Thunder Bowl hold the ice.

For the handsome @Rowan -- dark boys' club!  Midday, partly cloudy, 35F/2C

It was, to Reyes’ utter shock, remotely pleasant when he peeled his eyes open that morning. The snow had stopped (thank fuck), there was no howling wind, and it seemed like even the snow was attempting to break through the permanent field of clouds overhead. It was with a dinkum smile that he’d greeted his mate that morning, kissing Askan’s muzzle and nose before dragging himself out in the world. If the weather was going to cooperate, he was going to actually explore the lowlands, for once (instead of skulking inside the borders of Wild Rye Fields miserably).

“I’ll be back tonight,” he assured @Askan, and then the swarthy male turned due north, and let his wandering paws take him wherever they pleased.

It was to be a very surprising day, it seemed, for those wandering feet took him to one of the strangest formations the man had ever seen. It might have remained him of home, had the snow not been covering the crater; still, it was with great intrigue that he circled around the mouth of the basin, unawares that his own pack members had been here not too long before. That Whitestone Monadnock was not far did not particularly irk him – all bad blood had been spilt long before his arrival in the fields. Today was a day for curiosity, not violence, and he intended to keep it as such.

The Attaya was perhaps too jaded from past experiences to believe in any deity above but even he agreed that the heavens be praised today was the first day that it wasn't cold as all hell. Certainly he wasn't going to break a sweat, but the wind that blew past him was mild and didn't leave his cheeks feeling as though they were going to bleed if he smiled. With good weather came good spirits and Rowan decided not to waste the day; he set off from the monadnock good and early to peruse the rest of the lowlands for game.

He had intended to find something like the northern cliffs where he, Wraith, and Cheedo had recently hunted pronghorn. The tundra was incredibly vast but there were a number of surprises it contained - you just had to have the patience to get there. His westward lope did eventually yield a discovery, hidden from the eye until you were nearby just upon it: a deep, wide, and circular crater full of - He squinted at the center. Nothing special, it seemed. Maybe just some rocks?

Lifting his head he spotted the other wolf almost immediately, patrolling the mouth of the basin almost opposite to Rowan. The wind was not in his favor, unaware of where this wolf came from or what he was doing. But the mild weather had him in a curious mood, and so he let out a single bark across the dome - and then an entertained chuckle, when he heard his bark echo back.

adopt thea?

The wind informed Reyes of the stranger’s approach before the wolf himself did – but he paid little mind, for there was an entire crater between them. If he wanted to creep up on the Rye delta…no, gamma now, since Icicle had disappeared and left without a word. Just another wolf in the never ending string of moochers. It was not difficult to understand why Askan had been so upset, even if he didn’t have the same personal attachments.

A bark brought him back to reality with a snap.

Pack life was making him soft.

Swallowing the snarl, the large wolf rolled his shoulders backwards before he turned about, pacing towards his almost counterpart. Hadn’t he thought the same thing when he’d meet Askan? He wondered if this one would be as foul-mouthed. A wry smile crawled across his mouth as he slowed to a halt, recognizing the stench of pack. Though it was not something he personally recognized, the Rye wolf was well aware of the only other group north in the lowlands. Askan was not terribly fond of them – they harbored the scumbag that impregnated Aleksei’s sister – but it would be a lie to say Reyes was not curious himself. “Hey. What are you doing out here?  You know what made this?”

Rowan circled the mouth of the crater as well, slowing to a halt as the dark wolf before him did as well. The gait of the dark-coated male suggested his size was not due in part to winter fluff, his brawn apparent as he came closer. In comparison, Rowan might as well have looked like the wolf equivalent to a model for a lingerie catalogue: long-legged and lean. He noted the scars along the other wolf's muzzle as he sought to meet a pale grey gaze with his own pale gold, nodding to acknowledge the other's questions.

A shrug accompanied his response. "Scouting for my pack further east of the tundra. Name's Rowan, of Whitestone Monadnock." More or less. The ink-legged Attaya was of the nature where he generally had a mission in mind. Rarely did he act without planning, or perform without reason. But as he had come closer to the basin and even when he noticed the other male from across it, the Monadnock had been in the back of his mind. He could bring home any useful information but so far all he'd done was stretch his legs in appreciation of the mild turn of the tundra - a purely selfish act.

