Coconut Grove All on that day

Tagging for reference @Lynford @Kingsley @Latoya @Hawkes @Vulcan

The weather was already turning sour. The sky was cream-gray and flurries descending from on high. It was warm enough that they melted as soon as they touched the ground.

She returned to the place where she had been attacked — in her mind unjustly, for the sake of a generally worthless boy — smelling the coconut trees that waved gently in the snow-laden breeze.

There was a pack scent there, but it was stale, fading. She moved inland, towards the moors just beyond the trees, where the border should be. The same.

They had been here lately. But had left.

Where, then, had they gone?

Hawkes had followed Eartha out here. It was a strange juxtaposition - the snow and the coconut trees - but it was a beautiful sight. The smell was crisp and cold, mixed coconuts and salt from the nearby ocean. It was a smell Hawkes would never tire of.

"This is a beautiful place," he remarked, padding up to stand beside the captain and turning bright yellow eyes toward her. 

The smell of a pack clung to the surroundings. Very faint, but still present. "Did you know the wolves who lived here?"

She wasn't alone for long. While her brain had been habituated to the ambient sounds of the sea and shore, the sound of paws on sand was unmistakable and hard to ignore. She raised her head, turning towards the sound.

Hawkes was a relatively young member of her crew, one that she knew little about. His youth brought doubt to her — her escapades with the little bastard Alizarin had made her suspicious of the young. But their Master Navigator had put him forward to lead this expedition as their navigator and scout. She scrutinized his every move, wondering how well the young man would do.

You could say that, she matched his eyes for a moment — they were hard to stare directly at, odd and burning as they were. She turned back to the trees, smelling them once more. They've moved recently. You think you can track them? Assuming they hadn't disbanded — that would be a disappointment.

It did not escape Hawkes' notice that he was... on the outs. He was young, and new, and Eartha had every right to be suspicious of him. In fact, he'd be more surprised if she wasn't. She was intelligent and cautious and knew what made a good crewmate. It was up to Hawkes to reassure her that he was the right choice for their group. 

"Sure I can," he responded. If their scent was still heavy like this, it wouldn't be impossible to figure out which way they'd gone. The boy lowered his head to the ground, nose twitching as he sought out the possible directions the pack might have gone. 

After a few minutes, the boy returned to Eartha's side, ears flicking back and forth, listening for any sign of intrusion. "I think they've gone northeast," he provided. That was where the scent was the strongest - perhaps they'd gone up the beach. Coastal wolves rarely ever left the coast for good - the seawater flowed through their veins in place of blood. "I doubt they'd stray far from the water. If you wish, I could go looking for them," the boy offered, waiting to see what she'd say.

She stepped back and let the boy do his work, scrutinizing his every move as he scanned the sands. She'd allowed him to come with her because he had some skill in tracking — he would have to prove, time and time again to her that he was indeed deserving of this temporary role as Master Navigator.

Northeast. Further up the shore. She looked in the direction that he had stated, seeing the sands stretching onward. They may have to move their camp at some point. See that you do, she said. Make sure that you stay out of trouble, she couldn't afford to lose anyone, not this soon.

"I'll do my best," he offered the woman with a small grin, tail swishing once before he turned to head up the beach again. He'd remember the pack's scent - it didn't really matter what they looked like, or what beef Eartha had with them. His job right now was not to question, but to seek. 

He'd be back in a few weeks, at most. Hopefully with the location of this pack.