it had been a nice journey, save the shadow of undersea following him like a pair of eyes, everywhere he went. maybe that was why he turned away from the coast, today, trekking instead to the mainland--a place he so often loathed. well, no. loathed wasn't the correct word; it certainly wasn't to his preference, though.

with a short farewell to dawn, adi trotted south, toward the mountains. he'd seen this range up close on his two separate visits to moonspear, but even on his third viewing, the crags were still daunting--much higher than the ones that had cradled the plateau. this was a smaller slope, and he ascended it well, only puffing a little as he came to a beautiful clear lake.

licking slightly dry lips, aditya bent and lapped at the water, grateful to end his thirst. it wasn't long, though, before he felt on edge, and knew he was not alone. his eyes landed upon a burly male, dozing in the sun, not so far away from where he stood.

with a wary chuff, aditya waited for the man to open his eyes, after which he'd give the stranger a polite nod. perhaps even introductions could be made.

adi's lips curved in a wry smile, the curt words not putting him off too badly, and he dipped his head in greeting. "definitely the latter," he assured the male, his tail giving a single wag. "i also didn't want to intrude, if this is your home." he remembered the reddish man in the mountain cave all too well; he didn't want a repeat of that incident, especially since this fellow was well-built and battle-tested, by his looks.

he sized him up without malice, eyes raking over the warrior body for merely a second before he spoke again. "my name is aditya," he introduced himself with a small bow of his muzzle. his smile grew wry. "is this your home?" he did seem quite comfortable here, but that could just be his nature. he was about grayday's age, and he carried a scent that seemed vaguely familiar to aditya's nose.

he quite liked the man; he was easygoing and charming, the sort of wolf he'd find himself hanging around when he was a loner on the coast. aditya found himself relaxing in his presence, slowly letting down his guard. his introduction piqued his interest, and his lips pursed, as if he were about to interrupt, but he waited until colt had finished speaking before jumping in.

"just passing through," he confirmed, smiling. "on a scouting trip from my pack to the northeast. haven't been down this far since before i came to these lands." adi cocked his head at colt, his question surfacing once more. "'of recent'? where were you staying before?"

south. aditya paused for a moment, trying to think. "moonspear?" he asked, thinking of the imperious dark alpha female, her entrancing daughter. "sorry--don't mean to pry. that's just the only group i think of close to here, and i'm somewhat familiar with their leaders."

he smiled at the question. "i was alone for a long while before coming here, but i spent the first few months of my life with my mother, and then another few moons past that with my uncle. they spoke a different language than wolves do here. down south." he flicked his tail, completing the abridged version of his origin story.

adi laughed, eyes glimmering as he shrugged. "i do okay," he said, with a modest bow of his head. that wasn't really important; what was important was the name colt had dropped. "redhawk? so they've moved over here, then?" it was a ways from the caldera, but not out of the realm of possibility. he wondered why they had relocated; their alpha male had mentioned that they'd been there a long time.

"i met a young man from redhawk, a moon or two ago," aditya remarked, thinking of his brief encounter with the boy. "he said his name was tegan--he was visiting a wolf from our pack." his stomach churned as he thought of easy. she had been away for a while. aditya had kept his eye out for her as they'd traveled down the coast, but to no avail--no sign of the girl.

but perhaps-- "speaking of that, have you seen a girl around tegan's age, down here? dark brown, big for her age. her name is easy." it was worth a try. perhaps if she was hanging around the redhawks, adi could convince her to come home. they had been on shaky terms since that fated scouting trip, and she wouldn't be happy to share the road with dawn and him. . .

but it was worth a try.

he smiled. he hadn't seen much of tegan, but from what he had seen, he knew the boy to be one of character. very much like easy. his smile faded, though, as colt confirmed he hadn't run into easy down here; he had hoped for a lead on her location, but it seemed he would have to continue looking and asking.

"yes, she's been gone for a moon or two," aditya responded, lips firming as he thought on it. since they had quarreled, he hadn't seen much of the girl, so he was shaky on the timeline of her disappearance. "she's very independent--but she doesn't stray for long. this is the longest she's been gone since i've known her."

his shoulders rose and fell in a shrug, a resigned sigh slipping from his lips. "thanks anyway, though. got any plans, yourself?" he wondered where the man was headed. back to other family members, outside the redhawk pack? or perhaps he'd stay alone, wandering through the wilds. it was summer, and prey was plentiful; colt would likely do just fine.

"thank you," aditya said, gratitude palpable in his voice. he was very fond of easy, and his worry for her had increased each and every day she hadn't returned home. if she was lost, he hoped she had found a safe place to stay. maybe she'd find her way home eventually. "i appreciate it very much."

he nodded, understanding. it was precisely why he had joined morningside in the first place. injured and exhausted from his battle with the sea, he knew he hadn't a chance in hell of getting through the winter alone. dawn and pema had been like sirens, drawing him in. for this man's sake, aditya prayed he found his pair of sirens as well.

he glanced the way he'd came, aware of the time slipping by. "i must get back; i left my mate on the coast," adi said, smiling. he bowed his head. "very nice to meet you, colt. best of luck." his plumed tail waving behind him, he turned and took off, headed back toward the sea.