Raven's Watch but that seed is already there; given time, it will grow, and bear bitter fruit

@Wyatt

the wildling had searched for wyatt that morning so that they could leave early. the two young men were in search of land to venture across. for illidan, his sights were set on the looming mountains that he had seen from the plateau and never found the strength to climb. he had grown still and had growing more to do before he would know his true power. the road ahead was set to be a challenging one; the hawk-eyed wildling did not fear what he did not know, though.
 
the two moved beyond the borders of the sound and across the fields that guarded the outer reaches of their home. they moved across snowy terrain until illidan could no longer feel his paws as they moved beneath him. still, they did not stop until they had reached the base of the great mountain range. there, he turned his hawkish sights to the grungy wyatt and breathed a heavy sigh.

Wyatt wasn't sure what to make of Illidan's invitation. Despite his ambivalence and discomfort, he kept pace with the hawkish male. They traveled in silence, making their way eastward. Although there were several occasions where Wyatt wanted to take a break or was in pain, he kept quiet; he was not a baby. 

"Have you been here before?" Wyatt asked, unsure of whether or not they had reached their destination. He turned his attention towards the looming mountain, and couldn't help but wonder out loud, "Are we going to climb that thing?"

the young ghost was quite surprised that he hadn't received more complaints from his wiry companion. he had set a speedy pace for them and pushed his own limits of travel, so it was pleasing to see that the dingy-furred wyatt was capable enough to keep up and shut up. it was not until they had arrived at the base of the looming mountain that he finally spoke up with a series of questions. the first was easy to answer, and illidan did so with a gruff, “not until now.”

then, he allowed the yellow of his gaze trace the jagged stones that jutted from above. from the rocky crevice, a dark bird peered down to the two wolves and issued an ominous caw. the dark-hooded young man swung his muzzle around and stared down the length of it at wyatt. “yeah, we're going to try,” he then confirmed with a wicked smirk.

"Huh. I see," Wyatt remarked, keeping his gaze peak-ward. "It's tall," he added lamely. 

Wyatt's attention sidetracked when he heard the caw of a nearby raven, and after a glance overhead, he caught Illidan's gaze. "Yeah, we're going to try," the Zeta answered. The Theta's breath hitched in his throat, and he nodded; he couldn't deny Caiaphas' son what he wanted to do. "Cool, cool," he replied, his voice strained with concern.

it was tall, but that was part of the allure of it. if they could conquer something like that, they surely would be unstoppable, right? at least, the mountaineer in his blood reminded him that it was a great thing to test his limits, as well as his growing body. while war had been a good trial for him – and one that had taught him an awful lot – he knew that he could gain strength outside of battle, too.

wyatt seemed as though he was uneasy about the feat. illidan turned his sharp gaze toward the boy and frowned with furrowed brow. it seemed as though the other boy was glued to the peaks that loomed overhead and the jagged stones that would likely kill them if they were to fall. “it'll be fun,” he said gruffly. of course, illidan opted to leave off the: if we don't die.

Wyatt nodded—yeah, sure, it sounded like a blast he thought sourly. In their shared silence, Wyatt's gaze sought the lower corridors of the mountain, finding himself quick interested in what secrets the caverns held. 

"We could start low?" Wyatt suggested, and he glanced at Illidan. "Search around in those caves and see if we can find anything?" Wyatt was naively aware to the potential dangers that caves in the winter could hold, and he remained optimistic—his plan was good.

god, wyatt was a big wimp wasn't he?

illidan really just wanted the other boy to seek adventure in the same way that he did. the mountain might have been looming and dangerous, but they'd never really know that unless their balls dropped and they clambered up there a ways. of course, wyatt wanted to start out low and creep around in the caves nearer to the base. the ghostly boy turned toward his traveling companion and furrowed his brow.

“yeah... but then we climb up,” he agreed in a surly tone. then, he motioned for wyatt to lead the way to the dank caves. it hadn't been his idea to explore them, after all, so the other boy would have to lead the way until illidan grew bored with all of that.

"We will," Wyatt promised; he'd stall their climb. Although Illidan motioned for him to lead, he hesitated for a moment. There were several caves to choose from, and Wyatt felt more comfortable observing them from a distance. In his observation, he realized that he abruptly smelt something but, he didn't recognize it. It was fox scat, freshly laid not far from where they stood. 

Wyatt stepped forward and wrinkled his nose. "Do you smell that?" he asked, looking back at Illidan.

illidan had a feeling that he would have to pressure wyatt into climbing even though he'd promised that they would later on. the steep rocky face did not look too inviting, but the young ghost had a feeling that it would help them to feel invigorated and strong against the chill of winter and the eyes of their enemy on the cliffs above. he had a feeling that his weenie of a companion would find that he felt similarly, as long as he could get the boy to actually venture beyond his comfort zone.

the scent was rancid and filled the air as they neared the caves. illidan scrunched up his nose and turned toward wyatt with a sneering expression. “smells like you when you're wet,” he teased with a snickering noise.

Wyatt turned sharply towards his companion—so much so that he felt a cutting sting within his ribs—his ear flat and his eyes wide. "It does not! he retorted. "There's no way I smell like that" Wyatt's breath hitched in the back of his throat, and his mind ran amuck; what is he really was that smell?! 

No, there was no way—or was there?

wyatt was quick to attempt to defend his honor. illidan could not help but to allow a sinister and curling smile to adorn his features. the sharp glittering of his yellow gaze danced like a jester after having made a devilishly good joke. truthfully, if wyatt didn’t make it so damn fun, illidan was less likely to tease him. instead, the boy seemed to take great offense to anything that might have been said crossly at him. it tickled the dark-hooded youth pink.
 
“sure it does! maybe you’re just used to it, but after you come out of the water… phew!” he continued to goad his companion with a wide grin. the end of his tail wavered between his hocks. for the first time in a very long time, illidan felt normal. there was no creeping sense of dread – no reminders of the tragedy that he had endured. it was a moment of simply being… okay.

Although Illidan's lips broke into a crocodile-like grin, Wyatt couldn't help but ignore the smile—he was far too flustered trying to defend his honor. "I am not that smelly!!" he huffed. "Sure, I might smell a little when I'm wet but, everybody else does, too!" 

His frown deepened, and his brow furrowed. "I think it's just you that's the stinky one and you're trying to blame me." Truth. Bomb.

wanna fade and have a new one?????!!!!!

he hadn't realized just how fun it was to rile a reaction out of his traveling partner. the crocodile grin did not fade form his features as wyatt attempted to reclaim some of his honor. it didn't really matter what the dark boy said; illidan was only doing it so that he could see the look of shame on his friend's features. there was something darkly satisfying about it – something he could not quite put into words. of course, illidan didn't mean any of what he said.

“whatever helps you sleep at night, stinky,” he commented with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders and a fading smirk. the sharp glint of his yellow gaze was latched tightly to wyatt's face. he was waiting to see what else he could do to ruffle the boy's feathers. for once, it was nice not to worry about all that was going on.

Wyatt huffed—he didn't like being called stinky. "Not being stinky helps me at night," he grumbled. Wanting nothing more than to bypass this part of their conversation, Wyatt regarded the cliffs with a frown. As much as he didn't want to climb, he needed something to distract Illidan. 

"Let's go see those caves," he suggested, taking a step forward. When Illidan obliged, the boys set off the investigate what dwelled in the caverns.