What Is Your Desire?

[Candle]

Zevran chicken-stepped from the muck onto dry land, though the mud tried its very hardest to keep him in place. The muscles used to pull away from the Marshland's famous stew of deadly mud had grown strong in Zevran over the years, but besides that he was mostly toned skin and bone.

His shoulder muscles were bunched together, and his expression rather grim as he performed the ritual shaking-of-the-paws to remove most of the muck. Zevran had something on his mind, though what it was he was not even entirely sure. He had lost his train of thought several minutes ago in the midst of a border-watch and since then had been trying and failing to regain it. It was frustrating to be so breezy-headed.. he wondered idly why he found it so hard to concentrate. Perhaps it was because he hadn't gotten any action during mating season? No... he'd always been able to retain his sharp mind despite a lack of sex. So what was it?

The red-brown wolf turned about to face the open marshes and seated himself all in one fluid motion; every time Zevran moved it was like a perfectly choreographed dance. Leather-colored eyes turned upon his paws and he stared blankly at them as if it would somehow clean them telepathically.

"Ah, but Zevran is always a little bit dirty, no?" sighed the lad in a lyrical Italian accent.

Ears flicked back once, than forward as a disturbance nearby pulled him from his ever-fascinating feet. He glanced up from them, scanning the cat-tails to see if it was Karrai, his alpha.

"Sir...?"

[Hype]

Soft splashes resounded through the air, but this was nothing unusual, as one could always hear moving water when traveling through the marshes. Yes, for a name as beautiful as Moon Children, one would expect the area to reflect the name, but no. These children were not raised luxuriously, but under tough love and respect of the land. And as Karrai watched his fellow pack-mate Zevran crawl from the slimy pools, mud not so much dripping as falling from his coat, he knew that Zevran definitely knew how to maneuver through the marshes.

Sir…?

Karrai heard the wolf, but watched as he observed the wrong patch of grass. A cocky smile planted on his face, Karrai slowly crept behind him before slowly positioning himself beside him, obviously noticeable, but not surprising in the leas, ”Zevran, since I’m not there, there are four possibilities as to what might be.” He lowered his head, looked at the grass, and slightly smelled the air, “It could could be prey, scurrying about, but that’s unlucky since that grass is in the water, unless of course, it’s a fish. Then, there’s the possibility that it may be a large wolf, crouched and prepared to attack, but you would have seen or smelled him by now, I trust. However, it may be a pup, simply playing, but why would it be so far from dry land? And finally, it may simply be a random current of water.”

He turned around and sat behind Zevran, watching him carefully, “Now, I want you to tell me, based on reasoning, what it most likely is, and then reveal or catch it. Show me you know what to do.”

[Candle]

Any lesser wolf would have been severely spooked by Karrai's sudden appearance from the opposite direction from which Zev had expected him to be. However, Zevran had become accustomed to the unexpected, and as such did not jump or flinch. Instead he smiled, raising his eyebrows in admiration.

"Ah, your riddles always confound me, sir. But could there be no possibility of a bird wading amongst the rushes?"

He cooed out his own riddle of sorts, but without waiting for an answer to a rhetorical question, the copper-toned spy rose and went to investigate. He only did so because, for one, the noise was something that could not be created by something so large as a wolf, and Karrai had been quite right that they would have sensed such a presence sooner. When he arrived, however, and poked his nose through the thick grass, he found the area where the sound had come from completely devoid of life.

"Blast..." he muttered under his breath, and then promptly lifted his head and twisted his neck around to look at his leader with a lop-sided smile.

"Either it really was a random movement of the grasses, or the creature who created the sound has escaped. No snacks for Zevy, it seems."

[Hype]

His fur, thick and insulating, kept him warm and slightly dry when Zevran’s leap splashed him with water.A quick shake of his body solved this problem, just in time for Zevran to turn back to him with no results. He was not upset though, as there was nothing to lose in a failure, “It was not a riddle Zevran, the answers were quite direct.” He trotted towards him, his paws making soft sploosh! sounds when sticking in the mud, “And of course there was a possibility of it being a bird. I said prey didn’t I? Details Zevran, details.”

