Afternoon found the sibling pair on the crest of a large valley which lay just beyond the mountains they'd crossed not two days prior. Jack watched as his sister swept a crust of snow off a stump with a quick swipe of her hand and sat down, pulling her foot into her lap to massage the sore pads. They were both road-weary and eager to find a place to settle in, but they had yet to find any leads on Vaughan and Jack was growing more frustrated at their father's elusiveness the day. But as he watched her pick clumps of snow and ice from between her toes and flick them to the ground with a concentrated expression, he couldn't help but be reminded that he would have been left completely alone had he chosen to stay behind. And that was unacceptable.
I'm going to have a look around. He said, adjusting his jeans around his waist and turning towards the north. Jack was answered with a short mhm from Fox as she continued rubbing the ache from her feet, and with that he set off down the hill towards the borders he scented earlier. It was less than a half-mile away from where Fox was currently resting, so he wasn't terribly worried about her safety or her ability to reach him should an encounter with the locals turn foul. After passing the coyote clan's borders, Jack felt as if it was in his best interest to tread lightly while in proximity of pack lands; lighter than usual, anyway.
He continued his descent down the hill, snow crunching underfoot, as he approached the borders. When he got within a few dozen yards, his nose was assaulted by a myriad of scents from a variety of species. Hybrids, coyotes, wolves; this pack seemed to be something of a haven, or just a touch lax on their standards. Kneeling in the snow a respectful distance from the borders, he scanned the area just beyond the no-trespassers zone with a hawkish gaze and keen ears, listening for any threats or scouts. Sensing nothing, he lifted his muzzle skyward and gave off short, barking howl. No need to raise the suspicions of the locals by camping out a mile away without prior warning, after all. That was just downright impolite.
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