I've Gotta Kill Two People Again

Chaos hadn't been wandering far from the old Imperium lands lately, and he was getting restless. Cascade was doing fine without him, now that Valentine was back and all. He knew just his existence, the fact that he carried her family name with the same dignity that his older siblings bore Valentine's name, was a comfort for her and that maybe her adult son hovering all the time might be cramping her style, so to speak. He'd never really entertained any illusions that his mother was anything close to squeaky clean innocence, and she had never tried to hide him from that either, so if Valentine was back and getting healthier, well... he could imagine they'd both be glad for him to be out from underfoot.

So he'd wandered towards the east with the vague idea of hunting there in the lush lands, and found himself in the foothills of a mountain range. It appealed to him, strangely enough for a wolf who had been raised on the gently rolling hills around the knolls and range. Maybe it was just because it was different. Maybe just because it was a hint of adventure after so long bored and alone without his partner in crime. Whatever it was, the sight of those jagged peaks set his mismatched eyes gleaming and lengthy fangs flashing in a grin. A grin that faded grumpily when he sniffed at the scent of a pack marker guarding one of the approaches. Aww no fair.

He considered doing what his mom would do and just go in anyway just for fun, when part of the scent caught his attention, the alpha-scent. It was vaguely familiar, somehow, and he pummeled his memory for a moment before he remembered. It was the victory celebration after the siege, when Abaven's wolves had come to Imperium to feast. He'd been pretty distracted by the weird creature who'd somehow been part of the other pack - a creature he now knew to be a fox - but he did recognize this scent as belonging to one of Abaven's wolves since she had been singled out for a reward for actually getting to fight. He couldn't really remember her name, but he was wild with jealousy that she'd been old enough to actually participate in the siege while he and his half-siblings had been stuck in dumb Abaven's lands being bored. That put her a notch above most other wolves in his mind. And she'd managed to break away from Abaven and make her own pack, then?

It was pure cat-curiosity (an unfortunate inheritance from his mother) that had him impulsively lift his heavy muzzle to the sky and sing out to invite the alpha to visit with him on the border, after which he seated himself politely at a reasonable distance from the scent marker to wait and see if she'd appear.

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