Víðarr had shaken his false son loose, bolting into the red abyss. The boy would know better than to follow him, surely. Know better than to chase after him, know better than to come looking. Erik is no son of his-- no. The betrayer. He'd betrayed Víðarr's trust, and the shadow railed against it. Through the relative chill of the northern summer he runs, a bat out of hell. For once, he feels good. Slowing only when he can see the ship in the distance, the viking king allows himself to drink in the strange environment. Craters dug, far larger than any burrowing beast that comes to mind. The surfaces was strange, raw, like an open scab... very, very odd. Prey animals were acting strangely, and there's only one way to sort out the root of the issue. Catch them. Icy gaze sweeping the relatively barren landscape, Víðarr scents the stiff breeze. Elk... good enough. Taking off in the direction of the herd, the shadow runs until they come into focus through the red distance. A herd of them, with a few stragglers to boot. Excellent. Time to get down to business, clarity through his scattered thoughts. In Víðarr's mind, he's still young, spry-- no different than he was when he hunted these lands as a new arrival to Boreas. "Víðarr"

He heard from Wilder that there was some strange activities in the prey. With a nod to both the Warlord and Wilder Oleander set out with Wilder to take a look. In order to cover more ground they split off and Ollie made his way toward some elk.

He sunk down to the cracked snow to watch them carefully. His brows knit together at the strange scene. They were digging and pawing at the snow but with their backlegs? Or their heads? Some would dig with their antlers, and some with their noses! All he could smell was Elk, snow, and... A stranger. Maybe they could hunt together.

The white wolf padded up to the charcoal elder, a hunting partner hopefully. Oblivious as to who he was. They needed to down one of these creatures so he could see what was going on. Hopefully, the blight of last season was not affecting this herd!

"You got your eyes on one already? It's not right, their acting so strange." He said, with his eyes on the elk, speaking quietly to the ink black male.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Lumine had tried to avoid her father as much as possible. After her fate had been revealed, and all else that had transpired, the resentment she felt toward him blackened her heart. Deep down, she still loved him and worried for him. Especially with his scent leading north where more and more animals were acting strange. If he died alone up there, she’d never forgive herself.

Trailing after the shadow with utmost care to not be noticed, Lumine waited until she too saw the herd of elk. This group was also behaving oddly for whaat was considered normal. The realization didn’t settle well in her. Neither did the youngster who approached her father with an almost lackadaisical air about him. Did he not know who he was approaching?

Lithe steps carried her forward, expertly placing herself between Vidarr and Oleander, shoulder leaning in to briefly grace her father’s. “Which is why we need to take one down,” she nods to the boy in white, a grim smile upon her charcoal lips before she glances to her father. “If we gain one more, we can set out,” Lumine says, hoping her father is at least sane enough to not torment the stranger.

It wasn’t long before the uncomfortable news of what was happening to pray animals trickled down to the Armada. Whether this was linked to the red sun and the prominence, or the plague that had finally started to heal in the Mile high woods, he didn’t know. Regardless, he set out to investigate. He had to, with how close this was to home.

He trotted to the north and caught the scent of a creature he did not usually find in the region, an elk. Had it travelled here for the same reason it attempted to dig the earth? Regardless, he would hunt it. Perhaps Oleander could make connections with clues found on its body. He started to track the scent of his prey, and encountered others who had clearly come for the same reason. It wasn’t long before he realised his lead hunter had joined this hunt.


"Speech"