looking with disappointment

After this thread's setting! @Tiberius

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The trail of blood was an alarming sight, but with the smell being that of prey and not one of their own, it was at least less startling to see despite someone or something hunting on their lands. Sadly they didn't have many guards for her to speak to about such a situation, none other than one.

She feared of putting too much on his shoulders, that perhaps she would be asking too much of him when he had no other to work with yet. Perhaps he could make his own little group of guards to train, something she would be more than happy to let him lead as their first and only guard so far. 

Hastily she ran off after Tiberius' trail, wasting no time to react upon the sight and not let it linger too long without action being taken. There was no time to cover the trail until after she spoke to the tall dark man, later on she would follow it and cover up as much as possible before too many others would be alarmed and worried of the sight.
 
“Sir Tiberius.” She called out to him as soon as the man was in sight. Though her tail flickered with a pleasant greeting, there was no smile on her face as it was simply riddled with concern. “Have you seen the trail?”

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^^Tiberius had been stewing, almost frothing at the mouth with rage since he had discovered someone had been hunting on their lands. Their fucking lands -- it wasn't free range for strangers to delve into whenever they wanted yet they had, and Tiberius had not been there to stop them. He needed more than just himself to patrol the borders, to patrol the lands every day yet finding someone else like him was likely to be a difficult task. Reiko had a nature about her that attracted wolves of similar nature, though he supposed that was unfair; she had attracted him to her Pack and he was nothing like the rest of them.

By the scents he had found, it hadn't just been wolves. There had been a cat that wasn't their resident tiger and that alone had made his lip curl with frustration. He was a force but could he reign victorious against a cat? If he had to find out, he would, but Tiberius would rather be smart and furious than just furious. Rainer... he wasn't so sure had what it would take to end up training to be like him, to use her thick paws and sharp claws for their defense. If cats were common in the Tundra, then Tiberius would wonder if Reiko would stop the feline admittance at just Rainer or if she would be open for more cats to join their ranks.

Fight fire with fire, after all. Tiberius' shoulders bunched up with he heard it though forced himself to somewhat relaxed when he realised who had called for him. No one outside of Reiko called him sir. "I 'ave," he rumbled in distaste as he turned his mass to face the approaching woman. On her features that were usually dancing with a smile and warmth, sat the look of concern. Tiberius didn't like that, he didn't like it at all. "I will 'ave it sorted, Iceling. I'll cover up any evidence and fuckin' shit all over tha place ta cover up their scents if I need ta." He almost spat the words out but he withdrew his head with a tilt of his lips when he realised the wording of his sentence.

Tiberius sighed as he rolled his shoulders, "ain't mean ta be vulgar but ya gonna need a lot more piss an' shit to mark tha borders properly. Ain't been 'ere too long for tha pack scent to be worth anythin'." It was a time that was so rare that he almost wished he did have the Crane's here with him, it would make defending the land a lot easier. Vala and Lana were forces themselves, alongside Minerva -- he'd like to see a cat fuck around in the territory with the four of them to deal with. But as it stands, it was him and he had none of his Cranes. "I ain't lookin' ta tell ya 'ow ta run ya Pack, Iceling," he clarified, in case she took some mild offense. Tiberius was fully welcoming the responsibility of keeping them safe and the territory marked, even if in the end, he might not be enough. Where would they find more beasts like him out in the Tundra, anyway?



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The titan's annoyance was palpable - there could be many underlying reasons as to why he was in such a foul mood but it surely revolved around the recent events. His words were harsh as they hit her ears, forceful folding them back as if it would help shield her from their piercing racket.

Everyone dealt with stress in a different way, and though the way Tiberus dealt with his was not a way that would come naturally to Reiko, she understood it to a certain degree. “I do not believe our borders are the issue.” She didn't want to argue with Tiberius, but Reiko did have her own sneaking suspicion on what was happening. “Whoever, whatever it was took the prey out of our lands. They know we live here and chose not to eat their kill here knowing it was claimed.” A pause as she let her gaze follow out beyond their reaches, toward where she saw the trail lead off to before finding their guardian. “I think there is more to this than we think.”

Which means that since whoever it was came and went without much of a fuss was alerting enough. She knew they needed more guardian types to watch their borders, stronger wolves to keep the more passive ones safe from outsiders and their resources from being pillaged this easily. If only she had more time than this.

“Should we follow the trail and see where it leads?” A part of her thought it would be a good idea. Figure out where this individual brought the prey to eat it, see if they could reason with them and if not... well, then maybe it would be time to alert @Ira of Vanderfell should it affect her too, as well as let the others know to come up with a proper, safe plan to keep them all from this danger until it could be dealt with. As her question hung in the air, she sought out Tiberus' guidance and wisdom in such decisions.

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^^The borders weren't exactly not an issue, Tiberius thought, but he wanted to hear what Reiko had to say. What she was thinking and why. Apparently, the Iceling thought it was something far deeper than the first layer. He eyed her, golden gaze appraising her delicate features that were so riddled with concern and he wanted to heave a sigh but kept it bottled in his throat. Of course she wanted to go on a hunt to find the perpetrator, because why wouldn't she? "Iceling," Tiberius rumbled, "ya sniffed tha air and know what we're workin' wit'?" the man questioned, cocking his head to the side as he waited.

