The Tangle don't look at me with those judgy little eyes

Maybe @Sebastian? Also the prefix says the Tangle but technically Trajan is here, near the river. Got carried away, no need to match length.

After that encounter with the charcoal male, Trajan hadn't met any other pack wolves. He had, of course, caught the scent of many packs on his journey to the North but he had purposely skirted around the edges, not wanting to encounter another potentially aggressive pack wolf just yet. Wait! Don't get any wrong ideas. Trajan loved aggressiveness; he was aggressive himself and he always loved a good fight. But he knew now wasn't the time. Against a full grown pack wolf, he probably wouldn't die but he wouldn't come out unscathed either. They were better fed, probably older and more experienced and well trained in combat. He hadn't fed for days, his fur needed a good wash and he was tired from the journey.

Trajan knew what he needed to do to survive winter. He needed the safety, warmth and comfort of a pack; he needed to join a pack nearby. The thing was, though, that Traj didn't want to join just any pack. He wanted to join a pack that he knew was compatible with him, at least, for a few months and he wouldn't know that if he didn't know anyone from the pack, would he? Think about it. What if, instead of provoking the charcoal male, he'd been there requesting to join instead. Obviously he wasn't going to fit there and the result would be a few months of complete misery. Trajan didn't want that. Life was too short. He was going to enjoy every minute of it.

His search was futile, he knew that, but that didn't stop him from searching, it didn't make him give up. Someday, his stubbornness to keep going regardless of the consequences was going to be the death of him.

Trajan looked around. He had been following a river for ages and had just managed to cross an extremely dangerous and hazardous territory and made it out alive. A feeling of pride and accomplishment usually crossed him at this moment but right now, he only felt apprehension and a slight touch of nervousness. Where would he go now? He had been following the source of water for ages and now, he'd reached a stop; the river went into the sea and he couldn't follow it into the sea could he?

What made it worst was that Trajan just realised it was his birthday today. He was a year old now, and no longer a child. And where was he on that day? In the middle of nowhere. Hungry. Alone. In need of a pack. He almost regretted leaving Noctem Vagus because he knew that on that day, Shadow would be with him, they would be celebrating and having fun. Perhaps he should've waited until his birthday before making the rash decision of leaving. But there was no turning back now, it was too late, way too late to get cold feet (literally).

So Trajan stood there, watching the river split apart, entirely alone and lost in his nostalgic thoughts.

Sebastian hadn't find Haven yet, and it bothered him. He hoped that there wouldn't be anything wrong with her. He couldn't even think of how he would react. The light hearted male had finally found a girlfriend that fitted perfectly with him and he couldn't handle losing anyone else. He had left his family at RHC and now wanted to start a family with her and his friends. It wasn't going so swimmingly. Haven and him made two, then Haven had a sister and brother Maja and Aduin. But Maja hadn't been seen either. A soft sigh left him. Now he was with Aduin, still a loner and to make matters worse a pack settled right next doors with that crazy sea witch lady. Still Sebastian didn't want to give up on the cliffs. He liked Dragoncrest Cliffs and they were perfect to settle. Not only close to the beach, meaning it was less cold, but there was also a bit of forest that could support big game.

Sebastian trotted back to the North where he and Aduin had hunted a seal. They left the carcass because they were so full, and he didn't think there would be many wolves to steal the carcass. It wasn't like the oversized male was that hungry but he could use a snack of Blubber to just ease his tension. Sebastian trotted to the river going into the sea, the carcass still being there. Sebastian sank his teeth into the blubber and munched onto it quietly. That was when some movement caught his attention. The grey tank, just like his father only with a tail, stood by his prey but he was far from aggressive. This male was alone. Sebastian sniffed the air, but couldn't grasp any pack. Was he a loner? Sebastian realized they could use wolves to strengthen their pack in the future. Sebastian let out a chuff in greeting. Licking his muzzle clean as he stepped closer. Even though big in form he carried it in a very non threatening way. Not to be mistaken with being weak. "Hello! I'm Sebastian," he instantly introduced himself keeping a comfortable distance.

