one on one with MyLostShadow

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A //

Of course she’d known he wouldn’t make this easy for her. Of course she’d suspected he would either sit down and refuse to go like a stubborn child or actually oblige by her orders but as slowly and frustratingly as possible. Therefore, it didn't come as a surprise at all when he just meagerly crept forward, his speed only rivaling that of an inchworm. Yet, regardless of anticipating this, it still irked her all the same. Her gaze hardened on him as he crawled forward, his face an apathetic mask as if trying to play his pace off as normal, though she certainly knew better. She clenched her back teeth and forcibly turned away from him, hoping that her budding irritation would quell if she didn’t look directly at him to see what he was doing, and it worked, it just a little bit. As she thought of ways to cope with the situation, the russet female briefly entertained the idea of taunting him, maybe making a snide remark about how injured or weak he must be to move so slow in hopes that he'd speed up to challenge her, but she thought against it, knowing that stooping to his level had rarely ever merited the result she wanted. Just bite your tongue and save it for when it really counts. She mentally concluded with a grunt, simply choosing to ignore him.

Besides, even if his pace was annoying, she was thankful that he moved at all. He must’ve learned his lesson the day prior, when he’d plopped his rump to the ground and refused to help fix up the camp, then ultimately earned a painful burn across his face (which was still quite prominent, she noted). She imagined he was none too enthusiastic to dare try that again. Thinking this, pride suddenly surged in her chest, but she pushed that down too, wanting to remain focused and not get ahead of herself.

Her ears shifted backwards when the male’s pace picked up, if only enough to bring himself to a steady walk. As she glanced back to check on him, she found he was coming up to her side and stopping, his voice soon cutting the air with a sarcastic edge. She’d kept moving and ended up a small distance ahead of him by the time she actually stopped and fully turned back.

“Another productive day ahead of us. Where are we going anyway?”

The Beta’s amber eyes narrowed, her irritation immediately returning. She oddly detested him talking like that - “us” and “we”. She knew there was no other way to refer to them both, but to her, it made it sound as if they were on the same level, like they were in it together as equals, which they most certainly were not.

“If it’s an omega’s job, I’m not doing it.”

A snarl bubbled in her throat, but she kept it silent, and once again had to bite her tongue before she verbally lashed out at him. Her initial, very heated reply would’ve been, “You’ll do whatever I tell you to, Rat,” but she instead turned away and gave a hot huff through her nostrils, the warm air turning to a puff of steam. Play it cool. Keep a level head.

Once she calmed again, she coolly replied, “I don’t know why I have to keep reminding you that you don’t have a choice,” and began to steadily walk forward again. Admittedly, though she wasn’t a fan of cold weather, the chilly atmosphere made it easier to keep her temper, as if the frigid, foggy air was descending on her conscience and cooling her nerves. Of course, no matter how helpful the environment was, the ever irritating prisoner behind her was sure to get her blood boiling eventually.

After getting a considerable distance from his den, she soon slowed her pace to a halt and scanned their surroundings, looking to and fro as she tried get herself set on the right path. Though old and rainwashed, the heavy musk of the herd still vaguely lingered in the air, getting a bit stronger the further they traveled. If she wasn’t mistaken, they’d see the wide trail of flattened grass and otherwise decimated plant life soon enough. They were certainly on the right path. Without turning to face him, she stoically informed, “We are going to track down the herd.” She then turned to him with a hard look on her face, accusatory eyes saying “to fix the mess you made”. Once certain he got the message, she began slowly padding forward, eyes still resting on him as a silent warning. “We’re just going to find where it is and report back to camp, so don’t even think about trying anything.”

{ a wild page seven appears~ }

[MyLostShadow]

(:o It's so wild and majestic)

A Q U I L O

When the Beta had started walking away without giving him a proper answer, he felt irritation begin to brew inside him, though kept his cool (for now) and simply followed behind her, leaving the den and that very, very brief reminder of home. Not that he'd want to go home, not now, anyway; they'd kill him on sight. Perhaps, if things were like they used to be, he might've taken this chance to attack the Beta and try and escape, to run far away from the Fire Pack and report back everything that had happened. But what about his dream of being Alpha? Even if he could return without being killed on sight, would he? Would he return knowing the Alpha position had once been within his reach?

He continued to ponder the thought of home as he followed the female: how his sister was, if any of the high ranking positions had changed, and whether or not his brother would order an attack on him if he were to catch him in Ice Pack territory. The fact that Chronos had become Lead Fighter still baffled him; he would've never expected him to take the position when there were so many other fighters perfectly capable. And now these wolves thought he was Chronos, and still part of the Ice Pack, so he would have to try and latch on to the idea and keep up the lie. He could only hope that the Fire Pack scouts didn't realise their mistake when spying on the Ice Wolves.

Eventually the female seemed to be slowing down, coming to a complete halt and scanning her surroundings. Aquilo narrowed his eyes as he too took a brief look around, trying to figure out what the Beta was looking for. They'd travelled a fair distance away from the Fire Pack camp (he half expected that he would be doing work there, or more likely on the outskirts of camp), and so was at a complete loss at what he would be doing, or rather, what she expected him to be doing. He certainly wasn't going to make this easy for her (why would he?), and planned on making her regret ever setting him up for this job. Would he be annoying? Definitely. Cause trouble? Of course. These wolves were his enemies, not friends or even acquaintances, so why should he be helpful?

“We are going to track down the herd.”

She didn't turn around when talking to him, causing her sharp voice to surprise him. Tracking? He wasn't a hunter! Fighters didn't track the herds, he'd never learned those skills in enough detail to be able to efficiently track. As she turned to face him, an accusatory glow on her features to make it clear that this was his fault, he too lifted his head, a hint of surprise swimming in his sky blue eyes. "Tracking? Do I look like a hunter to you?" he finally snapped, though the surprise was clear in his voice. No, this wouldn't end well at all: even if he was a hunter, or even slightly more knowledgeable about tracking, this would be a difficult task. He knew enough to know that the scent of the herd would have begun to fade by now with the help of the dreary weather, and that it had likely become tainted by other animals' scents. A difficult task, there was no doubt about that, yet she had chosen him to do it? Something as crucial to the pack as this, and this Fire Mutt chooses me to do it?

