Oak Tree Bend the enemy of thy enemy

Clear morning, just a little bit of frost on the ground. For @Zia

The days were growing shorter and the winds were growing more bitter. The leaves had changed their colors and many of them were beginning to lose their leaves. Winter was fast approaching and try as he might, Serach could not help but feel on edge about it. His last winter had been incredibly brutal, and with his limited experience, he could only expect that this year would be just as bad. The light layer of frost on the ground was not enough to make him cold, but the youth shivered anyway at the thought of snow drifts taller than @Triell. It wouldn't be long now.

Despite his fear about the oncoming winter, the boy had not allowed himself to sit idly by while the days grew colder. He had taken to making nightly rounds around the pack's territory, stopping to investigate every cache that he knew of to ensure that they were still safe. He had discovered a cache near the pack's borders not too long ago that had been ravaged. The intruders had been wolves, that time, but now Serach was on the alert for foxes. He had seen a pair of them lurking near the western part of the pack's territory and more than once during his nightly rounds he had discovered their scents near the pack's food storage. As of yet, they hadn't been bold enough to scavenged from the wolf pack, but that was bound to change sooner rather than later.

His muzzle to the ground, the young wolf inhaled deeply at the base of a partly bare oak tree. Lips curling in distaste, he lifted his head to look around. The foxes weren't in sight, but they had been here recently.

In the early hours of the morning, the silvery she wolf had risen. She had been restless all night. Now that she called Oak Tree Bend her home, it didn't quite feel like it yet. But, being the responsible, experienced wolf that she was, Zia Celencio still treated this land and it's inhabitants like she had lived here all her life. As a former guardian in Magnolia Glen, her protective instinct to keep the pack safe was still running strong. Weary from lack of sleep, she had set off towards the western border, to think. She was still adjusting living with these new wolves. At the recent pack meeting, the dreadful news that Triell's mate had gone missing made emotions run high. And on more than one occasion, her keen nose had picked up the scent of a pair of foxes, far too close to the caches for comfort.

All too aware of how harsh the last winter had been, and with no way of knowing what this season would bring, Zia would do everything in her power to make sure that no more hardship would befall the Bend wolves. It had been bad enough that they and the Glen wolves had to square off against one another, with her caught in the middle. So to keep the pack caches fully stocked for the upcoming winter, she hunted down the russet colored vermin, to teach them a very hard lesson. In her jaws, now hung the lifeless body of a young male fox, it's neck snapped, fur tussled. Semi dried blood stained her muzzle as she dragged the carcass along, headed towards the borders, where she would dispose of the body. But on her way there, it would seem she was in for some company. Up a few yards, was the creamy form of a wolf she vaguely recognized. He had been at the meeting...and at the hunt too. After a few more carefully placed steps, she dropped the lifeless fox to the ground with a solid thud. With a soft huff, she announced herself before speaking. "If you are looking for the foxes who have been eyeing the caches, there is no need to worry. I already eliminated at least one of them. But another...is still out there." She said, keeping a neutral demeanor while gazing out into the distance. Her mild anxiety, she kept masked. An encounter like this could go either way, but Zia was hopeful that any grudges he may have, could be remedied.

With his nose to the ground, Serach didn't see his pack mate as she approached. But the scent of fresh blood and that of the Bend did catch his attention, so when she spoke, he was already lifting his head to look at her full on. At first glance, the dead creature she held in her mouth looked rather anatine but quick enough he recognized it as a fox. The lady was quick to confirm it was so, and the youth nodded his head. "Thanks," he mumbled. That still left one to find, but one dead meant one less scavenger that the pack had to worry about. With @Nayeli and @Ruiko missing, and @Drestig and @Jessie still on the other side of the mountains, there wasn't any more room for unfortunate events.

"You're Zia, right?" he asked her after a moment. He was doing his best to keep track of all the new wolves in the Bend, but that was far easier said than done. It seemed like every time he turned around, there was a new body for him to trip over. She looked familiar though. Not just from the pack meeting where his uncle had announced that Nayeli and Ruiko were gone, but from sometime before then. Furrowing his brow, he stared at her, the cogs in his brain clearly turning as he tried to place her. "I know you." It was part statement, part question. But try as he might, he couldn't determine where he knew her silver face.

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

I'm horrible. Sorry this is so late.

Slow, even steps carried her forth, gingerly stepping over the lifeless body of the fox, as she dared to inch closer. But not too close. She wanted to give the boy his space, and not impose her presence upon him too heavily. "Think nothing of it. Just doing what needed to be done." She replied in an even, but not unfriendly voice. What he said next, caught her a little off guard. Charcoal tipped ears swiveled back a moment as she contemplated his statement. "Yes, that's right. I remember meeting you once before, but I never did catch your name." She offered in a conversational tone, careful to avoid specifying the exact location where they had met. Should he inquire though, Zia would not withhold the truth from him. Honesty, she believed, was the best approach to gaining the trust of her new pack mates.

Gliding forward and past the mature young boy, she looked over her shoulder with a half expectant, half inviting look in her blue eyes. Her tail wagged ever so faintly, a clue towards her willingness to hang around him. "Would you like to try and help me hunt that last fox down? I'm not too comfortable with the idea of it lurking around the caches, much less in our territory." She may no longer have been in Magnolia Glen, serving as a guardian. But it was still in her blood to protect whatever soil her paws called home.