Three days travel and the majority of it had been done at night due to the blistering late summer temperatures. Wraith mourned the fact that the lowlands were so lacking in shade with only a few spares trees to hide under during the hottest part of the day. The leader's coat was patchy in half-shed disrepair without @Piety to tug the excess fur. One thing was for certain; he couldn't wait for winter.

The lowlands were peppered with tracks from a herd of caribou heading westward and the male felt they were falling behind. Cheedo, to her credit, was good company and he let her lead the scouting mission for the most part, offering advice only when it suited him. Odin was a comforting presence and one he was content to rely on. With the way the herd was traveling, Wraith suspected the three of them would have to turn the caribou back towards Whitestone to spare the rest of the pack the long hunt. Especially if Cyril was going to be joining them, it made little sense to make the poor boy travel halfway across the Lore only to run out of stamina by the time it was actually time to hunt.

Dusk was settling now and the sky burnt a brilliant orange along the horizon ahead of them while a deep blue-purple encroached from behind. Interestingly enough, Wraith noted the trail of a falling star just in his periphery. Glancing up, his maw fell open in awe. "Look," he murmured to his companions, indicating for them to follow his gaze skyward. "Hopefully it's a good omen for the upcoming hunt." As he looked on, more and more falling stars became visible, burning in the sky as they dove towards the horizon. They seemed to be guiding them in the same direction as the herd. Had the caribou seen signs of it earlier and followed the meteor shower this far westward?

The male stood and nudged Cheedo and then Odin to join him. "Let's get going. I fear they're pulling ahead of us too far."

It felt good to be out on the open tundra as the season was turning. Though the weather was still too balmy for his liking, Wraith was grateful to have good company and purpose. The male was always happiest with a goal to work towards. So much of his and Piety's time had been devoted for uniting their pack that now it felt good to just be part of one. Even if this was just a scouting mission, it was working towards a smaller, easily attainable goal. Recently, Wraith had felt like so many goals were so far in the future and so out of reach that he needed something immediately gratifying.

At @Cheedo's offer to scout ahead, the brute inclined his head. "Go on then. We'll be on your heels. Come back when you see them. We don't want to drive them farther off." With her leave to go, Wraith turned towards @Odin and smiled.

While Wraith could feel it in his heart, he knew Odin could never be legitimately claimed as his son per his mother's wishes. But that would not stop the male from acting like a father. It was a bond forged through their time together when the lad was just a pup. As such, he could never quite hide the sadness when he saw that one remaining eye.

Still, he chuckled and strode forward to brush shoulders with his son in all but name. "Your mother's cynicism has carried through, I see. It'll go fine. The stars have always held good omens."

"That so?" Wraith challenged with amusement, giving in to the temptation to nip at @Odin's ear. "Then why is it, I wonder, they call it falling in love? Come on, son. Don't let your mother's way of the world discolor even that." While he would be more than happy to launch into a full-blooded spar with the lad, they had work to do. Best not to force @Cheedo to run all the way back to them with news. Eager to meet with her, he nudged Odin onward and continued himself.

Thinking of Morganna brought to mind a curious strain of thought. He wondered if the boy ever knew the pair had been more than just Alpha and Second. "There was a time I'd loved your mother. Did you know?" he asked quietly. Without waiting for a reply, Wraith carried on lest he lose his nerve for it. "That season, she had you and your sister. Ugly times in the previous pack. Willow Ridge. Threats all around from family and the like. It wasn't to my taste and Morganna and Craw had felt the same. It was what drove us so far North. As if the farther we'd run, the less bitter it would taste in our mouths to think of it." The alliance between Morganna and Craw, well, Wraith wasn't certain if there was ever love in it. Their mating was...mutually beneficial.

"It was a foolish sort of love," Wraith admitted. "One I thought could have the chance to be one sung among the stars, but it was not your mother's way, as you know," he said with a wry smile. "I'd been used and was happy enough for it at the time. And then, through Morganna, I met Piety and things changed. She's it for me, Odin. There's no other. I don't want you to close yourself off to the possibility that there's someone out there for you, too. Faith and trust can carry you farther than forever remaining closed off and wary, son."

He felt foolish for saying it all. And maybe he was revealing too much. Certainly more than Morganna ever wanted insinuated. As far as she was concerned, her pups were hers and hers alone. And despite promising he'd not stake claim to them for political reasons, he couldn't help the connection he felt for them after they were born - especially with Odin. And the boy was old enough now to decide if it was a truth he wanted for himself.

The black brute shook out his fur as if to dispel the unease he felt with sharing. "Come on. We should find Cheedo." Wraith led the way in the direction the female had run, following scent in the dark of night.