Moonspear close your eyes to see

@Bernard!

Rannoch meandered with purpose along Moonspear's border. Although he and @Terance had just completed their inspection of the territory's boundary, Rannoch lingered to dive deeper into some of the particular scents that he had sampled along the way. Rannoch sauntered along the invisible fence with his eyes trained to the adjacent territory and his nostrils flared. 

It was in mid-step that the scent of fox came to him; it had been long since Rannoch had sampled such a fresh sampling of the aroma, and frankly, it caught him off guard. With a forelimb still suspended in mid-air, Rannoch's head swung in the direction that the smell came from; the location of where the scent originated indicated to Rannoch that the fox within their territory. Although his stomach dropped at the realization, Rannoch wasted no time in acting on the problem.

With a growl rumbling from the back of his throat, Rannoch turned in the direction that the smell came from and started off on stiff limbs. Although he had limited experiences with foxes, Rannoch knew that he had to track down the nuisance and make sure he removed it from their claim.

To further familiarize himself with his new home, Bernard decided to patrol the perimeter of the territory on his own. He walked at a leisurely pace, though this still moved him reasonably far with each stride. The crisp air bothered him none, and he took in a deep breath before releasing it with a puff of rushing steam before his nostrils. As he did, he recognized a familiar but unwelcome scent within the borders—fox. While not usually an aggressive man, foxes were not welcome visitors with their thieving tendancies. So, he headed towards it at a trot, intending to chase it off.

As he moved inwards, he caught scent of a pack member he had yet to meet. Not having caught sight of the fiery nuisance yet, he changed his trajectory. While he did, he realized the wolf was moving in the same direction. Perhaps he had the same idea. When the grey male came into view, Bernard gave a low chuff in greeting. I don't believe we've met before. My name is Bernard—I'm a new recruit, He introduced with a toothy grin.

It was in the midst of Rannoch's tracking that he crossed paths with an individual that he had not yet been acquainted with. He halted and turned towards Bernard as he other voiced his approach, and as Rannoch's eyes fell upon him he couldn't help but stare a just a second too long; he had never met an individual with as an intriguing heritage as Bernard. 

When his packmate introduced himself, Rannoch felt a smile cross his lips. "Bernard," he greeted, his expression warm, "I remember hearing your name when you were accepted— it's nice to finally meet you." Rannoch couldn't help but acknowledge how impressive the other was in size; it wasn't often that Rannoch's stature was rivaled by another's. "I'm Rannoch, Epsilon of Moonspear, and I was on my way to get rid of a fox. Want to join me?" 

Rannoch's intrigued look was nothing new to him, and Bernard felt no offense from it. He seemed quite friendly, so his tail gave a slight wave. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rannoch, He replied with a polite bow of his head. When Rannoch mentioned his plan of ridding the territory of a fox, Bernard said, Small world; I was on my way to do the same. Let's go. His grin became quite devilish then, and he trotted off in the fox's direction with Rannoch presumably in tow.

Finally, the creature came into view, and he stopped, eyes widening with interest. It was currently facing away from him, nose to the ground in search for something—probably a cache that didn't belong to it. Bernard crept towards it on quiet paws, though a lumbering beast such as he could only be so stealthy. The fox soon took notice of him, and he shoved off of the ground with great force to bound towards it. It would suffice to simply chase it out while giving it the scare of a lifetime, though Bernard was looking to practice his hunting—even if smaller prey would never be his forte.

Rannoch was pleasantly surprised to learn that he and Bernard had been following the same trail. Small world, indeed. "Lead the way," he prompted, happy to take a supportive role in their pursuit to exterminate the vermin from their territory. 

They kept to themselves as they crossed the territory; the time for pleasantries would come after their job was done. When their target was spotted, Rannoch stopped and looked to Bernard for any instruction. As the other wolf stalked forward, he followed after on light paws. It did not take long for them to be noticed, and when this occurred, Bernard chared forward. As Rannoch lurched forward, he yipped at his hunting companion, as if requesting the instruction on where he should go.

