Stavanger Bay wash away

After gathering some information and yet knowing not everything he had hoped for, Cicero decided to try and hone his spy skills a bit more. He'd been more like an ambassador of late, and while it interested him as much as being a spy (besides, in Cicero's eyes, acting like an ambassador made for a damn good spy, for if people were comfortable, they'd tell you things) he wanted to try out something different now.

Once he reached the shoreline, Cicero took a moment to look at the ocean, and then lay down and rolled along the shoreline, into the salty water and the sand. Soon, he no longer smelled as much of Blackfeather Woods, and much more of the salty ocean and wet sand he had rolled around in.

I should probably get him one or two new ones ;) hehe

The pack sharing their coast did not seem to want trouble as of yet, though Dante wasn't quite sure he believed the captain to be a man of his word in this regard.  If it came down to their pack or Donnelaith, he doubted the other alpha would hesitate in conflict too much, for were it the other way around, he would not do so either.  Lasher's thoughts on the matter were harder to read, especially now when Dante felt slightly at odds with the dark druid.  It wasn't a place he liked to be in, but he found himself stubbornly there regardless.

Despite the wary peace, Dante hadn't stepped down his focus, especially with Osprey's situation.  And he especially did not take kindly to strangers passing near.  The fact that the stranger before him now was male only made it worse.  He could barely stand to be near male packmates right now. 

He'd spotted the stranger from where he walked along the beach, though it wasn't until he got a bit closer that he recognized anything specific.  It was not a wolf he'd ever seen, but his stance became aggressive as he approached, and his tail and head both rose stiffly.  There was a growl in his tone as he accosted him, wasting no time in getting to the point of the matter as he moved in closer.  "What are you doing here?"  You are not welcome on these shores

Just as he finished filling in the rolling waves and sand to wash away his scent, another wolf approached. His stature was tall and proud, dominant even, and Cicero was quick to duck to the ground. Mismatched eyes shared a quick glance at the man before him while he assumed a submissive position, tail tucked between legs. It was really hard not to walk away and to make himself so vulnerable in front of a male, but he reminded himself that it wasn't always the same, not all men just took, and that Sheogorath, probably a big instigator in the scene with the white wolf, was far away.

Deciding to play dumb, Cicero said, "Oh, I, sorry. This... It's not claimed, right? I'm sorry if I'm too close, I... I was looking for a friend, and I hadn't been close to the ocean before, so when I saw it, I..." He trailed off, having decided to take up Inari's moniker for now. He was easy enough to mimic, and after trailing off Cicero looked at the sandy ground while he submissively licked his lips.

"This land is not, but you are close."  Perhaps not too close on a normal day, but now, for Dante, even this distance was not enough.  He relished any excuse to exert his own position, something too detrimental to practice on packmates but perfectly acceptable with those loners who happened to cross his path.  "Too close."  He wouldn't attack a submissive wolf, but he didn't exactly respect personal space either.  Moving in, he made to close the gap deftly, hoping to make the other wolf back up more.  If he gave up ground, the Beta won, and hopefully could send him running back where he came from.  The last two words held a slight rumble; a warning.

"I — I'm sorry," Cicero mumbled, further delving into the role of Inari. It seemed like Inari would mumble an apology in this situation. This actually reminded Cicero a little of his own run-in with Inari, where he had hired him as spy and tumbled him around for his own satisfaction. He wondered if this wolf had similar beefs to settle with himself; if he had experienced a similar loss of control as Cicero had.

Setting aside the other guy's feelings, Cicero backed off at his threatening body language, understanding wolf talk all too well. He looked up from the corners of his eyes and licked his lips submissively while he said, "It's just, I... I had a friend at this place called Blacktail Deer Plateau and I — the pack's gone. Do you know, uhm... do you know where they went?" He studied the guy's face, hoping to gather a hint of what he knew — if he knew. Hopefully playing meek would help him fulfill his mission better.

He submitted further, appeasing Dante some.  Yet still he prepared to chase the male off, as every nerve in him dictated he should, until words spoken gave him pause.  The rumble shut off even while his expression remained stony.  "Who is this friend?"

He was suspicious.  But few knew that their pack had relocated to the shore, leading him to believe this wolf could have some connection to a packmate of his.  For a wolf who said he did not know, he'd guessed pretty damn well.  And if this was true, accosting him on neutral ground could present more a problem than it was worth.  Perhaps.  That judgement could be made after an explanation was further given.

