Spring was one of Kjell’s most favorite times. The sun was stronger, the days were longer – summer was on its way! But perhaps most importantly, this strange hang time between the winter’s last tendrils and the first blossoms of spring was not the shift in weather, but the effect it had on the ladies. Any and all of them suddenly found themselves much more inclined towards male company, and the month-long flurry of hormones was not something the rabble-rouser was about to miss.

This, he thought, was certainly one of the benefits to being a lone wolf. There was no leading male to tell him no.

His appearance in the Fireweed Rise was not entirely driven by his own spring crazies, however, but a much more generic need to eat. The den near the lagoon was nice and all, but one got tired of the same old prey after a while. With the weather warmer and the skies clear, Kjell decided it was high time to take a little tour around the south of Relic Lore. A snowshoe hare who’d started its molt too soon made an easy target, and the male had finished his meal and cleaned himself up when another wolf arrived. He’d just been about to turn back to the northeast, but that smell.

It was a female. On her own. Blessed opportunity!

Throwing a quick thought of thanks to the Mother he didn’t really believe in, the swarthy male changed direction, loping easily towards the epicenter of the stranger’s scent. Once a few lengths away he halted, offering a chuff to alert the woman of his presence. “Hey there, beautiful~,” he called, his tail wiggling above his back. He meant no harm.

What did he want?

Wasn’t it obvious?

The heavy drawl gave Kjell pause, and for a brief moment, his brother came to mind.  Ah, but the man was a runt, a weakling, and nothing like the fine specimen of healthy female standing before him.  She reeked of the heat scent, but underneath that was the smell of other wolves.  Of pack, he had to assume, because a wolf with a mate wouldn’t be advertising herself like this.  (Or maybe she would be, a secondary thought whispered in the back of his mind.  Maybe she didn’t care.  Or maybe she simply wouldn’t be ruled.)

Whatever the reason was, he didn’t care over much.

His tail gave a friendly wiggle, silently insisting he meant no harm.  Not to her, not to the pack she’d come from.  “Wanted t’ say hullo,” he replied, voice husky.  Kjell crept closer, until they were only a few lengths apart. “Not every day I run across a pretty lady, y’know?  Be a fool not t’ see it.  Y’lookin’ for something, out here?”

The sharp-toothed leer was matched with a smug grin of his own, one corner of his mouth curling upwards as she assessed the male in turn. No, she knew as much about him as he did about her, and he was just fine with that. A little mystery could go a long way. So he puffed his chest and arched his head – though of generally average height and weight for a timber wolf, Kjell liked to think himself a remarkable specimen of lone wolf. He had kept a reasonable weight all winter, wasn’t infested with parasites (Mother, how disgusting), and his coat even had a handsome shine to it.

So she snapped, and he didn’t flinch – hah! His own mother was more aggressive than that!

Teeth clicked as he offered a toothy grin, something a little wild in those sunset orange eyes. “Lunch, huh? You want help with that?” he asked, voice gravelly. Be it a meal or, you know, a meal, he was quite willing to assist with either problem. He was a hunter of Widow’s Peak, but much more importantly, he was a very charming gentleman, and that could go a long way.

“’cos for you, princess, I got th’ time.”

A toothy grin, and his banner waved over his back. Not a princess? He could work with that. He might have been born a dragon prince, but Kjell often felt there was little royalty left under scale and wing. He might have offered another name instead, but the woman was distracted by the birds overhead. It probably meant supper – but filling his belly was not the sort of meal the swarthy male was interested in, not when there was a tempting piece of tail darting away from him.

“Yer on,” Kjell replied hoarsely, not about to waste his opportunity. He was off in a leap and a bound, but it did not stop the male’s mouth from running. The wolf couldn’t help it. There were things he needed to know, and he’d realized already that the information was going to be given freely. “What do I get when I win?” he demanded to know – he was determined to win, anyways, but these sorts of things were supposed to operate on a prize.

Certain the woman was behind him, the dragon exploded forward in a dead sprint. The nearest coyote didn’t have time to react, barely lifting its head from its meal before Kjell dipped his head and tucked his chin into his chest. Crown cracked against ribs, and he sent the smaller animal flying several feet before it hit the ground, and rolled. That one had no interest in giving any more of a fight before it scrambled to its feet, and raced off.

They had the others’ attention, now.