i have gunpowder

while the morning is, in of itself on the cooler side, there’s a humidity laying over the land from the overnight rain that curls seasmoke’s nape hair. the air is thick: with the fresh scent of rain and damp earth and each breath of air is soupy. with no clear path in mind, seasmoke deviates and saunters down the soft, sloping rocks to the shallows of the water — fed by a waterfall he can both see and hear — where he splashes thru the cold water. it’s refreshing and works to cool him off though for the sake of saving himself drying time he does not wade any deeper upstream.

the sickly sweet scent of berries linger heavy in the air here, as does the myriad of prey scents that makes the run an immediately attractive territory to him; ignorant of the founding pack whose borders the ullarcraig run ( though the name is unknown to seasmoke ) shadows. he leaps out from the water and gives his pelage a hearty shake, though the fur of his legs still clings to his flesh; damp.

not terribly worried about it, seasmoke continues on; deeper into the run’s territory to explore.

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Another morning came and once more Hieronymous wandered off to the river and falls just down the mountain of Vanderfell. Swiftly on agile legs, he runs down the mountainside, lean muscles making quick and easy work of the terrain as he grew more accustomed to such a change in lifestyle. It felt like he had spent years on a flatter terrain, where he was accustomed to longer rages instead of vertical ones - thankfully his curse made adjusting relatively easy.

With a final leap, the painted knight found himself just steps away from the running river once more, a place that he spent most of his time lately as the soothing sounds and fresh air seemed to invigorate him, especially in the early morning light.

But instead of jumping into the water for the same 'ol new routine of fishing for breakfast and bringing back a few for caches, a strange sight caught his eye. A red-backed man who just freshly came out of what Hieronymous assumed was a swim. With a greeting bark he attempted to gain the attention of the stranger. “Hail!” His tone not quite demanding, friendly, and yet also wanting for them to speak with him. This was Ira's expected hunting grounds after all, it was up to them to make sure no one would run the prey away from them.

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the sound of approaching footfalls had been the first thing to grab the duskwraith’s attention. it is soon followed by the ‘hail’ carrying over the shortening distance: not quite demanding but nevertheless carried an edge that told seasmoke not to ignore it. his steps slow to a cease and he turns, left ear twitching to the side as fiery gaze of twin suns studies the stranger that’s called out to him. a myriad of earthen colors; splotched as if someone dabbed paint on him.

not a pelage pattern that seasmoke could say he’d ever seen before.

it certainly draws and holds his attention.

upon the soft breeze that carries, he can smell the scent of others on him that enters in seasmoke’s brain as ‘pack’. “hmm,” the noise lingers in seasmoke’s throat; lowly. meant for himself. “is this your territory?” seasmoke inquires, gesturing to the scattered woods he was close to breaching. he supposed that was a first good step: establish why he was being ‘hail’ed in the first place; not quite grasping ( dumb bitch energy ahoy ) that it could’ve, in all fairness, just been someone looking for some conversation.
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As cool as one can be, the other male calmly turned and asked a valid question. “Here? Yes and no.” He chuckled at the ambiguity of his answer. The Vanderfell man approaching just enough so they may comfortably speak, but not quite enough to invade any space. He had a light smile on his face, his tail and composure was relaxed as he did so as to carefully not alarm the man in question. “My pack, Vanderfell Woods sees this as our hunting grounds - so I suppose you can say I'm just checking in. Doing my duties you know? Making sure you aren't here to chase our prey away.”

“'An, maybe meet someone new. Always fond of making new friends.” That would be a real bonus to doing just a job. He really did want to meet more individuals around and do more than just his job around Vanderfell - how dull of a life would that be? The pack was small and there was nothing wrong with that, but Hieronymous was a social butterfly. He wanted to meet as many individuals as he possibly could.

Think of which, he should probably stop by @Bronco soon to see how he was doing. A friendly little visit to make sure there were no hard feelings for his accidental trespassing earlier.

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“ah,” seasmoke offers; a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat that communicated that the man’s intentions were along the lines of what he hadn’t thought of ( friendly conversation ). in such a foreign place with no recollection of how he ended up here in the first place, left him unsure of how to take his fellow canines. was he encroaching on territory he wasn’t meant to? were they territorial like the his family was wont to be. that does not seem to be the case …at least, in this situation.

