Blacktail Deer Plateau planetary

On that cold, half-lidded morning, Sirius stirred in the snow tentatively. First he peered around himself thoughtfully, flicking the snow from his ears and whiskers as he blearily took in what he could of his surroundings. He'd taken to traveling at night when it was colder and his steps were quicker, but he often couldn't tell where he was going. This made each morning an event— finally seeing what he couldn't in the dark— and it was the only thing the teen had any joy for these days. Mostly his dawns were inconsequential, but in trying to have a destination, his traveling method was a flawed technique at best and unusable at worst.

Since he had already been traveling (figuratively) blind, Sirius had well overshot his intended destination during his jaunt in the night. He realized his mistake easily enough, but a nibbling at his ear bade him not to backtrack. He looked instead to the range ahead, and solidified his resolve to move forward.

He unraveled his limbs slowly, and stretched the ice from his veins in slow, even flexes. When he was on his feet, he skipped to a trot, keeping his head low and his gaze forward. It wasn't long before the leaner-than-usual young male came to the markings of a plateaued pack barring his immediate way. Keeping the packlands to his distant left, Sirius skirted what he knew to be claimed and continued south with the intent to find his way around.

With Day gone Pema had stepped up her game on the border patrols. She always had Adi and Dawn to help her as well, but she could almost always find Day simply by waiting around the border. Today that would be her job and so she made her way down to the meadow. 

She had been patrolling for about half an hour before a unfamiliar gray wolf came into view. A rather lean one at that. Was he looking for food? She thought to herself, another loner looking for an easy meal. 

She spotted him from a distance and it didn't seem like he was waiting for an audience. But he was teetering so close to the edge of the pack's border she thought she would step in and say something to him. Quickening her pace to catch up to him she approached with a gallop which shortly turned into a trot to match his own. She stayed on her side of the border a few yards away before asking him. "Hello. Is there anything I can help you with?" her tone was more curious and questioning then her normal friendly self.

Sirius' solitude was shortlived that day. He glanced a large spot of chestnut in his peripheral, though pretended to remain ignorant of the wolf's presence as he quickened his trot. He had always gone unnoticed before, and he was loathe to know how he should act in the event he was seen. His eagerness to exit had been improvised and he felt comfortable avoiding a potential punishment, but when she called out to him, Sirius knew it was only polite to return her attentions. His mother had taught him better.

The sterling boy stopped short, turning his ears back protectively as he angled his slim muzzle towards the ground. His eyes flitted between taking in her features little by little and making sure his exit didn't become blocked by some yet unforeseen opponent. Since killing Ran, he had always assumed they would come for him, calling for retribution: a life for a life. It was nigh. He wouldn't let it catch him unawares.

Sirius cleared his throat, trying to eradicate the strange tonal changes his voice had been peddling through recently, but it was largely ineffective. Especially considering how little he had spoken in the last few months. "No, I.. I don't think so," he squawked in an effort to speak over the distance he kept. His whiskers twitched, and his eyes kept dancing. She looked like a wolf well taken care of— loved and looked after. The adolescent felt the pricking of something sharp at the back of his head as a shard of green-envy tried carving its way past his subconscious. Suddenly he seemed to think better of her question.  "I was just trying to find my way around?" he tried uncertainly.

She thought it was suspicious how he quicked his speed when she approached him. Was he running away from her? Had he done something wrong that she didn't want to know about? And with him being so close to the border she was eager to find out. But once she called out to him he stopped. Maybe giving up the chase now that he knew he had been caught. 

He stumbled over his words. Was it nerviousness, she wondered. Whatever it was it was rubbing Pema the wrong way. Trying to find your way seemed like a very vague and generic answer. If he was just finding his way around, surely he wouln't mind some directions right? Some directions away from their borders. "Where is it that you're wanting to go. I may be able to point you in the right direction."

As the unwanted heft of judgement settled on his shoulders, Sirius sank slightly under the she-wolf's scrutinizing gaze. Did she know? How could she? She hadn't been Teaghlaigh... but he had disobeyed Lotte. Surely she had cronies out this far. Her legion neverending. He tucked in what was left of his tail, and deepened the bow of his skull, continuing to glance towards his chosen escape route. As much as he resembled an adult male, Sirius was very much still young-minded, and a lot of his confidence had been lost in his imaginings of himself as a fugitive.

"Well, it's not a place, r-really..." he cleared his throat again as his voice jumped uncomfortably into the high pitch of prepubescence. "I was looking for my mother," he admitted, wincing as he thought of Hemlock. "Her name's Olive. She's got white fur and green eyes," it all came spilling out, "and I haven't seen her in a long time... but I thought if I could find her, she'd help me through the cold time... because I dunno when it's going to end, if ever, and... I just need her help."

The pitch change in his voice only feed into Pema's idea that he might not be telling the truth. But luckily with a name and some added information, she began to think he might be telling the truth. But something still seemed off about him. She could sense some sort of nerviousness comming from him. 

Then she noticed that he was missing a tail which caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand. She had to think for a moment that it was a female missing a tail that had attacked Lav and Day, not a male. In either case it didn't seem like this male needed to be so close to their territory, even if his stroy checked out.

"I'm sorry to hear that you're missing your mother, but there's no one named Olive within our borders, and I don't know any wolf by Olive. I would suggest looking else where... away from our borders." she tried to say in a polite but sturn way.

It took him a beat to catch her drift. Sirius watched her dumbly for a fraction too long, and then when it clicked that she had implied his dismissal, he felt like he'd been dunked in icy water. This was a wolf not looking for him, and in the absence of necessity his presence simply repulsed her. He didn't yet understand that his fears would no longer come off as "scared, little boy," but now read something more like "shifty, suspicious creep" without any pretext to his manners. He wasn't a wolf that still need caring for, and he didn't know that he had wanted anyone's help (not just Olive's) until he had been rejected from the option without even asking.

Crushed, and partial to fleeing anyway, Sirius turned tail and broke into a sprint, taking the most direct route out of the she-wolf's sight— and away from her borders— as quickly as he could.

She felt alittle bad to see him go without a word. He was still rather young, but he was old enough to be considered an adult by many pack standards. Had he been less nervious and or suspicious she might have been more open to an actual conversation. But the fact of the matter was, his mother wasn't here, and Pema had never heard of a wolf by that name. If he was going to have any luck finding her, he would have to look away from thier borders. She watched as he moved far, far away. She didn't feel the need to let anyone else of the pack know. He didn't pose any real threat to the pack. She wasn't able to help, but maybe someone else could.