After hearing that Hermes was alone, like him, J relaxed slightly, but stayed alert. "Well, I figured that any wolf I would meet out here would belong to the Okami pack or the Starry pack... at least, that's what I think their names are anyway." J looked at the carcass before turning back to Hermes. "I would suggest getting everything you want out of that kill and getting out of here. The two packs have been wandering into neutral territory more frequently as of late, hoping for more food and more wolves. If you ask me, I think they are either going to migrate to another area for them to claim, or they're preparing to fight each other." He stopped to let the sentence sit for a minute. "Don't let anyone from the packs see you, otherwise you may have to run very far and very fast. Trust me, I know from personal experience." With that warning, J no longer had a reason to hang around and bother this lone male. He got up and began to walk away, keeping an eye on the male to make sure that he wasn't going to get jumped from behind.

Enzo | High Watcher | Okami | Mentions: Ash

The male rolled his shoulders back as he slowly sat in the camp which was slowly coming back to life from its temporary slumber. Everyone knew to get up before lowlight, or else they would face the consequences from The Grand Lady herself. And she was not a creature anyone liked to mess with.

As he rolled his shoulders, he cast his green gaze across the camp, searching for the other High Watcher, Ash. He and Ash were to patrol through the Rumbar forest and report back, while Svala and Cascade were to go to Ern Lake.

The sight of the bloodied pit made his gaze linger for a moment. The spies had been mauled there just a little while ago, leaving quite the mess. While a good handful of his packmates may have enjoyed the show, Enzo had been in the back of the crowd, watching only partly. He didn't have a love for violence or a dark side, like the others. He liked silence. Enzo was a wolf of few words, anyway. But that didn't mean that the event meant nothing to him. It was merely a show, and it had tied up some loose ends, too. Their pack had to remain safe, right? And that was how it must be done.

Beginning to feel the urge to leave and begin the trip to the forest, his jade eyes scanned the camp once more as he impatiently lashed his tail. Rising to his paws, the High Watcher huffed under his breath. While he was tempted to leave alone, it would be disregarding the Overlady's orders. And well... he wasn't stupid.

With a low grumble and a flick of his ears, the High Watcher prowled through the camp with his head lowered, as if he was tracking prey. While he had a rank that granted him enough power to almost strut around(except in front of those above him), he did not usually display such power or dominance. Most knew not to mess with Enzo, because messing with a High Watcher was asking for it. As the male continued to search for Ash, he begrudingly had to begin using his voice, "Ash?".

Keena | Thisam | Mentions: Deyanira, Conrad

The canine strolled through the territory, her paws falling softly upon the ground as she traveled. Her gait was smooth and even a little brisk, as if the canid had somewhere to be. However, that could not be more false. She was packless, technically. But she was no loner or rogue. Rather, something in between. Currently, she was traveling with a group of two others who had since fled their former pack after commiting a deadly crime. An unforgivable crime. Something so sinister and dangerous, she doubted that she would ever tell another living soul. But it was out of sheer necessity only. Keena was no monster. She did not spill blood for fun or sport. It was for survival reasons only. Nothing less, nothing more.

And while such a crime may put a toll on someone, she felt fine. She had justified her actions since then, and she lived with little to no remorse or guilt. Keena felt free. More free than she had felt in a very long time. Despite the fact that she was pretty much on the run, she could feel the glimmer of hope on the horizon.

As the moon began to lower and lowlight crept closer, it was time to head back to the little makeshift camp. Keena had stepped away only for an hour or so to do a quick patrol and check their surroundings. Nothing out of the ordinary had been found, so she and her two friends could rest easy. At least for a little while. As she neared the camp, she paused, seeing Conrad's figure just a couple paces ahead staring at something in the distance. She followed him as Conrad slipped behind the cover of some bushes, still eyeing something - or someone - in the distance. Stealthily, she crept beside him. It was possible he wasn't even aware of her presence until she was right beside him, her shoulder brushing his as she whispered, "Who are we staring at?".

