Well this is different...

The tall rock formations was definitely not what he had expected to see. Most of the land he called home was forest, vally, and water, or from what he had seen at least. Sure each area that the wolves had named were completely their own, but this stood out like a deer among rabbits. It just didn't seem to fit quite right. However it was there and it's not like he could change it. With a huff the brute lowered his head and, lashing his tail, continued forward. His paws crunching the rocky ground beneath him, leaving an imprint of his tracks as he lifted it from its moemental resting point.

Truth was he was irritated, more so than he probably should be. It seemed he woke along the wrong side of the den this morning and hadn't been able to pick himself up much through the day. And even now as the sun was beginning to rest, a scowl still held onto his expression. His body told it off too, he was tense and his eyes set in a glare that had left him alone for the day. It was no doubt that he was not to be messed with today, but still, the family of his pack got to him to the point where he did not want to be on the territory for the remainder of the day, hence why he was here. This place seemed desolate, like no one had been here for a long time, yet active. There were many nooks and crannies that could easily hide small prey and preditory animals. Let your guard down once and they'll strike he supposed. And I guess that's how he was today, you make a wrong move with Desoto and he'll snap. He chuckled darkly at the thought, although it was slightly a funny thing to compare, it didn't lighten his mood. And the growing hunger in his stomach was not adding to the calmness he wanted at the moment.

Deciding that he was going to stay awhile, the warrior lowered his head more, his nose a few inches above the ground as he sniffed. Although he wasn't starved it was best to find something to eat before the others animals did. The snakes would most likely be away now, they came out mostly during the hotter hours of the day to warm the cold skin, but Pumas and such would definitely be on the prowl. And quite frankly he wasn't up for tackling that today, however there is always tomorrow. Maybe he'd be up for it then...

Hot and tired, were just two of the things the Helidos Elite had felt the entire day. Since he had ventured out here just before midday it had been dry and warm, no chance of rain around these parts, and the flies followed him everywhere. Around his ears and his eyes, all he could hear was that monotone buzzing, and it was testing his patience. He wasn't sure if it was because he had been close to an old animal carcass that the flies had been attracted to but now they were bugging him big time. Bugs, bugging him.. Must be where that expression came from. Despite the annoyances, he had served his purpose there. There were no apprentices or lower ranked wolves asking for his guidance or training at the moment, so this was the next best thing to do with his time. He was looking out for anything suspicious, as any wolves advancing for his pack would have to get through the neutral grounds first and he knew things had been shaken up in Erenyx from some gossip amongst the dens, so it worried him that trouble was brewing. He was not worried in a paranoid way but more due to his duty and he had good reason to be wary of other packs, because ones such as Helidos's neighbours were bound to strike at some point and so far they had been so... quiet. Whether they would charge in one big swarm, or trickle along in small groups from multiple directions, that was not known and that's why he was looking out. In this way he was a sort of scout, keeping watch for information, as he wasn't going to let Helidos be oblivious to attack like a sitting duck, and who knew what the power-hungry leader of the deranged and cold hearted was planning?

His best bet had been to find the tallest cliffs and land to look out from one territory at a time, and that's how he'd stumbled upon Cathedral Mountain. He also could be found stalking through the lower ground of fields, forests and water sources for it was likely that oncoming wolves would move where the foliage concealed them, or perhaps he would overhear chit-chat about something valuable. Even in Helidos he went by largely unnoticed; out here in the land belonging to nobody and yet everybody, he was nothing but a mere shadow of the rocks and the trees, disguised with his dark pelt and trying to stay upwind. Being another life out in the wilderness, he was not important to anyone, but his scent was. It gave away which pack he was allied with and that made all the difference.

As he scaled the red coloured slopes, his oversized ears flicked periodically at the flies bothering him. A quiet but deep, irritated growl rumbled low in his throat as he swung his head side to side, being very fed up of them by now. He wondered if there was any herb out there that could possibly deter the pests, or preferably kill them, but he supposed even if there was and he knew what to look for he would find none of it growing here. 'Creek would probably have known the answers...' The male padded up and around the rocks, aiming to go down the other side as his investigation here was coming to an end and he hoped maybe his time could come to some use if he could catch something to eat. The area was mostly empty except for dust, grit and certain lurking dangers and from the scent of things there had been no visit from wolves for a while, although it looked like somewhere an Erenyx wolf might enjoy or use for deadly training sessions. His chocolate brown nose quivered in the air, believing to have caught the whiff off someone but it faded as quickly as it came. Not knowing if it had been real or just his bored and fried brain playing tricks, his hackles raised and he kept alert even as the sky grew darker. Eclipse was not afraid of any individual Erenyx wolf but he didn't want to be spotted since he wanted to keep his cover and see if they were up to something. Several minutes passed by with nothing occurring so he relaxed some, continuing on his lonesome journey until he reached a steep drop, so steep that he didn't dare to risk his life by peering over the edge as he would lean too far and fall. It could have been only a few feet, or it could drop straight down into the bottom, but he was none the wiser as to which it was and he wasn't in the mood to turn around and find a longer alternative route down if he didn't have to. He placed one brown paw onto a stone and with a flick of his wrist, sent it over the edge and waited for the sound of it hitting the next level down for some indication of how far below it was. 'One. Two. Three. Four. Five.' He counted in his head, until he got to ten and still there was no noise. Perhaps he had just thrown it so far out that the rock had missed the ledge entirely? Unsure, his ears pinned back and he tried again with a larger stone. The cracking sound of the stone meeting its mark followed a moment later. Slightly more confident now, he moved to the edge. From this position he could just about see the jump down was reasonably safe, as he looked down but kept his weight in his rear legs and haunches. The fading light did not help much with visibility though and his front claws dug into the verge where the top of the cliff met the side. Taking a breath, he bunched his rear legs closer to his front and crouched still until his thighs started shuddering with the strain of his weight. Just a moment later he made the leap, unaware of the surprisingly soft landing he would have. All he knew was that it could turn out a bad risk to take if he landed badly. But what is life, after all, if you never take risks? When they turn out well they have great rewards, such as saving time and energy. It was a gamble. You never learned if you didn't challenge yourself. If you played it too safe, well you would probably already be dead, or you'd be a fool who may as well be.

