Silver Moraine berkanan; sustenance

His stomach rumbled, and so Kaylan turned his attention toward finding sustenance. Though he had little doubt in his ability to take down any young ungulate he might happen to find if they were on their own, the male knew it was no guarantee. They were liable to be heavily guarded by their herds, and without a pack to assist, the chances he could separate them on his own was slim.

And so dinner would be scavenged from what he could find. As luck would have it, the forest he found himself in was lush with berries— though it was still early spring, and they were small, pre-ripe, and tart. Kaylan sighed, then gingerly began to pick the unsatisfactory meal from a nearby bush with his teeth.

Grayday was in the moraine for some reason, even though he really doesn't have a reason to go wandering blindly through this somewhat treacherous terrain. Whatever. He was there, sniffing around and hoping for signs of Easy when he caught wind of a stranger. That was fine - many wolves used the floor as a roadway of sorts, even though the gravel was the Worst thing on the planet.

There was just enough light that when he looked up, he could see a stark figure nosing through a berry bush - and eating, apparently.

"That stuff isn't good for you, you know," said the older male. This may or may not have been true, but his mother had always warned him against eating anything but meat unless a doctor gave it to him. A trustworthy doctor.

So, uhhhh... I'm embarrassed, I totally forgot I selected Silver Moraine and was writing as if he were in Phoenix Maplewood? Maybe? O well. *rolls with it* *insert laugh/cry emoji here*

Kaylan hadn't noticed the gravel beneath his feet (or stuck between his toes), nor how odd it was to come across a random fruit-bearing bush in this sort of landscape. He was hungry, saw food, and so he ate. The viking had never been one for multi-tasking, and apparently that included a quite unshakable train of thought. The berries were terrible, but they were all he had— he was far too large and slow to chase birds, squirrels, or rabbits. The next time he could expect to eat red meat was the next time he found himself amongst a pack.

Better to eat shitty berries than starve.

When another's voice broke, Kaylan pulled his head from between the bush's twigs and surveyed the stranger. Then shrugged, Gotta eat.

Grayday's brows rose at this pronouncement. Not if you were going to die, you didn't. He padded closer to the other, nostrils flaring to test for signs of sickness or ailment, but nothing seemed to be wrong with the pale wolf before him. Perhaps he was just down on his luck, conserving energy. Not a bad tactic, but entirely useless if he was going to die by fruits and vegetables.

"Why don't you come home and let me feed you, and the next time we hunt, you can help," he suggested, although he was not sure how he felt about the young man just yet. He would not be allowed near the kids until he'd proved himself trustworthy, but Grayday saw no reason not to give him a chance. If the male ended up leaving before repaying the hospitality, it was only a few meals wasted.

His only goal for weeks— months, perhaps— had been to return to the place that called to his blood. He couldn't explain why; the chances of his family being there were slim to none, and part of him knew that they had long since forgotten him. Some small, superstitious part of him still wished to see his birthplace before he died. But dying, of course, was not on his agenda any time soon. He supposed he was close enough to the coast, now, that he could delay his journey for a time.

Plus, food.

Your home, Kaylan stated, by way of clarification. It certainly wasn't the white beast's home, for he had none. He decided not to argue the semantics of "let me feed you," (he could take care of himself; perhaps not well, but he could manage) and instead shrugged again. Okay.

"Mine and my family's," Grayday agreed, realizing that he hadn't really specified - he didn't really consider that others had a home, especially if they were skulking around outside of his. (Ugh, scouts. How did they live with themselves? He wished his children would pick different pursuits.)

"I'm Grayday. What's your name?" he asked, turning back toward home even though he'd planned to looking around for Easy a while longer. He wasn't going to be the one to bring her home, most likely. It was a better use of his time to get his new acquaintance situated, especially since the man had been reduced to eating berries. Who did that?

(Lots of wolves, Grayday. Lots of them.)

It didn't really compute for Kaylan that the other male was inviting him to join the ranks of his family (because he was, wasn't he?), but a free meal was too great of an opportunity to pass up. It's not like he was expected to be anywhere, anyway; he was unencumbered by obligation, except for what he set for himself.

Kaylan, he responded. It didn't seem pertinent to mention his surname, or offer any additional information about himself. Now completely disengaged from the shitty berries, he turned in preparation to follow the other. As an afterthought, he added, I'm a strong hunter; but not small game. He would be a powerhouse when charging elk alongside a pack, but the image of the large, burly male chasing down a squirrel was laughable.

Kaylan - Grayday tried to file that away, but he always had more trouble with sound names than word names. Hopefully he would not forget this one's name. "Have you been on your own for long, Kaylan?" asked Grayday, wondering how long it would take the other male to get fit enough for a hunt. Their current kill was dwindling down, and only had a few good meals left in it. His kids helped to keep the caches full of small game when they were around, but with Dawn and Aditya out on the road again, they would have to start hunting large game more often.

"We could use a man like you in our pack, if you wanted to stay more permanently," Grayday added seriously, glad to hear that he was a good hunter of large game.

sorry for these dumb phone posts btw