Dragoncrest Cliffs Postcards from Italy

@Ephraim but still AW. All I ask is that if more than one wolf does join, that the posting order remain open so as to allow for quick conversing :D

In an effort to keep himself from wandering too far inland, Jackalope struck out toward the coast, meandering along the beaches and cliffs, angling himself South though he knew that he couldn't simply trail along the coast forever- if he did so, he might overshoot his predetermined destination of the Redhawks Caldera. He'd been told it'd been South-West of the Vale from which he'd come, and a couple travel days inland. So until he was able to spot such a thing in the distance, he planned to simply zigzag this way and that, back and forth from the ocean's edge so that he could find the place he planned to call home...Or, in the very least, a temporary stay. 

Ahead in the distance he could see odd shapes to the cliffs, lightly coated with snow but no less spectacular. He squinted his grey eyes at them, noting the way they peaked like teeth, reaching toward the sky. He glanced up into the grey clouds, half expecting to see upper canines hovering in the air as the other part of a dragon's lofty jaw. He smirked to himself and continued forward, but halted when he reached the first set of tracks. 

They didn't belong to a wolf of the pack- but as he gazed down the trail of clean footprints left behind they led in a distinct line, skirting wide around the area near the cliffs. Pressing forward, he moved past the tracks until he caught the scent markings, and moved back again. This was a claimed territory, though he knew it wasn't the Caldera. Still, he expected he'd be able to document the area for himself, if not for future knowledge; he had a penchant for collecting details on his scouting missions, and he considered this to be one of his largest ones yet. This way he could properly chronicle the passage to and from Blackthorn Vale. 

He meandered harmlessly along the borders- skirting them as the previous visitor had, but with his grey gaze cast toward the coast, to catch sight of any wolves patrolling the borders as he made his way along. If he did not see any, he would take it as a sign and simply continue on his way.

An unfamiliar scent accompanying an unknown set of tracks meandering on their fringes drew him forth from the otherwise monotony of his round. Where his prior mission had been to remark and cover ground, routine in the undisturbed reaches of their boundaries, this sparked a new motivation all too readily. Rusalka's proximity then intrusion had riled their guard enough, so that last he hoped to find was more trouble lurking on their doorstep.. but if so, he would see it snuffed out early before it could even escalate.

Drawing up his height and rolling forward with a trot that sometimes kicked up to a slow lope, he soon found another set of tracks, one with a fresher aura about them..

None too impressed with either finding despite the wide berth they swung from the markings him and Dragedan allies had laid out, his tolerance found all-time lows these days--and a dreary, cloud-covered afternoon didn't give his patience much length to spare. Giving a partial pivot, he opted to track the fresher of the two for the time being, and start there, which was hopefully the wiser choice given the circumstances, or the timing; he would find out soon enough if his nose was telling him what he hoped was true.

Slowing first when he could spot a canine-shaped figure ahead, his jaw was set tight and his approach, now a long-striding walk, cut right to the chase. He arced his tail and pointed a mismatched stare right at the tall, grayscale fellow. What are you doing here? he asked, words clipped and eyes sharp upon the black-spined stranger as he continued to close in.

sadly am not an ephraim but i'll play a min! he can always mosey off or be background later on ^^

Gerra <3<3<3 Thanks for joining!!

In the distance, against the stark slate and white backdrop of the coastline, a small beige figure came into view. It was quite far away at first, but began to make its way toward him with purpose, so Jackalope slowed his pace to allow the other figure to draw near to him. From all he could tell, this fellow definitely belonged here; what he could see from the purpose in his stride, and the fact that he moved along the borders with the confidence of one who had likely marked those borders. The closer he came, the larger he appeared, with his thick, tan, beige and white pelt shifting from side to side across the point of his shoulder blades with every authoritative step that he took. With the prick of his earsand curl of his tail as a signal, Jackalope came to a stop and adjusted his own stance to show deference to the male who was intercepting his path. He had thought that he'd been leaving a respectful distance between himself and the marked borders- but the curt way in which the male spoke to him indicated otherwise. 

Either that, or the male with the mismatched eyes had woken up on the wrong side of the den. 

Regardless, he gave the male a quick once-over, so that he could see what he was up against. He'd been injured not so long ago, from what he could tell by the scars that split paths through his thick winter coat, but it certainly hadn't slowed his stride any. At first, Jackalope had pondered briefly if the stranger was blind in one eye- in the bright blue one- but another glance showed that it was as clear and as trained on him as was the dark orange one. Like him, the male's upper canines showed over his bottom lip, a trait that amused Jackalope, and caused one of his upper lips to twinge. Were it not for the fact that the male lacked the trademark dorsal stripe, Jack might have asked if this fellow was a relative. 

"My name is Jackalope Blackthorn." He said, his voice calm. "I'm a traveller, in search of family. I was told they lived not too far from the shore, so I've been keeping it in my sights; I'm also hoping to skirt past those mountains," He said, gesturing to the peaks off in the distance, "By keeping West of them. Unless of course there's claimed territory in the way." He said casually, inferring with a flick of his ears that he'd like to know if there were any claimed pack territories that might lay in his way. "I'm also documenting the area for my own personal record as I go...Bit of a Scout." He said, offering a harmless, but charming half-smile.

<3!!

