Noctisardor Bypass i could go off the deep end

forward dated to 8/20 she’s at the borders (assuming the mountains r borders, if not they’re trespassing ofc) @Soleon 
other tags are for reference!

Ughhhhhh. They were getting sick and tired of wandering around this fucking wasteland. A little action and excitement was long overdue, and Buzzard was about to seek it out.

They headed to the north without telling @Condor or @Vulture. If they wanted to follow the trail then they wouldn’t stop ‘em. Crimes were much more fun with accomplices after all.

There was a cluster of mountains in the middle of their route. They scaled them of course, cause a bunch of rocks weren’t about to stop them. Boy, were they happy with their decision, cause there was some Disney looking shit below. And waddaya know, there was wolf piss all over the place. Where there’s a pack, there’s food.

What kind of goodies are you hiding here, hm? they muttered. A mischievous grin spread from ear to ear.

The days bled into one another, and the rain did not stop. Overhead, lightening flashed, followed by the crack of thunder. After making sure the kids wouldn't be eaten by some other apex predator, Kaertok made his morning check of the border. It was not much different than a businessman taking his morning jog around the neighborhood before he headed into the office. His pace was steady, but when movement caught his eye, he sped up and narrowed in on the unlucky wolf. She was much too close to Legion's borders, and she hadn't made a peep to announce her presence, which could only mean one thing: trouble.

Kaertok's tail arched over his back, and his fur bristled as he drew closer. What are you doing here? the Tribunus demanded, red-orange eyes boring into her own. A fair wolf (at least in his own eyes), he would give her a moment to explain herself. Then again, her explanation was going to have to be pretty-fuckin'-good if she wanted to placate the Tartok wolf.

Fun time’s over. Here comes the Big Bad Wolf. Alternatively, the Big Hot Wolf, as Vulture would probably dub him. He’s just her type! Big, boring, annoying, and most likely stupid. This is a great example of a himbo folks! They could weasel their way out of this mess, no doubt in their mind.

They were grateful to be given a chance to speak, otherwise they’d have to resort to Plan B; running as fast as physically possible. They hated Plan B.

But they weren’t very good at Plan A either. Smooth talking.

Woah, slow your roll fool. Off to a terrible start. I don’t mean no harm. I was sent here by my pack in the south. Y’know, new neighbors, just moved here. Ring a bell?

He had decided to take up a duty that was foreign to him. Patrolling. As it happened there was no one that needed (or so it seemed) medical attention and so his preferred craft was on the back-burner. That being said he didn't particularly fancy the idea of being useless in the interim. He had made it clear he would be doing his best to assimilate and become one of the Legionairies when he met Spook. Nothing had changed despite he had been more quiet. 

 His eyes pressed to the distance with curiosity as a white figure (familiar though unknown) appeared to pick up speed and hurl himself to the borders. In the distance was the foreigner that tempted fate by ushering so close. A frown deepened on Soleon's face and his ears tilted against his head. There was, hopefully, no need for violence, but he was completely prepared to clean up the mess if the need should arise. 

 He caught the tail end of the female's words and he shook his head, "You probably shouldn't wander to our lands and dictate who's the fool and who isn't," Soleon stared at her with almost indifference, "But that's just a suggestion," He remained standing and with his head lowered. There was no reason for her to be so disrespectful, but she had already set the tone for this meeting.

buzzard was the first to flee for parts unknown. and look, condor knew exactly what they were doing. how could he not? now, if buzzard had used just a bit of that brain they would have known to be cautious, but unfortunately, condor was altogether too aware that buzzard had never used that brain in their life.

and so, for the good of his sibling, condor followed them. even though they were a bitch and forced him to climb up the side of a mountain, which they would be hearing about later. in fact, the moment condor’s eyes locked on their scrawny mudsoaked ass, he drew breath to begin, and then clapped his mouth shut when a giant white mountain of a wolf skidded to a halt in front of them.

oh dear.

condor knew exactly how his sibling ran damage control. there was most certainly a disaster about to unfold, and it was described to him in excruciating detail as his approach caught buzzard right in the middle of opening their big mouth and eagerly inserting their foot.

RED ALERT. condor absolutely did not want buzzard to come crawling back with blood everywhere. none of them had ever healed a single thing in their lives. no, the best solution here would be for everyone to come out with skin intact, because the oversized thing they had caught the attention of looked very capable of tearing them all limb from limb.

no, condor liked his limbs right where they were, thank you very much.

“darling,” condor said, sliding right on up along buzzard with a dip of his head, “let’s remember our manners, shall we?” he gave a dramatic sigh, which was helped by the fact that he was on the verge of a real one. ah, two wolves. just what they needed. “i do apologize. my sibling is, themselves, a bit of a fool.” he directed a raised eyebrow to buzzard. “regarding our pack, however, they do speak the truth.”

