His patrols had grown more frequent since Chan's disappearance, he wanted to go out looking for his godson but Moonshadow had taken that upon herself. The dark alpha understood of course he was her son but that didn't mean he had to like it. The last time Moonshadow had left she had gotten hurt and he couldn't help worry that might happen again. In her absence Muses was left in the position as lead female. Kajika liked the newest member but he much preferred leading next to his friend.
During his patrol he came across the scent of another wolf and normally it wouldn't be too much cause for concern. There were sometimes the scents of other wolves near the border or a short distance from them. This time there was cause for concern because this scent crossed right into Fallen Tree Cove territory, this trespasser needed to be dealt with. Kajika without hesitation followed the scent in toward the heart of the cove. His pace was fast and determined.
He was not expecting the sight he came upon when he finally did catch up with the intruder. The man had taken it upon himself to their caches. With winter so close this could be detrimental to the pack. With tail raised and head held high Kajika charged the man stopping only a few feet away. “You are trespassing and stealing,” he growled, “This cannot go unpunished.”
By now, with the taste of food on his mouth, he began to drool, began to foam, even. His body quivered, licking his lips and his pumpkin orange eyes held an expression of both pain and confusion. "What are you talking about?" Bane spoke, his voice almost a whisper. He was hurt. Why didn't this wolf know him? "This is my home...." And then. "Inali. Inali said she left this for me." Bane was beginning to slip into his insanity and could not pull himself out. At times, his actions and words were like a nightmare he couldn't wake from and in his mind, Bane was in there screaming for help.
He shook out his dirty coat then, lifting a bloodied paw and scraping it over the kill just barely poking out of the ground. A rabbit, he thought. "You won't want it now anyhow..." He figured, a sign that somewhere in there, he still had enough sense to realize something was very, very wrong with him. But the word 'rabies' was a term he would very literally die before understanding.
The wolf digging into the cache didn't even seem to realize that Kajika had come upon him which the dark alpha couldn't understand he was sure he'd made plenty of noise on his approach. It wasn't until he spoke letting the man know that he had made a mistake in crossing the borders and stealing food that he was finally acknowledged. Even when the man finally did notice him there wasn't the normal reaction when being caught. He didn't run and get didn't prepare to fight which only perplexed the Kajika even more. He had to wonder if the man even realized he was doing something wrong.
He watched the man closely for any signs of a change in the man that might indicate an attack or flight. What he saw disturbed him as the foam started in the man's mouth. The alpha noticed the quivering of his body and the expression the man held was one that led Kajika to believe this man didn't know that what he was doing was wrong. This theory was confirmed as the man started to speak of this being his home and of someone named Inali. “This is not your home and has never been as long as I have been here,” he stated firmly, “There isn't an Inali here nor have I ever met anyone by that name.” Kajika tried to make it very clear to the man that whatever he thought was wrong. The state of the man worried him for his packs sake and it caused him to take a step back.
His Amber eyes didn't leave the figure of the brown man as he scrapped his paw over the rabbit he'd been eating. The dark man took notice of the blood on his paw and stepped around to get a better look at where it was coming from. “Why wouldn't I want it now?” He questioned. Kajika had a rough Idea of why, he didn't know the name of it but he could see the man was sick and whatever it was he had was contagious.
OOC! Gonna toss Tagg in here if ya don't mind :)
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Word Count: 259
Tagg had been out doing his normal border run when he smelled an intruder. There was something… off about the scent that made his hackles rise. He’d smelled something like that before, further south… What was it?
With alarm bells going off in his head, the veteran cautiously started following the scent. He heard voices about the same time the slight breeze brought him Kajika’s scent as well. And blood. His fur prickled, mind still searching for the memory of that smell. But he knew it was wrong, oh so wrong.
He picked up his pace. Kajika is in danger! He got there in time to see the alpha taking a step away from another dark man crouched over their cache. That alone made Tagg’s blood boil. We need that food! He thought in outrage, his son’s welfare and the upcoming winter entering his mind.
But he didn’t dare attack. He could see the foaming spittle forming in the intruder’s mouth, and the dazed look in his eyes. Fear penetrated him as his mind flashed to one of the most terrifying moments of his life: facing a coyote with that same foam, but a mad glint in its eye. Savage, angry, deadly. All they could hope to do was keep it away. Nobody dared get close enough to fight it, because whoever did caught the same disease.
