The journey home had never felt so long. Whilst he usually took a day or two travelling from his den in the Wildwood to the northern part of the lore, he took the journey in his stride, met wolves along the way and let his sense of adventure run free... but today matters were different. With a gash on his back paw, his usual gangly trot was now an awkward limp. His other back leg was hurting from having to bear the weight and whilst his entire body thumped with bumps, bruises and little cuts from his tumble into the river. All for a female... stupid, stupid, females.

Along the way he had moan, cussed, chuckled and scorned himself at the variety of thoughts, feelings and memories which followed him home. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he had since put it down to the fact his head had collided with more debris, logs, rocks and who knows what else to have given him a form of concussion, that was right... it certainly had nothing to do with the fact that Naira made him feel all of these things. Still, he should probably avoid her from now on because when he was around her all he just didn’t feel right and he just couldn’t get used to the bumbling idiot he seemed to turn into as soon as he caught her scent on the breeze, or heard her voice tickle the air.

With a heavy wave of tiredness threatening to surface again, Rhysis moved to the edge of the field and took a heavy seat beneath a cluster of blackberry bushes. His eyes felt heavy, but he wouldn’t sleep until night fall at least which was still a few hours away. He just needed a few minutes to regroup before he would press onwards. ”Naira... you will be the death of me.” he muttered as his head sank to rest on his dirty paws.

Being upwind of your quarry was never a good place to be so the golden second continued along his route, ignoring the scattering rabbits and voles. He had little use for such small prey. You couldn't feed a pack on that rubbish, although it seemed to be the small prey that got them through the winter. He was amazed their were any rabbits left at the rate the Creek pack were scoffing them down but he guessed that was why rabbits bred like, well, rabbits.

His journey into the Ghastly Woods had unsettled something deep within him. His sister was nearby and yet she hadn't stopped to see him, and upon returning to his duties patrolling the borders her scent was excessively close to their carefully marked lines, although faded. Her scent was swimming in his head, singing of a home long lost to them. It was this pull which now found him in the thawing fields of blackberry bushes, seeking out a scent so similar to his own. One of fir trees, baikal sedge, and wildflowers from the land where they were born.

As he wandered his nose teased him with a hint of her scent and he heard a distinctly masculine voice muttering that his sister would be the death of him. Perhaps he was right. The suspicious male stalked forward, searching for the owner of the voice amongst the thorny bushes. A second whiff bought the scent of the wolf who had been testing their borders and while he was prone to fits of bad temper where his families safety was concerned, Rolu had been talking rubbish the first night he had arrived and if that were the case then perhaps the enemy of his enemy was in fact his friend...

Relaxing his stance he sat back and said to the field of thorns "Perhaps it will be my sister, or perhaps it will be me..." with a small smile on his face, stance relaxed to show that in actual fact, he meant no harm... yet. That would all depend on if any harm had come to the larger of his female siblings or not.

Heavy lids had been forcing their way shut as the male simply enjoyed the fading sunshine upon his still cold body and with the sound of birds singing, insects chirping and who knew what else he found sleep more and more appealing. He had almost drifted off with his head still upright when a strange scent stroked his nose. Instantly his grey eyes opened and landed upon a golden brown wolf. He wasn’t a big wolf, though not many were in a height comparison, but he had brilliant golden eyes. Something about him looked familiar but he just couldn’t place what.

The scent upon him screamed of Copper Rock Creek, a smell he had put in his memory and would never forget. He didn’t know the wolf, his name, rank or intentions but at that very moment in time he had very little strength to be much use to himself, so, he remained upon the floor looking dirty and tired, merely listening as the male came closer and began talking.

It took his sleepy mind a moment to process what he was talking about, especially as he hadn’t really heard himself mention the female who made him feel so strange, but there was no mistaking the connection the male had made at the mention of her name. She had mentioned a brother on their first meeting, having guessed he lived in Copper Rock Creek. It seemed her suspicions had been bang on the money and for some reason a genuine smile came to his face as he spoke. ”You must be Kanosak.” he let his southern drawl speak smoothly, strong despite how tired he was feeling. He felt the need to make a good first impression with this wolf, though told himself it was because he wanted to join the ranks at this wolfs pack...nothing to do with his sister of course.

His rutilant eyes shone when the stranger knew his name, a small wag of his tail betraying the excitement he felt. If this stranger knew his sister well enough that he still carried her scent, she couldn't be far away. It would appear his wayward sister hadn't forgotten where she had come from or her family but that didn't stop it from hurting a little that she hadn't managed to find him yet. She was after all one of the better trackers in the family right after Ani, but unlike the smaller sister she had the confidence to believe in her abilities. His eyes finally found the dark form they were seeking, the poor fellow looked a little worse for wear. He looked a little young, perhaps half their age, but he couldn't judge, their mother had been older than their father and that worked out just fine for them.