“We’re just going to find where it is and report back to camp, so don’t even think about trying anything.”

That made a little more sense: he wouldn't actually be getting too close to the herd, only reporting back when they found it. She'd started padding slowly forward, though he stayed rooted to the spot, the surprise having transformed into that mischievous, smug look that so often danced in his eyes. "We're going to report back? Why would I want to help your pack and locate one of your food sources again?" He meandered a few paces forward at a painfully slow speed, eyes locked on the female: "I'm guessing your hunters aren't skilled enough for this job if you've chosen me to help".

Studying her face for a reaction for a moment, he then began to move forwards again, though kept up his dull pace. To add to it all, he'd begun actively seeking out twigs, pebbles, and dead leaves to stand on to make as much noise as possible, much like an irritable pup trailing behind its mother. He made no effort to help in tracking the herd, never once checking the air to see if the scent of the herd was getting stronger. A mistake; had he focused on the scents around him, even just once, he might've noticed them growing ever closer to the Ice Pack border, as the familiar scents faintly tinted the air.

((#Aquilothechild))

[nyctorin.]

{ *reaches out a hand to pet the majestic page seven* }

V I V E K A //

“Tracking? Do I look like a hunter to you?”

His sharp retort grated her ears and pushed her already-wavering patience closer to it's edge, a flare of irritation rising in her chest once more. Oh how easy it would've been to snap back, “Do I look like I care?!”; to reinforce that he was an enemy from the rival pack -a prisoner - that was not worthy of such luxuries as performing tasks he liked or considered himself skilled in. He wasn’t here for fun and he wasn’t here to take a vacation; he was going to do whatever she bloody well told him to. And even if it didn’t just boil down to him being defiant, but him questioning the intelligence of her decision, well… he still wasn’t in a place to ask questions. Even if this task was better suited to the Fire Pack’s finest hunters, she didn’t care; this was his task for the day, and he was going to do it, end of story.

Of course, with him, that could never just be the end of the story, could it? After she’d told him the finer details of their expedition - how they wouldn’t be getting anywhere near the herd and that he shouldn’t try any funny business - the male just had to keep talking back. As much as expected of course, but still, as mentioned before, expecting him to say such things did little to reign in her mounting irritation/anger towards the Ice-Rat, as evident by the way she kept her eyes glued forward (if not rolled up in frustration) and bore an expression of excessive concentration. Her jaw was set and her muscles faintly tensed, making her gait a little stiff, but given her naturally dominant posture, perhaps it wouldn’t be that noticeable.

"We're going to report back? Why would I want to help your pack and locate one of your food sources again?"

She resisted the urge to immediately reply, instead giving herself a moment to choose a less snappy response. In fact, she spoke in a tone that was casually cool, managing to disguise her irritation quite well. Of course, if he knew her as well as she knew him by now, he’d probably already know she was annoyed; that her cool voice was forced, at best.

“Because I imagine you’d like to not taste my flames again, Rat.” Despite her initially cool tone, she couldn’t help but dip into something much bitter sounding at the end, accentuating the Fire Wolf slang term with disgusted emphasis. She silently dared him to argue against that, silently dared him to provoke her and give her a reason to burn his stupid, arrogant face again. She would gladly do so, even if over something stupid.

Flicking her ears back, she became aware of how spaced out his footfalls sounded, and how he didn’t sound particularly close; he was moving at a snail’s pace, again. She gave a soft, almost silent huff and slowed her own pace, not at all wanting to of course, but not wanting to get separated from him. Yep. Just like looking after a child.

"I'm guessing your hunters aren't skilled enough for this job if you've chosen me to help.”

Once more, her irritation spiked, taking that as both an insult to her intelligence and her kind. I’m sorry, who are the unskilled hunters again? The trained Fire Wolves or the idiot that sent a whole herd stampeding towards camp? She had a right mind to say that too, but bit her tongue, knowing that’d make what he did sound more like an inexperienced wolf’s accident than a purposeful scheme to wreck havoc. Though the former was actually true, she was dead set on believing the latter, and had no intention of shoving her foot in her mouth by contradicting herself with a statement like that.

She still dared a reply, barely maintaining a somewhat even tone, though her words were ever so faintly edged with her rising annoyance. “I don’t you’re quite getting this.” Oh he did, he just played the fool to annoy her. “This isn’t just you helping or doing busy work, this is you fixing the mess you made. Winter is coming soon and the pack is going to need that herd as soon as possible. So, since you’re the one that sent it away, you’re the one that’s going to find it.”

In truth, despite how she was making it sound, Chronos truly didn’t have to do anything: this really was busywork more than anything else, and a babysitting job for her. She’d be tracking the herd as well and checking the prisoner’s choice of direction, just in case he so decided to lead her astray. All he had to do was cooperate and follow along. Of course, if she even vaguely hinted at the truth of their endeavor, she knew he’d just argue that there was no point in him being here, ergo would do nothing, so she’d just make him think the whole expedition rested on his shoulders and that she was merely here to supervise.

“It’s not like the hunters are sitting on their rears doing nothing; they’ve been sent out to hunt smaller game.”

Honestly, she didn’t know why she even bothered to reply or defend anything; she knew he’d argue against her regardless. Maybe it was just in the female’s nature to stand her ground, no matter what the circumstances.

