Whitefish River but the boy survived his refusal to believe...

there is evident distrust in the boy's features — maybe less of a boy and more of a teenager ( ages were muddled and a bit hard for wintersbane to discern on features alone ) but the tundrian does not take offense to it. they are strangers and though most tend to trust easier than he'd naturally expect them to distrust isn't something he sees as a bad thing. it's necessary to survival — and that was something that wintersbane knows well. the dark brother keeps his stance neutral — they're on neutral territory and the young man before him is in no danger from the tundrian.

the remark is a bit cryptic at first but wintersbane gives a sage nod of his head despite the yes, and? flick of his ear. he waits and soon a question — no doubt what the cryptic remark was building up to — follows. the amused snort that leaves the tundrian is involuntary. he's not intentionally being mocking ...in fact he finds the idea that any of blacktail deer plateau would seek blackfeather woods for sanctuary genuinely amusing. but the lack of name attached to the vague 'pack' lets wintersbane knows that the boy isn't aware of which blackfeather woods ...and if he is he doesn't recognize it by smell alone.

not that i'm aware of, he tells the young man truthfully. i seriously doubt they'd have sought sanctuary with my pack. we've got ...quite the reputation. he explains vaguely. if rumors are still spreading about them the puzzle pieces might click into place but wintersbane isn't sure if the dark woods is regarded as the 'big bad' they once were; telling children to watch out for a threat that is no longer really much of a threat strikes wintersbane as a bit pointless. or, he adds after his moment of rumination. we had one, once upon a time.