It wasn't a crocodile. Or maybe it was. Stolas didn't exactly know the difference between the various kinds of crocodilian predators that dwelled in the waters and river ways of Boreas. But the giant lizard currently basking on the shores of the Rio Grande giving an ominous reptilian hiss at the curious wolf definitely did look like a crocodile. Its skin was a dark, almost inky black color, and it was absolutely massive! Stolas considered the deadly reptile for a moment, studying it from a safe distance of a few meters away. Part of him wanted to try throwing something at it or poking it with a stick to see if he could get it to open its jaws so he could get a peek inside its mouth. Another part of him wondered if he'd be able to kill it and skin it. The leathery hide could be used to craft a great number of useful things. But was it worth the risk?

Pursing his lips while he mulled over the pros and cons of challenging an apex predator veritably unchanged since the dawn of time. Another thought that had occurred to him was that his pack did want to claim this land. Having a highly aggressive crocodilian living in their segment of river didn't bode well for the safety of Ashen. So, with all the bravery of a dumb teenager, Stolas picked up a nearby fallen tree limb in his jaws and stepped cautiously closer to the black caiman, jabbing it in the side of its face a few times. The caiman opened its mouth and hissed a warning, but Stolas just jabbed the stick into its mouth. That kicked the black caiman into action, and with a snap of powerful jaws that splintered and shattered the limb, the reptile began to make its way up the bank of the river towards the wolf, angry and homicidal. Stolas yelped in shock and bared his teeth, backing cautiously away while preparing for a fight.

"Stolas"

Was she following him?? Maybe.

She hadn't set out with the intention of hunting the young man down, but as she approached the river with the intention of bringing the smoothed, cool stones home to outline her garden, his scent was strong and compelled the woman to change course easily. With her nose to the ground, Widow trailed after him and wondered what had him out at the river today. It wasn't like she was surprised given the proximity to Ashen, but more like a happy coincidence. She was drawn to the young man in ways she couldn't describe, so abandoning one want for another, deeper want didn't take a second thought.

Widow was more than aware of the risk that came with the river. Various predators were drawn to it for the supply in not only water, but the food also attracted to the river. There were also those that lived within the river, some more dangerous than others. Widow wasn't sure what she was going to find following his trail, but she certainly hadn't expected (or wanted) to see him facing off with a caiman.

Snarling, Widow rushed towards the pair. Her jaw found her staff and yanked it from its holdings then used the momentum to swing the heavy end at the caiman to distract it as she approached. Stolas would probably have this under control without her help, but she didn't stop to think about that. Instead, she was only worried about what would happen if he didn't have it under control.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Kianxiety 2022

Stolas had faced predators before in his life, so the idea of combat against a deadly threat was nothing new to him. However, this was his first time doing it alone and outside of pack lands. If something went wrong, he was wholly on his own. There would be no backup, no cavalry coming over the hill to save him. There was only victory or death. Knowing the stakes he was playing for, Stolas began to move his feet in graceful, practiced strides around the caiman, using the creature's less nimble movements against itself while he tried to flank it. The caiman hissed—and then the sound of running paws caught both combatants' attention. Stolas looked over in time to see a wooden staff arc through the air to smack into the angry crocodilian, Widow wielding the weapon as she offered her assistance.

The first reaction Stolas felt to seeing his friend was immediate delight. He hadn't known Widow was in the area, but he was always happy to see the leopard-spotted lady. The second reaction was worry as she got closer to the hissing caiman. He'd seen what the beast's jaws had been able to do and he refused to let that happen to her. Snarling with renewed vigor, Stolas lunged around the side of the caiman, making a semicircle to reach the reptile's back and and latching powerful jaws around its tail, sinking his fang into leathery skin. The caiman hissed again, trying its slow turn to face Stolas, but the young wolf maintained his footing, keeping their foe distracted.

"Stolas"

As the business-end of her staff came down on the caiman's head with an audible thud!, Widow grinned around the wooden stick. Stolas wasn't disappointing her either as he got out of the way and around the reptile only to latch onto its tail. Widow watched carefully, the caiman turning to hiss at Stolas and away from Widow as the pain won it's attention over. She wasn't about to let the threat come close to hurting him despite and came for the caiman again with her staff raised and tilted back.