Kaertok narrowed his eyes at the girl. What pack in the south? He had not heard if this, and the news was unwelcome to him. Easthollow was the only pack he knew to the south, and they had been there for quite some time. They were a comfortable distance away, and knowing that somebody else planned to be closer was disconcerting.

One of the newer recruits, one whose name Kaertok could not remember, approached then, flinging a clever comeback at the stranger. I do not know of your pack, and it sounds as though you did not do proper scouting beforehand. It would be better if—

Somebody else arrived, and Kaertok felt even more threatened by her sudden appearance. As I was telling your sister, you should find somewhere else. We do not take kindly to packs settling close to Legion. Kaertok assumed they would settle too close based purely on their interaction so far. He was a wolf quick to assumption, and his assumptions so far screamed: go away.

As if one wolf wasn’t enough, another pops up out of nowhere. And he dared to call Buzzard the fool. The corner of their mouth pulled up into a smirk. So he wanted to start something? Fine by them! They loved a good verbal battle. Too bad the Big Guy cut them off before they could slip in a comeback. Lame. And then Condor comes along to be the mediator. Double lame.

Oh, how could I forget! I’m sooooo sorry brother dearest, they mocked before bowing at the wolves paws. Please find it in your hearts to forgive my assholeishness. They would’ve kissed their toes (cause Buzzard was extra), but Condor decided to call them a fool too. They couldn’t keep up the act after that. Buzzard jumped up and whisper-hissed into their brother’s ear. Who’s side are you on?

They didn’t have time to argue with him on someone’s borders, but this was definitely gonna come up later. A petty coyote never forgets.

Alrighty, so Big Guy and his crew were the “get the fuck off my lawn” type huh? Not surprising. A lot of wolves got worked up over their little patch of land. It made their job harder, but it didn’t discourage them yet. Buzzard loved a challenge.

Ok, ok, I’ll tell the higher ups you want us to skedaddle. But dontcha wanna hear our offer before we go? Buzzard whipped out the best marketer smile they had, complete with a raised eyebrow. I think it’ll interest you lovely folks.

Grub never cried or talked back (or at all...). She followed orders and behaved herself, for the most part. But when an opportunity presented itself to practice her stealth, she took it. She slipped away from the den and almost immediately found Kaertok's scent trail. She instinctively followed it, not because he was her father but because he was today's prey.

Her parents had taken her on a few short trips around the territory lately, though she had never ventured so far, nor ever been on her own. Grub reveled in it. She was able to track without distraction or rebuke, creeping along through the rainy bypass until she finally spotted the Tribunus ahead.

He was not alone. In fact, there were three other wolves present. Grub crept toward a nearby bush and slithered beneath it to observe. The strangers intrigued her, her eyes bouncing between them as the group exchanged words she couldn't quite make out. Even from all the way back here, she could sense the tension and read it in her father's posture.

She remained hidden and motionless, though her lips skinned back from her teeth.

Soleon wasn't sure how far things were going to go. He wasn't sure what this lady had in mind or what her intentions were, but to be so bold they didn't seem very good. Upon his entry another appeared and seemed to try and take up for her. This was a male and Soleon felt immediate unease as the population grew. The male regarded the other as his sibling--a sister. 

 Soleon moved to stand closer to Kaertok and his ears turned back against his head. He was weary of the two. While he didn't quite know the white male he stood beside--perhaps a united front was the best thing they could ofer. 
 
 His eyes followed the female as she turned into her brother and Soleon's eyes turned to Kaertok as she mentioned having an offer. Was there really anything she had that they would want? Should Arbiter be here? Soleon didn't want this becoming a situation they couldn't handle without her being alarmed...that being said if another pack was settling near their own there was likely already cause for concern. 

 Soleon would remain silent. All that needed to be said on his part had been spoken. Kaertok had seniority and superiority. All he needed to handle the standing issue.

condor supposed he couldn't fault buzzard's sense of drama. "oh, you do make it quite difficult," he sighed, desperately holding in the smirk that threatened to rise, but luckily for his ability to maintain anything remotely resembling professionalism his brother had never been able to stand a good insult.

"ours," condor whisper-hissed right back, before buzzard vanished from easy whisper range. the last thing they needed to do was stand here and make impressions. no, they were scavengers. if someone was home today, they abandoned the door altogether and came back when the owners were out.

oh, condor enjoyed a chase. a fight. part of the pleasure of life. but only when it was very distinctly weighted in his favor.

condor ran through an abbreviated list of things that buzzard could possibly have come up with to engage this fucking behemoth in conversation. buzzard being buzzard, it was still a disastrously long list. but the results were in! this would not turn out well.

it was so hard being the only one with a spare brain cell to rub together.

and the hole buzzard had just dug both of them into. ugh. he couldn't contradict that before making this even more of a mess. condor bowed extravagantly to his sibling, and used the brief reprieve where his eyes were mostly shadowed from the onlookers to shoot them his best WHAT ARE YOU DOING glare.

how on earth was he supposed to drag buzzard's body all the way back down a mountain? though to be perfectly fair, their skull was so thick they'd probably bounce right off any stones in their path.

