<span style="font-family:Arsenal">It was a night that was supposed to be barbecue night. The whole pack had been intending on getting together in the largest plantation home’s backyard and simply celebrating existence. There was meant to be booze and food and music and a bonfire afterwards for everyone to dance drunkenly around; it was something quite a few people had been looking forward to, Micah included. It was hard to be that excited about it anymore, though, particularly for Micah. He’d gotten into another argument with Levi. A pack elsewhere in New York had just been demolished according to reports they were hearing; hunters once again had found more of their kind. <br/>
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Micah wanted to go search for survivors and bring them to a new home. Very rarely was there an attack that one or two wolves didn’t escape, particularly when it came to the larger groups of them. Levi was dead set against it, though. They didn’t need more bodies in the Lake Placid pack because then they risked the same thing happening to them as well because they were already close to too big. Levi was the alpha, so what Levi said was law. It wasn’t something Micah agreed with and it wasn’t something he could stand for so he’d stormed off. Now he doubted he’d even be welcome back for the barbecue even if he wanted to go. He’d be welcome back to sleep if he truly wanted a bed that night, but that was probably the extent of Levi’s kindnesses after how loud the two of them had gone at it. <br/>
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For now, though, Micah was content to be on his own. It was as a wolf that he made his way through the trees that remained in their area, that the pack protected and preserved. Fluffy dark gray fur lined his limbs and his torso and on all fours, he meandered, paws sinking into the moisture of the mudd that coated the ground. It was a unique feeling, to have mudd between claws, but it was a feeling that Micah had grown to love more than walking in the sand as a human. <br/>
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Senses in tune to the world around him, he inhaled and exhaled deeply, shocking even himself by how many different scents he could recognize now. There was the scent of the pack because this was their territory and by extension, Micah’s as well. There was the scent of the ocean even though it wasn’t really nearby at all. Saltwater smells drifted a long way. There was the scent of rabbit and squirrel, both critters moving actively now that spring was in blossom. Human scents as well managed to mingle in the air because they really weren’t too far away no matter where you went. <br/>
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He recognized them all. <br/>
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It was the animal scents that he actually focused in on, though. After all, since he wouldn’t be attending the barbecue, Micah needed to find another way to feed himself for the evening and eating as a wolf tended to be the easiest way to ensure he had something substantial to eat. The squirrels were easier to track than the rabbits so that would be what he was going for on this particular hunt. His weight balanced on all four of his paws, it all shifted smoothly and silently as he took each step forward now, fully prepared to leap at a moment’s notice. After all, squirrels were the fast ones and he needed to be able to catch them. <br/>
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Near the base of an evergreen, he finally saw one. Rather than springing right away, Micah watched it for a moment and then he leapt. The squirrel tried to run, but it was far too late. A paw with raw power behind it swiped forward and claws dug into the little animal, killing it in an instant. If the claws weren’t holding it tightly, the little thing would’ve flung straight into the strong trunk it had been intending to climb. Either way, death was horrifying. <br/>
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Without delay, Micah devoured his kill. The blood on his muzzle was nothing to worry about; in fact, he barely noticed the stain of red at all. <br/>
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What he did notice, though, was an unfamiliar scent. The scent of the pack was stronger because he was very near the border, but there was another scent beyond that. It wasn’t a pack… not really. There was the scent of a wolf, though. Footsteps carried him closer to the edge of his territory, curious as to how far out the scent might lead him.</span>