Strike deep

The park now housed several packs. Koontz considered it her duty as leader of one of these packs to gather information on her new neighbors. She hoped to establish a good footing between Dragonwatchers and the others. Eventually, she wanted to pay each territory a personal visit. For now, she decided she couldn't leave the plateau for this purpose. She would send ahead one of her Windwalkers to make contact.

She hadn't seen Two Face in quite some time, save for in passing. Koontz moved to the center of the forest that ran along the plateau like bristling hair on a scalp. Once there, she tipped her gray muzzle toward the equally gray sky and issued a howl summoning Two Face, her original Windwalker.

OOC: I hope I showed submission correctly I checked on like three sites and thats the best I could get ... oh and Two Face being called the "original windwalker" made me grin like a buffoon LOL

Since the fight with the nameless white wolf, Two Face had decided to spend a little time within the packs borders. The whipping he had endured had left Two Face embarrassed and angry, He spent most of his time back home proverbially licking his very real wounds. He wasn't usually the vengeful type, but the unprovoked attack caused those very emotions to rage within his soul. The wind carried a familiar voice to the Delta's ears, Koontz was summoning him. As he headed in the direction of Koontz's call, Two Face hoped that the summons wasn't concerning his disgraceful performance against the stinky old wolf.   Koontz wasn't very far from where Two Face had been brooding. It had been some time since Two Face and Koontz had spoken, it wasnt a big shock to him though. With her being the sole alpha since Ariston had vanished she didn't go beyond the borders very much, and he spent the majority of his time searching for prospective recruits, and a little adventure.   Two Face lowered his head as he approached his Alpha's position, the homebody life didn't seem to have affected Koontz at all. She stood before him with the same confidence she showed the first time they met, it made Two Face happy Koontz was after all the rock of Dragonwatchers, and rocks had to be sturdy. Two Face stooped a few feet from Koontz and raised his head," It's been a while Koontz, I'm happy to see the burdens of leadership haven't driven you mad." A playful twinkle played in Two Face's eye, he approached Koontz and licked her under the muzzle before taking a step back. "Was there some thing you needed from me?"

You did fine, though Koontz isn't that fussy about it anyway. And I think he's also the longest-standing member besides Koontz...? :D

The Delta came to her obediently, all smiles and playful quips. Koontz did not crack a smile, however, when her pale eyes ascertained the wounds on the Windwalker's body. The Alpha female went very rigid, then moved closer to inspect the lacerations. They seemed to be healing. No scent lingered to identify Two Face's attacker.

Stepping backward to look him in the face, Koontz said, "Who did this to you?" Her voice was cold, though not because of him. "And why didn't you call or come to me when it happened?" she added, a note of reproof in her voice. She hated seeing one of her pack mates injured and she was already thinking vengeful thoughts even as she waited for the Windwalker to provide details.

Two Face wondered if he was part oracle when Koontz took notice of his wounds. He felt chills run down his spine as she looked over his injuries, he didn't know if they came from her icy stare or the fear of what questions might be running through her mind.   Two Face snapped back to reality when Koontz began firing questions at him. her eyes were a mix of fire and ice, Two Face could almost see smoke escaping her mouth as she asked who injured him, and why he hadn't said anything. Koontz's tone caused Two Face's tail to become nestled between his legs and head seemed to lower of its own accord. He couldn't really say if it was embarrassment at his defeat that made him hold his tongue,or fear that telling Koontz might send her off to avenge him. The last thing he wanted was for any of his pack mates, especially his alpha to be injured because of him.   His hesitance to answer her wasn't going to make Koontz forget the question, so Two Face did what he always did in uncomfortable situations ... he barrelled in head first. " I was just journeying, looking for pack prospects when i happened upon him.I don't know who he was, he never gave me his name, he just seemed annoyed by life and my presence. I do know what he looks like though, an old white wolf with blood caked in his fur, I stumbled upon him mumbling to some one named Sos. So I asked if that was his name, but speaking the name Sos angered him enough to cause him to attack me."   Two Face found the courage to raise his head, he stared in to Koontz's eyes with a resolute expression. " And I meant no disrespect in failing to inform you Koontz, but I didn't want to risk you heading off to get revenge, I didn't want anyone getting hurt because my diplomacy skills failed." Two Face swallowed hard, and found himself staring at the ground as he awaited the tongue lashing that was surely coming. he would soldier through the scolding, but he hoped he didn't lose his windwalker title, or the respect of Koontz.

Although she found it difficult to focus, Koontz nevertheless made a conscientious effort to pay close attention to Two Face's every word. As he spoke, she painted a mental picture, which she would store in a mental filing cabinet. The mention of Sos gave her pause and her eyes narrowed shrewdly. She knew that Sos was a bear god, a dark one, if she recalled correctly. The fur along her nape prickled not only out of anger but apprehension as well.

"Where did this altercation take place? And when?" she asked waspishly, keen to gather as many details as she could. But before Two Face could possibly answer her, she seemed to catch herself. "I'm sorry, I'm really not angry at you, per se. I do wish you'd told me—in future, come to me directly if anything like this ever happens again—but I'm angry with this wolf who attacked you."

She paused, drawing in a breath to steady herself and closing her pale eyes. When they reopened, she continued more calmly. "This attack was unprovoked? Are you certain you weren't trespassing or anything like that?" As much as she wanted to tear out the jugular of the wolf who'd hurt Two Face, she wanted all the facts first before she decided what action, if any, to take.