There, a scent had reached his nose. It had passed not too long ago and now that he looked closely he could see the small paw prints that it had left in the sand, which were partially covered by windswept pebbles and dust. The rabbit would be heading towards its den, and if he wanted to catch it before it did and before it was almost too dark to hunt anything at all, it would need to be now. Letting out a low snort the brute lifted his gaze from the ground, his breath that released from his nostrils disturbing the uneven ground beneath him. The sun had set the rocks in an orange, red glow and they seemed to form a steep winding maze to wander through. It would be a miracle if he got this prey and made it out of here within ten minutes. He wasn't too worried though he could always just use his scent trail to follow himself out. He lifted his head completely before reaching out a paw to step forward. And then he noticed the fragments of rock that landed down before him. 'Probably just some small animal that lives up there.' But a few seconds later was when he saw the growing shadow that was coming down towards him. He only had time for his eyes to widen slightly before a body landed on him. The unexpected weight knocked him to the ground, but Desoto caught himself before his stomach and chest could reach the ground. His legs were bent oddly as he swung his head around, his jaws opening wide as his teeth brightened as the sun hit them. Jumping up as he clamped his jaws around the upper foreleg of the animal he arched his back, much like a horse when bucking, to throw him off. The movement of his body along with the grip on the limb which he threw over his shoulder added an extra force to get the mass off of him and into view as it landed in the rocky ground before him. The metallic taste of blood was now on his tongue from where he had bitten down and no doubt his teeth were now freshly tainted. Keeping his head low a snarl came from his jaws as he gazed across the animal taking in its appearance and scent. Wolf, male, Helidos.. 'Well at least it isn't a puma, that would have been much worse.' But now instead of just in a bad mood he was pissed off. Not only had this guy landed on him, but he had also got the flies that he was showing around buzzing on him too. 'Fan-freaking-tastic..' Just when he was prepared to get away from things, this dude shows up, worsening his already unlikeable day. Another snarl came through his clenched teeth as he stood to his full height again, his head lifting up more as well. He wasn't in much of a mood to fight, but he was irritated beyond belief and he wasn't going to let it go unnoticed.

"What in the actual hell were you doing!? I'm not a damn playground if that is what you think. Where did you even come from!?" His voice was slow and angry but vocalized loudly as he yelled at the male. His tail lashed and his ears were pinned back, his eyes were narrow and burning in frustration. He didn't know who this wolf was and quite frankly he didn't care much. But at the same time he wanted to know so he could curse profanities across this males pride. He shook his head as a fly got to close near his eyes, the buzzing now surrounding his senses and he knew it would be difficult to get them away. He snorted again this one agrivated though as he swatted a bug down wit his paw and crushing its life upon the ground. "And you also got your dear friends flying all around my face. You prick from Helidos, what ever your name is!" His ears flicked to the side then, warning a fly away from he area. Through the dim lighting Desoto took in the appearance of the he-wolf. His fur was a dark brown, but had hints of a lighter shade. A small white or light brown patch lay on his chest, the color was unclear as the light landed on it. On his legs there was a few droplets of blood from where his teeth had sunk in minutes before. He let out a huff of breath at that, maybe going as far as that wasn't necessary. But at the same time it was, he had not had time to see the beast fall upon him and, given the area he was in, it could very well have been a puma or another predator looking for a meal. So he guessed his actions were justified. He rolled his shoulders back, trying to ease off some of the tension that now lay upon him along his back. He was almost certain that he would feel this in the morning. "Just great... perfect." he muttered to himself again. He growled again closing his eyes as he violently threw his head down and back up trying hard to shake off the sides. "How did you attract these things anyway, jackass? How long have they been traveling with you? Days, weeks?" he snarled. He stared at the brute his head cocking to the side, "Who even are you?"

