The Sentinels hollow coves

They'd happened across him in the snow, weak and entirely alone - too inexperienced to survive the cold season without the support of his kin. Young Viinturuth's initial plan was to move on again when the weather permitted, but he was swift to find comfort among his new companions. It was a quiet place with no hostility between its wolves, no raised lips or curled tails. Instead, the family provided exactly what Swiftcurrent Creek no longer could: stability, and an opportunity to thrive.

This sense of belonging was short-lived with the arrival of his mother at the territory outskirts, and her mere presence resurfaced an anxiety he'd thought was gone. Durnehviir could not accept his desire for distance and privacy, instead lurking beyond his new home for days following his rejection of her with the hope that he might change his mind. The dragoness' proximity roused uncertainty among the ranks and, as its leaders gathered to prepare for her disposal, Viinturuth took it upon himself to make his point perfectly clear with his own fangs - only to spare her.

She took her leave, finally. As the pack returned to its ways, the young Frostfur-Mayfair couldn't quite shed the bitter taste of his dam's blood on his tongue. He withdrew from his companions, driven from them not only by guilt but by fear that Durnehviir might send a more able-bodied messenger to retrieve him or, worse, seek to slay him for his attack.

Burgundy gaze looked out over a vast, endless water. The tang of sea salt on the air was somewhat familiar to him, rekindling a memory of infancy that he couldn't quite place, and he found himself wondering if Swiftcurrent Creek might've led him to this place if he'd followed the current. He stared from the shore for a short time before he turned to move away, a quiet ghost slipping through the marred foliage of what (unknowingly) should've been his father's birthright. He had not anticipated the presence of another and, with a prick of an alabaster lobe, he paused in his tracks to silently observe the stranger's stride. Only when he was sure that the other male was of no threat did Viinturuth offer a friendly sweep of his feathered tail.