Emberwood spider and gioma had a love few others had seen,

@Constantine @Durnehviir - all else welcome too - set for ... um.. how long does it take to travel from AS to here? i'll let you guys be the judge kek - PPS, i have permission to have him track wylla's scent

he was exhausted as he followed wylla's scent and it at last panned into a aspen studded bosk. the forest seemed muted, and he thought it a sharp contrast from the stately sequoias of his home. only it wasn't home anymore, he reminded himself sharply. no -- it was something else.

as he threaded his way across the pine-straw and snow, he thought he detected the scent of other wolves passing through. whether they came before her, or after her, or even accompanied her, he didn't know -- and with his heart in his throat he barked her name repeatedly into the woods, his ears strained as his calls came bounding back in quiet fades.

Keeping vague due to Ingram and Wylaa's raid on RBF as they left, and.. I don't know if this is set for before or after they claim SC. ;-; I'm the worst!

With spring in the air, the swarthy wolf was eager to bolster their herbal storage. @Thelxiope was likely doing so as well, and would have far more knowledge than him, given all he had was the few things he had learned from Lasher and Deirdre – but they had proven to be ill-prepared prior to their journey to the Rising Sun Valley, when the dark forest had been their home. He didn’t want a repeat when wolves such as Wallflower joined their ranks, and he had almost nothing to aide them – and so he scouted out, looking for anything he might recognize.
 
His muzzle swung in the direction of a harsh bark – someone seeking another out. He bristled slightly, considering what concern it was of his – and before long, the stocky wolf made his way to the caller, his eyes narrowing firmly upon the dark wolf he recognized as the one who had raided them prior.

wylla obviously wasn't here. ingram was about to call it quits when a figure he definitely didn't want to see emerged from the wildwood like burned smoke; ingram felt his gut clench a little, and he backpedaled almost immediately. he definitely hadn't made plans to see this guy again, and from the looks of things, constantine was none too pleased to see him.

well then. that was considerably awkward, and ingram saw no way of resuscitating this interaction as he played it over in his head. "heeeeeeeyyyyy..." he took another step back, ears flat to the side as he looked around him as if worried more wolves would come out of the woodwork. "you haven't seen my sister around, have you? about this tall, kinda skinny, grey with a white face -- oh... and she was that other guy with me -- that definitely was her idea and not mine."

He studied the dark wolf for a few moments of quiet, his stoical façade revealing nothing of his emotions. He refrained the curl of his lip as his fangs threatened to slide out – this wolf had threatened the well-being of his family, and had they not been on their way out, the damage they could have done could have been irreparable. His mate was pregnant – and while he would have seen to meet the silver willowy she-wolf’s presence with punishment when they had come upon Wylla, Durnehviir had thought to extend her kindness.
 
Constantine could respect that – and even follow her lead. But only to an extent. He finally released a soft ‘hm,’ as if considering, his eyes narrowing as he tipped his muzzle. “The grey one? Skinny.. Kind of gamey tasting? The kind that gets stuck in your teeth a little bit?”
 
Constantine could also extend an olive branch. But he was sure as hell going to fuck with the other first. Fair was fair.

ingram was already calculating some way to escape - he was not so keen to experience this man's fangs. his poor tushus had taken enough of a beating, any more and he was afraid he'd be damaged goods.

he had one paw lifted, one ear turned back, and both eyes gunning for departure when constantine spoke. ingram's ears went from akimbo to fully flared, and then rapidly fell to his skull. he gulped, squinted, and sucked in a breath: "wait... you're joking." he said, insistently -- though doubt started to rise within him. "you're not serious.... right?"

good god, he hoped not. the jabbing thought of losing wylla aside, he didn't think he'd be able to take on this brute -- and the last thing he wanted was to be someone's dinner too.

It was slightly disconcerting that such a gullible youth had raided their home as they had been on their way out. It nagged at his sense of pride, and as the dark wolf asked him if he was serious, Constantine’s eyes narrowed upon him, a low rumble just escaping his lips, as if a whispered growl. “I think she said her name was Wylla.”
 
He paused for effect, his form beginning to lean forward in a predatory fashion as his eyes remained raptly focused upon the other. His tongue snaked out to clean at his lips, his ears shooting forward. He contemplated revealing the truth – but for another second more, he was going to maintain this cruelty.
 
And then the husky wolf shot forward, his jaws agape as he aimed to close the distance between the two and grab at the back of the others nape – if true, his grasp would only aim to push the younger wolf toward the ground rather than leave a mark.

ingram stiffened under the intensity of the male's stare, mulling over the unpleasantry he had just claimed to have been part of. it was not in ingram's nature to be too skeptical, even of strangers -- unfortunately, his blase life had made him uniquely unsuited for scrutinizing when someone was using guile against him.

therefore, he did not detect that the male was lying, and as the stalwart figure lurched towards him, ingram's only thought was how could he -- how could he kill wylla?  over what had amounted to a prank? grief choked his senses and with a dullness in his heart he swung towards the male's onslaught with teeth bared to jawspar -- if this brute had killed his sister, ingram would fight tooth and claw, whether he won -- or died.

