Alsander

Silvery pale grey fur rippled over powerful muscles as the male padded across the bloodstained plain, fluffy ears flicking back and forth. Why would Claire have come around a place like this? Had she hit her head in the river? Maybe she wasn?t well. One ear pulled back to listen to his brothers. It was his turn for point, and his nose and Claire?s scent had led here. Heavy tail flicked a signal to Caerul and Cael, as he stopped, puzzling over a new scent. Nose brushed the earth. The scent was stale, both were. Days old, perhaps two weeks. Claire, and an older male. The older male?s scent interested him. There had been no stink of fear from Claire here, and no sign of a struggle. He?d let Cael take a closer inspection; the slender, smaller male that was his younger brother was tied to the land in a way that none of them could ever hope to achieve. Hearing his brothers approach, he stepped aside and nodded to the place where scents intermingled, then led off to the west and south, together. ?What do you make of this?? Mismatched gold and green gaze looked at his brothers, finding Caerul?s emerald eyes in a look of questioning, before turning to Cael?s gold and blue pools.

This stretch of ground made the druid uneasy. It was almost as if the death and violence that this blood stained land had seen rolled off of it in waves. He was already concerned for his dear sister, but to be in such an awful place put the ivory brute on edge. He followed dutifully behind his gray hued brother as he led them in the direction that would hopefully lead them to Claire. He almost wished it was his turn to track the scent since at least he had something to concentrate on besides his depressing musings then. His mismatched gold and sapphire eyes flicked up from the ground to his brother's back as the leader flicked his tail as a signal. Cael paused, watching as Aslander studied one particular spot with interest. Cael approached this spot silently with just a glance to each of his brothers. He lowered his head toward the gory earth, breathing in the scents carefully. Among the iron-tainted scent of the blood stained earth was the scent of his sister... and another. His brows pulled together and he looked off into the distance where the scent led off to. He had no feeling of struggle or fear from this scent, that much was obvious from even this old scent. So it was someone she knew or had no reason to fear... Who would she have met out here in this wasteland that would have been a friend to her? He studied the foreign scent again, trying his best to dissect it. It was difficult with the trail being almost cold, but something in the scent triggered something deep in his mind. Way back in his memories... He couldn't place it. It was significant, but he couldn't bring the information he needed to the surface. He sighed, his ears folding back against his skull. He was sick with worry and this battle land was dulling his mind with its stench of death and destruction. "She did not feel that she was in danger at least. She is wise, she would know when she was in trouble," he replied, his gaze meeting the two-toned gaze of Aslander. He shook his head, feeling slightly defeated. "I can not tell anything more here." He looked to his other brother, Caerul, and spoke again, "Do you sense anything more, brother? If not I suppose we should follow the trail... again." "Speech."

The paladin man stared at the ground. How could this happen!? How could he have let it...He shook his head. Sitting in the dirt thinking about how he had failed his sister would do no good. He had to remain strong for her, and for his brothers. Rising to his feet, he shook away the feelings that had been eating at him and took up his usual self. He had to be strong, he had to remain a leader and not let them down. She was still alive, there was still hope...but who was it that took her away? If she had followed someone willingly then maybe they had threatened her in some way. He hadn't really scented much but the blood that stained the ground and stuck in the air like a burr in his pelt. He looked at his gentle brother, then at his silvery colored brother. Walking towards them, he regained his composure and cleared his mind. Pressing his snout to the ground where his brothers had previously scented, he lifted his head and turned to the waiting pair. "Indeed, she has been through here. There is no mistaking her scent." His head tilted slightly in thought, "But...there is something else. The one she is with...whoever took her, seems..." His voice trailed off. It couldn't be. His parents were dead. The scent though...seemed similar to that of Claire's...but what were the chances of running into their lost Father here? He inwardly scoffed. When foxes told the truth! There's no mistaking that Claire is with someone...but who? The scent that she followed...why does something stir inside me? Like I should know who it is... Shaking his head and pushing away the thoughts, he fixed his gaze on the two. His druid brother was right, if Claire felt that she was in trouble, then she would have fought or ran. "She must have gone willingly with whomever came upon her. Remember, the scent is days old, and it must've been soon after she had escaped the river. So she most likely went with the stranger for food and shelter...this place though, there are many scents. Even though blood stains the ground, I smell many a wolf come here from different packs. And if she followed a pack wolf, what scent best matches the one we found...?" He questioned. It was hard to discern which pack led where, as the stale tang of blood overpowered much in this land, and then the mingled scents of the different packs as well. This, would not be easy. But they had to find her, had to know she was still alive and not forced to do something against her will. He'd tear apart anyone who tried to hurt her.

