Herbalists' Cache called to the skies but she was overcast

they traveled in silence, the piebald man fording the trail while the grey male nimbly followed in his tracks. two souls in an unforgiving winter hinterland, alone save for their own company and the presence of evergreens and endless snow. he did not recognize the valley or the trail they kept to. it was new and alien and doused in white that the sun beat reflectively down upon.

they came across a pair of wolves and it was no surprise to him to witness ithrik's actions. quietly he assessed the two: female, one young and one old. iliksis was struck by the dottering way the skewbald female attended to the silver agouti and he presumed they might be related. he thought the skewbald's coloring most unusual, all moonlight fur with blots of obsidian -- like ithrik's, if ithrik was somehow turned inside out.

already ithrik made his attentions clear and iliksis quickly closed the distance between them with his posture neutral and ears held affably askance. the women would be worried for their presence and surely ithrik's intensity would alarm them. iliksis sought to balm whatever unease they may have had by stepping brightly in front of his uncle with an amicable expression across his sharp features. "hello," he greeted warmly, a friendly wave of his tail given as he issued an apologetic glance in their direction. he spoke in a sotto voice, his words accompanied by a winsome smile: "don't pay any mind to my brother.. cougar attack two years ago and hasn't been the same since. i'm drogon." a lie - he wasn't drogon at all, but he sold the name well. "and that's my brother rumil. we were hunting but lost the trail further back." he looked from portia to dalia with a feigned expression of excitement on his features.