Frostfire Ridge it is not meant to be

for any IKK wolves

There was no doubt about it--Zamael was bored. Bored, and restless, too. He had lost Alarian to Delight--and while he was obviously over the moon for his brother, there was an underlying resentment that festered within him. He had not yet brought up the fact that he was here to bring Alarian and Eris home; he knew this news would not be met with anything less than utter resistance.

It was pointless. It was all fucking pointless, really. And for the first time since arriving here, Zamael started to regret coming. Only in his worse moments, mind. . .but it was a thought that did cross his mind, occasionally. Okay, more often than he would admit.

Today, he decided to go for a walk. Just a little walk to clear his head. Look at some flowers, check out the scenery, chase some birds, or some shit. Whatever made him happy, if only for a little while. Something to get his mind off Alarian, Delight, Eris, home. . . all of it. He set off with itchy paws, first at a trot, then a gallop. He climbed the ridge with an energy he didn't know he had.

It was quite beautiful up here, looking down on everything else. And it had everything you could want--views of forests and plains, ice and water. Even the sea was visible from here; the gray-blue waves tugged at his heart, as if telling him to come closer. He gazed longingly at it for a long time--too long. Contemplating the idea.

Like, what if he just fucking jumped from this ledge, right now? He wondered how long it would take Alarian to notice his absence, being so busy with Delight and the Chancellor's spawn. Once he did, then--how long would it take to search for a body? He could just disappear. Honestly. It would be easy.

He didn't want to die. He didn't even want to stop living. He was just utterly and completely fucking bored.

The ridge was another place she often visited, patrolling or not. Here, she had a good view of their newly-claimed territory; the view of the sea in the distance she could take or leave, but to able to stand watch over the land she had quickly grown to love--nothing beat that. She particularly enjoyed this place because she could usually be alone. So, when she reached the summit, it was to her disdain that she picked up a fresh scent trail. To make things worse, the scent was unknown. 

Putting her nose to the ground, she began to follow the trail. As she repeatedly drew the aroma of the stranger through her nostrils, she realized it belonged to a pack wolf; she wasn't sure if that made her feel any better about the unknown wolf being here, though. When the grey form of the male finally came into view, Taki took a few more steps towards him and curtly said, You're awfully close to claimed territory. Her citrine gaze bore into the stranger, clearly stating that she was not happy with his presence here.

Her scent caught his attention before her voice, and he had already turned to face her before she spoke. "No shit," he answered tartly--though in truth, he hadn't been aware there was a pack nearby. Where? Down below, on the glacier? But, you know, best to keep up the appearance that he actually knew his shit about the surrounding lands. "Close but not over the border, yet.

"What's your pack's name, again?" Zamael asked, tilting his head in inquiry. She was quite pretty, if one was into that sort of thing. . .women, girls, whatever. Her eyes were brighter than his, an even paler shade of orange that you could probably see coming even in the darkest night. Her smell, and that of the pack layered over it, was completely unfamiliar to him; she, on the other hand, acted like she owned the place, and had for years.

She raised an eyebrow at his response. Not over the border but still too close, Taki answered, not at all ruffled by the snarky male's words. Had they not been so close to her pack's land, she might have been intrigued by the cheeky response, but they were and so she wasn't. Her gaze still intently locked on the stranger, she finally answered, IkKanattuk is my pack's name. We live on the glacier below. She watched his face for any sign that he either recognized her pack's name or realized how close he actually was to her territory--or both. 

She paused briefly, nose twitching to take in his scent again just to make sure she didn't recognize it or the scent of his pack. Deciding she for sure couldn't identify either, she drew her eyebrows together and asked, What pack do you belong to?

Zamael took a trio of steps back from the ledge in sardonic mollification, his eyes leveled on her as he did so. His ears swiveled as she told him the pack name. "Wow, that's a mouthful," he remarked, mouthing each syllable to himself--and surely getting them out of order. They must be quite new to the glacier; he hadn't scented them before. They seemed quite fierce, if they were getting in a tizzy over him sightseeing from all the way up here.

