Jacquez trudged along the muddy ground, limping slightly but determined not to show it. Quite some time had passed since his skirmish with the Dahlian warlord, Haku, but the stubborn wounds had grown infected due mainly to his refusal to see a healer. He had obstinately insisted that he had lived through worse and that bandages and herbs would weaken his impressive immune system, and became even more mulish when the bite marks had gotten puffy and swollen. They were mostly scabbed over now, his russet and gold fur concealing the worst of it. It was mostly a blow to his pride, that he had not been permitted to finish the deadly battle. Had he not been interrupted, he felt confident that he would have won. Of course he would have, what divine being would lose to a scumbag like Haku Soul?
Immersed in such thoughts, the tall Optime let his black eyes wander about the thawing landscape. It did put him in a better mood to see the godawful snow melting; winter here was miserable, and the southern man felt lucky to have survived it! The only plus side to keeping him locked away in his cabin meant it shielded most of his packmates from the drama that erupted between him and Firefly. He had not seen much of the Sadira woman since her unfortunate miscarriage, and he suspected that she had retreated to her den to live with Jontae. Whatever, it wasn't his problem. Secretly, he was relieved that she was alive, but no one would ever know that. The lascivious dog would no doubt drown his fledgling feelings in a bottle of rum and a pretty new face.
And speaking of pretty new face... Jacquez's fringed ears perked forward at the sound of hoofbeats, heavier than the wild horses he had grown accustomed to. The sunlight was fading, but he could make out a big dark shape, a stallion with an unfamiliar scent and rider. A spike of excitement rose in the impulsive monarch -- was it a challenger from the war zone? But... neither Inferni nor Dahlia de Mai raised livestock, that he knew of. It could be a courier from a neighboring pack, or... a foreigner. "Qui va là? You are within the territory of the Kingdom! State your name and purpose!" His imperious voice boomed fearlessly, standing in the field with his one hand planted on his hip. It did not seem to occur to him that a warhorse could easily mow him down; he was not threatened by any beast.