Hoshor Plains You've made your worst mistake here, might be your last one too

Pala had not been difficult to track. He had seen the way she went when she left, and from there the pawprints on muddy ground that occasionally mixed with puppy paws made things easy.

The situation had him irritated. He had been content to send Pala and their sons away, to pretend they simply never existed. They did not matter, they would not benefit him. Maybe he could have learned to love his sons, maybe he would, but he would never love Pala no matter how much maman would push him.

He planned to one day find a wife suitable to him. One as strong as the wretched wolfdog, but pureblooded and beautiful. Whether the Matriarche wished to make Pala an obstacle or not, he had no issue removing her from his path.

Soon Chaudry came upon a tree, carefully inspecting it and taking in the scents of those who has visited recently. Various wolves, foxes, birds, and even bears, but fur caught in the bark of the tree caught his eye; cream coloured and mid-length. Pala. The lingering scent of milk and blood mingling made him sure of it.

Odessia continued her meandering throughout the wilds, keeping to herself for the most part. Thus far, she had found very little of interest in these parts. Nothing about this place was stunning or out of the ordinary, but perhaps that was part of the draw. When she spotted somebody up ahead, she sniffed at the air, hoping to catch their scent on the wind. Unluckily for her, the wind was not blowing in her favor, but instead would give away her location if the other wolf had any brains in their head.
Not knowing what sort of ilk this other wolf might be, Odessia ducked behind a tree to make herself less visible, should the stranger decide an attack was the first thing on the menu. Besides, this way she potentially get closer without them knowing her exact location. Stealth was part of the game, after all.

A gust of wind across the plains brought another to his attention, momentarily taking his focus off of Pala.

It was another wolf, a young woman. He knew that much, but could not immediately spot her. It left him troubled; he was no longer within the confines of the territory, there was no marked scents or packmates to prevent an attack.

But then again, it seemed there was only one of her, and one of him.

Continuing to stalk forward with his confidence returned, he looked for pawprints in the ground. Catching Pala's scent was out of the question with an active stranger so close. Whoever she was, her scent was strong enough to make things somewhat difficult for him.

She made her way around the stranger, making a wide arc so she would not be spotted. Now she had the advantage, and she caught his scent. Her lips curled into an ugly grin, watching as he sniffed the air to try and track her down. Her footsteps were light on the ground, thanks to her smaller stature. He, on the other hand, fell heavy with each step. She could have sworn there was a mini earthquake whenever he took another plodding movement.
From her vantage point, he looked... well, obese. She had never seen a wolf so large, and it immediately struck her as unnatural. There also seemed to be something wrong with his eyes. It was like he had a scowl stuck to his face. Odessia, considering him a non-threat (or at least not an immediate one), stepped out from her spot betwixt the trees.
"Why are you so fat?" she asked.

Suddenly, the stranger popped out and asked a question that made him quirk his brow. He had never thought himself fat, but maybe he had gained some weight. He appreciated how direct she was. My pack keeps me fed. He responded, soon following up with queries of his own. Why are you so thin? Are you not fed?

She didn't carry the scent of other's. Chaudry could only assume that she was a wanderer of sorts.

Tilting his head, he checked for the scent of a carcass. This girl needed some more meat on her bones, and even if she did not care for it, he needed a snack.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: some serious fat-shaming and body dysmorphia in this post, yikes.

Being fed and being fat were two different things in Odessia's book, but she did not argue with him. Instead, she mentally replaced "fed" with "fat." Winter was far away, and there was no need to be fat now, in her opinion. Fattening up was for summer and fall. Perhaps this place was more abundant in winter than her previous home, and some of the wolves here did not know how to pace themselves.
She scoffed at his judgment of her, immediately feeling self-conscious of her own body weight. She puffed out her fur as much as she could to make herself look bigger.
"I am petite," she argued.
"And if you are offering help, I do not want it. I can feed myself just fine."
Then again, she doubted he would share based on his weight alone.

And I am grande He retorted lightly, shrugging. There was nothing wrong with being heavier, especially if you could still move just fine. Winter is lazy, wolves do not come to threaten the mountains in the cold. Not usually, anyways. I will shed it in these warm months. Along with his thick fur, which was more than likely contributing to the fact that his musculature was not as visible as it should be.

Eat more, eat well. It will be good for you. If she did not want to share with him, that was no problem for Chaudry. He would hunt down a few rabbits on his way. Three, maybe, would suffice. He wasn't all that willing to share with a stranger anyways. You came from the west? He then asked, looking to move from the topic.

