Things appeared to be going well. Aside from sleeping out in the open making him intensely uncomfortable (and amounting to very little actual sleep), the boy fell in to a rhythm as the hours passed in to days, and soon he was checking the borders in the morning and scouring the lake for food by the time the midday sun broke through the cloud-heavy sky. He watched the herons soar, and gradually felt himself adjust to this new place — but he pined for something more. It wasn't enough for Screech to be here, in the middle of nowhere. Yeah sure, he was safe and he had the support of his best friend, but they couldn't survive for long between the two of them. He was hopeful that things would change if given the time, but Screech was also incredibly impatient - and not so thorough in his thinking - so he began to multitask as he patrolled what he considered to be the borders of his new home, keeping an eye out for potential interlopers. Maybe if he was lucky he'd run in to more than just Niamh and somehow make them stick around.

As fate would have it, Screech would encounter another wolf today. He half expected to run in to Niamh again, but was also pleasantly surprised when he realized the figure in the distance wasn't her; he suddenly felt very pleased with himself too, for he had made a home in such an open place that it was nearly impossible for someone to sneak around on the plateau. Or, rather, it would be pretty close to impossible once they had the bodies to spare. Whatever.

The stranger was loitering along the lake's edge and moving at a slow pace. Screech wasn't sure how to approach them - there was no way for him to be sneaky either, he had to be direct. He could race on over there and call out, be loud, be obnoxious, but that too so much energy and the boy was decidedly more lethargic lately - lack of food did that to a person. Before he could make up his mind he'd already closed the distance, coming upon the stranger at an easy lope along the shore.

He chuffed; then, choosing finally to be bold and confident since it was his lake, he said, Where'd you come from?

The stranger was... Strange. How fortunate for Screech that he was used to running in to crazies; this one at least seemed pretty passive, but her words were... Yeah, kind of nonsensical. He raised a brow at her comment and responded swiftly with, Uh, sure? Yeah. I'm a time-traveller who has come back to tell you, this place ain't safe, yo. He turned to flash his empty socket in her direction, as if that emphasized the point. There's a bunch of baddies living on the plateau, and they just get badder and meaner every day — where I'm from, they're the worst. But you're important to the future, so you should uh, go that way, he motioned with his nose in a random direction, and settled back on his haunches. Okay? Good talk.

Dang, okay, so she wasn't totally bonkers. She called him out on his behavior and the boy got a bit huffy, the fur of his shoulders rising a little, but whatever. Good going Screech, alienating another stranger, you dumbass. He supposed it didn't matter that much - aside from the fact that he was trying to become some kind of leader among his crew of friends, and could use another body.

I got in a fight with a three-headed monster, came his reply, but there was enough conviction there that it could've been true. May as well be. The three sisters were working together in a way that made them an unstoppable force, something mythic. But in time every dragon met it's match, and Screech hoped one day they'd get theirs. He turned the conversation back at her: Why do you look like you've been dead for one-hundred years? Don't wanna give up the ghost? 

What was up with this lady? Despite the initial blundering of their conversation and the evident age gap between them, Screech decided rather abruptly that he actually liked this person. He didn't know anything about them... Or trust the words coming out of their mouth... Or probably have anything in common with them... But he was entertained by the conversation and just, kinda, decided. The way some people do.

Screech began to nod as she spoke, hearing the bit about being a wolf and.. Well, again, agreeing, but it was more like a 'just smile and nod' moment. Until she got to the end and he was caught-up in the nodding motion, and didn't clue in to what she had actually said until a beat later, at which point he stopped and shook his head towards the negative, What? No. I mean, I don't know -- probably not? No! Gross, he whisked his tail as if in defiance of the very thought.

I'm very much alive. Had to make a deal with the monster - it took my eye, sure, but it also said I had to give up my first born kid if I wanted to ever go home again, that was a tidbit he hadn't shared with anyone yet but it sounded just ridiculous enough to fit with this conversation; Hydra had demanded such a thing, but it wasn't like he was about to honor such a bizarre request just to get back to the Caldera. (And little did he know, the Caldera would soon find it's way to him).