stark, Alpha of Marauder's Keep." He said. "The Seadogs have been gone for a few weeks now." He explained. "Not that we ever dealt with them, they kept to their own."

In actuality there has been little drama from the outside for the Keep. It's all good and well considering how much drama had plagued the pack from the inside, but, he can't be bothered to think of all of that. Not now. Not when things are finally starting to come together and there is a light ad the end of the tunnel. He can breath a little easier, even if there are still three wolves missing. 

The number is growing smaller and smaller. His pack is getting larger and larger. Stark was curious when she said there was another pack that was giving them some trouble, but the only other pack that is nearby that he knows of is the Larksong wolves. It's ironic considering that Ryujin is even closer to him but they've left each other alone entirely. "Hopefully not too much. We've kept to ourselves through summer. It's proven to be a wise choice." Which is somewhat a lie - since they imploded. 

Stark likens them to the mystic phoenix in his head though, rising out of it's own ashes. He's always had the ego to boot, but, humility is the farthest thing from his mind. 

Warbone is all but a distant memory to Stark. The male's name will always be known, the Keep had been his castle but he had abandoned it and whatever ideals he'd left behind were long gone. Stark didn't believe in being so alone, of building some internal empire and expecting his wolves not to be proud of it. Not to want to make it their own properly. To do that meant to step from the past proudly, appreciate it for what it was, and look to the future and truly embrace it. 

"The only other pack around here I am aware of is Larksong," Stark admitted after a moment, ears curving towards Thuringwethil as if he might catch the slightest hitch of her breath or shift of her heartbeat. For now, Stark doesn't really offer his opinions either way, at least not at the start. If asked he'd have no problems telling her so - it wasn't as if there was some information there that Stark protected. Expect, of course, for Tambourine. But he didn't need to open up that far.

Stark wasn't surprised to hear other news of the wolves of the Grotto. To say that he was not a fan was the most simplistic answer of all. He had plenty of reasons to be upset with them, after all, given the delicate nature of his relationship with Octavia and given that he was the sole parent for Tambourine who had basically been present since the boy's birth. Warbone might have started to parent him, but, he had not done much good as far away as he was. 

"I don't think I've found a fan of theirs yet." Stark admitted with a shrug. "I haven't had any interactions with the wolves near the coast - at least, not near here. Donnelaith's leader was kind enough when we met, but that was before I'd settled in the Keep." He admitted. "Otherwise, we've mostly kept to ourselves until everything got back to normal." Which it wasn't, still, but it was headed that way. 

Mentally the scout filed it away, directions ticked off in his head just adding to the mental map that he's been working on since he settled in the Wilds. He's learned a lot but he knows still there is so much more - and it's a prospect that to some might mean extensive trouble to him it's near mouthwatering. "I might just find myself up that way," He offered with a thin grin before nodding back towards the Keep. "We're just shy of here, should you find yourself closer." He offered. 

It was nice to at least lay down some foundations, to learn more about other packs and to see the leadership of others. He needed to start making himself more available anyways, start to fulfill some of his Alpha duties as he hadn't before. "Safe travels back, Thuringwethil." Stark offered to her before turning around and starting back towards his pack.