He had been wrong about Indru. The distinct lack of Borlla's scent in the territory had only led to one conclusion, and while it was possible that Borlla herself had turned down the offer, Marsh thought it more likely that he had done his leader a disservice. No matter his devotion to Corinna, Indru deserved his respect as well. The wolf may have been doing a lot to stretch it as much as possible, but it was true. He may have disappeared more than once, but he always came back.

Though Marsh had not slighted his leader, and doubted that Indru even knew of his dissent, Marsh felt it prudent to seek him out and make his loyalties clear. It helped no-one to harbour distrust, much less the top-ranking males.

An unknown scent on the wind distracted him from this intention. Instantly, he was on alert; a strange female, inside the borders, so close to Corinna's newest litter? He thought not. Angry, he turned into the breeze, seeking out this trespasser. It was not until he was very close that the mark of Indru, laced with her own, became apparent - so fresh. Such a recent acquisition.

It only did a little to ease his tension. If he was to be more trustful of Indru, then he had to be accepting of this decision, but it did tear at his nerves to have so many strangers roaming the territory while his leadess was pregnant and vulnerable. It was with this tension in his body that Marsh boldly approached the white wolf with stiff movements, tail creeping up over his rear in dominance. He did not yet growl, nor lift his lip, though his wild face was moments away from such a display.

Instant submission was the only demand. Swift River had no room for wolves who did not know their place.

To her credit, she responded to his satisfaction. He could see the distress in her green eyes, but she did lower herself appropriately. It was not as extreme a display as he had been hoping for (agitated as he was), but he could accept it. Without hesitation he marched right up to her, mostly ignoring her words - Indru, she said, though he already knew - and loomed over her, eyes flashing dangerously - but then he softened, just marginally, and when he moved to take her jaws briefly in his own, it was with no real aggression.

He would step back after a few moments, watching her closely, curiously. Swift River certainly was going all-out with recruiting females, lately. It was through no fault of their own that Marsh would naturally compare them to his leadess, a contest that would always come out in Corinna's favour.

But she had submitted. There was no real reason to intimidate her; his frustrations were not her fault, directly. Perhaps he should just move on and find Indru before she tried to start a conversation, bleh.

Was she afraid of him? It was an almost humourous notion, but not one he disliked. Hopefully a fearful wolf would be less likely to behave inappropriately, and thereby give him less reason to want to bite her face off. Quietly he watched her, pleased at her continued submission, and though she spoke, it was not quite the torrent of annoyance he was used to. His ears pricked forwards at her first words - meet - and he thought that he grasped the idea behind them. Curious! He huffed once, gruffly reciprocating the sentiment. After all, it should always be pleasant to meet someone who knew their place.

She met his gaze directly, then, and he may have found it too assertive if not for her previous display. Besides, when she spoke again - leadess, acceptance - he quite miraculously understood a second time. A quite inhalation was all it took to conclude that she had not yet met Corinna, and that was certainly something that all Swift River wolves should do.

His head lifted, his tail relaxed slightly, and the wolf adopted a rather business-like aura; nodding sternly, he turned about and prepared to march back the way he came, a low rumble in his chest as the request that she follow. If she was to meet her lady, then he appreciated the ability to be there, just in case this white female was not as soft as she appeared.

Dutifully he led her through the lands which he was so familiar with, the sound of running water an ever-present backdrop to life in the Grove. As before, he was otherwise silent, and her equal lack of talkativeness did not go unnoticed. It suited him fine. In those few moments, the two had come to an entirely agreeable understanding, just how he liked it. And to think that, sometimes, he wondered if knowing how to efficiently use words made life easier. How simple was this!

He guessed that Corinna would be in the vicinity of the den, or at least nearby. Besides, if this newcomer had not been shown the densite yet, then this was doubly useful. As they drew near, Marsh paused for a moment, halting long enough to raise his muzzle and howl softly for his leadess' attention. Glancing briefly at the white wolf in tow, he then began to trot towards the heart of the territory, to where the new den had been built after the old had been ruined in a flood.

Upon arrival, he stopped, and then would watch the female silently. If Corinna was busy, then hopefully she would howl to announce it. Otherwise, if the newcomer wanted to meet her, then she could be patient.

This is where it had the potential to be difficult again... With no way to know if Corinna was on her way, it was to turn into a waiting game. Marsh would have been perfectly happy with awkward silence. It would be less awkward than awkward attempts at talking.

Either way, awkwardness seemed to be inevitable.

Slowly, Marsh lowered his rear to the ground, sitting quite neatly and purposefully. It wasted a bit of time. He tried to control the flicker of doubt that ran through him at her words, his ears automatically pricking at the sound of her voice, his brain picking out words despite him really not being interested in the slightest. Name. That was such a common question. Perhaps he could...?

His tongue curled once in his mouth, and he knew that it just wasn't feasible. She was wary of him right now, perhaps still afraid, and that was far preferable to sympathy or mockery. If she really wanted to know his name, then Corinna could enlighten her, or anyone else if they happened to pass by. So, rather than respond to the relatively simple question, he simply snorted and then averted his gaze. Oh yes, he would be stubborn.