The fox flitted about with speed and grace Bernard could only dream of. It was like a small flame dancing across the ground, and had he not been the one in pursuit of it, perhaps he'd be mesmerized by its movements. Rannoch requested instruction to assist him—and he would surely need assistance to successfully catch the vermin—so he called out, Go to your left! Then, he circled around the fox to herd it towards Rannoch. If Rannoch followed his instruction, both of them would be closing in on either side of the little flame to snuff it out, giving it less options on where to escape.

Rannoch's trajectory changed as Bernard voiced the direction in which he wanted Rannoch to charge at the fox. Unlike the canine before them, he was less than graceful as he corrected his path. Due to the slippery ground underpaw, Rannoch found it hard to secure his footfalls. But despite the difficulty, he managed to keep the course. 

With Rannoch and Bernard charing their opponent from opposite directions, he was left to wonder what would happen next— surely his packmate had some trick up his sleeve. The two burly men were charging head-first towards each other, and sensing that his hunting partner was near, Rannoch stole a glance of Bernard with a questioning look in his eyes. Time was of the essence, and if they didn't act fast, they would collide, and the fox would escape unscathed.

Permission to PP!

Everything had gone according to his plan, but... Well, his plan hadn't been all that grand. Bernard was just going with his gut. He strategized better working with large prey that wasn't so fast; it gave him more time to think. He was hoping Rannoch could snag it, but he gave him a concerned glance. Then, an idea struck him. Circle to your left and close in on it! Bernard barked out before circling in the opposite direction while closing in on the fox. This way, they had a greater chance of one of them being in position to snag it, no matter which way it flitted next.

When Rannoch obeyed, the fox banked right to avoid him, sending it right for Bernard. He lurched forwards with monstrous jaws parted. When they clamped shut, he felt a rush of satisfaction to find the creature's flesh caught between them. It screamed in pain the way only foxes knew how, the noise grating on his ears. Bernard thrashed his head, feeling its flesh tear between his teeth. The taste of copper flooded his tongue, and its screaming soon ceased.

Finally, he dropped the little flame, licking his chops as he looked at Rannoch, panting. Good work, He said breathlessly with a smile. Couldn't have done it without you.

It all happened in a flash; the fox laid lifelessly at their paws, and Rannoch stared at the body as he attempted to catch his breath. His concentration only moved from the corpse when Bernard spoke, and he flashed his packmate a smile. "You too," Rannoch rejoined with a wave of his tail. "You did an excellent job of leading that hunt," he added; Bernard's management had impressed him. 

Once Rannoch's breathing regulated, he stepped forward and nudged the dead creature. "You hungry?" he asked. If he wasn't, Rannoch knew where the nearest cache was established, and they could deposit the body there.

Assuming Bernie and co. are successful on their hunting trip, lmao.

Thank you, Bernard replied humbly, finding his breath slowly but surely coming back to him. His tail instinctively began to wag when Rannoch's started up. He quite liked this fellow. They'd have to hang out more. Rannoch asked if he were hungry, and he shook his head, having had his fill earlier on his hunting trip with Wraen and Tam. Nah. Where do you normally cache food? He inquired with a slight tilt of his head.

"Yeah, we have a few scattered throughout the territory but, thankfully, there's one near us," he reported, knowing that the walk from their location to the cache would only last about five minutes. "I'll carry the fox if you tell me a little about yourself?" he offered, deciding that it was a fair exchange.

More PP, hope it's alright. :3c

Fair enough, He agreed with a chuckle. When Rannoch took their prize in his jaws and headed in the direction of the cache nearby, Bernard began to explain a bit about himself as he walked alongside him. I came from a small family pack—just my parents and my littermates. My father was a Caucasian shepherd—a dog—and my mother was a wolf. They were an ironic pair, but a good one. I was separated from them and ended up here. Met Wraen, and she told me about Moonspear. Charon had me spar a gray fellow... Terance. And, well, now I'm here, He finally concluded, hoping that Rannoch was satisfied with his story.

Their destination was an abanded foxhole that was tucked into the foothills of the mountain; it's location was harder to locate due to the snow that surrounded the entrance. The only indication of its presence was the familiar entrance and scent that came from within; this location was the one that Rannoch usually sought when contributing to it. 

