Neverwinter Forest guarding the tower

For @Eshe to fill her in on what happened with Mason, also @Goldhawk can have accompanied Scim since they had chased Mason out together. All welcome if they want to hear the story.

The boy was gone back to Silvertip Mountain, and Scimitar was on the search for his mate. @Goldhawk had been invited to join him, but it had also been mentioned to the golden wolf that if he felt he should rest after the jaunt and his injuries, he was welcome to do so.
 
The clipped howl he had sent up had alerted the pack – but it was Eshe he sought now, and if the others came to them to hear the news, they would be welcomed. He strode through the Forest terrain, closer to the heart, where he believed his silver mate might have been.
 
A decision would need to be made and he felt his gentle Alpha Female should be the one to do so.

Goldhawk joined the Alpha because of bally old duty (wot wot). He had been grateful to the older chap for acknowledging that he was still on the mend after previous injuries, but he was damned if he was going to flop around snoring in a den when he could be in on the action. And so the gold-furred soldier was to be found at Scimitar's side (a bit behind, actually, what with knowing his place), long ears a twitchy mix of submissive and alert. Quite the quandary, wot, he commented, for no other reason than because he was a chatterbox.

Eshe had heard the howl, but she had been patrolling and marking other sectors of their land when the sound had come. Kaskara and Keiran were likely at the other edge, and Kyron wherever was necessary.... they had their bases loaded, so to speak, but Eshe had not suspected that any trouble would come. She had believed they had made their peace with Silvertip after the meeting where they had agreed to keep the length of Keiran—from nose to the tip of his tail—distance...

But the instant she had heard it, Eshe was already racing in that direction. The place the call came was enough for her to guess at what was occurring. But it must have been a quick incident, because when she came across Goldhawk and Scimitar there was no third-party to speak of.

Her eyes looked them both over, and there was no injury to speak of. She noted the state of Goldhawk had improved; he was already on his feet and ready for action. Eshe pursed her lips and waited for him to speak, her mind already sorting through the possibilities.

“Quite,” Scimitar answered in turn. His companion might have been a chatterbox, but he was anyway but – but he did not find the difference between the two to be unsettling. They finally came to Eshe, who seemed unimpressed already, and he could only tell that she had also foreseen this – the white Alpha had stalked down to their lands, insulted her, asked them to push their borers back, and within days his subordinates were bounding through, purposely proving to be trouble.
 
“A Silvertip Mountain wolf was just here – he was along our borders and was trying to pass his scent on top of them. He’s been chased back home – but obviously their word means nothing.” He paused, his gaze drifting between the two to see what they had to say on the matter.

The ranger was quite flattered to be brought into the conversation rather than left to watch from the sidelines, but he supposed being quick to join Scimitar on the borders had earned him some respect. It was a jolly thing, a very jolly thing. But instead of simply puffing out his chest with pride, he took the responsibility seriously and elected to say something that might actually contribute to the deliberations. Have you seen the lad before, m'lord? There's a whiff of a chance he could've been a rogue of sorts — a tyke from Silvertip looking to stir up trouble on both sides. In other words, Goldhawk was taking the position of Devil's Advocate for the sake of intelligent debate. What if that fluffy youngster had been disobeying an Alpha who did intend to respect the borders of Neverwinter?

Eshe was aggrieved to hear the words said aloud. She had supposed, yes, but now to know? It was disheartening to she who trusted so freely, but perhaps a lesson. Goldhawk was the voice of reason, and her conscience spoke to her, too. There were many possibilities here. She did not wish to believe FitzDutiful to have called this to action... her thoughts of him contrasted his thoughts of hers, but then, that was the good and trusting heart in her.

She licked her chops. He's right. He might not have been informed of our meeting. The boy was a fool to do so, but we should... we should call for the leader we spoke with that day, speak with him on this. Eshe was aware that the wolf had blatantly disrespected her, but she was not the sort of woman who took it to heart. He was worried for his wolves, and while she would have not reacted as foolishly as to trespass in their lands she understood the worry itself. Her eyes surveyed her mate, wondering his thoughts.

It was mentioned by the golden male to seek clarification on the matter – and Eshe, with her gentle soul, was quick to agree to this. Scimitar gave a nod, his gaze drifting from both of his companions to the borders they had just come from.

“The Mountain leader was concerned we would stir up trouble, but thus far it has only been on their side – we will notify him, in case he does not know,” the regal agreed, his tail giving a sweep. “But I will not tolerate this foolishness for much longer – we have done nothing but stay within our borders and had even moved them back as indication of our good intent.” He paused, glancing back at them once more. “We will seek him out in the neutral area between our territories.” The ivory wolf was bound to find them there eventually.

Having said his piece, he fell silent. Chatty though he was, he was so gosh darn new to the pack there was only so much intel he could contribute. But he nodded, this being directed at both the Lady and the Lord. It was very interesting to learn that the borders of Neverwinter had in fact been pushed back as a goodwill gesture, which made that Silvertip child's move all the cheekier.

The meeting proposed by Scimitar was a prudent strategy, and the new Neverwinter loyalist was primed to obey. It had been a while since his head had been this clear.

Eshe shifted her weight and nodded to her mate. All he said was true. It was only the others who had pushed the bar. Had they not agreed to anything it would have been expected, but this looked bad on the leader. Particularly if his wolf was informed... but then, who was to know for certain? She would hope the news would be relayed that they were to be on good terms but... it might not be the case.

She thought of having only Scimitar go, but she did not trust the Silvertip leader due to this incident and so the thought was vanquished swiftly. Let's do this now, love. The sooner the better, Eshe nodded at that, and looked to Goldhawk. As witness to the event, I'd like for you to come, but if you need rest I would prefer that you get some. She was worried for his wellbeing, and hardly wanted to overwork the man.

Eshe wished to do it now – and he could understand her reasoning. With a nod to her and Goldhawk, the large man began to amble back in the direction of the borders. “And what shall we tell him?” It was best to make sure they were fully on the same page to what they would share, and his own pace quickened slightly – best to get this over with now.

He took a second to read between the lines and decide if the Alphas really did want him to come with or if they were just being polite, and concluded that he should take the offer at face value. Thank you kindly for the thought, marm, but I wouldn’t bally miss it for a boar and a half. Beauty sleep waits, but duty doesn't. With a small (but quite flowery) bow, Goldhawk proceeded to stand and join the pair back to the borders.

His question was thought on for a moment, and she glanced to Kyron and nodded as he spoke of joining them. She had not been speaking of beauty rest, but more... remedial rest. She felt he had understood that, though, and smiled. After a few moments of silence, she looked to her mate. We tell him the truth. We honor, and will continue to honor, our side of the bargain. But that he must inform his wolves of our agreement. Scimitar, he had said a wolf's distance between us, that was his choice. We gave him three of that. It was no misstep, it was done with intent. She breathed in, and looked to Goldhawk and then to her mate. And then we hear him out. Your thoughts are mine, no matter what it is he says. I am with you. Her eyes flashed at that, and she could hardly resist the urge to give him a kiss then and there, but on behalf of Goldhawk she did just that.

Goldhawk made the request to go with them – and the dark agouti regal gave him a small nod. He had yet to meet the wolf until now, though Eshe had told him of her acceptance to both he and another named Kyron. Thus far, they were proving to be decent additions to their forming pack.
 
Sweeping forward, Scimitar’s only response to Eshe was a gentle nod, and he quickened his pace, hoping to get the ordeal over with sooner. He held little hope for the dwindling agreement, but his mate and companion seemed far more positive on the outlook than he did – and so, he lead them past their pack borders and to the neutral areas of the forest they had left for passing mountain wolves.