A loud boom of a sneeze rattled a patch of dandelions, spraying wispy seed fluff all about. For a moment, the stridulations of summer insects stopped; the area silence didn't last as Taikon let out another sneeze. Damn flowers, he thought.
Seasonal allergies struck him fairly rarely, but there was something carried on the wind that day that stifled his breathing. Such an uncontrollable thing was one of his many banes, not least of all because it dulled his normally keen sense of smell. Today, it had the unfortunate effect of preventing him from realizing he had entered a place chock full of wolves.
On the upside, the first one he encountered was on neutral land. The large, grey beast towered over the weeds beneath him. Taikon's ears swiveled forward, alert. His body stiffened. Trust no one, he said silently.
He attempted to sniff at the air many meters apart from the newcomer, but fed his throat full of snot instead. He sneezed, again. Severely irked now, he shoved a large cream paw over his nose to try to clear it of whatever garbage ailed him. Looking back at the formidable other, he let out a small huff.

The grey beast had a confident air about him. He strut himself nearer to Taikon, whose hackles also rose. Histail fluffed as well, and he held it out as a clear sign that he was not to be trifled with. The other showed no real aggression, but his expression made the white wolf laugh nervously.
Sorry; their smell makes me sneeze. I don't like it either, he said, assuming the other wasn't disgusted by him. He wanted to sniff the stranger, but a sniffle quickly reminded him that it would do little good. Instead, he raised his head a bit, as if to look down on the other male despite their height being comparable. He moved to the side to show his, honestly, meager bulk that he thought was much larger. Where'd you come from, anyway? The question hung rudely, and he made no sign of offering his name or a kind word past his earlier apology.

Each creature stared the other down, the grey pack wolf annoyed, the white vagabond purturbed. Taikon's distrust of others had served him well many times, but it also prevented him from forming any kind of bond with any animal he felt the least bit threatened by. He had travelled a long distance for a long time, and if there was one thing he had learned, it was that strangers were dangerous.
The dark male spoke of a pack, which now seemed obvious by how well-fed he looked. Taikon raised a brow, his eyes betraying a dull disbelief. Oh? He said, hardly worried. Any anxiety surrounding the stranger seemed to lift then as arrogance slipped back into his demeanor. Doesn't that mean 'bear'? Do you call yourself bears? It was a real question, but nonetheless stupid, designed in such a way to further annoy the beast.
This was, of course, hardly wise. He chortled shortly, as though he had told a joke he had only just remembered the punchline to.

The grey male, unphased by Taikon's idiocy, continued his explanation. Bearclaw. Indeed. Taikon had been correct. One of the fortunate parts of the Faruka had been that as a prince, Taikon had learned many factoids and bits about the cultures and practices of others. One of those practices was basics in obvious latin, particularly in terms of the most common constellations.
The Ironfang, as he called himself, seemed to have other things on his mind than stars and the arbitrary patterns they produced. Bruin-witch? The white loner tilted his head almost imperceptibly. He remained stiff, but he was very curious about this new term. What is that?

Taikon received no more than a fart of an explanation and a faint snarl for his question. The dark male was clearly not an animal to be pressed further, but Taikon felt unsatisfied. Clearly there must have been a reason to name a leader anything other than the common Alpha or King, and he wanted to know what it was.
The grey male moved on. Rather than engaging in further conversation, he made a choice to leave. This was abrupt, but something Taikon was used to given his lack of compliance with the status quo. Okay. Bye. He said it to mostly air, likely too quietly for the other male to hear. With that, he turned away and continued in his act of wandering, searching for nothing, doomed to an eternity of travel without gain.