I will back away and allow you to eat the rest. Those words made J stop, and as he turned around, he saw that Hermes was walking away from the kill, letting Jehoiakim have free reign with the kill. Well, well, well... maybe he's not such a bad wolf after all... J wondered as he watched him go before digging into the deer, filling himself once again before ripping off a piece of the deer and taking it to his den up in the mountains. Not content, he walked back down and began working on tearing off another leg of the deer, finding the particular leg to be difficult to remove. Wow this one is on there strong, but it can't hold out on me forever. J continued to work on his, not letting a leg beat him. After a few minutes, J looked at the work he made before going back in, finally ripping off the second leg and taking it back to the den and burying it with the rest of the food. For a moment, J wondered whether or not he should be satisfied with what he already got, but he decided to go back and get one last piece, hoping that no other wolves are there to interrupt him.

Sylphrena || 3 || Rogue || M: Open

Location: Mountains

The trees rustled above the white female as she wove through the trunks, orange eyes narrowed and muzzle raised into the air. Her chest expanded in a deep inhale, and her pupils shrank at the sudden whiff of new blood. Her lips peeled back in a mild snarl to reveal long, white blades.

The white female broke into a brisk trot, paws ghosting across leaves and pine needles. It wasn't long of a run until she slowed, reaching a sharp dip. A young buck had obviously missed the knowledge of the dip and was lying in the middle, his breathing labored. As Syl crept up further, it appeared his legs were broken... twisted? Dislocated?

They certainly weren't in the right place.

She moved downwind and snuck up behind the poor creature, said a silent prayer for speed, and lunged.

--

The white female's muzzle was now dipped in red ink, teeth coated in crimson. She licked her maw, pulling as much of the blood away from her fur as she could, then studied the kill. She'd eaten her fill, but the carcass was only a third or so gone. Less, even. She didn't want to leave it for scavengers, but, unlike the mountain lions that lived on the slopes, she could not climb trees to hang her kills.

Syl sighed and decided she would stay with the body for now. When she was hungry again, she'd eat what she could and then leave the rest for the next wanderer.

Indeevar || Male || Tinyfang || Starry Bane || Mentions: Rune, Fenrir

As Fenrir shushed him, he bit his tongue, which hung slightly out of his mouth. His eyes were wide, and his tail was going a mile a minute. He hopped down from Fenrir's shoulder, his whole back end wagging now.

“I’ll bet you that rabbit’s home right now telling everyone it knows how it escaped a vicious predator,” said Fenrir very seriously. Indeevar felt his chest puff in pride, and he grinned. "Yeah! Very super vicious! I'll show that rabbit if it ever shows its fluffy face again!"

As they walked, Fenrir pointed out one of the stars, which he said was Indeevar. The pup looked up, up, up at the night sky, and immediately spotted it. It was, indeed, very bright! He felt his chest puff up again as Fenrir said he was going to be the biggest wolf in the pack. Indeevar yipped happily, pouncing on a stick and shaking it around, growling, in a show of strength. Successfully breaking it in two, he stood above it, chin raised. "Yeah! The biggest and the best!"

They continued on, but the Fenrir stopped. He was looking off to the distance, but Indeevar was too short to see what he was looking at. "What? What is it? Is it that rabbit?!" he yipped, trying desperately to jump up to see. "Stay here," Fenrir said, and Indeevar dropped down, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Doing as Fenrir asked, Indeevar sat on his haunches, still trying to look over the bushes. Of course, he was squirming around, but he obliged, if not unwillingly.

Fenrir stepped out from the bushes and approached the wolf, who he learned to be Rune. Ugh, Rune! He whimpered softly when he saw her; he didn't care for her much. But if Fenrir was wanting to talk to her... Perhaps Indeevar should try to be nice. An idea popped into his head, and he snickered quietly. Surely, this would get Fenrir laughing...

It took about twenty seconds for Indeevar to give in to his urges, and he hopped up, stalking around the two wolves. Still hidden by the brush, he made his way behind Rune. He tripped every so often, but he caught himself several times before he crashed into something. He was slightly off to the right behind Rune, and he could clearly see Fenrir, and he grinned, lifting his paw to wave it at him. He puffed his cheeks up, stuck out his tongue, and crossed his eyes, bending one ear to the side and pointing the other up in an attempt to make Fenrir laugh.

