Lone Star Mountain i asked your name, you asked the time

WC: 833

The three young wolves, fortunately, didn't seem to take interest in him the same way adult wolves would. Perhaps the next generation of canines her wasn't completely fit to be damned after all. If he could get through to these ones, and let them see that he was no danger and not a vermin to be chased out, he might have an easier retirement. The lilac-hued female, a small and pretty thing who seemed a bit perturbed by the appearance of the other two, addressed him directly, though her question easily could have been aimed at any of them. The Todd could tell that she wasn't from the same area as the other two wolves, who shared a kindred scent that told him they were packmates, if not siblings. They certainly seemed to know each other, but the female with the slight lilac tint to her soft pelt certainly seemed like the odd one out...When not considering the bright red fox who was in their midst, of course. This, he found, worked to his advantage. At least, then, not all three of them were on the same side- and perhaps they would not gang up on him.

When the male spoke, he was intrigued by the meaning behind what he'd said about the young female's fur, his own toes, and the mismatched eyes of the wolf who accompanied him. Tux- as he assumed was the wolf's name- made relatively little sense until the fox gave a glance to each aforementioned quality. The female who'd addressed him directly had an odd shade to her pelt, and when he looked to Tux's toes, he was pleasantly surprised to see that he had one extra toe on each foot. This was excellent- it was more ammunition. The female with the mismatched eyes- well, that one was easy enough to explain. And so, using a bit of deduction, he was able to glean some meaning from the youth's comment, and he nodded in understanding. When his companion, the piebald female, spoke, the Todd stepped in- not physically, of course, as he was bound and determined to keep a certain amount of distance between himself and the wolves just in case- to explain. He couldn't tell what it was that she'd asked, as it was in the same foreign language that the dark male had used, but he did understand that it was a question, so he decided to supply what he thought was an explanation.

”I believe what young Tux here is saying,” He said, in an approachable and friendly tone, ”Is that each one of you is remarkably unique. Special,” He added, so that they took his comment to be a compliment. Indeed, it was quite a sight to see three wolves, each with a sort of trademark attribute which set them apart from what he would classify as 'normal' wolves, if there was such a thing as being normal. He gestured first to the little female whose coat was a soft, plush blend of fawny brown, greys and the unmistakeable greyish purple tinge to it. ”You, my dear, have a beautiful lilac hue to your coat; very rare and special indeed, and you will be quite a beauty when you grow up. Young Tux here has an extra toe on each foot...And I'm not sure if you were aware of it, young master, but such an anomaly is a mark of good luck. And finally, heterochromia,” He said, gesturing to the female with mismatched eyes. He gave a definition, so that they understood. ”Mismatched eyes; a sign of intelligence, beyond what one normally sees in a wolf.” He said. Naturally, he was playing the wolves along, but he spoke without hesitation, and with such ease that he could have easily been speaking the truth.

Of course, he'd left the lilac female hanging, so he gestured toward the mountain's peak, not ready to give up on that explanation either. ”A volcano,” He said, pointing up to where the clouds guarded the peak. On a day like this, it could have easily looked as though the clouds were actually steam, which worked in the fox's favour, as it would make it all the more convincing. ”I believe it's dormant now, so relatively harmless...But when active, a volcano can be quite dangerous.” He said. Had the wolves ever heard of a volcano before? Tux had said something to his companion in a different language when he'd first mentioned the volcano, so he wondered then if the youth knew what it was he was talking about. ”A mountain that hides flames that pour out in a thick and heavy water that melts everything in its path...But you'll hear and smell it well before it happens,” He reassured them, so that he didn't end up giving them nightmares later. Though the Todd was full of tricks, he was not an altogether sinister fellow, and he did find wolf pups to be entertaining, to say the least, and not worth harming.