Battling the world

Ever since they'd returned to the familiar caves and valleys of the Armada lands, his father had seemed... distant. He didn't hold him or offer gentle kisses like he had before.. before mom died. Instead, Sirius brought him on training forays. For the life of him, the young male couldn't figure out why. All he'd wanted for weeks had been to cling to his family for comfort as they all struggled with the reality of their mom's death. Regardless, he would welcome any attention from his father. So off they went together, the chubby pup trotting along to keep up with his father's quick pace and longer legs. Already his siblings were beginning to show their size, and he found himself on the small side. Bulkier than his sisters, easily, but he wasn't getting as tall as them. Lame.

The golden prince listened keenly as his father explained the day's exercise. Tracking down whatever had been encroaching on the borders. Seemed easy enough! When the dark furred titan came to a halt, Stratum lifted his gunmetal gaze briefly upwards. The expression he was met with was stoic as usual, waiting for him to make his first move. And so he did. Heavy crown lowered towards the terrain, pulling in deep breaths as he sought out the unfamiliar notes. His siblings, his cousins, the wolves whose scents reeked more strongly of the pack than even his... nothing unusual yet. Thick limbs pulled him along the outskirts of the woods, searching out the feeble threads that didn't match the rest.

There! Stale, he would guess just a few days old. They crossed over one another, numerous variations with an overarching aroma. A pack of.. foxes? No, the smudged prints in the dirt at the base of a thick conifer were a bit too big. One of them must have lifted their leg against the tree here, and the scent was much stronger. "Oh! They're coyotes!" he announced with a grin, whipping around to beam up at his father. This was fun! Much as he wanted to wait for approval, he knew his orders. It was better to just follow whatever his father had told him to do, and hope he was praised later for his diligent work.

So off he went, trundling through the snow with his head held low to the ground. It was easier to keep track of the scent trails that way. It was less distinct than when he tracked his family through the caves, a half dozen or so faded paths crossing over one another and veering this way and that. He was following the general guide of their movements, rather than a distinct pathway. It felt like he was walking for hours, leaving the dense woods behind in favour of open terrain. It wasn't until a chorus of raucous, yipping howls drifted to him on the breeze that he was certain he was doing this right. He'd done it!

The blond youth paused in his tracks, lifting his head to look over his shoulder at where his father was following along at a distance. "So what do we do now?" he asked, keeping his voice low so it didn't alert the pack that seemed to be growing closer. After all, he'd been tasked with tracking them down. There hadn't been any indication of what he was supposed to do after he found the little pack.