Even here. Paw prints in the sand, skirting to the north-east, getting close to the Hallows but never quite approaching. Too smart, too subtle. They knew what they were doing, and though inherently Hattori knew it was likely none of his concern their handiwork felt somewhat familiar, with just enough of a twist to make it stand out from what he knew. What he'd learned when he was a young man. He made a noise in the back of his throat, edging close to annoyance, a slight twist of curiosity.

They'd kept close to the waves, the rushing back and forth of water was quick to swipe away the tracks they'd left. The salt and brine of the ocean covering the scents too.

Just what was going on here?

It was... bright here. Hardly anything to shade him from the sun that dazzled and beat down from above. His eyes squinted as he moved west from the crumbling garden, through the land of bones until his paws hit the sand. There he pauses, nose twitching at the sudden blast of salty air presses against his face. The long stretch of coastline is barren. Foaming waves wash in, slowly, quietly lulling anyone sleepy into dreamland. A dissatisfied sound rumbles in his throat as he examines the area. Really, he would rather turn back and return to the dark and foggy forest that he had passed. Until a large charcoal and vermillion-coated figure appeared along the beach where the tide would stop and begin to roll back. Hmm, this figure was new to this area as far as he was concerned. But so was he. What was peculiar was that it appeared this stranger was looking for something, but when he looked around, there was no one or anything to see. His brow furrows slightly as he wonders what this guy is doing. Not that he is a curious youngster, but more speculative, or a better word would be nosy. Knowing it was not his business, he had nothing better to do that day and wanted to explore anyway. Crossing the beach, taking his time and inspecting shells and crabs as he went along, Wilder approached the stranger. When he is within the man's sight, he lets out a chuff. He's not terribly loud, just enough to be heard over the whip of the ocean's breeze. Though he isn't a fan of how the tiny particles of sand feel between his toes, he continues anyway. Only stopping about ten or so feet away, his body language relaxed and neutral as he sizes up the older man. "You lost?" Wilder calls out, his youthful voice deepening as he ages. "Speak."

The loner both looked and smelled like he'd just crawled out of a mud pit, a stark contrast to the crisp and bright colours of the beach. He didn't belong, but Hattori suspected he was not one of the wolves he was looking for. For one, he drew too much attention to himself and most obvious of all, his paw prints didn't match those that littered the sand, meandering this way and that.

"No." Hattori clarified, though he could see why his demeanour suggested he was. His senses were high, and his defences were raised. Even his bird that circled overhead was keeping a close eye on things, ready to alert his master at the first sign of danger. "Have you seen- hmm, anyone suspicious?" Which in and of itself might be a suspicious question to ask, Hattori realised that but didn't care to address it unless the stranger himself brought it up.

Wilder notices how the older stranger is aware of their surroundings. Something is putting this wolf on edge and it in turn sets Wilder's senses off as well. His fur bristles slightly, ears turning back as he notices the bird circling above. Turning his bright ruby eyes around to glance at the beach, he wonders if the man is following the fading prints that appear less and less the farther down the beach he looks. Was he looking for someone specific? Or something? Or maybe this guy would have better look searching for whoever it was at night. Wilder wonders if the man knows how much the beach glows at night. Something to do with the water and whatever lived in it. Disturb it and suddenly you can see everything around you. Maybe the path of the mystery wolves would light up better at night... Blinking, Wilder pulls from the inside of his thoughts to comprehend the man's question. Suspicious? Wasn't he the suspicious one? He also lingered in places that were generally suspicious so the question was... difficult to answer. Wilder lets out a thoughtful huff of breath before shrugging. "I see lots of others that are suspicious," the boy replies casually with his brows lifting slightly as if to say 'and what's it to you?' "Speak."

His response was very much a non answer. Hattori's least favourite sort of conversation, where words were exchanged, but ultimately nothing of value was said. Frustrating. Enough that the pale of his brows twitched, forming a frown as he stared at the yearling, their height close enough to what he would be once fully grown. It felt as though he was trying to squeeze blood from a stone, a fruitless effort that was a waste of both of their time. And yet Hattori needed to know and if nothing else the boy could learn to respect his elders.

"Describe them to me." He stated instead, his wording a bit clipped. The longer Tojo prevailed the less practised he became in the common tongue. As long as others understood him at the end of the day, he didn't consider it to be that much of an issue. "See those prints? I am looking for them." And if his nose was functioning he would notice the nature of the scent, how mixed it was, how difficult it was to tug one individual smell apart from all the rest.