As they walked along, she couldn't help but notice that he not only continued to inch forward at a painfully slow pace, forcing her to slow her own pace and almost stop in some cases, but he was making an unusual amount of noise. She'd initially just thought their path had a lot of debris in the way; that it couldn't be helped. Then she started paying closer attention to the trail around her and what she was leaving behind, soon discovering most (if not all) of the noisy items he was stepping on were actually out of the way; he was doing it intentionally, similar to how he'd been zigzagging behind her on their way to the hunting grounds. She gritted her teeth and silently growled, inwardly flinching with annoyance each time a twig snapped or a leaf crinkled. Caaaalllm, she reminded herself, as if the thought would be enough to ease her high strung mind. Nope. She was close to snapping at him until a gust of wind suddenly blew a familiar smell towards her...

Despite her focused facade, the female had actually been quite distracted by their conversation and the noises he made, therefore hadn’t noticed just how far the two had actually managed to travel. The herd’s diluted scent grew just a bit stronger, just a bit more recognizable over the scent of damp earth, proving they were still on the trail. Yet… another scent was starting to become prominent as they continued onward, eventually making the beta halt yet again, brow furrowed with concentration and nostrils flaring rapidly. They weren’t directly at it, the pair far enough away to not even be detected near it, but the Ice Pack border was up ahead. She hadn’t even realized that was where they were going, and now that she found it’s scent within range, her hackles rose with alarm. Now would be the perfect chance for the prisoner… To make quick work of her and hightail it out of the Fire Pack’s clutches, back to his home. Idiot! She chastised herself. You should’ve been paying attention! But… a more pressing concern: had the herd crossed the border...? She sniffed the air again, this time looking for the herd’s scent. It was in front of her… but it was to the right as well. Had they turned here? Maybe they could smell the pack too…? No, that thought was discarded; she knew elk didn’t have the keen noses that wolves had. Otherwise they would've never allowed themselves to reside within a pack's territory in the first place. Perhaps she was just lucky then… Heck, she was even going to go as far as to say Azar had intended this. Now if only he’ll keep working in my favor… the she-wolf silently prayed as she abruptly turned and started following the scent trail. The herd’s scent seemed to waver, getting closer to the border, then farther away, then closer again. She warily followed it, but was sure to not get too close.

Another concern was if an Ice Pack patrol happened to come by… The two weren’t trespassing, but surely the enemy would attack if they saw the Fire Pack had one of their own. Against Chronos alone, she maybe stood a chance, but against an entire patrol… She swallowed hard and attempted to steel her nerves, convincing herself they weren’t they might be just far enough away to go unnoticed, and that this particular border didn’t span for that long anyway. If they were quick, they could get beyond the Ice Pack territory and get saved the trouble…

Suddenly realizing she was doing all the work, she abruptly stopped yet again and cleared her throat, then looked to the male with arched brows and duly half-lidded eyes, clearly expectant. “Alright. Get to it.”

{ #vivekathebabysitter lol }

[MyLostShadow]

(Someone's gotta keep an eye on him cx)

A Q U I L O

He watched her reaction to his comment about being a hunter carefully; there was no huge reaction, next to nothing in fact, as it seemed the Beta was trying to keep her cool and ignore him. Not a bad move, though it certainly wasn't what Aquilo wanted, as an irritated and infuriated Fire Mutt concentrated on him wouldn't be much use tracking down the herd, and he certainly had no intentions to help find the elk that he scared away. The loss of a herd would likely weaken them, the reduced amount of food leaving some of the pack members hungry, so why would he want to try and prevent that?

His second comment was met with a seemingly carefully chosen response, as he noticed her pause a moment before speaking, her voice forcibly cool to mask what he could only assume was bubbling anger hidden behind a calm charade:

“Because I imagine you’d like to not taste my flames again, Rat."

He grinned, though only slightly, for he was reminded of the previous attack she had launched on him. While the burn no longer hurt, it still twinged every now and then, a clear burn mark visible against his pale fur. "Hmm.. No, I suppose not" he answered back, the corners of his mouth twitching as he let out an amused huff and looked away from her. He had no intentions to get hit with another blast of fire any time soon.

“I don’t think you’re quite getting this.”

This grabbed his attention again, causing him to lift his head and look in her direction rather than the passing trees he had previously been gazing at.

“This isn’t just you helping or doing busy work, this is you fixing the mess you made. Winter is coming soon and the pack is going to need that herd as soon as possible. So, since you’re the one that sent it away, you’re the one that’s going to find it.”

Am I? He was... surprised? No, he had fully expected the tinge of annoyance in her voice, and her demand for him to help her, but did she really expect him to just... submit and help her like some mindless drone? Again, no, after everything she'd seen him do and how she'd seen him act, there was no way Viveka would expect him to actually help, even with her threat of burning his face again. So what was she really planning? Aquilo hadn't figured that out yet, so he opted to keep his mouth shut and not reply to her comment.

What would happen if they failed to locate the herd? Nothing good for him, he presumed, though the Fire Pack's reaction to Viveka failing would be interesting. Had the hunters been sent to do this it wouldn't be a problem, as they'd be able to find the herd easily. Would the Alpha begin to doubt his Beta's judgement? Pondering the thought, he blinked his icy eyes and turned his head away from the invisible spot he'd been blankly staring at for the past few minutes, briefly getting caught up and trapped in his thoughts.

Paw landing on a particularly brittle leaf which made a satisfying crunch as he stepped on it, he noticed the dark blur of fur he'd been watching in his peripheral vision come to a stop. Stopping in his own tracks, he picked up his head and looked around, wondering if she'd caught sight of the herd or something else that might be of concern. He couldn't see anything, so his next move was to sniff the air for scents, and oh how he wished he'd just kept his nose and eyes pointed at the floor and let Viveka do the work. The Ice Pack border! How had he been so stupid and not checked for scents earlier? A low grumble escaped his mouth before he had chance to even think about it, his muscles tensing as he double-checked the air. There was no doubting it: the familiar, cold, musky scent definitely belonged to the Ice Wolves, and he was much closer to the border than he would've liked.