“while i am quite fearsome i do not think i alone am capable of scaring off the prey i smell upon the wind.” seasmoke says; always toeing the line between arrogance and puppyish innocence in what he believes to be fact. it’s a very thin line that could, if one weren’t bothered to look closely and make the distinction, easily blurr.

“vanderfell woods,” seasmoke touches upon the pack name drop. “what’s it like?” he inquires, thinking it might be more sensible to join a group of others than try to go-it on his lonesome. “i’m seasmoke; duskwraith.” a title. a rank. a surname; all rolled into one nice little package but offered after his given name in such a way that it could be taken as any of the three.
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Hieronymous was a rather relaxed type of man, not the type to look into picking a fight with someone for shallow reasons as a "maybe" attitude. So long as the other, younger, man wasn't being obviously rude, Hiero had no problem with his feigned ignorance. “You know how it is, gotta be safer than sorry.” He smiled again, of course, he couldn't smell if this guy was alone or had a group somewhere hidden where Hiero couldn't see.

The young man called himself Seasmoke, or Duskwraith whatever that meant. A nickname? Second name? Rank? Whatever he wasn't going to judge. The painted man was just excited to talk about Vanderfell to another lad. “Vanderfell is everything I wish for a pack.” It helped that Ira was there. “We are a growing group and everyone seems to be settling in well.” Another way to say "small". He could have sworn if he said that, Ira would have some down from the mountains to correct him.

“Our leader Ira, has a good head on her shoulders and just wants to ensure our safety in such a strange new world.” He was hoping it was enough to pique the man's interest. How good would it look on him to bring back a new recruit for Ira to take in? Surely that would make her happy.

^^

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a sage nod is offered the other male at the 'better be safe than sorry' offered to him. in this, seasmoke understands. the duskwraiths were notorious territorial over their hunting grounds and it makes perfect sense to him that others would be the same — even if that wasn't entirely true in this particular case. while 'everything he wished for in a pack' was more of a personal opinion and didn't offer seasmoke a whole lot of detail per se, he bobs his head in consideration of the words all the same. still, the fact that it is a growing group with obvious room for additional wolves ( namely him ), leaves seasmoke interested.

he had to start somewhere, didn't he?

“this place is strange to you as well?” seasmoke inquires; curious about the fact and capitalizing upon it. it was a relief, to some degree, to know he was not the only one; switching topics back to this vanderfell woods, seasmoke inquires next, “are you looking for recruits? i was trained as a warrior since i was a cub.”

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At least the red-spined man understood and took no offense in being questioned about being in their hunting grounds. Something Hieronymous appreciated. He didn't want to have to argue with someone about or fight.

“Mmhmm, it is.” It was beginning to be easier to accept the fact as time moved on. Nothing really changed he supposed other than the lack of certain memories. It would be nice to remember them, but perhaps some things were left forgotten. Every now and then he could swear he had a taste of them in his dreams, but when he awoke, they were gone like smoke in the wind. “It seems common, I haven't even meet any natives after being here for a few months now.” Maybe this guy did if he was lucky, opening up the conversation should Seasmoke have anything to share about it without invading.

Seasmoke was already telling him what he was good at, a good sign that Hiero couldn't help but smile at. “New warriors are always welcome as far as I know.” More bodies too. “Would you like for me to introduce you to our High Queen?” He could always come back later to fish after all, this was more important.

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the fact that the other male hasn't even met natives to the land is a bit concerning to seasmoke but, in truth, he does not know how vast these lands are. perhaps it was just coincidence for surely someone had to be native. ...didn't they? he offers the thought a small sliver of his focus and then lets it go. there are more pressing things that require his attention; like the fact that the other man tells him that ( as far as he knows ) new warriors are always welcomed. this is good news and causes seasmoke to give a soft, hopeful wag of his tail; ears perking with interest.

“yes!” the duskwraith is enthusiastic as he responds. “i would very much like to be introduced to your high queen.”

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The younger man seemed pleased by the offer and Hieronymous could only continue smiling in response. “Very well, come, follow me I will introduce you Seasmoke.” He paused just long enough to let Seasmoke prepare to climb up the mountain where Hieronymous had come from before the river. Once ready, they would leave the valley and let the melodies of the falls drift off in the distance as they made their way up the cliffside. He would not be able to find Ira by scent, and so, he opted for the next best thing -

^^

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last from me, starting new thread!

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