Fenrir // Male // Subordinate (Apothecary) // Starry Bane // Mentions: Indeevar, Rune, Hoarfrost (ind)

As Fenrir had expected, Rune’s immediate response was panic about every single thing he had said. He sat patiently, allowing her to spiral completely out of control with no further prompting from him. Her focus seemed to be on the idea that she was breaking the rules, and while Fenrir waited for her to figure out what rule number seven was, she started running to and fro like a cornered rabbit. Fenrir had never in his life run into another wolf as completely terrified of everything as Rune was. As usual, he thought it was best to just wait it out, and she’d work it out for herself, hopefully. Fenrir glanced behind him, curious as to whether Indeevar was watching this, but the brush was too thick for him to tell. As Rune placed her paws on Fenrir’s shoulders, he met her eyes with a mild expression that, at the very least, might cue her in that Fenrir wasn’t being totally honest about the “horrifying” history of this particular location. If she really started running back to camp, he’d catch her and tell her it was just a joke, but he sincerely hoped she’d be able to catch herself before that. Fortunately, it clicked just a few seconds later, and Fenrir gave her an amused expression that wasn’t quite a smile yet. “You figured it out faster than last time,” he said, and though the statement might have seemed a bit condescending, his tone was anything but. Even if he was scaring the bees out of Rune, he certainly thought it was going to help. “But really, Rune, what are you doing out here by yourself? You’ll scare yourself silly waiting for someone to jump out and scare you.” Which was kind of what Fenrir had done, but he neglected to mention that. “Trying to avoid Hoarfrost? She’s bound to be in a bad mood.”

As Fenrir spoke, he thought he heard a slight rustling in the bushes. Probably just Indeevar, he thought, and left it at that. Two seconds later he was proven right, as Indeevar’s chubby little face poked through the leaves, making a silly little face that nearly made Fenrir laugh right there and then. He caught himself, but he let himself smile, looking back at Rune so she wouldn’t wonder what he was staring at. “Did you see yourself tonight?” he asked Rune, who by now would have known he was referring to the stars. He stuck his tongue out at Indeevar quickly and resumed as if nothing had happened. “You’re right smack dab in the middle of the sky. I think that’s good luck, don’t you?” Glancing at Indeevar again, Fenrir copied his face, crossing his eyes, sticking out his tongue, and quirking his ears. Well, if Rune hadn’t noticed him looking at Indeevar already - and she was bound to, paranoid as she was - she certainly had now. Fenrir chuckled and said to Indeevar, “Nice hiding, Indee.” As usual, it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. He looked at Rune. “Don’t tell Hoarfrost I took Indeevar out and I won’t tell her you broke rule seven?” he suggested, though he rather sounded like he didn’t think it would work. “He has a rabbit to exact revenge on,” he explained, as though this made it alright. “And we might run into a lone wolf.”

It was no secret that Fenrir lived to find packless and lone wolves on their territory. He’d only run into three in his life, and only two had joined the pack, but he was always skirting their territory in hopes of finding some misguided soul wandering the outskirts. He adored new wolves in the pack, and while most of the new mothers didn’t want him scaring the willies out of their newborn pups, he could say anything he wanted to their newest recruits. He had even suggested that they get some Barbaric Okami wolves to join, though he was mostly joking and everyone knew that would never happen. Fenrir had found significantly less Barbaric invaders than the rest of the wolves in the pack, which led one to wonder whether he ever just let any get away. Although he was far from the best wolf to introduce new wolves, he seemed to have taken it upon himself to be the ambassador of the Starry Bane pack. He had introduced Roxanne to the pack, in fact, and though she’s been reasonably pissed off at him after finding out that she was not supposed to kiss Hoarfrost’s feet, she forgave easily and found it rather funny looking back on it. Those were the kinds of wolves Fenrir loved - the kinds who could laugh at themselves. So few of those in the pack now, but with any luck he’d round up a gaggle of loners with riotous senses of humor. And who were still gullible enough to believe him when he told them they had to kiss Hoarfrost’s feet.