Hoshor Plains Smackwater jack

All welcome. :)

Dauntless had taken his time, finally arriving at the borders of the pack he had once—if only briefly—called home. They had moved since he had last been a part of their ranks, but he could taste his younger brother's scent along with the rest, so he knew this must be the right place. Ira and Evergreen were here, too, the wolves who had greeted him (and whom he had ultimately failed, oops).

He stopped just outside the fresh smell of markings, wanting to step over, but knowing that he could not without proper protocol. Instead, he sent up a call directly for @Winterbourne, calling him not by that name, but River.

In the summer this place would have been ideal for Dingo, and he'd have blended in well with the golden strands of wheat and whatever-else grew here; but in the moment, it was wet and cold and white, white, white. So he stood out garishly, and he did not like it at all. The expanse was easy to traverse and that appealed to his laziness, plus he could see the blotchy shapes of his fellow wolves coming and going pretty easily, but still... Why would anyone choose to live here? Better yet, why had he agreed to it?

Probably because Soleil was a cutie and he thought he could get somewhere with her. Yeah, that makes sense. Stupid, horny, greedy little shit that Dingo was - he felt so powerful for having charmed the proverbial pants off of her; now was the time to settle in and get ready for the long con.

Thus he was patrolling. Sort of. With about as much oomph as you'd anticipate from a summerland wolf stuck in the middle of nowhere during winter. Prowling after weird scents until the thickness of the snow diluted them away, or stalking after the intriguing path of a wandering girl or woman he might be able to prey upon -- but everyone was so busy here! He found himself on the trail of someone eventually and didn't look up as he sniffed and hiked, not until the burly shape of something large and earth-toned popped up in the whiteness — and he pinned his ears as a deep call rose up to rival the wind, booming across the plain.

Man, noisy neighbour much... Dingo grumbled as the summons died out, making his way towards them with cat-like "no no no snow is evil" prancing. When he was closer he barked out: Bit loud, ey? Who're you lookin' for? As if he could be of any use, freshly assimilated as he was.

Dauntless was bewildered by the comment the other wolf made. Gotta be loud if you wanna be heard, he replied. I'm looking for my brother. His name's Winterbourne. At least, that's what it was last time Dauntless checked. His family seemed to have a habit of changing their names every once in a while. Not Daunty, though! He prided himself on sticking to the name he'd been given.

Hopefully, this complainy wolf could go grab Winterbourne for him... or at least see if his brother wanted to talk. Maybe he wouldn't want to at all. Dauntless couldn't remember if they'd left on bad terms, but he couldn't imagine his brother would refuse to see him.

The man hummed and hawed, scrunched up his face a bunch like he was really thinking, and then blurted:

Nah, ain't heard of anyone with that name. Can't help you. You sure he lives here? A quirk of his head, tilting it as if he were a child listening to some weird bird chirping and fluttering about; but then he smirks to himself, finding something humorous in apparently nothing, and sinks to his haunches. 

New as he was to this territory, Dingo didn't feel right with leaving some strapping young lad here on the border alone, so he chose to plant himself and keep watch. If this guy's brother did show up then - good for him! But for now Dingo was being cautious.

Well, that was a bummer. Dauntless had a feeling this fella wasn't going to be particularly helpful. Especially considering he'd just said, "Can't help you." That was a dead giveaway, right there. The Morningside wolf frowned, a little disheartened, but he wasn't about to give up just because the first wolf he'd run into wasn't River.

I'm sure of it, he replied, I smell him. Dauntless wasn't going to leave until his brother showed up. In fact, he tilted his head back and called for @Winterbourne again, ignoring the fact that this orange fella was standing right there. If he wasn't going to help, Dauntless would keep calling.