Dawnlark Plains Lonely life the only life.

Ryker was on the road once again. After his encounters with the two wolves one alpha of a pack the other a lone like himself. He was heading towards the mountains perhaps he would find a better vantage point.

He paused for a moment taking in the surroundings. There weren't any packs that he was aware of. However there had been wolves here recently. Wherever here was. He knew he was lost he was willing to admit that to himself. However he had no precise direction in which he was heading so how could he consider it lost.

The young male gave up and decided to rest here for the night. Perhaps if the stale scent of a wolf that had once been here would return. Then maybe he wouldn't be so alone. Alone to think.
OOC: I feel like this is short it just looks longer on my phone xD @Reek woot super happy this is a thing now.

Slight location PP of @Wynter, if you want me to change it I will!

It was a quiet life, an unassuming and pleasant existence that the ragged wolf had built alongside Wynter high up in the bosom of the ridge as they waited patiently for Saena to make her claim.  Reek, to say the least, was quite proud of the steps the two had made to live in peace, far from the distant and dead problems of Ankyra Sound.  He was living the dream.  Independent, but never lonely, all because he had her to keep him company.

Reek laid facing west toward the setting sun, front half hanging out of his crudely dug den while Wynter curled tight into a ball, fast asleep, behind him.  It was a tight squeeze for both wolves to pile into. However, it was a good home for the time being.  Quietly, he backed into the den brushing against his old pack-mate's side. "Im going for a quick walk," he whispered to the sleeping agouti with a gentle nudge from his muzzle against the scruff of her neck.  

After exiting the humble den, Reek set out to descend the ridge in the direction of the setting sun.  The air was quiet, not a breeze of bird polluted the moment with incessant noise.  However, as perfect as the evening was, the scent of another wolf in the area set the bastard on edge.  Reek was generally not the territorial type, usually opting for a live and let live mentality, but a stranger coming this close to home was cutting things a bit close.  Too close for Reek's generally tolerant taste.  

Clumsily he descended down the ridge and toward a large, grey male who laid resting on ground.  "Ahem?" He grunted toward the resting figure with a furrowed brow.

Ryker couldn't have been laying there long before he heard paw steps on the stone. He picked up the scent of a male wolf. It was the same scent that lay stale on the ground where he lay. Perhaps this wolf lived here. Ryker just wasn't aware of it.

He hopped quickly to his paws head low but not to the ground as the black wolf approached. He didn't seem to happy to see him here. This could go one of two ways. He was hoping the better of the two. "Hey there," he said with a happy tone in his voice. Ryker had chosen to take a route he would normally not have taken. Banter. who knows maybe it could work. "Nice night for a walk don't you think?" he asked with a half smile.

The yearling brain inside Ryker's head was telling him this was a good idea, but deep down inside he wasn't so sure this was going to work.

The other wolf was quick to rise to his feet and show a healthy amount of submission which effectively cut most of the tension. However, with Wynter soundly sleeping so close the bastard found himself wary of any unfamiliar faces that wandered too close to their makeshift homestead.  The more time that the ragged wolf spent with his agouti companion, the more he found himself growing fiercely protective of her.  Sure, she could take care of herself, nevertheless, Reek was the type of wolf to be completely sure.

The other male was young, nothing more than a year, give or take a few months. And at that age, he posed little threat to the safety of the two, which made Reek drop his guard. "Yeah, yeah it is," he replied with a slight smile, looking down at the yearling from a highpoint on the ridge.  "And you are?" He questioned before jumping down from his perch on the ridge and next to the yearling.

Ryker was relieved to see that his banter had worked. The worry in the dark male seemed to have eased slightly. Although still slightly alert. Ryker could smell another wolf on the male's pelt. A mate perhaps or just a friend. As it was it seemed this wolf wished to protect whoever it was.

"I'm Ryker, and I'm sort of lost. Could you maybe tell me where I am. I think I'm still in the wilds I just don't know where," he questioned tilting his head. He needed to figure out where he was and soon. He also would ask this wolf if there were packs nearby he should worry about. So far he had managed to avoid most territories. Occasionally running into the odd lone or pack wolf outside their territory.

He glanced around at where he was. It was a nice place. Enough shade for the warm summers but also places to lay in the sun. If you had the agility to climb that was. Ryker hadn't had too much experience climbing. So he probably wouldn't be all that great at it. Most of his travels were through fields with tall grasses so as not to be easily spotted by things that might eat a stray young wolf.

This Ryker kid seemed nice enough, so the raggedy wolf saw no problem with humoring him.  A positive attitude and an unthreatening vibe radiated out from him which Reek particularly enjoyed in individuals.  Nevertheless, anyone who was willing to listen to the ragged wolf blab on and on was fair game and alright with him.    