Her neck arched backwards as the weight of her weapon pulled her back, but with muscles well toned for her weapon of choice she was quick to redirect the weighted end of her staff back down towards the caimans head. The mouth of the animal was open wide, threatening it's target as it hissed, but it would slam shut in the blink of and eye as her staff crashed down and forced its head into the ground. Growling around her staff, Widow used the weight of it as well as strength to keep it's head pinned into the ground as it writhed.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Kianxiety 2022

The black caiman did its best to try and go for the young wolf clinging to its thick leathery tail, but with it sandwiched between the two wolves, it stood no chance of maintaining its focus on one without being attacked by the other. Stolas watched with an amused grin around his mouth full of reptile tail as Widow brought her staff down on the caiman's head again and again, forcing its hissing jaws shut with an audible thwack as hard wood met tough skin and bone. With the caiman once more looking to the Habari princess, Stolas seized the opportunity to end the fight swiftly, lest one of them get hurt the longer this dragged on.

Releasing the black caiman's tail, Stolas instead gripped the hilt of his obsidian dagger in his jaws and pulled the blade from within his bracer, clutching tight to it while he lunged up the length of the caiman's body. Large paws grabbed around the crocodilian's neck, holding on tight as it hissed and thrashed, trying to roll the wolf off of it. The Abraxas prince didn't give it the opportunity to, and with one decisive strike, he embedded the blade of his sharp dagger into the skull of the caiman just behind its eye socket. Thick gushes of blood seeped out from around the knife and the caiman let out a long, rattling hiss as it slowly died, its brain pierced by the dagger.

When its death rattle faded into silence and the predator lay still, Stolas slowly rose and gave the heavy corpse a nudge to ensure it wasn't feigning death. Then he looked up to Widow, breathing heavier and still getting his nerves back about himself. "Did it get you?" he asked between heavy breaths, concerned gray eyes looking her over for any signs of injury. He would've felt awful if she'd gotten hurt trying to help him. "Thank you for the help. I wasn't expecting it to get so... angry."

"Stolas"

The animal wouldn't last much longer between the two of them. Every wallop of Widows staff would push the caiman closer and closer to death, but the fight in the reptile lived on until Stolas took them both by surprise. Leaping on top of the reptile as it turned for her, the young man was quick to sink his blade in until the hilt became one with the skull. She breathed a sigh of relief as the caiman fell limp beneath Stolas, dropping her staff as she caught her breath.

"No.. no, I'm fine..." she breathed, sterling gaze focused on the caiman a moment longer before turning into a scowl directed at Stolas. "And what were you expecting to happen, exactly?" She snapped, brows furrowing as she glared at him.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Kianxiety 2022

With the caiman slain and their victory secured, Stolas had been sure he’d find the same excited triumph on Widow’s face when he looked up. Imagine his surprise when he saw her disapproving scowl turned his way as she chided him. The princeling’s ears folded back to his head, taken aback by her upset. "I was trying to secure this place so Ashen can safely claim it," he remarked with a bit of indignation in his voice. "Plus the leathery hide of the beast can be used for many handy things."

Stolas ducked his head down to pry his dagger from the dead reptilian’s skull, cleaning it off on the grass before slipping it back into his bracer. "Why are you so upset about it? We won, didn’t we?"

"Stolas"

Widow was thankful that they had won for sure but that didn't negate the risk he had taken going in. Of course she hadn't known about Ashen trying to claim the fertile river but it hardly mattered. He was alone and taking on a caiman which could spell disaster if he'd taken one wrong step. It was that fear that outweighed the reason and logic, though, leaving her frustrated instead of proud.

"You could've gotten hurt!" She shouted, brows furrowed still as she scowled at the darker man. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself." Her voice changed suddenly, the worry present as her scowl softened into a frown.

The way Widow snapped back at him, her voice rising to a shout as she chastised the young male for being out on his own and picking fights with aquatic apex predators. Stolas' eyes narrowed some as he bore the brunt of Widow's remarks, rising back to his full height so they matched in size. Dark graphite eyes held sterling silver pools when she said he shouldn't have been out here by himself. "I'm not a child, you know. I don't need to be accompanied everywhere I go," he snapped back, stepping off of the caiman's corpse to take a couple steps closer to Widow. He wasn't mad at her, but he was frustrated by the way she seemed to be trying to make him feel small and like a child being told off for doing something they shouldn't have.

"I already thanked you for helping me. I'm sorry if I upset you somehow, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat me like I'm incapable of doing things myself. You could've gotten hurt walking over this way. I could've gotten hurt getting out of bed this morning. Bad things happen sometimes, but they didn't. Is that not enough?"

"Stolas"

He stood taller as his eyes narrowed, their gaze locking as the worry and frown that had softened her features left as quickly as they'd came, replaced now with the very same scowl that she wore before. He approached and she stood her ground, her scowl threatening to turn into a snarl as he approached snapping back at her. Her gaze hardened into steel as he spoke, drilling into her all the ways they could've gotten hurt before this moment. He didn't understand. Hell, she didn't even understand.

