Blacktail Deer Plateau before you wreck yo self

dated Aug. 1 -- will close in a few days if no response

The scents of those -- two, he thought? -- who had attacked Dragomir traveled down the mountain and out into the open field. And then that was where things got interesting. Past Kaistleoki (those fuckers!) and onto the plateau just to the east, where they were nearly as faint. . .but still there.

So they'd come here, damn them. Right near where his son lay, still recovering, still fearful.

He'd fucking kill them.

Vercingetorix continued to sniff around the area, but he let his pace slacken a bit, feeling the strain of constant travel and searching beginning to wear on him. He still hadn't fully regained his capacity for breathing after Caiaphas's attack, and sat with a small wheeze in his throat, eyes darting across the landscape. The scents seemed to meander away, but would they return? Should he pursue?

He'd rest, for now. He would need all the strength he could find in order to make good on his promise.

Wraen was happy and content with her life in Sun Mote Copse, but at times, when walls felt like they were closing up on her and the fenced in yard of the claimed territory had got boring to the point of being annoying, she needed an escape. Kids were past the fumbling toddler stage and could take good care of themselves, when they weren't taught the useful skills of survival in the wilds. She could leave them in the care of others and not worry?

Well, not exactly. Few weeks had passed since the incident with Kiwi. The girl had not showed her face in the vicinity of Firebirds, which was a good sign too. She would not be in any shape of causing any trouble for a while anyway. Wraen just wanted to make sure. On her way to the flatlands, she first stopped by the place, where the girl had stayed during her recovery, then chose between two likely paths one and followed it. And found no traces of the scent she was tracking.

Before long she had gone quite far from her home and was in a neighbourhood that had been her home the previous year. She recognized the Fire hot springs, she knew the familiar outline of the Black tail deer plateau. Liri had settled there with her pack then and struck by curiousity she decided to stop by and see, how they were doing. 

There was a dark form sitting on the edge of the forest and Wraen approached him with friendly intentions and no fear. "Good afternoon! Are you by any chance one of Liri's packmates?" she asked.

The voice drew him out of his enraged concentration, and he turned, only to find himself facing a pair of eyes that were really, really familiar. Wait, he'd seen this pair of greens before, right?! And that voice --

Blinka, Vercingetorix said dryly after a moment, regaining his memory. Or should I say, Renevermind. He wouldn't remember if not for the odd name she'd given, and the way she'd rebuffed his own efforts to christen her. Kind of a bitch, if he recalled correctly. But a damn beautiful bitch, that was for sure, and a foxlike smile stretched his maw as he shifted to face her full-on.

It's been a while, he remarked, and then paused to consider her question. Liri who?

"Liri No-One, apparently," Wraen replied, realizing one fact that this guy was not part of the former Blacktail deer plateau pack. And the other being that for some reason he knew her and even had her code-name, while she had not the slightest clue of who he was and when had she met him. Old age does not come alone, you see.

"It's been a while," she agreed, deciding to act normal and not betray her lack of knowledge. Perhaps, she would recall something during the conversation. For now, however, it was surprisingly easy to keep a straight face and speak with ease. "What are you doing here?" she asked him the most fool-proof question in the world.

Verx would be highly offended if he knew Renevermind didn't remember him at all. But it's long been established that he is and always will be a dumbass, so he didn't pick up on that at all. Instead, he gave her a querulous look, wondering why she was asking that question, anyway. Hadn't their last meeting been close to here? Nearby on the coast, at least?

Boy, maybe her memory was just awful. He inwardly preened at the thought.

I live near here, fanas, Vercingetorix shot back, grinning. And you? You're looking for. . .Liri No-One? Why? Friend of yours? The questions came in a volley before he could realize he was being a bit much, but then again -- he was always a bit much. So fuck it, right?

"I have a feeling that we met elsewhere, but of all the people in the world, you should know best, where exactly you live," Wraen played along smoothly, after all her lie was pretty innocent (and, what she did not know at that moment, was that she was not lying at all).

"Liri No-One was an acquaintance of mine, she settled in this forest with her pack last year," she explained. "I happened to move elsewhere right after that and we lost contact," this kind of thing happened often. 

"In fact I came this far, to see, if the bitch, who recently attacked a member of our pack, has not settled in the vicinity," she added. "Brown wolf, green eyes, runs by name Kiwi, comes from Drageda - a former one, that is," Wraen explained. "There is a bounty for her head," she lied and smiled.

We did meet elsewhere, Verx responded, nodding. He then chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. Man, you don't remember me, do you? he queried. He gave her an exaggerated mock frown. And here I thought I was unforgettable.

Liri didn't pique his interest in the least, but the next bit of info certainly did. Hadn't this wolf been sought by Caiaphas as well? Whomever she was, she was certainly a troublemaker. (Girl after his own heart, really.)

You're not the first one out to get her, he remarked. I haven't seen her. . .but Drageda doesn't exist anymore. Dunno where she'd go, really.

Brown wolf, green eyes. Who the fuck was this?

"Caught red-handed," Wraen agreed with a good-natured smile and did it really matter. Because after this meeting it was likely that she would not meet the man again any time soon. "I have met a lot of people - you need more than handsome looks and that tall-dark-stranger aura to stay in one's memory forever," she teased him.

"Stirring up trouble, huh," she remarked and it occurred to her that perhaps Kiwi had some mental derangement and Colt was no accidental victim. If there were others looking for her, then it was highly likely she had caused problems of similar gravity elsewhere.