Mixed with the scent of the Ice Wolves was the elk herd, though he had no interest in them now. What if a patrol came by and saw him? Would they attack him first, deeming him more of a threat than the Fire Wolf next to him? He knew the territory very well, and even if several things had changed since he was chased out, there was no end to the things he could remember about the Ice Wolves: the camp layout, key places in the territory, individuals' weaknesses and strengths, even where some of them would be at particular points during the day. Would his past with them make him a more important target than the Beta of the Fire Pack? Faced with that thought and being so close to the Ice Pack border, Aquilo shifted his paws uncomfortably and, for the first time in who knows how long, felt a stab of fear in his heart that seemed to drown his usual calm and laid-back self.

Viveka had started moving again, turning abruptly as she followed what he assumed to be the scent trail of the herd. Mindlessly, his paws began to move beneath him, each paw now carefully avoiding anything on the ground which would make a noise. He could only hope that his paws were leading him in the right direction behind the Beta, as his full attention was in watching the shrubs and trees in the direction of the border. What if a patrol had already seen them and was already reporting back? He couldn't fight a whole patrol, couldn't run back to the Fire Pack camp, and certainly couldn't run to Ice Pack territory. So what would he do?

“Alright. Get to it.”

Aquilo jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, so focused on watching for Ice Wolves that he nearly walked straight into her. "What?" he blurted out, taking a few steps back so he wasn't as close to her. Regaining his composure, he looked in her direction and saw the expectant expression painted on her face. Oh, tracking the herd his sharp mind quickly realised, though he made no move to start locating them.

"I told you, I'm not a hunter, and I'm certainly not going to help you. How do you know I won't just desert you and hightail it out of here?" Ah yes, because that's exactly what he would do: run straight into the Ice Pack's camp and expect them to welcome him with open arms. He'd probably sooner run into the Fire Pack camp at his given time; at least they weren't trying to kill him.

Not at the moment, anyway.

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A / /

When she’d turned back to look at her companion, she couldn’t help but notice a slight… change in his behavior. It was subtle, almost non existent enough for her to wonder if it was just her imagination… but it seemed he was a little on edge. Distracted even. He’d stopped trying to move at an agonizingly slow pace and had stopped trying to make as much noise as wolfishly possible (maybe he just got annoyed with himself). When she’d stopped and abruptly ordered him to “get to it”, he looked back to her with a blank expression and blunt “what?”, as if honestly forgetting what was going on (though this wouldn't be the first time he'd feigned naivety). It seemed his mind was elsewhere… preparing for something, perhaps?

That unshakable dread slid down her spine again as she dared to wonder just what he was planning. Surely if his nose wasn’t broken, he’d noticed the border by now… Heck, he might even recognize the place just by sight alone! Didn't he know this was his chance? Was he already thinking of how easy it would be to slip away and send a patrol after her? She honestly couldn’t tell… His face gave nothing away other than indignation towards what she was telling him to do. He wasn’t acting smug and cocky like a wolf whom had already won… nor was he showing any signs of actually wanting to run away. Huh. Perhaps he was playing the waiting game... just to mess with her...

Choosing to play along, she kept her thoughts and fears concealed as well, the Beta also acting as if there was nothing to anticipate aside from his stubborn defiance. Yet her heartbeat stumbled a bit with his next comment: “How do you know I won’t just desert you and hightail it out of here?”

Well, that was on the nose. Waiting game resolved. Yet he still made no move to actually run. He really was trying to toy with her, wasn't he? Oh, what was she thinking, of course he was! That’s all he’d done since she dragged him into this mess! If she knew anything about the wolf before her, it was his knack for mind games. Well, no matter… He wouldn’t mess with her today… Up against an entire patrol, she didn’t stand a chance, but for now, it was just the two of them… and though he beat her in the size and strength categories, she wasn’t completely powerless. She could do… something if he tried to run away, right? Yeah, she could, and she’d make sure he knew it too.

Narrowing her eyes, she simply replied, “You grossly underestimate me, Ice Rat. Tell me, of the two of us, who do you think is faster? Just how far do you think you’d get before smelling your own burnt hide?”

A bit of a risk, bragging like that, knowing the prisoner could just as easily impale her with an icicle if he so chose. She figured she should also stop threatening to burn him, for if she did it too much, the threat would lose it's weight... yet she continued.

“You may not be a hunter, but I’m sure your nose can pick up something.” A small smirk then crept onto her muzzle, the only kind of smirk that she ever dared to show; one of malice and taunting. “Or did I really burn you so badly that I impaired your sense of smell?” Giving that a moment to sink in and, hopefully, motivate him to prove himself, her smirk fell away into a look of disinterest. “Anyway, as for the herd, it’s going to be found either way, so your defiance isn’t making much of a difference. It’s really just about you doing what I tell you to do...” She now dared to draw closer, stepping right up to him and boring her amber gaze into his. “...and this is hardly the last order you'll be taking from me, so I suggest you just get used to it, hm?” Though her “casual” tone just barely bordered on passive aggressive, her proud, dominant posture make the silent threat clear.

You’re an idiot, her conscience whispered. What if he just tilted his head back and called for a patrol, right here and now?

I guess I’d have no choice but to silence him. Can't let him tell them what's happened...

And you think they'd react any better to finding his dead body on Fire Pack land?

I can stop him before they really hear it.

Then he’ll just kill you. You’re quick, yeah, but he could toss you to the side and kill you in an instant... You can't just overpower him...

The anxious back-and-forth in her head caused a lump to form in her throat, her senses sharpening with adrenaline, the she-wolf becoming all too aware of the Ice Pack border, every little sound around them (was that a patrol??), and the dangerous wolf before her. Every second wasted put her more at risk, and, on a much less concerning note, the longer they waited, the older the trail got. They needed to get moving, now.

