Traveling alongside the silver male, Eli had questions – like why people were leaving Swiftcurrent Creek, why both of them had left a newcomer there and trusted him enough not to wreak havoc the moment they left and so on. But the agouti male took to small talk, blabbering about any sort of interesting landmark he came across during their travels. He had been to Mount Apikuni before, but had gotten distracted by a new face so he hadn't actually explored it like he wanted to. Shadow, too, seemed determined to deny him of exploring.
Ears perked, blinking as the male decided that it was best to call it a night. His ears pulled back. The night was typically a good time to travel, the heat wasn't has strong as it was in the day and wolves had great eyesight under the cover of the darkness. Eli wanted to argue with him, was almost tempted to say something before he felt the slight ache of tiredness on his eyes. Maybe resting would be better.
So the tank of a male wolf nodded his head obediently, searching alongside Shadow for a place to settle for the night. The silver male found a burrow which he entered and tucked into. Eli hesitated for a moment – used to making little nests out of leaves and settling in a comfortable bush near a tree. But perhaps the warmth of the burrow would win him over. The Pi trotted forward, sliding into the burrow and feeling claustrophobic – he was a big guy so burrows like this weren't exactly the best fit. Nonetheless, he wasn't exactly... stuck. Maybe he'd have to crawl backwards to get out though.
“So...” He drawled out, blue eyes flicking towards Shadow as he settled and tried to get comfortable. “What position do you hold in the pack? Is Bazi the Alpha?” Her scent was the strongest around the Swiftcurrent Creek territory, but... once more, small talk.

Only a week?! So... she was a new Alpha. Maybe that was why people were leaving? They didn't like her? Well, Eli couldn't say he knew Bazi well, but she did... sorta just leave him stranded there – trusting Shadow would be capable of taking care of him. That didn't really pan out, so Elijah couldn't help but judge her somewhat for it.
Shoulders shrugged, Eli stretched his paws forward and rested his chin over top him. Surprisingly Shadow had a lower position than he originally thought in the pack. He was thinking more-so Epsilon... but it did make sense of why the silver male could take off with a newb in the pack so easily.
The Eta growled playfully, speaking up that he wanted some sleep and Eli responded via sticking his tongue out at him – he always liked talking before he fell asleep. Granted a lot of folks tended to tell him to shut up the moment he got delirious enough to start his dreaded “what ifs”. Eli may act like a bundle of energy, but when he was tired he was akin to a kid high off sugar.
“G'night, Shadow,” he murmured, tucking his tail close to his hindquarters and gradually closing his eyes – letting himself daydream until sleep took him.

“Wake up, Eli!”
He groaned – half asleep mind interrupted from a dream about chasing butterflies in Wapun Meadow – part of him wanted to roll over and ignore the Eta's beckoning. Sure, he did say the magic word – “explore” – but Eli was also grumpy whenever he's just woken up. His lips pulled in a half-snarl at the silver male's nudge. The Pi didn't attack him though, didn't offer anything more than a look of annoyance until he slowly blinked his blue eyes open. He squinted them, the light blinding him momentarily as he stared at Shadow. He was talking... talking about adventuring, climbing the mountain and hunting.
Eli answered with a big yawn.
Blinking his eyes, he gradually crawled slowly out of the burrow – having a few issues at first and thinking he was stuck a few times. Shadow was waiting outside, looking like he had been refreshed and was ready to take on the world while Eli looked like a zombie with odd hairs sticking up in ever which way.
“Have you been here before?” His voice was groggy, cut through with another yawn.

“Gee, thanks, Shadow, you're such a pal,” he grumbled sarcastically with the roll of his eyes. Whilst half-asleep, he wasn't feeling too terrible, just had a dose of grumpiness as he usually did when first awoken. Eli was the type that you didn't want to talk to in the morning until he's woken up and back to his dandy, cheery self. His ears twitched at the mention of food – his stomach growling was enough of a response, he believed.
“I'll be fine,” he stated. “There should be a creek somewhere near here...” Eli spoke up, glancing around for the place he had met Leon at. It wouldn't take too long to find, he just hoped that Shadow was up to following him – else they could end up at two different places. The agouti male trotted forward, searching until his nose caught whiff of the scent of water and soon enough, he could hear the sound of running water over pebbles.
He rushed forward, albeit clumsily, until he was at the creeks side. He lapped up a few mouthfuls of water before splashing his face lightly – feeling somewhat more awake now.