Bramblepoint red-hawk for dinner

She was tired, and more than that she was truly pissed off for the first time in her life. It was tough to be an optimist when everything seemed to be ripping at your pelt.

Leto had made her finaly decision to leave the Caldera with Delos in tow. Her heart called for her to return to the pass where Verapaz waited, but everything else told her to return to what she knew. Leto would run for the Taiga, travelling at night and hunting in the day. The days there would provide her son with more mercy.

Sun high over the dense forest, Leto was on the hunt for a scent worth following. Delos was safely stowed away where the sun would not reach him, and his mother, short on sleep, did not intend to be away for long. Nose lifting from the ground she had caught a peculiar scent, and despite herself followed it.

Passing through trees and bushes, it was a shock that her nose had not fooled her. A Red-tailed Hawk sat in a paricularly deep puddle, wings too soaked to take off. It felt like a bit of a cruel coincidence really, but the bird would serve as a fine meal.

He'd delved deep into the valley, skirting the edges of packlands, for the moment. He needed time to gather materials, and he'd spent the past few days doing just that. Some of the rarer herbs he'd found were now laid out to dry on a large, flat rock.

Now, Aureli just needed something to wrap them in.

The healer ventured out, tailed loosely by his feline companion. He would not hunt too close to the borders of the nearby packs, but when he caught the scent of one pack wolf straying into no-man's land, he decided to take the opportunity to introduce himself. It did not feel so dangerous as presenting himself at the borders, at least.

He delved through the brambles, careless of what caught on his windblown pelt as he searched out the female and... a cub? That gave him pause, but since the milkscent was gone from them, Aureli decided that his presence might not seem overly threatening. He followed the scent further still, barking out a greeting before he'd quite reached the end of it or caught sight of the wolf he followed.

Still, he continued to thread through the trees, wanting to at least look at the stranger. He was worried by the lack of activity in the area, and he wanted to get a good look at those that were still around.

A small, spotted cat wandered in the healer's wake. It stopped to rub its cheek against a tree and was quickly left behind. Instead of seeking out its provider, it began following a more youthful scent. Wolves had never hurt it, after all, and younger wolves had oft been convinced to toss it snacks and trail strips of hide for it to chase.

Leto pounced, grabbing the hawk with ease - the poor bird didn't exactly have anywhere it could go. Quite pleased with her dinner gripped in her jaws, the moment was swiftly overtaken when a bark hit her ears.

More often than not Leto met strangers with a smile, but she had reason to be wary when her child was hidden nearby. For that reason she chose to remain in place, gazing through the trees with the hope of spotting them first.. she couldn't imagine that they would have alerted her to their presence if they intended to cause harm, but nonetheless Leto would wait to return to Delos until she had met this strange wolf.

Placing the hawk at her paws, she decided to respond with a bark of her own. Let them come to her.

Delos had been left to sleep beneath a thick bush against the base of a tree, though he was wide awake. At six months he was old enough to be following his mother on her hunts, and he would for the rare times they came across prey after the sun had fell.

He was oblivious to the stranger and his odd companion who had joined them under the canopy, the only sounds reaching him being the leafs that occasionally rustled next to his right ear. It was difficult for him not to feel some sense of nerves settling in nonetheless; familiarity was what he preferred, and his mother's wish to travel brought anything but that. All Delos really wanted was to return home to Verapaz.

A quiet cacophony greet him. The thrash of feathers gave him an idea of what he'd interrupted, and Aureli frowned, feeling more reluctant now to approach. But the bark seemed to invite him, so he make a low sound back in response and sought her out entire.

He lingered at the edge of conversational distance once he caught sight of her. She was pale, the way he'd seen in arctic wolves. No longer nursing, but he thought he saw little tells that she was still sustaining both herself and the pup that he smelled largely on her own. What of the pack he also smelled?

"Hello," he said, his voice low and melodic. He tried to look as though he was not hungry, and had in fact never felt the need to eat in his life. Pointedly, he did not look at her meal. "I apologize for the disturbance. I'm new to the area. I just wanted to know about the other wolves here."

He was ready to turn and run if she proved unreceptive.

You can feel free to skip Delos for now!

Any semblance of worry she had faded when the stranger came into view. He was a skinny guy, and Leto outsized him enough that she was confident she could flatten him if he got too cocky. It's alright, there's not much to disturb here. She responded, glancing to the rather dead hawk.

So, he was a true stranger then. Completely shiny and new.. Leto could still remember that, it had been fun, but he seemed to have more smarts than she'd had. Well.. I can probably tell you a little. The Redhawk Caldera is just south, that's where I came from there. Verapaz is further east in the Lowlands. She knew that there was another pack further north, but Leto wouldn't be the right wolf to speak on them.

If you're new, where about did you come from?

They stood peacefully, this far, and Aureli told himself to relax. Made an effort to appear relaxed, but looked perhaps just a little more weary.

