The trees were his shelter once again, and had been for a few days now. It was easier to hunker down among the trees than to scale the mountain, or find his way in to the belly of the caldera - especially since he had been away from it for so long. Well, and the fact that Amon's effort to explore the territory had been curtailed by the appearance of his brother... But he had done his best to keep the caldera safe. Amon was a little worn out, but Donatus was nowhere to be found; his scent had faded days ago after their last fight.

Speaking of, their last tussle had left Amon scored with wear and tear. The bulk of his fur had kept him safe from serious injury but there were some cuts and scrapes upon his head and shoulders that needed tending. What was the best way to go about that? Hunt in the forest. Hopefully in the process of finding a remedy to his ails, Amon would encounter one of the caldera wolves - he had much to explain.

Aside from the run-in with Donatus, Amon had spent the past few weeks alone. It was surprising to hear the voice of a stranger through the trees; naturally the man's fur spiked along his shoulders, and he raised his head sharply. A keen look swept across the nearby shadows as his gait steadied, but it was clear by the time Amon reached the other side of a copse of trees that this was not a threat. It was a stranger, yes, but a stranger that was striding out of caldera lands, sans escort.

The boy's tone was jovial as well - a far cry different from the voice of an enemy. Without much pause, Amon called back to him: Hello. A fair day for a stroll. Ugh, what idle and useless banter. But it was pleasant enough. For too long Amon had been in the company of his vile brother. As he neared the salt-and-pepper boy, Amon dipped his head respectfully. How fares the caldera?

The pack had dwindled in number? That would explain why Amon hadn't seen any caldera wolves up until this point; and also why Elwood was so fresh looking to him. He wasn't a stranger, but he was a stranger. -but I think he's working on recruiting new members. Sounds like it is a pretty tight-knit group, though. Elwood succinctly explained, and aside from Amon's briefly furrowed brow, he was quiet. Perhaps he had been tricked by Donatus, and the caldera had suffered after all?

Unsure if he should bring up his sibling, Amon chose instead to focus on other things. Ah, a newbie! I suppose I'm a newbie too, although I've been around since the pack's inception... Sort of. The man huffed as he took a step, chuckling to himself at the peculiar words he had just spoken. To better explain, Amon appended the statement, I heard their howling and joined up the morning after, but I haven't met many of the group. Seems I always find myself alone. But that had been remedied, at least in this instance.

Elwood? A curious name, at least to him. But 'Amon' wasn't exactly a common name either in these parts. Amon. he voiced in the next moment, his thoughts upon the subject evaporating. The rumble of his voice was accompanied by a slight smile, which he held through the ensuing quiet.

You look like you've seen some trouble, A reference to the boy's tiny wounds, which Amon could see in detail now that they were walking in stride; for a moment the older man felt a tremble of concern, and his thoughts shot to his brother - but then he calmed, because he knew Donatus' fighting style. If he had been here, there would be more than just a few scrapes and bruises. -how'd that happen?

Cougars were dangerous beasts indeed - even the Guard had a few run-ins with the territorial felines. Amon's brow raised at the initial mention of the attack, and then there was a brief moment of concern - but this too evaporated. Lucky indeed. That cougar probably thought Fox was an easy meal, what with her ehm, smallness. He didn't describe her in such a way to be vindictive, just pointing out a fact. Fox was a tiny girl compared to Amon - so to him, it was logical that a big cat like a cougar would mistake her for a child, or something similar.

Still, he played it safe. Ah, but don't be telling her I said that. She's a little one, but seems pretty dang feisty. She probably gave that cougar a run for its money. But, knowing now that there was a threat somewhere in the territory, lurking just out of sight and everything... Amon caught upon the idea to hunt it down. Where was it spotted? Maybe we should get some more bodies together and chase it out fer good. Or kill it.

The pack had likely scared it off. But that didn't make the land too much safer - it was only temporary. Or at the very least, that was how Amon liked to think of things. A temporary ceasefire from the encroaching cat. Given the chance, the creature would probably be back; perhaps more likely now that it had encountered wolves, and knew they had set up shop here. A cougar could easily steal from their caches and then escape in to the surrounding neutral territory.

Aye, I would feel better if we investigated a little. Not that you guys didn't do a great job in chasin' the fleabag off, He flashed Elwood a smile, and then turned and began to march; but he paused after only a few steps. I've dealt with those big cats before and they're sneaky little buggers. Best to find it and do away with it. With that sentiment in mind, Amon waited for Elwood to begin leading the way and then he took to pacing beside him. Before long they'd make it to the area where Fox was attacked, and the work could commence.