He tilted his head gently toward Broken Boulder. "Bracken Sanctuary," he explained, looking back at her. "We're your neighbors to the north. My brother runs the place--I'm Zamael." He stopped just short of extending her an invitation--if she wanted to come visit, she could make that decision herself. He wasn't really in the business of giving tight-ass scouts a tour around his home.

Taki glared as the smartass male took a few steps back, irritation painting her features. She met his gaze with a roll of her eyes and gave him a sarcastic, Thanks. She shrugged at the comment he made on the name of her pack and added, I guess so. Obviously it wasn't a mouthful for her; it was in her language, but she assumed this wolf didn't speak her native tongue.

She hadn't traveled very far from the glacier since arriving, and so she was unaware of a pack to their north. She would mention it to Sia and maybe make a trip up there to see what Bracken Sanctuary was all about. Takiyok, she returned with a nod. My brother, Siarut, leads Ikkanattuk, and I am his second, Taki added. She looked at him for a few seconds, and deciding he was most likely not a threat, took a seat. What brings you so close to the glacier? she asked once she was seated, her tone more business-like than curious but no longer accusatory.

His eyes creased in a grimace. "Stuck in the shadows of our brethren, huh?" he drawled, glancing over at her. "Ah, well. I love the kid--no hard feelings. I'm sure none on your end, either." She looked like one of those tight-ass, perma-loyal wolves with no life but anal-retentive border patrols. . .hence, why she was harassing him so far from her home.

"Just exploring," Zamael explained, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Like I said, didn't know anyone lived down there. I didn't take this way, coming up." It was beautiful, really. They were a lucky bunch of wolves, living down there. He wondered whether the rest of the pack was as prickly as this young woman, or if there were some redeemable qualities to this bunch he hadn't yet seen.

She looked him with a raised eyebrow when he suggested that she was stuck in her brother's shadow. Taki had never thought of it that way. He taught her everything she knew and she was glad to help him led the pack. She had no desire to be number one and was happy with the position she currently held. I can't say that I've ever felt that way about it, she replied. She felt no need to further explain her feelings on the matter to a stranger, so she didn't say anything else about it. 

He stated that his explorations were what had brought him so close to the glacier, and she, honestly, could understand that. The call to explore was always strong within her, and she sometimes felt she had no choice but to answer it. Her expression softened just a bit. I, too, feel the need to explore often, she stated, moving her citrine gaze across the the horizon before fixing back on the stranger. I've been exploring all the areas around our territory any chance I get, she added with a small shrug, deciding, for whatever reason, to share something small about herself.

Oh, for fuck's sake. Apparently miss stick-up-her-ass couldn't take a joke, either. He snorted, shaking his head slightly before looking back out toward the sprawling expanse of land. It was a lot to handle for just one pack; he wondered how they had come to settle it so soon. Were there, like, twenty of them?

"That's nice," Zamael said absently, his mind on a thousand other things. Knowing this for his pervasive sense of ennui, he looked at her once more, shrugging. "Well, good to meet you, uh, Takiyok?" His voice rose slightly in uncertain query; he probably completely butchered the name. "I gotta get going. Promise I won't stand too close to your border again."

With a fleeting smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, he departed, headed down the mountain and elsewhere. There had to be actual fun wolves out here, somewhere. Evidently, they weren't to be found on the glacier.

His absent-minded response to her small admission was one of the many reasons she kept most wolves at arm's length; it just wasn't worth the time or effort. Plus, all of the get-to-know-someone questions were so very exhausting and usually required her to give some of her closely guarded trust. To her relief, he stated that he had to going. She suppressed an eye roll at his pronunciation of her name and watched him leave, not offering any departing statement of her own. It hadn't been particularly nice to meet him, so why lie? She had no idea whether or not he actually would refrain from straying too close to their borders, but she only issued warnings once, so if he did, it would most likely be met with aggression unless he needed help of some kind since they hadn't really established any type of rapport.

She stood and began to make her way back, wanting to be inside their borders after her day of exploring.