Ani-climactic. It was a word that he never thought would have been running through his head at his return to his homeland. He'd expected feelings of nostalgia to be prominent and instead he was left disappointed. The aging male had riled himself up for absolutely nothing. There would be no family waiting at the shores of the beach to welcome him home. No mate or children to embrace him warmly. Nothing. Complete and utter nothing. The thick wolf let out a shuddering sigh partially from the cold, but mostly from the pain in his chest that threatened to overwhelm him once again. The feeling that he was choking had been one he'd been fighting since he'd made his decision to return. His options had been dismal at best. Remain where his mate had died and children had left him, or go home where his father had died? Both filled him with loathing. Everything was a painful reminder to the hardships he had endured. It made him wonder when he too could join the rest of his family in Sominum and be released from the pain of the mortal realm. While he wasn't suicidal or depressed, it didn't mean he didn't look forward to reuniting with his mate and father one day. Even with as much time had passed he still felt as though there were a part of him missing. As though that inky blue-black spot on his chest was a physical representation of the piece of his heart that was absent. It was explained to him that was what Cifer, his grandfather, had believed the marking to represent. As a kid he'd laughed it off as a joke of Cifer's own rough life and stoic inclinations before he met Crusade. Now he wasn't so sure. Maybe he and his family were cursed and this marking was a physical and tangible thing that followed their lineage. It was all ponderings of a lonely man. Another shiver wracked him as he trotted along the shore. It was day time, so the luminescent shores of the beach were unknown to him, but even the sunlight seemed to escape this place today. Cold winds blew in from the north which he found peculiar seeing as it was Spring. In Boreas the temperature would be warming up, while Auster's temperature would dip down. Even then, he didn't think it was supposed to be this cold. Even with his thick outer coat and downy insulated layer underneath he could still feel the sharp bite. It had been some years since he'd been back here. Was that enough time for mother nature to change her mind about the locations' weather? He wasn't so convinced. His was weary from his trek, but even through the fog of fatigue he could smell a pack nearby. In fact, from what he could tell, it was set up right where Talis had been. He would have even believed it to be Talis if not for the lack of familiar scents coating the borders. Even over the span of time, he could still remember the smells of his family members. Another pang through his heart. He could still remember the soft pine scent of Creed. Shoving the thoughts away, he stopped to rest at a puddle of fresh water further away from the shores of the beach. The water was dirty and stale, but met his needs far more than the salt waters of the ocean ever would. He remained for a few hours, dozing later into the evening as the sun was setting casting hues of purples and blues as the sun fought to get through the cloud cover where it could. It was a futile effort. He would have rested longer if it hadn't been for the new scent that assaulted his nose and the heavy footfalls that told him that, whomever it was, they weren't trying to be quiet. He peeked around wearily. He wasn't close enough to the pack he'd scented earlier for someone to send out a scout and the scent proved to be different anyways. It wasn't until he saw the hulking figure lurking in shadows of a patch of trees that he popped to his aching feet. He would have thought it was a grizzly due to the size, but the shape was reminiscent of wolf's. But even dire wolves didn't get that big, did they? His hackles bristled as he stood his ground with his head lowered and his ears pinned so tightly to his skull that they would have disappeared entirely if he could have made them. His nose wrinkled in a silent snarl as he stared at the shadow. "Show yourself! Or are you going to hide in the shadows like a bitch?" He demanded. He was in no mood to deal with a stalker and if they had ill intentions he wanted to meet it headfirst. And meet him it did. Without warning the creature burst from the tree line barreling straight for him. He widened his stance to shoulder width apart on all four legs and let out a rumbling growl as the wolf-like creature met him at a speed that was unbelievable. This thing was big and fast, What the hell? It crashed its shoulder into his chest with what felt like the force of a 10 ton boulder rolling down the mountain sending Valor stumbling backwards trying to gain his footing. Winded and gasping for air he tried to compose himself. He'd been fishing for a bit of a fight to take his frustrations out, but maybe he'd bitten off more than he could chew. Having somewhat composed himself he launched himself forward with his mouth agape. He managed to latch onto the monster's snout. He jerked his head wildly tearing deep lacerations into the top of its snout before pulling away as it tried to headbutt its thick cranium into him. He thought he'd gotten far enough away to dance around him, but that dance ended as soon as it had begun. He really had to stop underestimating this thing's speed. It lurched forward again without mercy. Its head ducked down and to the side as it rammed its left should into his left. Ouch. That was going to be sore tomorrow. He felt jaws latching into his side behind the elbow of his left leg and in retaliation his own jaws found purchase into the muscled tissue of the monsters shoulder. They wrestled like that for a good minute, neither of them wanting to give any ground, but Valor's tiredness from his journey had already increased tenfold and this thing was just far too massive to win against with brute strength. It dug its hind claws into the terrain and gave a mighty push and that's all it took for Valor to stumble back once again. His teeth slipped away from the creature's shoulder. Realizing the situation he was in again he danced away once again. This time he was successful as he moved in a quick circle out of bites reach. He managed to get as far as its hindquarters. He took his opportunity and leapt at its back with all the strength he could muster. His mouth found purchase on the scruff of its neck as he practically rode this things back while bear hugging it by wrapping his front legs around its wide sides. Was this what riding a bear felt like? This is definitely what riding a bear felt like. A tall, wolf-like, bear. His wild ride didn't last long before it dropped and rolled on its back taking him completely by surprise. Crushed under the weight of the monster he was winded once again as he felt like he was being suffocated to death. The creature popped to its feet and whirled on him while Valor wheezed on the ground. He was too old for this shit. This is what I get for picking a fight. He mused shakily. The creature had clearly not been too phased by any of his attacked and the next thing he knew he had teeth closing in around the back of his neck where his spine met his skull. "Enough!" He yelled out. "I submit. I cannot best you." He panted. He didn't particularly feel like dying today. One day yes, today? No. Would it listen though? He didn't even know if it understood what he was saying. Did it understand mercy? "I apologize for insulting you. Please let go of me." The pressure lessened on his skull before going away completely. He lifted his head to eye the thing. What would happen next? He hoped his near future involved a healer and a soft place to sleep. He was exhausted. If he'd expected a warm welcome then life sure had a funny way of showing it. This was just about as far opposite as you could get from a warm embrace. He would have laughed out loud if it wasn't for the situation he was experiencing. Walk, "Talk" Think

