Mudminnow River a tall drink

Many long days had he traveled, following the seasons almost as summer bowed to autumn. As if he were chasing the passage of time. Better that than queens or dreams, at last for the moment. The thought stung him bitterly, mixed with regret and resentment that left a sour taste in his mouth. Fortunately there was a river nearby (he'd heard it, and could smell the water from a distance). His strength was steadily regained thanks to odd pockets of carrion and a smattering of good luck. Still, good food was a luxury. And as much as he felt like he were following the seasons, truthfully, it was them urging him onwards.

Winter would be coming soon, and he needed to prepare.

It wouldn't be his first, of course, nor his second or third, and certainly not the only one he'd had to weather alone. But the thought always frightened him in some way. He was a pack animal after all, the desire for companions was natural if not downright instinctive. Hya had a worried look as he ambled up to the river's edge, his tail bouncing limply behind him. The rest of him was far less animated. He stopped at the water's edge to have a look at himself for a moment. Then sighed, and tipped his head down to drink.

because one could truly only take so much of the little brat they'd snatched up, especially since he seemed to have figured out how to talk and also forgotten how to shut his mouth, condor made the decision to leave...the thing...to buzzard for a while. 

they were such good friends, after all. he hoped some one on one alone time with the child would wise his sibling up before they got any more stupid thoughts in their head, but when it came to buzzard, hope truly was all it could be. and he was feeling no less generous with his sister after that completely uncalled for insult, so off he went. 

maybe he'd have a little more luck with thievery when there was no brat ruining his cunning plans.

unfortunately, though the rain might have stopped, he had to keep his distance from the set of borders they'd...disturbed, earlier, which led him on a long walk that at least spared him any more boring grey mountains. instead, it was all boring grass and boring trees. condor thought wistfully of the desert as he walked, and equally as wistfully of food. it was quite a while before he stumbled upon anything at all.

and his discovery was hardly elegant. another big wolf in uninteresting shades of brown and white, drinking from what appeared to be a river made entirely of mud. condor's nose wrinkled. oh, buzzard would love this place. it was best to never tell them.

"good afternoon, darling," condor said, redpink gaze raking up and over the stranger as he approached. another one without any handy meals for scavenging. but he still might have something worth their time. biting back a sigh, he bowed extravagantly as he came to the riverbank, leaving the man a bit of room just in case he decided to get snappy for no reason. wolves. "what might you be doing here?"

Perhaps it was optomism that set him on the futile task of drinking from a muddy river. And even if it wasn't, optomism did keep him there for the fish. He'd plucked his second one now when the scent of another came to him followed immediately by a voice. Hyacinth winced privately, half cursing himself for the lack of attention to his surroundings.

He was in new lands, being oblivious was never wise.

Condor though (a name he didn't know just yet) didn't seem the type to take advantage of the situation. Not on first appearances, which he knew could be decieving but often went by anyway. Hya, perhaps foolishly, liked to assume the good in others. Plus, having confidence in his own defenses made him less jumpy. More approachable. It was his lack of social graces that made him awkward. Hya turned to meet his new companions pink gaze, offering a tight lipped smile he assumed was friendly along with a gentle nod. The bow he recieved was...unusual for him...but he tried to play it off by not reacting.

"Well, I was hoping for a drink. But seems all this river has to really offer is fish." His forest gaze cast down sideways toward the pair of fish he'd managed to secure, pinned beneath his paw but still wiggling with dying hope. Hya kept his face pointed toward Condor, only dipping his head slightly in reference to them. "Not that I'm complaining..." Suddenly his eyes widened, just a touch, as if a thought had dawned on him. "You wouldn't happen to live around here, do you?" 

Similar to Condor, he too was wondering if he could gleam a bit of information off this new companion.

condor watched with an appropriately vulturine gaze as the man turned and gave him a small nod. nothing here yet, nothing to worry about either...and then. condor followed his gaze, interest sharpened by the mention of food – one which, by chance, led his eyes directly to the fish at his feet just an instant before he caught the scent.

jackpot.

with far more enthusiasm now, condor tossed his head back, returning the man's rather tight smile – again, wolves – with a quite genuine one of his own. the wheels were already turning. get him distracted, and find that opportunity. 

if that meant a little idle conversation, so be it. he was excellent at small talk, and quite confident he could outrun the man if he took offense to condor's little scheme. 

"you're just a few weeks late. we had water pouring from the sky for a month. rivers everywhere." a sigh. "but lucky for you, darling, you've come to the right coyote." sidling a step closer, condor gestured theatrically with his muzzle at the fall-bright leaves around them. "i do indeed live around here. looking for anything in particular?"

