Otter Creek a drink at the creek

@Shadow

As Luke followed the river back from the coast, he took the branch at the hollow that he had not explored, finding himself skirting the edge of another lake. It was a much grander lake than the one he had first met Peregrine by, and he found himself thinking briefly of his swarthy companion, with whom he had scheduled another rendezvous. But a cool wind slipped past his fur, it interrupted his thoughts and chilled his skin, and so the blue-nosed wolf continued away from the lake where the water pinched into to a more sheltered creek. The white wolf peered into the clear water as he trekked along, catching glimpses of various fish, but he was not hungry and so he only stepped to the edge of the water to slake his thirst.

The Roman had taken measures to make sure guards were placed at the Bypass's archway and that extra patrols had been arranged before he left, it wasn't that he did not trust his Betas but he preferred making sure of things by himself. So he could reassure himself that things were safe back home before making the journey. Why had he made sure of his pack's safety but hadn't made sure of his safety and his son's? Because he believed himself capable of defending both himself and his three month old boy, and he was sure Trajan would be able to think of sneaky ways to defend himself too. Or perhaps Shadow was just overestimating his son. The little Angelus Mortis is had proven himself intelligent and energetic, able to grasp some complicated concepts, but then, in his pride, the Praetor might have forgotten to note down the various kinds of things his son still did not know.

This was a big journey for Trajan, his first time out of the Bypass and alone with only his father by his side but the boy had not been afraid, but eager to leave. Perhaps it was just his naivety that prevented him from seeing the many dangers that awaited them outside of their fortress home. 

Nevertheless, Shadow was glad that the boy liked the idea of exploring and decided to journey towards the closest place he could think of that would interest the boy and would not take more than two weeks to go to. Trajan followed him obediently, though the Roman could see from his son's eyes that the boy wished to run around and explore everything. The sterling leader could not let the little replica of himself do so now, but when he was older, the Alpha would send him out to see the world. So, with Trajan prancing about beside him, Shadow found himself at the edge of a lake, a cold wind blew but with his thick coat, the angel of death felt nothing though he nudged Trajan closer to himself as they continued on until they trotted next to a sheltered creek where Hadrian deemed it safe. 

When Shadow assumed Trajan was watching, the silver male gazed at the Creek's waters and spoke, "This is how you fish, its a hunting skill you will need to learn, watch carefully." And spotting a fish in the water he swiped a paw at it causing it to fly up in the air and fall into his awaiting jaws where he broke its neck with a single bite. In a muffled voice, he spoke "See, this is ho-" but was interrupted by Trajan's excited voice as he rushed towards a white stranger yelping "Who this? Who this?" at the top of his lungs.

Luke did not drink quickly, instead he leisurely lapped and savored each mouthful, allowing the cool liquid to slowly ease down his throat. It was a small pleasure and one many took for granted, but Luke appreciated water to a depth most could not fathom. He was still taking his time drinking when an exuberant pup came bounding towards him, yelping excitedly. As the blue-nosed wolf looked up, the last mouthful of water he had lapped up poured down his chin, his attention fixated on his greeter.

"Who this? Well, who you?" he asked warmly, his tail wagging as he smiled down on the pup. His gaze flicked above the juvenile to what he presumed to be his father not far up the stream. "You have a very bold son!" Luke called out.

The first instinct the Roman had was to lung towards Trajan and grasp his scruff, aiming to pull him backwards into the safety of his own embrace but decided against it. The world was a dangerous, ruthless place, and only the strongest survived. The boy would have to learn, and besides, the snowy wolf that his son greeted seemed to be friendly. So Shadow watched, with mild interest in his silver gaze as the stranger spoke to Trajan. "I am Trajan," proclaimed the tiny Angelus Mortis proudly and then repeated his former question. "Who's you?" he said, his tail wagging as he gazed up at Luke with wide, bicolored eyes.

