my head is an animal.

It was nearly nightfall. Somewhere above the dark clouds that littered the sky, stars were beginning to light as the sun's gaze was stripped away and tucked beneath the horizon. The eerie chirp of crickets and night birds began a chorus through the still air, and it was to that song that the giant added paw steps and the shuffling of brush and undergrowth as he ventured out for his ritual night-time prowl.

A deal of time had passed since Andrus's employer had won these lands and taken its inhabitants under her rule, and he had not yet been met with more opposition than a hasty retreat an unfriendly glare from those who had given their loyalty to the foolish yearling who had so unwisely tried to oppose his dark mistress. That was all fine by the great bear who stalked past their discontent without a second thought. As long as they did not rise up against his employer or her little man-pet (or whatever Viggo was), then Andrus could not have cared less. His job was a simple one: keep the peace, and keep the ilk accepting and subservient to Ptarmigan's rule. And if all that took was to periodically let his foreboding, watchful presence be known to the herd, then Andrus would gladly and effortlessly do his part to keep them in line.

A screech echoed briefly between the trees as somewhere an owl ended some useless thing's life. As though it were a cue, Andrus veered his direction more towards the Southeast borders of the territory. There was nothing spontaneous about his moves, for the beast was a machine when it came to his work. Ever since he'd arrived, he'd been systematically exploring every piece of the territory and mapping it in his mind. By the time he was done, he would know every inch; every stream the pack wolves stopped to take a drink at, every rock they'd ever stepped on, every tree they'd ever taken a piss on. He would know where they slept, where they gathered, where they hunted, and where they spent the day in idleness, what time they typically were in each place, and how long they spent there.

There would be no where in the Spine that his employer's unquestioned rule could not reach--no where that her sheep could hide from it. The old grizzly bear would make sure of that. His work was his life, and just like anyone who lived for one purpose or another, Andrus intended to live well.

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One of the usurper's followers was patrolling their territory. Mapping. Remembering. Using this information to his, and his lady's gain. The assassin did not like it. He did not like his home being examined like this.

Stalking the mercenary, his ice blue eyes coldly fixed on the male's coat as the bear of a wolf walked through the valley. The darkness of night only aided him, his dark coat blending into the shadows. He stayed downwind of him, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal himself.

From what he's seen, the wolf was predictable. Painfully so. Kaname already had an idea on what course this merc was going to take. It was boring. Once the bear turned his attention to the southeast borders, Kaname increased his steps, taking a wide berth around him to appear in front of him, as if he was never following him in the first place. The assassin parted from the shadows, placing himself in front of the mercenary. "Greetings." He said simply.

Yay hi! Thanks for joining! *provides cookies*

If Andrus was at all surprised by Kaname's sudden appearance, he did not show it any more than he ever showed any emotion. His face was a perfectly blank slate as he looked upon the man, not bothering to change his posture to show any sort of respect to the Beta. The only leadership Andrus acknowledged was Ptarmigan and Viggo. As far as he was concerned, his loyalty was to the ones with whom he had made the contract. The wolves they now ruled over were of little consequence to the great bear--all of them sheep to be herded and kept in line.

"Good evening," Andrus responded, almost bored in his tone. He suspected this was not likely to be a friendly getting-to-know you encounter. More likely it would involve some pointless posturing, empty threats and other miscellaneous showmanship, all in the hopes that the black beast would get to prove that his dick was bigger than Andrus's.

Well, if that was what the wolf needed to feel better about his ex-alpha's failed attempt at earning her title, Andrus was prepared to allow it. Ptarmigan had decided to keep him and his little princess on as her beta wolves and Andrus had no intention of disrespecting her wishes by causing undo trouble.

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Is it BJ's cookies? O: They're so good!

The man responded to his sudden appearance with nothing. His face was flat, emotionless. Blank. How anticlimactic. He was expecting something different. A little jolt at best.

His voice was flat as well, bored almost. "Exploring are we.....?" He trailed out his question, offering for the wolf to give his name before answering. He hoped that the wolf would get his gist.

They can be! :D umg i actually want cookies now

If the dark wolf was looking for excitement, he had come to the worst place possible. Andrus had the personality of a rock. He wasn't unintelligent. His brain was simply wired differently from others, most notably in that there were pretty much none at all connected to the part that had anything to do with social graces. As evidenced by this interaction in particular when all Andrus gave in response to the leading question was "Yes."

Andrus could tell the male was probing for some sort of dialogue. They always were. He had never really understood why his kind had so much desire to stand around blabbing on about nothing when there were better things to be done. Were their caches fully stocked for the Winter? Were the borders well marked or in need of strengthening? Did they still have a bead on the herds that frequented the area or had they moved on? Speech was for communicating matters of importance such as these, not for talking about feelings or whatever nonsense this wolf was about to start spouting on about.

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Short post is short.

The answer was anticlimactic. Boring, even. Kaname sighed before asking another question. He was getting tired of this, and he hadn't even said much. "What's your name?" Whether he was unintelligent or simply of a different mindset, he couldn't really tell. Either way the assassin was bored.

His name. That was the big climactic question that was plaguing the thin dark wolf. Andrus stared for a moment, mulling around in his head the options he had for his response. He had no interest in this little chat being prolonged further than it needed to be. After all, there was work to be done. He needed to get to Northeast border before midnight if he had any hope of getting through it by dawn.

"Andrus Cannelle," he replied finally, settling down onto his haunches, "I was born far from here in a place called Farhaven. My entire pack was murdered by marauders. An older wolf of our pack helped me escape and taught me the life of mercenary. He died. I continued working. I met Ptarmigan, she defeated your young queen, and now I help her to keep her title and her peace." Andrus paused then, rolling his shoulders and allowing himself a deep exhale.

"Is there anything else you would ask of me?" the old bear said, quirking a brow at him.

Andrus, his name was. Kaname sensed an urgency in the tone of his voice. Like he had something better to do. "My name is Kaname Sicarius. I myself am an assassin-for-hire, though my services are now exclusively for the alpha of this pack." He kept his introduction short, not delving into his past.

"Do you need help patrolling the borders?" Kaname felt it was the only way he was going to relate to the stern mercenary. He wasn't much for talking, but more for action. And actions spoke louder than words, especially to Andrus.