Vice was watching the small herd of deer in the distance, looking for any sign of weakness. They were too far away and it was too soon to tell. They would have to trigger a stampede in order to pick out the weak or crippled ones, who would not be able to run as fast.

So focused on the deer was the male that he did not notice the huge, strange-looking black-and-red wolf approach. This was one of Vice's many flaws: For some reason he could only concentrate on one thing at a time. It had nearly cost him Silver's respect back in the Barran Wastes, but he had used his wits and gotten out of that situation before injuries to body or pride could result. He had decided for the moment that the risk of attack from the silver female had passed.

When out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red, his head automatically whipped around; his eyes shed their thoughtful look in exchange for a hostile, defensive one. It was nighttime in a place that all types of wolves were attracted to-- danger was higher here than anywhere else.

But what he saw on the red-and-black wolf's red-hued face compensated for its menacing, powerful look. Its expression was one of friendliness-- or, at least as friendly as Vice had seen recently. And from this wolf's jaws swung like a pendulum the brown body of a rabbit, looking smaller than it would usually since the life had left it. Could this perhaps be...an offering? A compensation for intruding on his peaceful night?

But the wolf set the prey down without offering it to any of the pack, so Vice dismissed this idea, instead listening intently to the wolf's words white not making a sound himself. His eyes were narrowed suspiciously; what would a wolf like this gain from any contact with he or his pack? Well, he would see soon enough. Patience was one of vice's virtues, and he held it close.

"My name is Vice," the male replied quietly in response, "And this is my pack. He did not look away from the brute as he made a small gesture behind him to where Silver and Senka sat.

((Sorry guys-- I just realized that I posted out of turn...again...My bad. ^^*))

Vice listened, one ear tilted forward toward his pack mates and another toward Kyo as formal introductions took place. The white wolf's eyes narrowed slightly at the obvious confusion on the red face before him, and Vice readied himself for an explanation for this expression. What he heard almost made him laugh out loud. A fine pack you are, he had said with a hint of arrogance in his tone. I haven't heard of any of you.

'That can be easily explained," Vice answered, eyes still narrowed and the momentary gleam of humor gone. "You see," he said, standing up and starting to pace around Kyo slowly, then turning to Silver to nod in acknowledgment, "we are a newly formed pack." He turned to Silver and nodded in acknowledgment. "We are all in it to learn something-- at least, I'm in it to learn focus. I don't know what the others are seeking." He sat down and looked thoughtfully from the small brown wolf to the silver wolf who was almost a mirror image of himself. He turned back to face Kyo, realizing that he had probably made the most pointless speech of his life.

Vice listened again to what Kyo had to say, waiting for an apology. What he got was an explanation. Sighing exasperatedly, Vice continued to speak. "We have no 'base of operations.' We all met in the Barran Wastes Territory, but the climate there is to harsh..."

The white wolf had no idea what Ky meant by 'the fighting,' which he had obviously arrived in the Valley after, but he decided not to say anything...again. This was, after all, an outsider who could not be trusted with the knowledge of any weakness of the pack-- for all Vice knew, this fighting the wolf spoke of could affect the future of he and his pack in a bad way, and he did not want to let that happen by the fault of any loose lips on his part.

((Sorry again, this time for not having a muse.))

Vice narrowed his eyes warily at Kyo's question, wondering if he should disclose the information being asked....He decided, why not? The Barran Wastes were in the past, as was Escor...the past did not affect the future if you simply accepted it and moved on.

"I used to belong to the Escor pack, the owners of the Barran Wastes. I was the beta. But our alpha declared war on Frigid Plague, and several members, including the alpha, disappeared, and I decided it was time to move on. I wanted to start a pack of my own. That's when I found Silver and Senka, and they accepted my offer to join me."

"No need to apologize," he replied to the black-and-red wolf's words. He was thoroughly confused by this Kerberos stuff Kyo was talking about. Apparently mass mayhem had accompanied Kerberos-- Vice assumed it was a name of something-- but the white male had not been living in the Valley to be directly affected by that.