Neverwinter Forest the wolverine explores

@Skagos

Daybreak heralded a cool morning, dew coating everything in sight. It felt wondrous beneath his inured pads; a sort of balm you could experience only in the morn. What little light that perforated the dense canopy above was enough to wake him up. Emerging from his makeshift abode, Tatsuya opened his maw wide to let out an echoing yawn. Shaking the sleep from his body, volcanic regard surveyed the area. Neverwinter Forest...A more accurate name would be Gloompine Forest but he wasn't in the habit of changing territory names. After all, that was not what he had set out to do. He left Ouroboros Spine in search of medicinal plant life not native to home. There was only so much the Spine could offer.
INDENTNobody had stopped him from leaving...but they did say their farewells. Tatsuya left with a smile and promises to return. I'll be back soon. Don't have too much fun without me.
INDENTPlacing an array of flimsy pine branches in front of his den, Tatsuya set off on his way. The ground here was damp and caliginous, home to moss and lichen alike. Speaking of lichen...Do caribou even come around these parts? Maybe he should retrieve some. If he could even acquire the damn things. They're not particularly easy to get, mainly growing on treetops. But the air here smelled fresh and equally dank. If the opportunity arose to seize one or two lichens, he would.
INDENTWeaving through the forest, he crept closer to Silvertip Mountain. Tatsuya did not know a single thing about them and he did not care to. As far as they were concerned, he was but a rogue looking for frilly plants. He would like to keep it that way too.

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The Doctore had ventured South after his ...conversation with Citali. The news that the earthen colored Amazon had bore him did not bode well. While Skagos could not claim that he particularly cared about Tezcacoatl — because he couldn't without telling a bold faced lie and while he was not opposed to fibbing per say such a thing was nothing he had a desire to lie about — Skagos could not say for sure what the news of her son's death would do to Quetzalcoatl. She had accepted that she'd lost him in the mental sense but to actually lose him? Would it be worse for her, or would it finally allow her to make peace with the tragedy that befell him? Skagos didn't know, couldn't pretend to know his elder sister's mind that well. They had not socialized except to give and receive commands, and the Queen of Coatl's Rise had never acknowledged him as her sibling any more than their mother had acknowledged him as her son. Skagos supposed that to consider the alternative (being killed and eaten) made being ignored look like he'd won the lottery.

Further south the Gladiator pushed, reveling in the tug and pull of sinew beneath is gunmetal grey coat. His steps were heavy against the ground, carrying the large beast forward, though he destination remained unknown to him. He had passed the borders of several packs to get to this point, this forest with towering evergreens, but did not feel the impulse to investigate further. He had yet to decide his course: if he would go or stay in these Teekon Wilds. Someone had to return to Quetzalcoatl and give her the grave news that he now carried but he had already determined that it would not be him. Not out of cowardice, but because she deserved to hear it from someone she trusted more than him, from someone that had been close to Tezcacoatl and Skagos had never been — for good reason. Would the false prince have been left in his reach without the presence of the women Skagos would have torn his jugular from his throat. Tezcacoatl had been a threat to everything the Amazons stood for, and should have been thrown into the pits, made a slave. Blood wasn't enough to call a male a prince, to protect him from his only birthright — and if it was then certiantly no one had given the memo to Cihuacoatl when she'd been pregnant with Skagos.

In the wake of what he believed to be Tezcacoatl's death, however, Skagos knew that eventually he would have to let his festering resentment die. A soft inhale was taken, the sharp scent of pine flooding the Gladiator's senses as he attempted to ward off any form of decision making. He still had time. Time to explore around and sate his curiosity a bit more; which he intended to do as he pushed further into the confines of Neverwinter Forest, frosted blue gaze focused upon his path as he shrugged through the obstacles the untamed forest threw in his path.