He came up next to his leader, unable to force his fur to lie flat. “Kajika, he can’t stay here.” He said in a low voice. “He could destroy the whole pack.”
"Speech" Thought
l
The other wolf took a step back then, arcing around Bane to get a better look. Had Bane been in his right mind, he would have tensed up, ready himself should the man attack his flank. But Bane's posture was relaxed. Ether he did not understand there was any danger or he simply didn't care nor fear it. "I... I was very smart, once." He began up again, suddenly taking to speaking past tense, as though he knew he were already doomed. "I would have never done this." At first it might have seemed like Bane ignored his question, when really it just took him some time for the wolf's words to register to him. "There is a sickness in those swamps..."
It was really all he could get out before his attention shifted to the new arrival, which rushed to his leader's side, telling him that Bane could not stay, that he would destroy the pack. The hair along Bane's spine raised to reflect the other wolf's and his lips rose to bare his teeth in anger. "I'd never hurt anyone!" He spoke, jaws snapping with a growl in frustration. His tongue moving over his mouth to lick away at the foaming. What was wrong with everyone?
This had to be the weirdest encounter he'd ever had with a wolf and never before had he come across a situation of someone taking from his packs cache. What made it even stranger was the wolf in front of him didn't even realize that what he was doing was wrong and that he wasn't where it seemed he thought he was. Kajika pointed out to the man that this wasn't his home or at least in the time the dark alpha had been there it hadn't been and he'd never met a wolf named inali. The man than agreed with him it wasn't the right place but he didn't leave, he just stood there, “You should go before things go badly for you.” He didn't want to attack the man since he seemed to be very confused about his surroundings but he would if it came down to it.
What Kajika didn't realize until he saw the foam coming from the man's mouth or the blood seeping from some unseen wound was that it already had gotten ugly. It sent his hair on end as he tried to see the wound the blood was coming from. A glance was given to the man's face before he returned to looking for the wound. The man spoke again about being smart, “I'm sure you still are,” he said trying to keep the man from becoming upset. He thought that was the best thing he could do to keep himself and the pack safe at this point. “Then why did you?” He questioned when the man mentioned he would never do what he was doing. Then Kajika's Amber eyes shot to meet the man's as he spoke of a sickness in the swamps, “Which swamps? What kind of sickness?” He needed to know the answers to this for the safety of his pack.
Then his tawny friend appeared at his side telling him that the man couldn't stay, that he could destroy the pack. Those words seemed to upset the man as he suddenly became aggressive shouting he wouldn't hurt anyone. The dark alpha shot the tawny man a look before turning to the intruder, “I'm sure you wouldn't,” he said trying to calm the man, “But I am sure you can understand our concern.” He then spoke quietly to Tagg, “We must be careful to not upset him.” The dark alpha was worried about an attack by the man and one of them getting whatever it was the stranger had. The best way to protect the pack was to get this man as far away from the pack as they could without incident. “Maybe we can go look for Inali?” He asked the stranger calmly.
OOC!
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Word Count: 140
Tagg was struggling to stand still, his tail and legs twitching as he fought the urge to bolt. This was an enemy he couldn’t fight with teeth and claws. It seemed to take the stranger a moment to notice him, but when he did he grew hostile, claiming that he wouldn’t hurt anybody. Tagg opened his mouth to retort that he didn’t need to try to kill them all to do so, but Kajika cut him off with a look and a murmured command.
He nodded, trying very hard to make his fur lie flat. He pricked his ears at the name Inali. He didn’t think he’d ever heard the name before, and he assumed Kajika hadn’t either, but he knew he had to play along. He stepped back, giving his alpha the floor. He would trust his friend’s judgement.
"Speech" Thought
l
Kajika didn't miss the way the stranger was looking at Tagg and it worried him. The last thing they needed was to upset this wolf who was clearly a danger. The alpha could tell he wasn't in his right mind, they needed to get him out of the cove before anything could go terribly wrong. The man repeated what he had said before and then picked the hare up. The dark man was still confused as to what he meant which brought his gaze to Tagg as if to ask if he knew what the man meant.
Unfortunately, are the mention of the woman's name the stranger dropped the hare in his excitement to find the woman. “Of course it would be our pleasure to help you find her.” Again Kajika looked at Tagg and gave him a silent nod. Things seemed to be going to plan as the man pranced off to the east. “We're right behind you,” he called to the man as he started to follow, “Come on Tagg, I might need your help.”