Movement. Immediately, the Roman's black, leathery nostrils flared, taking in the fresh, unknown scent of another wolf. Male. Loner. As his nose did its work, so did his eyes. Turning swiftly around on his heels, Trajan fixed his bi-colored gaze on the male, gazing so intensely at the other wolf that for a moment, despite his casual demeanor, the just-turned yearling seemed extremely dangerous. And a moment later, his whole body matched his eyes. It was before Sebastian even spoke when Trajan acted: swiftly shifting into a combative position, ears flattening, nose flaring, black lips peeled back and tail swiping the air threateningly behind him. "What the hell do you want, old man?" Trajan sneered, making a mistake that was entirely not his fault. "I knew you were a freak, but to follow me all the way here from the south? Man, you crossed an entire new level of crazy freakiness. I mean, I know I'm handsome and all that but you've made it clear you don't like me, so what the fu-"

It was at that moment when his eyes landed on the tail. The tail. And he noticed the other wolf's non-threatening manner. His face was also different, despite having almost the exact same distinctive features as the old man back at the creek. Holy, fucking crap. Trajan took a few steps back, face betraying nothing but internally, he was freaking out. How could two wolves look so similar? It was unrealistic, it was some completely not-supposed-to-happen-in-this-world stuff. "Oh my god,"  the yearling said, dropping the aggressive approach. "I'm so, so sorry, mate. I just saw you and -, I thought you were someone else. I'm so sorry," Trajan adopted an apologetic look. "My bad, my mistake. I just thought you were that shithead - sorry for my language- that I met a few days back and I just thought he was creepy stalking me. You look so like him. I'm so sorry, dude."

A corner of his lip quirked in a hesitant smile, a hopeful gleam entering his still intense gaze. "I hope I haven't completely ruined the chance of companionship," Traj said in his smoothly eloquent manner. He might be happy to tell me more about this place, but he has food, so that's a bonus. "I didn't catch your name just now," he winced slightly. "Probably because I was too busy ranting to the wrong person. I'm Romulus," Trajan said, lying about his name because he wasn't quite sure about the other wolf's response yet, having spoken everything really quickly in his typical manner and not really listening to what the gray tank had to say. "What's yours?"

Sebastian was quite surprised when the other started yelling at him and making him out for crazy. The male instantly stepped a bit pack wary of them male he just approached. Maybe he wasn't so nice as he initially thought. Though then the part about being an old man sank into his brain. Did he? Did he just meant his father. Sebastian cleared his throat. Sebastian looked so confused as he was being yelled at. Then the male seemed to realize his mistake. Sebastian hesitantly stepped one step forward again. His tail was in a natural stance. "Well, I probably know the reasoning why I look so much like the wolf that disliked you," he pointed out. His tone was also neutral. He probably met his father Burke. It happened more often, hopefully it would happen less now he moved all the way to the other side. 

Sebastian returned a smile to him. "You have not. Luckily for you I detest my father just as much as you seemed to do," he then returned. A soft laugh came from his throat as he let everything wash over him. Sebastian wondered why Burke had been mad at this guy. He didn't smell at the woods so it possibly wasn't that this male was kicked out. Maybe he came too close to his lands? He might ask that later. "It is Sebastian," he returned. "Nice to meet you Romulus." Sebastian tended to be friendly to strangers, sure he had a few wolves that he would attack on sight, but that were usually not strangers. Sebastian's tail gently swayed. "You must have pissed Burke off one way or another. I just moved away further from him because I just couldn't deal with his wrath," he admitted.

Behind him was still the seal, but he would get to that later before he would offer the other some of his meat. Aduin and him caught it together so maybe he would appreciate their hard work being given away. "Loner in the winter, huh," he then eyes at him. "You might want to settle down soon." Sebastian was a though cause to crack through smell. He did scent after other wolves, though the scent of his girlfriend was fading, yet he also didn't distinctively smelled of a pack. Technically he was still a loner too, a loner with friends.

Trajan was actually quite surprised of Sebastian's reaction when he assumed an aggressive stance and started snarling insults. The gray tank hadn't adopted a combative position in return, or snarled at him for yelling at the wrong man. Instead, he stepped back, wariness clouding his gaze but he did not attack and simply listened and figured things out. Trajan admired that and thought it was probably something that came with experience but then again, Burke hadn't exactly been cool and calm and that dude was way older than Sebastian. The tank had also looked like a confused, adorable puppy and if Trajan was a she-wolf, he would probably have swooned at the cuteness.

