Home again. Home..? Yes, that was how he had come to think of Oak Tree Bend its quiet, oddly, giving the otherwise adventurous wolf a sense of security and peace. He had found a home in The Bend, and a good, strong leader in Triell; one of the few wolves who'd ever managed to earn the black man's respect. So while he's trek over the mountain had been a nice change of scenery and a good stretch for his legs after the more dormant winter, there had been no doubt he would return to the glade, and so he had a few days ago.






What he had returned to though, was not entirely pleasant. The scent was clear on the land, hanging in the leafing trees, its alien notes mixing with the familiar scent of Nayeli. At first, the dark lad had simply been curious, slightly concerned, until the anagnorisis came upon him; then his ears fell in, hackles prickling slightly. Drestig was no young fool, but neither was he old, and never was the weight of subordination heavier on a wolf than in spring, when his leaders reproduced and he did not. It wasn't like he wasn't happy for the couple, and the thought of new pups in Oak Tree Bend filled him with pride, but there was a part of him, however small, that felt cheated; a part that despised Triell for taking the black woman, not so much because Drestig desired her himself, but simply because his instinct burned in him to pass on his own genes. It was a feeling he needed to rein in, and until he could, he did his best to keep his distance from both of them; I don't wanna stir up any trouble..! He told himself, repeatedly.






So he patrolled the borders, back in the old pattern, yet now making sure that his route did not intersect with that of his alpha. And he was on such a patrol when the howl made his ears prick; Serach? It wasn't a voice heard often around the territory, both the boys were quiet individuals - not strange, considering their unfortunate circumstances - so it took the black male a little while to identify the caller, and when he did, his curiosity was pricked. Sliding into a brisk, quiet trot, Drestig crossed the borders to follow the youth; his call had not asked for assistance in his hunt, but neither had it declined it, and it was no secret that the older boy was eager to spend more time with the young boys.






It didn't take overly long to catch up with the pale lad, while he had grown to the same size of Drestig, there was still a faint awkwardness to his movements. Not wanting to interrupt the hunt by calling out, the man waited until he was close, coming up beside the yearling, before speaking; "Mind some assistance?" He asked quietly, voice and face neutral, eyes looking ahead rather than directly at the boy; he didn't want to intrude, but hoped that Serach might accept the offer of a hunting partner more easily than that of someone to talk to.






Word count: 528





My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”

He followed silently, allowing the boy to lead the hunt, though he would occasionally check whether they were on the right track. This trail was tricky though, seeming to disappear every few steps, only to return after yet another. Drestig's brow furrowed as he followed Serach, lowering his own head to sniff at the undergrowth every time they slowed. The scent appeared to be fading, even as he filled his snout with it, dissolving into the air, like it was an old trace; How strange! Suddenly, the illusive smell disappeared completely, leaving the two hunters staring blankly into the forest; Not again! Was the entirety of the Wildwood haunted by ghost deer?






Serach spoke up, seemingly just as nervous as Drestig was confused. The black wolf looked down at his young companion, offering a bemused smile; "It seems we made a wrong turn... Somewhere." He said, temperately, gazing around as if something in the clearing could explain the vanishing scent. When the pale boy spoke again though, Drestig's attention turned fully to him; ears perking at the timid tone. Looking at Serach's submissiveness, the dark man's smirk faded, the corner of his mouth twitching. He shook his head slowly; "No-no." He tried another smile, lowering his head to lightly brush his nose against the younger lad's shoulder; "You did everything right, the trail just seemed to... disappear." Eyes narrowing, the older male looked around again, raising his head to sniff at the air; Not a trace... He chuckled resignedly; "That is truly bizarre," With a sigh he returned his eyes to Serach; "I'm afraid our hunt is over."







Word count: 268





My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”

It made the dark man happy when Serach returned his touch, his smile growing fuller, despite the disappointment of the lost trail. The boy mimicked his older companion, looking around bewilderedly. Drestig chuckled silently and raised his head to sniff at the air again; he smelled only the forest, fresh, wet leaves and small critters - not nearly meaty enough to be worth the effort of trying to catch them - there was no sign of the deer. The black wolf shook his head, ears half back in mild annoyance; even now when summer was nearing, the waste of time and energy of a failed hunt was ill affordable.






Serach spoke again, and Drestig turned his attention back to the lad, ears flipping back forwards. His brows wrinkled; "No, it's certainly not normal..." He answered, voice not unfriendly, but slightly grumbling as he turned his eyes to the greenery around them. His thoughts inevitably went to that day, after he had come down the mountain on his trip to the western woods, where a similar trail had caught his attention, only to vanish into thin air just like this one; If I was a religious wolf, I would say that the gods had it out for me... Luckily he was not. But the unlikable coincidence still bugged him.






While the ebony male had been mulling, Serach seemed t have done his own worrying, now speaking again to let Drestig in on his concerns. The older wolf didn't laugh this time, he understood the yearlings fears, though he thought them unfounded. He listened quietly as Serach promised he had smelled something, and didn't interrupt to reassure him before he had finished. The light pelted boy ended out by proposing they continue searching, his cautious smiling earning a, slightly crooked, grin in return. "Don't blame yourself," He said in a supportive tone; "It happens sometimes, it was just a fluke..." Cocking his head slightly, the older male narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, then looked at Serach confidentially; "You know, I'm hoping to become a scout too, and I lost the scent as well. Some trails are tougher than others," He straightened himself a bit, putting on a more stern face; "There's no use beating yourself up about it."






