Redtail Rise they left a swimming pool of salted crimes, crimes

Circling the plains under a sky both bright and cold, River caught on to the telltale signs of a pack's borders and paused to check her surroundings. Under normal circumstances, she would not have thought twice about it, but intermixed between the predominantly masculine scents milling about was the smell of a she-wolf's estrum.

The Sandraudiga had intended a retreat into the Sunspires that day, yet this plan flew out of her head the more she investigated the area, and her journey became promptly and utterly stalled. She followed a trail on the wind with rising fervor, careful not to cross into the claim despite the fact that her blood rushed, roaring in her ears.

Lust had sparked a flame in her belly, and an envious whine escaped her clenched teeth as she searched for the source in a vain hope that it would be close to the borders. Though the more she paced the line, the fainter the scent seemed.

Prophet's mind was an uncomfortable arena. Flushed with more hormones than he cared to have, but still he could not ignore the sensation that lingered in his bones.

Especially as a figure lingered on their borders.

He inhaled, deep and slow. Prepared to pierce them with teeth if they came too close — although truthfully they already seemed too close. It's the figure of a woman though.

For a moment he thought of Marina.

This was not her.

So he moved on swift legs, hackles prickled with seasonal agitation. The sound a whine on the breeze. He was headed straight for her and no words escaped him to announce his arrival.

Instead of the fountainhead of estrus she sought, River found an earthy mass of corded muscle moving towards her at a fast clip. She knew at once that he was a defender of this pack, prepared to guard the scent's source with his life, and River was wise enough to turn and withdraw from the immediate borderline. She felt capable of meeting any wolf head on, but not when the numbers could so quickly turn against her. Not when her stomach churned with an unfamiliar longing that went well beyond instinct and ventured into immorality.

Only after receding a few yards did she look back to observe the near-distant figure again, trying to gauge the level of aggression he wished to show. She could not see any teeth at this length, but she would be cautious of them nonetheless. River now stood fast, prepared to either tensely receive him should he prove nonviolent, or flee from him at the first sign he would not slow in nearness.

skippable!

blood eyes and tall man, near to red woman.

eventually augur had pulled himself away. he remained too restless to sleep. too eager to eat.

the scent of another female struck him.

blood eyes was there again, and augur did not come closer, only watched them both with interest and longing.

She pulled away and although he remained large, this soothed some furious ignition in his heart. So he slowed his pace, less inclined to aggressively rush her and more inclined to examine her now.

Why did she draw so near?

Was it the temptation of the season upon the rise that dragged her near?

He rumbled lowly before he allowed his voice to boom out to her. Unwilling to risk any sort of shenanigans along their borders for the time being.

Why are you here?

His gaze remained hard, heavy upon the features of her face.

He wished it had been Marina.

As the male tempered his gait, River turned fully to face him again, unafraid. Over his shoulder, she glanced the distant appearance of a pale colossus and knew that she best keep her wits about her, lest she become surrounded. But it was hard to think straight with that scent on the air. Her own body thrummed musically with an unbidden surge of anticipation, coaxing her bit by bit into a state of arousal.

The male before her was nothing to sniff at either. Though she did not meet his gaze, her silvercoin eyes scanned the length of his jawline and slope of his spine, finding no glaring flaw along his powerful body. He called out to her, and River's tail lifted in a neutral wag to beckon him as close as he dared come.

Just taking in the scent, she answered earnestly and without an ounce of shame. I'm only passing by. I didn't mean to loiter. She shifted on her feet, feeling eager to expel the electricity building inside her, and she tipped her muzzle towards him, just as eager to commit his scent to memory.

The season brought with it a brashness, a carefree ego that teetered the scales back and forth wildly. So when she appeared so much as friendly, he pulled closer to her. Close enough to touch, if she extended slightly.

His nostrils flared, breathing in the depth of her scent. The words she spoke so mysterious.

It was better that way.

I can show you a way out, if you tell me where you want to be, He offered, low and husky. Still prickly, but certainly more open to her presence now.

The tense quills of River's nape shivered as they met, and she blinked long, rolling back her eyes, as his cologne washed over her in their nearness. She grazed his guard hairs with her muzzle, her tail still swaying, her stance still rigid -- ready to bolt or fight.

Her ears pressed forward tautly as he spoke again. At this proximity, the virile wolf's low voice felt like it was coming from under her feet and traveling up her body like swiftly rising water. Instinctively, she lifted her head to keep it above sea level, and she briefly beheld his eyes.

They were red. Macabre lanterns that sent a pleasantly cold shiver down her spine. She loved the color of blood.

I can show myself out, River asserted, ever poised, and yet ever wanting. But any good guard would make sure that I leave. Her head tilted, searching his expression. Are you a good guard? It was somewhere between a genuine question and an instigation, both holding him at arm's length and unwilling to let go. She withdrew from him before he could answer and started up a rolling trot towards the mountains.

Hackles still prickled, a porcupine for a wolf. Her words pulling at his very core, his muscles.

