Duskfire Glacier doing it by my lonesome.

Since she had run off, Ezrah had kept an eye out for the frightened, mute girl he had protected from the black-pelted woman. He hadn’t changed his intentions—he had merely added her to the list of companions he hoped to find. Otherwise, he focused on finding a life for himself in these Wilds. It was time.

His paws had lead him North, through woods and plains and mountainsides. He’d come across few of his own kind, but he’d been lucky in his hunting. He took no pleasure in scavenging like a common fox, but Ezrah was not so prideful that he would sacrifice his own strength by passing up a meal found. He’d followed the raucous cawing of crows to find the half-eaten deer carcass, the pair of coyotes feasting upon it easily run off. He’d eaten his fill and set off again, satisfied in body if not in his mind.

That had been four days ago, and while Ezrah’s belly didn’t ache with hunger pain, he knew it would soon come. But luck had blessed him again with the scent trail of his own kind, or perhaps trails would be more accurate. More than one meant pack, so he had followed to find himself there upon the borders. Ezrah spent some time inspecting the area, familiarizing himself with these wolves. There seemed nothing amiss and—being the easy going fellow he was—shortly tilted back his head and called for attention.

small post during work.

the call rises over the dim of the birdsong that is interrupted by the mewls and cries of duskfire glacier's children. wintersbane finishes his rounds checking in on tzila, lane and the children before he makes his way out of greyfall caverns and towards the borders where the call originated. wintersbane tries to keep his pace steady; glacial gaze taking quick stock of the agouti, earthen colored male at the glacier's borders.

upon his approach, wintersbane slows; body language rigid but not entirely unfriendly. hello stranger, the tundrian barks in greeting. i am wintersbane, alpha of duskfire glacier. how may i help you?

Ezrah had spent much of his life as a figure of authority, but that didn’t mean he had any qualms bowing to another. The wolf that answered the summons was a beast to behold. Taller, thicker and sturdier, they were matched perhaps only in the confidence they both wore easily on their every move and word. The Blackwater offered a smile and a dip of his muzzle as he shifted his posture to one of respect. He didn’t need the introduction to know this was an alpha.

”Good to meet ya,” Ezrah replied, ”I come hoping you might have room in your ranks for a wayward ranger. Name’s Ezrah Blackwater.” 

if there was one thing that wintersbane could endlessly appreciate it was getting straight to the point; and the stranger at his borders did not disappoint. with idle pleasantries out of the way, wintersbane sought to get to the root of the call; of which was revealed by the man of whom introduced himself as ezrah, was interest of joining.

we do, wintersbane allows in a smokey drawl. what skills can you bring to us? though 'skills' were not as highly valued to him as contribution and presence. even so, it's an ingrained thing to ask and would give wintersbane some sort of direction before the tundrian offered the pitch of duskfire glacier.

Ezrah was gratified to hear there would be room for him, given he performed the next steps admirably enough. He wasn't concerned about the next part--he knew himself to be plenty capable with a great capacity for dedication. Whether this proved to be a short-term or long-term stay, he knew he would be an asset if they allowed him the chance.

"The usual--hunter, guardian," Ezrah replied, "At my birth pack, I joined the ranks of a guardian group of wolves who policed our own territory and those of our neighboring sister packs. We protected and we kept the peace. Resolving disputes amongst our own, dealing justice when necessary, such like that. I lead the Force, for a time, before I was sent with some companions to secure new lands for our family to expand into. We unfortunately lost track of each other and I've had no luck locating them, nor they me, which is how I ended up here on your doorstep."

He paused then, wondering if there would be more questions or if he'd provided enough. He had never before sought harbor with stranger packs for more than a night or two. This was a new scenario for him, but he had interviewed plenty of lone wolves on his own borders to know how the song and dance was supposed to go.

while the other man spoke, wintersbane is quiet; contemplative. another guardian on the borders would not be a bad thing — especially with the sour taste of not one but two trespassers lingering in his mouth and at the forefront of his thoughts. i see, wintersbane rumbles; realizing that his vague response despite that he is all too happy to add another guardian to duskfire's ranks, might be seen poorly. we could use another guardian on our borders, protecting our pack. you and your skills are welcomed. wintersbane rumbles his approval.

with a small gesture of his muzzle, he invites ezrah into the borders. we recently had not one but two trespassers ...one of which refused to leave until myself and another chased him from our borders. there is a icy edge to the tundrian's tone then; disapproval seeping from every angle of his body. i do my best to patrol as often as i can but i have young children to tend to. and though he thought he was juggling leadership and fatherhood fairly well, there was always that small seed of doubt. he was, for better or worse, a first time father in a sense, after all.

Wintersbane accepted his request in short order, which was not surprising to Ezrah though he was no less grateful for it. He'd been on his own for quite some time now. It felt good to belong somewhere and know he could do some good for someone again. "Thank you for the opportunity," he replied with a dip of his muzzle. He appreciated also the measure of trust he was being offered, but knew better than to call it that. It was likely something he would still have to earn in full.

"How many little ones are there this season?" Ezrah asked conversationally as they began to walk. He merely nodded and hummed with agreement over the alpha's sentiments regarding the trespassers. He would keep an eye out, but that didn't seem like something that needed to be said.

of course, wintersbane murmurs in response to the other male's gratitude. as ezrah joins him at his invitation and wintersbane begins the tour that he's given a handful of times now ( and thus can recall from heart ), he takes a moment's pause to mentally count the children that have been born into duskfire glacier to answer ezrah's inquiry.

six. wintersbane does not mention that majority of them were his by blood, though it would likely become apparent soon enough. and considering they are all about the same age and growing more curious by the day, they're becoming quite the explorers. a soft, affectionate chuckle resonates within wintersbane's throat as he speaks of the children.

Six children. Ezrah wondered vaguely if that was all in one litter, though he didn't wonder at all if they were the alpha's. He didn't seem the kind of man to share power, at least not at first glance. Maybe he was wrong. But six could be one good, healthy litter. Or perhaps it could be two. Either way, it wasn't a question worth asking. He'd find out eventually, he was sure.

Ezrah smiled at the comment Wintersbane made about them. "They do like to start making trouble of themselves, don't they," he rumbled in reply, thinking of his own, "I have one son myself. He's nearing two years. His mother died giving birth to him, so he was raised mostly by my sister. They create a whole lot of ruckus for such tiny creatures."


He'd never been much of a father to his son, but he'd always watched him from afar. Ezrah wondered about him now and took some comfort, as he often did, in the fact that he likely didn't mind much that his father was gone seeing as he hadn't had much of him his whole life.

wintersbane keeps to his quiet and contemplative demeanor as they walk the familiar footpaths of the initial tour — deeper exploration would have to be on ezrah — thinking that he cannot recall hearing truer words in regards to children. even recalling his own youth — as long ago as it'd been for him now — he was far from easy to raise ...for his parents, for nyx ...for any of the others that had taken him beneath the shrouds of their wings and taught him the bits and pieces he would need to survive. that he had was probably a miracle given his initial penchant for danger ...but he had and each of them left their impression upon him.

i would be worried if they didn't. trouble, he has come to expect from children. curiosity and the want to understand the world around them. his words hold within them a sincerity that speaks wintersbane's truth of expectation. would any of the children shy away from their natural curiosity ... the tundrian would be left to worry about what kind of adults they would become ( if they made it that far ).

i suspect sooner rather than later the children of duskfire will be more than their mothers can handle. certainly more than he could; and yet ...there was a part of wintersbane that looked forward to that time all the same.