Dovahkiin

Ashen gray clouds are dissipating after a morning rain. Dovah can already feel the radiation of the sun beating through the cloud coverage, the wolf shaking his fur in discontent and what would probably be another warm afternoon. He's thankful for the refuge of the canopies above, and even more appreciative of the damp wetlands of the glades. The large wolf bounds across the marshland, trying hard to keep out of puddles but some of the avenues require him to step into murky, lukewarm waters. Dovah huffs, nose scrunching. He'd never fully understood how Aakari grew up around here. He'd lived mostly in try timberlands as a young wolf. But he loved this place because it was her's. And he loved and admired the alphess.

Coming to a standstill on a dry mound of tall grass, Dovah lifts his nose to the air and draws a deep inhalation. He'd been tracking vague scents of humans the last few days, and today had found a poignant scent of them just beyond their border. None of their family took too lightly to the presence of humans, but Aakari especially. And he took it upon himself to see to the cautious monitoring of their existence near their borders.

Kate & Orcai

Dovah's nose hadn't led him astray today. The delicate aroma that was so distinctly human was mixed with something else today that the wolf might detect as he traveled further to the extreme edge of his domain. Something sweet, something that might make his mouth water before it rightly knew what it was smelling.

Orcai had picked up on the same thing. The bi-colored fatale was coming in at a different direction than her sire, having strayed beyond the invisible boundaries of their home early this morning before venturing back. Her uniquely pale underside, now dampened by the moisture of the deep forests that her parents held slightly different appreciations for, was all but obscured by the many fronds and stands of deep green grass she traveled through. To the casual observer, Orcai appeared to be all black in color, but once she stepped into the small clearing where her father had just entered from the opposite end, that stark, abruptly white underbelly became visible again.

The wolf's brown eyes danced curiously towards a small, enclosed ATV sitting idle and silent next to a tree. By sheer, unfortunate luck, she hadn't spotted her father on the grassy hill quite yet, but perhaps that was because her eyes had landed on something else. A bag, dangling invitingly from a branch the vehicle was parked under. From there, and from bits of cinnabun crumbs left on the ground that had been overlooked, came the delectably sweet smell.

Dovahkiin

Dovah draws in a deep breath, the air teasing his nose and the tops of his mouth. While sweet in nature, a primitive worry sings deep with Dovah's gut. He was far from his childish curiosity to let scents and sounds make a fool out of him. As delectable as this treat may seem. Shoulders rolling, Dovah sinks a bit on his paws and conceals his body amongst the tall grass. Just as he hunkers down, a new scent hits his senses.

Orcai.

The alpha male quickly springs back to his paws, a warning growl leaving his lips. "Don't you dare poke your nose where it doesn't belong," Dovah warns, a bit savage in tone. Something he hardly ever uses in the presence of his family. He rockets forward across the clearing to Orcai's side. While his own curiosity remains piqued, he now has his daughter's fur to keep intact. "What have we told you about that curiosity of yours, Orcai.?" His question stern, though his demeanor a bit softer despite that they stood meters from a very human structure.

Kate & Orcai

Fragments of her parents' previous warnings floated in the back of Orcai's mind once she realized she was once more among human things. It did give her pause, and she briefly considered turning back and quietly stepping out of this space in honor of their wishes. But unlike her father, Orcai hadn't yet acquired the sort of wisdom that helped to temper Dovah's curiosity, and her naivety with the two-leggers gave her a sense of false security. They'd never tried to hurt her, after all. And those weird rocks they left about never seemed to hurt anything, right?

Orcai moved into the little clearing, nose quivering and bright eyes turning over the ATV. She didn't see the small tree blind a few yards away, nestled ten feet above them, and the woman crouched in the well camouflaged blind was sure to keep herself silent as she observed the father and daughter. "You must be a thunderbug. But a small one-"

A sudden rush of movement and a growl snapped Orcai from her musings and she immediately shied back with pinned ears and an appeasingly tucked tail. "...father!" The young wolfess gulped and took a few shying steps back from his presence, her gaze darting from his face to the space just below his nose. "I... I didn't intend to linger." She fumbled, knowing it was no use trying to lie or squirm her way out of this. Her eyes briefly lifted to meet his, "I just came across the scent; I don't think there are any two-leggers here, as it is."

