The Sentinels The long road

All welcome! At The Sentinels!  

The air was different around here. Slowly the fresh air was mingling with something else, it was almost.. salty? Sebastian was an inland wolf, and had never really seen the open sea so once he would get there the wolf would be truly amazed. He kept to his mountains and valleys. Now his vision was still obscured from the sea. The tank of a young male trotted casually through the forest. He did scent some wolves so he was careful. Yet in his post it was clear that he was unfamiliar with the land and that he was merely exploring. He was following this strange salty scent that the wind brought in.

Sebastian had traveled for a few days now and he really started to realize that he had actually left his pack, left his home. But it was for a good reason. He had to keep that in mind. The grey figure trotted forward, not really wanting to clash with a pack at all so he inched more to the North now, being respectful of the borders that might be ahead. It was most of the same scent, which made it clear to Sebastian that the pac nearby didn't have that many members. It was just a wild guess, maybe they only have the same wolf that do the patrols.

Charon was just returning home from one of his exploration rounds when he picked up a fresh scent along the way. He picked up his stiff and slouched body, tail curling over his back and head erected on his shoulders, ears prodded forward in the stranger's direction. The yearling followed the scent trail until he saw a greytone wolf come into view. The stranger's scent reminded Charon most of all of Dhole, and he wondered if this was a friend of hers. His tail fell down, dominance fading a little bit, but his curiosity was doubled now.

The yearling approached and as he did, called out: "Hey, you there! You a friend of Dhole's?" He decided to just be direct. Assuming that the stranger would stop to wait for him, Charon trotted leisurely his way, a slight slimp in his stiff gait due to the wounds on his shoulder and back and the amount of travel he'd done the past weeks.

The big tank of a male trotted further until he spotted a wolf coming up to him. The large male stopped and kept his posture friendly. Th other wolf looked rathe dominant even though he was about a full year younger than him. Sebastian didn't mind that though. He was always respectful to a higher rank. That had been drilled into his mind. His ears perked forward. "Yes! I think. You mean Wildfire right?," he asked to be sure. "She is my sister! Or well-- Sort of. Not by blood." He somehow wanted to assure that to the other male. 

His tail wagged with interest at the other, stepping closer and sniffing him out. His fur smelled like the air, salty. Should he say he left? That he was alone? That might not be smart but his scent was probably fading soon. He had to get used to being on his own. "I'm Sebastian! Who are you?," he asked with curiosity in his tone.

"Wildfire?" Charon asked questioningly. Her scent was unmistakenably on this wolf, though, so that had to be the name that he knew, or something. Was that her real name? Or was it Dhole and was Wildfire the second name? "Yeah, I meant Wildfire." Charon decided to just play it like he knew that was her name all along. It didn't really matter, anyway. They were apparently siblings, but not by blood. "Oh, like adoptive, then?" Charon asked. This wasn't strange to him, since he had adoptive parents and siblings himself, so he just figured that either had been adopted into the other's family. He wondered idly to himself which way around it'd been.

"You from Redhawk Caldera too, then?" Charon asked, even though he'd never visited Dhole's pack. But she'd mentioned it, and Sebastian smelled sufficiently enough like Dhole that Charon figured he was a part of this pack, too. "I'm Charon, Beta of Stavanger Bay, and soon to be Alpha of a new pack we're forming." There was pride in his voice as he stated his title and soon-to-be title. He couldn't wait until the moment was finally there that he and Amekaze would lift their noses to the sky and that they would become Alphas of their very own pack. There was a lot of preparation left to do, but it would all be worth it.

Sebastian looked at the other male who said Wildfire's name so questioningly it made him frown. Sebastian was uncertain if he had said something that wasn't something he was allowed to tell. His pale eyes looked suspiciously at the other for a moment. "Sort of. I joined the Caldera when she was young, and she sort of saw me as her big brother, and I as my little sister," he explained, he was proud to let others know the dhole was his sister. He liked her a lot and she was smart too. The male then asked if he was from the Caldera. Well not anymore. "I was. I left a few days ago," he returned to the speckled male which he later found out was Charon.

The lighter dots on Sebastian's brow raised for a moment. "Ah okay. So you are starting your own pack? So this area... it smells different. Is that why you are leaving? Can you tell me something about it. I am more of a mountain/valley wolf," he admitted. Maybe it was a life saver to have talked to a local who knew this area and where not to step or go to. Sebastian was all new to this sea thing, frankly he had heard about big salty waters but it was far away from him when he learned about it. Most of it was unknown to him.