Trying hard to mask her fear (was that really her heart beating so fast?), she abruptly turned away from him and began moving forward again. “I won’t tell you nicely a third time.” Huh, yeah, ‘nicely’. "Do it."

[MyLostShadow]

A Q U I L O

Just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse, he was now trapped as a prisoner by the Fire Wolves and right next to the border of the Ice Wolves, who probably wanted him dead even more than his captors did. Hell, they'd even give Viveka a run for her money on how much they wanted to wipe that usual smirk off his face and chase it away as far as possible. He definitely wouldn't be smirking when that happened, nor in the mood for any of his mind games he'd been playing with the Fire Pack Beta.

“You grossly underestimate me, Ice Rat. Tell me, of the two of us, who do you think is faster? Just how far do you think you’d get before smelling your own burnt hide?”

His patience was quickly whittling away with every passing second. All he wanted to do was turn and run, back to the safety of his old den just outside the Ice and Fire Pack territories, but no, he was stuck here tracking a herd that he had accidentally scared away, all the while pretending to be his brother Chronos in order to avoid suspicion and stop them from figuring out that no, he's not Chronos, he's actually the past Lead Fighter who led attacks against patrols, trashed your sacred grounds, and tried to kill the Ice Pack Alpha. Not to forget that the Ice Pack would be more than happy to take him out of Saraf's paws and deal with him themselves.

"And tell me, Fire Mutt, who's the strongest out of the both of us? I know my own weaknesses. I know you're far more swift and agile than I am; you could likely catch up to me in a heartbeat if I tried to run. But you think I'd really be stupid enough to try to outrun you?" Aquilo snapped back, suddenly seeming to be far more on edge than a wolf right next to his home should be.

His eyes remained trained on the horizon of the Ice Pack territory, looking out for any movement among the bushes, any flashes of white or grey fur among the array of autumn colours. He wouldn't go back, not yet. He couldn't.

Ear flicking as the Beta made a jab about burning him so badly that his sense of smell had been lost, Aquilo dared to tear his watchful gaze from the Ice Pack territory and to focus on the (increasingly) annoying Fire Mutt in front of him.

"If it's going to make no difference anyway, why not just send your hunters out first?
You know I'm not going to find it for you, so why even bother?" he grumbled. The Beta however seemed to be having none of his nonsense, and took a brave step forward to confront him:

“...and this is hardly the last order you'll be taking from me, so I suggest you just get used to it, hm?”

Rolling his eyes, he turned away again, breaking eye contact with the Beta and once again looking into the oh so familiar territory. It felt odd seeing it so closely again; it felt like home, but it wasn't, and it hadn't been for some time. He'd fallen so quickly from Lead Fighter, a position many others would've dreamed of, to some outcast Rogue living outside the territory with only a fairly small cave to call his. He hated to admit it, mostly due to him priding himself on his patience and tactical approach to things, but if he'd waited just a bit long, if he'd been more careful, perhaps he wouldn't have been caught. Perhaps if he'd settled for Lead Fighter and not let his ambition get the better of him, he'd still be there now.

That's when he saw them: unmistakable grey and white fur, to big to be a rabbit or anything other than a wolf. All his muscles tensed, his claws digging in to the ground as his mind told him to hide. But then what would the Beta think? She'd know something was wrong. She's going to realise now anyway, moron! You shouldn't have moved so close to the border! Jaw clamped shut to prevent an annoyed growl escaping from his throat, he back up slightly till he was slightly more hidden behind a bush in the process of losing its now brown and orange leaves. How was he meant to blend in here? Unlike in the Ice Pack territory, there was no snow to camouflage himself, only a thick forest full of orange, brown, and yellow, perfect for Viveka and the rest of the pack.

“I won’t tell you nicely a third time, do it.” He jumped at the sound if her voice, no longer paying attention to her and not realising she'd started to move away. The patrol he'd spotted were in a forest, and seemed to be slowly making their way towards the border, the rocky mountain where the camp was poking out above the trees, snow covering the slate grey stone. Aquilo didn't think they'd noticed him and the Beta yet as they seemed to busy discussing something, though they were slowly drifting closer and closer to him, and who knows what they'd do if they spotted him.

"Shh!" he snapped back in a hushed voice, sinking further back into the undergrowth in an attempt to hide his light pelt. He couldn't move as they'd spot the blur of grey fur, and so he was stuck, and could only hope they wouldn't spot him or the Beta traipsing along the border.

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A //

“But you think I'd really be stupid enough to try to outrun you?"

'I didn’t think you'd be stupid enough to keep defying me, yet here we are!' the female had yearned to snap, yet she managed to keep her muzzle shut and, once again, think of a calmer response. She could feel herself… slipping, so to speak. Just being around him was enough to start pushing her patience and bring out her temper. Adding that to his knack for getting on her nerves, his outright refusal to do as she said, and the anxiety of anticipating a patrol of Ice Wolves to come by, and you’ve got one very tense Viveka. So, needless to say, by now, it was getting to a point where she had to take a good few seconds to cool down before actually opening her mouth to speak, lest she wanted to start snapping and just tossing around insults. Which, although a justified response, would not end well.

Instead, she took a small breath and casually ventured, “Then I suppose that makes your threat of going back to the Ice Pack an empty one, doesn’t it?” That’s not to say she’d trust him to stay by her side, oh no- she’d never be so cocky as to just automatically think he won't dare to do something- she’d always be on edge and fully expecting the worst outcome. She really just said that to, hopefully, shut him up.