The stranger named one of the packs that he'd already scented, and another he had little idea about. The one North of here, it seemed, as a mystery to them both. They were not so close as to share a border, of course — but it still seemed odd that this woman did not know the name of the nearest pack to her own. Ruben thought that she must be new to Redhawk Caldera, or else that she came from a particularly reclusive people.

She didn't seem reclusive. Aureli ought to know; he spent each and every day fighting his own reclusive nature.

"And they are friendly?" he asked her, though part of him doubted the supposed supposition. Truly, he was waiting to be corrected.

And, though it did not occur to him, he sure had some nerve judging packs on their friendliness. He'd exchanged no pleasantries. Had not offered or asked a single name. Only pressed for information.

Leto furrowed her brow. Seriously, he wasn't going to bother answering her question before asking more of his own? That was just rude. No. Why do you think I'm here and not there. Her response came blunt, eyeing him up. Me and my son are moving towards the Taiga, away from the packlands.

Are you going to answer my questions or not? She couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. Who are you? It was basic conversation!

Though, maybe she shouldn't be too judgemental. Her first few meetings with Teekon wolves had been anything but graceful.

Annoyance shot through the healer. He did not dignify that with a response, either, though several occurred to him.

"I see," he said, his voice thinner now, though he really didn't mean to be so rude. And, now that annoyance had knocked away some of his laser focus, he found answers to her first question.

"Aureli," he said, introducing himself at last. "No where. Everywhere. My natal lands are far from here." And no longer relevant. "I am a traveling physician."

His smile, too, was thin. Sardonic.

"You are not the first wolf I've met leaving her current pack this week," he told her, leaving out more pertinent details. "If the temperaments are concerning in this area... Well. It's rather hard to heal with a brute chewing on your leg."

He jested! Maybe. If Leto looked, she might see some rather obvious scarring on one of his ankles.

Any frustration Leto held was wiped away with two words; traveling physician. So you're some sort of healer? She had spent so long hoping to find one, and now he had practically fallen into her lap.

Sorry. It's a bit exciting, is all. She shook her head, and sent away whatever sparkle may have hit her eyes with it. Well.. Aureli, why not travel eastwards as well then? I'm sure there's wolves to heal that way.

Realizing that despite throwing a bit off a tiff she hadn't offered her own name, she found herself a bit flustered. I'm Leto, by the way.

Aureli managed to take offense at being called some sort of healer, being that he was of the finest sort, and not sort of at all. He was a healer first and foremost and he was of the first and foremost of healers! If he was nothing else, he was a healer, and truthfully, he was very little else.

But he was good at being offended, and good at carrying on anyway. His expression, perhaps, turned a little sour, but he was still polite in his address:

"Are you ill?."

... mostly polite. It was just that even sick wolves were not usually excited to see him, and he thought a single mother might have other uses for him on the road. A free babysitter, mainly — and he did so hate most children.

Leto hesiated, considering whether or not it was a good idea to try and bring this man back to Delos, but she needed help for her son. There was no way around that. Not me, my son. She responded, glancing back the way she had came.

I really don't know how to help him, and you're the first healer we've found. It felt wrong asking a complete stranger for help.. but, I'm desperate. She glanced down to the hawk at her paws. Would that be a decent trade-off.

..Are you hungry?

Yes, of course it was her son. Aureli guarded his expression when she failed to say what was wrong with him. He thought he could guess, but just in case he was wrong about her motives, he probed a little further:

"Your son requires a physician?"

His nose twitched. He identified the scent of the boy on her pelt, but nothing jumped out at him as wrong.

His gaze dropped just briefly to the rabbit, and he understood at once what she meant by the question. He was not in the habit of taking payment — especially when he was not sure what kind of work he would be expected to do. The healer gave a swift shake of his head, both denying payment and attempting to convey that his services were entirely free.

"What ails him?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

He rejected her offer of the bird, but nonetheless showed interest in her son. Leto held onto some of her hope.

They say he has albinism. I know it can't be cured, but do you know how to help him? She aimed to meet his eyes, both to show her own sincerity and hope to find his. I want him to be able to live a good life. For now she could keep him hidden away, ensure the sun never met his skin, but one day she knew Delos would want to wander.. it was in his blood.

If Towhee had been right about anything, it was that she couldn't let Delos live as a vampire. He was already so timid, he relied on her for nearly everything, and part of her feared that he would never be able to care for himself.

Albinism. Aureli blinked, surprised to hear the word used by a stranger. Few had known what he was talking about when he'd used it in the past. And, no, he did not think there was much he could do for albinism, but something about the situation kept him rooted there, pondering.

"What is the problem exactly?" he asked her. His eyesight? Other birth defects? Most of his experience with the trait came from a commune that he and Ulysses had aided for a time; their albinism had been a product of inbreeding, and with that had come a host of other issues.

He began to wonder how he might delicately inquire about the boy's heritage.

