A low, unfamiliar howl rang through the air.

Ice's head snapped up immediately, ears cupping towards the sound. His memories told him he'd never heard that voice before, but the message was clear enough: the stranger wanted an audience. A low growl tumbled out of Ice's jaws, lips twitching. He wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with newcomers. He was still sore from the news Triell had brought when he'd returned, and the part of him that had closed down after Indru disappeared the first time - that spring he and Corinna had turned pretty much every wolf away - had done so again. He didn't want any strangers around, not around his kids, not around himself.

But he had to. It was like he'd told Jessie that day Ren came back; if they never moved forward, they'd never heal.

But damn, it hurt.

Rain began to splatter down from the sky, near-silent as they struck leaves and grass, and wolf bodies. Ice's coat was thinner than it was in winter, but still fairly thick, and the rain simply slid off him like water on a duck's feathers. He only noticed it when it struck his nose, or ears, and then they twitched as memory guided him towards the stranger. The lay of the land was starting to become firmly embedded in his mind, but he didn't know every tree yet, as he had known the Grove. In time, he told himself. In time.

His first impression of the stranger, was that it was a colorful one; if it wasn't for the white patches he'd caught immediately, he would've thought it was Marsh.. the pain washed in through him again. It would never be Marsh, coming home.

Abruptly he slowed to a walk, to give himself time to re-collect his shattered thoughts. His daily life had become a confused misery, and he was trying to not take it out on the pack, but every once in a while something would remind him of Marsh, and he'd fall apart again. Like now. Trying to steady himself, Ice dragged in deep breaths, running his eyes over the stranger. Bright. Bright, and blue-eyed, and hunched down by one of the trees Ice had marked not even a day ago. So, he knew where he was, but it was still a bit too close for comfort; Ice's tail shot straight up, ears forward, and his lips drew back, baring the slightest hint of teeth. Drawing himself up to his full height, which wasn't all that imposing when face-to-face with the stranger, he released a low growl, boring his pale eyes into Merlin's blue ones. Get down, they seemed to say.

The push of his presence sent the other back, and for a short moment the distance between them held; one shuffled step backwards for each forward one Ice took, and his narrowed eyes were blank, even though it gave him satisfaction to see the russet creature back off. The white wolf approved of those who knew respect, and showed it. And with his two sons somewhere behind him.. each yard was bringing his guard down a notch, making him breathe easier.

Then the balance broke and Ice advanced, shortening the distance between them, and then he stopped and some kind of balance was reinstated. The growl rumbling like far-off thunder in his chest died down at the submission, and Ice's lips fell back in place; a small, but significant, reward for his good behavior. He'd had too many run-ins with loners who thought they could stick their nose up his face on his borders, and that this one was different was.. pleasing. You'd think all wolves would behave like wolves, but some didn't, and frankly, Ice had begun to assume that if he didn't tell them to get down the first thing he did, they wouldn't. This one, he probably hadn't needed to remind, but he'd done it all the same, and here they were, in a much more pleasing situation.. according to Ice, at least.

A grunt, probably sort of acknowledging of the apology, was all the answer Merlin got to the first statement. Ice wasn't sure yet if he approved of it, but if this Merlin turned out to be decent, then, perhaps, he'd truly be forgiven for his near-transgression. Well-meaning, perhaps, but Ice was the judge of that, and he exhaled slowly, thoughtfully. The red male wanted to join Oak Tree Bend; why? The safety of a pack? Probably. And, it was a kind of strange insight for him, but he realized that.. quizzing Merlin on the why's and what he could bring's was.. pointless? Wasn't every wolf a hunter, protective, desiring the social aspects of life only a pack could offer? Having them swear loyalty meant nothing, after all, as so many had claimed to be just that - loyal - and still they just disappeared, as if Ice and his family meant nothing to them.

"I'm Ice," he said, gruffly, after a moment. It'd feel very strange to just say oh, how dandy, now come on in; he had to ask something, right?

"Is there any particular reason you've picked this corner of the world?"

The point had been proven; it was Ice's border, and Merlin respected that. There was just something about the red wolf.. something, that made Ice not trust him, perhaps, but some kind of understanding that he knew how to speak wolf. He knew what he was doing, what Ice was doing, what was expected of him. Somehow, Ice had a feeling that if he were to just bare his lips the slightest again.. those averted eyes would somehow see it, and his stance hunch down again. The realization was pleasing, satisfying, and it made him sure that he was the one in control, even as the ruddy male straightened up a little. One of Ice's ears twitched, and he briefly contemplated growling, just to see him jump, but decided against it. There was no reason to, and experimenting on him might not be the best way to say "welcome".

