A hole, a hole, a hole in the desert.

[Lithium]

Rain was a constant threat this time of year, even the clearest of mornings could be hiding an evening storm. And on days such as this, the rain came and went with an occasional severe moment. Lucky for the wolf he had not come across any such patch of bad storms, only the mild scattered bits that were more annoying than anything else. The tawny male was not bothered by the dampened pelt that clung to his body, a few shakes and he was free of the extra weight and was given a special spiked hair style until he was dry. No, rain did not bother him.

July was known for its storms so why had Doctrine been plagued with the fire near the end of winter? Of course, the season had caused the lands to dry but thunderstorms were not normal for the time. Perhaps Lithium would never know, or maybe it had just been bad luck, very bad luck. He tired to recount the good things that happened since the fire and he could only find one thing, he and Tamara were now mates. He could not even say that him become the alpha had been a good thing, for they had lost Tamlin and Lithium questioned the loyalty of some of the Adegan members. He had to hope though, he had to believe that things would turn around. After all, his pack had not been the only one that was displaced.

The wolf had traveled to his old home in search of a sign and then he traveled south to the river that could hardly support life. There were places in the jungle that could hold life again but much of it was still trying to waken from it's ashen slumber, even the Grotto, the neighbors to the south that Adega had very little contact with, was still missing. So the wolf wondered, where in Doctrine had they gone? He was unsure why he wanted to find the Crux Grotto but apart of him figured he needed some reinsurance that his pack was doing just as well as the other. Sure, Adega did not have a real home but the Hollow would do just fine until they were ready to return north. There were very few other places that Doctrine had to offer and he needed to know if the Grotto were still in Doctrine and if so, where were they.

The Tapered Shelves were not one of the places that Lithium would have thought to look for a home in, which was why he went to the Cactus Highway. Now however, it was in the middle of his passage to head further south. From this central point Lithium could move to the east or the west where there was limited places to make a home. Below the Cereno would have been an interesting place but it was believed to be haunted and the desert, well the Grotto had been a harbor pack they could not survive in dryness there. So Lithium was puzzles on where to go, the lower half of the city was far too close to Cereno and last Lithium had heard the two packs were at war.

So Lithium let out a heavy sigh and moved along the shelves.

"It could have been the cocaine."

[Anberlin]

As of late, the grey male had been spending time outside of the Grotto's new territory, patrolling, marking borders and hiding them all the same - anybody who was intelligent would come half a mile before the edge of the canyon and detect Crux Grotto's scent and hopefully be warded off; and, hopefully as well, they'd never know that beyond the border, beyond that sleigh of rock and slab the earth tipped down into the great Puniceas Canyon, fed by the Tialoc. Anybody who came looking for Crux Grotto could very easily determine that they were somewhere in the highlands - if they were fortunate to encounter the scent ring surrounding the canyon. Despite the canyon's size, it was still relatively difficult to reach, even its outskirts surrounded by outcroppings of tall rock and vertical cliff faces.

All in all, it was a difficult place to reach, for which Anberlin was proud. His Cruxers would know the canyons like the back of their paws and be able to disappear within seconds while the others would be left confused, amazed even, in awe at such an ability. They could be like ghosts. And that was why the grey male was out, inspecting the lands, memorizing it. He had been traveling a little further away from the canyon today, along the shelves that rose throughout the highlands. He was following a small rocky path that led through them, and at the moment the path was winding atop the shelves, allowing him to look down into the cliffs.

However, Anberlin hadn't spent long sight-seeing, for another sight had come in for him to withhold - it was of a male, a large one, possibly the size of Anberlin. The grey wolf lifted his head slightly and headed towards him, quickly erasing the distance between them. The air was heavy with his scent - Adega. Now, that was different. "Curious-" He began, furrowing his brows slightly as he approached the stranger. "tell me, what's an Adegan doing all the way out here in the highlands? Isn't it a bit dry here for your tastes?" The male questioned, coming to a halt several dozen feet away from the other. To be honest his impression of Adegans was mixed - while Darin had come from Adega and Riya was with them - or so he still assumed - other wolves that had been less than favorable in Anberlin's eyes were among them as well. Or had been.

[Lithium]

Lithium always considered himself lucky. Apart of his survival was skill but a good majority of it was also luck. Had he no luck, or detectable bad luck he would not have lived to be more than a few years old, perhaps not even a few months. His home pack had been one that was constantly at war, the lake and stream his pack owned was the only known clean source in a hundred miles and some believed it was scared. Lithium questioned that still to this day, yes it had human ruins along it but it was hardly magical.