A smirk found its way up onto Shadow's face when the stranger spoke, "Too bold," he spoke, laughing as he trotted forward towards the stranger where he spotted the other wolf's rather strange features and without filtering his thoughts, blurted out "Dude, is that a blue nose?" At this, Trajan attempted to leap up and whack Luke's nose rather rudely, a curious gleam in his bicolored gaze. "Blue nose?"  he said rather curiously. 

"I am Luke," he answered back to Trajan, eyes twinkling with kindness. Luke was very fond of pups. Where adults often lost their wonder, the ease with which they found amusement and contentment (as he once had, before finding it again), pups were masters of these things. They were filled with whimsy and curiosity, exited to take on a new big world each day. While adults could teach pups many things, such as to how to survive and how to behave, pups could teach the adults how to treat each day like the gift it was.

The white wolf chuckled as the boy's father approached, making the expected comment about his blue feature as his pup attempted to give it a swat, just barely grazing it. "Why yes it is," Luke replied. "It matches my tongue and my pads." He leaned down to Trajan, so that the pup might have a closer look. He turned over a paw to expose his blue pads, and slightly poked his tongue out, blowing a soft raspberry.

Shadow was about to tell Trajan off for so rudely swatting at the stranger's nose but Luke did not seem to mind so he made no comment on that. "Wow, did you like purposely dye the nose? Or have frostbite but somehow it didn't fall out?" he asked, rather curious about the white wolf's blue features. It was weird and he hadn't seen it before, sure, Trajan's mismatched eyes were weird but not unexpected, especially since he was of Angelus Mortis blood. But blue features simply was too out worldly, and the Roman found himself thinking of the various possibilities that could make the wolf in front of him have blue features.

The Roman watched as Luke leaned down to give his son a closer look at his blue features, Trajan gazed wide eyed at the blue colors that decorated the man's nose, paws and tongue before a wide, curious grin spread across his features. "Oooh," he yelped excitedly as he attempted to sniff the blue paw Luke showed him, his nose surely tickling the white adult in front of him. His tail began wagging too, and Shadow was afraid that if his son's tail wagged any faster, he would fly away. "Can you make blue bubbles?" asked the boy eagerly.

Luke chuckled, as he often did listening to folks' comments about his unusual nose. "I did once joke to someone that I used blueberries," he shared, "but I was born like it." What might seem like a curse was actually considered a blessing in the Bluenose family. Early on when the trait first surfaced it was embraced (thus leading to the birth of the Bluenose surname) despite the rejection by some. Fortunately for Luke it seemed so far that inhabitants of the park were more curious than judgemental.

Luke's paw twitched as he tried to contain himself, as unbeknownst to the pup the blue-nosed wolf was actually quite ticklish. "Oh I wish I could blow blue bubbles," Luke grinned to Trajan as he put his paw back down before he cracked up. "I could have a lot of fun with that. Have you ever blowed bubbles?" Even as an adult now, Luke was not above sticking his muzzle in the water to blow bubbles.

"Blueberries huh," Shadow smirked. "I would like to see you smear your nose with blueberries," the Roman grinned. Luke's playfulness was apparently, to the Roman, rather contagious and he found himself liking the male. Which did not happen often, for he was rather reserved, or appeared rude and sarcastic to other wolves. It was nice to see someone different, someone who was happy or at least playful and seemed not to mind rather rude comments about his blue features. "So you're a loner, huh?" the Roman asked, he had no pack scent to his smell but a confirmation was always better.

"No blue bubbles?" Trajan said, frowning slightly but perked up a moment later at the mention of blowing bubbles. "No, I never tried. But you can teach me!" The little Roman grinned widely and nudged the white wolf, padding to the water's edge and impatiently waiting. He hadn't thought of the other wolf declining the invitation or more precisely, the order. That thing did not exist in the boy's mind just yet. So his father kept that in mind as he watched, a smile touching his lips as the boy interacted. No longer shy.