Seemed as though he'd traded one luck for another. He missed the rains (the storm must have been going the other way, he thought with an internal sigh), but he'd managed to meet a resident-

"Coyote?" Hyacinth asked before he could even stop himself long enough to think on how polite it was to stare and tilt his head his new companion. Obviously, from the sparkle in his eyes, he had questions. But they weren't questions he thought were right to ask when he was on the cusp of learning some possibly vital information. Actually, he reasoned fairly quickly, this was very lucky! Coyotes do certainly get around. "Then I'm in luck."

His recovery was not graceful, and the smile he gave was painfully awkward.

"Or we both are." Hya added with a thoughtful nod before squinting his brows while he thought aloud, looking straight ahead and down rather than at Condor. "Coyotes..." he then looked back with a hopeful, quizical, expression. "You guys...like to trade right?" Actually, the coyotes in his area traded. But he wasn't the most well versed in the species, so all he really had to go on was one instance.

Hopefully he wasn't dead wrong.

dramatic gesture thus concluded, condor returned his redpink gaze to the man in time to catch his stare and tilted head. 

"indeed. don't tell me you can't see it." condor gave another quick flick of his head, teeth glittering briefly beneath his lips. he was, admittedly, not quite prepared to hear the question's continuation – then i'm in luck.

oh, he truly thought condor was here to help him? how wonderfully naive. and trading – he just managed to hold back the laugh. he despaired to even think what those...coyotes...were getting up to. hardly worthy of the name. coyotes didn't trade. they were scavengers. they stole, food and children and this fool's meal, if he had his way.

it was a heavy burden he and buzzard had to share, being the only proper coyotes for miles. but he'd despair over that later, when it wasn't working so perfectly to his advantage.

condor set his chin down level with a grin, oversized ears flicking along his skull.

"ah, so you're familiar with us. yes," he lied. "i work with my siblings, in fact. something you have in mind?"

Hmm, well: Hya studied Condor as he presented himself, head tilting just slightly to take in the cut of his jawline. Admittedly he'd...never paid attention to these things before, but nodded and smiled as if he'd understood. There was certainly something distinctly not woflish about Condor. Eh well.

"Oh. Nice. I used to work with my family too." He said in passing. On his end things seemed to be going well. Hya gave the coyote a subdued, lopsided grin as his hind end shifted just enough so that he was facing the other a little more. He was glad memory served him well, and that it seemed more than just that one particular coyote was interested in trades. Condor was a very good actor, and he had no reason to believe the other was being anything but genuine. Clearly to Hya the small fish he'd gathered didn't appear worth stealing.

Not really worth hanging onto either, as he pushed them toward @Condor.

"See, what I really want is a place to stay. So how 'bout a trade. These fish, plus more for any information you can give me on the area." Now that was fairly vague, so he elaborated while turning toward the muddy river, crouching over it like a lioness ready to pounce. "You know, other packs, places I should avoid, tempers..." he paused, his face somewhat shadowed as he looked over his shoulder. "If there's anything...different...I should be aware of?" From his tone, Hya must have run into "different" before, and with questionable results.

small talk. condor could just taste the awkward coming off this guy. all the weird smiles and unnecessary comments. nonetheless, he kept his own smile bright and ears twitched forward. eyes on the prize.

and then the man ruined all of it with a single sentence.

he was just going to hand them over for a little information? that was so boring. no flair. no drama. no ransom or stealing or anything of the sort. see, condor's little plan was entertaining as long as it was a distraction. this just took all the fun out of it.

he was really trading now, wasn't he? what was the world coming to?

condor's gaze went flinty for a moment, the only outward sign of his displeasure. it would still work, but...he really couldn't hold this over his siblings, could he. he was practically acting like his sister – 

– no. he shuddered. no, he still couldn't say it. it simply didn't bear thinking about. when he started trying to fuck everything that moved, that was buzzard's signal to put him out of his misery.

"very well, darling. you've convinced me." behind the languid drawl of his voice, his mind was running a mile a minute, and...perhaps there was still some room for a little fun. after all, the things he knew about this place weren't very extensive. his grin brightened a little. ah, this could work just fine. 

"how about you hand those over first? insurance, you understand. then you can explain to me exactly what you mean by different." 

Fish first huh?

