Late afternoon; Cloudy; Current Temperature: 70° F/21° C

The heartening sense of duty and recently discovered confidence flowed through the boy's veins. After setting his fiery orange eyes on the pure, crystal-clear sapphire hues of his brother Torrel's own pair of eyes Fenru Tainn had felt nothing but the dire need to protect him, Aiyana and Rissa, his own littermates... even his parents and his uncles. Should they be hindered by any means, Fen wanted to be there to pick up the slack, to ensure his father's pack would still function as it did now at this very moment. Keeping Swift River strong and fit meant his youngest siblings could grow up in a place that was well-protected and well-fed, very much unlike the Grove he had been raised in when Indru had gone missing and he, Kisla, and Rihael had nearly starved under their guardians' watch.

The path Ice had gladly shown him and the landmarks he had pointed out now served the yearling well. Every morning, like clockwork, Fen woke up to stretch, relieve himself, immediately check his surroundings (from where he slept a few meters away from the pack den) then quench his thirst. Within minutes he reached Indru's first marker, a severely clawed tree, and a minute or so after he sauntered past another beacon that distinctly told other wolves to beware, keep out, or watch their step. Every step was planned and every turn in the trail was memorized. By the time the sun was directly overhead, obscured by the clouds, Fenru had made it halfway around Ice's route and the sight of a certain moss-covered tree signalled he was welcome to take a rest. Shaking out his pelt after being assured his parents' scents still lingered about the area he slowly came to a standstill.

Lifting a paw he extended his right forelimb, stretching the tense muscles until the tightness edged away. It took him a moment to realize the fact but the birds in this section of the forest had stopped singing and an eerie silence washed over him. Rather than giving in to fear, Fenru braced himself and he lifted his muzzle into the air to sample it. He was certain they had taken flight upon his arrival but a part of him still craved to be assured and comforted. His gaze darted from one side of the territory toward the unfamiliar reaches of the forest beyond the territory boundary until he centered on what he thought was out of place. Cautiously edging forward to examine a crooked stick, he moved his nose over the knotted bark, unable to place a name to the foreign aroma that coated it. His frame quivered, unsure if he ought to call for assistance or company or to simply stand guard at this very spot until he was positive this part of the territory had not been breached.

Raccoons, crows, foxes, badgers, snakes, and various weasels and rodents had always been apart of the boys' list of learned scents. Coyote, however, had not been one of them. Come to think of it, the stink began to coat certain areas of the clearing now. That, or he was starting to blow the sudden, unwelcome discovery out of proportion and losing his grip on what was tangible before him. He wasn't using his nose again.. the way he was supposed to. Apparently.

What signalled Corinna's arrival was not the inclusion of her perfume to his surrounding's potpourri but the soft bark that called out to him... as well as the addition of his nickname and the sensation of feeling her press against his thigh. For several seconds he was frozen and when he turned to his mother his ears lowered tentatively. "Mum," he whispered. "Hi." His troubled gaze looked her over, attempting to see if he could spot anything on her face that mirrored his own... if she, too, had noticed the unsettling atmosphere on this part of the territory.

"The birds..." he murmured, lifting his eyes upward again to see if he could spot any of the feathered creatures that had been perched above him only moments before his appearance. He tore his attention away from the treetops against the gray, nubilous sky and glanced at Corinna again before pointing with his nose to the fallen branch in front of him. "Look at this," he feebly instructed. "Smell it... What..." His courage and confidence was wearing thin now. "What is that? Who is that? That... They... This... This wasn't here yesterday."

Perhaps when he was younger, when he and Rihael openly embraced stories of unbelievable whim and created in their minds the most fantastic and fanciful of beasts, the presentation of the foreign scent would have been something to jubilate about. Now, as he stood there, on the brink of being unnerved beyond his wits, he merely watched as his mother leaned forward to investigate. Her pelt began to bristle and worry flickered across his youthful features. Corinna's growl had also not gone unnoticed. She drew closer to him and he emitted a short, high-pitched whine in response.

She bestowed upon him the name of the creature in question - a coyote - and even though she only met his gaze briefly, the action quelled a part of the anxiety that was starting to bubble up in his chest. "Do you know what that is?" The yearling's brow creased; he did not even want to imagine what this creature could have looked like if its distinct aroma reeked of fresh kill and warm, almost grassy musk. He slowly shook his head. "What is a coy-oh-tee? Why is it here?"

His amber gaze peered eagerly into Corinna's sage green irises. He wasn't sure if he truly wanted the answer - assuming the animal or being in question was something to be feared or respected or, starting now, tracked and hunted down - but, given that he was now just starting to ease his way into the adult ranks and fully embracing his duties, he knew he had to soak up whatever information was given to him. Maybe Ice had actually seen one of these things. If his hero had helped Uncle Marsh with a bear, then surely these coyotes were barely troublesome at all aside from accounts of trespassing where they weren't welcome.

Fenru's eyes blinked closed as his mother touched her nose and muzzle to his cheek. His tail wagged for a brief moment, comforted for the time being. The creatures in question, he immediately learned, were like wolves - like him... A brow rose as he pictured a canine-like beast, just a little smaller than he was but much, much larger than little Torrel. "They normally stay away from wolf packs," Corinna added. "A wolf against a coyote is no contest." The boy paused to let the fact sink in. Good. That was a relief. Hearing her say that actually made patrolling an 'okay' activity again, and coyotes were now on his list of learned Relic Lore fauna. Granted that he could hold his ground, coyotes now wouldn't stand a chance.

His eyes focused back on the River leader and he nodded to let her know that he understood that their caches were at stake with the wolf-like beasts running about. Slowly his muscles relaxed and upon being asked whether or not they ought to go looking for this coyote, Fenru had to think the question over for a few seconds. Ultimately he nodded again. "Yeah," he agreed rather meekly. If anything, now more than ever was the best time to face this practical fear and deal with it before it got worse. "Let's look for it." He leaned down to take another whiff of the foreign scent before craning his head upward to look in the direction the canine could have gone - towards where he and Uncle Triell had once stowed away a rabbit a long time ago. The last time he checked, he had stashed away two mice for today's afternoon snack. With Corinna's mini-lesson, it was now safe to assume that the rodents were no longer there. "This way?" he quietly questioned.

Emboldened by his mother's words and comforted again that coyotes were not a typical opponent (opposed to intimidating Rihael or Angier or even Arlette, he supposed), the yearling was quick to fall into step with Corinna's stride. He had picked up the intruder's scent on the shrub that his mother had inspected and was not surprised to discover that the scent trail wove through the forest from one tree to another. It might have been looking for something or... something more than Fenru's rodent snacks. A light growl rumbled from his throat as he crept low to the ground, trailing the scent directly until it began to grow stronger. Fenru snorted and shook his head, stopping to look over his shoulder to make eye contact with Corinna.

Fear peppered the trespasser's trail and it prompted the young Tainn to take a step back and gauge the situation. Perhaps it would be so scared it attacked them? Maybe... Maybe it-- What was that?! Fenru's head turned instinctively to the left where the rustling of leaves had snagged his attention. Without delay he reacted, charging blindly towards the source of the sound. His large frame blundered through the underbrush and he snapped his jaws in an intimidating fashion when he came face-to-face with the slight, lithe coyote.

It let out a startled yelp and quickly dashed around the tree it had been resting against. Fenru lumbered after it, barking frantically to alert Corinna and whoever else was nearby that he was hot on the heels of an unwelcome visitor.