He peered through the bushes for some time, waiting for something to go to get their fill of water so he could jump them and get an easy meal. When the minutes continued to tick by and nothing happened, he grew impatient, gnashing his teeth as he glanced over his shoulder, contemplating going back to retrieve Xerxes and try again another day. Deciding he might as well get a drink while he was here, he sighed and crawled out of the bushes and slowly down to the river banks. Turning his head this way and that to make absolutely sure there was nothing of interest, he lowered his head and dipped his muzzle to the surface of the water. Lapping up what he desired, he licked his lips and pulled away, aiming to make his way back to the Grotto with Xerxes in toe. But as he stepped closer to the bushes, the perfume of another wolf hit his nostrils and he crouched to the ground instantly as air hissed through his teeth in agitation.

He'd done so good to avoid others these past few weeks. The Grotto made it all too easy, of course. The only wolves who had managed to find him was his sister, who he promptly ran off, and then a vicious female who cracked Xerxes' jaw and played with him like it was a game to her. Fen already hated her and he would kill her if he saw her again. This was a stranger's scent, and it didn't smell of a pack wolf, either. Another hermit, like himself, no doubt. He couldn't see her, but he knew she was there somewhere. His heart hammered in his chest as he thought of Xerxes and gasped. Lunging ahead, he crashed through the bushes until he saw the bleached skull, lying right where he left it under a bush. He only let out the breath he'd been holding when he reached it and sniffed all over it, checking to make sure he hadn't been damaged or messed with.

When he came up empty, his body relaxed, but only a little, his tail curling up over his spine as he positioned himself over the skull and glared into the bushes around him. Her scent was still strong so where was she? "Hiding. Do not come closser." He growled the words, lips curled back in a silent snarl as his hackles rose and vibrated in nervous energy.