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Tatsuya busied himself inspecting the forest floor. So far he has come across a herb of one kind, now safely tucked away in his den. Hoping for more variety, he trudged on, weaving through the the pines with serpentine grace. The Epsilon was a giant; an outlier. It was the first thing noticed among company. Usually. He was not a plain wolf by any means, painted in shade and ocher, marked like a beast he has never encountered. His eyes were like two suns, just as hot and just as volatile. Taking note of his other qualities was not uncommon.
INDENTBlades of bedewed grass glided against his snout, nose quivering, insistent in its search. The sound of movement perked his ears and widened his eyes. A mouse scuttled out of the grassy patch, fleeing from the towering intruder. Tensing to give chase, he lifted one paw but promptly put it back down as he laid eyes upon a figure before him. It was a wolf, certainly, yet looked nothing of the sort. No attributes were visible, no odor detectable. Tatsuya would be perceived similarly but he was crouched low and stabile save for the tail that swayed and flicked behind him. Who – or what – approached?

c:!

There was no true purpose to Skagos' wondering except to explore; which was done at his own pace. There had been extremely rare occasions in which Skagos was permitted to step outside of Coatl's Rise's borders though often this was a deceptive strategy when outriders would bring with them a Gladiator of their choosing as an escort of sorts. The Amazon women did not need a male protector in the slightest, all more than well versed in the art of being warriors. A Gladiator served the Amazon women with their life. To give one's life for an Amazon woman was an honor, in or out of the arena, and that was the purpose that they served. The loss of a Gladiator if things would happen to go awry would not effect the pack nearly so much as the loss of a valuable Amazon woman. In the pawful of times that Skagos had been chosen to escort things had never gone awry; which was smart. Earning the ire of Coatl's Rise was not something the packs of the Valley he'd been born into would have wanted. Exploring the lands outside of the Rise had never truly been an option for him, though, and he found himself giving in to avarice now that it was freely afforded to him; or perhaps because he'd seized the opportunity as it arose. Either way made no difference.

The iron-clad loyalty for duty and Queen within Skagos found the idea of drawing this mission out to be unfavorable; knew it to be wrong. Yet, the egoistic part of him soothed the disapproval he felt for his own actions. This might be his only chance he received to venture away from the Rise where he had been born and it'd been forseen that he would die — just like his father before him. ...If he chose to return. He didn't have too; and about the only wolf that would miss him would be Five; something Skagos mutually shared with the older Doctore.

There was a noise — whisper soft — that caught Skagos' attention. A field mouse, scuttling frantically away. From what Skagos did not immediately know until he saw a tail twitch in the corner of his vision. Ears thrust to stand alert atop his skull and his hackles bristled at his nape, rising slightly along his strong spine with caution. “Who goes there?” The Doctore demanded, calling into the maze of evergreens as they rose like skyscrapers around him as the muscles within his own body pulled taunt, ready to defend or attack if it became necessary. He scented nothing to give him the response that it was a who; but he had asked his question, regardless. Only time would tell if his suspicion was correct, or if it was a trick of the woodland.

Surprise corded through the beast's musculature in facing the unknown. Tatsuya noted this, outgrowth stilling mid swipe. His question was more of a demand – one the Epsilon did not feel inclined to answer. The beast was impressive but he was nothing more than a phantasm against a backdrop of clustered pines. As magnificent as this forest was, it could be very dark in some areas. As for the uniquely marked Epsilon, he might as well be invisible. Still, the other seemed to pick up on some movement. Even so the beast did not lock eyes onto his static, contemplative physique.
INDENTThe question was answered with the crunch of pine needles drawing near. Perhaps the other would see him encroaching. Perhaps not. No matter. Tatsuya slowed to muffle his paw steps, an endeavor that was very strenuous and frankly not worth the effort. The other would definitely hear him no matter how cautious he was but he wanted to gauge the others response to a bothersome, featureless presence. Tatsuya was a specimen worthy of examination under light, but here? He was a timeless dread who emitted warmth and bled red.