His next little remark practically struck her at the center of her growing irritation, causing another heated flare up in her body that she struggled to fight down. He just kept repeating himself over and over again like a pup that only knew one word, or phrase in this instance - 'I’m not doing it'. As a result, she felt like she was repeating herself over and over again. She’d threatened him. She’d told him he didn’t have a choice. She’d made it very clear that this would be his life from here on out. And yet, he still didn’t listen. He still didn’t cooperate. You may actually have to get physical, she thought, stifling a growl and feeling a new kind of inner heat starting to rise: the kind a Fire Wolf feels before using their powers. However, before she could truly consider making her internal heat external, it seemed the Ice Rat was finally, hopefully, getting to work, so her flames cooled… for now.

Now turned away from him, she didn’t notice him slinking into the bushes or nervously staring at the patrol (the likes of which she also didn’t notice). Her mind wandered elsewhere; to the land ahead of them, the task before them, and the land beside them. Oh, I hope the herd didn’t cross into Ice territory, she thought with an internal groan. Wouldn’t that be just fantastic? Then her wolves would have no hope of feeding from it without trespassing and further pushing the packs into all out war. Could they survive off of the smaller prey in the Fire Pack territory alone, at least until the herd came back or until a new one was found…? Would they even agree to trying to survive off of that? With a hard swallow and dreadful twisting of her stomach, she realized the famine that would surely bring would also push them into war; why should she expect her packmates to just let go of the herd? As things would get progressively more difficult in the winter, she couldn’t imagine those stubborn and prideful creatures willfully choosing to starve themselves, just so they don’t trespass on Ice Pack turf. There’d be war either way… and for it to start in winter of all seasons, when snow coats the ground and gives the Ice Wolves all the ammunition they need to conduct a massacre… All she could do was silently hope the herd simply hadn’t crossed into their rivals’ homeland. Oh this had sure made a mess of things, hadn't it?

Suddenly, after commanding the prisoner to do his job, she heard him jolt and venomously hiss at her to ‘shh!’. She halted in her tracks immediately, eyes widening and jaw dropping, rage burning in her chest. Did he really just shush her?! Exactly what gave him the right to tell her to shut up?! He was the one being difficult; she was doing her job! Not that she’d ever realistically expect him to see it that way, but it was still true! He had no business shushing her like some annoying lune who was just yaking on and on about nothing! She whipped around to confront him, the chilly air around her getting warmer and sparks flying from her pelt as she concluded it was time to get physical, knowing she could no longer put up with his behavior. However, when she saw what he was actually doing, she stopped, simply too perplexed to continue. He was… in the brush… slinking on his stomach like the lowest of creatures. Now she knew that wasn’t a position he’d just take willingly; something was wrong, very wrong. He was just crawling through the bushes, trying so hard to push himself into the dirt, and he looked so tense; dare she think it, afraid even. What was wrong with him? Before looking around to try and figure it out for herself, her lack of patience had simply gotten the better of her. She stepped closer, staring down at him with angrily narrowed brows. “What are you doing?! Get up from there!”

Having gotten that initial reaction out, she then looked up and started searching for the cause of his strange behavior… and that’s when she saw them. She spotted them almost immediately, their pale white and grey coats sticking out like sore thumbs amidst the ambers, browns, reds of the autumn forest: an Ice Wolf patrol. Her blood ran cold, and the anger died from her face and body almost immediately. Her heart had stopped in that instance, then picked up again at a sickening beat. And yet, before she could get defensive or even think about running, something occurred to her: why was he afraid?

These were his packmates… She would’ve thought he’d call out to them and tell them to attack her, yell that he’d been taken prisoner and she was his warden. That he’d run to them, run to his freedom, his allies! And yet here he was, cowering, crawling in the bushes like he actually had more reason to fear them than she did. It didn’t make any sense… And it couldn’t be anything else that was frightening him, as they were the only change in scenery: no bears, no mountain lions, no elk ready to charge… Seriously, what was going on? Honestly, the mystery almost eradicated her fear altogether. Almost.

Well, it didn’t matter. She didn’t have the time to figure out why he was cowering, for she was still going to assume that they wouldn’t like seeing her with one of their own in tow. They needed to move, now, or else she should start crawling on the ground, trying not to be seen. But he’ll stand out, her ever wary voice of reasoning reminded. So? Doesn't mean they have to see you. She started awkwardly trying to lower herself to the ground… but she didn’t get far. In one terrifying moment, they looked up and locked gazes with her. She froze. They stopped, bodies going tense and expressions hardening. Don’t see him, she prayed, knowing it’d all be over if they did. Just don’t see him. She could still pass as just a patrolling Fire Wolf; not really anything suspicious about that… But, of course, they did see him. They turned to look at the just-as-poorly-camouflaged wolf crouching not too far from her and she felt her stomach hit the ground. Run, she thought. Who cares if it’s cowardly; it’s the only way you’ll survive. And yet she couldn’t, because she knew she couldn’t lead three - potentially four - angry Ice Wolves straight back to camp. She was stuck. All she could do was numbly prepare for what was coming...

Something like recognition seemed to slowly dawn in their eyes as they gazed at “Chronos”. They glanced back to her, then to him, then they looked… no, really…? They looked… amused. Cruelly so, small smirks spreading on their muzzles as they turned to talk to each other. One’s body lurched in a way that suggested a scoff. Her mind was simply reeling, having no idea what to think of… any of this. They weren’t attacking, they didn’t even look angry. They made no move to come closer, and they looked at Chronos as if he might as well be a Fire Wolf. What did it all mean..? The leader took one last look at her, his eyes meeting her own and having on eerily sympathetic look to them. Not one of pity or caring, but like the wolf knew exactly what she was dealing with... Then he turned and motioned to the others to follow, and they went on their way, continuing the border patrol as if nothing had happened. She was left flabbergasted, her confusion evident by the blank look on her usually unamused or irritated face.

...what…?

Realizing she was still in a weird, half-bow position, she slowly lifted herself up and just absently dragged her eyes over to the prisoner, knowing all of this confusion was because of him. There was something about him that she didn’t know, some giant missing puzzle piece… but what could it possibly be?

