The boy was bored, as per usual. So instead of harassing his wonderful teacher Cyril, for he felt as though he would begin to annoy her if they spent too much time together, the little Kael made his way down to the lowlands alone. He skirted the boulders with ease, his clumsy paws becoming more coordinated with every trip he made down the monadnock. Eventually he would grow into his lanky self and would be able to spend more time exploring the never-ending tundra. Due to his small stature his trips were usually short and kept close to the chunk of rock his parents’ pack resided on. Except for the one time he wandered down the sea of gold… that was the furthest the boy had been. For now.

As he meandered through the barren land the stench of another tickled his nostrils, capturing his attention. Despite the strength of the scent he could not figure out where it was coming from, which caused a frown to sprawl across his dark lips as his paced slowed. His ears swivelled around as he tried to listen for the stranger, his legs tense as his yellow eyes darted around anxiously. He swallowed, hard, as he tried to locate where the female scent was coming from, his little nose raised to the sky. The stranger smelled of the tundra, which was a sign that she did not belong to one of the neighbouring packs, for Cyril was becoming familiar with their scents. Huh. A loner. He had only encountered a few before, and they always made him nervous as they were unpredictable. What if they wanted to snatch him away from his mother and father? He was fast, but not that fast—not yet. 

The boy was trying to be sneaky, but the barren landscape of the lowlands made it near impossible. There was almost no foliage to fling his dark body behind, or boulders to conceal himself with. Instead he was forced to keep his body low, his knees bent as he shuffled over the tundra, his yellow eyes searching for the intruder. Her scent was impossibly strong, which meant the Kael was close… but where was she hiding?

Hello? He froze at the voice, his ears raised high as his eyes widened. She was aware of his presence! Oh crap, oh crap, he thought frantically to himself as he lowered his stomach to the ground in a feeble attempt at making himself smaller. The voice sounded frail—tired even; he doubted she was a threat but he did not allow his guard to fall. Just because she wasn’t a threat did not mean there wasn’t one lurking around, waiting to pounce once he became comfortable…

Pulling himself into a stand once more he finally spotted the dark female, his brows pinched together. “Oi!” He called out, a frown creasing his lips, “What’re you doin’ out ‘ere?” She wasn’t particularly close to the monadnock but he didn’t want her to come any closer. Cyril was not fond of strangers.  

His frown deepened as she approached him and the boy, out of instinct, took several steps back. His nose stuck out toward the girl as she lowered her own snout, making the boy feel much smaller than he was. Cyril gave a sharp snort in response to hers, his left ear falling to the side. Lived around here? But where?! Making a home in the lowlands, in the middle of three packs, did not seem like a good idea to the ebony Kael. So why had she chosen to live in the barren tundra? The trees surely would have been a better option, as there was more cover available. How strange.

Rolling her eyes at her question he took another step back, emitting a loud huff! before answering properly. “I’m old ‘nough!” He chirped back, a single brow raised as he studied the blue-eyed wolf. “An’ I’m allowed t’be,” he added with a sharp nod, although it was none of her business why he was here—or why he had chosen to explore alone. Strangers were always so nosey! “Kael,” he answered quickly, giving his surname instead of his first, as the boy remained wary of the older female. “’N you?” He was not interested in her name but he wanted to know it so he could report back to his parents. He figured it was important for them to know that a loner was living in the tundra. Perhaps she was looking for a pack? He frowned, but did not say anything else while he waited for her to respond.

His nose wrinkled at her name, for it was long and filled with too many syllables. He did not know what it meant, nor did he care. Unless she planned on seeking refuge atop the monadnock, Cyril doubted they would run into each other a second time. Tilting his head at her next question the boy was about to respond when a familiar scent washed over him, pulling him away from his thoughts. His ears swept back against his crown as he craned his neck to look at his mother, an apologetic smile tugging at his lips. Not only had he slipped away from the monadnock again, but he was also in the presence of a stranger. The boy knew he had nothing to worry about with the blue-eyed wolf, for she appeared timid and unsure of these lands, but she was a stranger nonetheless. And Cyril was a big preacher on the stranger danger philosophy.

An annoyed look immediately replaced his previous submissive expression, his brows narrowing as a deep frown cut into his lips. “Was jus’ makin’ sure she didn’ go near the borders,” he mumbled in frustration, his cheeks flushing warm with embarrassment. He didn’t like being treated like a child, even though he was one. Cyril was just trying to make his parents’ jobs easier, even if he was being a liiiiittle reckless. Unfortunately it didn’t seem like his mother thought that way, for her expression was grim and her words harsh. Oops.