Rhysis had been finding it hard to remain within the pack borders. He wasn’t a pack wolf, at least not anymore and solitude was hard to find when you were surrounded by strangers who all wanted to say hello. Often he found himself crossing the borders, ensuring no one saw just so that he might get a break away. Whilst he had begun to appreciate everything the humming forest had and the River wolves had been so far, quite amicable, he still desired time away to himself. And so, he had slipped out of the borders just before the sun slipped beneath the mountains and day turned to night. He had been travelling, aimlessly ever since his paws had stepped over the invisible line that marked his current home. He had no destination in mind and was simply content to lope at a steady pace, burning down some pent up energy which had been building whilst he had been nursing two injured limbs. They were feeling fit now, almost a full recovery and with the aid of the packs food supply he had time to rest, recover and finally started to put a bit of weight on. He was no where near the muscular mass he should be, he would always be tall and thin, but at least his bones weren’t quite so visible.

The sound of night birds, crickets and other wildlife had become white noise to the male as he moved swiftly across the terrain, not at a full run but a steady pace. With his long legs he consumed the terrain beneath him quickly and it wasn’t long before the scenery changed from the forest, to general woodland and finally to an open space of the hush meadow. The white noise was disturbed out of the blue, a wolf was calling, distressed, scared by the sounds of it. A naturally curious character, Rhysis obviously wanted to know who had been calling and followed the trail the sound head guided him upon. Before long the scent of a wolf tickled his nose. A single, female, marked with no pack scent confessed itself to him, but beneath the darkness and the pale moonlight his eerie grey eyes took a little longer then they would have in the day to spot the skinny black female within the grass.

A once over told Rhysis not much more then his nose, she was thin, almost to the point of starvation perhaps and he too could have looked like that were it not for the secret of the beavers which Triell had told him, without those creatures he’d not have lasted the winter but now he was within the grasp of a pack, things were looking up.
He didn’t hurry over. Ideally he didn’t want to startle the stranger and so he slowed his pace to a mere walk. He let a low bark escape from his lips, letting her know of his presence before he sauntered closer. ”Can I help?” he asked with his southern drawl. Of course, he didn’t really care if she wanted help or not, as a loner it was every wolf for themselves but a nagging voice in the tones of Naira was in his brain- she would offer help to the female so maybe he should at least extend the same offer. Damn female, she was gonna be the death of the bad boy in him. Still he supposed he only had to listen and point her in the direction of help... it wasn’t like he was going to feed her like a baby... or carry her to a pack... or do anything other then chat. Still, he thought it was a good start on the road to not being such an ass.

Rhysis wasn’t worried about pride, and was relieved to know she wasn’t either. In life, you had to admit defeat if it meant you lived another day. Rhysis made have been a proud fellow, but he knew when to run from a fight, when to give in... if he didn’t he wouldn’t have joined the River wolves. He was a loner by nature, preferred his company to others and hated authority with a passion, but he was no fool, and when he needed it he went to a pack, he showed his belly like a good little submissive wolf and in return he found his strength improving alongside his overall health and fitness. Pride should never get in the way of survival. A logical wolf, Rhysis was pleased to know that she wasn’t going to grovel for help, but she would ask for the basics. He was pretty sure he would have done the same had he ever gotten himself into this condition... but then again he wouldn’t have allowed himself to become such a shadow of a wolf- he’d have joined a pack much sooner. Perhaps she was new to the area, or just unwanted goods. Either way he didn’t really care.

”You’re in the Relic Lore, more specifically in the Hush Meadow which is situated between two packs that reside here.” He was always to the point, never one for small talk or beating around the bush, it was a tedious waste of time and he hated to waste time. He glanced behind him, noting the position of the Riddle Heights was behind him and then gestured with a nod behind the female. ”If you travel that way, you will find the lagoon. It’s a bit of a trek but it’s all flat land. There may be a few streams running from it but I’m not certain.” Naira would indeed be proud of the progress he was making, being helpful and getting nothing in return... well, nothing just yet.

”However I think you need more then just a drink.” he said with a quirked brow, wondering if she had noticed how starved she looked. Obviously thirst was important but he wasn’t sure she’d have the energy to actually eat anything on the quest for water. Gah, what would Naira do? Find her food? That seemed like a lot of work for a stranger... ”You’re almost as thin as one of my legs... and they’re pretty lanky.” he said, trying to be a little humorous. Kanosak had laughed at his jokes once, before he realised he could ever be funny but it seemed to improve the mood between them, maybe it would help in this situation too. Being nice, not just fake nice like he normally was, but genuinely trying to be polite and helpful, was a very complex process. ”When did you last eat?” He then realised what he said might have implied he’d help her eat- bugger.

Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. he repeated the positive mantra in his mind, over and over again. It felt so unnatural to him. He was normally only helpful if it meant he’d get something in return, with nothing she could offer him at this moment in time, he felt like he was getting a rubbish deal out of this. Where most wolves would be pleased to help another, he simply found it tedious. If you couldn’t look after yourself then that was your problem, not someone else’s, however instead of saying it aloud, he simply added an awkward smile... like Naira would.

The black wolf might know how to dish out humour... but he didn’t actually understand it himself and her little joke was met without a laugh but a tilt of the head. He wasn’t sure if she was being serious or not, for he did have thin legs, legs that he wasn’t too keen on as they made him so tall and lean. He couldn’t help but glance down to his limb, just to make sure it looked how it should do before he glanced back to her. ”Well my leg doesn’t have bones poking out here and there.” he stated the obvious fact, though was a little confused with the topic. He didn’t respond well to humour but wasn’t going to hold that against her. A lot of wolves liked to laugh and jest, just because he didn’t understand it himself didn’t mean there was anything wrong with her. Though he doubted in his mind that another trek would do her any good, the lagoon was still a good distance away, even he wouldn’t travel so far and be back in his pack lands before sunrise and anyone noticed his leaving.

