Dragoncrest Cliffs many are the strange chances of the world

With each new day that dawned, Portia's litter grew closer. He was starting to wonder how soon, exactly, and was getting anxious about it already--mostly for her sake as well as his own sense of actually knowing afterward. In return, with another litter in their home impending, potentially very soon, he was imbued with a certain, more tense sort of watchfulness; as if suspicious neighbors, an exiled son, and Wildfire's brood already among them were not enough.

Well south in their redwoods, his patrol came to an abrupt stop when ahead, he heard something coming through, and fast. Lifting his head and jogging closer, quicker, he spotted a young deer darting for the cover of the trees; with it still moving quickly, he couldn't quite see it through the foliage yet, but his nose was keying in to the distinct tang brought with scent of blood with a new sort of interest here.

Initially torn between following it--because the possibility of an easy kill was not one to turn his nose up--and finding out what had helped do this (if any beast were even to blame), the wocha paused at the crossroads a moment to listen.. and nothing sounded, not then. He gave a little huff of a sigh and eventually turned towards direction the deer went fleeing into, and kicked his own gait up to a trot as he went onward to try to catch sight of it again. He did not smell anything immediately on the winds, but a bad feeling remained lurking somewhere well below--and easy to attribute to a paranoia brought on by how close his pups were to being born, too; he would try to make this quick and circle back, doing both for his own peace of mind.

Furi's absence weighs heavily on him, though at a glance one could not tell. He does not know the concept of natrona nor has he considered the dangerous implications of her depature -- mostly he feels guilt for not being there for her enough, that she felt she had to leave. Where she always seemed to struggle to feel at home, Étoille had become easily emersed. All he can really do is hope for their paths to cross again some day.

In the meantime, he takes a break from his loitering near the den to stretch his legs. He is content to spend his days now watching the children grow, enjoying this peaceful respite from the chaos of war and politics. He is in the redwoods when he catches scent of Dio nearby mingled with the blood of deer, and intrigued, picks up his pace. He's not spent a lot of time with the wocha but with Furi and Ajatar both departed from Drageda he does not have much in the way of companionship. Perhaps it would be nice to, how do you say, chill.

A low chuff escapes him as he comes into view of the other man, not wishing to disturb the silence of whatever presumable hunt is going on. Instead he tilts his head in silent question - need a hand?

His footsteps pushed him closer to the hunt, and he began to go through the motions to bring it closer. The trail was clear, he didn't have to work hard there and he was game to pick up his pace. Halfway between every thought, though, he was thinking about the causes--who, why, what, but this distraction didn't suit him already. Going in to this frustrated and peeved already would do him no good, so, after clenching his teeth, he willed it away in favor of easy meat--even if it was possibly finishing the job something else started.

Before he could delve any deeper down this blood-stained path and in the midst of his mental re-settling, Étoille's chuff sends his attentions abruptly elsewhere, and focus was quick upon the masked scout. "Hei," he returned with a short nod, and wasn't about to deny how relieved he was to change tactics a bit here--now he was able to account for less wearing it down, waiting for blood-loss to weaken it further before he made his strike. Between the two of them, he was sure this could go quickly and he felt like odds effectively doubled now with a comrade. Such a new confidence lengthened his stride and made work to gain ground faster. "It was still moving along quick when I saw it last but.." he gestured ahead, below, with a knowing look on; but for how long?

shooort srry

It seems the hunt is still on. He accepts Dio's explanation easily, nodding and casting his gaze in the direction of the trail. There's little to do but continue -- he tilts his head and says genially, "shall we?" Answering his own question, the titan falls into step after the trail, keeping his foot-steps light but quick in order to bridge the gap between the pair and the prey.