Mordacai had gone through his normal morning routine, one of the few things that had not been affected by the move to this new land, with dampened spirits. Last night he and his sister had arrived home from their two day journey to the North where they had the pleasure of feasting on bison, an animal that Mordacai had never had the pleasure of eating before but that he immensely hoped to feed on again. Luckily he had managed to bring some of it back with him, though he had eaten most of what he had taken with him on the long journey home. But even with this delicious meal to look forward to the swarthy male couldn't help but harbor a feeling of melancholy. Though their journey to the North and back had been relatively calm, he and his sister had been on the outs ever since their failed hunting attempt. She had been the reason, or so he thought, that he decided to abandon his birth pack and join Willow Ridge but now he felt tense and out of place whenever he was around her. She was a constant reminder of his childhood, of his old self, a submissive, timid, unmotivated wolf that he had hoped to leave back at the Calarosa mountains. How could he ever demand respect from these new wolves when his older sister was around to lord over him?

Conflicted, Mordacai viciously licked at his fur trying to dislodge the sticky blood that had clung on for the last two days. Once he was satisfied that he had licked his fur spotlessly clean, he grabbed the small hunk of bison meat that he had left and trotted into the open forest of willow trees that were now his home. Cai stomped through the forest until he found a suitable spot to sit down and eat his meal. Alone. He didn't believe that he wanted company because everyone that he could think to dine with would only bring back the sense of being out of place. Enoki would be the worst choice right now. He could ask Titan, but the boy only reminded him that he did not grow up here and did not have roots in this place as Titan did. Titan who seemed to be related to random pups that they met in the North. Cai could never run into his family here as Titan had. And even if he did, what would they have to say to him? That he was a deserter? That he had not served much purpose before and certainly served no purpose now? No, Cai was sure that there was no one who could bring him out of this rut with the exception of the dead bison that now provided him with the one thing every man wanted when he felt this way. A good meal.

Cai had just been about to take his first bite of the delicious bison when he was interrupted by a rather demanding female voice asking him what he wanted. What did he want? He just wanted to be left alone to enjoy his meal! Prepared to let this stranger know that her presence and her demands were not welcome, Cai turned his head to the source of the sound. What the swarthy male saw there made him pause. In his birth pack Cai had certainly noticed some of the females, but none of them would have been what the dark prince would consider a "head turner". But this one, this girl--and Cai did notice that she was only a girl, most likely still a yearling--was different; she was beautiful. Her coat was dark black, almost as black as his own, but hers had specks of pale ginger and cream, which in Cai's opinion made her coat much more appealing and elegant than his own. The color of her fur only dimmed in comparison to the color of her eyes which reminded him of peaches, though perhaps a bit lighter. Cai was a sucker for a girl with light eyes, but color wasn't the only thing she had going for her. It was something else that made her beautiful, something in the way she was looking at him expectantly, fully confident in demanding an answer to her ridiculous question. Mordacai wasn't completely sure exactly what it was about this girl that was so captivating, but the Ashrelle prince intended to find out.

In a level husky voice Cai answered the lady's demands. "I'm sorry about that ma'am, I didn't realize you were there." Another wolf might have been offended by the tenacity of a yearling speaking to an older wolf in such a demanding tone and Cai certainly noticed this, but the regal prince easily glazed over any unintended insult (or perhaps an intended one) in favor of encouraging the woman to join him. Having had to deal with Arion's bossiness for the last four years, Mordacai was well versed in dealing with someone like this. When someone was as demanding as Arion you had to pick and choose your battles. Cai had a feeling that this girl would be the same. With a flick of his tail and one last longing look at the bison meat, Cai offered, "Well, I didn't mean to disturb you but now that I have the only thing I want is for you to help me finish off this meal." Cai made room for the girl to move further in through the curtain of leaves. "It tastes wonderful and I've already had plenty. Have you had bison before Miss....?" Cai purposely trailed off at the end of his sentence, hoping that she would fill in the last bit and give him her name.