When guarding these boundaries was his ever-present goal, and patience at an all time low, he had set out to be peeved by anything he could find in his path. If not a worthwhile hunt or other pursuit, then a foe.. and he just wanted to deflect whatever this was; he didn't like strangers slithering around one bit, even if they seemed reasonable enough when approached and not blatantly of Rusalka's odor and direction.

However, he didn't speak of coming from any of the other branches, or having any business with Heda, so he still didn't have many reasons to be overly forthcoming so far, no matter how neutral the other guy presented himself.

Dio was feeling impatient and kept his expression dire, down-turned in so many ways as he only tilted up his nose to glare down it again—although the traveler crossed no lines yet, he was almost wishing he might so he could have good cause to ward him off faster and be a better distraction that way. Well enough. I'm Dio Drakru, he supplied back, sure to not say all too much about their claim too soon when he did not have a good judgement passed on him yet.

In the next breath, he leveled a heavy stare back on the other after, dripping with scrutiny but just enough patience to keep him waiting for more and wanting to see for himself. The pale-coated wocha wondered if Drageda, or even Drakru, would have any meaning to him at all.

We have no Blackthorns here, he did add to bring it back around, content enough to imply that his business here ought to be brief. Were it not for his distaste towards the war they had gone to help Redhawks with for little gain, he might have made the connection to the others they had gone to battle alongside in the south with the same surname as him—but on a good day, Dio preferred not to remember any of that, from Redhawks, the useless war, and all else associated. One claim is just beyond us, and  eventually there are two other packs along the coast itself, and a few scattered more inland. Maybe more beyond that.. especially south, of course. he could say, although it was nothing profound, nor surprising probably; he best knew Rusalka (sadly), Undersea, Elysium, then the Bay pack by names. Off in the ether of more south than that were the Redhawks, Moonspear, and Blackfeather's hideout.. plus probably more, given the space (it had been long walk across it, in his opinion).

Any further than that and it generally wasn't Drageda business very often anymore, so his guess was as good as any.

Dio Drakru. He nodded simply at the male's name, none of it ringing a bell of recognition. Jackalope had no sense of the history of these parts, apart from knowing that somewhere South, there were more Blackthorns. Though he did mean to touch base with them, this mission of his was a scouting one and he didn't have plans to settle any time soon even if it was winter. He was cut from tough cloth, the sort that could weather winter storms without being ruined. He knew how much travel he could handle, and how often he would need to eat in order to travel further, so while Jackalope might not have been the swiftest scout in the world, when he was on a voyage with no known end, he knew how best to use his own stamina without pushing himself too far. 

The male seemed a bit wary of him, but at least he was willing to give Jack his name and a bit of information about the packs in the area. He wasn't terribly specific- in fact, his information could have been considered almost completely useless, given the fact that there were technically packs in all directions- if you went far enough. He didn't provide distances or names, which was more what Jackalope was interested in- but he knew by the male's tone and the way he hadn't bothered to make himself comfortable that he wasn't inviting conversation. He was telling Jack just as much as he would need to in order to get the stranger off his borders. He could understand that sentiment, which was why Jackalope decided that it was best not to push Dio for information on the other packs. Jack had enough to know how many more packs were within a relatively easy travel, and had noticed just the slightest tone change when he'd mentioned the pack with a claim not too far from their borders. Possibly a sore point, Jack mused; but he didn't comment. 

"Thank you, Dio," He said, with a dip of his head. "Might I know what your pack's name is?" He asked. It would be unusual for a pack of wolves to keep their name secret- but it wasn't unheard of. "If not- then I never saw anyone here." He said with a slight smile. Jackalope was excellent with secrets, and if Dio expressed a desire to keep his whereabouts unknown, then his secret would be safe with Jack. Simply keeping the pack's name secret wouldn't be enough to defend anyone, unless they were a travelling crew that wanted to escape recognition. But from what he could tell by the scents along the borders, this was a well established territory; surely their name wouldn't be kept a secret. If Dio was a good representation of the pack, then they certainly wouldn't have any reason to hide- he looked fit enough to fight trained soldiers.

It was tempting to not answer at all, but damn when he did get so unpleasant? He still felt like he was dredging a weight through mud in finding any real, genuine helpfulness. A long, slow exhale, though, and he could eventually decide to say a little more. Probably not much, but he'd done no harm and Dio was just evidently not at his most personable and mistrustful thanks to their neighbors wedged so close. This is Drageda, he said, nose swinging over his shoulder just enough for the gesture to make any amount of sense. We claim Dragoncrest Cliffs, he did add for what he considered an extra piece, knowing well how it sounded, pairing with Drakru of before. The scout could piece it together, he trusted. But, he didn't go on to mention their other branches, how they were just a fragment of a larger whole--not one that Dio would ever intend to know personally, face to face, but a greater sense beyond just what they were here.

The pack closest.. just further down the coast from us in a cove: be mindful, they are enemies of ours, he imparted for potentially his most useful anecdote that could open up new questions for the ranging wolf. The wocha couldn't predict how Rusalka would react, but it was probably best Jackalope didn't keep that subject of Drageda around any if he was headed that way and likely enough, it was best he kept out of it entirely; he didn't think he would miss out on any stunning personalities by bypassing them entirely, truthfully. If they had any Blackthorns, he probably didn't want them back anyway.

He didn't have much else to say without the proper prompting, so whenever the scout was ready to be on his way, Dio would gladly see to it.