Cortinarri

The old wolfess moved softly along the creek, quietly enjoying the cool waters soaking in her fur and splashing against her paws and belly. The day was hot, and the locusts buzzed in their monotonous chorus high up the trees, but Cortinarri did not mind the sweltering temperatures. Here in the shaded forest, walking through the drought-shallowed creek, she was staying cool enough. Besides that, the warmth of summer offered her arthritic bones and crippled ankle reprieve from the stiffness and pain she experienced during the colder months. Yet it wasn't relaxation and peace that the aging she-wolf was after today. Her eyes weren't so good at seeing much anymore, but her ears and nose were working to pick up any signs of her son Valian, or perhaps a pack member that might lead her to him. If she weren't on a discrete mission, she would have howled out and located him quicker, but she wasn't keen on attracting any more attention that she had to right now.

VALIAN

The sun beating down on the Valley meant animal and human alike had sought shade unless they had tasks to fulfil. After marking the borders, the alpha male padded towards the shade of the forest to escape the heat. Valian's dark coat was like a magnet to the sun's rays, drawing them in, making him feel like he was slowly being cooked. He had sought out shade under the trees, travelling towards the stream where a thicker canopy of leaves and branches blocked that unyielding fireball from singeing him. For a brief moment, he envied Sylar and her pale coat; the bright sun had never really bothered her. Panting, and feeling quite parched, Valian deftly weaved between the tree trunks, fearlessly refusing to mask his footfalls as he made his way towards the water. It would allow the fearful to run from Cortinarri's increasingly notorious dark-coated son, and the foolishly brave to try and stand their ground. He had the time and patience for very few, 'cared' about them in his own way, true affection reserved for only two: his mother, and Saydin. Fortunately for the former, Valian was just downwind of Cortinarri, and he quickly picked up her presence and altered his course to head in the aging wolfess' direction. He approached her from the side, stepping down the left bank and slowly walking through the water. "Mother," he greeted quietly, pressing his muzzle to the side of her face in greeting, before he dropped his head to drink. He was surprisingly calm and quiet, subdued by the heat, it seemed.

Cortinarri

In her prime years, the lightly grizzled Cortinarri would have heard him coming from a ways off. But today, the gurgling of the shallow creek, her own splashing steps through the water, and a pair of ears that weren't as sharp as they use to be, didn't hear her son approaching even though he was not being discrete and stealthy in his stride. When Cortinarri finally heard the rustle of brush as the dark wolf came down the bank so close to her, she snarled and turned with snapping fangs. "Valian!" And with a gasp she drew her head back and banished the worn-toothed grimace from her face, "You caught me off guard." Her words didn't say it, but the tones and her expression conveyed an apology, and her weathered, graying face softened appropriately. Cortinarri returned the touch in the form of a nuzzle that she brandished on the side of his neck, "You look well. How are things going with the pack?"

VALIAN

With a whirl, snapping jaws closed in the space his muzzle had been just a moment ago. Cortinarri's swift bite might have caught him off guard, had he not been so aware of her hearing slowly fading from her as she aged. By a whisker, Valian saved his face a savage snap, but there was no flash fo fangs in retaliation, or any growls to show his displeasure at the hasty attack from his mother. Instead he almost looked stoic and calm as his head dipped to allow him to lap up a few gulps of water while Cortinarri explained herself. He brushed off her explantion with silence, as much of an acceptance of her apology as she would ever receive from him. He stood still and quiet as she nuzzle him, like her guardian statue, dark and threatening to all but her.

"The pack is quiet," he replied after a moment, but gave no indication as to whether that was good or bad. "The valley is quiet, too. The silence is...odd." He didn't sound worried by that, if anything, he sounded curious. "I think a change is coming, mother."