Walk | "Talk" | Think
Aranea had been out scouting the lands and surveying the coldening temperatures that Auster's colder seasons would bring, only now the entire world as they knew it was getting lost in an ice age, something Auster had never seen before. The Hallows seemed to think their move was for the better, but mother nature seemed to have other plans. Where wolves had been travelling to the southern continent to find resources in Boreas' winter and coldest months, herbs and prey were becoming harder to come by while Auster was much more attuned to a tropical setting.

While Aranea was just strolling along, looking along ideal places for herbs to hide, the sound of a struggle came to her ear. A more than rough struggle. She was eager to find the shuffling and noises, but soon she would come to an immediate halt as she stood in awe at what she was witnessing. A monstrous wolf-beast out for a kill on a fellow wolf. Surely Aranea had come to not judge wolves by appearances anymore, but this thing looked completely unreal, a banshee. She found a place to hide, not knowing if the man would even come out alive. Aranea herself certainly wouldn't be able to fend the thing off not only for her small size but she was much more coward when it came to battle. Aranea stalked and nearly gasped as the creature rolled on top of the man, and was still after his blood. She almost had to look away as she believed the beast was about to kill the man, but instead she let out a call for warriors of The Hallows. She only hoped the banshee wouldn't be able to find her before help came, but if nothing else at least her call could distract it before it killed the almost defenseless man.

ooc: I assume the prompt is done but if it needs to continue feel free to bring the attacker back.

This glancing life is like a morning star

Shilah wandered south away from the Hallows on another exploration expedition. It was autumn now in Auster and already the air seemed to have taken a severe dip in temperature. It wasn't at all what he'd been expecting. To get a better idea of the climate in their new home he'd taken the time to track down some lone locals and ask about the weather patterns. Most of the wolves he'd talked to couldn't remember the last time autumn arrived so chilly. What was worse was he was hearing rumors of strange wolves and animals that had been sighted lurking around the northern parts of Auster. Rumor was they were moving farther south.

Shilah wandered along the shore in the fading light when he heard Aranea's call echo through the air not far from where he was. It sounded like there was trouble. Shilah bolted toward the source of the call and came up Aranea as well as two foreign wolves. One bleeding on the ground and the other impossibly huge. Shilah's jaw dropped as he saw the giant wolf. It was almost twice his size!

The strange wolf stared at him, yawned and then turned and started wandering away, the message clear. He wasn't worth the trouble.