Don't wanna let you down

@Gent

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karpos had been thinking, just thinking about who he was supposed to be. What was he supposed to accomplish with nothing left to do? The pup was wondering what he could achieve if he did become a guardian. Karp loved being free. He loved being a wanderer but he wanted to be like his father. The personality blend between his mother and father led him to be more of a scouter who could roam lands freely and not be constrained to the pack borders for the rest of his days. Yet he knew that the pack had many scouts already. Sagacity, the wolf that Mercy considered his mother, was a scout and perhaps one of the oldest scouts in the pack. He tried to think of other scouts, but then he realized, they had all left like the wolves of Pitch Pine Trail had. Without a word they were gone.

Karp's mind reeled with the thoughts that tore him apart. If he was a guardian than he would always be close to Aponi, the girl, the princess that had taken his thoughts since they had first met. She doesn't notice me, perhaps I need to let her go. He thought sadly as he look up at the night sky. A sigh from his muzzle as he looked around. He was desperate to find a wolf from his pack to talk to. He felt a need to seek advice but he didn't want to burden any of the adults with his petty issues. Perhaps one of them could help him. Karp had been thinking about telling Aponi how he felt but he couldn't; what if it scared her away from him? What if she didn't feel that way? The thought of rejection was too much. What could he do now?

Time spent at home was almost always wasted. Gent tromped through the snow, thoroughly unenthused with his surroundings. Others who had grown weary of scouting and returned home for respite at the same time as him had already freshened the borders' scent markings, and there was activity enough to ward away wandering unfamiliars. Truly, he felt somewhat useless, and utterly bored. He felt as though he were wasting time, but knew he needed the rest. As much as he wished to push himself endlessly, Gent would not test his limits in this winter. As proud as he could be, the boy was above all a survivor. His thoughts did wander somewhat, a straining attempt to entertain himself, though he wasn't one to dwell on memories. He sought to plan, but he'd been over those tracks so many times with an identical train of thought each instance. There was no plot left to formulate, no new course of action to act upon. The foul season had rendered him completely stuck in a rut, and all he could do was hope for a flood of opportunity come spring. His nose then twitched, picking up on something very close nearby. Happily, he swiftly deducted that it was a pack mate within proximity, and not just any Hollowheart Keep wolf, but a fellow youth. A younger youth. One of the almost-yearlings, but the one that didn't belong the most. The orphan. Suddenly very intrigued, Gent picked up his lazy gate and slithered through the snow drifts, zoning in on where the boy was located. Since sniffing out the differences among the pups, this one had caught his interest, on par with Aponi in his usefulness should Gent succeed in conniving favor with him. And who knew? Perhaps he could actually bond with one of these youngsters. "Hey there! Karpos, right?" Gent called out to him as the other boy came into sight, a friendly and wry smile placed casually upon his striking face as glacial eyes sought Karp's; clearly intent on congenial conversation.

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karp turned to see a man standing there, one that he knew but didn't know at the same time. He remembered him from pack events but had never really talked to him before. Gent. The man seemed to remember him and even his name. Karp simply nodded and let his tail tuck. The wolf was older than him and deserved to be well respected for his rank. Even if Gent was the lowest ranking adult male and a yearling, Karp still admired him because he was part of the pack. He hadn't gotten in out of what Karp considered pity. Karp had gotten in, or so he was starting to believe, because he was sitting in the mountains in the middle of the harsh winter with no family to turn to.

This wolf got in off of what Karp considered to be talent. "Hi." He said in a strong and confident tone, yet he remained respectful at all times. "Yea, it's Karpos. Most call me Karp though. You are Gent right? I remember you from the pack meetings and the pack hunt." He offered up with a small smile and a tilt of his head. He couldn't even remember what he was doing out there and so he just kinda froze and waited for a response. He was sitting down with his tail curled as far around him as he could get. It was an overall relaxed posture yet still he held himself high. He loved Aponi, if she loved him and he was to one day be king, he had better start acting like it.

The whelp held himself with an odd sort of confidence, and Gent considered another option for their relationship as pack mates. The Lieris heir had yet to completely define his plans for the future, after all the options were nearly limitless, but there were two main courses. He would either gather all of the skills he could from living with these wolves, and then leave to form his own pack, or strive to be the successor to @Naira and her consort. If it was to the be latter, he wondered if this youth would be an obstacle to be maneuvered, especially considering his increasingly intimate proximity to @Aponi . But that possibility only made him more eager to befriend the boy. "Yeah, I guess I haven't been around much since then. This winter is making it awfully difficult to feel at home anywhere," he commented offhandedly, gaze wandering for a moment before reclining across from Karpos. He then focused completely once more on the lad, musing over that posture of his. The spitting image of a boy who wanted nothing of his childhood and only to be an adult; an awkward and frustrating stage to be at. Gent could only relate, as he reflected on his unauthorized challenge of Crowe. "How are you settling in?" he asked, conversationally.