The fact that the other wolf, though his façade remained stony, would ask him about the name of his 'friend' lead Cicero to believe that he knew more. Considering he had ran into Caiaphas too, who knew but refused to tell, it would not surprise Cicero to find their pack somewhere along the coastline in some form or other. There was a pack nearby, he had smelled it, but was now glad that he had not gone to its borders like he had with the other packs, if they were all as defensive as this one was. A name, however, was yet to be given. Of course Cicero knew no one from the pack, but he had his solutions already laid out for that problem.

"She uh..." He looked away, feigning bashfulness while he remained submissively crouched, "We had these, ehr — nicknames for each other. Mine was Flowers, 'cause she thought I was such a softie..." Cicero smiled briefly, almost beginning to believe his own web of lies and the friend of the Plateau. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling — I called her Rocky, 'cause she was agouti in fur. I know it's silly, I'd just... I hadn't visited a while and then she was gone, and I'd really like to get in touch again." He finished his words softly, almost feeling guilty in the elaborate haux that he had made up. But talking as the friendly ambassador Cicero had not given him the results that he wished for when he visited a variety of packs and spoke to a variety of wolves. Had he been Cicero of Blackfeather Woods, surely there would have been just another turning him the cold shoulder now, and so desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, this added a zing to the information game that certainly pushed Cicero's buttons in all the right ways.

At first, when he mentioned nicknames, Dante immediately thought he had run into yet another friend of Osprey, and he was not pleased about this.  Not now.  She wasn't exactly 'agouti' though, nor was anyone he could recall off the top of his head.  Funny considering the common nature of the gene.  It might have been a decidedly unhelpful descriptor in most packs, but in theirs, most of the females were ivory.

"I have seen none who fit that," he said finally, "and the plateau is no more.  Perhaps your friend has moved on."  Perhaps, if there had been more to it, he would have shared their new location.  But he had no desire to have this wolf hanging around their lands hoping to run into a friend who no longer resided there.

It was a shame that there weren't any wolves matching that description in the man's pack; either that, or he was hiding things. Regardless, it didn't look like there would be much information gained here, and Cicero let out a disappointed sigh, heaving his shoulders a little, to signify that he was disappointed he would not be finding his alleged friend today.

"Yeah, I... The plateau was empty, I'd seen... I wish I knew where to look. I guess I'll never see her again." There was a lingering sadness to his face as he thought of this, identifying with the character he was playing. Most could; most everyone had lost a friend at some point in life. "Can I ask... Are you from that pack over that way..? What's it called, could I ask?" Cicero asked tentatively, as he gestured in the Sentinels' direction. He'd intended to visit but perhaps such would not be necessary if he was meeting one of their wolves right here. Especially if all wolves of the pack were so guarded.

While Dante could relate to the dejection of a lost friend, there was no sympathy now.  Only a fierce desire to keep this stranger as far from their territory as possible.  It was nothing personal - it would have been the same for any male approaching during this time and unfortunate enough to meet with the Beta.

There was probably no harm in telling him what he wished to know, but Dante's patience was short.  So he shook his head and growled.  "You don't need to know.  Go."  And after, he snapped forward, hoping that would drive the boy to exit.  Likely his affiliation could be guessed, but he wasn't about to stick around longer for small talk.  Already he could feel anxiety for Osprey settling in once more.  He needed to find her.

The information given between the lines was more than enough for Cicero to know some things or others. Perhaps not the name of the territory, but at least a link of some sort to the Plateau. He did not know if they were the very same pack, for many packs had been strange and had lied to his face about things he knew to be untrue — Neverwinter Forest an example, for Goldhawk had shared that its leadership was seasoned in the area and yet Scimitar had said he was new — but it was hard to piece together which lies were for what purpose. When the male told him to leave and physically warned, Cicero wasted no time leaving.

He turned around, remaining low to the ground, and walked away, further southeast so that he could discover the southwestern region with his newfound anonimity to see what information it would bring him, before ultimately heading home.

thanks for the thread (:

No prob!  It was fun :D maybe they'll run into one another again on better terms haha!

Thankfully the wolf finally took heed and departed, his retreat acceptably swift and lowkey.  Pleased he'd prevented further conversation and the young male from sticking around or poking his nose closer, Dante continued a roundabout course back to Donnelaith.  He would keep an eye out as he went for others who sought deterring.