Welcome to Gaia! ::

A second set of jaunty footfalls moved in time with the raven wolf's, though their source was oblivious to company as of yet. One had to relieve the boredom of a patrol somehow and Sandor had just caught himself a rat. He could have finished off the little body with only a crunch or two, but he kept tossing it into the air and catching it again, throwing it over his shoulder, high into the air, and generally enjoying himself.

The other skidded to a halt, kicking up dead leaves and a fine shower of dirt. He flattened his ears and rumbled a growl low in his chest, a warning for the unnatural not-pack to keep his distance more than outright agression.

The other wolf continued his soft growling. He did not advance, but he didn't show any signs of backing down either. The wind changed, ruffled through the fur of both wolves, and swept a host of alien scents across Yero's nose, some savory, but most wholly unpleasant and acrid . All were laced with smoke, as if this one spent a lot of his time on the edges of a fire.

(( Eek, foregive me for the long wait, Jean-Paul! sweatdrop heart ))

Yero's tail curled slightly as he inhaled the foreign scent. His ears flicked back momentarily, unnerved. It was commen for him so smell various unknown scents on other wolves, but this one was particularly arcane. Never had this fragrance been mixed with that of a wolf in Yero's mind. Only...a two-legs. And that was a very long time ago.

The midnight wolf hesitated only slightly before surrendering control of the entire situation. If this had been a regular wolf, he might not have backed down so easily, but Yero was the diplomatic sort, and more importantly, the human smell required more caution than usual. He was still ready to run if need be.

"Do you..." Yero found himself awkwardly confused, and it showed in his voice. "Do you... travel with the two-legs?" It was a shot in the dark, but Yero had heard stories of wolves being domesticated.

Yero stood taut, strung like a bow. "I have no quarrel with you, stranger." He spoke, trying to keep his voice low, but it rose a pitch in the middle before he could bring it down again. He could feel the tension mount, and found himself lost in the strange lavender wolf's dark gold eyes. Memories from his childhood came flooding back, similar gold eyes, a barrage of aged fear and thoughts of malice grating against his psyche. He hadn't been challenged by a male ever since that day...

The aggression radiating off the other rippled through Yero's system like a jolt of electricity. The thick feathers of fur flanking his neck began to p***k, one after another, until his ruff too stood on end, his muzzle wrinkling in a faint snarl. His black ears flattened against his skull in a last ditch effort to appease the other, but something told him the situation had gone too far...

(( Of course, Jean-Paul. <33 I hope you're okay. ))

The black wolf was worked up, there was no doubt about it. His nerves were shot from the long nights at his mate's side and the knowledge that soon he would have an entire family to watch over. But the aggression that prickled his ruff stilled momentarily at the other's whine. Though Yero showed signs of danger, he truly did not want blood to spill, either his or the stranger's. He did not want to make an enemy at this point in his life. He wasn't much bigger than the violet striped wolf, the other would probably outgrow him when he grew out of adolesence, and the midnight wolf could not bear the thought of an adversary even close to the pups that would be born.

His shaggy mane still bristling slightly, Yero hung back. Maybe he could save the situation by catching the other offguard. "I am called Yero. Have you a name?"