Charon didn't really pick up on Sebastian's suspicion towards him; probably because he didn't see reason for it, so he did not notice it. He just nodded at Sebastian's explanation. He supposed it would be like Flóki seeing Atreyu as his older brother, or something like that. It surprised Charon to hear that Sebastian had left Redhawk Caldera, though. It made Charon wonder if Dhole had left the Caldera, too, and maybe both of them were looking for a new home now. Dhole had joked about living with Charon on Nocturne Summit, after all; were they actually looking for a new home and hadn't it been just a joke..?

"Different?" Charon asked, distracted by Sebastian's comment. "Yeah, we're all leaving. Our pack grew small and our Alpha weak, so I decided to take charge and lead everyone to a better future." Perhaps that was kind of a dick thing to say, but whatever. Thistle had been upset that he'd decided for the pack, but for a long time he had been the one making all the decisions, and Charon didn't feel sorry that he was making Thistle look bad towards this stranger. "We're probably going to live on a mountain, since Amekaze from the Sunspire and her wolves will be joining us, and Amekaze loves mountains. But I guess you want to hear more about the sea region from me? I could tell you some things. I was born here." Sebastian had asked about the... different-ness of this area, after all. Charon could only assume that he meant the oceanside, as he was once more reminded that not all wolves were born in its salty scent.

Sebastian wasn't sure if the wolf smelled it but this whole area smelled different to him. Maybe it was just him? Maybe it wasn't. He looked at the wolf, and Sebastian seemed to realize that he had an awful lot of scarring. His ears fell back because he didn't really wanted a fight with anyone. So far the male seemed neutral towards him. "Uhh.. Yeah? Like Salty?," he spoke with some hesitation in his tone. The large male then perked his ears forward to listen to the other male. He was talking about a weak alpha and a new home in the mountains. Sebastian could only nod. He had no idea that he recently walked to one of the territories that they would claim in the future. Sebastian was also not sure what the young male was talking about and which pack.

Sebastian just decided to nod and give the impression that he was listening. "Sounds like a good plan,' he returned politely and swayed his tail for a moment. "I would like that, yes please," he returned. It would be good to know what was around this area and if there was something for him that he could be useful, or not.

Charon noticed the wolf's change in demeanor and he squinted his eyes, not realising what caused this change. His tail flicked tensely. He didn't want a fight or anything. Salty. Charon barely even noticed the difference in scent; perhaps because it was so normal to him to smell it. Sebastian gave him little answer in regards of his plans for a new pack, remaining fairly neutral, but then he said that he would like to learn about the shore area.

"Well, there's lots of animals that live in the ocean. Like crabs, they're small critters that sort of look like rocks with pinchers." Charon looked at Sebastian's face to see if he understood. "And fish, but different fish than the ones that live in the lakes and rivers with sweet water." Charon studied Sebastian's face, hoping to find out if this was the sort of information he was looking for, or if he wanted information on landmarks, or less Naturalist-y things altogether.

Haha Iris! I think you made a direct dutch translation! (Happens to me all the time!) It is Fresh water not Sweet water :P

Sebastian nodded to the male before him when he started explaining about these lands. Sebastian was really interested to explore more about it. The young tank of a male nodded eagerly in response. He didn't know about crabs but he would look for the stones with pinchers. Good to know to be warned about. "I know about fish!," he returned. "I am quite the fisherman actually. So there are different fish? Because of the water right?," he asked to be sure. This was all insanely interesting to him. The male looked excited ready to explore more. "Very interesting thank you," he spoke.

Sebastian then looked around, liking this area. "Are there things I need to look out for?," he wondered. "I can't drink this other water right?," he asked to be sure. He had heard a story of a wolf that became sick because he drank the other water. Water from the sea. He knew the sea was endless until it reached more land. But no wolf ever swam across from it. Sebastian wanted to try swimming in the sea. He liked swimming. He used swimming to strengthen his shoulder after all.

ah right, I did, silly of me :)

Sebastian seemed insanely excited about fish, something that Charon didn't really understand; but at least he had picked the right bit of ocean nature that interested Sebastian. "Yup, there's different fish in the ocean," Charon confirmed. "Some of them look really funny. There are even some that are shaped like stars, but I don't think they're edible." At least the one that Charon had tried when he was little hadn't been, and since then he had never tried again.

Concerning the water, Charon didn't confirm nor deny much. "Well, you could, if you wanted to try," Charon said and he rolled his shoulder in a shrug. "Not really my kind of flavour though." Charon didn't understand why anyone in their right mind would drink that salty water, really.

"So what is it you're looking for? I mean, since you left your old pack and all." Charon was the curious sort, and he couldn't help but delve into Sebastian's personal life to satisfy his own curiosity.

