Sawtooth Spire call me he of the two faces

The crunch of snow beneath paw is an impossible noise to hide — especially for bigger creatures and in the quietude of the spire. There is little noise except the wind through the trees, the fall of the snow and the creak of the trees as the cold seeps into their foundations. A snap of a twig causes Rhysand to freeze but he brushes it off as the weight of the snow breaking off a thin and dead branch. Yet, Rhysand realizes he’s not alone the moment he steps into the shelter of the cavern deducing that it’s as safe as he’s likely going to find. It’s not wolves that concerns him but rather massive, hibernating ursinaes and the unknown possibility of accidentally waking one. There’s a chuff from behind him and Rhysand gives his coat a leisurely shake, dispelling any lingering snowflakes that have yet to melt before he turns and fixates his golden gaze upon the stranger.

The older male is big and burly, with dark golden eyes and a pelage that is a mixture of browns, tans, creams and smudges of black with a bushy tail. The mobster draws back in surprise and muted indignation as the other male pads into the cavern without invitation. Rude. The older male speaks to Rhysand as if they are old friends instead of strangers and Rhys supposes this is the stranger’s effort to be friendly but it is dimmed in the wake of the lack of manners —or so that’s how Rhys feels about the barging into the cavern after Rhys had temporarily claimed it as his shelter without invitation. Would this man do that to someone’s new home ( never mind how temporarily )? Just barge in without permission because it still had the ‘for sale’ sign in the front yard?

There’s a terse tug of Rhysand’s lips and he glowers at the man trenchantly, his displeasure evident in his posture. “Typically it's civil to ask before you barge into another man’s shelter.” The young mobster speaks coolly, assuming that he would have to be more specific about his displeasure than just body language alone. Yes, the Spire was a neutral territory and thus all of it’s caverns were henceforth neutral and available to all and every wolf who haunted this place …but that wasn’t the point. For the moment the older male's questions go ignored in lieu of Rhys' current issue at hand.

405 words