I'm unsure how good this is, since my previous attempt got chewed up by a loco web broswer, and my reconstructions never seem to be as good as the original. At any rate, I'm glad to be playing Danflower again.

About one week ago, Danflower had returned to Nova Mountain from an absence (forced by a hereditary illness) spanning several months. Unfortunately for him, he had returned to find that both Kratina (previously his prized pupil) and Azarieth (with whom he had begun to develop a very deep relationship) no longer resided on the mountain.

In fact, everyone he had previously met on the mountain had left. (This was not very surprising, however, considering a) the fact that between his position as Guardian and the first symptoms of his illness surfacing, he had only met a few handful of them, and b) the rapid turnover rate of the wolves residing in any one of the packs in the valley. At any rate, Dan had never really gotten to know any of them as more than passing aquantinces).

Actually, all of them had left...except one: Sinistra, the pack Alpha.

Danflower and the aforementioned embodiment of eccentricity had always had a...strange relationship (then again, everything connected with the aloof leader seemed to be strange, odd, or just plain abnormal). Digression aside, however, Dan--if he had ever really thought about it--would never have exactly considered the onyx male a "friend," per se, but he definately viewed him as more than just his chief superior. (However, as touched upon previously, Dan never really gave it much thought, since even the most abstract of descriptions and terms had ever left him satisfied the couple of times he had thought about it).

At any rate, Danflower definately wanted to meet up with Sin in the next couple of days.

What were the odds that--mere minutes after that determination--he would meet up with Sin at one of the mountain's springs? Sometimes, it really seemed as if some invisible force or forces moved the inhabitants of the valley around like pieces on a giant chess board.

I guess this saves me from having to track him down.

As one would expect from a pack Alpha, Sinistra was--so long as his patterns were roughly the same as they were several months ago--rather difficult to simply "run into" for a conversation. After all, Alphas were constantly being presented with one matter of business or another, and it wasn't uncommon for them to seek a bit of solitude when they managed to catch a break. The best way to arrange a meeting was via howling, but that was reserved for (what else?) more business.

As the Alpha approached, Danflower bent down in submission. Perhaps he was presuming too far on their friendship (or whatever word would really describe it best), but he didn't go so far as would probably be acceptable for the lowest of the pack when meeting the highest of the pack. As it was, his submission was obvious enough; it just wasn't the all-out display their differences in rank would normally dictate. (Dan wasn't trying to "skate the edge," as it were; merely trying to faciliate conversation).

Danflower grimaced slightly at the familiar "Dannyboy." Had it had come from the lips of any other wolf except for Sin, he would've considered it patronizing and--Alpha or not--would've vocalized such thoughts quite...insistently. He still didn't care much for the nickname, but it didn't quite carry the connotations it certainly would have if spoked by any other wolf.

"Likewise, and it's good to be back. How have you been faring of late?"

Phew! Because of the way I get my post into my table, I accidently edited this post into my last one. Fortunately, I was able to hit the back button a few times to take me to the correct version.

Danflower gave a quiet snort of amusement at Sinistra's complete contradiction of words and tone of voice. It was the same type of answering-without-answering and levity that anyone who spent very much time around the Alpha came to expect. (Of course, many were surprised by the quick turn of attitude he was capable of when they stepped out of line).

At Sin's words, Danflower cocked a wolfish brow. It was an interesting developement, to say the least. First, it let Dan know that--contrary to his hopes--the situation with the Creek hadn't smoothed over with time. Instead, it had decidedly worsened. Second, it gave a definate indication that there was something deeper to Silver Creek's antagonism of Nova Mountain than he had originally thought. Finally, it removed just about any hope of a diplomatic solution.

Of course, those points were merely Dan's initial impression, and the last one was open to revision after he garnered more information. Sin's statement had been rather vague, and it left room for a great deal of refinement. Oh? What happened exactly?