"Fine." She would've snapped if her jaw wasn't clenched shut, leaving just her lip to twitch instead. As soon as her teeth clicked back together she was moving, running past Stolas and down the river as the unfamiliar burn of tears stung her eyes. What the fuck? Why did she even care all of a sudden?

Widow sighed as she slowed some ways down the river, spotting a rock that overhung the river but left a dry and dark spot underneath. She hunkered down into it, wiping her eyes with her paws as she sniffled. What was wrong with her?

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Kianxiety 2022

The anger with which Widow faced off with him with took him by surprise. Stolas, who still didn't know exactly what he'd done, saw the emotion flashing across Widow's face and in her eyes. Something had tweaked her, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand what or why. For a brief moment, the adolescent wolf tensed, preparing for her to attack him and to launch into another fight. Instead, what happened was so much worse. Widow snapped back a single remark and then took off running from him down the river. The boy followed her with his eyes, wide with surprise, and didn't know what to do. "Widow!" he called after her, but she was already gone. "Oh dammit..."

Stolas glanced down at the corpse of the caiman at his paws, then back up where Widow ran off, going back and forth a few times. He knew he shouldn't leave his kill and resources unguarded, but that was his best friend who had just run off all upset, dammit! He couldn't just let her be miserable if he had done something to cause it. With a frustrated groan, Stolas rolled his head and took off running for Widow, following her scent trail along the river's edge. "Widow, wait!" he shouted out into the summer woods, running as fast as his paws could carry him. He ran for a ways, following her scent until it suddenly vanished. The yearling skidded to a halt atop a rock overhanging the river's edge, sniffing about, but nope. Widow's scent just ended here. But where had she gone?!

"Widow!" shouted Stolas, more than a little worried now that he couldn't find her. What if something happened to her when she ran off? What if she hated him now and he never saw her again? The thought of that happening crushed his heart. He had to at least know what he'd done wrong so he could try to fix it. "Widow, I'm sorry! Whatever I did, I didn't mean it! Where are you?" Glancing to and fro, the young wolf strained his ears, hoping to hear her call back. If she didn't, he would proceed further on down the river.

"Stolas"

Why did it bother her so much that he had taken on the caiman alone? It wasn't like it was a crocodile or something actually dangerous, but she still didn't like what she saw. She hardly cared when her own sister died, but seeing Stolas facing off against anything with sharp teeth alone upset her. What if the caiman had hurt him and she hadn't been there to help? No one else was there to help him if he needed it. Now that she was out of the situation though, the logic began to return and she knew how stupid she not only looked, but now felt as well. He was more than capable of taking care of the reptilian predator on his own, but the fear of him getting hurt or worse outweighed any rational thought.

She let the tears come after a moment, confused as fuck but needing to get them out anyway. She was more mad at herself now, for acting so silly, but part of her was also mad at Stolas still. Couldn't he see that she was just worried about him?!

The shouting of her name got her attention, though she refused to move from underneath her rock. Perhaps making him worry wasn't the best retaliation for making her worry, but she certainly wasn't ready to face him with tears staining her face. She sniffled instead, hopeful that it was quiet enough to keep from being found.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle 2022 | Art © Kianxiety 2022

With the rushing of the mighty river right beside him, Stolas couldn't hear much of anything else, no matter how hard he strained his ears. The panic that clutched at his chest tightened, anxious eyes looking all around the forest surrounding him. Widow had seemingly just disappeared. But that was impossible! Wolves didn't just disappear into thin air! The only place she could've gone where her scent would cut off abruptly was... Cold dread gripped at the young wolf's heart. Wide gray eyes turned to look at the rushing river. No... No, there was no way Widow would have gone into the water! She wasn't dumb enough to do that! Widow was one of the smartest wolves he knew, she wouldn't risk her life trying to ford the river at the rapids. But then... where else could she have gone?

Using his deductive reasoning, Stolas approached the edge of the rock outcropping he was standing on. He peered down the ledge to the powerful current below, half afraid he would see her corpse down at the bottom. When he didn't, he breathed a sigh of relief. That was when a soft sniffling caught his attention. Expression perked with alert, Stolas dropped to a crouch and craned his neck down to peer beneath the outcropping, spotting Widow in the dark beneath the rock curled up on herself. Oh, thank the gods, she was alive and all right! "Widow! Gods be good, I thought something horrible had happened to you!" he exclaimed, releasing another heavy sigh. The Ashen teen moved to hop down from the rock to the squishy shore, slipping his way under the rock to approach Widow, though still maintaining some distance after the way she'd snapped at him before. "Widow, I'm... I'm sorry if I said or did something that upset you. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just... didn't know why you were so mad at me."

"Stolas"