Bearclaw Valley Yeah the sleight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger

Skoll found himself walking along the borders. Maybe it was because he had nothing better to do in those moments, when it was dark, the moon in the sky. Before he left he ate for once, belly full and mind wavering. Maybe he was a bit tired, but he would take a nap in the morning. It was much nicer to patrol at night when it was cooler, and quieter, and the bugs of the night made noises. The stars in the sky, too, were nice. 

Maybe he'd run into another wolf that walked in the night. Or one he'd not spoken with in some time. Either way, he spent his time to mark the borders as he went along.

@Evien

Evien felt uncomfortable, recently. Defeated, knocked down. Like something was deeply wrong and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Merrick was invading his thoughts more and more recently, at the forefront of his mind. Images of the man laying beside him at night, of him excited or disappointed or content. Images of him covered in blood, standing on top of a begging stranger. 

He shook his head, limping along the border. It wasn't common for him to patrol, but he needed to clear his head. Unfortunately, he was too preoccupied with his thoughts, and if unhindered, would walk straight into the other wolf that was out on a nightly walk.

Skoll hadn't noticed Evien at first, too stuck in his own head about recent events. The stranger that was covered in blood, begging. Somehow the man couldn't say if he hated that moment or not. It was a surprise, but he joined the man knowing what kind of pack it was that he was getting into. Merrick had been violent since Skoll had run into him at first, that much was extremely easy to see, by the scars that lined his body, and how he hunted. Everything about the man screamed dangerous. He wasn't going to leave, though. The dark male had made a promise and he was going to keep it, for now. 

Until things got too much to handle, anyway. 

And then something collided with his side, turning with a rush, though more sluggish than normal because of how tired he was. He was surprised to see who he saw, though, it'd been a while since he ran into the small one. 

"Evien." He noted, stepping out of the way of the other wolf for a moment, to give the two of them some space.

His head connected with soft fur and Evien paused momentarily, a bit dazed and tired as well. Green eyes traveled upward when he heard his name, and his ears perked up. Skoll, he remembered - it had been a long time since they'd run into each other, when Evien had forced him into helping carry some herbs back to his den. Honestly, he was surprised the larger wolf even remembered his name. 

"Skoll," he greeted in return, dipping his head and trying to recover from the surprise of walking facefirst into another wolf. "Sorry for, uh... for running into you like that," he amended quickly. Maybe they could forget that ever happened. 

Green eyes flicked up to silver and he offered him a small smile. "What are you doing out so late?"

Heterochromatic met green for a short moment before Skoll's own name was voiced out. Much like Evien himself, Skoll was surprised his name was remembered. He tended to linger more in the shadows, however pershaps is presence was a memberable one. Skoll simply did not forget those that were named to him, if they were important enough. As it turns out, Evien was important enough to be remembered.

Skoll shrugged at the apology. It didn't matter, anyway. "Don't apologize." Evien was lucky the dark man was more talkative when relaxed, he found himself relaxed due to everything around making it so. And the fact he managed to eat without making himself sick. Motioning to the other to follow if he so wanted, the tall wolf continued on.

The question had his ears perking, though.

"Easier to not run into problems."

Oh, this was much more pleasant than last time. Then again, Evien wasn't feeling up to being as much of an asshole as he was last time, either. And Skoll even told him not to apologize, which was... kind. Especially because Evien had just walked straight into him like that. 

A smile crossed his maw and he followed Skoll in hitching steps, and he almost laughed at the explanation. "Apparently it's easier to run into other wolves, though," he jested, hoping to lighten his own mood. 

Falling into step beside the larger male, he looked up at him. "At least it's a nice night," he commented, looking up at the clear sky.

Skoll found himself wondering why the other wolf was out so late, but didn't ask the question. One didn't shove the same question onto another. It was easier to answer questions than answer them, though Skoll wasn't fond of answering things in the first place. Though he assumed Evien meant no harm, and the questions didn't have any harm in him answering them. As it turns out, he minded less during the night. 

Another shrug. "Seems so." A reply. Skoll hadn't anticipated running into any of the others, at least Evien was the lesser of the horrors. He wasn't sure he could handle being around one of the others when he was having an okay night, anyway. He might've ignored them. Like the dark woman he patroled with did before. 

It was a nice night - Skoll agreed in his head. Also moving to stare up there. "I have a question for you, Evien." He chided, not quite asking just yet.

Perhaps Skoll was one of the better wolves Evien could've run into that night, as well. Revui or Toad might've just stressed him further, and certainly not Merrick. Not right now. Instead, a calm walk through the forest at night was exactly what he needed, with company that wasn't too gruff or wild or unpredictable. There was a weight lifted off his chest.

...only to be placed right back on it with the weight of the man's next statement. A question? 