So why did it surprise him when he always found what he wanted. Sometimes he took a backwards route to get there but he always ended up in the same spot. He had desired to become alpha and he had, he wanted a home and a mate and those where both in his grasp he just did not achieve this wonderful things without some tragedy to it. That must have been the surprising part, that after all of his misfortune he still ended up where he wanted to be. He could not say that on this day he had any mishaps, unless you counted traveling half way across Doctrine to find one wolf as bad luck. The Grotto were well hidden but he still found one, or one found him.

It was a large gray wolf and by the shin in his coat Lithium knew that he was still young. The tawny male was starting to whiten around his muzzle and gray hairs were starting to pop up here and there but he was still far from becoming old and useless. Lithium was still in his prime but as stressful as life had been as of late it was showing a little. "I could say the same ta yerself. Awful far from that harbor of yours, Cruxer." The Adegan Alpha chuckled a little. He had no knowledge of Anberlin's personal affairs with Adega, he had never come across the boy nor had he heard any stories. Lithium was unaware that Crast was apart of Anberlin's friend list, but truthfully, he would not seek vengeance on the old male like Tamlin had. Auster had been a packmate but Lithium had not been close to her. Other than that, he had no reason to hate or have any bias towards this male.

"My name's Lithium Maddox and I am lookin' for the alpha of the Grotto. You appear ta look the part of an Alpha, but are ya? " His voice was full of coy and play. Lithium was an easy going wolf when he was in a good mood and right now, he was in a good mood! He did not lie about Anberlin looking the part of an alpha, he stood tall, was wide at the shoulder and looked like he carried the world atop them. The male was recovering from burns too, and he smelt of the wolves to the south.

"It could have been the cocaine."

[Anberlin]

Anberlin had spent the brief moments of silence between them analyzing the large male. He was of a soft brown, sprouts of grey appearing every now and then, even white; something that could have betrayed this age. Then again, Anberlin displayed no colour at all, and was rather grey and white all over. Never the less, his appearance was still relatively juvenile compared to the older male before him, and so Anberlin fought to keep himself appearing rigid and cool. This was no time for Anberlin to seem uncertain of himself. He'd been the Grotto's Alpha for over a year. Wrinkling his nose slightly, Anberlin was about to correct him when he paused, pensive, and shrugged. "Suppose I am." And with that, he glanced to the side before looking back to the stranger before him.

Shortly after, he had introduced himself, and Anberlin straightened again. He was in luck - for it was just that who the stranger had encountered. Funny how things worked out like that. "The very same," Anberlin responded with a nod. Perhaps this male was looking for a pack to join, perhaps he had heard of Crux Grotto - he doubted it, dearly, considering his apparent knowledge of the pack prior to the wildfire. Besides, he smelled strongly of Adega anyways, and last time he checked the only wolves to leave Adega and come to the Grotto were pups, as well as Anberlin himself, Azalia and Datorris. It was unlikely to be the case for this male.

He shook his coat gently before resting his scarlet eyes on the male again, seeking some source of information before actually speaking. "Anberlin Vedi. What may I ask are you doing out here then, Lithium, if your search should have taken you to our Harbor?" Anberlin questioned, curious.

[Lithium]

The gray male was much more ridged than the tawny one. One might even go so far as saying that Anberlin appeared indifferent to the Adegan male's search. It must have been nice to feel so secure in ones place, but Lithium had no idea how much of this front was just a show. Many wolves were good at putting up a wall and masking all the real problems, he himself could be at it but Lithium was normally always laid back and easy going.

"And it had," the wolf said with a nod, his eyes shifting towards the direction of the harbor. "The harbor is in no better condition than the jungle. Logic told me ta look in the only suitable places for a pack ta live. I thought I'd have ta look further south. This place might have hidden wonders... I can't say I've traveled every inch of the District in the past year." His mind drifted off for only a second as he thought of Doctrine holding more to it than meets the eye. He had traveled most of the jungle and he was sure that there was no hidden wonder there, at least not in the Adega territories. Hell, he could not say that he had even covered half of what Doctrine had to offer, maybe a forth if he was lucky.

Having told his half of the story his eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on Anberlin, he was almost positive that Anberlin was the name of the Grotto alpha. He had never met the wolf and he had not even really ever talked about him, but he at least recalled the name. "So Anberlin Vedi, what brings ou to this central highway of the desert?" A half answer would have satisfied the older male if the Grotto Alpha did not feel like giving away all his secrets. Hell, if Lithium found an oasis out here in the shelves of Doctrine he might have kept it a secret himself.

"It could have been the cocaine."

