Whisper Caverns roll me to the door

@Castiel

He had promised himself to not go where he would be unwelcome. Yet here he stood in the mouth of the caverns. There were no familiar scents. Everything was stale and old, nothing worthwhile. It was a relief in a sick kind of way. There was no one hear to eat his face or yell at him for past mistakes. Regardless there still was an unnerving anxiety that something bad would happen if he stayed around much longer.

The large male wanted to be strong and face that anxiety - poke his head around to see if it was really as dead as it seemed. What would he gain from that, though? A piece of a long gone ego? He didn't need that. So he turned around and began to walk off.

Deacon knew he needed to start heading north far away from the south. Maybe he'd even go back east to lands he hadn't seen much of. Anything to get out of his ghost-like wandering.

I don't really care what you do about that

Castiel Archer Lyall

The rugged male had gone on an expeditious journey around Iridescent Lagoon, complacent in the knowledge that the Scowle members, and particularly Morganna, would not mind if he ventured further than the border of their territory. His paws were itching to explore the surrounding area, but he still stuck east of the drooping willows. It was too much to deal with right now, but eventually he would muster up his courage and go back to his birthplace. One day.

Instead, Castiel proceeded to move further east to the meadow where he had yet to go. He was sure once the snows melted that it would be a beautiful sight with all the blooming flowers, but until then it was just an open expanse of whiteness. Rather than trudging aimlessly through the snow, the rugged male headed for the small patch of trees situated on a set of elevated hills. It would give him some time to rest without the cold wind blowing in his face. However, it seemed he was not alone in thinking the forest was a safe refuge.

The darkly furred wolf heading in his general direction had an unkempt coat and walked with hunched over shoulders. Ears perking up, the rugged male let his paws fall still as he barked to announce his presence to the other male. There seemed to be something familiar about him.

His jaw clenched at the call, his paws halting any further movement forward. Up ahead was a tawny figure and Deacon would have guessed it to be someone from the Ridge if it wasn't for the unfamiliar musk that didn't match up with the willows. His face scrunched up briefly as his tail gave one dismissive flick.

"Can I help you?" He called out right overly hoarse tones despite not being in the mood to help. The large male had wanted to get going on his journey away from here. How was he to do that if he was being other's little helper? Deacon could feel a slight twinge of annoyance but he did his best to push it down out of view.

His nose twitched as the scent lingered more. Who was this stranger? And why did so many things about them seem familiar?

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I don't really care what you do about that

Castiel Archer Lyall

The other wolf acknowledged Castiel's announcement by also stopping and then calling out in a hoarse voice. Tawny ears twitched at the tone of his words; clearly he had interrupted whatever the man was doing. At least the darker male was trying to be nice, even if his body language spoke otherwise. Sorry to bother you, I was just poking around and thought I would say hi. But if the other male had better things to do he would let him go without further ado.

The rugged male canted his head to the side as the wind blew a gentle breeze towards him, bringing with it a somewhat familiar scent. It reminded him... of home. Of when he was still a pup. Surely not? Clearing his throat softly, Castiel cast the old memories aside in favour of interacting with the darkly furred male before him. He could dwell on them later when he was by himself. I'm Castiel Archer Lyall, member of the Pookastone Scowle pack situated northwest of here. He may as well introduce himself. it was the polite thing to do, after all.

His head nodded. Great. Saying hi was all fine and dandy but did wolves still really do that? Were some of them still naive or kind enough to think strangers liked social calls? Deacon had to suppose that at the least it was better to have a friendly wolf than it was to have one far too eager to attack.

The large male was about to dismiss himself when the other gave a more proper introduction. Deacon could not stop the low chuckle that rumbled forth. This trip was becoming more and more of a stroll down memory lane. What had he done to deserve this, huh? Were the Old Gods playing some kind of prank on him for leaving behind a new life with Aileen? He couldn't blame them if they were.

"Castiel, my brother." He rumbled warmly. "It's Deacon." The older brother knew that he was not exactly the same well-groomed boy he had been as a child. Hell, he wasn't even the same looking as he had been a few months ago.

have you checked out my player preferences?

I don't really care what you do about that

Castiel Archer Lyall

The rugged male's ears perked forward at the other's chuckle. Was what he said funny in some way? No, it sounded less like a bought of laughter and more like an expression of realisation. Over the years his way of thinking had become more cerebral, focusing less on emotions as the only important thing was that he did his duty and did it well, hence his moment of confusion.

Castiel was taken aback when the other male introduced him as Deacon. His brother. It had been so long since he had seen either of his brothers... years. Deacon no longer looked like himself, but his eyes were still the same yellow amber. How could he have not made that connection? Brother, he murmured, a sad expression appearing on his maw. It's been so long. The rugged male wanted to move forward to embrace his brother, but he held back, unsure of where their relationship stood. How have you been?

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

He didn't move forward as one might do so at such a nice realization. Instead, he stayed right where he was. "Indeed." He mused as his lips threatened to tug down.

The question felt so weighted even if it was meant to be easy. An icebreaker of sorts. "I've been better." The dark brother admitted as he let his shoulders give a small roll. No matter their relation he was not about to dump years of information onto the tawny male. "And what of you?" Was this brother doing as well as @Greer? Needless to say, Deacon had taken some pride in his younger brother's accomplishments on the mountain. It wouldn't shock him if @Castiel had hit the same achievements as Greer had.

Granted he had noticed that Castiel had said member and not leader of this Pookastone place.

have you checked out my player preferences?