Odessia was not sure what reality he was living in, but where she was from, winter was anything but a lazy time. It was a constant strain for survival. Making the kill was not always guaranteed, and that was if you had good hunting partners to back you up. Odessia knew she would need that come wintertime, but for now she was content to hunt on her own until she found somebody worthy of her company. This guy was not it.
He asked where she had come from, and Odessia shot him a suspicious glance.
"You are supposed to ask for my name first," she said. Besides, what good would it do to know where she had come from? It was not as if she was going back there. She had broken ties with her family, and now she was here.

He quirked a brow once more at her words. Well, then tell me your name. He responded. I am Chaudry.

For a brief moment his eyes wandered, settling on the landscape behind her. Westward. He had asked not to make conversation, but to find out if the woman may have seen Pala or his children.

He finally seemed to have some sense about him and asked for her name while offering his own. Just the way a conversation should be. However, he quickly looked past her, apparently much more interested in something else than her, and Odessia felt slighted. Chaudry seemed immediately bored with her, and that was simply not something she would tolerate. Odessia considered herself quite interesting, and certainly more interesting than the nothingness that was going on behind her.
"Odessia. What are you looking at?" she asked, her voice coming out with an edge.

His attention was quickly regathered at her words. She reminded him of the women of the mother pack in a way; bold, mean. The sort of attitude that made his stone demeanor crumble almost instinctively. I apologise, my mind wandered. He seemed almost flustered, a rare occurence. I am searching for lost pack members. I am worried for them, is all.

Odessia is a good name. Does it mean something? He knew that some mother's chose name's for their children with such intentions. His was not of that nature, rather opting for the strategy of matching them all with a 'ch' sound. He also knew that some took pride in their names - he hoped that Odessia was one of them. He wanted to say something that pleased the woman.

She could not understand how his mind could wander when they had just met and she was standing right in front of him, but maybe he had the attention span of a gnat. Odessia believed herself to be the center of the universe, and so she was always disappointed when others did not recognize this "fact." At least Chaudry realized he was at fault and seemed knocked down a peg.
The white wolf smiled at the compliment, revealing her underbite in all its hideous glory.
"A family name," she replied.
"How did you lose your pack members?" she asked. It was not as though they could be misplaced like a forgotten stash of carrion. Besides, why would he be worried? As long as they were adults who were raised to fend for themselves, they would be fine. And if they did not survive, it was unlikely they were good additions to the family line anyway. That was the way of nature, cruel as it were.
She rocked back to a sit and lifted her hind leg to idly scratch an itch on her ear.

She clearly did not appreciate it when attention wandered. Noted.

I cannot be quite sure, but I was told to look, so I do. If I find them and they want to come home, I will take them. He responded. They took young puppies with them, so there is reason to be concerned.

He had little desire to discuss the situation with a stranger. He felt that maman would not appreciate it. So, he opted to try talking about Odessia instead. Your fur, is your birth home cold? He made the assumption from her white fur - a guess from the little knowledge he had. It suits you well, compliments your eyes. I imagine you hunt well in the winter with it.

So it was one (or more) adults and puppies—curious! For once, Odessia was mildly interested in something that was not herself. She suddenly had one thousand and one questions about the situation, although Chaudry tried to turn the conversation back to her. Why did he keep trying to ascertain where she was from?
"Wait, why would they take puppies? Did somebody take their own puppies, or somebody else's? How old were they? Why would they not want to come home if you found them? Were the puppies old enough to survive on their own?" she asked in rapid succession.
This sounded a lot less like "lost" pack members and more like "runaways" or "kidnapped" pack members.

He sighed, his mind quickly coming to a solution. You are not of Montagne de Cigue, if I told you more I could be causing trouble for both of us. A reasonable excuse, he thought. I get that guilty look when I have done wrong, they would know.

Chaudry had no issue lying to his packmates about the situation, but something about telling this woman what he had told them would be embarassasing. How could it not be? He had gotten a packmate pregnant, and then she ran off with all but his daughter. It was already regarded as strange by his packmates, and surely a stranger would feel the same way.

Odessia did not understand how telling her could cause trouble, but that only made her more curious. What kind of trouble could he be in? And why would he be guilty? It sounded like he had something to do with losing them in the first place. She squinted at him, wondering why he was being so obtuse about the whole thing, but she was already losing interest.
Her stomach growled, and she knew that meant it was time to find food. She did not plan to share when she did track some down.
"Whatever. You have fun looking for your lost wolves," she said, turning to make her exit.

Maybe on another day he would have continued pursuing her, but he needed to cover more ground before nightfall.

When you look for a home, come to the mountain. He called to her, strong women like you - we value them.

Saying nothing more, he continued on his trek westward. He did hope he would see her again, sooner or later when his own troubles were dealt with.