Viorel had no idea the history that was beneath his paws at this very moment as he explored the once cherished land of the Hidden Tree pack. Realistically, he had no idea just how booming the relic lands had once been, long before he ever tread here and led a pack of his own. Even before he was born many wolves had once called these lands home, and they really had lives through trials and triumphs, if only he could know.

But alas, he could not ever have a way of knowing.

The air was only getting warmer as days went by, and spring was somewhere on the horizon, and most of his kids were away. That let Viorel’s nightly explorations push further and longer than they normally would have. Ever since his pups arrived he had tried to keep closer to home, but now he felt a little restless. When was the last time he had so much freetime?

The forest he meandered through was rich with new growth, but the story of a fire still stood amongst the broken trees and charred limbs. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of something like that happening again so close to home. He was not normally a worrier, but he really hoped his kids were doing alright all the way up the mountain. At least a fire up there was unlikely he supposed.

A nearby den caught his attention, Viorel abandoned his worry with a cheeky grin. Well well well, what did we have here? Loping over, the dark man stuck his head into the den with abandon, not even for a moment considering it might be occupied.

The leader had been happily snuffling around in the abandoned den, looking for clues as to who or what had once lived here, and how long ago? Viorel had just satisfied his curiosity that whatever had been here was long gone when a voice greeted him from behind. The stranger was standing in a way that was frankly a little off putting, and his words were demanding. The salt and pepper man glanced around in amusement.

Viorel had certainly not wandered into pack territory, and this stranger did not smell of enough other wolves to think he had much backup. Raising his eyebrows in a way that probably came off condescending he chuckled, ”Woah, that seems like a bit of an overreaction considering you don’t own this place.” Was that going to piss this stranger off for belittling his authority? Maybe, but Vi did not care for that much.

Maybe it was being a leader that made him feel so cocky, or maybe it was the fact that for once he wasn’t responsible for being someone’s dad. Either way, he did not feel that this situation was all that serious, and this strange man could stand to settle down a little. Take life a little less seriously.