Hope this pp is okay? If not, I can change!

The young wolf took his words to heart – believing every ounce of them, and the swarthy Mayfair found it impressive how he stood his ground rather than flee when he thought a cannibal was after his hide. The dark rogue met him head on – they became a mass of ebony fur and fangs. The held position of his opponent stirred a snarling grunt from the Creek male, and while he sought purchase upon the flesh of the youth, Ingram’s own teeth would slice to skin along his cheek, coaxing a crimson cut.
 
“Stand the fuck down,” he hissed, his ears slick upon his skull as he fiercely grasped at the back of the others’ nape – he made to push the male down firmly to the ground, holding him back from the fight. “Wylla is in our pack ranks, safe, despite being an asshole,” he rumbled, his words muffled as he tried to keep his grip upon the other. “It’s pretty shitty when someone threatens your loved ones, isn’t  it?” His last sentence was released in a growl, his words more clear as he began to gently release his hold. He remained stiff in his posture, his nape curled as he made to protect himself should Wylla’s brother attempt another move.

A rational man might have detected the glint of absurdity in Constantine's claim, or even the pompous preposition of Wylla, of all wolves, being bested by anyone -- as such, Ingram wasn't rational and felt it in his duty to defend his presumed dead sister's honor in the most pugilistic of endeavors.

His passionate outcry was short lived -- partially because of the shock of being rudely deposited on the ground, and also because of the understandable incapacitation that arises as a result. He seethed under Constantine's fanged rule but it was no use: he was firmly and authoritatively held in place.

It took him a minute to register the muttered words of his rival, but once he understood Wylla's life was not implicitly nonexistent he slumped to the ground. A bevy of emotions mixed in his stomach, some of which might have also been his lunch -- but he swallowed back any consumable uprising by hoarsely uttering a deflated and unsatisfying  "I'm sorry."

He didn’t know the wolf below him now from any other – and so he couldn’t tell how sincere the deflated apology had been. He took it at face value, though, and as the younger wolf remained down for now, he eased his grip, pushing himself off the dark spider harshly before pacing a step back, in case he tried another approach to his attack.
 
Pointedly studying the male, Constantine licked his lips, his posture still rigid with the potential threat. “Because my mate is far more compassionate than I, your sister is in our ranks. If you wish to join her and us, I’ll allow it – but if you pull shit, I won’t be lenient. On either of you.” He paused then, his eyes narrowing. “I’m only offering because she’s withdrawn.”

Ingram remained exactly where Constantine had placed him; crumpled, defeated -- an old rag tossed to the side. The only thing that moved was the tracking of his one visible eye, which focused vaguely on Constantine's features as if trying to decipher if he spoke the truth.

In the end Ingram didn't have the faculties (or the visibility) to fully assess a Constantine's features for guile, so he propped his head up slowly and dully responded. "withdrawn?" His ears swept back in confusion - he didn't know what that meant and it showed on his somewhat obtuse features.

“Reclusive,” he tried again, keeping his eyes from rolling. One moment, the boy was enraged at the potential death of his sister, now, he seemed to need more clarification on what the man who in the same breath had also revealed she was still alive – and was within their ranks. “Unsocial.”
 
He waited for one pause, his eyes still sharp upon the youthful wolf. “This is an offer that expires, and also one I’m not convinced I should be giving. You either want to come see your sister or you don’t. If you want to see her and don’t want to join, look for her outside of our borders. I’ll let her know you’ve asked for her.”
 
With that, the stocky male gave a shake of his thick pelt, hoping to ease some of the tensions that knotted his muscles, though his fiery gaze never left the swarthy boy.

It addmitedly didn't take much to confuse Ingram -- he was already flustered, was humiliated, and now, a little lost. In truth, he misunderstood the swarthy alpha -- having erroneously believed that Constantine was referring to his mate and not Wylla.

A trench appeared down his furrowed brow, and he breathed into the dirt quietly. Now that it was clear it was Wylla being referred to things were certainly less confusing. It didn't particularly surprise Ingram to learn of Constantine's impression of Wylla's disposition, but as much as he wanted to say "well duh", he kept his mouth shut. He didn't need to have his ass handed to him twice in one day. 

Propped up onto his elbows, Ingram's ears perked forward. "I want to come." He insisted,  eyes averted but ears trained on Constantine for his verdict.

Constantine did not respond to the acceptance. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, his lips pulled back to a thin line as he considered the offer he had just made the other.

With a small nod, the dark wolf pulled away from the more youthful male, leading him toward the group of travelers.. and toward the sister he wished to be reunited with. He only hoped it wasn't a decision he came to regret.