There was another option of course, but it meant venturing closer to his packlands. Before the grove there was a woodland, littered here and there with not only fresh water but ample food. With spring creeping upon them, the animals had been waking up, one by one which would make it easier for her to find something to eat. The lagoon might offer water, maybe a few fish but there wasn’t much room to catch something to eat. He debated what advice Naira would give, she was so good at these situations and fell into them so naturally. He had decided not to ask himself why he cared about the way he acted, he didn’t want to know the answer and was just going with the flow of things to keep himself sane. Every time of thought of the silver female his body waged war with itself, his heart and mind fighting for different sides and usually resulted in him getting a headache or being thrown into the waves of rage. Neither was an option so, he had done the male thing and locked it away, ignoring the problem.

”Right well... option B would be to travel this way.” he gestured to the north where in the distance a dense line of trees huddled at the meadows edge. ”It’s closer to my own pack, but it offers more prey and water... which you don’t get much of at the lagoon... Prey that is, not water. Obviously you get lots of water.” he sounded like a bumbling fool, not the logical, quick minded, intelligent evil genius he had always thought himself to be. The bloody female was wrecking havoc on him inside and out. ”I suppose I can show you the way if you prefer that route. I need to get back to my pack soon anyway.” he said, trying to mask the sarcasm in the word. In truth he didn’t really feel part of the pack; he kept to himself and hoped in time the other members would do well to leave him to his own devises. He would pull his weight when called, but other than that he was just counting down the days until he could complete one of two goals that his short life cried out for, one, to kill his sister and two, to begin a pack of his own. Time moved so slowly though and he supposed he should be grateful that he was still here... and in much better condition than this skinny female. Pack life wasn’t all bad, if only he could just eat their food and leave them to it, now that would be just pefect.

As she laughed he felt a little embarrassed. Embarrassed?! Since when did he know what being embarrassed felt like? Honestly, next time he saw Naira he was going to rip her head off and feed it to some beavers. He couldn’t understand why he was trying to change his ways, they had worked for him so far, but the very thought of her knowing the truth about him, her turning away never to look at him again, made him feel a little empty.
Of course, she wasn’t aware how hard he was trying to change his behaviour. He might have been grumpy towards her most of the time but he had never been rude or nasty, not aloud anyway. She probably wouldn’t even notice how hard he was trying to be a better wolf, which made him ponder on numerous times if it was even worth the effort if the one wolf he was doing this for would never know? Of course, the obvious answer to that was that then she would never have to see his ugly side. He was a master at hiding himself, but quite inexperienced at being himself... but better.

He followed her gaze back to the woodlands. Even from this distance he could feel the pulsing of the grove beneath his paws, calling to him to return. He had to be back before sunrise and the daily activities started. He decided not to dwell on the missing humour but the task at hand. He would escort her, he didn’t have to do anything other then walk home so it wasn’t like he was going out of his way here yet he still came off the good guy. A win win situation. So, he nodded.
”It’s fine.” he said simply before he turned in the direction they were to head. ”Few rules.” he then said as he began to set off, keeping the pace slow as he wasn’t too sure how much stamina she had left. ”Number one; No touching me. Number two. Unless you want to join the pack, keep back from the borders as they are heavily patrolled, especially as its breeding season. Number three. No touching.” he said, trying to think up anything else which might cause complications further down the line. Feeling confident that was all he needed to say he then glanced behind to ensure she was following. ”I’m Rhysis by the way.”

Rhysis’ lips tugged into a smirk as she mentioned kissing strangers. He hadn’t even let that thought cross his mind, but he didn’t need to be kissed by a stranger in order to need to pull them limb from limb. The male hated physical contact. Whilst he may be a keen fighter and had his fair share of scraps and scuffles, that was different. That was when instinct took over, but when it was a casual meeting, simple and easy, the idea of touching another made his skin shudder. It was strange how such an intelligent could have such a silly fault. He tried not to dwell on it. Whilst he was aware it could be a weakness, it was one he didn’t focus on nor try to fix. If he ignored it, it would go away. Right?

”Well one can’t be too careful. It is breeding season after all and you females are pretty crazy without the seasonal complications.” he said in jest with a quick glance behind him to show her the smirk. She wasn’t too far behind but she didn’t look much better on the move. He had a feeling that Naira wouldn’t be too happy if the one wolf he tried to help dropped dead in his care, so he slowed his pace to allow her to keep up.

Her question was a good one and he wasn’t going to ignore it, despite her asking. In truth he hadn’t mingled enough for much of an opinion. He knew only two wolves there, one quite well but the other only for a brief while and that had been sometime ago. He had a neutral opinion on the place, it was neither amazing of shoddy. It worked. ”Well... it works. Life is easier with them. I had been a loner for the last year, including winter. I had to join a pack due to a few injuries making life difficult.” he said, talking whilst glancing back every so often as he took them closer and closer towards the woodland. ”The lead female is alright, quite formal, regal. She runs a tight ship but if you pull your weight, get stuck in when needed then things are alright I guess.” In comparison to his homelands, the pack where he was born, live with the River wolves should have been like heaven... the only thing that ruined it for him was that his rules weren’t in place... and he was one of the lowest ranks there too which he felt was far beneath him.

”Mine will be better.” he said, mostly to himself but he supposed there was no harm in dropping the hint. Maybe in return for his help on this day she could consider to one day join his own pack that had long been in the works of development.