Go fetch. Hunting grounds.

He was daydreaming of the nicest and most quiet field in the nicest and most quiet place. There were flowers springing up amongst the emerald tufts of grass that grew amongst the lush foliage. The grasses were thick and tall and blushed against his belly when he strolled along. The sun was high and brought warmth to the plants and the animals that lived there. And, last of all, the little stream that trickled through the - wait, what? Fyrebane's thoughts broke off there, as he scolded himself for indulging himself in thoughts of a pretty little meadow. Had he no manhood?

Shaking out his pelt, he shook off the frivolous thoughts as well. It was beyond him why his mind had conjured up such ridiculous and uncharacteristic fantasies, and he didn't want to admit he'd been enjoying it one bit. But what was more puzzling was the fact that something had sort of snapped him out of his trance, but he couldn't recall what it was to memory. It had been a sound, he would have thought, but what would he have been hearing? Oh well, whatever it was was gone now.

The male thought it to be quite odd that of all things, his imagination supplied him with a grassy field, though he really preferred forests and wooded areas, but there was something particularly comforting about that one place. His mind had wandered there before, but not recently. He'd almost forgotten about the place all together, but something buried in him, somewhere deep down, just couldn't seem to let go of it, a bit to his frustration. Though, it was actually a safe, calming place with sunshine and butterflies (though the butterflies hadn't made an appearance this time). Sometimes there were butterflies, he noted, but not always. He wasn't sure why the butterflies didn't show sometimes, and he supposed he never would. Sometimes the mind did funny things for no reason, but then again, these images seemed purposeful to him; he didn't have any idea of the purpose, though.

All embarrassing fantasies aside, he had work ahead of him. This carcass wouldn't haul itself, and he wasn't going to let Ailis do it. Fyrebane sniffed and tried to put a convincing smile on his face. He wasn't sure how long he'd stood in that spot staring blankly like an idiot, but he felt certain it had been noticeable. He prayed that Ailis could have not noticed it, just this once.

When Ailis started to speak, he was caught slightly off guard. "It was nothing to be too concerned about. Just a frail body, you know. Getting a bit too loose, and I'm sure it was really nothing," she told him, and it occurred to him that she was answering his question. He'd forgotten about their conversation entirely. He begged his mind to return to the situation laid out in front of him. It was typical after hunts for his mind to wander, actually; it was a tool for relieving stress, he guessed, but it wasn't always convenient.

"Well," he responded slowly, "I'm glad you're not too beat up." The words kind of just rolled off his tongue before he could process them, but they were near enough to what he might have said anyway, so it worked.

Letting his eyes settle on her for a moment, he concluded that she wasn't that frail. She wasn't underweight, but she didn't have much bulk or muscle either. He didn't mean anything by that, and he shouldn't really be talking anyway. Everybody had been laying around a bit much lately, and Fyrebane had been eating a bit more than he could burn off as well. If he didn't go out on excursions more, he'd have to start running for leisure more regularly. As much as he detested it, he'd put on a little bit of belly. Self-consciousness and daydreaming? He wasn't quite feeling like himself today.

"You can't do that! That's far too large of a distance! Nooo, nope, no," Ailis was saying. His mind had abandoned the conversation again, and he cursed himself doubly for it, grunting. And, excuse him, she thought he couldn't haul an elk carcass on his own? Was this a challenge or what? It almost made him angry, but more than that, it brought out a flourish of his cockiness. "'Course I can!" he insisted, feigning a hurt expression at first, but then his arrogant smile overtook it. "Callin' me a weakling?" he snapped, giving her a hard and serious expression. But a moment later, he smiled again. "Only kidding," he assured, hoping he hadn't startled her too badly there for a second. "You can help if you'd like," he offered, "but I really would be fine on my own."

Just as Fyrebane was about to dip his head and get ahold of the elk, Ailis spoke again, in a murmur, saying, "Did you hear that?" At first, he didn't know what she was referring, but a moment later it occurred to him as he tuned in to the sound. A wolfy howl, and coming from somewhere very near where they stood. Had a stranger happened upon their territory? He didn't recognize the voice.

"Yeah, I heard it," he replied quietly. "Shall we investigate?" he asked, craning his neck in case he could spot something.

The howl sounded rather female, to him, and younger. Probably just a wanderer, like he'd been when he turned up around here, and it hadn't even been that long, he realized, since that day. From here, he didn't notice any wolves, so he wanted to seek out the source of the howling. If there was a wolf out here somewhere, he'd like to find them. Who knew, maybe they'd even join the pack?

Then, he had an idea. Fyrebane raised up his own howl, loud and friendly, with a welcoming tone inflicted upon it. Now, maybe the other wolf would know they were here, and friendly as well. He wasn't at all opposed to new pack members, it was an idea he welcomed. The pack could always use new additions, and he'd be proud to have come across a potential member on his first day as Beta, something he hadn't considered until now. Once he let his howl die out, he opened his ears again to listen for a reply, if one was to come. He hoped this would end well.

Suddenly, he realized that it was very likely that the faint sound which had disturbed him earlier was likely a faint howl, and probably belonged to the same wolf. Well, that had saved him from spending extra time looking stupid, so he owed this stranger something already.