Ghastly Woods that's not very punk of you

@Balthazar

He had cut himself off from others after meeting the last chipper broad who thought he would make good company. She was so small and looked so weak that he wished he had just shoved her over when he had the chance. The dark man honestly suspected she'd be dead in no time. By the looks of it, she already had two paws in the grave and winter was begging to take the other two. He snorted just thinking about it. Usually, he was much more well mannered, but recent events had him with a pent up aggression he hadn't found a way to deal with. Lucky him for finding a dark and dismal place to brood until he found that way. He even found what looked like a grave site for anything and anything (Cors Ossum) nearby that he could pick a chew toy from. He had picked out a deer femur all for himself. Maybe he'd collect more chew things if he stayed around long enough.

Settled down by a tall, thick tree with the femur tightly in his jaw's clutch he began to gnaw around the top. His teeth leaving marks here and there, an obvious sign this was his now.

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The cover of the woodlands was much more suited to the auburn coated male, and much more suitable to his style of travel. He didn't like how he stuck out like a sore thumb on the tundra, for any and all to see as he went about his business. Thankfully he had finally found his way out of that barrens known as the lowlands. Though it was the dead of winter, it was still much livelier here. The knobbled limbs of the trees were bare, but birds flitted overhead and squirrels could be seen scurrying between the branches. Even evidence of the herds that had fled the mountain slopes to overwinter in forest could be found, and likely tracked down with a bit of effort.

Bathazar's finely tuned ears caught a slight sound, a soft clacking that could be heard through the quiet forest. His curiosity was piqued, and he headed towards the sound. He didn't have far to go until he discovered the source of the sound, a young black wolf settled at the base of an old tree worrying away at a bone.

The beast stopped a short distance away, tossing his head with an amused snort. "You're gonna crack your teeth gnawing on that thing like that. Whats got you so worked up?"

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

@Balthazar

He could have laid like this all day. His teeth making damage on the bone as time passed. It felt nice to hear nothing but the loud click in the silence of these woods. That was until someone broke his rhythmic gnawing with a pestering question.

"The world."

It was said in a blunt tone and he took back up chewing on the femur. Not once did his eyes even bother to drift upwards and see who could be in his presence. He knew it was a male by scent and voice but everything else was a mystery. Deacon wouldn't mind keeping it that way honestly. Maybe if he showed as little interest as possible this pest would let him be. Everything seemed to be a pest to him now, though. Even a crow hobbling on by could possibly agitate the young man. He needed to let out the tension that kept being built by the day. He was a time bomb with no clock, who knew when he'd go off.

"Why're ya here? Sure there's somewhere better to be." He spoke without much emotion as his eyes still looked at the femur. The dark male was admiring his work of art. Teeth marks covered the circular end of the bone. For the first time in a while he felt a sliver of contentment.

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Oh how Bathazar would have loved to roll his eyes at that one. The sable fur along the nape of his neck bristled, and though his tail flicked he managed to keep himself from being too inciting. The world, as if it owed the black mongrel anything. However, unlike the overgrown brat before him, Balthazar was past the stage of childish theatrics. Instead, the man merely grunted, looking entirely bored by what the black wolf likely thought was some sort of profound nugget of wisdom. Balthazar was in the midst of a future poet, truly.

"What, is this not a free territory? Am I not free to walk as I please?" He asked sarcastically, feigning genuine hurt as he took a step back. But if the younger wolf ever bothered to look up from his handiwork, he might see Balthazar's beady yellow eyes glinting fiendishly. The black wolf certainly wasn't what he was looking for, but that didn't mean he would leave him. The cat had found a mouse to toy with.

The beast lowered his haunches to the ground, clearly displaying his intentions to stay put. "So tell me then, what does the world owe you?" He drawled.

He snorted at the male's chime. "Free territories don't necessarily mean free of trouble." The dark male's eyes flicked to look at the paws of the stranger and nothing more.

Deacon had truly wished that they would have gotten the point by now. That he had just wanted to gnaw on the femur alone in these woods. The sound of settling sealed the deal that they weren't moving, at least not for now. With a grunt, his eyes finally looked up at the face of who he had been talking with. His brows furrowed in displeasure as he let the bone hit the ground with a soft thud. "I didn't say the world owed me anything. Just because something pisses you off doesn't mean it owes you shit." His eyes locked onto the older man's yellow pair. "But if the world wants to throw me a better bone I won't decline."

