3/8/2026, 10:41 PM
The silence that found him was possibly more concerning than it had been before. It wasn't as if Hawke had expected a quick reply from his brother- but he certainly hadn't expected to be ignored. The last of his call seemed to linger and echo across the pine covered forest floor, and the brute twisted his ears forward as if he might strain to hear the smallest call... but nothingness was his only companion in that long moment. Thrush was grown. They'd been raised together as pups, suffering through the same challenges until each was well prepared to face the outside world. Last night had not been the first time the pair had been chased from pack lands, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but it didn't stop the elder brother from worrying. Wasn't that his job, after all? They may have been born mere minutes apart, but Hawke would always be the older of the two.
Nerves twitched his ear and tail, fur rustling before it flattened back against his spine. He paced, a quick movement back and forth to ease the unsettling feeling welling in his chest. The path of his brother's scent seemed to lead out in the more open areas of whatever territory they'd wandered into, but Hawke was hesitant to leave the shelter of the pine forest. The thickened tree line seemed to block the worst of the cold wind, and it would no doubt be hard to find shelter in an open area.
There was a lingering anxiety in his chest when the brute eventually chose to turn, returning to where the pair had slept the night before. It was not fancy by any kind of standard, but it was familiar. If- no, when Thrush returned, he would no doubt return to there. Hawke had already begun to craft quite the lecture for when his sibling returned, and he was considering starting a fight just to make sure the point was made. He was so utterly engrossed upon his thoughts that the male nearly didn't hear the faint squeak of a prey animal's life cut short, and the shuffle of the struggle that followed.
Stilling, Hawke's body tensed. His vision was still clouded and foggy, his eye having stubbornly not cleared just yet. The brute turned his head to the side, allowing his strong right eye to take in as much of the space as he could. There was the shuffled pine needles from his and Thrush's steps, and the wind that rustled through the lower ferns that poked through the forest bed. The wind brought the scent of blood forward, and the wolf lowered his head in response. While they had not smelled a territorial claim when escaping into these woods, it would be foolish to ignore the possibility that they were claimed... or that the pack from the previous night had not chosen to follow the pair and settle whatever score they seemed to bear. His body language was cautious, tail stilling in a line against his silhouette; whatever it was he sought to prepare for, it couldn't have been further from the reality that presented itself.
A slim ghost of silver and white, scent fresher than the fallen snow around them, burst forth. Between her jaws dangled a rabbit, further proof that life existed in this forest if one knew where to look. Hawke's ears twisted back on his head, which lowered towards the ground as the female neared. It wasn't until she was near enough for his partially obscured sight to see the wagging of the wraith's tail that his tense posture seemed to relax... at least, just enough. She didn't seem to bear the powerful perfume of a pack, but there were multiple scents that seemed to surround her as she neared.
Fearless, wasn't she? While Hawke was certainly not one that was inclined towards friendliness, he wasn't about to start a fight when it seemed like the other had no intention of the same. Slowly, the male allowed the long length of his tail to sway lazily, returning the friendly wag with a far more subdued one of his own.
Nerves twitched his ear and tail, fur rustling before it flattened back against his spine. He paced, a quick movement back and forth to ease the unsettling feeling welling in his chest. The path of his brother's scent seemed to lead out in the more open areas of whatever territory they'd wandered into, but Hawke was hesitant to leave the shelter of the pine forest. The thickened tree line seemed to block the worst of the cold wind, and it would no doubt be hard to find shelter in an open area.
There was a lingering anxiety in his chest when the brute eventually chose to turn, returning to where the pair had slept the night before. It was not fancy by any kind of standard, but it was familiar. If- no, when Thrush returned, he would no doubt return to there. Hawke had already begun to craft quite the lecture for when his sibling returned, and he was considering starting a fight just to make sure the point was made. He was so utterly engrossed upon his thoughts that the male nearly didn't hear the faint squeak of a prey animal's life cut short, and the shuffle of the struggle that followed.
Stilling, Hawke's body tensed. His vision was still clouded and foggy, his eye having stubbornly not cleared just yet. The brute turned his head to the side, allowing his strong right eye to take in as much of the space as he could. There was the shuffled pine needles from his and Thrush's steps, and the wind that rustled through the lower ferns that poked through the forest bed. The wind brought the scent of blood forward, and the wolf lowered his head in response. While they had not smelled a territorial claim when escaping into these woods, it would be foolish to ignore the possibility that they were claimed... or that the pack from the previous night had not chosen to follow the pair and settle whatever score they seemed to bear. His body language was cautious, tail stilling in a line against his silhouette; whatever it was he sought to prepare for, it couldn't have been further from the reality that presented itself.
A slim ghost of silver and white, scent fresher than the fallen snow around them, burst forth. Between her jaws dangled a rabbit, further proof that life existed in this forest if one knew where to look. Hawke's ears twisted back on his head, which lowered towards the ground as the female neared. It wasn't until she was near enough for his partially obscured sight to see the wagging of the wraith's tail that his tense posture seemed to relax... at least, just enough. She didn't seem to bear the powerful perfume of a pack, but there were multiple scents that seemed to surround her as she neared.
Fearless, wasn't she? While Hawke was certainly not one that was inclined towards friendliness, he wasn't about to start a fight when it seemed like the other had no intention of the same. Slowly, the male allowed the long length of his tail to sway lazily, returning the friendly wag with a far more subdued one of his own.