His eyes went from the tip of Merlin's limp tail up to his face again when he spoke. There was some kind of pleasure in watching the face of someone else who wasn't daring to watch yours particularly well, and his lifted tail gave a few cautious wags. "The lands to the west held no interest for me, and I saw the mountain as a challenge. My paws led me to your lands, and I tend to listen to my paws." For a moment, Ice's eyes clouded over, but then he heaved a small sigh. The west. The mountains. He turned his head aside, and stared into the woods, but not seeing the trees; how long was it going to weigh on him, like a leaden weight? How much longer was he going to remember everything that had happened in the Grove, from Indru's betrayal to Aiyana's last farewell?

"Our paws led us here, too." He spoke quietly, and flitted his gaze back to Merlin. "After the west broke our hearts too many times." His eyes narrowed slightly, and he was silent for a second. "We came here to start over. I should just let it go, but it's hard." Perhaps it was a strange thing to admit to a stranger, but Ice couldn't lie about their past, or how they were still fragile, still healing. Search and Sceral had done wonders for them, but it still wasn't easy. "I don't doubt that you're a wolf, and wolves want the security of a pack, and to feel useful, and needed. So..." Again, a small pause, as his narrowed eyes scoured the other's face; then, Ice shrugged, and motioned with his head for Merlin to walk with him. At an easy pace he set off, parallel but apart from the borders. "So, tell me about yourself instead."

Moving felt better, like the simple thing of blood rushing to active muscles swept the brooding away. His shoulders felt lighter, as if he could somehow forget about Marsh's death and all the heartache, and maybe, just maybe, this was what the future wanted of him - to be able to breathe again, without feeling as if the sorrow threatened to choke him every other second. Summer-warm soil cushioned his steps, soft underneath his worn paw pads, and many birds sang in the branches of the sturdy trees. Further in, where the mist and dim lighting ruled, they were silent, but here at the outskirts they brought life to the world. His ears twitched to their song and Merlin's speech, nose and eyes reading the forest and only occasionally darting to the red wolf. Ice could both sense his presence and see him from the corner of his eye; there was no need to constantly stare at him, for it seemed very unlikely he'd simply.. disappear.

Ice had never believed in gods. No one had ever taught him of such a concept. His birth pack had followed nothing in particular, but believed in things of wintery shades to be dangerous, and the cause of misfortunes - something Ice had been keenly aware of. He himself had followed the stars, for a time, until he had learned to stand on his own four feet. Unsure of what to say, he remained silent, allowing Merlin to pick up his tale again and continue. The conflicting statement, of being on the hunt for someone yet excelling at tracking, had the furthest corner of his mouth twitching; the old habit to ask how such two things could coincide was like an itch upon his tongue, but he kept quiet. Perhaps he excelled by having followed this someone very far, but not quite caught up yet?

In which case, the morning breeze would just blow him out again.

And then all of a sudden Merlin stopped, and Ice stopped just as abruptly, eyes first widening, then narrowing. The set of his jaw grew firm, no longer a half-open state of relaxation, and the skin on top of his muzzle wrinkled slightly. "I am not one to be trusted, which sounds, well...Strange. However, you have shown me something genuine and honest. I could not imagine myself desiring to break your trust or the trust of those under your command." And Merlin's clear blue eyes titled upwards, clearly fearful of Ice's reaction - which was, so far, nothing aside from staring in a sort of broken-hearted, dumbstruck silence. He said nothing, and Merlin's gaze dropped in what Ice thought was defeat, and still he found no words to speak. He found that he did not want to tell him anything, nor could anything properly convey his.. shock? After what Ice had told him, he simply said that he was not only looking for someone, but not to be trusted.

"And how do you expect me to believe that when you just said you couldn't be trusted?" he finally said, his tone dangerously soft and icy cold; Ice was not one to keep his emotions to himself. It would've been more like him to growl and put Merlin on his ass before chasing him out, but something had both shocked and infuriated him to a point where there was nothing he could do except force words out in that voice. "We don't coddle quitters and liars in this pack, fool." His tail rose in contempt, stiff as a spear, and a twitch ran through his lips, leaving him with the slightest, strained smile of fangs. He was not sure what else he could say to the unfortunate idiot who had just convinced Ice that he was the two things the near-white wolf loathed the most; an opportunistic vagrant and a liar.