"Go for it," he inclined, a bit wary but unflinching nonetheless.

It seemed the other wolf was okay with their question - perhaps Skoll was just out to create chaos. Or perhaps he was wanting to hear the opinion of other wolves in the pack for his plans. Merrick had trusted him with many ideas and comments about skill, though Skoll did not believe he actually was that important, or skillful at the things the man commented on. 

"What would you do if you had to find a way to protect the entire pack from being invaded?" The question would surely weigh the shoulders in a bad way, though Skoll himself thought about it most days. It was a constant weight that he didn't know how to comprehend. "If you were only able to plan what the other wolves did and not get involved yourself." There was a million ways to answer the question. Of course the not getting involved part was from Evien being the way he was, but now he wanted to know the answer.

Protect the pack from being invaded? That was something Evien thought of constantly. How was he going to protect this pack, even from themselves? Skoll was not the only mental tactician around here. 

"I'd get involved regardless," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "For starters, I would make allies of the other wolves, if possible. Then, I would try to distract our own wolves from the conflict and try to get their focus on something else. De-escalate the situation on both sides. And if that doesn't work..." He paused, then sighed through his nose. "Then I'd stock up on herbs and make sure we were capable of caring for the injured."

The reply had him thinking - but that was all the man did. Think think think. Somehow, Evien was less scared of the reply than Skoll hoped he would have been. Though he mused protecting one's pack was something that would be on the mind when they were somewhat close to other packs and there being only one entrance to the area Ursus resided in. 

"I see." He replied with a long pause. 

Evien was focused on solving it without violence. Skoll wasn't sure if it would be possible with the man and woman leading them. They were far more aggressive than to sumbmit to a peaceful option. Skoll doubted a peaceful option could be taken if they were to get invaded. Obviously someone would have a problem with the pack to invade in the first place. 

"I doubt anything could be solved peacefully. You do know who leads us." He continued. "I would situate half of the pack at the enterance to where the pack can be found. And then split that in half to put them in the territory, and then leave a couple of stragglers in the deepest parts, to watch over the young." He explained. It felt sensable in his head, anyway.

Yeah, Skoll was probably right. Merrick would probably never let them get out of this without fighting. Perhaps his was wishful thinking, but he did hope that one of these days they might be able to live without fear of war. 

"That sounds like a good strategy," he mused, visibly thinking it over. "But don't you think that it might be best to at least attempt to make some kind of peace before?" Maybe he wasn't the only one who had thought that there could be a mutual agreement to leave each other alone?

Skoll himself didn't mind solving things peacefully - it would be better than getting the entire pack killed. With how shut in they were because of the rocks surrounding them, one could think they were heavily protected but it really just wasn't the case. It made it easier for other groups to overpower them, but the pack themselves could use it as an advantage, too. 

"I suppose it could work, if Merrick even allows such things to occour." He replied. Would the man and his violent personality even be able to muster up the want to solve things peacefully with anyone? He didn't think so.

Merrick would be the deciding factor here, wouldn't he? Evien sighed heavily through his nose and looked down, ears lowering. Perhaps his ideals had no place in Ursus, but... he was devoted to these wolves. For better or worse, this was where he was going to remain. 

"What got you thinking about this stuff anyway?" Evien asked, deflecting, and looked up at the tall man with a tilt of his head. Changing the subject was cowardly, but he would rather not discuss Merrick at the moment.

Merrick or that raven woman would be the deciding factors to most things in the pack, if not everything. They were the leaders, there was nothing that would or could be done about it. Unless one of the wolves decided to overthrow their leaders, and Skoll wouldn't entertain that thought. 

"When you're complimented for being able to create such plans, you think of them." He noted.

"Well, keep it up. You are good at it," Evien remarked with a small smile, nodding his head. Perhaps the plans would mean nothing in the future, with Merrick and Leila at the helm. Plans were subject to change - Evien knew that well. 

A yawn split his maw and he sighed through his nose. "I'm getting a little tired," he admitted, ears angling forward. "Thanks for talking with me. Got my mind off of some difficult stuff."

Getting praise from someone felt weird, it left a strange feeling within his body that he could not place. A frown tore itself onto his face, perhaps Skoll should not think of why he was left like that. His eyes turned away from the smaller wolf and instead stared at the area in front of the two. And then the yawn caught his attention. 

"Maybe you should head to sleep, then." He noted at the comment about being tired. 

Skoll himself wasn't tired, being awake at this hour was normal for him but maybe it wasn't for Evien. Taking the wolf's mind off of things wasn't his goal, but maybe at least being there for someone else was good. It reminded him of the times Merrick was all too emotional and Skoll didn't know what to do. 

"I enjoyed our talk as well." He decided to say.