"You're in Redtail Rise kid," Reek stated flatly as he began to walk past the grey yearling.  "Walk with me."  Looking back at the other, he motioned for Ryker to follow him down the ridge.  "Soon to be pack land, so, you showed up at the right time.  It isn't claimed yet, so I don't have to rip you apart."  The bastard stifled a quick chuckle.  It would have been a stupid move for one to just waltz into claimed land, however this yearling lucked out on his timing.  

"Where you wanting to end up, kid?" He implored, hoping to know more about where he was heading.  Perhaps he could be recruited, as the fledgling pack needed all the loners it could get.  

Ryker's ears twitched as the black wolf brushed past him signaling for him to follow. Ryker turned on his tail and began to follow the male. The male told him where he was and that made the young wolf feel a lot less lost. Although this was still a strange place. Ryker let out a small chuckle at the male's joke. Although Ryker also was very thankful that he hadnt intruded just yet. "Well thank wolf for my timing then," he smiled.

"I don't really have a destination you see, I have been travelling on my own since i was 5 month old." he frowned and paused for a moment. "I just wander and see where the land takes me, I struggle with authority because i have never really had any. Except when my mum was around. She made sure i was respectful. I remember most of what she taught me but i still struggle with it," he stated pawing at the ground nervously for a moment before continuing behind the dark coated wolf.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's your name?" he questioned with a curious tone to his voice. One just like a pup would. Always asking questions. "Also who's your friend, the one you were trying to protect from me," he let out a small chuckle. He had his suspicions but this wolf seemed friendly enough. Perhaps he would just tell him.

The bastard made a beeline down the ridge, awkwardly descending it's craggy surface in a clumsy flurry of half-steps.  Perhaps digging his den at it's peak had not been the best idea for the ungainly wolf, as his daily tumble down the rise was something that Reek would never get used to no matter how many times he did it.  He may have been of the quick sort, but his movements tended to be gawky and more suited to flat.  In that moment, Reek pondered on digging a second den at the base of the rise, where ridge meets valley... It would certainly make things easier.

The young male who followed behind the ragged wolf seemed keen on telling him his life story, and to which Reek listened intently.  There were certain parallels between the two that the bastard could see in the yearling, and even though they had only just met him, the grey wolf reminded him of a younger version of himself.  Most notably, a healthy disdain for authority.  However, Reek's was brought about by a long history of poor leadership... who was to say what this one's was spurned by? "Then this probably ain't the place for you kid," he mused pensively.  "Saena, our soon to be alpha, she's the rulesy type.  She means well though."  Reek held nothing but respect for his soon-to-be-Alpha, however her rule thumping could be an issue down the road.  

"You're an intuitive one, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically when the yearling commented on who he was protecting.  Perhaps he smelled Wynter on his coat, that wouldn't be too large of a stretch to make a connection.  However, Reek felt the yearling needed to be commended on his observation. "Up there, in my den, is my gir—" The bastard paused for a moment, stumbling over his words.  He had put a lot of thought into the girl who napped peacefully in their den, after everything the two had been though together, there had to be something there. Right?  "Is my friend, Wynter,"  he quickly amended.  "You can call me Reek by the way," he added, as if it were an afterthought.

Ryker nodded as the wolf explained he might not be fit for around here because their Alpha to be was very set on rules. "Ah i see, it makes sense though. Sometimes rules are a good thing. Sometimes not so much," he said remembering some of the rules his mother had set out for him when he was just a small pup. He had been a very curious and adventurous youngster so sometimes the rules didn't work out in his favour.

Ryker smiled when the black wolf commended his intuitive skills. It had taken him a while to perfect that skill but now he had almost nailed piecing scents and body language together to create images or messages. I guess that was a perk of being on his own for so long. He had to be able to tell whether it would be a good idea to approach a stranger or not based on body language.

"Is this friend of yours a special friend?" Ryker asked a smirk appearing slowly across his maw. He could have sworn the male was about to say girlfriend. Also they were sharing a den. Although sometimes that meant nothing. To share a den was one thing. To be mates was another.

He had told him his name finally. Although it had Ryker shocked. His mother had told him the tales of the bastard children and how they were always called Reek or they were killed. His mother had in fact told him about all sorts of religions in case he ever decided to join a pack. Sometimes he wondered how she knew so much. That was one thing he would never get to ask her. Ryker wouldn't ask questions however because he figured it might be a touchy subject. "It's nice to meet you," Ryker acknowledged with a small nod.