The Heartwood down with the fallen

It was only befitting that the first territory he come into the Wilds he had heard whispers of being called Teekon Wilds be The Heartwood, though it's name was unknown to the Redleaf-DiSarinno. It was full of maples, oaks and more notably dogwoods. Familiarity with the ligneous plant stirred within Aer's breast, for a moment stealing the smoky-black roman's breath. Distinctly, it reminded him of home. The combined scent of the diverse trees, though it was dampened by the fresh snow that littered the ground and crunched where it was loosely packed beneath his paws as he continued forwards, towards the heart of this woodland, was warm and undeniably welcoming. Dogwoods in particular reminded him of his mother, Pompeii. Leaving her had been a hard call to make, having always known that his father Crete Redleaf-DiSarinno, also named for someone departed in the family tree, was not a very good father figure. In fact, he wasn't a father figure at all. Pompeii had never kept the truth from Aer, and had spoken often, as if Aer needed the vindication, or if she needed the validation that she didn't regret a thing, that perhaps if she had told Crete he might have stayed. Aer did not hold him in the same hopeful light, having always felt a harbored resentment for him. Often times, Aer had wondered why Pompeii had named him Aether, no doubt after the original and legend himself. It was an honor to bear the name, certainly, and it allowed Aer to feel a connection with his deceased grandfather, almost as if they were one in the same. This thought, odd though it was, only felt stronger given that the original, too, had had a deadbeat father: Erebus. Though Aether DiSarinno had led a long and prosperous life, spawning a massive family with the true love of his life, March Owl Redleaf he had also led a tough life and at times Aer did not wonder if his name did not bear some sort of ...curse.

His physical resemblance to his namesake was undeniably eerie, though perhaps not entirely unheard of for he was genetically part of him. When Aer thought about it too much, particularly in the similarities personality wise it caused a shiver to slither down his spine in a manner than filled him with trepidation and a lot of deja vu. On most days, Aer tried not to think about his resemblance to his grandfather.

To distract his thoughts now, alone as he had been for quiet some time, Aer focused his frosted blue gaze upon the tun-trodden path before him, figuring that if he kept going North there was some sort of chance he would run into a pack, though he was in no real hurry to jump into one. Winter demanded that he did, but he was not so desperate as to jump into the first one that he ran into; as it was he liked to believe he had more sense than that.

Another pair of glacier-blue eyes were darting about the landscape, for a different purpose than that belonging to the Roman. Kaname was tracking the trail of a deer that had caught his sights at the edge of Ouroboros' territory. It was fatter than the others; something that intrigued him immensely. Whenever he hunted, it was for the sole purpose of catering to his mate's needs, until he was absolutely certain she was pregnant. And if that were true, then his efforts would double, triple in turn.

The deer's tracks began to fade away, however, and he found that he could no longer locate the familiar two-toed tracks. He sighed and paused, eyes searching the area for any other tell-tale signs of a ungulate travelling through the woods, but found something else entirely. Something very unsavory to the hunting wolf. Another wolf.

The assassin huffed, loud enough for the distant canine to hear. It was a release of tension after tracking for so long, and a sigh of annoyance. Perhaps this wolf scared the prey off somehow. He wasn't too sure, but he was annoyed by the fact another loner was lurking about. He hoped dearly that he did not know Mara. For the loner's own sake.