Lost Creek Hollow I can’t take one step out of your world anyway

Hoping for a @Merrick

Enough was enough.

The amount of time passed since he fell into such a terrible stupor was not the least bit memorable; time itself had become but a blur in his socially deprived state of pure self pity.

Wasn’t it about time that he stopped?

Alexander broke away from the grasp of his hideaway and made his way deeper into the territory, temporarily abandoning the outskirts of the pack’s domain so that he might detect a scent. Something familiar but also unknown, belonging to a child he’d hardly seen even in passing, and had never made any effort to fully acquaint himself with. Why would he have, when he could not even find it within himself to form a lasting bond with his own flesh and blood? Nevertheless, the boy was the key now, a necessity to unlocking parts of himself that he’d nearly forgotten about, it’d been so long since he’d last looked in.

No matter, he sought the soul of his relation-by-relation and stopped just short of entering more commonly navigated paths. There he lingered, mind momentarily absent, before setting loose from his maw a short, low howl; with it was carried the request for a meeting with the boy, the destination of said expected encounter uttered in hushed, riddled tones. Thereafter he abandoned his position and returned to the outskirts of the territory, where he waited with an absent gaze.

a summons was unfamiliar. merrick paused from astride the still-breathing body of a sparrow, its tiny body viciously plucked free of feathers, skin bleeding from the abuse. the little bird continued to struggle, though the boy ended that with a single snap of his jaws, and went on to meet the ivory male who called him.
this was nunataq's father, merrick knew. he was not indra's mate, however, and indra was the only wolf that merrick had ever seen his sister recognize as a motherly figure. but the convolutions of family were of little interest to the boy, for it was wolves of his own blood which had abandoned him, and therefore their place in his mind had been forfeit.
he came upon xan in due time, gaze flicking coolly over the impressive bulk of the older male. little chance he himself would ever appear so. silently, merrick stood before the pale man, expectant that the other would speak and tell him why he had been called.

Alexander’s gaze trailed out over the rolling valley that surrounded them, peering past the hollow’s claim and into a world now unknown. His senses remained on high alert, seeking anything of value, which he found in the sound of approaching footfalls. The male turned his head and cast crimson eyes upon the child, taking in his appearance and stature; it was hard to believe just how much Indra’s child had grown, as well as how he’d been left behind. Perhaps they were two birds of a feather, both left behind by a mother—although, the albino had at least had a father to learn from and follow, whereas the child standing before him now had no one. It was a shame, really, and he wondered if he should possibly attempt to change that—

—but that would mean putting himself aside and doting upon a child that was not even his own. If he were to do that for anyone, it would need to be for his own flesh and blood.

“Merrick,” he greeted with a nod. “How have you been? Do you like it here?” Small talk, small talk... yeah, he couldn’t take it too far. The Inuk had a goal in mind and a mission that he was set on completing, even if at the end of his journey awaited the same outcome as he was always met with: misery. “Do you know where your mom and aunt went?” he asked shortly after, getting right to the point. If anyone could answer the question, it had to be him.

merrick watched xan carefully. the pale man was quiet, appraising the young coywolf for a time, and the boy was reminded of how frequently others in the hollow had tried to engage him in worthless small talk. it was a blessing to find someone who did not. xan's tone beneath the empty words hinted at a greater questioning, and merrick was silent, bearing the the inquiry with the same emotionless facade he usually wore.
"i am content here." happy was not a word the boy used often, or ever, come to think of it. but so long as nunataq seemed pleased, merrick found his own desires sated. he skipped the second of xan's questions, leveling the older of the pair with a long look. how could the other not know? but perhaps he was asking if indra had confided in merrick before her departure with laurel. such a nuance to overlook; the boy was beginning to hate speaking aloud.
"they left here three months ago and headed south," he answered quietly, directly, hoping it would satisfy xan's curiosity. why had he asked, if he was not going to follow? and why would he follow? but merrick kept his own wonderings aside.

To be content was not the same as to be happy; one was drab, lacking any sparks capable of igniting something greater, whilst the other had a way of nestling itself into the center of one’s heart. Alexander had limited exposure to that which was the elusive happiness, his life having climbed the scales from sorrowful to joyous, before slithering back down to simply existing. Just a few mere months ago he would have wished the same fate upon everyone that crossed his path and yet, even without a true connection to the boy, he could hope for the same thing to befall him no longer. “Only content?” he questioned, though his tone resembled a statement more so than a true inquiry. Whether or not Merrick chose to share more was entirely up to him—the former leader would not pursue the matter too intensely.

Within moments, the answer that he sought most of all was revealed, to which he nodded in acknowledgment of. It was hard to believe that three months had already passed since they left—that he’d wasted that much time trying to right himself and find answers that had long since evaded his grasp. “Do you miss them?” The words came before he could stop them, twisting his own thoughts aloud until they formed yet another question. “Would you want to find them?” Exactly how attached was the child to his mother? His aunt? Perhaps these answers were of no use to him but it was too late now, unable to take back that which was already spoken.

why was xan questioning him? "yes," merrick answered. "content." the things in which he found joy were things often forbidden to him, things sometimes that he could only bear thinking of doing. there was no delight to be had in this place, nothing that frothed merry to merrick or brought him ecstasy. why were those around him so obsessed with happiness, refusing to accept that there was very little in the world? at any rate, merrick's tone indicated he did not want to be pressed about foolish emotions or the show thereof.
a scoff rose in his throat at xan's next words, but he kept it back, careful not to show the disgust that had leapt into his throat. "my father, aunt, and mother all left me behind. i have only nunataq now. i am not tied to them, nor do i care if they come back." there; as firm as he could make it, and spoken aloud for the first time. "why? are you going after them?" what did the pale man care; what were his connections to merrick's wayward bloodline.

The boy seemed to have no interest in the matter being pressed, and Xan was more than happy to discontinue the way in which the conversation had been going; to an extent, he could show interest in the lives of others but, ultimately, he saw little reason to question a child that was not even his own. Besides, the next topic of conversation was far more appealing.

Alexander’s ears perked with surprise at how brash the boy’s words were. It wasn’t too long after, though, that he was back to wearing his typical frown whilst eyeing the child. “I am going to look for them, see if they can even be found,” he answered, figuring he deserved an answer after responding to each question thrown his way. “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. Easier for me to travel alone, anyways.” Unburdened by another to watch out for, the trip would be far more pleasant, too.

if there was nothing more to be said here, why did xan still speak? merrick had respected the man on dint of his size, his clear ferocity, but now he rambled about things for which the boy did not care. it seemed as if xan had not expected to be rebuffed, or perhaps merrick was merely projecting.
"good luck," he murmured, dipping his muzzle politely to the man. truth be told, the young wolf did not care if xan succeeded, failed, or returned. his interest in indra had died long ago; she had given him life, and that was all.
unless xan stopped him, merrick began to turn and pad away, for there was no longer a reason to continue their conversation, and he had other things with which to occupy his time.

With nothing more to say, Alexander merely gave a stiff nod in response to the luck given; the boy clearly cared little about his plan and the ordeal as a whole, so he wouldn’t press it any further. Without any reason to stop him, the albino turned, too, and headed off in the opposite direction.