For weeks now, an odd scent, a cologne, had played delicately around the borders of the pack. Never did it trifle with the edge, with the boundary, and so Aindreas had not felt the need to seek out the owner. There were a few options of who and what the owner might be and might want. If they want to take the throne, however, they surely would have challenged by now. If they had wanted to steal one of Aindreas‘s pack mates, they would have had ample opportunities to try to do so. If he was spying? There was not much he could see by lingering on the boundary - once, perhaps he would have seen more. But with the magical changes to the lands, Dierne Hrof was now an enormous pack that took well over a day to traverse from one side to the other. He would get no useful information, especially with the thick copses of trees protecting the innards from view. And so, through deductive reasoning, Aindreas had come to the assumption that the titan who owned the cologne meant no harm to Dierne Hrof. Nor, for that matter, to any of its inhabitants. But the ivoro was curious, of course he was curious, why the stranger never made an appearance. There was more food in the pack, more shelter, more shade from the hot summer sun. And then, of course, they had their bountiful amount of water in the form of the lake. Yes, their pack was a prosperous one… So why, why did this creature not ask for entrance? Aindreas was no tyrant, but rather fair and tolerant and caring. He had never before denied entrance to another, and would not do so in the future without good cause.

But it seemed that everything was about to change today.

For there, in the distance, right at the boundary where the scent had been strongest as of late, there was a voice, foreign to his auditories. And it called for Losa. Immediately, Aindreas went on high alert, the whirlwind of fury and rage from his inner tempest released in full. He opened himself up to that inner well of power, and reached out to Losa to feel her emotions - she was calm, and felt no fear nor pain nor terror in this moment. And she was near to the boundary… meaning that she was near to the stranger. His hackles rows up in long spines along his back and his lips rose, releasing his ravenous swords from their sheaths, and before he could make the conscious decision to run toward the other, he was already doing so. His eyes? They glowed an electric, vibrant blue flame, ready to burn to ashes any who would dare harm his Arcus Irae. His paws pounded purposefully against the pine covered floor, shortening the distance between him and the stranger with every leap. All the while, his pools were aflame, and he swept his neck from side to side, looking for souls. He saw a many, but none that were of importance to him, not yet anyway - most of them were birds, hiding in the trees, or small rodents borrowing into dens at the sound of his approach… none belonged to Putnar . Once more, he reached out to feel Losa, palpating her emotions as if they were truly something physical right in front of him - still there was no fear, no hurt… But for how much longer?

The power of the tempests allowed them an increased strength, dexterity, and endurance for as long as their anger boiled. Still, they were mortals - they could not go on forever. Always was there a price - the longer they raged, the longer they would have to rest afterward to recuperate. Aindreas knew this, but he had barely tapped in to his anger yet. Not just now, in this moment, but ever. Ever since he had become the alpha, he had worked hard to instead to rein in that anger and take everything in stride, calmly. It seemed that all of that was out the window now though, now that Losa was in the crosshairs. No, he was a pent up bomb, ready to explode upon his target. The king zoomed in between the trees, over logs, under branches, until finally he came upon the beast. Losa was nowhere in sight, but he could taste her perfume on the air, and he knew in his heart that she was getting closer. He snarled at the stranger, lips raised, saliva dripping from his jowls as he snapped at the air in front of the titan.

“What is your business with the princess, stranger? Is she the reason that you have been scrounging around my borders for weeks now? Waiting to get at her? Speak quickly, now, before I rip your head off of your shoulders and feed you to the turkey vultures. I’ve let you stay at peace, so think wisely now before you change my mind.”