Ankyra Sound one gonna keep me warm, and another gonna keep me cold

@Nyx

he had already spent the morning smearing his absolute most ingrammy-essence all over the perimeters of the sound, and he was spent. while it may not have come as a surprise to others, ingram was shocked to learn how labor intensive marking the borders were. he was positively exhausted.

and thirsty - so very thirsty.

among the sequoias there was a bubbling stream he had seen once when looking for wylla, and he made towards it with slow and languished steps. that was the thing about living on the coast; the irony of having water all around you, and having to go somewhere else to drink.

When she found fresh scent markers at the territory's edge, Nyx felt it was time to take her leave. She had seen neither Ingram or Lycaon since their initial encounter some weeks before and although she'd stuck around to weigh her options, she maintained her privacy. Hoping to maybe see either of them again in passing, the raven-tipped Ostrega was too stubborn to go actively seeking the boys out. Nyx liked them well enough, though her pride left her unprepared to request that she join them on their travels.

Her main goal was to survive the Winter, then try to catch up with her missing siblings. With nothing keeping her tied to the coast and with zero intention of getting in the way of another's claim, she made to cross the sound one last time to head toward the mountains in South. From the corner of her eye, however, she spotted the movement of another and lifted her proud head to observe the familiar form of the darkest brother. How strange, she mused, to happen across one of the boys she'd been hoping to find, as she prepared to leave for good.

She barked to him, keen to draw his attention toward her, and offered a friendly lash of her tail she veered in his direction. 

ingram's tongue was thick with thirst and he held his muzzle low to the ground as he walked. a bark caused his thoughts to jolt from how parched he was to who the feck is there? he looked around him -- nothing but enormous sequoia boughs and snow -- until he saw the agouti female approach him.

he hailed nyx warmly with a wave of his tail, and waited for him to come up to her. his throat was still dry; he cleared it feebly and offered a smile. "i'm parched. care to join me for a drink?" in some cultures, that invitation may have been suggestive -- but here, ingram was casually inviting a comrade to take a stroll through the woods with him.

Ingram paused in his tracks and turned his head to look upon her, an acknowledgement that spurred her to quicken her stride. Nyx jogged toward her sable companion and took note of his smile, to which she returned a fond smirk of her own. Sidling up alongside him with a content chuff, the tawny Ostrega leaned in close to bump her shoulder to his as she reached out her muzzle to deliver a playful nip to his swarthy cheek.

He invited her along with him in his search for water, and Nyx bobbed her head in silent agreement before falling into pace alongside him. "I guess you must be, considering how busy you've been," she said as they sauntered, referring to the recent scent markers she'd picked up on that day. Most of the piss she'd smelt across the sound had indeed belonged to Ingram, "surprised you've not shrivelled up!"

her smile disarmed him enough that he did not catch the swift but playful nip she issued; somewhat like a starstruck boy, he stood there, tail still as his gears stalled in motion.

and then something clicked and with a rowdy growl he returned the favor with a little impart of his own, bowing low to the ground with his tail swinging wildly from side to side in rejoinder.

he pulled up as she spoke, the smile returning to his blackened gums. "oh, well, you know -- lots of womenfolk to protect. gotta make sure everyone knows who they're messing with." ingram replied, tongue in cheek. actually, he was fairly certain none of them needed protection -- least of all nyx -- but he was proud to spread his sigil, so to speak. "the secret to not shriveling up," he paused, casting her a serious glance as he leaned over the stream they had just come across: "is frequent water visits. and not the salt-kind either. ."  terrible dad joke -- ingram still couldn't help but giggle.

He seemed to stall for a moment following her touch where he gawked at her, and a corner of Nyx' mouth turned upward in an amused smirk. Had he noticed her, perhaps? She'd never been a head-turner like her sisters and was instead content to fit herself in the "average" category, but she was female and often, this alone was enough for the opposite sex. Briefly her thoughts turned to Saor, the loveliest of the Ostrega girls, and wondered if she'd found someone worth her time - promptly followed by the fleetest pondering of whether Ingram might be worth hers.

 She fluttered her lashes at him in response to his talk of protecting his females and swooned to brush her flank playfully against his own with a dreamy and exaggerated exclamation of "my hero!" before attempting to shove him more forcefully with a tawny shoulder. 

When they came upon the stream, she gestured to it with a suggestive cant of her pale muzzle. "Better drink deep then," Nyx lowered her head, tasting the chill surface with a single lap of her tongue. "I actually had not realised you intended to start a pack when you guys asked me to hang around," Nyx quirked a brow at her sable companion, tongue snaking from her maw to lick a rogue water droplet from her lower lip, "nor did I expect it to be right up Drageda's ass. Did you know they resided on the cliffs?" Nyx eyed Ingram more seriously then, recalling their conversation upon first meeting when he declared that there was nothing of note beyond the strand. It did bother her, she would not deny that: the already established pack could easily object to their proximity, and Nyx wasn't sure that she was prepared to die for a territory that meant nothing to her.

ingram was nearly knocked aside by her forceful rebuff -- yet he still bore a playful grin on his face as he regained his footing. surely, she needed protection provided from no one - least of all him.

