Sex: MaleTraveling in a snaking pattern had seemed to be the best course of action he had decided at the time. It wasn’t as if he had any destination in mind until he managed to catch another scent of his wayward brother. The initial sting of his departure had long left, perhaps rolling off his own back far easier than that of his other siblings... after all, he had always been the ‘selfish’ one, and he was sure it shocked his brothers more that Phineas had abandoned them before he had.
The oldest Argyris’s motivation had been clear from the day the cubs had left the den, and he was just as quick to leave once it was all out in the open, so to speak. If the others had stayed or left he could not say for certain, although he knew they would be less than surprised at his departure than they had been at their older brothers.
He had crossed the open meadow, until he reached the frozen marsh, and not without several looks of distaste at the icy, muddy slush beneath his feet. He then turned to head further east, until the open expanses were replaced with towering trees and the muddy slush was replaced with more satisfyingly solid ground. Perhaps it was odd that a wolf would show such distaste to the wet, but it was cold enough already, and he had no desire to loose his toes to frostbite. Ambling with no destination in mind, he took little care to hide his presence. He would save his energy for when it mattered.
With his task of informing the forest packs of the transpiring events throughout the valley, the ivory male once more struck in the direction of home, his large figure loping at a decent pace that would have him there within a few days. Of course, the quiet of the nature that surrounded him only lead to the darkening of his thoughts, and with only himself as company, Phineas found he could not turn his mind off from the recent meeting Elettra had gathered.
The pack had lost so many, and with the looming threat of a sickness plaguing the packs of Relic Lore, Phineas found himself worried for the few he had come to know as friends. Even more so, he worried for Elettra and how she was directly affected by the recent happenings.
His mind churned potential scenarios, and yet, every thought he held vanished as a familiar scent came upon him. It took a moment – disorientated at the possibility of the other being within these lands and not where he had last seen him – and yet as another breeze swept past, the unmistakable presence of Erebos was drifted to him. He paused now, his pink tongue smoothing across his tainted lips as he waited. Did his brother seek him out?
It was a chance gust of wind that blew the familiar scent in his direction, although being so unfamiliar with these lands did not play in his favour. His head tilted higher to try and catch a better direction to follow, his ears turning to try and catch the tiniest sound that might point him in the right direction, but as soon as the breeze had come, it was gone again... Still, it was the most promising sign he had found for months.
Picking up his feet, he ranged around, finally growing bold enough to release a short bark, far deeper than the ones he had let loose as a pup when he was searching for one of his siblings but there none the less. He had never been overly patient until it came to seeking a meal, and even then his impatience got the better of him more often than not. It kept the silver wolf lean and rangy, at least there was little worry of him ever growing fat and lazy.
Finally, as he was about to lose his patience with another bark to the trees he saw them, the tell-tale paw prints of a wolf passing close by. He didn’t need to lower his head to recognise the scent that laced them and it was with reckless abandon that he charged after the wolf that had made them.
With his brother finally in sight there was little that would slow the steam roller that was Erebos. He hit the brakes at the final second and skidded right up to his lost sibling, his tail a high banner waving from side to side over his back as his front bent down in a familiar invitation. It was an ungracious reunion to be sure, but he was hardly the type to wrap himself up in formalities.
He ivory male’s ears perked forward at the sound of the bark – such an insignificant sound to any other that might have been listening, and yet Phineas was suddenly taken back to his days as a cub, romping with his three other brothers form sunrise to sunset. A slow grin curled at his lips, and as the moment paused far too long, the white Argyris released his own bark, mimicking Erebos’ own voice and suddenly rushing forward with renewed vigour. His brother was here.
Even as he loped forward toward his goal, the silver Argyris managed to catch him by surprise, as he always had in the past, and Erebos collided toward him with what could be described as a train wreck. The Ridge male managed to brace himself just before the flurried embrace, and his eyes studied the sorely missed male just before Erebos managed to come up just short of checking him, and with a laugh, Phineas bowed his figure in full play, his jaws extending to nip at his brother’s cheek as he moved back up. “Erebos,” he murmured with a chuckle, his own tail swaying high with excitement as his nose touched his siblings. His littermate seemed in good health – otherwise unchanged since Phineas had last seen him, and he took a pace back then, his fiery gaze flickering with concern at that point.
“What brings you from Asphodel Meadows?” The question slipped past, and after a year, Phineas felt the bitter taste of the name of his birth pack upon his tongue, even after so long unspoken. As happy as he was to see his brother, it brought other disturbing assumptions. Desdemona had left. Now Erebos?
The nip was answered with a swinging of Erebos’s silver head and a thumping of his paws against the snow covered earth. His tail still waved about like a banner as his heart thundered in his chest. The urge to turn and run, calling for his brother to catch him if he could was strong but as usual, Phineas was quick to turn serious and the younger (if only by moments) brother covered his disappointment as well as he always had, with a slight frown and a tightening of his lips over his slender muzzle.
What brings you from Asphodel Meadows? There was a hint of confusion on his face for a moment, before he found the words to respond. "Probably the same reason you up and left." he said, somewhere between hurt and amazed that his brother had actually done it. Had it been Erebos who had vanished without a word, he doubted a brow would have been raised, after all it was in his nature to do so, but Phineas was different. He had been their leader and he left them to Desdemona and the betrayer, Thorne. "There wasn’t an awful lot to stay for." He said slightly more lightheartedly that could probably be believed. "Besides, can’t let you go off adventuring without at least one of us. You can’t have all the fun."