[Anberlin]

His gaze never strayed from Lithium - the lighter male, agouti in hue though appearing to sprout some greying hairs, happened to be a point of interest in Anberlin at this very moment. It wasn't surprising, after all, Anberlin was here talking to him and there was nobody, or nothing, else around to capture his attention. Never the less, there was something about him that Anberlin couldn't place a toe on, something he felt he should know; however, the male remained silent of this and allowed it, whatever it was, to gradually reveal itself, if what it was was something that the grey male should know about.

He shrugged and nodded. Anberlin personally had not visited the Harbor, had not even seen it since they fled the night of the fire, but the grey wolf knew that it had been burnt to a fine crisp. It stung slightly to hear it from the Adegan, though he had already heard it from Saosin - never the less, the grey male made a note to investigate the Harbor when he had a day or two to spare. Perhaps he'd bring somebody with him. Dismissing this, Anberlin rested his attention on the other male's next array of words, cocking a brow. "Tracking a sheep." A silent lie, as Anberlin's tastes did not lie in sheep - though they were a primary source of food for him back at Hylata Cliffs. "I've since lost it," Anberlin added and shrugged.

The question nagged at him, the underlying desire for information and so he acted upon it, straightening his shoulders. "What reward were you hoping to uncover upon finding my pack, Lithium?" Anberlin asked, ears forward - yes, it was a curious thing, to be hiding an entire pack - it was even more curious that somebody wanted to find this pack.

[Lithium]

A Sheep, the wolf wondered his eyes a hazed mask as he peered past Anberlin, almost staring through him as Lithium's gaze wondered off into the horizon are there really sheep out here? He had never really searched for anything more than a deer, elk or something close to its kin. After a few seconds of thought and the sun scorching his head he finally decided that it must have been a ram he was after. Probably vanishing into the sun soaked cliff face for some other predator to find.

The younger male was not one to beat around the bush. He seemed a little impatient, perhaps even annoyed from the way he worded his question. What reward did Lithium hope to gain? No real tangible reward was in his eye of desire. He had already found half of what he wanted, the Alpha of Crux Grotto now a little diplomacy might be a good idea. So a brow lifted, one ear dipped back and Lithium smiled crookedly, "Ahh yes..." he nodded, "but I am not looking for your pack, like I said I was looking for the alpha and I have found him. Now that I have ya I guess my goal is to understand why Adega's former alpha had a problem with you" Lithium gave the boy little hits, he was not about to spoil the game and give all his cards away. The tawny male knew little of why Tamlin did not like Anberlin, the two packs had their history but that was none of Lithium's concern.

"And don't worry Anberlin, Tamlin's wars are not on my agenda, I have other wants and needs and fighting is not one of them." Maybe if Lithium was lucky he had put those days behind him, but he highly doubted it. The alpha's job was to fight, fight for anything and everything.

"It could have been the cocaine."

[Anberlin]

Standing next to Lithium, Anberlin looked out over the canyon that yawned beside them, welcoming those willing enough to travel within its walls. The grey male had to make a note to indeed find a sheep, or something of the sort, and bring it back to Quil once his encounter with the Adegan had come to a close. Lashing his tail, he looked back at the other male, who in fact had spoken again. Each word fallen from his lips had caused Anberlin greater curiosity, most specifically his mention of Adega's former Alpha, as well as the problem that he had with Anberlin. For a moment, the grey wolf couldn't tell whether or not Lithium was speaking of Heimdall or Tamlin - after all, it was Heimdall who would have had the most obvious qualms with the boy, though those had been put behind them both.

Anberlin's silent question had been put to rest as Lithium spoke of Tamlin and his wars, whatever those had been. He took a shot in the dark by assuming Lithium was Adega's new Alpha now - after all, it was he who had sought out Anberlin. The grey wolf arched a brow and shook his head. "I was unaware that Tamlin had any qualms with me." He was speaking truthfully this time - as it was Anberlin who had so desired to fight with Tamlin. His views on killing so ruthlessly had stirred something inside of the boy - he still felt a twinge of guilt and disgust in himself upon remembering Carlos and Marrok's deaths. "It was Tamlin himself who fouled my opinion of him the instant he attacked somebody dear to me. I never got the chance to confront him - but you speak of him as former, what happened to him? If I may ask," Anberlin questioned curiously.

Was he speaking too much by admitting what Tamlin had done wrong in order to cause the neutrality between the packs to waver? No; as Lithium had said, he'd had no interest in fighting Tamlin's battles, and as such, Anberlin had no interest starting any with Lithium. "Are you his successor?" Anberlin added, raising both brows now.