Coconut Grove sky's been turnin', fire's been burnin' since '93

@Abaddon
keeping it super vague on the sapphique thing
Mild mentions of dysphoria

Eartha was nowhere to be found. In fact, Hawkes had found no sign of any of the group he'd come into these wilds with. It was... disconcerting, to say the least, but he supposed he had been gone for a while. He did hope that Eartha wouldn't have left thinking that he was a deserter, because he wasn't. It was just that if she believed he was, that was... bad news. A your life is in actual danger right now type of bad news. And after he'd brought himself so low to speak to the Sapphique wolves like he had. 

He cringed inwardly, recalling the higher pitch to his voice and the fake kindness and the lies. It was embarrassing, even if he had to admit he was pretty proud of his performance. 

Hawkes didn't know where Abaddon was now, but the man probably didn't have as high an opinion of him either. His biological sex was not much of an issue for him in his day-to-day life, but it was still there, a niggling itch in the back of his head that just didn't quite fit right. 

With no other ideas of where to go, Hawkes had returned to the previous territory of the pack he'd stalked down. The trees here were more familiar to him - coconut trees more suited to a tropical environment than this. It was bizarre to see the fronds and sand covered in snow, but it was interesting to say the least. Hawkes padded up to one and brushed his flank along the coarse bark, relishing in the familiar feeling against his fur. 

Momentarily, he was not fully aware of his surroundings.

To the Ghoul, this place was strange. The trees looked alien and completely unfamiliar. Their fruit? Massive, hard, harry, nutsack-like things that tasted anything but edible as the prince took a swift cautious lick to taste it. With a scowl, he was left disgusted, ready to move on through the frozen sands of the beach. Unaware of the newfound companion who was also wandering these strange woods as well. 

Abaddon didn't think much of his time with Hawkes along Sapphique's borders, only of the interesting meeting they had with the scar riddled woman (and keeping anything that happened there vague for the sake of this thread's continuity). He thought less of Hawkes' change in tone and more so to how someone could wind up looking like that woman and the thought sent shivers down his spine. That image is the exact reason why he avoided any kind of battle in general. 

Too distracted by the woman's visage, he wandered the beach without noticing Hawkes just yet, scratching themselves on the trunk of one of those strange trees.

slight powerplay involved - if that's not okay, please let me know ^^

Fortunately, even though Hawkes had let his guard down for a moment, it didn't seem that it mattered much. He shook his head and brought himself back into reality. It was the scent of blood that brought him back fully - he'd noticed the smell on Abaddon initially, but hadn't really paid much attention. He'd mostly assumed the man had just eaten, but now that he'd noticed it a second time, he wasn't so sure. 

Hawkes caught sight of the ghost shortly after he noticed the scent, yellow eyes scanning him over as he walked down the beach. Abaddon seemed a little out of it as well, and Hawkes was going to fully take advantage of that. 

The pirate crouched down, circling around slowly to follow on the white wolf's trail. It wasn't malicious, but he did like the hunt. But... well, he thought better of actually jumping out at the poor guy - it'd just be mean. 

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings. It might save your life one of these days," he pointed out, like the hypocrite he was currently being.

Even as he spent more time by the ocean the smell of salt still masked his sense of smell and thus making him almost completely nose blind to the familiar stranger lurking amongst the coconut groves. What did help him be more aware of his surroundings were his ears as they swiveled to the side, catching the faint sound of steps in the near-frozen ground. He was ready to defend himself if necessary but remained calm as to keep his composure.

The voice that soon enough announced their presence brought a smile to his face as ears twisted back completely to greet Hawkes. With a pleased swish of his tail, it curled with pleasure at the tip as it caressed his slender figure. And where would the fun in life be without the thrill ignorance brings? He hums with delight, needing no malice as he actually enjoyed Hawkes banter.

Casting a brilliantly dark glance over his shoulder, raising a single dark brow. Was your partner pleased with the news you brought back of Sapphique? He was curious after all.