"She was once heir-apparent and intended in our pack - being alpha's daughter and all, but she left to start her own thing," she provided helpfully, though she had not set hopes of getting any more useful information out of the guy.

He rolled his eyes, scoffing. She really did think a lot of herself, didn't she? Well, then again. . .so did he. So, good company right? The conversation shifted to the ruddy girl, luckily for both of them -- barbs might have been exchanged otherwise.

Alpha's daughter? Vercingetorix asked, brow furrowing. Who's your alpha? And why did a connection exist between them and Drageda? Fucking hell, he didn't even know this woman's real name, let alone the name of her pack or her alpha.

He had better things to worry about. Why was he wasting his time on this?

"Colt Blackthorn," Wraen replied, seeing no harm in sharing the name of the ruling Sovereign. He was a man of experience, wisdom and kindness, she was proud of him and a hint of it could be traced in her eyes and voice, when she mentioned him.

"Kiwi was daughter of the former leader of Drageda. Wildfire was her mother and her mate's name was," she furrowed her brow, trying to remember the complicated combination of letters. "Thuringwethil, I think?" she finally said, looking hopefully at the fellow to see, if the name sparked any recognition.

Colt Blackthorn meant nothing, but Wildfire did, and— He felt a punch in the gut as she said Heda's name, something he hadn't heard in quite some time. His lips curled in what could have been a snarl, except there was no noise behind it, no audible thunder.

Wildfire betrayed Drageda, Vercingetorix said gravely, shaking his head. And that makes Kiwi a traitor, too. She has no claim to our name nor our land. Thuringwethil is. . . Say it, you coward! Dead, he finished lamely, swallowing a lump that had risen suddenly in his throat.

And you couldn't stop it. Some cheka you were.

Kiwi's not around, Verx concluded, his voice flat. He fixed a severe stare on her face. If I see her, I'll take her your way. Obviously she needs to be held accountable for her many fuck-ups.

"I don't think that it is necessary," Wraen replied. "There are people in my pack that wish to see her dead," with her and Elwood excluded, perhaps, Eljay too, but he did not have a backbone and would go along with, whatever Finley would tell him to do or believe. "You can spread the news, however, and make sure she never finds a home among people here," she added - that was a sudden idea, but useful one. If a person was capable of such violence, others should know about it. 

"Wildfire is dead - whatever are crimes you implicate, death has evened them out," Vercingetorix might not like the former Sovereign, but there was a steel edge in her voice, suggesting that she had pride in her pack and that he had no right to speak bad about them. "Do you have any news that packs beyond this valley should be alert of?" she asked then, in a calm and business-like manner.

Fair enough, he said to it all, shrugging. He didn't give a shit about Wildfire one way or the other -- he, too, was technically a natrona, after all -- but she had left at a pretty fucking critical time for Drageda. Not to mention, she'd abandoned Heda. For that, alive or dead, he'd hate her.

Once a cheka, always a cheka, right?

There's a fucking demon on the loose, Verx said cryptically in an angry mutter, and then elaborated. The man who took and tortured my son, threw him off a cliff and left him for dead. He's young, dark with red in his pelt. He might be traveling with another, and I've found his scent around here. Just be on the lookout, and kill him before he gets to your kids, too.

Because Verx was sure Drago's trouble wasn't an anomaly. This dude was gonna find other targets -- he seemed too meticulous for this to be a one-off.

When the guy revealed his reasons to be in the area, Wraen listened to him in a surprised silence. There was a child kidnapper and attacker and from the sound of it plain psycho on the loose and he had waited all this time to tell the news. 

"How is your son?" was the first question she asked, since "is he alright" in the face of all that had happened to him did not seem a good choice. "What's the scent?" she asked next. If the trail had been fresh enough for the man to track him here, he should be able to show her as well. Eyes might fail to recognize the wrong-doer, but her sense of smell never would.

Vercingetorix gave a shrug, eyes caught between sadness and rage. Healing, he said shortly, then added, Physically, at least. But that kind of thing fucks somebody up for life. I'm worried about his state of mind.

What's the scent? He shot her the ghost of a smile, pleased to see her initiative. Here, he replied, wandering a short distance away and pressing his muzzle to the ground. Drawing in that fucker's odor. Right here. Keep it in mind.

As much as Vercingetorix wanted to take this guy down himself, he knew that multiple wolves searching for the monster was even better. Godspeed to them.

Wraen moved closer and, when the guy had given her room, she investigated the spot thoroughly. She found it a little difficult to associate the nameless scent to a person, besides there were other smells that interfered and mixed in, but she collected, what she could. At least the boy's father would be able to go home later and feel just a bit better that someone else had been informed. Even if that someone was not particularly likely to run into the criminal itself, nor tell anyone else about the scent-portrait to keep in mind. 

"Very well," she retreated few steps. "I won't deter you any longer," she told him, preparing to leave herself. "Good luck in your search!" she wished him last.

Thank you for the thread! :) These two should meet again sometime. Vercingetorix is fun to read.

thank you! Wraen is wonderful as well. <3

Thanks -- you, too, he replied, giving her a nod. Take care, blinka, he called after her retreating form. Once a shithead, always a shithead. He couldn't resist.

With a heavy sigh, he turned back to the scent and lowered his muzzle, taking another long inhale. The smell filled him with rage; he had to remind himself to temper it, to bottle it, to use it at the right time and in the right place. Misplaced anger was wasted energy. If he could save it all up for the next time he saw that psychopath. . .

Well, death was the least of the things he'd bring to that monster.

Nomajoka, he muttered, and then lifted his head once more, beginning the journey back to the river.