Ankyra Sound ok, so there's this girl

hoping for @Slancio!

Bain knew he needed to make a few more friends in the pack; he had been hanging out with Ondine for most of his time, though it wasn't like that was a bad thing. He actually viewed her as just a bit more than a friend. He grinned, thinking about their flirtatious exchanges and conversations. He wouldn't brag about it, but the gangster was proud that he found a girl so, well, interesting. He remembered her mentioning a wolf named Slancio, deciding that was who he was going to call for.

The gangster couldn't help but start to think about the fellow. Was he close to Ondine? How close? A rush of sudden anxiety overtook him; he wanted to her to be with him, not someone else. However, the feeling wore off, causing Bain to shake his head at his own strange behaviour. 

The coywolf tilted is head up, sending out a call for @Slancio to come and meet him. Surely he would be a good man, since Ondine described him as so.

So we finally meet! I'm assuming this is taking place before Caiaphas' death to avoid complications for now

The same afternoon had found Slancio resting quietly by the coast, watching the gentle waves lap onto the shorelines. It was a comfortable afternoon, the sun peeking out from a shielf of clouds, leaving a warm day, but not glaring hot. Small droplets of saltwater occasionally splashed onto him, is head cushioned softly between his paws. He was slowly falling asleep, eyes dropping closer to the blissful feeling of sleep as he listened to the sound of ocean.

The howl that split the air was most definitely not part of his plans. He sat up, irritated by whoever was calling him. The call was clearly for him, yet he could not fathom why anybody had a specific reason to see him this afternoon.

Nonetheless, he got up, letting the distraction wash over him. He headed back towards the grotto, making his way towards whoever had called him. It wasn't lng before he was nearing the source of the call, a shorter, slimer wolf with rust colored fur. Canting his head, as he dimly remember this was one of the wolves at the hunt, he walked towards the other.

That sounds like a good plan to me!

His full attention was on the gray form trotting towards him, figuring he was the wolf that he had called for. Bain gave the male a slight nod of acknowledgement at his arrival as he neared. "Slancio, I assume?" he mused, glancing at the male. "I'm Bain, if you didn't know that already," the gangster grinned.

"Your friend Ondine told me about you, so I wanted the chance to meet you personally," he explained, thinking back to their first conversation where Slancio's name had been mentioned. Ondine seemed to admire this wolf, so he couldn't really think badly of him either.

To say he was surprised when the stranger called him by his name was an understatement. What the hell? Was this guy a stalker or something because he had never had any interactions with him, not that Slancio could remember anyways. Scrunching up this nose, he tried to place any possible conversations he's had with the wolf and came up blank. He canted his head when the rust colored wolf introduced himself as Bain.

"Okay...??? And you know be because..." He asked hesitantly. Thankfully Bain chosen the moment to tell him that Ondine had talked about him. Smiling fondly at the mention of Ondine, he nodded. "I see. I bought Ondine to Saltwinter, actually. It's nice to meet you as well." Slancio might as well broaden his connections while he's at it, sending a mental word of thanks to Ondine.

Was the other male giving him attitude? Bain paused. No, he was just confused. Perhaps when talking to strangers, opening with their name was kind of creepy, especially if they hadn't met him before. He eased as a smile spread to Slancio's lips, possibly due to his mention of Ondine. Again, even without Ondine actually there, she still made the situation better.

He listened as Slancio spoke, ears pressed forwards to show his interest. According to what he said, he had been the one to bring her to Saltwinter. Bain gave him a mental "thank you". "Well, it's nice to meet you," he grinned, giving the male a respectful dip of his head. "Ondine and I have become good....friends," he trailed, not quite wanting to get into their relationship yet. Ondine had said they were just friends, but maybe Slancio didn't feel the same. If so, Bain didn't want to take the risk of mentioning it so soon.

Slancio paused for a moment, wondering if he was coming off as rude. It was true he was somewhat irritated from being disturbed from his rest but he was always open to new friends. Bain relaxed after he mentioned Ondine though, leading him to raise an eyebrow, wondering what the relationship between the two were. Slancio himself wasn't pursuing Ondine in any way, holding no feelings for her but friendship. She was a good friend, he'd admit, but not who he'd be interested in, at least not yet.

"I'm never opposed to some new friends. I believe I've seen you at the pack hunt?" He replied, striking up a conversation. He was surprised by the head dip he got, a gesture he normally didn't get. With Bain's next sentence, his suspicions of their thoughts on each other only grew. "I...see." He said, smirking slightly. If Ondine was interested in him, Slancio would be behind her ready to support her.

