Iktome Plains cut the bullshit, get off my mullet

@Viinturuth ;) other tags for reference, bat is welcome as always!

just past the borders he went today, feeling a little pep in his step. he and @Bat had taken the morning to make some really rough border markings... and he'd make sure they'd make them more prominent as time went on, but for now they were good enough. it was hot as a ballsack, though tristan opted to move away from the ocean breeze and towards dry land. why? i literally don't know, he's kind of a fucking moron. well, he sort of had a task in mind. they were supposed to be recruiting, after all. tristan was pretty confident in his abilities in recruitment. i mean, even though that sapphire bitch had left, tristan had a pretty good track record of recruitment... at least, getting wolves to want to join, not getting them accepted. as he thought of this, he thought of @Easy, feeling a little pain of... something run through him. he shrugged it off, though he wondered where she'd gone all this time. 

he kept walking.

His time with the wolves of Stormrift had been short-lived, and Viinturuth stole away when the opportunity presented itself. It was the anxiety of knowing his parents and siblings resided close by that prevented him from integrating properly with Ford and his comrades, the crippling uncertainty of his fate should his father locate him.

He wandered since and, when finally he grew bold enough to investigate Swiftcurrent's outskirts, the pale wolf found the borders vacant of his family's scents - replaced by those of another. The knowledge roused both relief and wild concern; had they been challenged for territory? Exiled with their defeat? Viinturuth scouted the surrounding area, hoping maybe they'd settled nearby so he could know he wasn't being hunted, but found no trace.

It was a small blessing, however, for the wayward yearling's confidence began to return in the absence of what he perceived to be a threat. He ventured toward the coast once more, curious to see what it had to offer.

When Viinturuth spotted a lone male up ahead, he observed for a quiet moment before barking his greeting: "hey!". The alabaster boy loped toward him, feathered tail swishing in a friendly manner at his rear.

his ears rotated 45 degrees when he heard the friendly chuff of a stranger. he turned pretty quickly afterwards, seeing a guy around the same age as him and looking pretty upbeat! tristan played off this energy right away, his own tail beginning to sway as he forgot entirely about the stress he had just been enduring in his peabrain. 

hey! he chirped back, tongue lolling, what's up? pretty easy conversation for tristan, who was a master of charisma and charm.

Whatever apprehensive tension tightened Viinturuth's muscles slackened at once when the ashen stranger turned to look upon him. He was relieved to be met with a friendly face and welcoming beat of tail, which was enough to draw him closer.

He moved in to reach out, curious and eager to test what aroma may be lingering on his new comoanion's fur. "Nothin'," he responded, twitching a whisker as he rose his head and sought the other boy's features with dark eyes; he could not place the scent he bore to any of the packs he'd passed on his wanderings. "Just scouting the local area. Anything worth checking out?"

oh shit! another wanderer! this was tristan's kinda wolf, yo. oh, dope, returned the young adult with a few wags of his tail. and then, to his second comment, tristan gave a broad smile. yeah -- me! he said with a good laugh, ears pricked, my names tristan -- i'm starting a pack here along the coast... in the territory north of here. it's called margaritaville. 

tristan was pretty confident this guy would be into it... because, duh ? tristan was in to it, at least. i'm just with my friend bat for now, but we've actually been called the fastest growing pack in all of the wilds, he added, which was totally true and only because you don't have statistics that prove otherwise.

The young wolf laughed heartily, and Viinturuth joined in. After the anxiety and loneliness that'd plagued him since his departure from Swiftcurrent all those months ago, it was nice to bask in the moment - to breathe again.

"I'm Viinturuth," he returned Tristan's greeting with a smile, his dark eyes glimmering with intrigue as he shared plans of a fresh start. This was all too appealing for the pale yearling, who was tired of merely surviving on his own. What he yearned for was stability, and although he barely knew this aspiring leader, the possibility of finding that with Margaritaville was enough to tempt him. 

The boy beamed, his tail lashing. "Well I guess that must be true," he agreed, "'cause your duo literally just became a trio. I'm in!"

holy shit that was the easiest thing tristan had ever done in his life -- h o l y shit haha. excitement sprung to his features, his tail beginning to wave. no way!! okay -- well -- shit! okay! hell yeah!! welcome to the team, viinturuth! tristan said with a bright smile, i'll take you back! there might be something in a cache for you -- we're pretty new but bat's really good at hunting. so was he -- but bat was better. don't tell her he said that. 

and with that, tristan turned to head back up to the coast, glancing over his shoulder to make sure his new friend was following him.

He found his new friend's excitement contagious, and his own eyes lit up to accompany the merry sweep of his alabaster tail. Viinturuth gave a happy little wuff and, unable to contain his sudden burst of energy, found himself bounding on large fore paws.

He was quick to follow, tongue lolling over his lower jaw as he strode happily after Tristan in what he assumed to be the direction of his new territory. Viin was eager to meet his other new comrade and nose around what was chosen to become his home.

tristan would spend a small portion of the afternoon getting viinturuth accustomed to their territory... at least, the important bits. he showed him some of the established borders, a few important caches, and showed him @Bat's scent... so that he'd know her when he'd see her. and then, he dipped, off to take a nap because this shiit was HARD word, lemme tell you.