[MyLostShadow]

A Q U I L O

His eyes were locked on the distant figures, their features blurred by the thin layer of wilting leaves still clinging on to the end of brittle branches. A feeble attempt to pick up the Ice Wolves' scents and identify them ended in nothing but him sneezing as dirt tickled the inside of his nose as he breathed in. This is going to take ages to get out he thought in despair, though he dared not spare a glance to his now dirty brown coat. No, his eyes were focused solely on the gaps in the dying bush, watching with a mixture of fear and anger as the sickeningly grey pelts gradually came to a stop.

“What are you doing?! Get up from there!”

The side of his mouth curled up into a silent snarl; a warning for her to keep quiet. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what these wolves would do if they spotted them. Attack? Possibly, but then they'd risk stepping in to Fire Pack territory which could cause all sorts of problems. Perhaps they'd try and lure the two of them on to Ice Pack territory and attack but, once again, it seemed unlikely. Viveka wouldn't fall for it. So what? What would the Ice Wolves do?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Fire Wolf slowly trying to slower herself to the ground; looks like she'd spotted them too. Unlike his pale, out of place pelt, she would blend in perfectly to the browns, reds, and oranges. She could even run away and hide if the Ice Wolves were stupid enough to cross the border and come after him... he'd be stuck fighting three of his old pack mates then, while she'd likely run off to the camp and report the trespassing Ice Wolves, leaving him to their mercy.

If only they hadn't seen the movement of red-brown fur, perhaps they would've turned and left. But things were never that simple, were they? Had he really expected them not to see him? Aquilo looked on in horror as the Ice Wolves turned and looked directly towards Viveka. They'd seen her. Here he dared a glance towards her, and noticed that she was looking right back at them. And then, of course, he turned back to see them looking at him. Not only was his cover now blown (even the slowest of wolves would realise that there was something wrong when a wolf hid from his own kind), but the Ice Wolves now knew that he was alive and had been captured by...or rather, was temporarily in the company of, the Fire Wolves. Great.

There was no use trying to hide now. Slowly Aquilo picked himself off the ground, hackles raised as he stared at the Ice Wolves, trying to identify them. Two of them he recognised as low-ranking fighters, though given the amount of time he had been gone, their ranks could be totally different by now. But the third... no, it couldn't be...
"Chro--.." he began to choke out, though quickly stopped himself as he became aware that the Beta was only mere tail-lengths away, still believing that he was Chronos. Chronos recognised him alright, there was no doubt about that. His brother had always been good at hiding his emotions, though Aquilo picked up the slight surprise in his gaze, and how his brother raised his left paw slightly off the ground, and placed it down further back than before, dusting his paw pad lightly across the ground as he always did when he was tense.

Time seemed to freeze as he stared back, the Ice Wolves' gazes flickering between him and the Beta before smirks crawled on to their faces. One of the fighters seemed to scoff as it talked to its pack mates, no doubts making some cruel comments about him. It was Chronos he was focused on the most, giving his brother a hard stare as he talked to the two fighters. Ah yes, the new lead fighter, likely taking up the job the morning after he had been chased out. And what would his brother do now? Order them to attack? He didn't have it in him.

An audible growl suddenly erupted from his throat as Chronos gave Viveka one last look and then turned away, motioning for the others to follow him as he walked away like nothing had happened. Gradually his hackles flattened as he shook the dirt from his fur, not particularly bothered if any of it landed on the still half-crouched Beta. Icy gaze following the white and grey shadows until they disappeared from sight, he then whipped around towards the Beta as he felt her gaze resting on him. Seeing the confusion on her face only seemed to agitate him further as the situation he was now in seemed to fully sink in. [color=736AFF]"What?"[/color] he snapped at her, marching a couple of paces away from the border as though trying to distance himself from the event that just occurred. This was it: his cover had been blown. Despite his dislike for the Beta, he recognised that she wasn't stupid, and that she would've already figure out that there was something wrong.

What would he do now?

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A //

The Beta hardly flinched when dirt flew in her direction, courtesy of the prisoner shaking it off. Her face was frozen in a deeply concentrated expression, her mind still reeling, struggling to process all that just happened and all that was still happening. The Ice Wolves didn’t try to save him… they didn’t even seem to care that he was in their enemy’s territory. Furthermore, the leader of that patrol gave her a look of almost sympathy, as if he were almost on her side in that situation… In the very least, they certainly didn’t seem to be on Chronos’s side.

And that was another thing… She had caught the prisoner’s little slip of tongue. In his moment of astonishment, staring at his packmates (whom he should be relieved to see, right? Not so clearly disturbed and put off by seeing?), he started to say something that sounded very similar to “Chronos”. Now, maybe that was jumping to conclusions, since he barely even got out the first syllable - maybe names beginning with “Chro-” were common among the Ice Wolves, or maybe there were multiple Chronos’s… but she honestly doubted it. Could it really just be a coincidence that the prisoner was named Chronos as the alleged Lead Fighter of the Ice Wolves, and that the leading wolf of that patrol (not uncommonly the Lead Fighter himself) was ALSO named Chronos? No. She really didn’t think so.

Therefore, she left herself with one conclusion - he wasn’t Chronos. He was someone else masquerading as the Lead Fighter.

So who was he? And why did he feel the need to lie about being Chronos? As if the name of one Ice Rat would somehow be more respectable to the Fire Pack than another? Who could he be that would somehow be even worse than just an average Ice Wolf? A particular enemy to the Fire Pack perhaps? Or maybe someone of higher importance, like the leader’s son? But surely the Ice Wolves would care if THAT was the case...

She had a lot of questions, and those questions NEEDED answers. Answers only “Chronos” could provide.

Being so malinformed was aggravating enough - she felt like a fool! To think, she thought she’d finally gotten the jump on his mind games, would finally be ahead of them and not pulled into his little manipulative web, but it turned out he was lying to her - to THEM - the entire time! Then, of course, THEN he had the nerve to sharply ask her ‘What?’.

