The boy had slightly detoured from the plan. Hell, his eleven months of life had been one giant detour, as Valor always preferred taking the scenic route. Enjoying the view. Stopping to smell the flowers. Et cetera. He knew where to go, for the most part, so he was not in a hurry to catch up—even though it had been him that had left first to seek out their father. There wasn’t anything special or extravagant about where they had ended up—in fact, it was rather dull. But, who was he to judge? He’d only explored one territory so far. There was a chance that it was going to get better; more interesting.

But that was Valor looking on the bright side of things, as always.

It was what he did best.

He pranced through the meadow with long, lazy strides, his fiery gaze sweeping over the sea of green surrounding him. The scent of his family lead east, which was precisely why he’d gone the opposite direction. But not too far, as he still wanted to meet up with them eventually. Or have them find him—whatever came first. The almost-yearling continued along, his creamy paws dragging through the soft grass as he kept his nose low. The field was heavy with the scent of wolves, but none familiar to him (as expected). Which meant that it was probably close to a pack. But, there was another scent that made his nose quiver and his ears sag: the scent of coyotes. Plural, not singular. Which troubled the youth. He almost considered slipping off to find his family, but what would be the fun in that? So, for now, he ignored it. The stench was mostly stale, which worked in Valor's favour...

Despite the boy’s young age and rather reckless demeanour, he wasn’t a complete idiot. Maybe half, or twenty percent, but definitely not full idiot. Which meant that the agouti youth was well aware of the wolf trailing him. For now he disregarded her presence, as it wasn’t interfering with his adventuring. He thought of slipping away, maybe finding a river or a body of water to wash his scent clean; make things a little interesting, if not difficult for the greyscale woman. He pushed the thought aside almost immediately, as the woman wasn’t smothering him. She never did. Despite the serious, disgruntled expression she typically wore, the silver female wasn’t so bad. She gave him more of a long leash than his father did, so Valor didn’t mind her trailing behind him.

He continued along with his nose kept low to the ground, his brows pinched tight as he attempted to assess how many scents had passed through the lush meadow. It was more than he could keep track of, that was for sure. All foreign—aside for the coyotes. That was a scent that the boy could never forget. It certainly made things interesting, as he didn’t expect there to be so many in the lands of Lore. He didn’t know if that was a common occurrence, of if the sudden increase in coyote numbers was an anomaly.

What’re your plans for today? He called out to the wind once he grew bored of ignoring her. He wouldn’t care if she didn’t answer—he almost didn’t expect her too. Valor had the gift of the gab; he couldn’t sit in silence for very long when he knew that there was another present.

Keep track of you. He snorted in mild amusement; a corner of his cheek lifting as he turned to look over his shoulder to meet her sunflower gaze. It seemed that all of the Carrion Crew wanted to keep track of him—as though they didn’t trust him to be alone. The thought was almost enough to bring a frown to his tawny features, but the boy remained composed. He was far too optimistic to allow a few overbearing wolves to bring him down. He was still capable of having his fun—with or without them tagging along.

However, as he studied her silver figure with his tongue poised for a sharp response, he spotted moving figures in the distance. It appeared that the Carrion duo was no longer alone, and the faces in the distance were not ones he recognized. Instead they belonged to a group of coyotes—five, to be exact. His nostrils flared; slender legs stiff. Pilea seemed intent on vacating the area, which the boy also considered for a fleeting moment, but his thoughts shifted when a familiar scent reached his nostrils. His father had decided to make an appearance, as well, but the boy was not surprised. Why the hurry? His pointed snout turned to the group of coyotes in the distance, his tail flicking in frustration behind him. Valor wasn’t opposed to running, either, but what was the fun in that? What do you think, son? His amber gaze shifted, a cocky, lopsided grin appearing on his youthful features. I think there’s still some fun to be had, he chimed in as he regarded the group of scrawny coyotes in the distance, his brows pinched tight. Three against five? It wasn't a fair fight, but it would certainly make things interesting.