Kaertok had never been much of a conversationalist, and he noted that there was an extra conversation happening between the two strangers. He didn't like it, and he certainly didn't like the idea of an offer. No. A simple, one-word answer. He had no need to make allies with packs who were dumb enough to come snooping around without alerting the existing packs that they were here doing so.

Leave, came another one-word command, directed pointedly at the two strangers. It was the only warning he would give, and if they lingered much longer, he would resort to physical measures.

Buzzard didn’t appreciate the glare shot their way. Common bro, have a little faith! They totally had this covered. Well, they thought they did.

The answer was a flat out no. Absolutely no hesitation. Even after all the theatrics! Jeez, tough crowd huh?

Heard ya loud n’ clear big guy. They gave Condor the old ‘ABORT ABORT’ bump n’ stare before creeping away from the group.

Man, what a waste of time.

She still couldn't make out what was being said, though the words had grown clipped, terse. Then the pair of brown, raggedy strangers began to turn and disembark. Grub drew in a breath as she watched them, eyes then flicking toward the unfamiliar wolf who remained standing beside Kaertok. His markings were much more visually striking, capturing the youngster's attention for a beat.

Grub considered making herself known, though she hesitated. Would her father be angry with her for wandering around on her own? Or would he be proud of her ability to sneak around undetected? In the end, the pup began to crawl backward, reluctantly intending to retrace her steps and return home without anyone ever being the wiser.

But, ghostly as she could be much of the time, Grub didn't anticipate the stick underfoot as she finally began to turn. It snapped in half, loudly. Her ears instantly slicked back against her pale skull. Oh, Kaertok would surely be displeased with her but nothing could match her disappointment in herself.

It is done. They have been dsmissed and Soleon no longer feels the need for his presence. His eyes moved to Kaertok and Soleon only dips his head to him in silence. While the Denizen was prone to outbursts of chatting and a more exciteable nature he didn't really feel the warm fuzzies falling off the Tribunus and he wasn't going to try and usher in any pleasantries right now. 
 
 S n a p!

 His eyes turned behind them and widened into the shrubbery. They weren't alone anymore. Though there was no unfamiliar smell that caused a stench to linger in the air. Likely a Legionaire he had not met. He supposed Kaertok was good to handle things from here. Likely he wouldn't make it very far if one of their newest imbeciles decided to change their mind and he could easily return. 

[exit]

exit!

the problem was, naturally, that both he and his siblings lacked the respect necessary to make a proper proposal. buzzard would scrape and bow in front of a wolf about the same time they acquiesced to a proper bath, so this was doomed to failure from the very beginning. if they had any sense, they'd have known that, but that was condor's burden to bear, at least this particular failure didn't come with any price.

he hardly needed his sibling's advice advice to know when a situation was going south. particularly this situation. oh, they'd surely come back here soon. condor might have been more elegant than his sibling was, when it came to these things – and really, who wasn't? – but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy a little revenge now and then. it made everything all the sweeter.

no need to reply, but he did enjoy having the last word – though it was hardly a triumph with this big brute. it was like speaking to a rock. "you only had to ask, darling," condor said, offering him a winning smile before he turned to follow after his sibling, sparing only a quick twitch of an ear for the snap that echoed in the brush. he had no interest in entangling himself in anything further, for the moment.

Last from me!

The two retreated, and Kaertok watched as they disappeared out of sight. He would go investigate (or send somebody else to) soon enough. Perhaps he would bring Malrok along with him. She was the most promising of the three. Then again, bringing along one of the other two might harden them up a bit, and it was clear that they needed that. He thought of this as he stood there, watching a bit longer even after they were gone from Legion's borders and he contemplated his next move.

Closing up shop!

She expected her father's irate bark any moment now, yet it never came. Grub scarcely dared to look, though she eventually glanced at the spot on the borders where, just a moment ago, four wolves had stood. Now only one, Kaertok, remained. Grub blinked slowly. It seemed nobody had heard the stick breaking, or that they hadn't deemed it worthy of investigation.

Grub glared downward at her own traitorous paw, as well as the stick beneath it. Carefully removing her weight from it, she began to slink back toward the den. She agonized about her lack of stealth for the first few moments before she sharpened her focus on the task at hand: tracking her way back home without being apprehended.

When she succeeded in this endeavor, it soothed her injured dignity and she rejoined her oblivious siblings, pale face expressionless but with a self-satisfied smile behind her eyes.