With a small twitch of the earsa and a flick of the tail, Karrai distributed his body weight amongst himself equally before sitting down, as not to sink in the mud. Listening to Zevran’s frustration upon not finding anything was rather humorous, but of course, all wolves had their own failures now and then. Karrai noted the faulty smile pleasantly. At least the wolf showed humility.

“You did just fine, Zevran. Just fine,” Karrai said reassuringly, trying to show that he as not upset. Of course, when proven wrong in front of the al[ha, it’s easy to assume they would be. Not Karrai though, “And there will be a snack for you in the future, don’t worry.” Playfully, Karrai cocked his head to the side, but his voice remained fairly serious. Karrai was always confusing in such a way, “Did you need me? You were apparently looking for me.”

[Candle]

Zevran turned about and went back to the dry land, putting off cleaning his legs until this conversation was at an end. A look of slight confusion whispered across the male's features, his mouth forming a small 'o', as his leader asked him of his intentions.

"I had nothing to say to you sir," Zevran said, his voice lilting to a higher pitch as if it were a question.

"But if I might be so bold... perhaps it is time to start recruiting? The summer is soon to come and no doubt the other packs' numbers will be trying to steal our lands before we know it."

He was being very bold, it seemed, but Zevran knew Karrai held some respect for him, and was not too worried that the alpha would think he was over-stepping his bounds. Even still, Zev's ears splayed outward and lay prostrate against his scalp to show that he was not challenging Karrai's power in the least bit.

[Hype]

Karrai seemed rather surprised when his follower stated that he had nothing to say, as it defeated the purpose of looking for him anyway, unless he was under the false impression that he was being searched for, in which case the fault would fall on himself. Nevertheless, Karrai let it drop and proceeded on with his conversation with Zevran, ”Hmm, upsetting. I would’ve felt needed if you had.” This was an obvious opportunity to let Zevran score some brownie points with the leader, and Karrai wanted to see how it would be handled. Hopefully Zevran wouldn’t bee too kiss-ass. As Karrai expected better of him.

Upon the next statement, Karrai had to pause and consider it for a moment, as, though it wasn’t his place to say something like that, it was true, and did need to be said, ”Don’t fear being bold Zevran, it shows promise, as long as it’s polite.” With that, Karrai let a smile cross his face as to let him know that he was okay in his asking before continuing, “However, I do not fear for the sake of our land, as most of out pack is based on strength and defense. We never initiate any trouble, and are quite prepared to defend ourselves as necessary. Besides, no other pack could handle it here anyway.” A hardy laugh flowed from Karrai’s mouth, and he soon sat down.

He let his expression retain its normal, duty-bound expression before continuing, ”But yes, I do believe more recruitments need to be made. It’s not easy to find wanderers though, not with all the major packs. The marsh is the last place any travelers would come to, so my fellow pack leaders recruit them first.” It was a sad truth, but Karrai, and Zevran, both had to accept that. With a small sigh, he continued, ”Although, I have sent fighters to, and I myself, have searched for newcomers, and the results have been disastrous. Any suggestions, boy?”

[Candle]

Zevran let a sly smile slip onto his features as he realized what the alpha was doing: Karrai's words were goading Zevran into listing reasons why the leader was indeed needed. However, despite him knowing the true reasons behind all this double-meaning chatter, the lad played Karrai's game. At least for now.

"Ah, but you ARE needed. For wherever would we all be if you had not gathered us disorganized bunch of swamp-wading barbarians and whipped us into shape? Most likely being picked apart by the crows, no?"

A warm chuckle eased from the male's throat like honey pouring from a jar and resigned himself to at least picking off the bits of vegetation that had hitched a ride on his coat. One by one he gnawed and burs and seeds before throwing his head over and spitting them to the wind. When Karrai began to talk about many wolves' aversion to their lovely marsh, as well as the many reasons Zevran had been wrong to worry so much, he paused and gave a confident grin.

"See? THIS is why you are the leader and I am just a devoted follower!"

As for the business of suggestions? Zevran let the question hang in the air for several moments, appearing to think it over by actually wondering why he was asking for suggestions at all.

"I know not, sir. I am sure you are doing the finest job anyone could in our situation."

Zevran went back to picking out burrs, this time from his tail before his next words with his teeth full of his own fur.

"Thtill, it would be nith to have a few women around here, am I right?"