His eyes looked down at the cold, teeth-marked bone between his paws. The world would do him good by tossing him a meaty bone. "Is it worth trying to find out what brought you out here or should I go back to minding my business?" A soft smirk played on his lips as he posed the question to the man.

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"Wise words. Of course not." The sable beast chuckled, allowing a toothy grin to split his wedge-shaped maw. In fact, no-man's land often presented the most trouble. Balthazar was known to dole out a bit of trouble himself when coming across particularly uncooperative wolves. One thing was sure, you never knew what you were going to find. If not diamonds in the rough, at least amusing baubles. And so far, this muddy bauble in particular did amuse him.

Balthazar concealed a smirk as a rather irritated look crossed the other male's face. More than anything else, he was amused that his teasing managed to rile the black mongrel enough that he dropped the prized ratty bone. He truly cared little for the nature of the boy's problems.

Balthazar flicked an ear, returning the young wolf's smirk with one of his own. "It might be," He answered evasively. "What if I were to throw you a better bone?" Balthazar asked. "I mean, unless you'd like to waste the days away whittling your teeth down to nubs." He shrugged, it didn't much matter to him if the young wolf truly thought that was a good use of his time. But in his opinion the mutt looked bored more than anything else.

@Balthazar

Wise words. Of course, they were. He wouldn't waste his breath trying to say some dumb mumbo jumbo anymore. There was no use in wasting his breath when he was alone in the winter. Any breath could be his last and he accepted that. Even now as all he had was a cold deer femur with nothing else to his name.

The smirk was returned and instantly the dark male felt something bubbling in him. Joy, eagerness, dread? He couldn't pinpoint just what it was. This strange didn't give him too much to work with. Just a might be? Well, what was he supposed to do with that information? Just assume this male would pass through once this little interaction was over?

But then there was an offer. His ears leaned forward out of pure interest. "Any wolf with a brain that was in my position would take a offer. What is it?" He tried to keep a calm face but for once in a while, he felt some true excitement. It did not matter who this strange man was and what he was doing here anymore. There was an offer about to be made with someone who seemed like an alright kind of guy.

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Ah, now they were getting somewhere.  This little fish had seen the bait, all he needed now was for him to bite the hook before he could really reel him in. Balthazar could not be to eager, too direct. He knew the tantalizing dream was a much greater temptation than the cold reality. And in this case, being too open would likely hurt his cause more than help.

"I have but a modest proposal," The auburn wolf began. Balthazar resettled his forepaws beneath him, ducking his head in an almost humble gesture. "Winter, as you must know, is no time for a lone wolf. And I must admit, I am a wolf unfamiliar with these lands." Balthazar explained matter-of-factly.

"You see, what brings me to these lands is that I am looking for someone in particular. Someone who owes me and my kin a great deal. I'm looking to collect on this debt, in full." Balthazar finally explained his purpose. 

"Quite simply, peeled down to it's bare bones, I'm looking for someone who might aide me in my search. A companion, of sorts. Winter, as I said, is no time for a lone wolf. And should this wolf be found... should you help me in finding them, I can promise my family will so graciously repay you. Anything you desire, will be yours." He so generously proposed. 

@Balthazar

The man started off slowly. Modest, a word he hadn't exactly expected to be hearing. The auburn man went on to speak of the obvious. Deacon was practically dripping with anticipation. What did any of this winter loner stuff have to do with his deal? He would hear him out, though. It was a better option than getting up and turning away.

His interest was spiked again when the strange man admitted he was looking for someone. Apparently, someone who owed him. His eyebrows raised for a moment as he keenly listened. They wanted to be paid back for this other stranger's debts. Fair enough he assumed. Who wouldn't?

Deacon briefly wondered if the bare bones had been a pun since he had just been gnawing away at an old bone. By the end of the stranger's little deal, the dark man had a million and one questions to ask but decided it'd be best to keep this short. "Just for the winter or longer if need be?" He rose to his paws and nodded to the man. "I do have one condition. If the search takes us to the cedarwoods west of here I won't escort you in." He stated sharply. Deacon would not be caught with even a toe in that forest. Let alone if they found out he was snooping about on the search for someone. "With such a gracious offer of being paid for my time and help, I do believe you have yourself a deal." He snorted softly and nodded his head in confirmation like a business man would shake a hand. "I don't believe we exchanged names, though. Perhaps now would be an ideal time to do so." He left it open for the auburn man to introduce himself first.

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