and i as future kings walk off the edge

For @Jace, whee!

She had caught the hare on pure chance along the banks of a winding creek. The basinesque area she had found beneath the spires of a nearby mountain served to be ample hunting grounds, but for who or what she didn't know. The history of the place was lost to the young Tartok wolf, who was feeling more and more displaced in the grand scheme of things. Echelon had not seen Tonravik for days now, and any attempts she had tried to make to seek out her aokkatti had been unsuccessful. But such was the way of Tartok; if they did not want to be found then they were simply not found. Yet it troubled her that not even she could find where Tonravik had gone, let alone some of the other followers in their band.

Her range had extended to searching deeper into the Wilds, which had led her to the Vale in turn. And the hare, whose plump body dangled carelessly from her dark jaws, would make for a good meal later on. She had no problem carrying it openly, because perhaps arrogantly she feared nothing would come after her. The lands seemed vacant and only partially traveled in spite of the worn paths that existed there. Maybe a pack had lived there once, but any trace of it had been removed from the earth and time. The only thing she was remotely aware beyond her immediate surroundings was the fact that a pack did exist on the mountain somewhere — it's exactly location escaped her though.

Either way, she didn't care too much about it. It was not Tonravik, it was not Tartok. Finding a sunny patch of tall grass to lay about in, the flighty canine reclined to the earth sphinx-like. Clutching the hare between her paws, she picked at it, pulling tuffs of fur and sinew loose from what she really wanted out of it. The tender meat, still warm and ripe for eating.

koda — staying

Jace meandered slowly along the banks of the river that ran down the length of the mountain. Hoping with his whole being that he may find Ferdie near a water source, alive. He would be hurt surely, but alive. There had not been any new wolves at the borders or near the sunspire in some time. Jace figured it was due to the impending winter months coming calling on them all.

The vale still held a stale smell of wolves, but even that was fading fast as the winter winds came to bite them. Jace continued on his limp no longer paramount, though he imagined he would always have one now, even though it was a small one.

As Jace continued on he came across another wolf. Chuffing gently, he did not wish to startle her, they were on neutral territory after all. And she may have information for him on Ferdie.

Minutes into her meal, Echelon became aware that she was not alone. Not that his steps weren't quiet, but they weren't quiet enough. She heard the grass give him away long before his dark shape appeared, and just before that the chuff alerted her from where he was coming from. Licking the gore from his muzzle, Echelon watched him with interest, her hackles flaring. Why he was there and why he was interrupting her meal didn't matter to her, but the notion that he was liable to take it did.

She issued a low growl, a warning for him to keep his distance.

Jace froze as bloody muzzle lifted to point at him, only to be wiped of gore mere seconds later. He watched as her hackles rose, and his followed suit. He was not about to not protect himself, if she decided to fly off the handle or something of the like. So he stood there with his own hackles bristling and watching her with blue eyes full of wariness. He was tired of meeting aggressors, they were really really starting to piss him off.

He growled right back in return and spoke softly I'm not here to take your food Miss. I was merely walking. I can't help it that you happen to be right near my pack lands. Not on them, near them.

As he explained himself, Echelon suppressed the urge to huff at his commentary. He felt it necessary to point out that she was lingering near his territory, but the way she saw it they were still a ways off. That admission meant that he had to have come from the mountains at her back. Otherwise… then somewhere nearby. She hadn't fulled scouted out the area to her liking, but it seemed safe to say that the packs were decently spaced out. At least the ones that she had encountered.

Still, she couldn't help but sass him. “Are you just going to stand there and watch me finish, then? Make sure I don't come traipsing across your claim?” Where his voice had been soft, hers was the hammer crashing down on their encounter. If he wasn't there to take her kill, then why had he even stopped at all? As much as she wanted to voice that, she wasn't ready to make the commitment that followed such a terse ending.

Jace was trying to point out politely that she had no right to growl at him or argue with him for walking. Especially when he was near his pack's territory. It irked him a great deal for her sassy attitude, and he wanted to put her in her place, but kept his mouth closed tightly.

