Was she going in the right direction? If Ari was founding her own pack (which would require to have far more many friends than she did, but screw the idea of a co-leading male; if Blackwatch Canyon taught her anything, it was that gender roles were useless, and if you wanted something badly enough, you went to get it) she’d do it near easy water. The benefit to a river (as opposed to a lake) was that it would serve her better in the winter – but this wasn’t her pack to start, just her brother’s pack to find.

And it wasn’t here.

There wasn’t anyone at this river at all – or there wasn’t when she dipped her head down to wet her throat. When Marianna glanced back up, she was met with an eyeful – a beautiful black female, wading into the cold water. Her tail began to swing behind her wildly, a wide grin picking up the corners of her mouth. “Hello!” she rumbled, thinking nothing of wading in from her side to get closer to the other wolf. How close could a river actually be? “You from around here? You don’t know a Kino, do you?”

Frankly, she wasn’t sure if she was hoping for a yes or a no.

Ah, shit – just as lost as she was, and no Kino to boot. What was he calling himself now? Alabaster? “Albatross?” she blurted out. “I think he’s calling himself Albatross. Or something.” Though if she hadn’t run into a pack, and hadn’t run into a Kino, it was likely the strange woman hadn’t run into her brother at all. And she had a good point. Here they were, just meeting in the middle of a creek, no less, and all she could ask about was her silly brother and his silly girlfriend.

Once she met the other loner towards the middle, she reached out to bump their muzzles in a friendly greeting. Her ears pressed forward; never did it occur to Ari other wolves might not like the same overt displays that she enjoyed. “Sounds like a good deal to me.” Even if she wanted to, she probably couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her muzzle. This girl was so cute. And so nice! “My name’s Ari. Been lookin’ for my brother’s pack, but I guess I ain’t in that much of a hurry. Don’t run into such pretty ladies every day, that’s for sure!”

Was it flattery if it was true? Her tail continued its tireless wiggle. “What’re you out here for?”

At least, Ari thought gratefully, this wolf had the sense to shorten her name instead of lengthening it. Honestly. Kino was perfectly memorable, and then he went and did something silly, adding all sorts of extra consonants and vowels. Why couldn’t he be like her? Or this loner, here?

“Abba. I like it,” the large female rumbled, committing the calling to memory. And look at her! Such pretty words. Even nicer than her own. Steely eyes danced merrily as her tail waved behind her, no signs of stopping. In fact, she’d largely forgotten they were standing in the middle of a stream, much less that she should complain about how cold it is. The story Abba had to tell was far more interesting, and she was keen on hearing all of it. Her ears pressed forward. “Oh, huh? He said southeast of the stupid mountain. Which is a shitty set of directions to begin with, never mind he didn’t even give me a name. He’s just with this Sahal girl. Sahara maybe? Whatever, he’s trying to impress a girl.”

The bear dog’s grin slid into a slow smirk, her own thoughts on the matter quite evident. “I’ll get there when I get there. I wanna know more about you, though. Why’re you leavin’? No good there?”

No secrets, all answers? Shit, if Abba asked her to stay in the water, she’d have probably said yes! Her pleasure was evident in her entire body as she allowed the swarthy female to lead the way, padding out of the stream to a drier patch upon the shore. Where the other wolf settled gracefully, Ari simply flopped – only realizing afterwards that such actions ran the risk of splattering her companion if there was any mud. So she grinned (albeit a bit sheepishly) up at the other woman and remained on her belly, thick tail thumping against the wet ground as she was regaled with the simply story.

Still seemed pretty unfair, though.

“Yeah, that’s real stupid,” she agreed, mouth twisting in one corner. “Especially if he decided to gallivant off. I was the one who stayed with my dad’s pack…after I found my way back, but that’s not important, but his mate got sick, and then he left, and then these dumb wolves took over. Wanted to get to know me, but why didn’t they do that before they needed me, huh? Stupid. Makes me miss Blackwatch Canyon.” Marianna gave a withering sigh, folding her front paws together. “But…your Ma was in charge, huh? Like, of everyone? Without your dad?”