The trees were his shelter once again, and had been for a few days now. It was easier to hunker down among the trees than to scale the mountain, or find his way in to the belly of the caldera - especially since he had been away from it for so long. Well, and the fact that Amon's effort to explore the territory had been curtailed by the appearance of his brother... But he had done his best to keep the caldera safe. Amon was a little worn out, but Donatus was nowhere to be found; his scent had faded days ago after their last fight.
Speaking of, their last tussle had left Amon scored with wear and tear. The bulk of his fur had kept him safe from serious injury but there were some cuts and scrapes upon his head and shoulders that needed tending. What was the best way to go about that? Hunt in the forest. Hopefully in the process of finding a remedy to his ails, Amon would encounter one of the caldera wolves - he had much to explain.
He was quickly learning the lay of the land, where Redhawk territory ended and neutral land began. He was half searching for a permanent den, though he wasn't in a rush. The delta had adopted the gnarled roots of an old tree as his own for now, and as long as the weather stayed mild, he was comfortable. However, he knew that the temperature would be dropping in just a few weeks.
Ahead through the trees, he spotted an unfamiliar wolf. Without hesitating, he called out, eager to meet as many of his packmates as possible. "Hey there!" he said with a friendly tone, quick strides bringing him nearer to the large, copper-toned male.
Aside from the run-in with Donatus, Amon had spent the past few weeks alone. It was surprising to hear the voice of a stranger through the trees; naturally the man's fur spiked along his shoulders, and he raised his head sharply. A keen look swept across the nearby shadows as his gait steadied, but it was clear by the time Amon reached the other side of a copse of trees that this was not a threat. It was a stranger, yes, but a stranger that was striding out of caldera lands, sans escort.
The boy's tone was jovial as well - a far cry different from the voice of an enemy. Without much pause, Amon called back to him: Hello. A fair day for a stroll.
Ugh, what idle and useless banter. But it was pleasant enough. For too long Amon had been in the company of his vile brother. As he neared the salt-and-pepper boy, Amon dipped his head respectfully. How fares the caldera?
IC: The other wolf replied in a more formal manner than Elwood preferred to use, but his countenance was welcoming and friendly. "It is a nice day, isn't it?" he agreed pleasantly, taking pause to glance around at the vibrant fall colors. He came to a halt once he was within an acceptable proximity of the male, tilting an ear thoughtfully towards him as he prepared to answer the question that was posed. "Good, I think," he said, his lips twitching into a half-smile. He couldn't help but think that his own vocabulary sounded juvenile in comparison, and made a note to brush up on his eloquence.
He then elaborated on his quite basic answer by adding, "I'm pretty new to the pack. I've only been here a few days. When Peregrine accepted me, he said that there are not too many wolves in the pack, but I think he's working on recruiting new members. Sounds like it is a pretty tight-knit group, though." So far, Elwood could only consider himself an acquaintance of Peregrine, Fox, and Ashton, but he hoped that his bond with his packmates would grow stronger throughout the winter.
The pack had dwindled in number? That would explain why Amon hadn't seen any caldera wolves up until this point; and also why Elwood was so fresh looking to him. He wasn't a stranger, but he was a stranger. -but I think he's working on recruiting new members. Sounds like it is a pretty tight-knit group, though.
Elwood succinctly explained, and aside from Amon's briefly furrowed brow, he was quiet. Perhaps he had been tricked by Donatus, and the caldera had suffered after all?
Unsure if he should bring up his sibling, Amon chose instead to focus on other things. Ah, a newbie! I suppose I'm a newbie too, although I've been around since the pack's inception... Sort of.
The man huffed as he took a step, chuckling to himself at the peculiar words he had just spoken. To better explain, Amon appended the statement, I heard their howling and joined up the morning after, but I haven't met many of the group. Seems I always find myself alone.
But that had been remedied, at least in this instance.
He fell into step with his packmate as they began walking, no particular destination in mind. The other wolf stood a few inches taller, so Elwood had to tilt his head up slightly as he spoke. "I'm Elwood, by the way," he said, realizing that they had skipped introductions thus far.
