Big Salmon Lake simmer down now

Now that he'd gotten situated in his new "home," Sidewinder found himself itching to get out of it. Thankfully, knowing about the land around the pack was considered a skill, so he had departed the spine with the promise of bringing back some useful information. Whether or not that would actually happen... well, that was harder to determine. Having been there for as long as he had, he'd realized that the wolf the woman sought was no longer at Ouroboros. Which meant that he was either dead or somewhere else. Sidewinder was banking on the latter, if only because it meant free food for him.

He had come to a large lake mid-afternoon, and he gazed out at the calm waters. There was little wind today, but he could feel the winter coming on. He was an arctic beast at heart, so the cold bothered him little. It was his best time to blend in, once the snow hit, and he looked forward to the shorter, cooler days. Stepping to the shore of the large lake, Winder lowered his head and began to drink. His throat and tongue welcomed the water, pushing away the sensation of dryness that had been lingering there for the past hour.

Ashton's return was a relief, yet Peregrine still hadn't tracked down Finley and now he was starting to get seriously worried. In fact, he couldn't sit still this morning and, after bidding Fox goodbye, he departed from the caldera to attempt a cursory search for their would-be Beta.

He eventually wound up near the shore of Big Salmon Lake. He spotted a strange wolf drinking there and made an approach. Peregrine kept his head and tail positioned neutrally, his black muzzle angled low to cover his throat. His steps were confident but careful as he closed the space between himself and the stranger.

"Hello," he said, taking in the white male's scent. He detected no trace of Finley. He hadn't really expected to anyway. "I'm Perry, Alpha of a nearby pack," he introduced, then lapsed into silence to allow the male to introduce himself in turn or respond in whatever way he liked.

A stranger approached, and Sidewinder stiffened. Even as the other spoke—or perhaps because of what the other claimed to be—Winder did not relax. This wolf was darkly colored, not the white on white that he was seeking for the wolf who lived on the sea. But perhaps he held information, and that possibility caused Winder to force himself to relax, smoothing out his spine and putting on a more pleasant face. He relaxed his muscles, letting them become silk beneath his skin, and he gave an apologetic look to this leader of the caldera.

“My apologies, Peregrine,” he said, “I have been approached by many who were unkind in the past.” He hoped it could explain his behavior, at least in some small manner. The touch of adding the male's name would hopefully prove to put him at ease as well. “I am Sidewinder, of Ouroboros Spine.” At least, he was of the spine for now. When spring came, the Numitor fully intended to move back to his vagabond ways. But that was neither her nor now.

Peregrine didn't think anything of the stranger's response. In fact, he expected it. So when the male offered an apology, he brushed it off with a shake of his head. His lips then twitched into a small, playful smirk.

"I'm not exactly the kind sort myself, though there's no need to apologize. We are strangers and, by default, rivals," he pointed out lightly. When he gave a name and a pack, Peregrine added, "Even worse, we're from different packs so that makes us enemies."

Yet despite his words, he did not move to walk way, nor make any aggressive overtures either. Instead, he pondered a second over whether it was wise to speak of Finley's absence before finally deciding to query, "Have you happened to see a silver wolf by the name of Finley anywhere around here? We're playing hide-and-seek and she's... entirely too good at this game."

Sidewinder was anything but a traditional wolf, though he knew that many were. Courtesies had gotten him further than acting as nature had intended him to, so he had learned to use them when it was convenient. "Enemies?" Sidewinder questioned, "Perhaps if I were attempting to steal your food. But here, we are merely neutral parties." Peregrine was, of course, welcome to label him in whatever way he wished. But to call him an enemy seemed a bit extreme. A competitor, perhaps, but an enemy was too harsh a word. Sidewinder preferred to keep his enemies to a minimum. It was better for business.

And if this Peregrine truly thought him to be a threat of some sort, he made no indication of such feelings. Instead, he asked for help in finding a friend of his, and Winder's ears perked up. Locating wolves was one of his most valuable skills (or so he boasted, anyway), and he offered Peregrine a slow swish of his tail. "I have not," he replied, "Though I dare say I am seeking somebody as well: a white wolf with white eyes. I do not know his name." There was also the other one, Shadow, but Winder assumed Peregrine was too far south to know of his presence.

Peregrine didn't attempt to argue with Sidewinder. If he wanted to consider them nothing but neutral passerby, that was entirely his prerogative. Meanwhile, the swarthy Alpha would consider all wolves to be his enemies, save for those from the caldera, those from the plateau and any able-bodied loners he might recruit.

"I don't think I've seen anyone that fits that description," Peregrine answered honestly. "If you don't know him well enough to know his name, why are you looking for him?" Peregrine intuited that this colorless wolf was the perpetrator of some crime against Sidewinder or the spine. In any case, he would await an explanation before making any promises to keep an eye out for said wolf.

Sidewinder shrugged lightly. “If you were merely playing a game of hide-and-seek with your friend Finley, why did you ask me where she was?” he asked. Hide-and-seek was a game for children, and he was fairly certain the rules stated that using others to find the opponent was against the rules, anyway. He allowed his words to settle on Peregrine's ears, then turned his attention back to the lake and began to drink more of the cool, clear water.

Peregrine was of no use to him, considering he did not know the whereabouts of the white-on-white stranger that Sidewinder was seeking. Unless, of course, the dark male decided to ask him for help in a more direct way. If that was the case, Winder could watch for this Finley character, and he could have another set of eyes looking for Mr. White-eyes.

Sidewinder didn't seem to acknowledge his question, answering with one of his own. This threw Peregrine for a loop. He wondered if he (Peregrine, that is) was just slow or if Sidewinder was being so evasive that he avoided acknowledging the question completely. Interesting.

"Because I'm a dirty cheater," he replied with a shrug of his own. "What happens to the white wolf when you find him?" he wondered, aware that Sidewinder would likely ignore this question too.

"I do not know," replied Sidewinder, being honest for once. If he found the white wolf, he would simply explain his whereabouts to the woman from Stavanger Bay, and it would be up to her to decide how she wanted to deal with him (if at all). Winder was not in the business of killing. That was an assassin's job, and not one he wished for. He simply did not have the stomach for it.

"And when you find your friend?" he asked, turning the question back on Peregrine.

Sidewinder said he didn't know. Peregrine doubted that but he wasn't interested enough to press the male. He was being evasive, either accidentally or on purpose, and it was none of the swarthy Alpha's business anyway.

"I tap her and run off giggling in search of a hiding place," he drawled in reply. "I'm going to continue looking for her. If I see this nameless white wolf with white eyes, should I tell him Sidewinder's looking for him?" Peregrine queried even as he took a step, preparing to head away from the lake and onto the woods in the distance.

“Just as I do not know his name, he does not know mine,” replied Winder. It would do no good to have this white-eyed wolf know that there was somebody looking for him. But perhaps he already knew. “Send a messenger to Ouroboros Spine if you see him, or I shall come to your pack and check in from time to time.” It could be Peregrine's choosing, Sidewinder thought, and it might make the other male more comfortable to know he had to do nothing but sit and keep an eye out.

“I will tell your Finley you are having difficulty locating her, if I see her,” he added, wanting to offer his services as well, should Peregrine happen to need them. Picking up on the fact that Peregrine meant to take his leave, Winder offered an amiable nod in his direction, a silent parting of ways.