Neverwinter Forest your boldness stands alone among the wreck

Orochi had yet to see his mother.

It's odd really. He had so many opportunities. He could've barged into the den when he was fighting Minori or screaming at her kid. They could've ran into eachother when the pack made the journey here. Yet the reunion still hasn't happened. Maybe it was anger that caused him to avoid her. Maybe it was fear. His guess was as good as anyone's. Orochi never dwelled on his feelings.

I could find her now, he thought as he walked through the unfamilar forest. There was an obvious difference between a yuélòng wolf's scent and a neverwinter's. Orochi could follow every salty smelling trail until he found Takara. But he didn't bother.

So the wolves from the beach were here now. Caerus had never been to the thing called the "ocean", but boy did these people wear it's scent strongly. Each time he found a trail it was overwhelmingly pungent, and had him wrinkling up his nose. Today was no different. He came across a salty scent, and just some yards off lifted his head to find an orange and brownish wolf. He looked too old to be another one of his siblings- thank god- but Caerus still scrunched up his muzzle at the scent of him anyway, silently judging.

Orochi did cross paths with another wolf eventually. He was a younger boy, but he was older than any of Yuélòng's litters. Were the Neverwinter pups just as annoying as the island's? It was starting to look that way, given the scowl that was thrown his way.

The yearling turned towards the patchwork boy and snarled. What are you looking at? he snapped.

The dude was quick to snap at him, and Caerus snorted, raising his paws up innocently as if to say he had no beef here. But still he continued, you, He hummed, no offense or anything, but... you kinda stink. Caerus admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. He truly didn't mean harm- he just wasn't very good at holding his tongue, finding the line at which to shut up. is it because of the 'ocean'? i've never been there.

You get used to the salty smell of the sea after awhile. Orochi didn't realize how pungent it was until it was pointed out. The boy's thoughts on the scent were similar to his when he first arrived to Yuélòng; it was gross.

Yeah, well, it's not my fault the sea smells like shit. He didn't see his aroma as a problem, but now that he was called out on it he felt a little defensive.

Orochi raised a brow. Where have you been then?

Caerus shrugged at the boy's defensive retort. Couldn't he just live somewhere that didn't make him stink? There had to be something pretty good out there keeping him by the sea- Caerus knew he'd need a big pull factor to handle smelling like that all the time. He didn't say anything else about it, though his nose remained slightly scrunched. A silent kind of subtle tease. i've been... here? and a little bit outside the forest...? uhh.. Caerus tilted his head. Did less travel make him inferior in this guy's perspective or something? Better than smelling like crap.

Orochi would never understand wolves like him. They were so sheltered, trapped in a way. It’s a polar opposite life to his.

Haven’t been around much have you? he pointed out, almost mockingly. I’ve practically seen everything there is by now.