Like nothing was wrong.

Like that was completely normal.

As if she somehow wasn’t intelligent enough to catch on by now that she was being played for a fool.

Well, he’d certainly like to think that, wouldn’t he?

Face slowly contorting into an angry snarl, she tossed a ferocious growl in his direction and threw up a quick burst of flames in front of him to make the Rat halt. Her only intention was to stop him, but if it burned him again, she wouldn’t mind one bit. Taking advantage of his shock (for however long it might last), she lunged forward and roughly slammed the side of her body into his right side, now aiming to throw him off his feet. Given her stature, he’d probably recover quickly, if he was affected at all, but she honestly didn’t care. Some of these actions weren’t that thought out in all fair honesty- she was MAD, and wanted nothing more than to toss him around and MAKE him give some answers. She wasn’t really keeping in mind the size difference or the risk of her actions at all.

“What do you mean ‘what’?!” She practically roared in his ear, barely able to restrain herself from biting it off.

“YOUR packmates just SAW you here, in FIRE PACK TERRITORY, and did NOTHING. If ANYTHING, they seemed perfectly content with LEAVING you here. Oh, and don’t think I didn’t catch you almost calling that OTHER WOLF ‘Chronos’!”

She swiftly darted forward and wheeled around, now facing him with her nose almost pressed to his, eyes flashing like embers in a fire. “You better start giving me some answers RIGHT NOW ICE-RAT, before I MAKE YOU.” Sparks then began to fly off the Beta’s pelt, emphasizing her point.

Granted, it was probably still an empty threat. Should he choose to just surge forward and snap her neck, he could still likely do so. She didn’t have as much power in this situations as she kept leading herself to believe. However, at this point, Viv was much too angry to consider such a reality, and perhaps still too used to others just complying with her orders, despite Aquilo defying her ever since they met. She seemed fully convinced that she could make him spill the truth, no matter what the circumstances.

So much for keeping her cool this time. And it goes without saying that the herd was pretty much forgotten now.

[MyLostShadow]

A Q U I L O

Aquilo was stopped in his tracks by a sudden burst of flames in his face, being painfully reminded of the previous burn the Beta had given him as the fire stung his face. Though he had not sustained a burn like before, he felt the lick of the flames against his face, causing him to jolt backwards and close his eyes to protect them. To make his day even better the Beta took advantage of his brief shock and roughly rammed into him, causing the large male to stumble to the side. His quickly recovered, if not a bit dazed by the whole incident that had taken place in a matter of seconds. With a snarl he rounded on the female, his pale blue eyes seeming to flash as a thin layer of frost covered his wintry pelt, "Get off me!" he barked, snapping his jaws in her direction, though not raising a paw or lunging forward to lash out. He refused to back down as she snarled in his ear (he was too proud for that), instead glaring at her out of the corner of his eye as she yelled in his ear:

“What do you mean ‘what’?!” she yelled, causing another growl of annoyance to rumble from Aquilo's throat. “YOUR packmates just SAW you here, in FIRE PACK TERRITORY, and did NOTHING. If ANYTHING, they seemed perfectly content with LEAVING you here" she carried on. The Ice Wolf opened his mouth to comment, but was cut off as the beta finished her sentence: “Oh, and don’t think I didn’t catch you almost calling that OTHER WOLF ‘Chronos’!”

She had noticed his little slip up, his mistake, him nearly calling out to his brother who he hadn't seen for moons. It caused a dreadful sickness to begin well up inside him as he wondered how the Fire Wolves would react when Viveka told them. Would they try and get answers out of him? Would they hand him over to the Ice Pack and let them deal with him? Soon he came upon the thought that maybe, just maybe, the Fire Wolves may have heard of the old Lead Fighter who tried to kill the Ice Pack's Beta all those moons ago, and some of their sharpest wolves might catch on to who he really was.

The sudden appearance of the Beta in front of him jolted him out of his dazed state, a hardened stare taking hold of his face as the female stood almost nose to nose with him, anger radiating from her in waves. “You better start giving me some answers RIGHT NOW ICE-RAT, before I MAKE YOU.” Despite the sparks flying from the female's pelt, he simply rolled his eyes and let out a scoff. "You're going to make me give answers? I doubt it, Fire Mutt, you don't have it in you". Was now the time to mock an incredibly angry, irritable wolf who had fire dancing on her fur and had nearly burnt him with said fire only moments ago? Absolutely not. Right now though, Aquilo wasn't sure what else he could do besides tell her everything (which definitely was not an option), and was desperately searching his mind for a way to get out this particularly awkward situation.

After a few tense moments, Aquilo huffed and turned away from the Beta before she decided to swipe his face or blind him with a face full of flames. He had no intention of lashing out at the Beta, mostly due to the question of what the Fire Pack would do to him if he did, but the way his eyes seemed to glow icy blue with anger, and the way his light grey fur was covered with frost that shone when the sun caught it, gave no indication of his true thoughts. In fact, he looked remarkably like an Ice Wolf ready to send an army of ice shards hurtling towards the Fire Wolf at any moment with how his claws were tearing at the dirt beneath his paws.

"Beta or not, Fire Wolf or not, captor..." he grumbled the last word in a mocking tone, "...or not, I don't have to tell you or your mediocre pack mates anything". Incredibly irritated at the situation, he turned his head away from the Beta and added in a breath barely louder than a mouse's breath "I'd outrank the majority of the mutts anyway".

What he would do now the Ice Wolf didn't know; the Beta would undoubtedly tell the rest of her pack the whole ordeal, who would do all they could to get some answers out of him. As if his situation wasn't bad enough already! Perhaps this was Calder's way of punishing him for trying to upset the balance of Ice Pack hierarchy when he tried to kill the Alpha. That, or just incredibly bad luck.