Permission was granted to powerplay Eclipse in this post

It almost felt like flying, or how he imagined it was like to fly at least. As his body came closer to landing, the rush of air against his pelt caused his fur to slick back and his tail to sail out behind him. In this precious moment even the pestering flies abandoned him. The free-falling of his leap only lasted a couple of seconds though until he met his mark just like the stones he'd flicked off before him. But it wasn't the mark he'd expected to meet, in fact he was surprisingly off-target, his eyes only widening as he realised that in the final moment before he landed full force onto the creature that had so unfortunately stumbled into the wrong spot at the wrong time. In the same pose as he had prepared to land on the ground, his forepaws were outstretched so that his forelegs hit first and his strong shoulders could take the force of his impact on the ground, but due to the narrow and unstable nature of the mass beneath him and the movement of the one below him being knocked down slightly by the force and added weight, Eclipse was soon unsupported and his body shifted so that he soon slipped and was draped over what his nose quickly told him was a male wolf below him. It wasn't a Helidos wolf either... but it didn't seem to be Erenyx. Odd. It wouldn't go down well still, he thought. If he hadn't had such a long day and a bothered mood he would probably not have blamed the brute for the prompt chucking off that was to follow, since it was a dangerous area and the unexpected beast upon him could have been any sort of animal.

The sudden pain to his foreleg reminded him very sharply that he had not been flying at all. He had simply been falling, but it had been a planned fall, until this wolf had come out of nowhere. He had known it was a risk whenever you jump down from somewhere you could land badly or sprain yourself, but falling onto an unknown wolf wasn't a consequence he'd considered. It proved he had been right when he thought he'd smelled a wolf earlier. Eclipse had no time to remove himself from the other male as his foreleg had been bitten into. His head whipped around and he flinched at the sting of the teeth in his skin, but he knew the wound was superficial. To try to lessen the damage, he rolled over so he wouldn't be twisted awkwardly as the other male bucked to throw him off, but he still landed on the ground with a thump. The pain in his leg only enraged him more, along with his internal anger at having his route down the mountain ruined by this accident, and his fur rose along his spine while he drew his lips back and returned a snarl to this male, lurching around to snap his jaws towards him whom turned out to have a pelt that matched many in Erenyx, even if he was not of that pack. He thought the way he had been attacked and reacted to was unnecessary, and the more he thought about it the more his anger burst into flames from being just a little spark. The Elite maintained his growl of warning and stood up to his paws as he saw the other looking him over, anticipating any movement towards him with wide eyes and narrow pupils. His stance was confident, tail raised over his back to indicate his position within his pack and willingness to put up a fight if needed. Both the males were ticked off so who knew what could happen, but he wouldn't attack first. Truth was, he only wanted to get the hell out of there and retire to his den.

If one good thing was to come from the situation, it was that the whole tussle had made the flies lose him. Maybe since it was getting colder as the sun sank, they had been attracted to his body heat. To his slight amusement, the flies seemed to have attached themselves to the other brute instead. But he was in no mood to really smile about that, only mentally huffing and muttering 'Good.', as he was still angry at the injury the other had given him for what was only an accident on Eclipse's behalf. His stance had not changed in this time, even as the other male snarled again he did not shift his tall figure and he kept his eyes glued to the other sternly. "You ask such stupid questions in the haste of your anger, brute." He snapped back, his voice low and annoyed but only laced with the hatred he really felt for the male right now. "It's clear I came from up that cliff, and it certainly was an accident to have crushed you. If I had wanted to attack you or something, you and I wouldn't be talking right now." What he said was meant to make the other hold his tongue and diminish his attitude. He watched the other react to the flies, killing one. His own ear flicked out of habit at swatting the pests, though the flies stayed away from him for now. Whoever the other brute was, it seemed he needed a reality check. He was hasty to act out at things, from biting into Eclipse's leg to killing that fly for annoying him. Eclipse's eyes glared at the next words to leave the unknown wolf's wretched mouth. "My dear friends seem to prefer you then, do they not? Must be your mangy pelt." The words came out smooth and darkly, that he was even surprised at what he said and paused for a moment. He could see the black wolf trying to ease off his shoulders and back. It must have taken a lot of effort to shove a full grown male wolf off, and to take that impact on his body... That would hurt over the next few days. His nose twitched at that thought but he simply blinked and watched as the flies tortured the darker wolf. It was good to see some form of revenge, but he didn't stare for long. Looking down passed the white blaze on his chest, he inspected the bite wound on his left leg. There was some drops of blood, but it wasn't deep since he knew not to struggle when being bitten. He grumbled and lowered his tail slightly, glancing back to the male. "I'm Elite Eclipse of Helidos, not that it's any of your business. But since you decided to injure me, you have made yourself my business. Who are you? If I should even bother asking. With your attitude, I don't think you're going to live very much longer." He asked with the same tone as before to the boy with the bad attitude. He'd better smarten up his act before Eclipse showed him his place. Perhaps all his frustration at the world had built up until now and it finally had been released, or he didn't give a damn anymore since he had nothing to lose. Probably a bit of both, and today wasn't helping.