Bain tapped into the small-talk immediately, a fan of idle conversations and just talking in general. "Yes, I recall seeing you at the hunt," he nodded, thinking back to the male's presence in the pack activity. He didn't really associate Slancio with anything at the time, but now, he was getting to know him. Maybe they'd even become like brothers -- a term he used loosely back in his gang-like pack to describe close friends.

He cleared his throat as Slancio picked up on the hints he had dropped about him and Ondine. A smirk formed on his lips as well, and he spoke, "She's quite the beauty -- wonderful to be around. Good company for the mind and the eyes, if you catch my drift," he laughed. He joked around quite a bit, but he really did feel things for the girl and hoped Slancio wouldn't doubt that.

"Weren't you paired with Lusca?" He remembered the mother of the pups, wondering if they had left the pack since he had not seen them after he had returned back to Saltwinter. There were no scents of pups anywhere, and the ones he did find were stale and old. "The hunt seemed like a long time ago now that the days have pasted," He mused, trying to remember how many days it had been since he had last seen the full pack he had known when he joined together.

He shared a brief moment of a smirk with Bain, wondering how far his relationship with Ondine had gone. "She's wonderful to be around, that much is true. But I suspect you'd find her better company when it's night than I would." He jested, giving the other male a playful shove. Bain's feelings for Ondine were sincere, Slancio would tell, He just hoped the rust colored wolf wouldn't hurt his friend by accident.

His mind flashed back to the hunt, seeming so far away although in reality, it wasn't too long ago. "Yeah, I remeber Lusca. She was...well, she skipped the warm introductions, I suppose," he laughed, remembering the short amount of time he had spent with her. Slancio spoke again, and Bain nodded, for he was thinking the same thing a few moments ago. "Yeah, it does seem like forever ago."

He grinned as Slancio returned his smirk, speaking again. He caught on to what he was saying and raised a brow. He was glad that Slancio seemed to get what was going on with the two, and spoke of it in a way Bain was comfortable with. Ultimately, that meant he kept cracking jokes, keeping the situation light. "Oh, I'd find her better company at any time," he laughed.

Slancio was slightly stunned when he heard what Bain had said. His shock soon turned to amusement easily enough, though. "Wait are you saying you guys did know each other before the hunt? I thought you guys were friends." He chuckled, stifling a laugh. Lusca was brave to pick somebody she had not met yet. "Barely been one or two months, yet it seems like it's years away. I miss those times..." He trailed off slowly. 

The tension eased away, considering there was never much in the first place when Bain seemed to be relieved when he had simply accepted the news, cracking a joke instead of turning serious. It was clear the other wolf was more of a comedian than a fighter, and Slancio's jest let him stay in his comfort zone. "Hmm, that might be true. I wouldn't want to be tied down so easily, but maybe you do?" He kept his tone light. He wasn't looking for a significant other, at least for the time being, but he was glad Ondine did.

Bain grinned. "Well, I didn't really know anybody before the hunt, truth be told. I mean, I had talked to a few others, but that was about it," the gangster shrugged. "But yeah, Lusca scared even me, and that's hard to do," the male joked lightly, thinking back to the time where he had had his first pack hunt. He nodded his head in agreement as Slancio continued to speak. It did seem like such a long time ago, and he did somewhat miss those days too.

Luckily, the somber air dissapeared as Slancio spoke again. Bain liked this man, he knew how to cater to personalities, or so the gangster thought. Steering the conversation back towards a light, funny atmosphere was usually the better option in his opinion. Bain smiled when Ondine was brought up, raising a brow.

"Ondine doesn't tie me down," he shook his head. "She lifts me up." It sounded extremely corny, but it was true. And he could only hope that he had the same effect on her.

"I suppose Saltwinter is mostly a ragtag bunch, but I wouldn't have it any other way," He shrugged. There were no specific bloodline or family residing in Saltwinter, and Caiaphas had once said that the pack had been born out of loners trying to survive winter. Saltwinter took any wolf in as long as they can contribute, and Slancio was glad Caiaphas had considered him worthy when he had arrived. "I wonder where Lusca is now, though. The last I saw of her, she had a batch of four pups." he had only met the mother once, but she had left a memory.

Bain's posture relaxed slightly when Slancio let the air turn friendly again, confirming his thoughts on the other wolf. He was glad Ondine had found somebody who could match her sense of humor. He gives a small laugh at Bain's words, pretending to make a face. "Cheesy," He mocks. The line was overused in his opinion, but if Bain's stradegy was to use pick up lines then so be it. "I'm sure she does, though," He adds on an afterthought.