Big Salmon Lake Don't you know life's a feeling

Curiosity had finally drawn Elwood away from Redhawk Caldera. It had been quite some time -- months, even -- since he had ventured from his home and into unclaimed territory. There were many reasons for that: the birth of his son, the apparent enemies of his pack, and the terrible storm. He had always been a homebody, but as he moved through the plains he found that it felt good to stretch his legs.

He observed the remaining damage from the tornado as he traveled, moving at a steady lope that allowed him to venture a fair distance before growing fatigued. His destination was Big Salmon Lake; it was a place that he was familiar with, and he had also heard of its destruction from Wildfire. As he approached, he could smell the dead fish and nearly turned around. But he forged ahead until he could lay eyes on the half-drained tarn.

The silver Beta paused, wrinkling his nose. It appeared that scavengers had picked apart many of the fish carcasses, and those that were left had been baked in the hot summer sun. The lake itself looked pitiful; he would have had to slide down a dry, dusty embankment to even reach the water's edge. He didn't want to linger for long -- the stench was overpowering, and besides, he had already been away from the caldera for half a day -- but he moved in a wide arc around the depleted pond, his gaze sweeping his surroundings thoughtfully.

Not sure if Elwood knows about Burke lurking at RHC borders and scaring Wildfire. Haha. Still I thought this might be interesting since Elwood wouldn't know Burke's scent etc! :3

Rotten things such perfect things. Other wolves might think otherwise but Burke disagreed. He was used to the stench of rotten things from the animals that died in their swamps, or from the rotting loner wolf bodies they would leave at their borders if they had a trespasser. Though these rotten things covering the lands were because of that damn storm. Burke wasn't a naturalist and he wondered how a storm was getting all these fish out of the lake. Since he had a break between giving lessons and caring for his pack, Burke figured he could venture a little further out of Black Feather, that was when he stumbled upon the mass of fish rotting on the ground.


The massive tank off a male trotted around a good part of the lake before he decided to return home. The smell didn't bother him too much, his docked tail held high as he steered back to his home. The smell kept the other's scent masked but it was his eyes that saw the other grey male blocking his path towards his home. Burke let out a soft huff and trotted up to the male, still not clear if he was a loner or in a pack. His pale eyes on the male with some interest. It was clear that the tank of a male presented himself as a higher ranked wolf. Burke technically just wanted to pass and go home, but surprisingly he wasn't too bothered with a small conversation. That was until he came close enough to smell the other's scent. God damn. 

Thanks for joining! :) I'm going to play like Elwood doesn't know about the incident with Wifi!

Elwood paused in his step, swinging his head down to sniff at one of the rotten fish. This one hadn't been picked apart, but it still reeked. Normally he was a fan of seafood, but the stench lingering around the lake was enough to turn his stomach. He would be reluctant to go fishing anytime soon.

As he straightened, he became acutely aware of another wolf approaching him. For a brief moment, he could have sworn that it was Sebastian. His expression shifted into a smile, but it quickly slipped away as the male's scent reached him. He smelled nothing like Sebastian -- and, as he got closer, Elwood could make out his missing tail. His brows raised slightly; this had to be Sebastian's father.

He stiffened slightly, thinking of what the Redhawk had said about his dad. He lived in a pack nearby and evidently wanted nothing to do with Sebastian. There was nothing threatening about him, but he remembered his packmate's warnings and knew it would be in his best interest not to let his guard down. "Guess we won't be doing any fishing today," he called out, keeping his tail at a neutral level between his hind legs.

Great! I'm curious how this will go. C:

If the Caldera member knew about him and his son he had a good way of hiding it. That was Burke's first conclusion. The large tank of a male was almost surprised by the normal topic of conversation. One of the lighter dots on his brow raised a bit, almost like raising an eyebrow like a human. "If you mean by not fishing that you are willing to eat these rotten fish bodies then you are clearly having the IQ of a plant," he stated in return. It wasn't necessarily a rude comment but it could be seen as one. 

Burke was pretty sure the male meant that sentence as something else, like with all the rotten fish he didn't feel like eating any aquatic animals. He keeps his face in a bit of a deadpanned glare. "So you are a Caldera wolf, ey?," he asked, studying the male. The strangers scent was clear on that fact but he wanted to have the words come from the other's mouth. Last time he wanted to 'talk' to his son the two alpha's charged at him without even replying to him. When he arrived he hadn't even been thinking of a conflict, those two protecting their borders so avidly was... suspicious. What had they to hide that he couldn't see his son? Maybe they knew after all that he meant to kill the buzzing fly that was named Sebastian.

The other male's response drew a chuckle from Elwood. Before he could reply with a clever quip, Sebastian's father made a query about the caldera. His interest in the pack gave Elwood more confidence that the wolf was who he thought he was, though he wouldn't be the one to broach the subject. He remained a bit defensive, though he kept his tone of voice and stance carefully neutral.

"Yes, I am. Do you live around here?" he replied in turn. The grey beast smelled like other wolves, although Elwood couldn't readily identify the pack and was failing to remember what Sebastian had said.

Burke raised the two dots on his brow in mild surprise when the other wolf thought he was funny. The male let out a snort, at least this guy was more mellow than his alphas, instantly attacking him. He kept his docked tail raised as he looked at the other. So he was in fact from the Caldera. If this male only knew that he wanted to do to Sebastian. "I do," he spoke shortly, not really giving him more information about with pack. 