Blinking down towards the crater again, he squinted. "Whatever made this was powerful... and long ago," he commented. The soil at the bottom of the crater did not seem to have settled a long time prior to their discovery of it. Perhaps very few wolves came here. It was difficult to see across the flatness of the landscape... and it did seem sort of useless. "What do you suppose is down there?"

adopt thea?

Whitestone Monadnock.  Knew it.

He did not allow himself a grin – did not want to look too smug too soon – and offered a small nod.  He knew little of the pack, only that Askan did not particularly care for some of the wolves there, and even less of the ever changing politics that had occurred on the small stone feature whilst he’d been wrapped up in his own torrid romance.  Eugh.

“Reyes, of Wild Rye Fields,” he rumbled – didn’t know this wolf, didn’t know if he’d met any of Drestig’s others.  Halting a few strides away from the stranger, he too turned to peer down into the hole.  He hummed thoughtfully.  Rowan was probably right – it didn’t look recently disturbed.  Surely they would have heard it?  And nothing could possibly dig a hole like this, not even a pack of very determined wolves.  “Only one way to find out.”

Without another word, Reyes stepped over the lip and began a careful trek down over the budding grasses, a sorry attempt at life trying to live alone the slope.  He slid where the dirt was loose, but paid no mind; this was more like where he was raised than anywhere he’d been recently.  Briefly, he glanced over one shoulder to make sure the Monadnock wolf was following.  And then he remembered something.  “Hey – the other males in your pack.  Did any of ‘em come back stinking like heat this spring?  I’m lookin’ for a guy.”

Reyes, he introduced himself, a name to which Rowan returned a polite nod. He as well regretted that he was not more familiar with Wild Rye Fields, knowing only that they were their closest neighbors who happened to also inhabit the tundra. Of course, the tundra was a massive fking expanse so it didn't exactly matter that they lived in the same place. The Rye wolves' scents didn't make it over to him on patrol, so they were eons away from each other, basically.

The tundra's massiveness did seem to hide away many secrets, though, much like the giant crater they had rounded. At Reyes' suggestion he was quick to follow suit, stepping down on to the steep slope. The Attaya lumbered slowly, cautious not to send himself tumbling down in a flurry of gangly black legs. He had never experienced walking down a slope that curved in such a way, and found himself preferring the steep crags of mountains to this weird parabola he had to traverse. The Rye wolf seemed to take it in stride, but Rowan wasn't taking any chances to embarrass himself in front of a stranger.

The loaded question caught him entirely off guard, distracting him from his careful steps. His brows furrowed in a deep frown, immediately comprehending the implications of what Reyes had said. Still, he didn't want to assume or jump to conclusion - even though the conclusion was already sitting at the forefront of his mind. He couldn't help the guilt that stung him in the chest either, knowing full well how he'd fathered his litter last spring. "No," Rowan answered. "In fact, this spring there was only myself and another male besides our leader." Who, obviously, stank like heat at some point. "Are you sure it was a wolf of the monadnock? Who are you looking for?"

adopt thea?

The crater was much larger than Reyes had initially given credit for – instead of a few lengths, the slope seemed to extend for several minutes, the illusion making it much smaller in his eye. But he didn’t mind (not now, anyways, not when finding the center was the easy part), and was largely content to navigate in silence. Even if he had experience, his own intentions were not unlike Rowan’s. Mulling over the information, he turned the implications over until they reached level ground again, glancing back over at the other wolf.

There was, of course, the notion it could be this guy and he was just covering his own ass – but he didn’t seem nervous. So he was either a really good liar, or innocent. And Reyes could respect both of those things.

“Well – I gotta friend. And his lil’ sister came home pregnant, smellin’ like Monadnock. So either she just…rolled around on your borders after playin’ with some loner, ‘er it was one of yours.” If it was the leader, he was shit out of luck. Alek was a good friend, but Reyes was fairly certain he wasn’t ready to start a war on his behalf. Someone else, though? That’d be okay. “She ain’t tellin’, though. And I said I’d help. ‘Cos if it were one of my sisters that got knocked up and abandoned like that…?”

He shrugged. If Rowan had sisters, he’d understand. Otherwise… Well, Reyes was fulfilling his promise either way, right? He was looking.

@Rowan -- Ack!  Sorry that took so long.  x ___ x

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2017, 03:02 PM by Reyes. Edit Reason: Open tag. )