Are you a good guard?

She moves away and he seeks to see her off. Selfish, angry, coiled with tension. Teased. This time when he moved towards her it was with a sharper purpose. A warning click of his teeth and if she does not heed them he will bring down a hammer unlike any other.

He would not be tested on his own borders.

Not by her, not by any pretty face, not by anybody.

River's first mistake was being overly self-confident. It made her turn her back to him. Her second mistake was whirling to meet him in kind when she heard the terrible clack of his jaws. It fixed her into the line of fire, and she remembered too late that he had a visible accomplice who could be there in seconds, not minutes. Not to mention however many others lingered just out of sight.

Their teeth clashed viciously as she lashed out in defense of her tender hip, recently scoured by a wolverine's claws, and she felt an unbearable pinch on the side of her mouth that drew blood to a spill down her chin. Snarling, River fought back, buffeted by his size, but far from daunted. A dark, simmering part of her enjoyed the skirmish, and she would have put up more of a fight if her primal brain wasn't blaring an alarm -- warning her of being outnumbered.

Now she fought only to tear herself away from him, to preserve the rest of her hide and flee across the plains.

She was fierce.

But he was fiercer, he held the rise at his beck and call with his warriors. Her own teeth may have marked him back, he would have welcomed her testing him further, but she had some wits left about her. A mixture of his and hers coppery crimson bled into his mouth.

He would chase her out and he gave a sharp summon for @Augur and @Ratio to do the same.

Luckily, River escaped the earth titan without suffering any grievous injury. She sprinted across Dawnlark without looking back, and miles would fall away beneath her paws before she would come down from the adrenaline rush. The scent was effectively washed from her psyche, replaced by the thrill of being chased from the pack's border.

Though River didn't forget much of anything, she certainly wouldn't forget this encounter. The wolf she had faced fought without honor and had attacked her turned back. She would certainly avoid this place, brimmed with barbarians, until further notice.

i'll leave this open for a bit, if any of the tagged players want to throw posts in <3 thanks for the thread!

ooc; He can either be headed back to Prophet where Prophet and/or Augur can address him or he can end here, it's up to you guys!

Ratio prowled the borders like a black ghast but he had not been where he should have been that day.

He had only been coming upon them at a trot, drawn in by the scent of someone new near his territory, but not quite there when the call to act came to him. His body rocketed forward almost as if on a wire - he flew like a demon to Prophet's summon. 

When he arrived - so much later than he should have been, damn him - the woman was retreating. Regardless, he honed in on her and chased her as he had been called to do. If he reached her, he would rip her hide without mercy and bring her blood to the air - but he would not. He knew that, even as he flew across the land. He had been too late.

Angry with himself, he chased her for some time before pulling back and heading swiftly toward home. His ears were flat, his hackles making him look twice his already impressive size. He had been late. He was sure his Berserkr didn't expect him to be in all places at once but Ratio did not want to indulge himself in excuses. He would apologize to Prophet and then he would remark the border and make sure she didn't circle back.

they had killed.

augur chewed a piece of antlerbone in relative contentment. but his head lifted to hear the call rising pointed for him.

the great grey male answered at once, hackles bristling. he swept onto the scene of them. he smelled blood and grew more harried. there was an unknown female running over the rise.

augur gave chase at once, running on a path that cut between blood eyes and the wolf he did not yet know.

when it was over, he slowed and blew out his breath. augur shook his ruff. he waved his tail and glanced toward the shade of a wolf. there were scars upon his face. in the clawan's mind augur named him shadow mark.

His men, swift and sharp.

He had picked right in them and he could see it in the way they responded to him. Pride clutched around his heart warmly and when the trio had successfully cleared her from the area, he would round his men. Shoulder pressing into each of them. A brotherly look given to Augur, a fonder look cast upon Ratio.

We will patrol as two, if she comes back. He instructed to Ratio. Any reason to spend more time with their newer warrior, to refine his skills in the eyes of the Berserkr.

Augur, defend the others, if she is bolder upon any return. He knew the man was not a speaker but he hoped that sounds he made were recognizable. Augur. Defend.

He trusted his men.

Disappointed in himself, he felt a rush of fondness mixed with shame as he reached Prophet. He looked at the white male who had run with him. He nodded his head in greeting, his tail a friendly swish. His expression was annoyed but, perhaps, that white male would understand that his irritation was not with him. He had not met him before and so did not know his name but he'd smelled him within the ranks - he knew him as a packmate. 

He pressed back into Prophet at his shoulder bump, an apologetic look on his features. He brightened a bit as Prophet commanded that he would patrol with his Berserkr. "Yes." he agreed, his tail betraying his eagerness with a slow wag. He looked to the white male as Prophet addressed him. Augur. He would remember him. 

Despite the outcome and his delayed actions, he was warmed to be surrounded by pack mates. They were soothing to any self-deprication he may have conjured for himself. Nodding to Augur, he prepared to follow Prophet, pleased to be at his side for this patrol.