Alsander

Alsander watched as their Druid brother approached the place he?d indicated, not at all blind to how much this place unnerved the slender white male. He fully understood. The place made his hide crawl. Cael ended his analysis of the scents, and Alsander?s ears pressed forward to listen to what the male had to say. One ear pulled back as he thought about their sister. Tiny, fiery, temperamental, and sweet as spring water. And she had a knack for getting herself into sticky situations. That time she?d come across a bear. A. mother bear with three little cubs and a nasty temper. Their little scamp of a sister had thought it would be fun to play with the cubs, after all, the cubs had been all for the fun. He shivered at the memory of the furious mother ursine crashing after them, forcing them far away until she?d finally decided they were far enough away from her treed cubs to let them be on their way. Heavy tail flicked as he turned his attention to his brothers. Caerul was taking in the scents now, and when he replied, Alsander finished his elder brother?s sentence. ?Familiar somehow?? He?d caught that tang of familiarity that had pulled at something inside. Caerul shook his head before looking back at them. Alsander nodded again. ?This seems to be a place where wolves come often, you?re right about many wolves. As for which scent matches the one we?ve found, I vote we follow the scents, and see where they lead us. We might just find her.? The last few words were laced with cautious hope. In any case, it would be a relief to escape this place, to smell clean air. The blood that stained the earth here overwhelmed all but the strongest scents. They were very lucky that they?d been able to stick to Claire?s scent among all these others. He studied his brothers, waiting for Caerul?s decision. It would be carefully made, and he hoped it meant leaving this place very quickly.

Cael was more than eager to leave this place behind and proceed down the trail toward his sister. While his elder brothers conversed, the druid let his mind drift off away from them, focusing purely on the scent that was intermingled with his dear sister's. He let lids slide down over gold and sapphire eyes and he breathed in deep, forcing away the ghostly death of the area so he could focus. Why was this mystery wolf's scent so familiar? Something about it rang deep within him, triggering some instinctive memory far back in his memory. It seemed almost like it was so far beyond his memory, yet it was firmly there. It had to be something from when he was a pup, when he was very, very young. But the only wolf that came to mind that could be from that far back... His eyes opened and confusion crossed his features. It couldn't possibly be their... their birth father? That would explain why Claire trusted him... He pushed the thought aside. It was a wild theory at best and he didn't want to bring in false ideas to their conversation when the more pressing matter of their sisters safety was at hand. But still, he couldn't help wondering if they really had run across their birth father after all this time. He blinked, pulling himself back into the present, turning his attention to his brothers just as Alasander said something about following the scents to see if they would lead them to Claire. The druid nodded in agreement and turned his mismatched gaze to Caerul to see what his verdict on the situation would be. "Speech."

The male nodded in agreement to Alsander, two toned head facing towards his druid brother as his paws made his way in his direction. He flicked his tail along his gentler brothers sides, indicating that it was time to leave. He knew the smell bothered Cael, he was the gentler of the troupe after all, and if it bothered Caerul, it was definitely better to get out of the area before someone collapsed from the intense metallic odor. "We move now, let's get out of here. We'll follow this trail and see where it leads to...or until we lose it. Stay alert, with so many scents it might be hard to discern the old from the fresh. We don't want to get jumped by a patrol." He ordered as he swept past. Ears shifted atop his massive head as he kept alert for any signs of danger. "Stay close." He called over his shoulder. He led the way, the scent leading his own nose as he tried to determine who it was that Claire had gone with...it was strangely familiar. But he couldn't figure out who...why was this smell bothering him so much? And was Claire following so willingly? He shook his head slightly, trying to rack his mind for any hint, and sign of what it was... The two-toned brute sneezed, the tang of metal stuck in his head now. How many wolves a day died in this terrible place? He came upon a fresher trail of blood, staining the ground but leaving it a deep red, still somewhat slick. He lifted his paw, disgusted at having just stepped in it. He wiped his paw on the dirt, trying to scrape away the disgust that began to etch into his brain. This was a truly disgusting place, and he hoped they never came back here after they left it...