For the first time since their conversation began, Hya looked to Condor with a bit of suspicion in his forest eyes. One squinted a little more than the other, and his head leaned slightly away. But his misgivings passed, or he buried them, in favor of trying to make the situation work. He needed information, it was key to his success and survival here. So he took a gamble, and slid the fish closer to Condor, still eying him somewhat before settling over the muddy water.

An ear flicked. So...he wanted to know what different meant.

Hyacinth took in a deep breath and let it out in a loud sigh.

"Different like..." How exactly do you put into words the craziness that was his last homestead? "Cults I suppose. Rituals...?" He chuckled then, humorlessly, at the absurdity of what he was saying. "Just things that wolves shouldn't be doing. I've met a few who said they worshiped gods. It was a bit much for me...I'd rather avoid the devout if I can." Much as he made the situation sound unpleasant, there was a distinct sadness in his voice. Hya looked down at his chest where he brushed his elbow fondly, as if remembering something that had once been quite dear to his heart.

Then he snorted, opting to forget it entirely.

"So, information." He added with unintended force before taking a breath to dip half his head into the water. It moved slightly as he rooted around after fish, basically groping blind in the dark, though he was sure to keep his ears above the muddy surface so he could still hear @Condor.

condor is going to try and book it but you are free to chase him if you want!! we could put something down in tabletop to roll for it :)

condor kept his lazy smile fixed on his face as the man swiveled around, squinting. so now he was getting it. it was a stretch that he'd even suggested such a thing, a little too...transparent about his purpose. but what was life without a little risk? 

risk on his own terms, of course. and what could this man do to him? he'd already fallen for so much.

a few moments longer. then the man slid the two fish over, and condor scooped them up in the curve of his paw, feeling the saliva pool on his tongue already at the thought of a meal. it had been so long.  they'd made out so excellently when they'd all left home, stealing everything from their family that wasn't nailed down; it was, unfortunately, much more difficult here.

but he hadn't lost his edge altogether. no, it just needed a little sharpening. condor judged the size of the fish with a quick glance – nothing he couldn't fit in his jaws, should he need to run – and swiftly returned his gaze to his target. it wouldn't do to give away his intentions just now.

"cults and rituals. i see." condor laughed, drawing his tongue over his teeth. "is that something you're running from, or just a personal preference?" 

what was it he had? a little knowledge about legion – just a lot of boring people, no sense of humor – a little knowledge of the people they'd stumbled upon in the meadow who had steadfastly refused to use their words. nothing tangible. but if it was cults he was concerned about, condor was certain he could spin up a delightful lie to that effect. he rolled the thoughts around on his tongue for a moment, the very picture of consideration, doing his utmost to ignore the fish at his paws –

– and then the fool plunged his head into the water, and every little half-lie that condor had dredged up on his lips fled immediately. 

he was really going to turn his back? on him? oh, this was too good. condor was, after all, an opportunist. no sense sticking around when he had such a perfect one laid out in front of him.

"well, darling, let me think," condor drawled, as though his thoughts centered around anything that wasn't his escape route. the fish were already in a neat little pile; all it took was a swift dip of his head, teeth fastening down into flesh, a kick of his legs and he was gone, slipping into the tangle of brush with all the ease of someone who'd built an entire career out of escaping worse situations than this one.

and fortunately, condor could see the mountains rising in the distance. who should that be but legion? finally, they could justify all the precious time they'd stolen from him. he set a pace for the cliffs; should the man bother to chase him that far, he hoped his trail would be easily lost so close to a pack.

A peculiarly long pause followed the initial musing of @Condor regarding whatever information he had on their surroundings. The fleet footed Coyote was already up and running by the time Hyacinth obeyed his suspicions enough to lift his head out of the water. 

"Are you kidding me?" He growled around a small fish he'd managed to capture, reduced to standing in shock at the disapearing figure. A quick glance to his side revealed the true meaning behind Condor's approach. He was a thief! An opportunist looking for an opening, and Hya handed him one without realizing. He shook his head at his own ineptitude, then after swallowing his singular fish, sighed deeply.

"Well, at least I got something out of it." One fish, sure, but their interaction however brief told Hya a great deal (he assumed) about the locals. Namely, that they most likely couldn't be trusted and he needed to watch his back in this area. Also, that when a Coyote says he's interested in a trade...that trade might be one-sided. 

Good to know.

Resigned to defeat, Hya decided he would stay here and do a little more fishing before following Condor's trail. Not in hopes to run into the 'yote again, but it was more of a direction than he had before the meeting.


(Thanks for the RP! I'm not entirely sure how to use the dice system here :O but either way, he's not looking for a fight yet :P)