By the time that the pair of wolves had made it to the cache, several questions had formulated in Rannoch's mind. He knew that it would be hard to understand him with his mouth full, and so Rannoch kept his comments at bay until he was able to nudge the body into the crevice.

"What's the difference between a Caucasian Shepherd and a dog?" he wondered as he turned fto face Bernard once more; Rannoch did not know much about dogs, and the further classification confused him.

After depositing their prize, Rannoch inquired him about dogs. Bernard was happy to explain. My father told me a Caucasian shepherd is a type of dog. There are many different kinds that vary greatly from one another. His kind is used to protect humans' territories, but he left with my mother to live with her, since the humans would kill her if she stayed with him, He finished.

Although Rannoch now understood the what he had inquired about, there was a portion of his packmate's explination that he didn't understand. "They would have killed your mother?" he echoed innocently with a look of disbelief. "Why would the humans do that?" Rannoch knew very little of humans but, it seemed extreme to him that they'd kill Bernard's mother because she was a wolf.

Bernard's ears flattened slightly at the images that resurfaced of his mother being killed—not by humans, but by her own packmates. He quickly dashed his discomfort to answer Rannoch's innocent question, Well, my father and some other dogs originally meant to keep her away. The humans kept prey animals on their territory for some reason, and they don't take kindly to other animals eating them. He gave a shrug. Humans are strange creatures, even to him.

With a grin, Bernard asked in turn, What about you? What's your story?

Bernard's story didn't sit well with Rannoch; there were so many questions that came from the information he had been told. But despite his growing interest in humans, Rannoch noticed that his query had caused his packmate's ears to fall, and he didn't want to have Bernard's mood sour just to benefit his curiosity. Another knowledgeable source could answer his inquests. "They seem really strange," he agreed with a nod. 

Like Bernard, Rannoch had some aspects of his history that he was not entirely comfortable sharing. Although he had accepted that his  To benefit the flow of their conversation, Rannoch gave Bernard an abridged version of his past. "I was born in a territory not too far away from here called Neverwinter Forest. Eventually, I started a pack of my own much farther away called Northstar Vale. While looking for my brother, Cypress, one day, I was attacked by a wolf from Blackfeather Woods and was saved by Hydra and her sisters. They brought me back here, tended to my wounds, and I've been a member here ever since," he explained, skirting over some of the more delicate details of his life.

Bernard was sure Rannoch had more questions, and he'd like to answer them, but being reminded of his parents knowing they were now gone was opening a fresh wound.

He was grateful that Rannoch refrained for asking more and listened intently to his own story. When Rannoch finished, he asked incredulously, You had your own pack? That was impressive and certainly unexpected. However, a more pertinent question came to him once he snapped out of his stupor. Blackfeather Woods? Why did they attack you?

Bernard's dubiously-spoken statement did not phase Rannoch; he had grown accustomed to how other's perceived the information. "Yeah," he replied with a wag of his tail. "We were all pretty young, and leading just felt right," Rannoch elaborated, feeling a sudden pang of nostalgia. "I miss it," he admitted, his voice softer. It had been quite some time since Rannoch had acknowledged his urges, and it felt nice to say it out loud. 

When inquired about Vaati's motive, Rannoch shrugged. "I honestly don't know," he revealed, "I had met the wolf previously when he was a child but, the only thing that really happened was that I pointed him in the direction of the ocean. I've thought about it a lot, and the only motive that makes sense to me is that I might have pointed him in the wrong direction."

That seems just a tad... Extreme, Bernard said with concern and a doggish tilt of the head. Well, I'm glad you're alright, He added with more pep. With another look towards the cache, he said, It looks like we're finished here. He turned to head away from the site. I'll be heading off to finish my rounds. You can join me, if you want.

Rannoch agreed with Bernard— it had been extreme. He had been fortunate to have survived the attack. 

Bernard mentioned his desire to continue the patrol and invited Rannoch along. "I'd love that," he answered, quickly accepting his packmate's invitation. 

The pair of burly men went to work, keeping their attention primarily on their job. Rannoch made sure that Bernard felt acclimated to pack life, and that he didn't have any questions about the pack. If any questions arose, Rannoch answered them. The pair did their job for quite some time and only parted ways once they were satisfied with what they had accomplished together.