He had hoped that Koontz would leave the matter alone after he informed her that he didn't want any one to get hurt, but of course she didn't. Two Face knew that Koontz was not the type of leader to let such an attack go so easily, and that was exactly the reason he followed her.   She shot out questions at him faster than he could answer. Where di it happen, when did it happen, are you sure you didn't cause it? Two Face fought a smile from spreading over his face, he found it amusing, some how he found some one besides himself that cared if he lived or died. He wanted to lie to Koontz to keep her out of harms way, but he respected her too much to do that. He decided he would have to trust her to know what's best, it wasn't her sense of humour that got her to alpha after all. " It happened some time last month, as for where I remember it was a lake I believe some where in the rising sun valley. And no I wasn't trespassing there was nothing to mark the area as his, I may try to purposely get my self lost while I'm travelling, but I stay very aware of encroaching on any other packs territories." Two Face gave Koontz a crooked smile "I wouldn't want other packs thinking we Dragonwatchers are boorish louts. It happened so long ago Koontz, I doubt there is anything that can be done about it now, but of course I defer to your decision."

His answer left her at a loss, as the attack had taken place much further in the past than she had realized (especially when taking dog years into account). Koontz pursed her lips and exhaled slowly through her nose, gazing contemplatively at Two Face. He did not seem interested in pursuing the culprit and bringing him to justice. Although this didn't sit well with the Alpha female, she supposed she should defer to his opinion on the matter.

"I don't like it," she stated rather pointlessly. She bit back a sigh, paused and then said, "I called you here to ask you to do me a favor. It will require traveling and meeting with other wolves. Do you feel up to the task, Two Face?" She'd just loosely described his job as a Windwalker but, considering the circumstances, Koontz wouldn't mind asking Curran to go in the Delta's stead.

OOC: I'm a complete dunce Kat I spaced how time works when you are threading and brought up a battle that happened months ago :/ my fault.

A wave of relief crashed over Two Face when Koontz finally dropped the matter of his scars. she voiced her displeasure about dropping the matter, but in the end it wasn't her problem to deal with. Koontz was quick to jump right to the reason she had called him here, and the reason caused his heart to become lodged in his throat. Two Face had come back to his pack partly to heal his wounds, but the reason he had lingered here was hard to admit to himself. Along with the wounds the white wolf had left behind an unwanted gift. A seed of fear, that took root in his mind and quickly spread like ivy to entrap his whole being, and stealing away his drive to leave the safety of this place. And now Koontz was asking him to go back out there and meet with the unknown. The simple thought caused his scars to throb, but Koontz had given him a home and never asked anything in return, and he would be damned if he allowed his fears to stop him from helping her now.   "Of course I am, what kind of Windwalker would I be if I passed up a chance like this." Two Face forced a smile to spread over his face and prayed that it appeared to be a confident one. "so any where in particular you were wanting me to go first, or should I do my normal thing and let the wind be my guide?"

Ooh, you mean the fight with Lecter happened a while ago? Well, Koontz doesn't have to make an overly big deal about it, so I don't think it'll be an issue? :)

Two Face's face and demeanor gave away nothing about his internalized fear. When he jumped at the chance, she grinned at him, her tail twitching. "Fantastic," she enthused in reply. "Actually, I'd like you to check out the forest across the hot springs. I want to say it's called Neverwinter but I'm not one hundred percent sure. You can also scout out the surrounding areas. Primarily, I'd like you to go to their borders and request to speak to a leader, then offer them a token of friendship on behalf of Dragonwatchers. If they inquire about an alliance, tell them I'm open to one but would need to speak directly to the Alphas myself before considering it formally. Um... and I guess that's it," she finished on a slightly informal, awkward note, after having sounded so imperiously businesslike.

"I just want to get off on a good foot with your neighbors, you know? Dragonwatchers wishes ill will on no one," Koontz thought aloud after a pause. She ran her tongue over her teeth, gazed into the distance for a moment, then refocused and added, "I'm sending you in that direction so there shouldn't be any risk of running into the wolf who attacked you. Feel free to leave whenever you have the time, though I'd love to get the information as soon as possible so that I can stay on top of our relationships with all the park's other packs."

She fell silent then, wondering if Two Face would set off immediately or if he would hold off for a few days. It didn't much matter to the Alpha female, as long as the job was done at the end of the (proverbial) day.

OOC: sorry about the delay between post i've been looking for work, but seem unable to find any love ... should i make this my last post; or did you wanna do another round?

Her wishes were very clear to Two Face; she obviously wanted him to head out to the new packs sooner rather than later. he would waste no time setting out on his journey; time would only allow more fear to seep in to him, and paralyze his limbs. "that does sound like a very big job; it is a testament to your leadership choosing your number one wolf to complete this job." Two Face shot Koontz a playful wink then turned his head in the direction of the hot springs.   "I'll head out quickly then; it should be fun to meet with new wolves." As Two Face thought about his mission an image of the old white wolf appeared unbidden in his mind. He quickly swallowed down the lump growing in his throat then turned back to Koontz. "was there anything more you need from me?"

No worries! I'll wrap it up here. :)

Two Face seemed to want to head out directly. Koontz almost insisted he take his time, then she thought better of it and said instead, "All right. It is a big job but, you're right, it should be fun. I trust you'll do a good job." She returned his wink, then shook her head lightly when he asked whether there was anything more to add.

After seeing Two Face off on his mission, the Alpha female decided to check out the communal den while she was here at the territory's center. She slipped inside and found it a little musty and dusty from disuse. With nothing better to do at the moment, she began to brush some of the cobwebs away, telling herself that it needed to be spruced up in time for the coming winter...