Elwood? A curious name, at least to him. But 'Amon' wasn't exactly a common name either in these parts. Amon.
he voiced in the next moment, his thoughts upon the subject evaporating. The rumble of his voice was accompanied by a slight smile, which he held through the ensuing quiet.
You look like you've seen some trouble,
A reference to the boy's tiny wounds, which Amon could see in detail now that they were walking in stride; for a moment the older man felt a tremble of concern, and his thoughts shot to his brother - but then he calmed, because he knew Donatus' fighting style. If he had been here, there would be more than just a few scrapes and bruises. -how'd that happen?
IC: As Amon was thinking that Elwood's name was interesting, the exact same thought was going through the Delta's head. Neither one of them voiced their opinions, however; it was unnecessary, and, if Amon's family was anything like Elwood's, he hadn't had any say in what name he was given. As a child, he had hated his name -- it had been passed down for a few generations, so both his father and grandfather were named Elwood. With maturity, however, he came to like and feel proud of his moniker.
"Nice to meet you," he said, then glanced back at the wounds on his hind leg that Amon referenced. "Oh, I got into a scuffle with a cougar a few days ago. It attacked Fox, so I jumped in to help her. Luckily it didn't cause too much damage, just a couple of scrapes and Fox has a scratch on her face," he explained.
Cougars were dangerous beasts indeed - even the Guard had a few run-ins with the territorial felines. Amon's brow raised at the initial mention of the attack, and then there was a brief moment of concern - but this too evaporated. Lucky indeed. That cougar probably thought Fox was an easy meal, what with her ehm, smallness.
He didn't describe her in such a way to be vindictive, just pointing out a fact. Fox was a tiny girl compared to Amon - so to him, it was logical that a big cat like a cougar would mistake her for a child, or something similar.
Still, he played it safe. Ah, but don't be telling her I said that. She's a little one, but seems pretty dang feisty.
She probably gave that cougar a run for its money. But, knowing now that there was a threat somewhere in the territory, lurking just out of sight and everything... Amon caught upon the idea to hunt it down. Where was it spotted? Maybe we should get some more bodies together and chase it out fer good. Or kill it.
The older male then proposed that they make sure that the cougar was gone for good, either by chasing it away or by killing it. Elwood hadn't seen nor smelled it since the incident, but he thought that Amon had a good point. What would stop it from returning? It obviously had no concern for the wolves' boundaries. "It was near the borders. I don't think it's been back since then, but we could patrol the area together if you'd like?" he suggested. Two sets of eyes and noses would be better than one, and Fox and Peregrine would probably appreciate their efforts to keep the pack safe.
The pack had likely scared it off. But that didn't make the land too much safer - it was only temporary. Or at the very least, that was how Amon liked to think of things. A temporary ceasefire from the encroaching cat. Given the chance, the creature would probably be back; perhaps more likely now that it had encountered wolves, and knew they had set up shop here. A cougar could easily steal from their caches and then escape in to the surrounding neutral territory.
Aye, I would feel better if we investigated a little. Not that you guys didn't do a great job in chasin' the fleabag off,
He flashed Elwood a smile, and then turned and began to march; but he paused after only a few steps. I've dealt with those big cats before and they're sneaky little buggers. Best to find it and do away with it.
With that sentiment in mind, Amon waited for Elwood to begin leading the way and then he took to pacing beside him. Before long they'd make it to the area where Fox was attacked, and the work could commence.
IC: Elwood liked Amon's attitude and resolve, so he was happy to lead the way to where the cougar had been spotted. He began to move toward the outskirts of the territory, planning to hit the borders and then travel parallel until they came to the location of the scuffle. He was still somewhat unfamiliar with the territory as a whole, but he was fairly certain he could navigate back to that particular spot.
As Amon mentioned that he had previous experience with big cats, Elwood became interested and pressed for more information. Their walk was filled with Amon's tales, and once they reached their destination, they spent an hour or so sweeping the area. Luckily, there was no sign that the cougar had returned since the original incident, but both wolves felt better once they were sure that the pack was safe for the time being.