Do I Know You?

Patrolling was fun. He'd been doing it before the pack was even started, but now it held a whole fresh sense of purpose, especially the fact that he could hike his leg and leave a loud, clear mark to announce to all who understood that there was a pack here, already plenty of wolves strong, and trespassing was off limits. To those who understood that was. He was coming along toward the second quarter of his patrol in the Plains. His mother was handling the Lake today. The wind shifted, and brought the smell of strangers, though they also held a strong scent of Imperium. He remembered the smell, from when he'd met Valentine as a yearling, then from when he had explored toward the south last Summer, and then again when he'd met the... well, he couldn't say she wasn't pretty, but Evangeline had sure had an odd fixation about his fur.

They were close to the borders. One was a pup, but the other two were his age by the smells. And all three, while being strangers, also held another undertone of some strange familiarity, distant and just our of reach. For the moment, that didn't matter. What mattered right then was that they were dangerously close to crossing a clear border. He kicked into a measured charge. As Future, the heir of his pack, it was his duty to warn off trespassers, and if they gave him trouble, rip them a new one. However, a pup was a different matter altogether. This one smelled young enough that he maybe hadn't had the talk about borders and what they really meant drilled into his mind where it wouldn't leave yet.

So Regulus came in, powerful vibrant red frame rippling with muscle, and yet hackles only half raised. His sapphire eyes were on the pup, and as he sought to close distance, he gave a resounding roar. To the older two wolves, it would be clear that no actual harm was intended. While his posture was dominant, it wasn't a full on 'I eat puppies for breakfast and big wolves too, and I am gonna rip you to shreds!' posture. More threatening enough to give a pup enough of a scare and a lasting impression that going any further would be bad business, that he'd scramble back from the border, or back over it if his little paws had crossed over by then. That was Regulus' hope, at least.

He screeched to a halt as soon as his mother's scent, mixed with the pack's and his own, caught his nose, as though there were an invisible wall keeping him in; a show for the pup. Really, he liked children. He'd known it the moment he'd seen his newborn siblings. He wouldn't want a pup like this getting hurt because he hadn't learned the rules of inter-pack relations and what was right and what was wrong.

His baritone voice thundered menacingly as he lowered his head as close to the level of the pup as he could, and growled, "Pups who wander from home and trespass can find a lot of hurt if he trespasses into the wrong pack." His menace lightened slightly, voice dropping to the teaching level he'd used with his siblings. "Take a good sniff, right here." He gestured to the space between himself and the three wolves. "That smell means these lands are taken by the pack of Celestial. We don't hurt pups, but other packs might. Be more careful, and go back to Imperium with these two." He raised his head back to its regal carriage over his shoulders, sapphire and gold pendant shimmering under the spring sunlight, and studied the two Imperium adults.

One had the smell of a healer, the female. The other looked similar to the female, and their scents were enough to suggest they were siblings. While one had more earthy tones to her frame, and the male had more grey, there was a likeness to their features around the edges. Regulus' sapphire gaze held only guarded respect. He'd liked Valentine, and Imperium wolves were well known for being masterful fighters. What wasn't to respect? "I'm Regulus Anatolii Adravendi, Future - or heir - of Celestial." His voice was relaxed, solemn, but had a tint of guarded friendliness to it. Not enough that he could be mistaken for chumming up, but enough to say he would remain amiable until they made a mistake, like setting paw over the border.