Totoka River a time to be born and a time to die

tagging for reference, all welcome!

No sooner than the man arrived home, did he leave again. The news of @Aria’s departure had been one of the first things to hit his ears [and nose] and Komodo was unsettled with how often he thought of her absence in so little time. The brute didn’t really know what the delicate, snow white fae was to him — he didn’t really want to think about it too much, or to complicate things — but apparently, as his gut reaction told him, she was something. 

He wanted her back.

Figuring his absence would not disturb the stormborn wolves too much [he had only just made his reintroduction, after all], the angakkuq moved out. Komodo crossed the sandbar at low tide, for he was not fond of dampening the fawnskin pouch that hung ‘round his neck by braving the channel, then found the river and followed its arrowlike shores. This path had been explored once more and he found it to be nothing special — but soon, with the cooling of temperatures, it was likely the water would freeze over and trap the life beneath. The scene would easily transition into that of deep winter: frozen, dark, unmoving. Then, he would miss the rushing of these waters.

With that thought heavy on his mind, Komodo continued on his slow moving trek.

It was not often he strayed from the forest these days – he found he had no need to, as wolves were slowly but surely filtering in. They were becoming a small band – but one he felt confident would bring promise to Ravensblood Forest. He had unfurled himself from @Durnehviir’s side only a few hours ago, seeking past the woods and the solitude it offered. He roved the length of a river, his paws feeling the weight of the familiar scent of the ocean as if it were poison – beckoning him to look within its depths and perhaps see the bodies of his sisters.
 
He did not know why he strayed so far – to clear his mind, perhaps, and to seek the solace of his own thoughts, for they remained overwhelmingly loud over the past few weeks. What he had not expected was the familiar form of an unwanted face before him. Slowing, Constantine studied the wolf without warmth as he withheld his lip from curling upward to further reveal his disdain. “Komodo,” he offered, studying the earth-colored man before him.
 
With @Aria residing in the forest for now, he had an implication to what the man currently sought. And despite everything, he felt the rise of jealousy pull at his chest once more.

 On he sauntered, one paw in front of the other other, joints spacious and frame held loose. Komodo’s eyes lingered heavily on the loamy terrain just before him, bobbing along with the subtle jounce of his crown. Long periods of Komodo’s life had been spent doing this very thing — walking, moving, with no destination in particular. He stopped wherever and whenever he found work, or something that proved to be more distracting, but for the rest of his time he drifted and that’s just the way it was. It was something of a meditative action, as he was the earthstalker after all, and maintaining his nomadic lifestyle meant he had to make something productive out of nothing. So the brute walked, withdrawn and at the same time finding oneness with the cosmos around him.  Might as well use this time to commune. 

Komodo did not know how long he moved in this manner, but before long, he was interrupted. 

The medicine man turned his head, ears fluttering against the sound of his own name. Blinking against the sight of Constantine, Komodo to one jaunty step forward, then another. He was surprised, certainly, to see the man here; a man whom he did not know very well. Did not wish to know very well. The earthstalker had never harbored a liking for the man and somehow always felt unsettled in his presence. The news of Constantine’s attrition was not surprising — but now Komodo could see that the dark male he had left, but he hadn’t gone far.

It was a suspicious thing. 

He spoke with a particular flatness. “You left.” he gruffed, leaving the explanation for Constantine to fill in.

Komodo studied him quietly – a look of what seemed to be surprise filtered across his features, though the only response the tawny man received for now was the twitch of the shadow runner’s lip. The corner would curl upward at the statement – and Constantine refrained from pointing out the obvious – that he, too, had left.
 
“You’re a bit far from home.” His words rumbled lightly – the gruff of his tone not missing the implication that Komodo didn’t have much room to speak of abandonment himself, given he now stood before Constantine.. away from the island and the wolves that had previously washed upon its shores. He could have saved them both time and simply offered the wolf the whereabouts of Aria – but he did not know if she wanted Komodo to know where she had gone to.
 
And a part of him also did not want the man near her. A very real part of him that would not have been able to look at Durnehviir if he admitted it to himself.

 Komodo rolled his shoulders up and down his back, trying to shake some of the aggravation he inexplicably felt when looking in the face of the ashen boy. Komodo’s prompt went largely ignored, but the male felt secure in that his comment had struck a nerve. The earthstalker was a wander, but he was not the type of man to leave an entire group of wolves in a lurch — but Constantine might have been that type of wolf.

“Ah’m lookin’ fer someone,” he burred in a roughhewn tone, certain that Constantine knew who he was looking for — and, perhaps, knew where she was. It was possible that this was the reason for Komodo’s agitation; for Constantine’s reappearance hinted that Aria’s abandonment had not been so unintentional. 

The man before him tiptoed around the blatant issue between both men -- @Aria. Constantine had never questioned the ivory dove what her relationship was with the man, but he was not so foolish as to believe it was a simple friendship. The thought shouldn’t have burned jealousy in his chest, but it did, and with it a surge of guilt as a certain fiery she-wolf came to mind.
 
Considering the wolf before him, he remained stoical at best, his shoulders rolling back in a light stretch, as if to loosen some of the tension in the air – though he could care less about the tawny man before him, he cared for Aria – feelings he would need to force to be platonic. “Does she want to be found by you?” You left her behind, he wanted to add, but swallowed the words. He had done no better, leaving her at Moonspear.

He didn't wait for a response -- the lift of his eyebrows was enough to reveal his distrust in the man, and also his disinterest. "Leave her be. She's been through a lot. Unless you can be there for her fully, don't bother," he rumbled darkly, and with that, the swarthy male turned, his stocky form prowling away as he left Komodo behind.. hopefully for good.