Going off topic, Trajan. Concentrate.

The yearling turned his attention back to the older wolf, canting his head slightly and spoke softly, "So you are his son. I had my guesses but I didn't want to be rude," his voice was neutral and betrayed no emotion. While he didn't like Burke, he wasn't going to judge Seb just because his father was a complete dick. Nah. He judged people on their own merits. Trajan had too much encounters with wolves hating him because they hated his father to judge others for their parents. After all, just because you had shit parents (not that his father or mother was shit) doesn't mean you're a shit wolf yourself.

"Do you know the name of the pack Burke's from?" Trajan asked, testing the name of Seb's father on his tongue then chuckled softly to himself. "Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to interrogate you right after I yelled so rudely at you," Actually I did but whatever, I need to win him over. "I just wanted to know the name because I never want to encounter them again, or those affiliated with them." And for my own personal investigation and curiosity, but again, you don't need to know that.

"Nice to meet you, Sebastian," Trajan returned, deciding that he liked being called Romulus (sorry I stole your name, little brother) and wouldn't mind being called that instead of Trajan. "Must be hard for you," the Roman said with a slight dip of his head in reply to the older wolf's statement about moving further away from him because he couldn't deal with his wrath. The boy wanted to ask so much more about Seb but didn't: he didn't want to come off as a prying, arrogant jerk; maybe he would ask Seb later. That is, if they became companions/friends.

"Yeah," Trajan replied with a casual lift of his shoulder, adopting a nonchalant manner. "It's my first winter. Well, not technically my 'first' since I was born in one but I don't remember much about it," he glanced at Seb. "Sorry, I must be blabbing too much. It's been sometime since I had decent company to chat with." The boy's bi-colored eyes drifted to the seal behind Seb and almost licked his chops but restrained himself and fixed his gaze on his companion instead. "I do want to," Trajan began, "I just don't know which one to join. I don't want to accidentally join a pack like the one your dad's in - no offense of course - so yeah." Black nostrils flared and then the yearling tilted his head in a display of childlike curiosity at Seb. "What about you, Sebastian? You're a loner too."

Sebastian let out a bit of a smirk when the other stated hat he was his son. Sebastian didn't take offense in it. It was just the truth, he couldn't deny it really. Sure he wasn't proud of it but hey, he had to learn to live with it. "You have no idea how often I am mistaken at times," he pointed out. "So I am not offended or anything," he spoke with a gentle tone. The bulky male looked over the other as he did want to know the name of his fathers pack. "Well I believe it is named black feather woods," he returned some of the information to him. The male, this Romulus turned out to be a chatty one. Sebastian didn't mind, he could be very chatty himself, but that was usually when he knew someone better.

The grey male glanced at the other grey male, shrugging in return to answer how it must suck for him. Not that it didn't suck at times but he didn't get to choose who is parents were. He was proud of his mother though, not at his father. Oh he missed his mother. Burke never should have left in the first place. That was when everything went to shit. So in that perfective the male did something right. "It is nice to meet you too, Romulus," he spoke politely to him. He had to laugh when he was called decent company. That in fact he was. "It is alright, you can chat away. So you are a yearling huh? You don't look much like one." Sebastian meant that as a compliment. Sebastian was at over 2,5 years now. He was getting older. He wanted his family. He was be so grateful if Haven would show up soon.

Sebastian cleared his throat as he was asked about him. "Well, I am technically a loner but I am trying to start up a pack with my future mate and her two siblings. It would be some progress if Haven and her Sister would not suddenly vanish," he admitted. It was clearly something the male worried about. "I hope they will return soon so we can finalize our claim and settle by the cliffs," he explained to the male. Sebastian then looked over him once again, thinking of how this male would be fitting in his pack. "You could join if you like? We caught a seal, if you hungry feel free to eat it," he offered to him.

Trajan could understand how Sebastian could be mistaken for his father all the time. They just looked so similar that it even began to freak him out. After all, he'd been told that he was a spitting image of his own father but nevertheless he still had his own distinctive features that separated him from his dad. For example, his mis-matched eyes, the unique pattern of silver on his mane and shoulders and the dark agouti pattern on his back. But Sebastian had nothing, he had all his father's colours and a distinctively different face and a tail, obviously but that was all. Obviously Seb was an entirely different wolf inside but on the outside....

