Lion Head Mesa craving something that is just out of reach

quiet steps leads the sandviper forward, frostbound gaze ever-assessing. the flatlands are different from the lowlands and for a moment, dracarys feels a small pang of longing for the sands of some of it's territories. like a homesickness for a place he had never really known. hiraeth, he thought it was called.

the chill of the morning prevails into the afternoon as the sandviper familiarizes himself with the mesa. almost forlorn, dracarys watches the sky grey and feels the crisp bite of the air before it begins to snow.

a low snort pushes past him, but he keeps moving, even as snow begins to blanket the fur of his back.

He had been aware of Dracarys's return for some time now, but was yet to greet him. Other matters had been tended to now, and he slid through the mesa in search of the Halcon.

Kemal would never say it outright, but he had grown fond of the man. Dracarys had been honest with him, a voice other than his own to discuss with. Almost a friend. In short, he wanted Dracarys to stay and grow with Verapaz.

Snow had begun to fall by the time he spotted him, Kemal letting loose a low bark in greeting. He wasn't a fan of the weather, clear from his face being more sour than usual, but it had been his choice to leave the dry lowlands and he would need to get used to it sooner or later.

the sandviper is drawn out of his pensive reverie as the bark reaches his ears, though he had clocked the approach of footfalls a bit before; paying no actual mind to them in the beginning.

dracarys turns, perhaps unsurprised to find kemal. though he was a bit surprised by the sour expression upon his leader's face. a small tilt of his head, a twitch of an ear is given. not an admirer of the snow either, i take it? inquires dracarys, mildly amused. it was a sentiment he shared.

There was no snow in my birth home. A rather indirect way of saying 'yes'.

Shaking out his coat, he picked up his pace to catch up with the sandviper. Did your travels go well? It had taken him some time to return, leaving room for curiosity. The hunt had provided opportunity to learn about the Caldera face-to-face, but that didn't make what Dracarys may have learned any less valuable.

my birth pack had plenty of it. snow, ice caps carried along the sea. refusing to call it 'home' felt like a small victory — he wasn't sure verapaz was home yet but he certainly felt more accepted among them then he had in the fjord that had reared him.

reminiscing didn't last long and for this, dracarys was grateful. the topic moved on to what he had learned of the caldera. i smelled many on their borders from afar, though i didn't get too close. i observed under the guise of herd tracking ... which led to a hunt with a loner. she let slip that most of their ranks are deaf, which i thought was interesting.

Deaf? Kemal frowned. It was hard to believe, but he supposed it made sense given Leto had taken her deaf son there. He had to wonder if they were still in the caldera; he hadn't spotted either at the hunt. That is interesting. Do you believe her? Lone wolves weren't entirely trustworthy after all, but Dracarys had been given the opportunity to hunt with this one. They had to have some sort of trust, even if it was temporary.

He was tempted to investigate this further, but the question was how. They couldn't exactly strut up to the caldera and ask.

dracarys doesn't answer right away, considering his leader's question. did he believe leto? she hadn't given him any reason to believe her to be dishonest but he didn't know her. certainly not enough to swear on her candor. i don't know, the sandviper finally admits after a few heartbeats of a moment.

his left ear twitches and weight shifts slightly, casting frostbound gaze to the territory beyond kemal for a moment. she only brought it up after i voiced concern about hunting from a herd so close to their claim. dracarys gives a small pause. and no one bothered us about it. could be she was telling the truth.

Kemal considered what was said, not entirely sure what to make of it. I suppose we'll find out eventually, one way or another. For now, it was better not to get their hopes up. Verapaz will have to focus on what is here.

Now that the move was finished, there would be new tasks to be given out. He had been so busy between the hunt, Serein, his mother, and setting up their new home to even consider it. You did well.

Soon I will give new tasks to the pack. For now, maybe he could knock out some of the planning. Dracarys, I have not asked you like I have asked the others. Tell me what you want to do in Verapaz.

Gardening, hunting, planning for war, it was all the same to him - so long as the wolf showed some promise.