Ah it is totally okay <3

Sebastian nodded, he was definitely going to check out these weird fish. Maybe he could catch one or even try and eat the starry fish one. He really liked all the info he was getting. So there were different fish and the water wasn't something he could drink from. How could those fish live in it then. That needed some more investigation. "Thank you," he returned, very happy with all the new information. This trip could even be very educational! Sebastian was very pleased. Then the topic turned personal again. He looked at the male for a moment before explaining.

"Well, I have a father that doesn't like me so much. He is the alpha of Black Feather Woods. The Caldera is pretty close to it and I disliked running into his minions. Plus, I kinda want a female, a mate, so I decided to head out and try to keep my friends safe from my father's wrath along with trying out the bachelor life," he returned, being honest about why he was leaving. It was no secret for him. This male also had his reasons for starting a new pack.

Charon listened as the male started about the reasons that he'd left Redhawk Caldera. Blackfeather Woods passed, and it surprised Charon to hear that his father ruled it and they didn't like each other much. Not only because it was hard for Charon to fathom someone disliking their own parent -- perhaps because he had none alive, biologically anyway -- but he knew Potema from Blackfeather Woods, and she was a pretty darned cool wolf. He kept this information to himself though. Maybe Sebastian was just dramatizing his information and the feud wasn't as big as he made it. Maybe he just needed a reason to go out on his own and look for a mate, and this was the reason he picked. Who knew.

"Ah, looking for love," Charon said, and he smiled, even though it was a subject that he wasn't well versed in. He knew, y'know, cool wolves, and wolves that made him smile or laugh, and wolves that made him feel at peace, but he wasn't really sure he'd ever felt love. He wondered if it would happen to him when he was Sebastian's age -- he was older, after all, so it could be that it was just the sort of thing that came with time. "Any luck so far?" Charon assumed he wasn't of the weird kind of wolf that hit on same-gender wolves, and he suddenly found himself curious if Sebastian had met any nice ladies yet.

Sebastian felt a bit flustered when the other male commented on his quest for love. "Uh.. yeah," he admitted and looked slightly awkward. "I only traveled for a few days. So I don't expect too much," he returned. "But to answer you question, so far I did not have a lot of luck." He was not so sure how to talk with females or how to even date one but he would learn. He was very interested in females in general which was probably due to his age. He wanted his own female. He was rather cuddly so that should help right? The grey tank shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah gonna try if I might stumble upon a female," he spoke like one just would happen to fall in his lap. 

"Do you have any females you like? Or like a mate?," he asked once he did Sebastian realized that he might be a bit young. On well maybe he had already someone who he fancied. Maybe it was that female he was starting a pack with. That might be an interesting love story now he thought about it.

Charon wasn't sure if leaving your pack was the best way to look for love, but he wasn't about to berate a stranger for their life choices. Everyone made their own, and anyway, life was too short to worry about where another wolf's life choices would lead them. Especially if they weren't part of pack, friends or family.

Sebastian returned the question, and Charon wasn't sure how to respond. He kept his face evenly, not outwardly responding to the question or his indecision about it. "Oh, I'm not really busy with that kind of stuff," Charon said. "I guess that it'll happen when it happens." Charon wasn't too fussed about it yet. What did he need a mate for, anyway? He got plenty of love from his family and his friends. He wondered if he was going to be like Sebastian when he grew older and have an existential crisis over not having a lover. He sure hoped not.

Sebastian noticed that the male was younger than him, he realized that after asking his question. The grey male nodded in reply. It would only be normal for his age not to be interested into love or a mate. Sebastian also found it rather interesting how he suddenly got the courage to get out of his pack and try to live on his own for awhile. Maybe it was just that he felt a bit stuck in life. He wanted to see more and not thing about his problems. Maybe find love. But the finding love was usually the reason he gave to others because he didn't want to talk about this real problems. 

"That is understandable. Well, good chat Charon. I can see why you are a friend of Wildfire. Maybe I will see you around some time?," he spoke, trying to wrap up their conversation, as much as he liked to chitchat he wanted to continue his journey and explore more things. This chat was helpful though, and he liked the scarred and freckled wolf as far as he could like a stranger. The large male nodded his head. "Maybe I will stumble upon your new pack in the mountains one day!"

Their little meeting seemed to be getting to an ending, Charon noted when Sebastian said he might see him around sometime. He felt a burst of pride as Sebastian said he could see why he was a friend of Wildfire. Wildfire was pretty cool, after all. Sebastian then said he might drop by the mountains sometime. Who knew, maybe they'd meet again. As far as Charon knew, their packs didn't have that many desperate lonely females, or he might've suggested Sebastian give it a shot — but Charon knew none. None that he wanted to share, anyway.

"Good luck with your quest." Charon smiled at Sebastian. He nodded one last time to indicate he was leaving and then started to trot on south, so that both he and Sebastian could be on their way in the quests they were fulfilling, both on an entirely different level in life.