Neverwinter Forest dustbowl dance

He had spent over a week in the weald, keeping to himself. Hunting grew favorable there among the trees, and there was a maze-like quality to the labyrinthine forest which he grew accustomed to. His true hunt, his need to seek out the man who had ruined his family, remained a constant thought in the back of his mind; and once Asa had enough of the winding trails in the woods, he left them behind.

The open expanse that swept him away led him towards a small range of mountains. He opted not to climb them, although from his vantage point down in the valley they looked impressive. A few days of roaming these lowlands brought him within range of another forest - this one thoroughly marked by wolf scent - and he was curious, but also suspicious, of what he found. Nothing was familiar which told him that the man he sought did not live within the boundary; however, the last time Asa had seen this Crestwood fellow had been in his childhood... He remained dubious of the territory limits, wondering if he was overlooking something important.

In the end he chose to approach the forest's fringe. He made sure to keep his wits about himself; alert to every sound, every tremble, every speck of drifting snow in his periphery. With a tilt of his chin he prepared to howl a call, but in the last moment he paused. Should his target be harbored within, his voice might scare them off - and that would make his hunting more difficult. So he relaxed, shook some of the energy from his shoulders, did not call - and instead, poised to lurk and wait.

Over the time he had lived here, Mal had run into a lot of wolves lurking around his borders. He wasn't sure why more of them didn't just call if they wanted something. It was weird, in all honesty. Given he'd be heading off to do leader-y things in a few days, he was paying a bit extra attention to the borders so that his brief absence wouldn't be so noticeable. 

He'd seen the wolf at a distance, but had taken his time walking over to intercept. There was no doubt there was a pack here now, so Mal kept an ear pointed that way as he marked a few of the outside edge trees. There was every chance that they would call, but as the moments passed... They didn't. Hm. So, finally, he metaphorically set his work aside and moved to intercept.

It was some dude. Not anyone he recognized. And yeah, still hadn't called. Well, Mal was here now, so he continued his stroll forward with a broad smile with a hint of mischief, you know, the usual. You're at Neverwinter Forest. Is lurking around outside pack borders a hobby of yours? A potentially deadly one, he had to think.

Sorry this is late and short aah...

A mottled wolf came in to view, his posture giving Asa a reason to pause and think. They looked a little irritated as they strode close, and when the boy spoke - aside from highlighting his youth - it confirmed Asa's suspicions.

Sorry, he started, shaking his head softly. I was gonna call. I'm huntin' for someone though, and I thought that... If they were in the woods here, maybe that'd spook them. But no, not a hobby. He smirked at the thought though; how many wolves had passed through here with the same behaviors, if this is how the boy responded to them? If this was a hub of activity in the valley, maybe Asa's pursuit was nearing a conclusion. He was very wrong about that - but there was still hope.

I'll leave. I just have a question first - has anyone with the name of Crestwood come through here? His attention was firmly focused on the young leader, but besides that there was no challenge to his gaze and even a slight slackening to his own posture, hoping to alleviate any tension.

So, not a joiner or anything. Well, you might want to either call or keep moving in the future -- whichever ends up sounding good. Some of my neighbors aren't exactly happy friendly sorts. Which was kind of an understatement. Mal was pretty sure Moonspear probably ate loiterers, and if they didn't then Nightwalkers certainly did. Rusalka would probably get confused and try to bite him or something. Fair enough warning, he supposed.

Mal shook his head, Either way, nobody named that here. So good luck finding them I guess. Wasn't like this guy had given much of a reason he was looking for whoever it was. Mal just knew whatever the reason was, the answer wasn't here. Did he really care too much beyond that? Ehh. Probably not. Didn't have any effect on his people. And Mal didn't exactly have any clues to help out even then.

Being the exciting wolf he was, if that was it, he'd just wait for this guy to head off and he'd continue his patrol as planned.