Dovahkiin

Ears perked and eyes alert, Dovah, himself, doesn't see the tree blind Kate inhabites. But his nose and instinct tell him that they are not alone. The large brute draws in a long inhale, Kate's scent expertly masked despite this all. He blinks, a gruff growl rattling his chest for a moment. Orcai's instinct wasn't completely wrong-- their human guest never did much more than study and leave behind interesting rocks. But Dovah can't shake the deep rooted mistrust engrained into his essence.

"Take a moment and breathe deeper," Dovah encourages, eyes not leaving Kate's ATV for several minutes. He finally traces the cyclone of scents, eyes now following the structure of the nearby trees and noticing the tree stand. Dovah's golden eyes narrow, but he remains steadfast. He wants Orcai to learn. Kate, in her lack of insidious nature, was a fine example. The next human may not be kind to Orcai. "Tell me...do you smell the two legger? Do you know where they are hiding?" His tone is a bit more kind. Encouraging, even.

Kate & Orcai

Orcai had prepared herself for a stern growl or in-depth lecture over her ongoing curiosity in the two-leggeds. Instead, she listened as a quieted rumble rattled from her sire's chest. He took a few minutes observing and analyzing the area, putting his sharp nose to work, and equally honed mind. She watched his eyes trail from one object to the next, even scanning the foliage above them. For a brief, excitable moment, Orcai wondered if he, too, had caught this bug of fascination in the humans!

Alas, as he began to speak, the dual-colored fae realized he was merely prepping her for a lesson. Still, it was better than being hastily escorted away or listening to the slightly more intense snarlings that her mother would have offered, so Orcai listened with tempered eagerness.

Her head tilted, one tall ebony ear flicking towards his voice, while another swiveled to the sound of a ground squirrel romping through nearby leaves. Her nose was now working overtime too, striving to locate the scent she was sure her father had picked up on, "I... I'm not sure if I do. I smell things associated with them." She offered at length, then began to trace the various points she'd seen Dovah look. When her gaze came to the blind, she did a double-take; the wolfess hadn't noticed it at first, but now she could see definite, unnatural lines in the branches above. A sheen of odd texture. And then, as her brain put these things together, the blind seemed to pop into view and she gave a quiet, incredulous gasp, "..up there?"

Dovahkiin

The brute stands quietly beside his daughter, muscular shoulders tensed as if half-expecting the necessity to take flight or fight. He knew more often than not these humans were here for observation -- a habit Dovah still couldn't wrap his doggish mind around, nor did he try to comprehend. But they were relentless, and no amount of scent-marking or unwelcomed stares would sway their constant visitors. Truly vexing, but Dovah seemed to shoulder the ordeal off better than Aakari.

He allows Orcai to search, blinking contentedly as her own eyes shift from the terrain directly in front of them to the sweeping crowns of the trees. His tail wags slightly, despite the situation. "Yes," He states, dark eyes gleaming. "Humans follow a very strange logic. They can ascend just as well as a black bear, and will mask themselves, scent and all. Check every plane of view."

He straightens up, glaring up at the tree blind. "Your mother would've sooner shredded your tail for being this close," Dovah mentions with a coarse chuckle. He loved that she-wolf -- but she was wary to the bone, within reason, of course. "Not all humans are here to hunt or kill. But regardless, we ought to be cautious. Even if you smell something tempting."

Kate & Orcai

It was in Orcai's favor that her sire had unintentionally rendezvoused with her here instead of her dam. Dovah's temper was far more controlled, like the darkening clouds of an incoming storm, where you had time to negotiate the situation before it might turn ugly. And Aakari... she was more of the storm front, sweeping in with anger and action and leaving little time for calm discussion. The black and white wolfess took advantage of this now, reading the subtle wag of Dovah's tail, paired with the harsh stare to the human hiding within the trees to gauge his tolerance level.