Jace shook his head mumbled something about being rude, but he perked his ears forward all the same. one of our own was hurt recently and I am looking for him. Have you seen a wolf nearby hurt? Or...or dead? he didn't want Ferdie to be dead, but he had to admit it was a possibility.

Well, it seemed like he had reason to come by and interrupt her. Echelon listened with feigned lack of interest, but the whole thing really did interest her. It was an uncommon occurrence for wolves to go missing or get injured, but it was worth taking a particular interest in when others were actively searching for said wolf. She also knew that sometimes if they tried hard enough, wolves could also be very good at not being found when looked for. She and Tonravik were exceptional good for this, though Echelon often allowed herself to be seen. Some places weren't exactly made for stealth.

“I don't know if I've seen him, but what does he look like?” She wanted to ask what he was worth to him, but refrained for the moment. The options filed ahead of her mentally like a rolodex spun free. Her interest in the meal was beginning to wane now, for obvious reasons. An opportunity presented itself, only if she was willing to take it.

Jace saw the girl's lack of interest and he supposed it was warranted, it wasn't like she knew Ferdie personally or anything. He didn't think that Ferdie would hide from them, but then again the man had been doing strange things lately, so he could be.

Jace pivoted his shoulders as he thought of the answer to her question. He's a little bit bigger than me, older than me too I believe he's 4 or 5. He has a grey, black and tan coat mixture. He keeps it well groomed, rather vainly. He has a scar like the one I bear around my neck on his. That's the best he could do, he was not one that paid much attention to physical attributes, so when describing them he fell flat more often than not.

echelon y u a jerk

The description that he gave her could have matched many wolves that Echelon had met in her travels. It could have also matched a fair amount of wolves that comprised Tartok of the far north. But there were some key features that made him differ from other wolves, particularly that of vanity. So he was a well-groomed sort, atypical coat of many wolves privy of a broad span, and was beginning to creep up in age. She let her tail beat a couple of muffled thumps in the grass, and mulled it over.

And then she went with the devious route. “Yeah, I think I've seen someone like that,” she mentioned casually with a cant of her head. “Been a few days though, didn't talk to them or anything. They looked like they were headed out of this valley.” Inwardly she became amused with her own lie, surprised in part that she had been able to keep a straight face. “Does he have any other quirky things about him? I don't know if it was the same wolf but he seemed a bit… how do you put it… off? Like he had something wrong with him, or maybe something on his mind.” She kept from going into too many details to throw him off, not wanting to seem verbose in any sense.

Jace knew very well that his description was mediocre at best, but he had tried his best and that was all that mattered. He just didn't pay attention very well. Now if one was to ask him about Leaf, who still haunted his dreams he could tell them every hair color. But unfortunately no one asked about her and he talked to no one about her.

Jace shook his head He must of suffered a head injury. Alright Thank you very much. I'll tell my wolves to go that way, I can't leave the mountain right now. Thanks again. I'm Jace by the way. he grew quiet. He wanted to get back now and speak with his pack mates and Amekaze and decide whether they should follow him out of hte valley or let him go. Winter was fast coming upon them and though they all loved Ferdie, if it came to survival, it was of the fittest.

Lmao I feel bad since they're all looking for him but Echelon is all IDGAF. But I haven't written for a jerkass in such a long time. >_> Up to you if Jace wants to follow, or you can fade with your next post!

Where she had hoped to get additional details, she got a word of thanks. This furthered her inward surprise, if only for the fact that Echelon had anticipated having to make a deeper cover. She figured it was fair though that the wolf would take what she had to offer though, and sensed his urge to depart from her. She only merely nodded, drawing their conversation to a close as she gathered up her meal between her jaws.

Rising to her feet, Echelon surveyed Jace for a moment more before heading off through the tall grass. She hoped to find another quiet place to finish our the remain of her meal, though this time she would with a bit more enthusiasm. A naturally devious sort, she took amusement in the fact that she had misled him, and potentially others for the sake of doing it. As he had felt, it was simply survival of the fittest; she had done what had come natural, as the very action had saved her from trouble in the past.