This fellow did not know but it would not at all be out of character for Luke to rub himself in blueberries just to put a smile on a friend's face (or his own), and although he had just met this man, Luke considered himself to be everyone's friend and just about everyone was his. "You just never know with me," he laughed, "Next time you see me I might have found some raspberries and might have a red nose."

"Just for now," Luke nodded in response to his silvery companion's question, but before he had a chance to explain how he was just waiting to find his pack or start one, young Trajan was eagerly encouraging him to blow some bubbles. "Excuse me," he said with a grin to the other male. Luke stepped over to Trajan. "It's simple," he said. "You just stick your mouth under the water and blow out." But Luke was not about to show finesse in this technique. The white wolf sucked in a deep breath and abruptly shoved his entire head under the water, blowing as fiercely as he could. A large bubble formed on the surface of the water, surrounded by smaller ones, and together they popped and reformed until Luke ran out of breath. "Whew!" he exclaimed as he pulled his dripping head up. "Give it a go," he encouraged Trajan.

"What was your name?" he cast a glance back to the boy's father.

Shadow flashed the white wolf a grin and laughed softly, "Then I'll look forward to seeing you next time." It wasn't everyday where you found a wolf like Luke, he rarely saw playful and carefree ones and seeing one like the Bluenose was like a breath of fresh air. His life had been full of strict, harsh rules and laws, breaking them would result in terrible punishment, he had grown up to hide beneath a sarcastic exterior and it was only now did he soften up the walls he had built around him. The Angelus Mortis could not help but wonder what would've happened to him if he had a better upbringing, would he be a wolf like Luke? Or Scimitar? Or Paarthurnax? Or Bazi? Or Alastor? Would he be different?

Then he told himself to stop thinking about it, because there would be no answer to the question, merely because he wasn't a magician and he couldn't go back in time. "Looking for a pack then?" Shadow asked the Bluenose, his mind still wandering, his silver gaze on his son. Trajan was rather enjoying this trip out of the Bypass, and he liked this wolf with the blue nose. So the litter Roman watched with keen bicolored eyes as Luke sucked in a breath, shoved his head into the water and blew, Trajan watched with delight as a bubble formed on the surface of the water. Excitement coursed through his veins and when Luke told him to try, he did not hesitate to follow his example. Sucking in a deep breath, he shoved his own head into the water and attempted to blow, but ended up drinking water instead and choking as he rose from the surface. "It didn't work!" The boy said, his eyebrows creasing, forming a rather adorable frown. "I don't understand, Luky," Trajan nicknamed Luke, gazing up at the Bluenose with big puppy eyes.

Shadow smiled at his son before answering the white wolf's questions. "Hadrian. But I go by Shadow. I'm the Alpha of Noctisardor Bypass."

"I'm not sure if I'll be joining up with someone or starting something new," Luke shared. "But yes, I don't intend to live a lone wolf for too much longer." His eyes drew from the other male to the young boy, who was about to emulate the blue-nosed wolf's performance. Unfortunately, he did not quite get the technique (if you could call Luke's silly display a 'technique'), and came up spurting and coughing. Luke gave the boy a gentle pat on the back. "I guess you'll have to practice," he said. "Make sure you're blowing your breath out and not sucking the water in. Try doing it like this so you aren't as likely to take the water in," Luke stepped to the creek again to demonstrate, this time sticking just the tip of his muzzle in the water and blowing smaller bubbles. Doing it like this, the pup would not be so likely to inhale the water. Then he stepped back and allowed the boy to try again, if he wanted.

"Shadow eh?" Luke grinned. "That's usually a name reserved for black wolves. Did you fade?" he teased, offering the Alpha a playful wink. But Luke's suddenly felt the need to attend to the call of the wild. "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, there is something I must attend to!" With a wave of his tail he beat a hasty retreat to expel whatever thing had caused his stomach such sudden upset.