the ongoing speculation

@Mordecai

The Russian sat next to the stream Mordecai introduced him to during their first meeting. Next to the waters, he howled for the Alpha: We need to speak, my friend, he said. Dijax had stayed in the Wilds for... a month now. It was a long time, to him, at least. He had to get a move on, to make plans. Voicing his thoughts would help clear them up.

For the past two weeks, Dijax had often woken up from nightmares. About the Pacific, about his pack, about the deception he would cause upon his russet friend if he left out of the blue. He wasn't even sure of what he should do right now, but he had a pretty good idea that it involved searching for his pack mates.

The only thing that concerned him with this, though, was a scent. It had been a month, and he feared their scent would be stale if they managed to escape. But he had to try. If he didn't and the Litke wolves didn't escape and there was a chance he could have found them... he wouldn't be able to live with himself. It was his only realistic chance.

As the snow fell, it seemed there was an increasingly busy sensation about the Spine. Mordecai took advantage of this with ease, tossing himself into the mix by keeping up in their usually quiet hold. On that particular day, he had been going over the caches as he came upon them, finding their numbers neat and tightly stowed away from other wandering predators. There were some out near the borders that had been ravaged, but he did not consider that a loss for them. Those were purposefully there for the sake of steering creatures clear of venturing deep into their home. But if they did, he had little concerns that the wolves of the Spine would dispatch and remove whatever instigator they found.

Moving along from another one, his attention on the caches lapsed as a solitary howl rose up from deeper in the territory. He caught the message loosely, recognizing Dijax's song, and then wondering what it was that they would converse about. He had not seen much of the Russian since his reluctance acceptance to stay with them, but he hoped for something good. Issuing a call of his own back through the wood, Mordecai set off in search of the other briskly.

The terrain spoke of history between them as he stumbled along the path beside the stream, weaving and bobbing through the dips and rises. Through the snow covered boughs, he slowly picked out the shape and structure of Dijax. His attention was only torn away once by something that smelled half-interesting, but Mordecai had to let go of the sight of the dead bird as he moved on. He would come back to it later, unless it ended up snatched up between now and then. A smile came easily to his face, just as the wave in his tail followed suit. He didn't query what it was that had summoned him, assuming that Dijax would be forthcoming past their initial greetings.

Mordecai appeared shortly after the arctic's call. He appeared with a smile on his face, which made Dijax's heart sink a little with the news he was about to deliver. He returned his own charismatic smile at the man, to show his gratitude at the wolf's arrival.

It was the same time of night it had been when the Litke wolf first arrived; dark, but not dark enough. Soft blues dominated the sky, a truly beautiful sight. The moon was a crescent. Starved, deprived of its three quarters that went missing. This was how Dijax felt inside, before, and after he earned a full stomach. His three quarters were missing.

"добрый вечер, Мардохей." Speaking Russian would be of no use, but the last word in his sentence was obvious, and he hoped the greeting would be a little clear. Dijax dipped his head, and spoke, "I presume you understand I have not called you to discuss the colors of our coats?," he suggested, a smile tugging at his lips that slowly faded as he re-engaged his dialogue.

"I think it is time for me to leave, my friend."

Nooo Dijax nooo. I likes him. :C

The foreign tongue rolled loose from Dijax, a language that intrigued Mordecai as much as the fellow himself did. But he knew that this was no ordinary social call. Calls from him often weren't, whether they came from the border or within the pack itself. Not to say that there hadn't been those times, but Mordecai would have admitted there was something in the air surrounding Dijax that spoke deep of changes to come.

The common tongue they all shared affirmed as much, shortly thereafter. Left with a sinking sensation within him that he could not have accurately put to words, Mordecai could only nod at first to the words that were offered to him. Was it really time for him to leave? Winter had only begun for them and though Dijax had certainly healed himself, it troubled Mordecai at the thought that they would lose someone from their ranks. Their numbers had held, thankfully, but he knew the coming days and weeks ahead would test all of their resolve, including and perhaps especially his own.

“So soon?” he prompted himself to speak, letting his features scrunch up concerned. But he was grateful that Dijax had at least called him, instead of flitting from the ranks like others tended to do.

[size=x-small]He'll be back![/size]

A look of concern crossed Mordecai's features. Winter had commenced, and it was the time he would need the arctic's help the most. Over the short period of time he had stayed in the Spine, however, Dijax observed their caches were almost full, and the pack was very well prepared for the three grim months of snow.

As Dijax stood there, his plans and ideas suddenly came flooding to him. Maybe he had prepared for this... subconsciously. In his dreams, in his nightmares, he had been planning.

He sighed sadly at Mordecai. He didn't want to leave the safety of the Wilds, either. Although Dijax did not feel guilty at the mere thought of leaving, he would if something happened to the pack during his absence. "I need to move South," he said. It was self-explanatory; he needed to find his pack mates. He needed to return where he had been running from.

In that case, I make happy sounds again! :D

Though he had known this day was coming, Mordecai had hoped it would have come at a later date. Of all things, the momentary pang of having to say goodbye to someone was not something he was unfamiliar with. He had been in Dijax's position before, though the circumstances and reasoning for moving on were far different. In that sense, he really could not have faulted the Russian for wanting to move on, and did not know him well enough to even attempt to persuade him otherwise. That opportunity, for whatever reason, felt squandered beneath all that had occurred since.

“I understand,” he said after a momentary pause. “I can accompany you to the borders if you'd like.” It was a small gesture of goodwill in seeing him off, a last change opportunity to converse with someone he had not gotten to know as well as he felt he should have.

[size=x-small]I do apologise for the delay! As usual, I was having a load of load of work piled on me :([/size]

Mordecai offered to accompany the soon-to-be-once-again loner to the borders. But Dijax's hesitation was apparent in his body language; though he kept a steady expression, he didn't think one like the auburn would miss his image at the moment. The realisation slowly sunk in, and the arctic was stripped bare of any security he had felt before. He was leaving tonight.

Maybe Dijax had imagined a lovely mid-day departure, accompanied by a hearty 'I'll see ya soon' wistful goodbye. Alas, it wouldn't be, however the male was wise and he knew he had to do this now. If he waited too long... maybe he would change his mind. So he spoke: "I would appreciate it," the ivory wolf said, accepting Mordecai's proposal.

Without a moment of delay, the Russian moved forward, towards the slick, stony path that held the two males' pawprints deep within. It was the mark of their first bump into, and now the mark of their last. If he dawdled any longer, Mordecai might think Dijax was having second thoughts. Of course, that was a lie — wasn't it?

Joining Dijax as he made his way on, Mordecai inquired gently of where the fellow would go. He knew that the Russian was keen on returning to his home, which in a way may have been admirable. Mordecai had thought a time or two of trying to return to Sedona, curious of the changes that may have unfolded. Curious to find the answers to questions that from time to time burned at him from either end of a proverbial candle. But ultimately, they were answers to questions he did not want to ask, and finding his way back to his quaint startings was unlikely. It had been too long and time had begun to fade the better parts of the memories, parts of the paths he had taken to get to where he was now.

As they approached the borders of the Spine, the tawny alpha drew himself to a pause where they began to thin. It was there that he bade farewell to Dijax, offering him a bit of luck on the journey that lied ahead for him. Whether or not the fellow would find his way back home, Mordecai would never know. He watched the silvery form of the wolf disappear into the depths of the wilderness and lingered further, wondering what sensation followed him in his wake. It was a tempting fate, but one he was not ready to entertain on that particular day. Mordecai's time would come too. Turning back to the Spine, the Ostrega returned towards the heart of the territory, finding he wanted the time alone now and wishing to use it towards far more constructive things.