Alsander Grey

Cael had nothing to say, in fact he seemed lost in thought, so Alsander looked at Caerul, noting his agreeable nod, and the brush of his tail to Cael?s side. As he spoke, he headed off, passing Alsander. Sander fell in behind Caerul, one ear turned back to listen to Cael. The other ear jerked forward as Caerul sneezed. Alsander watched as his elder brother lifted a forepaw, then wiped it. He caught the red of blood on the white paw, then noticed the trail on the ground. Not Caerul?s blood, then. ?So, where do you think she and this mystery wolf went? To a pack?? He flicked his tail slightly, listening for answers from either of his brothers. He hoped it as a pack like their foster parents had told them of. Like what their true father had come from. Strong and brave, and able to protect the little spitfire that was their sister. He skirted a pool of blood, and hoped that whoever that blood had come from had been alright if they had been a good wolf. Mismatched green and gold pools glanced up at the sky. Far off, clouds banked the eastern sky. They were blocked from view as they finally crossed into the forest, and he shook his misty coat out with a huff. ?Whoever would have thought that moss could feel so good under paw?? He glanced over his shoulder at Cael, making sure his younger brother hadn?t fallen behind, before following Caerul off into the western forest. To who knew what they would find. -Exit! Will start a thread on the Borders of Valhalla ^.^ Not much that they can do here, they have the scents, in any case-

The druid was more than pleased to be following Cearul away from this bloody land. The brush of his brother's tail brought a little comfort to him along with the eagerness to leave. He padded along behind Cearul, watching in mind disgust as his brother stepped in a pool of the metallic scented, ruby liquid. The healer had no problem looking at blood, but to step in some unknown stranger's life blood made Cael's skin crawl. Carefully stepping around the pool of blood, the duid continued on, putting the sight out of his mind. At Aslander's question, he mulled it over, glad to have the distraction from the battlefield. "It's possible," Cael agreed with a nod. "Of course, it's hard to tell with such a faint scent... Only time will tell, I suppose." He gave a light sigh of relief left his mouth as he turned his two-toned gaze forward once again, seeing the tree line they passed into. "I know exactly what you mean, brother," he replied, immediately feeling relief and calm washing over him as they padded into the shade of the forest, the moss and grass under paw feeling like old friends. A soft smile touched his muzzle and he lifted his gaze to look past Cearul's shoulder. He was all the more determined to hunt down their sister now, everything else far from his mind. -exit!- "Speech."

The two toned man worked his paws faster over the land. Leading his brothers into the forest and leaving behind the stale and fresh scents of the metallic liquids that soaked the Earth like a red sea. Soon, his nostrils inhaled the fresh scents of greenery and clean air. The moss underfoot felt cool to the touch, ears flicking back to the conversation of his brothers. A small smile spread on his lips as they conversed about being back in the forest, in familiar territory. Ears caught the question of his sibling, Alsander. Inquiring about whether the scents would go to a pack or not...If I know Claire...she would try to find a pack to have a chance at finding our Father...perhaps...could it be him that she followed? The male remained lost in thought as he led his brothers through the cool forest. The scents were getting stale, overpowered by the many flowers that grew here and there. He glanced at them, not sure of what kinds of flowers they were but surely Cael would know. His brother knew everything about the forest, and had met more wolves then Alsander and himself. It wasn't a bad thing, nobody would attack Cael on first glance, he was too gentle and too serene to get into fights unless absolutely necessary. Caerul, however, would always go to great lengths to ensure that his druid brother wouldn't come to such harm, as well as his young sister. The man stopped, sniffing around for a turn in scents and then followed. Soon, hopefully soon...they would find what they were looking for. -EXIT CAERUL-