Recluse had laid the best trail she could, having scrubbed the pack scent from her fur as best she could, so much so her flesh felt raw, more than it usually did in the sun. Which she was though it was quickly disappearing below the horizon. Still, she was taking a calculated risk, her compromised eyesight for the increased likely hood she'd not be left waiting long. Lilith was draped across her shoulders, in her usual spot and had helped to guide the light blind woman on her mission. At her paws was a small pile of fur, black and white and grey, all the fur she hadn't need to lay her trail of scent. She'd carefully left a decent amount of fur along the border of the pack of the slate man, then left a bit of a trail until she felt she was a safe distance from the pack.

She hadn't brought the prisoners, no not yet. She had to know what they were worth before she decided if they'd be traded off or simply kept as her little toys. Maybe a gift for her aunt if she ever got bored of them. So for now, she'd wait, hopeful that an interested party would find her.

Speech

Art by Vethysnia

Torin had been leading Sio through a patrol, he'd found it was useful to bring his children into his duties, both as a way to continue to bond with them but also to help encourage them to take their own place in the pack seriously. And today was his little bean's turn. Though it would soon enough turn from a routine but otherwise nice family moment into... well a bit of a personal nightmare for the man. They were a few minutes into their patrol along the borders when he caught it. A scent he'd so longed to catch for so many seasons now he thought he was simply hallucinating for a moment. Then he spotted a patch of white fur in the grass and the reality of the situation hit him like a tonne of rocks. Derecho and Paddy were alive, they were somewhere and he was being allowed to know of their existence. Torin lifted his gaze, seeking desperately for the forms of his wife and child. Instead, he spotted patches of fur left along the ground and against stems. Someone had left a trail. For a moment Torin considered calling for his pack, summoning the full force of Lirim to chase down whoever was taunting him like this... but no he was just as aware this could be a trap as anything else. Instead, he glanced at his daughter, fighting for a moment to decide if to bring her or not, but he had some feeling she'd be insistent on joining him. "Follow but don't act or say anything unless I tell you to." He said, his voice soft but rushed. He could not be sure what would face them at the end of this trail and he wouldn't risk his daughter against an unknown. Then without much waiting, he started to follow the trail. Noting it was leading further and further away from the packlands until he found himself coming up upon a young albino woman, a smile he decidedly did not like painted across her face as he approached. Talk Think

Siobhan loved these private moments alone with her father. They made her feel just a little bit more normal. When they were on patrol together he didn't treat her so much like a child as he did something closer to an equal. It was particularly special to the girl who was so used to being treated as frail and breakable. Her fits were well-managed and under control, but there was no arguing that she could still be rendered limp at a moment's notice... if she wasn't careful. And Sio was always careful! She caught the look in her father's eyes when he locked on to the vaguely familiar scent. It had been so long that it took her a moment before it even registered. Mom? No, not possible. Siobhan inhaled quickly. Her pulse was jumping and she felt a little quaky and sick, but she was holding fast.

Without a word or an argument, Siobhan ducked her dutifully and followed her father. They would figure this out together. When they arrived in front of the albino female, Sio hung just behind Torin. She wanted so badly to speak, but she was worried she'd lose control. Instead she watched, waited, and silently quivered.

The fading light afforded Recluse a slightly clearer view when the man and the young woman approached her. Recluse didn't shift, her cocky demanor not once dropping even as she felt herself grow somewhat nervous, she was certain she could handle both if it came to it but she had been hoping for one wolf alone, though to assume the alpha wouldn't bring back up was perhaps a bit too naive.

The pair stopped a distance away she figured felt safe to them, and she'd let them feel that for now. If all went according to plan they'd not come to blows, she hoped that held true. "I suppose we don't need to talk to long about why you're here. I have something you've lost, my real question to you is how much are they worth to you?" Recluse paused for a moment. "I happen to find them quite useful, I'd hope you'd agree, I'll want something of at least equal value in exchange, otherwise I may just be tempted to keep them..." She watched the pair carefully. "Are they worth a keeping a crown over I wonder..."

Speech

Art by Vethysnia

Torin remained standing as the woman began to speak, fighting back the growl that was rising in his throat. He didn't want to lose his cool in case more combatants were similarly hidden in wait, instead, he'd glower at her. Stewing on the words she said. His wife and son, she was claiming she had them, though he supposed that with the fur she'd used to set the trail and all the extra at her paws she had to be at least telling somewhat of a truth about that. But that she was seeking to trade them for something was making his anger flare. "There's a lot I'd do for my family." He growled, his threat plain, stepping in front of his daughter slightly, determined not to let her be put in danger here. "You want my pack?" He asked, almost incredulous as he considered that this was a length a stranger would go to for a pack. "What exactly are you seeking here?" He was rigid and ready to bolt towards the woman but he needed to know if this woman wanted his pack did she want all his members? Did she want his lands? What was she after? Talk Think