Crosshair

ZC30 · October 24, 2014, 07:18 PM

Frostflame Ridge.

Capricorn was much too distracted the last time he was here to puzzle out the mystery of the warm ground. It stayed with him, though, that question in the back of his mind. On every patrol he made around Duskfire Glacier, he paused and looked out at the mountain. A few times, he convinced himself the stone was merely sun warmed and retained the heat well, but the last time he was there, the path was shrouded in shadow. Much as he wanted to believe it was natural, Capricorn was beginning to doubt.

So now, with the sun beginning to bleed red into the sky and heralding evening, Capricorn gave out a low howl to inform his pack mates (Tuwawi in particular) that he would be next door for several hours. Without waiting for a response, the squat-legged valhund cross waddled away from his home and made his way toward the place he'd met Cuan, where the ground was warm to the touch. Once he found it again, he intended to go down and try one last time to discover its secret.

*Shadow* · October 29, 2014, 10:13 AM

The ashen Alpha had once again wandered away from the Bypass, it was because he wanted to get away from all the responsibilities for a day or so but obviously it was taking a lot longer. He really needed some rest and a part of him was glad that Paarthurnax was here to take a bit of the burden off him. Soon, he would assign some Senators to help out and then he would choose a wolf to become a Centurion. The plan seemed pretty good, until you had to actually execute it. Then everything failed. That always seemed to happen.

Shadow didn't know where he was going, just the fact that the sun was setting and he should find a place to rest. Hopefully the Roman would be able to find his way home tomorrow, he didn't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. Had he wandered into pack territory? No, there had been no scent markers, he was still alert, despite the fact that he had been mostly daydreaming. Jupiter, he needed to get his mind sorted out.

ZC30 · (This post was last modified: October 29, 2014, 10:34 AM by ZC30.)

In no time at all, Capricorn felt the familiar warmth on the pads of his paws that meant he was on the ridge proper. It was nameless as far as he knew, but he thought it should be given one to match the glacier nearby. He was just thinking on names and picking his way back down to where he thought the source might be when he came across Shadow.

The wolf was larger than he (but who wasn't?) and, judging by the way his coat absorbed the warm orange-red cast of the sky, somewhat colourless. He was neither too light nor too dark, so Capricorn assumed he was grey. There was a characteristic lightening of the belly and darkening of the points, features many wolves had in common, himself included. Shadow looked every bit an ordinary wolf, lightly corded and probably fleet of foot rather than strong.

The valhund cross placed himself squarely in Shadow's path, partly so he would be spotted and partly to keep the male from getting any closer to Duskfire. He was unable to tell that Shadow was presently in his own mind, so Capricorn hailed the larger man with a smile and dip of his head before saying, "good evening, stranger."

*Shadow* · November 01, 2014, 09:41 AM

Though his father had been cruel and brutal, sometimes he had to thank him for the various useful skills he hammered into his sons. The Roman stopped abruptly at the sight of a small shape directly in front of him. He blinked, the wolf was tiny, tinier than anything he had ever saw before, however none of his surprise showed, instead he quickly composed himself. The tiny wolf smiled and dipped his head and greeted him politely. Shadow dipped his head in return, the regal cant of his head that his father always taught him to do.

Good evening to you too, he said. The Roman made sure not to stare too intently at the tiny figure, knowing it would be rude and disrespectful, however small a wolf was. Instead, he let his gaze drift casually over the wolfdog, noticing a familiar scent on him. Duskfire Glacier, so this wolfdog was from that pack, was he? Interesting, he would have to ask Danica the next time he saw her.

ZC30 · (This post was last modified: November 11, 2014, 06:50 PM by ZC30.)

"Ah," Capricorn mused as Shadow's head dipped down, never disturbing the stiff stand of his neck and with ears pointed the entire time, "nobility." To the de Septentrio male, who considered himself royalty as well, telling the noble apart from peasants was a simple thing. A noble wolf held themselves with a certain amount of power at all times: their shoulders remained set back a specific distance, their necks never bowed though their heads might dip cordially, and their ears were held in perfect peaks. Capricorn came to abandon his regal stance a good deal of the time, primarily because he didn't want to come off as stuffy, but now that he found himself in the company of a like wolf, he adopted the same rigid posture easily.

"How wonderful to meet another royal wolf," said Capricorn was a smile that was both polite and business-like. "Surely you have heard of my father, Macintosh de Septentrio of Montem Aquilonem?" Macintosh was nobility if ever there was nobility, perhaps not in the Roman sense of the word but in a sense. The entire Montem Aquilonem pack was one of wolves who held themselves to be nobles. Their blood was rich in some fashion. Normal wolves wouldn't possibly agree—they were mutants, don't you know—but Capricorn believed it, and felt an equally noble wolf would believe it as well.