Trajan ignored the slight shiver that ran up his spine and turned his attention back to the male, nodding his head when the tank gave him the name of the pack Burke ruled. He could use more information but he had just met Sebastian and he didn't want to pry too much for fear of ruining a good companionship. He'd gone too long without making his snarky comments that it was starting to eat him up inside, Sebastian could be the potential remedy of that. But only if Trajan played it right.

Trajan inclined his head politely to the right in reply to Sebastian's words about it being nice to meet him. Surprisingly enough, Trajan was beginning to warm up to the name Romulus. Maybe, he would take up that name officially when he had a new start. A new start needed a new, cleaner name after all. Not that Romulus, the name, was good for a clean slate given the fact the original guy had murdered his own brother but you got what Trajan meant.

Sebastian's next words surprised him somewhat and he didn't know how to take it. He seemed to have called Trajan old in an indirectly direct manner and while Trajan didn't want to scare away his new companion by acting offended, he was indeed rather offended by that. So he decided on an approach that would hurt neither of them. "I didn't realise I looked that old, Sebastian," Trajan said in a joking manner, face twisted up to look like he was indeed hurt. "You injure me," he said with a laugh, concluding his act. "But yeah, I'm a yearling. Born today, if you believe that. Today's my birthday so I'm now officially a yearling but I wasn't one yesterday," Trajan replied with a crooked grin. "Born in a place called Swiftcurrent Creek in Teekon Wilds, heard about it before? I left soon after I was born to another pack so I don't remember much."

Trajan pricked his and swivelled them forward when Seb began to speak about himself. Apparently he was a loner but was trying to  start a pack with his 'future' mate and her two siblings but some of them seemed to have suddenly vanished. The feeling of jealous plagued Trajan for a moment, he was envious of their seemingly perfect plan but he didn't show it, he even managed to resist the urge to tell Seb that maybe his so called future mate had left him and simply stayed silent. He needed a pack and maybe Sebastian was it.

Surprisingly enough to him, Seb extended an invitation for him to join. Trajan cocked his head, deep in thought, weighting his options before slowly nodding. "Yeah, I'll take the seal, thanks." He began moving forward before a devilish yet wry grin touched his lips and he chuckled. "Kidding. I'll be honoured to join your fledging pack, I'd you'll still have me." And with that, Trajan began tearing into the remains of the seal carcass.

The yearling seemed to be a bit like a joker when he acted all offended that he was guessed older than he looked like. To Sebastian it was only a compliment. The big grey male could actually laugh about Romulus acting so offended. It was nice and silly. It was a good distraction too from what he was worried about. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. "Oh happy birthday," he wished to the male, quite pleased that he offered him the carcass, it was a good birthday gift, especially for a loner like Rom. 

"I do not know Swiftcurrent. I have traveled around so I might have passed it," he returned then. It sounded all rather hectic, being moved as a pup. He grew up in one place, which wasn't such a happy place at all, maybe he would have been more lucky if he had been moved. He would never know. At least he had grown from it. He was a responsible young man, which was probably also why he wanted to start a pack with Haven. It was a natural thing to do for him. He had left his pack to start his own family. He had really matured the last 6 months. 

He watched Romulus eat, who looked quite hungry, the way he was tearing into the carcass. Sebastian just sat down and let him eat in quiet, not bothering him with too many questions other than telling him he was more than accepted. "You are more than welcome. We could use young blood. Hopefully my future mate will return, though... It seems that future grows more grim each day I have to admit," he spoke to the other.

Trajan was still slightly offended at Sebastian's words about looking old, but he suppressed the desire to yell at the other male and simply smiled, enjoying the older male's laughter at his performance. He wasn't an entertainer, never was, and would never be one. He was a wild wolf, aggressive and built for survival, but once in a while, he entertained both himself and others by simply being himself. The sarcastic, impulsive, youthful wolf who was recklessly brazen and often very funny simply by saying what he said on a daily basis but amplified ever so slightly.