he nodded at her suggestion and lowered himself down into the bank, drinking deep of the chilled water. he ignored the harshness of it against his tongue, and licked his muzzle carefully once finished.

in truth, ingram had not known of drageda until after he had met most of the inhabitants of the strand. he had never interacted with a wolf from their borders, nor had he passed directly across their claim. with both of them inherently lazy, their research had come to a startling end once they discovered each other at the beach. like nyx, he carried some reservations of the proximity of grimnismal to drageda, yet he knew this area to be his birthplace, and it tugged him inexorably in a way he imagined most would not understand.

he cast a glance up to the cliffs and spoke: "it kind of fell into place and out of my control. i guess when you get more than a few stragglers it starts looking like a pack real soon, right?" he smiled from cheek to cheek, though his expression somewhat faded as he thought of the potential turbulence they might face for their claim. "i didn't originally." he admitted, casting the distant cliffs a final look. "but do we need to be worried? seems like it would be a lot of work to find a way down and chase us out? but that might be my laziness talking."

Nyx frowned deeply, not out of frustration but in thought. She had felt a drive to explore the Northern cliffs prior to meeting Ingram and his brother on the sound, but trusted his word that there was nothing worth seeing in that direction. There was no blame in her for him, however; Nyx was more than capable of investigating the area herself, but instead opted to remain. As the raven yearling went on with his explanation, the agouti Ostrega lowered her crown once again to taste the stream's crisp offering and better quench the thirst she hadn't realised she'd acquired.

"We might," she lifted her yellow eyes, flicking her salmon tongue across her lips as she turned toward her companion, "I found a young female on the beach some days ago, who claimed to belong with Drageda. The coywolf attacked her." Nyx understood why Caiaphas had done what she did, but at the same time felt that the crimson youth had been clearly outnumbered. She very much doubted that Rose could be a threat, and sending her away with a harsh warning could've been a smarter option if they wished to keep their neighbours out of the way of their claim.

She inhaled deeply, and breathed a sigh. "This could get messy, if her pack decide to investigate."

like nyx, a frown trickled across ingram's snipey features. he disliked to hear that so soon after their claim they were already hitting speedbumps -- he hoped that perhaps whatever shadow sat on the cliffs was one that did not enjoy traveling. he found himself studying the endless cliffs, his mind wandering: what if they did object? what if the wolves did rain down upon grimnismal with fang and claw. could they endure an attack to their homestead -- and if they could, would even the newest of initiates stand their ground alongside the luschyon brood?

ingram would not have faulted a wolf for trusting his sensibilities - even if it meant leaving ankyra sound behind.

his frown deepened as nyx mentioned the reality that their situation could quickly grow out of their control. he did not like to hear that already, there had been aggression demonstrated (by one of his own packmembers, none-the-less!). he knew immediately who nyx was referring to, as only one creature fit the description. ingram was still reserved when it came to the siren queen. she had housed lycaon and loved him as her own, and on that front, he respected her -- but it did not mean for a moment he trusted nor had any affection for the cold little coywolf.

"you're right. that's troubling news." he tried to depict the scenario - no matter which way he did, the situation seemed grim. "why was she on the beach? we've been here a while, she should have noticed the borders... unless i didn't mark them as well as i thought i did.. is she okay?" he grew troubled; had he slacked on his duties and let down those of the sound? a sense of guilt welled in his heart at the prospect that he had failed to uphold his one job.

lol i dunno the outcome of that thread so trying to be vague here.   :x

The agouti she-wolf observed silently as Ingram's frown deepened, and she was fully aware of the flurry of guilt within her breast. Pressing her ears back a little, Nyx suddenly felt so torn about her decision to leave the sound. She'd been so prepared to take her leave of the sound before crossing paths with the sable yearling, and it frustrated her that new uncertainty had so swiftly crept up on her.

The boys were more than capable of holding their own, and although she hardly felt responsible for them, they were... hers, in a way she couldn't explain. Fond of one another since their first encounter, Nyx had lingered around Ankyra Sound for so long purely because they still remained. Looking at Ingram then, as he processed the information she provided with visible concern, the golden wolfess found herself wondering how she could even consider leaving them to deal with the potential threat of Drageda when he and his brother had not been at fault. She had witnessed it, after all. Surely the right thing to do was to hang around and see it through.

"Curiosity, I assume," Nyx told him, "she asked if I lived here, stated she had come from the cliffs and then everything escalated so fast after that."

ingram had a grim outlook of the situation that nyx transcribed to him -- he cast another furtive look towards the shore-battered cliffs as if expecting wolves to spring from their heights any moment. "troubling." he repeated in a muttered tone, mostly to himself -- he wondered what lycaon would have done. he did not know wylla had witnessed the spectacle, and wondered too of her own actions if she found herself a part of it.

ingram supposed it was a wolf's duty to eliminate trespassers - they were competition for their food, and often thieves of their caches. he had yet to be exposed to the truly harsh side of the world - the side of the world where trusting strangers came at a terrible cost -- and sometimes your life.