It was hard to tell from his prone position on the ground but he looked to be more legs than muscle, not that it mattered to the second. His brother Chulyin had been a hulking mass and he still managed to hold his own on occasion. "Yes I am, and judging by your scent and the rantings of one of our loud-mouthed dissent sprouting subordinates, I imagine you must be Rhysis. Come to bath in our blood?" he questioned with a wry smirk. The lad was merely that, a lad, and Kano had already found him less grating than the subordinate in question. He couldn't see the harm in getting to know the guy a little more, to get to the bottom of Rolu's true plot if anything, and the man held information on his sister. He only just noticed the wounds the young wolf carried and his still somewhat damp appearance, "Oh dear, you didn't tell her she was looking fat did you?" mock horror painted all over his features in jest.

He had been frantically trying to remember anything more he knew of the male. He knew his name, his pack, Naira was his sister but she had mentioned something else. With the way he held himself as he drew closer, despite the obvious curiosity in his manner, he held an air of dominance. It was then it struck him, Naira had said she thought he was the second of the pack... this wolf could prove most useful in his plight against his sister, especially if he could help open the door to their pack. With a dip of his head as the other located him and moved closer, he pulled himself slowly, achingly, but surely up to a sitting position where his chest displayed a fine mixture of sand, leave, mud and even a few twigs which had been caught in his fluffy winter coat.

He’d been taken slightly off guard by the wolfs words however... come to bathe in their blood? What nonsense. He had spoken to no one of his plans here, not even Valiant knew why he wanted to get into this wolf’s pack. It seemed someone had been spreading lies and he had a few suspects in mind. There was a few wolves who he had the displeasure of meeting and any one of them could be out to get him. Still, this wolf seemed the type of guy who got straight to the point, he didn’t bother with the small talk and Rhysis was grateful for it. ”Got it in one.” he said in response to his name and offered a half smile. ”I’ve had enough bathing for one day, thanks.”

At the mention of his sister and calling her fat, he went blank. He didn’t get the joke at all. Valiant would have, he would have to ask him later about it. Rhysis was certain it was humorous but he didn’t understand it. ”No I didn’t say she was fat... She is terrible at hunting beavers however.” and if to prove the point he lowered his jaws and tugged a twig which was sprouting out from his chest and dropped it to the floor. ”Not only did she walk across their dam and broke it, but she also poked one... to death it would seem.” That nagging feeling of a smile at the thought was trying to break free, but he suppressed it... mostly.

The golden male chuckled. It would appear the male was quite inexperienced if he thought criticising a females hunting tactics would get him far. "And you told her so, so she threw you in the river?" he asked with an arched brow. "Don't worry, she's thrown bigger guys than you in the water plenty of times..." he said with a small grin, settling himself on his haunches near the younger wolf. The pack was already on high alert and perhaps it was best to get to the point.

"You know, I've smelled your scent on the border a fair bit recently... The current climate towards your presence is...hostile at best." he admitted to the young male regretfully. He truly didn't seem as bad as some had been making out, but in the best interests of his family, he felt it best to try and convince the young wolf to try his luck elsewhere. "This isn't the only pack as I'm sure you are aware. Perhaps you would have better luck at one of those?" he suggested gently. There was no need to beat around the bush. It was completely by chance he had stumbled across the male, and while he was keen to learn more of his sister, it also wasn't fair to lead the younger wolf on with hopes of being admitted into the pack.

He shrugged. She might not have thrown him in the river in a physical sense but it was her fault that he was now soggy and dirty. At the mention of other males however, his ears twitched and stood tall upon his head. Other males? Why did the thought have his hackles tingle, twitching to bristle at the idea of her with another male. She didn’t have a mate... did she? Had she had one before? She was older then Rhysis... maybe she had been with another wolf before? Why did he suddenly feel so angry at the idea of her being around another male. Rhysis didn’t like to share his things... His mind was battling with itself, part of it wanting to tear the head off every male Naira might have come into contact with whilst the other was questioning itself as to why he was having such a strong reaction. Naira wasn’t his... he didn’t even want her.
He couldn’t deal with that now, he had to keep his facade on to keep her brother and second of the Copper Rock Creek pack on his side.

”Yes I’ve been waiting for Aeylen to get in touch. We were supposed to meet some time ago now and she never showed... I hadn’t realised I was causing offence with my checking up. I should apologise to you now and ask that you might pass that along to your pack mates as well?” he said sincerely with a half smile. Shit. Hostile towards him? Maybe Volkan had been spouting out warnings and other crap about him already. He knew there was a possibility of such a reaction from the idea of meeting him, but he had hoped, more then known that she might accept the offer to meet him with an entourage. Apparently that idea was a load of scat now. Fuck. It appeared his master plan had been compromised and like any evil genius, he would have to regroup and strike later... harder. Stupid little bitch... now he was just plain mad. Maybe making her suffer slowly in an emotional sense was too good... perhaps he should opt for a physical route instead. Poisoning... or a wound so deep she would die a painful death. Gah... he couldn’t think about that now.

With a solemn nod, he looked to his paws as he spoke. ”Oh... of course. I shall be sure to keep my distance from now on. I guess I let the excitement of seeing my sister again get the better of my manners and good sense, hopefully you could at least understand that. Still, you won’t be sniffing me so close to your borders again. I can assure you.” he said, utterly truthfully. He couldn’t afford to slip up now, not with the pack on high alert for him, he was no fool and knew it would be better to run away now and live to tell the tale.

