Swiftcurrent Creek oooh, it's too real!

stop two along tegan's journey to morning side. homeboy is hungry and tired. takes place for april 9th.

honestly, if towhee didn't kill him-- he might accidentally kill himself. it'd only been two days since he'd left but tegan was huuuunnnggrrrryyyy. and tired. he tried to hunt earlier but it was too hard. shit. he wished he would've tried to convince fiadh to come along-- she probably would've been helpful. he was pretty sure he was in the right direction-- he'd crossed the mountains, it was somewhere north now, he could do that. he could find it.

but right now, he wanted to eat. and he was staring at a boar that was drinking at the waters edge. was it foul play to hunt while it was drinking? maybe? but when had tegan ever cared about that? but those tusks... he wasn't the best fighter-- what if it hurt him? maybe he didn't need to eat that badly, he could wait until he got to morningside... probably, anyway. a soft whine escaped his throat. he was glad he was seeing easy but... damn, tegan missed home.

it was nearly spring--though with the snow, it certainly didn't feel like it--and they'd been settled here for a couple of moons now. well past time for aditya, ambassador that he was, to pay a visit to their allies to the south, as well as meet the leader of indra's bearclaw valley pack. with a goodbye to dawn and an assurance he'd be back soon, he headed south, skirting the marshes and stopping for a rest near the creek where he'd met allure.

he lowered his muzzle, taking a long but cautious drink. he was careful to keep his footing. true to its name, swiftcurrent could pull a wolf under without hesitation, and he did not feel like yet another battle with the water in his short life. a small, muffled snort caught his attention, and he looked up to see a boar in the near distance.

cocking his head with interest, adi peered at the creature, though keeping a wary eye on its tusks. it was then that he noticed the boy, his green eyes also locked on the boar. he wasn't considering taking it on, surely? but he saw the tell-tale glaze of hunger in that gaze, and knew that hunger drove one to do crazy things.

giving the pig a wide berth, aditya gave a low chuff of greeting, sidling up to the boy but keeping a respectful distance. his nostrils flared; he smelled of the caldera, much to aditya's surprise. what was he doing so far from home? he couldn't be any older than dauntless, though he knew dauntless and his littermates were more than capable of fending for themselves. was the war over? had he defected?

"hey, there," adi said softly, giving the lad a smile and waiting for him to speak.

tegan was sure as heeeell not paying attention to anything that wasn't that boar. so, actually, this wolf scared the heck outta him. he did a short jump to the side, head whipping to glare at the guy at his side, ears splayed. he'd heard the tone-- it was friendly, so tegan didn't react hostilely but... god damn, a little warning, pal? before tegan could say anything unintelligent, he recognized the guys scent.

"ah-- wait, you're from morningside? i'm coming to visit my friend easy-- do you know her?" he said quickly, honestly forgetting about the boar completely.

he gave a grimace as the boy started, feeling bad, but waited for him to speak. at his question, adi nodded eagerly, a smile flitting across his face. "easy is my sister. well, sister-in-law," he amended hastily. she felt so much a part of his family that the in-law part was often forgotten, at least by him. "my mate's younger sister."

aditya leveled his hawkish gaze onto the boy, face growing solemn as he continued. "who are you? i recognize your scent from the caldera," he pointed out, with a brief sniff of illustration. "are you just here to visit easy? it's not a small trip, from there to here."

oh, this was family? that's kinda dope... kinda. it was sort of indifferent information to tegan, but his ears pricked like it was interesting to him. "yeah i'm from the caldera-- m'names tegan," he said with a single, perky nod, "and i know but like, we're moving somewhere and i dunno when the next time i'm gonna be able to see easy is so... i couldn't leave her hanging, i had to let her know." 

he hesitated for a moment, realizing now that this guy probably could relay the information, which would take a big ole weight off his shoulders. "i gotta do it myself though, i feel like she'd give me a rough time if i didn't, ya know? i don't got time to be in more trouble with more wolves," he added, because he assumed aditya might bring it up himself... and tegan truly was in over his head with trouble anyhow.

tegan. he filed the name away, listening to the boy as he explained the situation. the caldera was moving? this information did nothing to dispel the small kernel of worry that lingered in aditya's stomach. when he'd last paid this pack a visit, they had seemed comfortable, settled there. what had happened to drive them from their home?

despite the uneasiness, he shot tegan a smile, giving him a nod of respect. "of course, i understand," he replied softly. "do you know where you're going? i can show you to the borders, if you'd like. it's not far." he kept his voice casual, knowing how fiercely independent a wolf of this age was going to be. he knew from experience--on both ends--that they hated being babied.

"why is your pack moving?" he asked, in case the young man rejected his offer and took off on his own.

I SUCK I'M SORRY

"no no, i gotta do it myself, cause if i just get someone else to do it for me i won't even learn anything," tegan said firmly, only realizing after he said it how lame and like fiadh he sounded. ugh. learning, who the fuck cared about learning?

him-- apparently. he gave the guy a quick look. "thanks, though."

should he be sharing that info? he didn't know. either way, tegan shrugged a bit. "there's a pack near us we don't like-- that's the simple version, anyway," he told the guy with a small sniff.

it's okay <3

aditya nodded, understanding. he sounded just like easy; they'd make a good match. perhaps for now they were just friends, but maybe with time, their relationship could blossom into something more. unlikely, with the redhawks moving away--well, unless they came closer. he would have to keep an eye on the situation.

his brows lifted in interest as tegan mentioned the other pack; that must be the wolves of the dark woods. they were still around? he let out a small sigh, giving up on it. the complexities of that conflict were too much for him. all he knew was that morningside wasn't involved, and he would see to it that they would continue to stay neutral. and with redhawk relocating, removing themselves from the area, maybe it would just die out altogether.

"well, i hope the move goes well," adi said amiably. he nodded toward the boar, still engaged in drinking. "are you hungry? we'd be happy to give you food and shelter at morningside. no tusks involved," he added, one corner of his mouth lifting in a wry smile.

tegan's tail wagged. "thanks, bro, i hope it goes well too," he said with a bright, toothy lil smile. and he followed the guys gaze out over to the boar, his own smile turning a bit dry and his gaze narrowing. "yeah that'd be real cool, if that's not like, a big deal. whenever i get there, anyway," he said with a quick dip of his head. 

and then, glancing away, his nose twitched a few times and he gave another abrupt nod. "aight! i better set back off then," he announced, forgetting about his hunger with the promise of food at a sooner date, "nice meetin ya!" although now that the opportunity had presented itself, tegan realized this man had not given him his name. drats. but whatever. it was time to go!! and so tegan set off.

aditya barely got a syllable out in answer before the boy was off once more, headed toward morningside. "safe travels," he called softly after the boy, smiling. the boar, which had finished drinking, gave him a wary look before shuffling further downstream.

blinking slowly, the man grinned, mouthing "bro" to himself as he headed toward easthollow. tegan. he'd have to remember the name, the next time he visited the redhawks.