"we'll just have to double our defenses of the borders then." he suggested brightly, a sway of his tail given in amicable acceptance of the matter.

She hoped that nothing would come of the incident, but knew right at her core that this was far too optimistic. The fact that a strange band of wolves had settled so close to their territory - maybe even in their hunting grounds, holy shit! - was reason enough to piss them off, and an attack on one of their own could be the cherry atop the proverbial cake. Nyx had considered this strong possibility at great length and while she felt like a coward for concluding that she didn't want to die for the strand, the new guilt she felt for her decision kept her rooted.

She was fond of Ingram and his brother, the first real connections she'd made since the loss of her own siblings. During her time at Ormarr, Nyx had thrived and grown in ways that being separated from her family allowed, but she hadn't cared about the pack. It was never supposed to be a long-term thing, after all, and seemed to forget that she thought similarly of Ankyra Sound.

The sable yearling cast aside his troubled thoughts, encouraging Nyx to do likewise with a cheerful sweep of his feathered tail. She mustered a smile for him then, one that was almost apologetic for turning the mood so sour so quickly. Rumbling contently, the agouti wolfess moved to slink her frame playfully alongside the length Ingram's own, loping ahead of him to resume the patrol he'd abandoned to quench his thirst. "So," she chirped, "how about I help you protect us womenfolk, hm?"

ingram's thoughts on the matter were fleeting - partially because, well, he was dumb -- and also because he was easily distracted as nyx smoothly loped ahead of him. he watched delightedly, a sway of his tail given as he recalled why he had liked her company in the first place. she had fit well with him and lycaon -- most wolves were too austere in their composure, or took their station far too seriously. not nyx -- at least not that ingram had witnessed so far.

"hey," he growled playfully, engaging himself in a collected lope after her. "it's a serious job." he proffered a wink after he caught up with her, looking along the borders for weaker scents that needed reinforcement. "it comes with perks though. one, you get to pee on anything you want and no one can yell at you." TAKE HEED, lycaon -- "two -- the ladies love you for it." he looked at her slyly then and cheekily quipped: "if you're into that sort of thing."

sorry for the wait here, work consumes me sometimes.  :(

A raven-tipped lobe canted backward and Nyx listened with amusement as her sable comrade growled in playful defense. He quickened his step to catch up and fell into place alongside her, his proximity reminding her of how she'd managed to catch him off guard earlier. Curiosity roused once more, the agouti Ostrega allowed herself to sway toward Ingram in a sweeping stride that allowed her flank to briefly brush alongside his - a gesture that she'd performed precisely enough that her intent was undetectable. From the corner of a yellow eye, Nyx tried to gauge if her nearness sparked another reaction like before.

"Oh, I am so into that," Nyx responded to his quip, rather convincingly, and batted her lashes at her dark companion as she turned to look upon him with a feigned dreamy gaze. "Where have you been all my life?"

it's ok.. it got so far down i didn't see it on my threadlog so i'm even worse )':

ingram was an easy man (boy?) to flatter - all it took was nyx paying attention to him, really. he was preening himself so much inwardly that he didn't catch that nyx's expressions were feigned. instead, he greedily drank her false interest in with a wide grin and a floppy, wagging tail.

yup, he'd be a pretty easy target to twist around one's finger, if that was the end-game they had in mind.

as for where he'd been all her life? he'd been being a miscreant, getting himself into equally comedic situations. he shrugged with a roll of his shoulders and supplied a wink as he replied: "oh, here and there. peeing on this thing, on that.  come on, i'll show you how a real professional does it." he gave her a sly wink again and nipped playfully at one of her legs before rolling off into a big lope down the borders.

ingram envisioned the dreary duty of border-patrolling would be far less boring now that nyx was involved -- and hopefully, with her in tow the two could spend the latter half of the afternoon exchanging equips and and marking to their heart's content.

Wanna finish this one and start a new one?

Flirting had never been something Nyx was particularly good at, simply because she rarely found herself in a situation where she could use it to her advantage. It hadn't really occurred to her that this might have been what she was doing there and then, exchanging banter and bumping shoulders with Ingram as they assumed a patrol together.

They laughed with one another, and she completely forgot her initial plan to vacate the sound so she could resume her search for Dirge and Saor. She'd lit up completely in the time she spent in his company, and his warmth toward her swayed her decision entirely in the opposite direction. 

She clacked her teeth in the direction of an obsidian ear as Ingram ducked his head to nip at her forelimbs, then promptly pursued him with every intention of encouraging a game of tag as they maintained the territory outskirts.

DOI!!

she met his playful nip with a sharp protest of her teeth - whew - he felt the air whistle past his sensitive ears and felt lucky they had not fallen victim to her quick parry. with a grin he bounded ahead and stopped suddenly, lifting a leg to pee on a bush before resuming.

he liked this game they played: nip here, pee here -- it was every little boy's dream to rough-house and innocently pee on things at the same time. at one point he jokingly swung towards her as she squatted, and lifted his own leg as if to urinate on her -- only to bolt as fast as his chubby legs could take him as he was sure she would protest violently to such a gesture.

giggling and in good spirits, they continued their reinforcement of the borders well into nightfall.