His eyes narrowed a little at the other wolfs visible reaction to his comment and a small smile crossed his face. "Just don't try to touch her and you'll be just fine... Then again, I warned them too and they didn't listen..." he trailed off reminiscing. His sister had always been so standoffish about physical contact with others that he had grown to assume the only way another wolf could get her scent on him as strongly (even as it was fading) as this male did was to get into some sort of fight with her. He was missing something, but he imagined it would all come out in the end.

He hoped the young man wasn't blaming his sister. She had had little to do with the current hostilities that he was aware of. "Look, your sister may want to meet up with you, I'm not sure, she tends to keep to herself. I first heard of you from a wolf called Rolu. He started sprouting crap that you were dangerous and you'll kill us all. No offence mate, but now I've laid eyes on you, I couldn't see it happening." he said with a small smile. He was more than aware appearances were deceiving. He himself was the perfect example, but they were a pack, and he was a loner.

Deciding to change his path of questioning a little, he turned his attention back to what had initially drawn him here. "Does she look well?" he questioned almost hopefully. Perhaps this guy wouldn't mind talking about his sister, whether she really had attacked him or not. The thought of her willingly touching anyone beyond what was necessary for healing or fighting still baffled him. Perhaps some light would be shed on if she had changed at all or not.

Rhysis chuckled to himself- no, he didn’t look a vicious killer at all did he. It was almost lucky that he had bumped into the golden male at a time when he looked so scruffy- it made him seem perhaps too simple to be this dangerous wolf they had been told of. He supposed it helped that his appearance, even when neat and tidy, was that of a handsome face with a tall, skinny frame. He didn’t look dangerous at all, but it was inside where the evil festered- he was certain a clever wolf would one day see into his soul through his ghostly grey eyes, but he had yet to find such a wise wolf. He might look lanky, his height did the hard work there but the muscles beneath his skin were bred to pack a punch. Even now, he was certain he could take down any wolf, maybe even Valiant as he worked with logic. He saw the moves that were coming next, he had a high pain threshold and with his upbringing he’d been taught to battle with a wolf of every shape, size weight and even gender. A tactical killer... in the body of a fool. It was the perfect disguise and so far, this golden boy was buying into it all.

”Rolu? Hmm... Rolu, Rolu.. Ro-“ he said outloud, pretending to search for the name and face, but he knew full well who the wolf was. Rhysis didn’t forget anything and next time he crossed paths with the pathetic excuse for a wolf he’d be sure to tear him an extra hole or two. ”Ah yes. I remember him now. We spoke for all of a minute before I left him to attend to a den I left on fire.” he said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes and a lash of his tail. ”He seemed a bit of a madman, spouting about packs and power, saying I was evil or something like that. As you can imagine, I didn’t hang around for much more after that.” he then shrugged and glanced sideways towards the other. ”Sorry, I wouldn’t want to cause offence to a fellow pack mate but well-“ he rolled a shoulder and straightened up again. ”I don’t like liars.” and that was true. Lies really did tick him off which is why he made sure to make so little of them.

He was grateful the conversation changed, until it went back to Naira. He had tried to ignore the first comment about her and her dealings with other males, despite a brief prickle of the skin he thought he handled the situation pretty well, but naturally this male wasn’t going to let the subject drop completely and just like that, it was back. Rhysis would rather talk about the impression the pack had of him then the one Naira was having on him at that moment in time. ”Yeah, she’s well. Joined the Swift River pack so she’s cared for better then most. I hear they’re a pretty tight knit group.” No doubt she’d be enjoying the attention from the males like. He wondered if she’d tried it on with Triell yet? Mentally he shook himself, now was not the time to think about it. He needed to stay focused.

The golden wolf chuckled. 'Den on fire, I'll have to remember that one..." The guy didn't seem the joking sort but he appreciated the sarcasm. He had grown up with his sister after all. "Not a fan of him myself..." he admitted, somewhat relieved he was not the only one to find the man insufferable. "He came on to pack territory in the hopes of joining. If it hadn't been for Aeylen I would have ripped his guts out then and there..." He took a moment to sniff the air then continued with his story "and then after Aeylen was gone and I was showing him to the den he was going on about how dangerous you were and how he wouldn't be around to say I told you so... So I had to put him in his place... First time I had to do it actually... only time..." Something had him distracted but he couldn't quite place it.

Swift River... something tickled the back of his mind, but tight knit seemed like it would suit her well. She was always had been the more dominant of their litter, probably why she had been chosen as a peace offering to the neighbouring pack... until the leaders son tried to touch her and she threw him in the creek and stormed back home. Kanosak had seen the funny side of it, but his father wasn't so forgiving. He had always put the good of all above the good of one.

He glanced at the young male from the corner of his eye, silently assessing his injures. They didn't look so terrible that he wouldn't survive but still... "Want me to look at that for you?" he questioned lightly but not pressing the issue. He was more than aware of how most males felt about healing.