Could she smell the cat that wasn't Rainer on the air, alongside the wolves that didn't belong to them? If this was another group of wolves with their own pet cat to use to hunt and steal from Pack lands, then it wasn't exactly a mission for two, was it? It would be good, he reasoned, to find the trail and see exactly where it went -- but Reiko going along with him? It didn't sit right with him. He had a feeling, though, that the Iceling wasn't going to take no for an answer. Even if he reasoned with her, he had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't stay back. She'd go on and seek the trail herself, without his protection and then that would prove to be an even bigger problem.

"Whoever it is, clearly ain't fuckin' fussed about us, Iceling. They 'unt on taken land and more than likely ain't gonna be tha nice sortsa creatures," he exhaled, lifting his chin to the sky and searched the heavens for a brief moment but before long, he cast his golden gaze back to her with a flick of his ears. "I ain't denyin' tha' followin' tha trail ain't a good idea, but if we do, ya gotta let me take lead. Ya gotta trus' mah judgement," he wasn't about to take her and follow a trail if she was going to be a loose cannon. He had the experience and the skill and whilst he didn't think her a defenseless maid, she was important as both Alpha and just her. "Ya can't trus' wolves an' cats tha' fuck around wit' boundaries." Tiberius reasoned but rolled his shoulders in minor defeat. "If we follow tha trail, we stay 'idden, yeah? Ya stay low, ya keep yaself at one wi' tha snow," he wanted to know that if he said to her to run, she would run.

Shiroshika was no good with their Leader dead. 



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“I have.” Calmly the woman replied, aware of what was lurking and what it could have been that took the prey from their lands. But she would not argue with Tiberius. He had many good points and opinions to be added which is what was his purpose here to begin with Their main protector; and even now she was proud to have taken him despite his initial concern. He took the position with pride and with stride, Reiko had no doubts that she had found the perfect individual to watch over them all.
 
“I agree.” With it all. She rejoined the conversation after Tiberius had said everything he thought was necessary, right down to his plan on how to follow the trail and what to do. It was certainly no time for her to excitedly run ahead and leave behind the one individual who was here to keep her safe, to remain as Hotaru's mother and not abandon her with sheer stupidity guiding her into the maw of a hungry feline. And his thoughts were right - if it wasn't Tiberius to join her, Reiko might have asked Tobias instead and went anyway. Following her own beliefs of what was right. “But —”

There was something she had to add before they agreed on a course of action. “We try the diplomatic route first.” She almost pleaded with her eyes for him to listen. To not rush in and attack whoever it was that had began all this commotion. “We find who it is, scout them out, and see what might have pushed them to hunt on our lands. If they refuse to listen to reason, we will follow your course of action after if diplomacy fails.” Believing there had to be more of a reason for it than just a mean spirit, perhaps they could come to a peaceful solution.

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^^He just about managed to withhold the sigh that had began to brew within his throat as he listened to her, her desire to talk first because they might have been forced to hunt on someone elses land -- but conveniently, not eat in them. Tiberius didn't think it would be the way that Reiko was hoping for but he supposed he needed to try and do things somewhat in the way that Shiroshika did them and not what he was used to. "Alrigh'," he rumbled in agreement, "but can ya a'least keep at mah side an' not ge' too closed ta them?" Tiberius requested, golden eyes protective and irritated all at once.

Tiberius could... respect her decision for diplomacy, knowing that the Dominion, despite it's aggressive nature, had held wolves like Teodora for a reason -- to act in diplomacy when the time counted for it. He also appreciated her telling him she would go with his course of action if hers failed, because it meant that where he was trying to adapt to her, she was trying to adapt to him. "Yer a troublemaker, Iceling," the man grouched though his voice held a ghost of affection for the white wolf as he rolled out his shoulders as he flared his nose to catch the scent. A brief sense of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he thought of the situation but thankfully, it wasn't more dominant than the young mans need to protect.

"Come on then, Iceling," Tiberius dipped his chin to her, golden gaze roving over her delicate features for a few moments before he hummed once, turning around where he stood and started to follow the scent and trail.


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We can close this here if you'd like! I can start something closer to Hrafnsvaktin and see how that will go with Greymoor folk (¬‿¬) Since the trail does end there

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“I will remain glued to your side.” Catching that little glint of annoyance in his eye, she would smile to try and diffuse it. Only to add extra flair to her innocent act with big wide excited eyes, a childish tail wiggle, and adding her hips into the movement as well. Tiberius was a kind man despite his harshness, she could tell, and perhaps adding a little playfulness to the moment would help put him at ease. After all, she assured him she would be listening to his guidance.

With a happy nod she would follow after the titan, watchful and guarded as they followed the trail beyond their borders... It was a frightening moment even if she wouldn't admit it, and hoped it was nothing but a simple missunderstanding. The last thing they needed on their plate was troublesome neighbours or a dangerous feline lurking near by they need to destroy before risking any possible harm on Shiroshika members by letting it live.

At least Tiberius agreed to being diplomatic first. Such an agreement put her at ease that there might be a better way to deal with it that didn't involve death at all.

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