By how he held himself it was clear that Burke was an upper ranked wolf. He wasn't going to be foolish enough to parade around to this male that he was the leader of Black Feather and have him whisper it to his alpha. He wasn't feeling like having a war. Though he did want Sebastian dead. "In a few moments you will probably comment how much I look like your pack member Sebastian isn't it? They always do. Why don't you tell me about him instead of pointing out I already heard before."

Sorry for the delay! Work has been keeping me busy lately. :)

While Sebastian's father postured and kept his head and tail held high, Elwood maintained his more relaxed, neutral stance. The name of a pack wasn't given by the charcoal male, although it was evident that he was a high-ranking member. Before Elwood could interject, he suddenly referenced Sebastian, suggesting that the Redhawk wolf divulge some information about his packmate. Elwood hesitated, doubting the male's intentions and wondering how he should respond.

It would be no use to pretend like he didn't know who Sebastian was, as Burke clearly knew his son's pack and recognized the scent. He also did not want to get in the middle of this conflict between father and son. It wasn't his battle to fight, although he did feel loyalty towards Sebastian. After a brief pause, he finally gave a flick of his tail and leveled Burke with his gaze.

"Yes, Sebastian is a member of my pack; and an important one, at that. But you're going to have to get to know him yourself," he said. If Burke truly wanted to be a part of Sebastian's life, he could make that happen. But Elwood had the sneaking suspicion that he continued to harbor ill will towards his son. His muscles tensed; he prepared to depart the moment that the interaction began to go south.

Not to worry. I stalked the pack managers thread! (haha xD) Plus I saw you were on absence!

Burke didn't want to be in Sebastian's life that was the whole point. He disliked to hear that his son was an important pack member. It meant that if he would happen to kidnap Sebastian that he would be missed. Still it was good information to know. But not very handy to have. He wished they didn't care about him like he didn't care about Sebastian. If Burke was really honest he did care with how keen he was on murdering the boy, or at least, eliminating him. 

Burke was short on replies because what was he about to say? Not that he wished to have him gone, that would only make the alarm bells sound even more when he was around their territory. Slowly he pushed his face into a charming smile. "Oh, yes. I'd like that. I heard he isn't that fond of me," he spoke with a hint of fake sadness, though, it did sound rather real. Burke did have some of its acting down. "Not even sure why he was looking for me, did he tell that reason to you?," he asked, genuinely curious about that. Burke knew he hadn't been around in his life when he was younger. With good reason, and Burke guessed that was the reason Sebastian wasn't fond of him.

Burke's reply was convincing, but Elwood was still wary. He didn't trust this guy as far as he could throw him -- and, considering his size, that wouldn't have been very far at all. His response didn't match up with what Sebastian had said about him, but if he hadn't known better, he might have taken Burke at face value. No matter what his reasons were, the burly male was fishing for answers, and Elwood wasn't sure he wanted to be the one to provide them.

He shook his head. "No, not that I can recall," he fibbed. He didn't want to meddle any further, so he started to look for a way out of the conversation. "Is there a message you would like me to pass on to him?" he offered. He would certainly tell Sebastian about this interaction, but he was curious to see how the boy's estranged father would react to his suggestion.

Burke could only admit that this male was very good at keeping things neutral. Burke was pretty sure that Sebastian was talking bad about him since he also had done that to his friends and the wolves he was close with. But he had no way to prove that this other grey male was lying. So Burke just dismissed it for now. "Yes, I would like to pass him a message," Burke then responded, sounding almost sweetly. 'Get the fuck out of my life and don't remember me of my past. Don't bother my loved ones because you ain't one.' 

But that was not what he said out loud. "Tell him I really wish to see him and talk. If he wants answers he will have to see me one day," he pointed out, like he had no hard feelings about Sebastian threatening to kill him. Like that pup could even manage that, not likely. Burke hoped that a friendly message would lure that coward away from his pack lands.

Do you want to say that Elwood told Seb about this encounter behind the scenes? :)

Elwood flicked an ear. Burke did want to pass on a message to Sebastian, and he continued speaking with an overly-polite tone. The Blackthorn took his information with a grain of salt as the hulking grey male indicated that his son was welcome to visit him. Somehow, he didn't think that this was the case -- but refrained from saying otherwise. Instead, he simply nodded his head.

"I will let him know. Have a nice day," he said, yellow eyes roving over Burke's impressive form one last time before he departed. He turned on a heel and trotted briskly back in the direction of the Caldera, seeking to get away from the other wolf as well as the overpowering smell of rotten fish. He would make it a priority to seek out Sebastian and inform him of his peculiar experience.

Yes that would be great! I will send this to the archives! Thank you! 

Burke quirked up his lips for a moment. "Thank you so much," he spoke, he almost felt like gagging with his own behavior. The dark king doubted that Sebastian would fall for his invitation but it still send some message across. He was there and watching. He was going to run into this coward one day and then his life would end. Burke would be finally released from the wolf that was irritating him so much. He didn't want the reason why. He could think of the reason why. 

Once the other male left, Burke's face fell into its stoic self. He didn't want to be smiling for no reason, Burke smiling was rare around strangers and it usually meant he needed something. Now he briskly trotted back to his home what he planned before running into this Caldera wolf.

-end thread-