While swift in the massive wolf form and having a good understanding of their territory, it still took them a bit longer than Thomas would have liked to find the wolf that made the howl.  He let Damian take the lead as the got closer to the area where the howl came from, trusting the manâ€™s nose and other senses to lead them to whoever this stranger was. Whoever he was, he was taking a risk passing through their territory at this point in the year. It was bad enough with the Claws waging their war against the Shadows but once the Heats started coming the territoriality and possessiveness got cranked up to dangerous levelsâ€¦ which of course would be very bad for a couple strangers to stumble into.<br/><br/>As they got closer to the origins of the howl, they began to pick up two scentsâ€¦ plus Aidanâ€™s. At first, a sharp spike of fear speared through Thomas over the thought of Aidan being ambushedâ€¦ but the fear settled down as he found no blood upon the wind. Still Thomas could not completely shake his unease. So as a precaution Thomas had his group spread out a bit to give them a little more room to maneuver, and hopefully give them more options to attack if things do go south when they get there.<br/><br/>Eventually Thomasâ€™ group finally crests a hill that allows them to see the strangers and Aidanâ€¦ and thanks to their enhanced hearing, allow them to hear a bit of what was going on. Thomas was eventually able to pick on the fact that the two were new or fairly new wolves, both a comforting and nerve wracking thing to hear. Comforting in the fact that they were then not really a threat, nerve wracking because of how unpredictable they might beâ€¦ Thomas also found himself tensing slightly and biting back a growl that almost escaped when one seemed to be hitting on Aidan. He calmed himself, mostly his wolf side the cause of that sudden surge ofâ€¦ possessiveness? Whatever the case, Aidan was not his mate and he was fairly certain he would have done the same if it had been any of the females down there. The coming Heats already messing things up as it had his wolf silently ogling and wanting the females or at least one to himself.<br/><br/>Shaking his head slightly to clear his head of his wolfish desires and territoriality, Thomas refocused on how and what to do with the strangers when the grumbling stomach of the changed one made itself known. Chuckling slightly, Thomas trotted down towards them, *It might be a little difficult to change if youâ€™re running on an empty stomach.* He called out to them as he made his way down to them. He began shifting on his way down, somehow making the transition from four legs to two without missing a step. â€œThe wolf likes to latch itself on to things like hunger and the fight or flight instinct so it can be a bit harder to get to it to settle down again in those situationsâ€¦ Plus if you havenâ€™t eaten your body might not have the energy necessary to make the shift safely,â€ Thomas explained as he got up to the group.<br/><br/>He looks at the two males for a bit before looking over at Aidan with a somewhat amused look. â€œDecided to go hunting for a few boy toys instead of food, Aidan?â€ He teased before looking back to the males. â€œWelcome to the Harmonyâ€™s Shadows territory boys. You either have the best or worst timing in the world,â€ He said in a friendly manner before moving on to introductions. â€œMy name is Thomas. Over there we have Damian, and making sure our backs are covered is Seravi,â€ He gestures to each wolf the respective order. His smile diminishes slightly and he walks over to Jaden, bending his knees slightly to look the confused wolf in the eye. â€œI hate to ask but do you have enough energy to walk or do you need to eat now?â€ Thomas asked with a concerned tone. He knew the kid was still having trouble understanding what was happening a bit but Thomas didnâ€™t like the fact they were so far from the den. Both they and the den were fairly vulnerable if the Claws decided to do anything or investigate the howl. He could only pray they were lucky.