Danflower listened carefully to Sinistra's account, carefully analyzing each word, each phrase, each intonation. Now, this of course wasn't the analyzation one might give to someone they suspected of untruthfulness; Danflower simply was attempting to extract all possible information without further questions. He wanted to understand the situation exactly, so that he might make the greatest possible use of it in relation to his service within the pack.

Primarily, Dan noted the first word: "apparently." This was quite an important qualifier; it meant that whatever account Sinistra was about to relate to him was not first-hand information. It also meant that he was making room for innaccuracy for that very reason, as he wasn't quite stating it as complete fact. On the other hand, considering that the one who was affected--and therefore the one who more than likely related the original account to Sin--was the pack's Eta, it was probable that she was rather reliable. Now, if it had been some low-ranking wolf with little no to no history within the pack, the possibility that they were lying for their own benefit would be much greater. However, no one gets to a position as high as Eta without showing a great deal of dependability.

Details aside, the fact that it was a single wolf that had done the attacking would make the matter considerably easier to resolve than if it really had been a large portion of the pack. That was, of course, if Sphinx cooperated with whatever punishment Sinistra had in mind for the offender.

When Sin stopped speaking, Dan had another question. "Do you know who it was?" Probably not, but Sin surely at least had a description.

No. It was a predictable enough response, of course; unless the wolf was particularly boastful, there would have been no reason for him to give out his name. (Of course, based upon Sinistra's account, this particular wolf most likely wasn't altogether sound of mind, so that was entirely improbable). Additionally, there was also the chance that Sinistra had discovered the offender's exact identity since that time via a description, but this conversation would probably have included punishment as a past occurance--rather than a future one--if Sin had that much information already.

She claims he was black with red eyes. That, of course, was definately not a predictable response. Red eyes? Danflower had heard stories and rumors of such a thing being possible, and while most of it was simply superstition, he had heard a couple of first-hand accounts from his old pack's medic (who was positively ancient and had probably treated just about every single disease and disorder known to wolvenkind). Thus, he didn't entirely doubt the aforementioned claim. He knew one thing, however: if this wolf truly did have red eyes, it was a sure sign of insanity. (On a somewhat unrelated note, he did notice Sin's use of the word "claims." Apparently, he was leaving himself some room for doubt).

Slowly, Dan shook his head. "I only met Sphinx once, but I would always have attributed better judgment to her than this. Normally, I wouldn't think the Alpha should be blamed if one their subordinates does something idiotic--so long as the necessary steps are taken to correct the problem afterwards--but I'm not so sure in this case. At the very least, allowing a wolf into the pack with such an obvious mark of insanity is highly...unintelligent." He paused for a moment. "On the upside, though, such a distinctive characteristic will certainly make the process of identifying the offender considerably easier."

Sorry the wait; I haven't been feeling too great lately. ;(
With all of his questions concerning the currently-unknown violent attacker answered, Danflower fell silent for a few moments. So far, the conversation had consisted entirely of Dan asking questions and Sinistra answering them, and so this action (or lack thereof) created a short lull. Sinistra made no move to "fill in the gap," as it were, so Danflower took the time to arrange his thoughts before his next question(s).

Perhaps it was somewhat presumptuous of him, asking all these questions. After all, past relationships aside, their ranks at the current moment were as absolutely far apart as they could possibly be. Then again, Sinistra had so far not displayed any negativity towards him, and--despite the Alpha's usual, flamboyent attitude--he was certainly quite capable of making any displeasure with one's actions extremely plain. (So far as Dan could recall, almost the entire pack had found this out the hard way during the first official pack meeting). At any rate, Dan's only purpose in the numerous questions was to be able to utilize the information in his service of the pack.

Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power. Bliss may serve the individual, but only power can serve the collective.

Before the silence was allowed to stretch to far, Danflower quickly formulated his next question. "Has anything else negative occured with the Creek while I was away?" After all, the attack could very well have been an isolated incidence of singular idiocy, rather than of collective ill-will.