[ male ] [ six ] [ mateless ] [ imprintless ] [ covet x malina ]
It was better to put the past behind him and carry on as if it did not matter. Yes, Riot knew there would always be a sore spot or two when it came to thinking of those days and years, but he would do much better now, here. He would find the right pack for him and he would rise up after proving that was precisely what should be done. He had to keep in mind what allies he would have of the packs, yes. He would keep it all in mind once he decided on which pack was worth while to him. So far there were possiblities, but that was as far as it went. He wanted to get moving on it, but he could only go as fast as those within the packs. A hardship he did not like, but had to endure. There was no other way, no way around it. Unless he decided that he'd had enough of waiting and just.. went.

He had realized there was only one pack he couldn't stand to even visit, and although he had wanted to give them all a chance, he knew after remembering, reminding himself; it could not be. Riot was too likely to be drastic about such a thing, and he was not going to allow himself to do that. He would let it pass by and keep to his set goals of finding a pack to join and work for. Move on up and up until he had what he wanted, had made a name for himself. He wouldn't quit until he'd done so, and he didn't aim to quit afterwards, either. But all other thoughts would be pushed aside until he got there. Winter would hold no sway over him, and he would allow it no urges to come forth. That was not what he wanted, not at all. He wanted to be something before anything else on his list. Females could wait.

Things like that could happen gradually, because Riot would want to look over those that might be worthy for when the time came, but he was in no rush. Mostly, he'd just keep an eye out for any that might be interesting. For those who would survive through the Winters to come, because he doubted that even next Winter he would be ready for such a step in his life. Getting somewhere in life would take time, and Riot was fine with that fact. More comfortable with that than to rush into anything. He would be the wolf that waited, because only the best would do. For now he gathers information because he holds no pack as a homeplace yet, and the more he knew of everything, the better. That was what he needed to do, why he kept going closer to the groups of wolves. To learn more.

He is careful and he is polite, and Riot is not quite himself because he knows who he is enough to know that just being like that would not get him where he needed to go. He needed to be the kind of wolf that others would talk to, that they would allow to be amoung them. It wasn't that he had ill intentions towards them, but rather he might not be the nicest of creatures if he shone through as to his true self. He had a bloodlust he kept carefully in check because it was his inner nature rather than a personality trait (though he doesn't know why or how it came, because the pretenders had never been this way), and he might be more harsh of tongue if he was the impatient thing he was as a child. He'd been more silent then, but still sought knowledge. Sometimes he didn't even know himself.

But his question and the other female's questioning had brought words from the one female, and Riot listens. As it becomes clear that this is a tale of gods and so forth, he disregards the story as real, but he still is attentive, because it is something that defines some wolves, and that is information that is good to have. So he is polite and takes it all in, not sure how he felt on the story other than the fact he felt that's all it was; a story. It's long enough, and finally the female was saying it was what she was taught, aplogizing for possibly having bored them. But Riot wasn't bored by it, no. Just soaking it all in for later. Then the other female was speaking, seeming to have been prone to buying into the story. He doesn't say anything of that, merely shakes his head; he wasn't bored.

When the other female looked to him he merely smiled, hearing her words and deciding they were more realistic sounding to him. At least to a point. They broke, they went down, they broke more. Sounded fair enough on the matter, but he doesn't say as much. "It was an interesting story, thank you for telling it." Is what he says to the one female, though he doesn't think he had much else to add to it. There are things he hasn't wondered too closely about, and sand had been one of those things. Once brought up he does think of it, but he has information of two different types rolling around in his head now, and it does tell more about the two females he had met. Well, met in a way, but that's enough for now.