Getting up the mountain side had taken a lot longer than last time; the winter that had materialized as icy winds and light snowfall in the valley, covering Serpents Pass in knee-high snow. The trip had been mostly quiet, just like the previous, though a few more words had been exchanged this time around; and the mood had changed somewhat. Today though, as they finally crowned the mountain, the time for conversation was interrupted by the distinct presence of a fresh scent; A pack? Here?! The Avalon's confusion was mirrored on his grey companions face, her brows wrinkled in what was probably the same speculations as his own; Surely not. Who? Why?! And how stupid could they be?! Drestig had been born in the mountains as well, so he understood the allure, but he also knew the dangers; his whole pack had been separated, and most of them likely killed, by a rock slide. And here, further north, there was the snow to worry about as well! Were these idiots not around last year when the snow completely blocked the pass?!

But as they closed in, Jessie taking up her role as head scout and leading the approach, the black lad recognized parts of the odor; "You have to be kidding!" The exclamation was a strange mixture of amusement and distaste, brows furrowed and ears pressed back. Though the smell was quite different from what he remembered of the familiar borders, neighboring their own, there were several notes in common; one in particular; Son of a..!

The grey woman made her call, polite and efficient, figures, and as her head came down, Drestig turned to her, one brow cocked. "It's The Glen," He said, voice neutral. Most likely, Jessie had already noticed the same as him, but it didn't hurt to be sure. "I recognize their alpha." He continued, a slight grimace crossing his face. He still remembered the white giant from that hunt last winter, and the thought of standing before him once again was not pleasant. Still, that had been last year, and it was no secret that the ebony chap was curious to learn what had made him take to the mountain; and whether he had brought his entire pack, leaving the east valley open for Oak Tree Bend; That could be grounds for bettering our relations... He mused as they waited, cracking a small smirk at how 'scout-like' that thought sounded.

Word count: 405





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

It did not take long before a familiar white figure appeared, coming quickly towards them. Despite his hope for a relief of the tension between their packs, Drestig felt his hackles prickle at the sight of the pale man, and it was quickly made clear that there was no need to play nice. Barely had the fire eyed giant come within earshot before he drawled a dismissive command, and Drestig's lips lifted slightly from his teeth. The two men stared each other down, identical eyes blazing with challenge; had it not been for Jessie, surely it would have escalated to a physical clash. But the petite woman stepped between them, speaking apologetic words to the king, though her voice was laced with ice.


When she pushed at his ebony shoulder, he stood his ground for a second, glaring at the other man with cold, fierce eyes. Then he slowly started moving, backing a few steps before turning to follow Jessie, his eyes remaining on the white pelted wolf. After another couple steps, he called back, voice hard as stone; "Remember that the same is true for any of your wolves near our lands!" Then he turned fully, trotting away from this wretched land alongside his teacher.



They walked for a while in silence, the ground starting to slope downwards as they began their decent; the nearness of home helping to drive away the fury in his chest. The dark chap's thoughts had already wandered away from Magnolia Glen and onto the exciting prospect of finally returning to The Bend, when Jessie suddenly asked her question, the tension in her voice making him stop in his tracks to turn and look at her. Her expression was edgy, agitation clear on her features as she waited impatiently for answer, yet her choice of words made a smirk come to the older man's face. "Oh he was probably just pissed that the last time he saw me I got the actual carcass." He drawled, with no small amount of smugness, eyes glittering mischievously. Then he sobered up a little, remembering that Jessie had not been at the infamous hunt where Magnolia Glen's female alpha, Triell's sister, had declared war on Oak Tree Bend; and he knew her well enough by now to realize that the lag of information was bugging her to no end.



Still smiling, but with a more serious tone, The black scout explained: "Last winter, not too long after I joined, we chased down a bull caribou near the red hills. I took him down, but several of the Glen wolves had been part of the hunt as well as most of ours, and they tried to lay claim on the kill. Triell graciously offered to share the meat, but their queen wouldn't have it. We were higher in numbers though, and they soon ran off, @Nayeli and I grabbled a bit with one of theirs before driving him away, but there was no real fight. They knew they were outmatched! I think mister grumpy-teeth up there managed to snatch a scrap though, but I guess his pride was wounded." Drestig shrugged, not hiding his grin. As he'd told his story, he'd slowly started moving again, eager to get back home and see Triell, Nayeli and the pups again, and his eyes had drifted from Jessie to the path ahead, ears turned towards her though, ready for any more questions.




Word count: 570





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

Story telling was no unfamiliar art to the black man. In his time with the strays, in the mountains of his homeland, he had spend quite a few evenings under the stars, telling stories to his boys. Those had been good times, but sadly only a small bit of his life back then; All too small... He shook his head lightly, pushing the unwelcome memories back into the dark corner of his mind where he kept his past locked away; something as simple as retelling a recent event would be allowed to unravel his carefully compartmentalized brain.




Luckily Jessie helped to get him back to the moment, when her emerald eyes caught his embers, her expression as stern and unreadable as usual, but the words falling from her lips surprising. Drestig knew his teacher well enough to realize that that praise was not something she gave easily, and yet she'd offered it to him several times doing their trip. He smiled at her, more softly now, nodding slowly; "Thank you Jessie. That means a lot coming from you," There was a small mischievous glint in his eye as he said it, but his voice was serious, and so was the sentiment; "I'm sure that with you as a teacher, I'll do marvelously." The grin on his lips widened again, tail wagging idly behind him as he continued onward.




It was strange how much his companions words had come to mean to him over the course of their mission; only a few months ago, he'd thought it a great hardship to be seated with her as instructor and superior, but by know he respected her quite a bit, and though she was still too uptight in his opinion, she was no bad comrade to have in your corner.




Word count: 297





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

Joining Oak Tree Bend had been momentous to the dark man's life. Before having drifted from place to place, cherishing his freedom and fearing any bureaucracy or need for submission, he now found himself deep in pack politics and hierarchy, even harboring respect for several superiors. He couldn't help but snicker to himself at the idea; Drestig Avalon, PACK SUBORDINATE and SCOUT-IN-TRAINING! It sounded very far from the wolf he'd been only a year ago; What's next? Pup-sitting and guarding the territory?! A little lady of my own perhaps... There was a small voice in the back of his head shaming him for succumbing to the convenience of pack life and submitting to anyone, but it was almost miniscule, and easily snuffed. As much as he'd once hated the very thought of joining a pack, he now loved The Bend, the land, the wolves, all of it; it was almost dizzying to think about.




Luckily Jessie drew him out of his sentimentalities before he completely took off from the ground, voice, as usually, gruff as she called out to him. He turned to meet her scowling emerald eyes, smile never faltering in the slightest; with Jessie, a scowl meant nothing, she could be about to offer a declaration of love and would still look like she just swallowed a mouthful of sour berries, Drestig was convinced. And, as per norm, her following words were a weird, sort of backwards compliment, wrapped in a solemn, bordering on grumpy, tone. Not even a whisker twitched on the ebony lad's muzzle, eyes sparkling in amusement. The grey lady really was gauche but Drestig found it was no longer affecting him, he'd gotten used to her brusque ways and was now able to simply ignore them, seeing beyond the roughness to the truth beneath.




So in answer to her, he nodded lightly and blinked solemnly, still smiling as he uttered: "Yes ma'am."





Word count: 318





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