The boy had supposed that away from the smoke was as good a direction as any. An older, wiser wolf might have identified this direction as North, but this child was something else. There was a wild light in his blazing eyes, accentuated by the angular tufts of fur sticking up over bone. Legs and ears that would have been oversized on his agemates looked comical without the bulk to even them out. He looked like something from any other pups ghost story, a wild wraith come to steal them away into the night, away from everyone and everything they held dear. A cautionary tale in motion.

The scent of food was what drew him in initially. He had gotten by so far by scavenging scraps from his captors, and as he shot up to dwarf them in size, eventually shoving them off larger portions for himself. Of course they had numbers on their side, so he rarely got more than he could swallow whole, but he had scrapped enough to live this long. Now that his captors had vanished, well, he wasn't doing as well as he had been.

The owner of the prize was far larger than he was, larger than any of the coyotes that had stolen him away. He supposed if he was quick he might be able to steal it, but the fish wasn't small either, and he was certain it would slow him down if he was lucky enough to snatch it anyway. When a sound came from the other creature, soothing in a way the sounds his mother had made, but different, the boy crouched down, muscles tensing warily, hoping the undergrowth would be enough to conceal where he was as he wordlessly licked his lips. Maybe if he just waited it out, the other would leave some scraps behind.

When the other wolf began to approach, the boy turned his head, allowing the whites of his wide eyes to show as all of his muscles strained backwards in a silent lean. He was torn somewhere between freezing and fleeing, even with the other animals relaxed stance and waving tail, much like the mother coyote offering scaps to her young. He couldn't remember any other than his own mother making a gesture like that to him before.

The boy eyed the fish with distrust. Was it a trap to get him closer so the bigger one could catch him? His breath was coming in short sharp inhales and exhales, his heart was thundering in his ears, but the aching of his clenching gut won out and with an unexpected burst of speed he sprung forwards to grab at the fish. He kept running in an erratic pattern, as though dodging attacks that he expected to come at any moment while he tried to swallow the fish whole. It got caught in the back of his throat and suddenly the boy couldn't breathe. He skidded to a stop and coughed, spitting the meat on the ground between his paws, stepping to stand over it defensively. Mine! the boy thought loudly to himself, yelling the thought to his companion with raised hackles and bared teeth.

The sound was both soothing and distressing all at once. The tone didn't sound angry and the way he crouched hardly seemed a threat, but it was still foreign to the boy and he clenched the fish between his teeth, his head remained lowered, his tail tucked against his stomach, ready to run at the first sign of movement from the other beast.

But even over the scent of the fish between his jaws, he could smell it as the wind shifted its course, his stomach giving an audible growl in response and his ears fell further back against his skull. He tore his eyes from the dark reflection that seemed so much more steady than himself, and then back over his shoulder. Another glance at the wolf had him sighing, the low grumble in his throat sounding something like deafeat.

Without another sign he picked up the chunk of fish, holding it possessively as he sought out the larger meal as best he could, expecting the stranger to follow. But he wasn't getting his fish back. It belonged to Adarius now.

The boy had stood back from the carcass when they got closer, knowing how the coyotes reacted around large kills and not wanting to lose an ear or an eye, besides, maybe while the big one was distracted yanking on the leg like that he'd finally be able to finish off the fish that he had stolen.

He was chewing the last of the flesh when a thump in front of his face sent him skittering back again, eyes narrowed accusingly and ears flat against his skull. The fuck? but his expression quickly morphed to confusion as he noticed more meat than he had seen in his life dropped right in front of him. It was tempting to gorge himself but his stomach was already rebelling at the presence of the fish, and as if his misery at going from nothing to so much wasn't enough to keep him distracted, the big one was making noises again.

Name. That was one thing he had clung to through it all, though he hadn't tried to open his mouth to form the sound in a long, long time. His lips drew in a tight line, staring at the toes of this Ayti and he tried to form the sound. "Ahh-" His voice was so hoarse he had to take a break to cough. "Ahh-dah-rus..." He stopped to shake his head, no that wasn't quite right. "Ahh-dah-ri-us... Adarius!" He said with more certainty, a nod coming at the end for emphasis. "Dari."