So far, so good. It seemed he had gained a new friend. Dipping his silver crown politely in response to Sebastian's good wish of 'happy birthday', he smiled delightedly. "Thanks, Bastian," Trajan said with a grin, then frowned. "Do you mind if I call you Seb or Bastian?" he asked with a casual lift of his shoulder, in his opinion, if they used these can of nicknames, it seemed as if they were actually slowly becoming closer despite actually being...only a bit more than strangers. "You can call me Rom, or Romu," the silver prince smirked, "Romulus can be a mouthful, at times." Trajan had decided that he would be Romulus from this moment on; no longer Trajan, but Romulus, the founder of Rome.

A new start. A new name. Trajan now released that the chances of him going back to Noctem Vagus were very slim. Adventure awaited ahead and here, he might even be able to build a family. Gone were the days of princedom; he didn't think he would ever go back and become the Emperor. So much awaited him in these wilds, he had to build something for himself, not inherit a kingdom from his father. That proved nothing of his worth, only of his father's. He wanted, no, he needed to have something that was purely his, not something that was passed down father to son. There was nothing wrong with ruling Noctem Vagus, it just wasn't his, and it would never be his. Here in the wilds, however, he had the chance of making something that was purely his and he felt like it was much better than inheriting a throne.

"Ah well, I don't suppose it really matters," Trajan said with a shrug in reply to Seb's comment about Swiftcurrent. He had inquired because he thought there was a chance he might be able to see Julius, Relonikiv again and maybe even Paarthurnax, his mother or Durnehviir, his sister. Seb did not know, but others might and while it didn't really matter, seeing them again would be really nice. "Thanks," Trajan said through a mouthful of seal. Then he swallowed and met Sebastian's gaze evenly, "if she loves you, if she followed you to build a new place for yourself, then she'll come back," he told him calmly. "Besides, it's always better to live for the present, not for the past or for the future. That's what I do. Life's easier that way. Or maybe it's just because I'm still young." the corner of his lip quirked upward in a rather devilish grin and he lifted a shoulder in an amused half-shrug as he began tearing into the seal once more.

From now on, he would be Romulus. Well, not technically from now on seeing as it would take time to get used to the name. But this was his cue for a new start and with it came a new name.

Sebastian looked up at the nickname, it had been awhile since someone used a nickname on him. Often they used his full name. He did like Bastian, or Bas, or Seb. He wasn't too difficult with listening to something that sounded like his name. "What you like best using," he returned. He was pretty laid back and not tense like some males. Sebastian liked to keep things casual since then it would often be less complicated. "I think I like Rom," he returned, now they were exchanging nicknames. Sebastian stayed quiet for a moment as Rom seemed to be in thought too. The sounds of the sea made the grey male a bit calmer. 

Sebastian let out a softer sigh as Romulus gave him some advise on the whole matter. "Well, true. I guess," he spoke, not too sure about his words. There could be many reasons that she wasn't returning, some not being in his control. Romulus was still young and he probably never suffered heartbreak. But Sebastian did and he wasn't too keen on suffering another one. He wasn't entirely sure what he would do if Haven wasn't returning to him. Would he still start the pack? Go through all that trouble? Sebastian wasn't sure about it at all. With all of those thoughts haunting his mind he let Romulus distract him. Maybe he could give him a tour later of where they wanted to settle.

- fade end? - 

Fade end here and then maybe a new one showing the territory to Rom or something like that? Not sure if the pack will form since I haven't heard back from Haven's player.

@Sebastian Sounds good to me. Maybe Seb can also introduce Alduin to him?

Sebastian didn't seem to mind what kind of name Romulus used and for a moment, the Roman was tempted to use some kind of horrible nickname just to see if his newfound companion would respond but in the end, decided against it because he was very hungry. The taste of blood on his tongue, the rich blubber and the delicious meat had awakened the gnawing hunger in his belly and the wolf was devouring the carcass very quickly. In this state of mind, Rom didn't even care if Sebastian wanted to keep the seal for later. He had invited the yearling to eat, and therefore, he could do whatever he wanted to do with the seal.

Lifting his silver crown only once to flash a toothy, and very bloody smile at Seb after he said he liked the nickname of 'Rom', he mostly kept silent and tore into the seal carcass. It tasted great. Father had often told him stories about seals but he had never eaten one more. Now, Romulus decided he could eat more of those fish-dogs and was very eager to follow Seb to the territory he wanted to claim with his 'future mate' but only after he was done with his meal. "Take me on a tour after I'm done?" Romulus said, resting for one second before he continued devouring the seal again.

Life was great.