He looked at the boy with a semi strict gaze, not quite able to keep his expression serious. After a moment he gave up, huffing as he lowered his head; "But keep looking, that's the spirit!" He sent the boy another grin, pushing a black shoulder against his tan one; "Turning back around and trying to pick up the trail again somewhere would be the best move, lead the way scout!" Drestig's earlier agitation at the lost scent was forgotten, he was enjoying the young wolf's company immensely, it was a position he hadn't been in for way too long.






Word count: 479





My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”

Happy to see Serach brighten up at his support, the black man fell into step with the boy, following him back through the forest, his own nose to the ground as well. There was absolutely no trace of the deer, and the farther back they went, the more Drestig doubted they would ever find the trail again; A damn shame too, I really need a nice hunt! The whole pack did, even though prey hat become more bountiful, they could all use a nice meal; Alas, ghost deer will feed no one... The pale lad echoed his thoughts, speaking of Nayeli's pregnancy, and her need to eat, not only for herself, but the puppies as well. Dretig's face twisted into an involuntary sneer, for a moment he had blissfully forgotten Triell's union with the newest member of the pack.






Freezing on the spot, the swarthy wolf lifted his head and turned it away, forcing the grimace off his face. This darned jealousy had to be killed, he couldn't go in resenting his own leaders like this; If only it was a simple question of logic..! He shook his head, whatever hormones and instincts were raging in his body, now was not the time to confront them. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his worries aside and returned his attention to the hunt and his young companion. Luckily, Serach seemed to have been distracted by something, straying away from their path; Hopefully he didn't notice anything... Drestig trotted up to the boy just as he stopped below a small oak tree. He followed the other's gaze, turning his own snout upwards, eyes narrowing to search between the branches. Ears twitching curiously, he sniffed in deeply to try and identify the smell that had led his younger hunting partner her.






Brows furrowed, he looked back down to meet Serach's eyes at his question. He wrinkled his nose, wondering in silence for a moment; "No... That's definitely not a squirrel." Flame colored eyes glanced back up, hunting among the bright leafs for the source of the scent. With his ears flipping back in annoyance, the older male proceeded to circle around the tree, head still turned upwards, a low grumble building in his chest. Finally he stopped and lifted himself up on his hind legs, resting his large front paws against the trunk and tilting his head to focus on something hidden high within the tree crown; What on earth IS that?!






After a moment of staring at the shapeless form, Drestig emitted a row of growling barks, his hackles rising slightly. The golden brown creature stirred at the noise, rattling the branches. With another rumbling growl, the ebony man pushed back against the tree and bumped back down in the underbrush, next to Serach; "Well, it's alive... But I have no idea what it is!" he said, looking over at the boy, tone surprisingly light, then he turned his head back up, sniffing in the unknown scent; "I wonder... It smells like it could be eatable." However stuck up in that tree it didn't really matter. Drestig sighed, bowing down to sniff the forest floor with little interest; "But it ain't no deer." He glanced up at Serach, one brow slightly cocked, as if asking; What do you wanna do? Personally, he was curious to figure out exactly what this mysterious creature was, but if the youngster was still set on hunting deer, he would receive no objection from the older wolf; there was little chance of filling their stomachs with the 'tree beast' safe as it was up high on its branch.






Word count: 601





My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”

Serach was game, and the ebony man grinned back at him with all signs of enjoyment, once more turning his head upwards to watch the tree-bound creature. His skull tilted to the side, eyes narrowing as he tried to get a clearer view of the beast. When the blonde boy asked his question, Drestig glanced down at him, ears still turned up at the canopy, and wrinkled his brows thoughtfully.






"An excellent question." The older male murmured, voice still light despite the apparent conundrum. He circled the tree once more, slower this time, eyes directed at its roots; A strong and healthy tree... He thought disappointedly, short of maybe running their heads straight into the trunk, they wouldn't be able to shake it much. Finishing his round, Drestig sat down next to his young pack mate, again looking up into the branches, where the creature sat unmoving. "Hm... Maybe we could scare it out..?" He tilted his head slightly, glancing down at the bright boy, brows raised. It was a flimsy plan, especially seeing as they had no clue what kind of creature they were dealing with; If it's smart enough, it'll just stay put until we lose interest... But he had no other ideas, and some prey animals were senseless enough to panic and attempt escape if severely frightened.






The dark lad looked around, tail tip twitching with excitement as he shuffled in the leaves, bright eyes resting shortly on each tree around them. All the trees surrounding the sturdy oak were frailer - probably stunted by the lack of light in the stronger plant's shadow - and some of them had lower branches, making it possible for the wolves to reach higher into their crowns. I crooked smile slowly spread on Drestigs face, he wasn't nearly prepared to give up on their hunt; and he was curious!






Raising himself once more, the man started growling lowly, the rumbling buzzing in his chest as he stood up against the trunk yet again. The noise slowly increased in volume while he stretched his nick, craning it and turning his head to get a clearer view of the brown creature among the leaves. When he finally did, the growl ended in a satisfied bark, and he grinned fiercely down at Serach; "Noise!" He proclaimed; "Make lots of noise, and we might just get the little devil to move!" Then fiery eyes turned back up, and he started barking at the top of his lungs.







Word count: 414





My mind is my own ”I'll say whatever I want to!”