"They always surprise me, with what they can do." She spoke softly, with perhaps too much fascination in her tones than was appropriate. She then frowned and felt her tail descend when her mother was mentioned, "I know she hates them for the collar they put on her, but... why do you dislike them so much? I mean-" The frown evolved into something more brooding, "-I know they're predators, I know about their boomsticks and traps, but Cael says the ones in town can be friendly. What if this one is like that? She's never hurt us."

This was a daring question, and she raised it as she gave up trying to spot the face high up in the branches, concealed behind a mesh door, and looked to her father for answers.

Dovahkiin

The alpha male stares at his daughter with a leveled gaze, listening to her words. Ears twitch slightly. Nose wiggles a bit. "They're unpredictable. It's hard to distinguish good from evil, and sometimes they sooner switch their disposition with you. For me -- I only have known what they've done to others, but it's enough for me wary," Dovah explains, shoulders flexing. A soft breeze kisses against his dark gray fur. "So we keep a distance. We'll never understanding their true intentions, so it's best to stay away to avoid losing your fur. Besides, you'd look funny bald, Orcai." His tone ends with a teasing vibrato, dark eyes gleaming in his daughter's direction.

Kate & Orcai

Orcai understood the wisdom of her father's words, and the reason behind his reservations with the humans. Aakari's collar was a mere inconvenience compared to the harms the two-leggers could commit, and with such an unbreachable language barrier between them, one could never truly know what a human was thinking or doing. They were wildly unpredictable. And yet... that was part of the allure to Orcai. What were they thinking? Why did they do the things that they did? Why was this one female so persistently in their territory, with no tangible motive? The possibilities clouded the wolf's mind as she peered up at the blind. A belated grin tugged half-heartedly at her expression when Dovah's final comments registered, and she snapped her attention back his way, "I know you're right, father." An unspoken 'but...' lingered in the air, but she ultimately quashed it and brushed her muzzle beneath his chin. She was always appreciative of his advice - and gentler parenting in some cases - even if she wanted to stay and investigate this interloping two-legger. "We should probably let mom know the two-legger is here, so she can avoid the area." Orcai took it upon herself to begin a retreat from the campsite, offering Kate and her blind one final look before letting the ferns and pines converge between them.

In her lofty perch, Kate was quietly observing the interaction without making a sound or daring to shift any of her now aching limbs. This was one of the few packs she'd be able to observe in person without fearing for her life, and she didn't want to spoil that by upsetting who she recognized as the patriarch of the pack, and one that had a powerful sway over his bi-colored daughter. She would sit tight and wait for them to leave on their own accord before transcribing their brief interaction.

Dovahkiin

The alpha bumps his shoulder against Orcai's, his tail brushing her side as he turns back towards the heartlands of their territory. Throwing one last look towards the tree blind, as if purposefully acknowledging Kate, Dovah takes off alongside his daughter at a lightfooted lope. "Orcai, you're a curious one, I know that," the wolf mentions as he falls into stride with her. His voice is warmer, softer, now than ever. A father's love. "Please have discretion. I won't always be there to monitor you, nor do you want me to. You've got your mother's brains, and I certainly hope you keep yourself...from harm's way."

Orcai

As she removed herself from sight and scent of the human, her curiosity tempered for the time, allowing the young she-wolf to appreciate the impromptu stroll with her father. Her strides loosened, and whatever submissive tension had been held in her body eased away. Between the soft thump of their paws on carpets of moss and pine needle, and the quiet drag of fern and leaf against their thin summer pelts, the pair's quiet voices carried pleasantly through the forests.

"I try to take to heart all the things you and mom have taught me." She answered back honestly, before her thoughtful facade was shifted by a wry smile, and she glanced aside to her sire, "I'm getting pretty good at fishing, after all." Orcai quieted a moment after that, her brows pinching slightly as deep thought came before her next words, "Cael offered to teach me more about the humans. I... haven't asked mom yet, but he promises it won't be dangerous." A discrete glance, one made without turning her head this time, was darted at her father to see what his response to this would be.