The man's clipped response is unsurprising. Wilder can tell from the man's obvious body language that he did not enjoy being messed with or led on. Not that he really cared how the many felt, but damn, dude could have been a tad nicer with the request. "Know what a fox is? They're always suspicious," Wilder replies calmly, his tone even, but a flick of a smile at the corners of his lips. As he met the man's stare though, nearly unblinking, he finally realized that he was serious about looking for whoever he was following. Wilder's gaze slips from the older man to the sand beneath them. Water laps at his toes, slowly fading any evidence away. He lets his nose do some work next, turning his chin to face the wind. Truthfully, he couldn't pick a part of the myriad of scents he smelled especially the one belonging to the paw prints that led down the beach. His brow furrows now as he turns away from the man and looks down the beach. He could only see the stretched coastline with white foam-capped waves and some birds and crabs. Maybe a mouse or another wolf, but those scents were obvious. They most likely belonged to the castle wolves that lived up on the hill. No one similar to the one this man was looking for. "Why do they hide from you?" Wilder asks, still turned away as he lowers his face to the darkened sand. Snuffling around one of the fading prints, he wonders again if maybe the prints would be better seen at night. "Have they frequented this place? At night, the water lights up, maybe their tracks will be more obvious," he takes a step farther into the water and swishes it around. Of course, the water is normal at this point of the day. Hidden by the bright shine of the sun, the glowing thingy-creatures wouldn't come out until the moon rose and bathed the beach in a softer light.

Hattori rolled his eyes. Rolled. His. Eyes. He was not speaking of foxes and the thought that he couldn't possibly know what was fox was-ridiculous. It wasn't even worth warranting a response because he was indeed serious and this wasn't a poor attempt at making small talk. The yearling eventually saw sense, enough that he actually took a moment to truly consider what the Kaicho was asking, and even then his response was lacking. Not what the koi wolf had been looking for at all. Frustrating but not overly surprising either, considering he was likely new to the area, didn't yet quite realise what stood out and what did not. An unhelpful meeting if Hattori had ever had one.

"They do not hide from me specifically, I believe." Though he could not be sure. "It is like- how we hunt, testing to see who is weak. Persistant They are searching and I would like to know what it is they want."

Since he was turned away from the man, Wilder did not see the blatant eye roll. Wouldn't have been offended either because well, he's young and dumb and doesn't quite understand respect or manners. Raised by... wait, actually no one. Great explanation, poor excuse if we're being honest. Instead, he folds an ear backward to listen to the man's clipped words as he continues to snuffle around the sand, trying to find a specific thread of scent. The man's words are curious though and make him slightly more suspicious. Wilder stops and lifts his head, turning to look over his shoulder at the man. "Why not do something to draw them out? If you can catch their attention, maybe they will show themselves to you," the boy offers as he turns his head back and takes a few more steps away to inspect a nearby paw print. Whether his idea was good or not wasn't a concern to Wilder. The man truthfully wasn't his concern either. Honestly, he hated being out on the beach. It was hot, dry, and itchy, but he wasn't a mean guy or anything like that so he wasn't going to just leave the dude hanging either.

His suggestion wasn't entirely stupid, but Hattori did not think the yearling quite understood what Hattori was dealing with. The threat at large. There was much to learn by hanging back and observing, it was a tactic Hattori knew well himself so the fact that these strangers emulated it perfectly was indeed concerning to him. They were expertly trained, and though Hattori was capable as they came he was still pragmatic, weighing up the pros and cons and even then he couldnt' quite decide. Some risks were simply not worth taking.

"Lay a trap for the kind that is suspicious of everything?" He asked, head tilting slightly, somewhat demeaning in his delivery. Hattori was many things but he wasn't a fool.

The question that comes to him has him shrugging. "Prey can only ignore food for so long," Wilder insinuates that anyone would fall for a trap. How could they not? You put out what they want and eventually, they will investigate it. Was that not how it worked? He mulls over his words for a moment as he comes to fully face the man. "Unless you don't know what they want," the boy pauses, his head tilting slightly. What a predicament that would be, eh? "Hey, listen, lie in wait, sniff them out, or lay a trap, whatever you choose, from the looks of it, they're gonna give you a run for your chow," he nods his head to the fading trail of paw prints in the sand. "Not sure 'bout you though, but this sun is killin' me," his nose wrinkles before he starts off toward the east where he had appeared from. "Good luck, mister," Wilder gives him an awkward and wag of his tail before disappearing over a sand dune.

-exit-

"Speech"