There was a small moment of silence that stretched between them as Erebos’ words struck a sensitive chord within the male. The betrayal of Phineas’ sudden disappearance now hung heavily between the two, unspoken, and yet held there without question. The ivory wolf regarded his brother for a moment, attempting to read what might lay within his emotions; hurt, anger, confusion? Even having grown up with the silver wolf did not give Phineas the insight he needed to read him now, and his muzzle dipped slightly in recognition to the wrong he had done his family – the ones who had stuck by him his entire life.
Was it too late for an apology? An explanation? He was at a loss of what words could justify his actions, and so he stood before Erebos, in what only could be described as dumbfounded. His brother was quick to attempt lighthearted conversation, and yet the heaviness of his past decisions weighed Phineas down regardless.
About to apologize to his brother, he found there were no words yet.. and instead, he shifted the matter to a relevant topic. He could only hope his brother would be around long enough for him to make up for his past mistakes. “ @Desdemona is here,” he stated, his mind drifting back to what Erebos had said on why he had left. The same reasons as he had..
“I can only assume Thorne maintains the mantle as leader in the Meadows?” He attempted to hold bitterness from his voice, but it seeped past, and he loathed it.
The news that Desdemona had also left was new to him. A moment of frustration rippled down his spine while a brow arched wondering exactly how she had managed to beat him here, but a shrug was all he could offer his pale brother. "She was still there when I left. If he managed to survive Aeolus and Thanos then I imagine so..." His voice was very non-committal. He doubted his more honorable brothers would have sat idly by while their family fell apart as a result of Thorne’s betrayal. He had never allowed himself to dwell on the fate of the bastard children either, but if Desdemona was here, and they were not, then there was very little reason to think they may have survived. Perhaps their brothers had also left on their swiftly departing tails?
But this was all very heavy talk. There were strange scents on his brother’s pelt and it did a little more than pique his interest. His brother was in good shape, clearly he had found himself a new home, though where he sat amongst them was still an uncertainty. "So what have you been doing to keep yourself busy?" he queried, hinting at a need for more than what he asked. He was an adult, fully grown, but the life of a rogue was not befitting him. Being out on his own for the first time in his life, while novel at first was proving simply too trying. Perhaps his brother could help him out, or maybe he would be able to give the silvered brother purpose...
Once upon a time Phineas could have read his brother thoroughly – the intricate details of expression had been studied from his youth on all three of his siblings, and yet as he regarded the silver male before him to gauge his reaction, he was uncertain of Erebos’ initial thoughts. Did he despise the she-wolf, for what she had done? Or did he blame Phineas more? Again these questioned pressed to him, but as his brother spoke, only very briefly touching the topic of Thorne, despite the ivory wolf’s hesitant desire to know the details of what took place after his departure.
His tail gave a mild swing behind him, his jaws opening to ask further before clicking shut in afterthought. Desdemona was here for a reason, though Phineas could not fathom why – her children and supposed mate would have held the helm of the Meadows. The thought ignited fury through him once more – his family’s pack, taken by an outsider. Fury, shame, disgust, abandonment. There was no end to the turmoil of emotions he held on the matter.
Perhaps Erebos sensed this, and in turn, changed the subject. Stoically, he blinked, his gaze resting upon the form of his littermate – Erebos had seen better days, and he wondered how long the ashen male had remained a lone wolf. “I’ve been residing with a pack in what they call Southern Eden. Willow Ridge.” There was a small pause as he recalled his first meeting with the swarthy Ridge leader. “They allowed me to stay for the winter while I became familiar with the land. The leader.. @Elettra. She’s..” There was another pause. Beautiful? Hot? Tempermental? A little scary, even? “Interesting,” he finished lamely.
As Phineas spoke of this pack he had joined, Erebos’s smile turned sly, particularly when he referred to the leading lady as interesting. Ever honourable, his brother was not the type to voice his true thoughts on the woman and the silvered male almost giggled at the irony. "And what does the leading man of said pack have to say about your... affections?" he teased his older brother, not daring to draw similarities between this situation and the one they had faced back at Asphodel Meadows, after all, for all he knew things were done differently here and maybe she didn’t rule with a mate at her side? Regardless his interest had been piqued. Was this a place he could grow to refer to as his home as well or was it best he continued to search for something more fitting? He wasn’t ready to join a pack just yet but it would be one to keep in the back of his mind for later regardless.
“She’s interesting is all,” he reiterated almost flatly as he took note of the faint amusement that his brother made to cover up. His eyes critically cast upon the silver male, he released a gentle chuff of fond annoyance, only now just realizing how much he had missed the sibling banter he had partaken in daily in Asphodel Meadows with his brothers.
He had made a mistake that day he had left. He should have exiled Thorne and Demi.. maybe kept the children and found a mother who could have looked after them. Raised them as his own – before that night he hadn’t known differently. Yet the what if’s outweighed the reality, and instead of any of this, here the ivory male stood, before the brother he had never expected to leave his birth pack, discussing intentions with yet another she-wolf. Elettra was a daunting topic he did not wish to delve further in, especially when he had yet to figure out his feelings for her himself.
Instead, he gave a nod in the direction to the path of his home. He would offer his brother a small ‘tour’ of sorts, at least revealing the location to the silver male so Erebos could decide if he was interested in staying or not. He dared not ask the question of Erebos’ intentions just yet – he was far too concerned with the thought that the Argyris was simply passing through. Now that Erebos was here, Phineas just realized how he wanted him to stay.
With his paws moving more at a leisurely pace to catch up on discussion with his littermate, the pale Argyris lead them both towards the direction of Willow Ridge.