Great Bear Wilderness from an antediluvian bane

For @Verrine because Houkie says it's about time these two met. Set somewhere to the north of Ouroboros and south of Stavanger Bay. IN THE GRAY AREA~

When morning had dawned, Mordecai had risen from a damp clump of soft cover in the depths of the Spine. He had decided on that particular day that he would head back out from the territory, if only to do a little bit of exploration of the grounds beyond their marked borders. He had seen Jinx patrol outside of what they had marked the heaviest and had decided that he would do the same. But only so much; the itch of adventure was ever biting at his heels. They had all settled in well, and the pack worked to keep their new found territory safe and sound and their caches full. His venturing was multifaceted anyway; Mordecai also hoped to catch sight or wind of any large game lingering in what would make decent hunting grounds for them.

By the time afternoon had come to, he had a partial wish that he had stayed in the depths of the Spine versus the forests that made the casing around their home. Rain came down fast and cold and the heavy boughs overhead creeked ominiously with the wind. He was tense, but only because of the vibrant flash of lightning, and the earthshaking rumble of thunder. The rain, well, Mordecai was indifferent about rain as long as it didn't sting him in the eyes. His senses dampened and the storm having carried on for the better part of an hour, he hadn't realized how his wandering had taken him well out of the reach and safety of his own home. He hadn't realized the emptiness (or appearance thereof) the woods beyond Ouroboros held. If not for the thunderstorm rumbling overhead, the silence from lack of traffic would have perturbed him slightly.

Yet there was a ring of familiarity in the forests — were these the ones he had come through when he had passed on from the coast? His angle was all wrong and while he could not see too far into the surrounding grounds, he felt a certain comfort in them. Maybe they were. Perhaps these were in fact the woods that he had delved into when the damp coast had become too much, and these woods were what brought him to the overgrowth of the forest that lied beneath their once noble home on the mountain. As his pace slowed beneath a thick conifer, he entertained the thought of having come full circle in the needled cover.

IT'S ABOUT FREAKING TIME, JEEZ. XD

Also, @Julooke -- I assumed that Jules would have told Verrine about Keith/Moonbane's attack after it happened, which is why I referenced it here. If you'd prefer I didn't, I'll be glad to edit this post and avoid mentioning it in future posts. Just let me know. ♥

Petrichor, the smell of the rain -- the hearty scent of damp, sun-baked earth, the summery fragrance of flowers jeweled with fat, sparkling drops, the clean, pure aroma of warm mist that hung in the air after showers had passed. He loved that smell. It was so rejuvenating, so refreshing. It brought him back to who he was, reminded him of the beauty of being alive and wild and free. Rays of sun broke through occasional gaps in the clouds, lighting up rain-kissed leaves like so many sparkling emeralds, while across the sky a half-rainbow arched brightly over the treetops. Moments later, turgid clouds of stormy grey would pass across the sun again, returning the world to veils of mist and subdued shades of grey.

Verrine did not often venture outside of his packlands, but in the aftermath of a stranger's attack on Julooke, he found it difficult to stay home. Her attacker's scent had been fresh on her coat the night she'd returned to him a terrified and upset mess, and though he hadn't told her yet, he had committed that scent to memory and had vowed to track down and kill the son of a bitch. He was wandering somewhere south of his territory, well away from Stavanger's boundaries, hoping to come across that foul bastard's scent but knowing the chances of that happening were probably slim.

He did come across a scent, however, that stopped him in his tracks. It was dim in his memory, distant and out of focus, but it tickled the same sense of belonging, home, and familiarity as did the fresh, cleansing fragrance of petrichor, a scent so reminiscent of the safe, warm darkness of a whelping den. He looked around him for a long moment before finally glimpsing a mottled figure moving among the trees, its coat of richly earthen tones muted in the greyness of the afternoon. The set of those shoulders, the lines of that physique, the angle of that jaw…those were the melodies to the subtle music of that vaguely-familiar scent. He knew who it was that he watched, and a soft whine escaped his throat as his tail involuntarily began to wave, slowly.

He was about to move on follow the quieting roll of thunder when the soft whine met his ears. Mordecai, for all his observance allowed him, he had not realized that he had been happened upon. He swiveled his ears around for a moment, head and eyes turning as he picked out a bodice bearing colors nearly identical to his own. There may have been more rusty hues in alignment across the banded agouti coat, but for a moment Mordecai almost thought he saw an apparition of something else. Of someone else. It was only a fumble of a couple of seconds, but the double take was well visible.

And if the expression the other wore was anything to go by, they certainly were supposed to know one another. The markers were undeniable when it came to appearance; this was family. He broke from the treeline then, crossing an open gap in the forest with an investigative sort of desire boiling from within. It had been quite a long while since he had seen his brother, though it was safe to say that Verrine had certainly grown up since the last time they had met. With his tail wagging out behind him, Mordecai stopped just short of invading space. He had no words, just wonder written across his face as he drew in the scents beneath the array of dampness that hung in the air.

Slapping a quick conclusion on this so we can archive it. WE SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER THREAD SOON i promise not to suck so much next time. D:

A few tenuous, electric moments passed between the brothers, the energy and tension vibrating in the air around them like a plucked harp string. Verrine was the first to break the ice, surging forward to meet his brother with happy kisses and wagging tail. Too many days and nights had passed since last he and Mordecai had seen one another, and it was good to be reunited in this most random and unexpected of places. Several moments passed as they reveled in the joy and excitement of the circumstances, until they settled down and decided to walk for a time and catch up on all that had happened since they had parted ways so long ago.