When Aureli probed for further details, Leto found herself striggling for the right words. Maybe it would be best if I showed you. Picking the hawk back up, she turned to begin back towards Delos' resting place. It isn't far.. he's just resting.

She wasn't sure why she couldn't just say that he was deaf. He was her surviving pup, and he was half a year old now, he wasn't going to miraculously regain his hearing.

Leto wasn't sure if Aureli would follow, but she needed to get back and feed her child either way. Eyeing him with a clear 'please', before she began to walk down the path to her temporary home.

Though the reticence annoyed him, Aureli supposed that it probably would be best — simplest — if he just examined the boy himself. So he mustered a dignified, "Please," and gestured for Leto to lead the way when she bade him follow.

He walked in her pawsteps, dearly hoping he was not being led into some sort of cannibalistic trap. It seemed unlikely; cannibals had a particular scent he was now well acquainted with.

"Hello, dearheart," he called quietly when Moke poked her head out of the foliage up ahead. He hoped that this greeting would convey to Leto that the cat was not on the menu, nor seeking to eat her son. "Ignore her," he advised the pale shewolf, just in case.

Leto was surprised to find an unrecogniseable beast upon her return - just how long had it been sitting there? She itched to chase it off, but Aureli insisted otherwise.. and she wasn't keen on upsetting him.

With a silent nod, she left him to slip through the bushes and alert Delos to their arrival. She left the hawk behind, returning to Aureli with her wary son in tow.

Given his mother's recent antics, it wasn't quite a comforting site when she took him from the bushes to meet a stranger - and a creature, of sorts.

He wouldn't speak, watching the lips of the newcomer while he pressed into Leto's side. He knew conversation would be exchanged, and he assumed it was going to be about him. Another pack to move into, another wolf who she swore would do more good than harm. Something.

Delos understood she meant well, but he didn't much trust his mother's judgement anymore. Nothing had helped him yet, not really. She hid him and bushes, rubbed mud into his fur, and that was the extent of it. He was content to keep literally living in her shadow, because watching her get her hopes up like this was growing to be disheartening.

The boy was soon presented to him, looking much like his mother, but far smaller and thinner — and thinner of pelt. His brow furrowed at once. There were many comorbidities that might plague one with albinism. Aureli could see already that the boy must struggle in the sun. But he seemed wholly formed on the outside, and his insides must be in at least serviceable condition to have gotten him to this age.

"Hello. I'm a healer," he said to the boy, eyeing him critically. There was nothing particularly gentle in his expression, but Aureli was built of something already gentled, and there were few ways in which he could wield himself or his words that might achieve the sort of aggression he'd witnessed in other wolves.

"What is your name?" he asked the boy, watching him intently.

We can skip Leto for now!

He watched the stranger as he spoke, eyes tracing his lips for the familar patterns that came with the words he knew. Delos felt strangely peeved by him, but he wouldn't act on it and risk a nasty wound, or worse, upsetting his mother.

Delos. He responded after his hesitation passed. How long had it been since he felt the gentle rumble of his own voice? He rarely spoke anymore. I don't need a healer, I'm not sick.

He could feel his mother's eyes on him, but she didn't seem to say anything.

Outwardly, at least, Aureli was patient with the delay in the boy's answer. He spent a moment carefully cataloguing his scent, and then attempting to listen to the cadence of his heart — and then the boy spoke.

Delos. Aureli filed the name away. A sharp look was cast in Leto's direction before he refocused on his... "patient".

"Your mother seems to think otherwise," he replied, his tone conversational — he did not yet know that this might be lost in the boy. "What does she hope I will do for you?" he asked.

That seemed like a stupid question. Well I don't know, you're the healer, not her. His response earned a scolding glare from his mother, which seemed to be effective in settling some of his riled nerves. Leto sighed, offering Aureli an apologetic look before she turned to slip back into the bushes - likely to retrieve the hawk.

Before you, it was an old woman who was meant to teach me some magic third language, and before that it was rubbing mud into my fur because someone told her to. He spoke with a lowered voice now, the frown clear on his small face. You can't make me hear any better, and you can't fix my skin. By now, Delos knew that well.

All I want is to be able to take care of myself.. and I don't think you can help me. Delos knew nothing of herbs or alternative remedies, of skills to ease the lives of those like him, and he didn't expect to be taught. He would continue to be cared for by Leto like a parasite, and then one day she might finally leave him behind like she had tried to do in the caldera.

And that, to Aureli, seemed like a stupid answer. He did not judge it against Delos's intelligence, however, but against his temperament. He raised his brows, unimpressed, but listened quite placidly as Delos aired his complaints.

Leto was the recipient of another flashing look. But Aureli chose to continue conversing with the boy rather than the mother.

"Perhaps not," he replied. "I do not know any magical languages, and I should think that going out at night should keep you from having to roll in the mud."

Aureli sat.

"Is it just your skin and your hearing?" he asked the boy. "What keeps you from caring for yourself?"