Heartleaf Creek got a fever running through my bones

There were very few times that Lilya felt comfortable enough to stop and just look at the world around her, but the creek had her in awe. She noted the flowing water, the scents of prey around who’d come to the creek to quench their thirst… and the giant rainbow that stretched around the sky… but it wasn’t just a rainbow… no, it was two rainbows. She had a wide grin on her face, still a little stiff and damp from the rain that had proved to break through her less-than-adequate cover the night before. But, could she really be mad about that with such sights in front of her? No, she thought not.

That sight just added to how puzzled the girl was about the land that surrounded her… she didn’t understand the wolves or the places she found herself meeting new wolves… but she endured, survived, and tried to figure out just what made this land so different from the rest. There was something, she just couldn’t quite put her paw on it. What was there to put on it, after all? She wasn’t sure. She lingered close to the creek, eyes still gazing up every so often at the beautiful double rainbow that stretched across the sky and refracted its colors.

Lilya wasn’t namby-pamby by any means, but if there was something she’d had a weakness for, part of the reason she thought that she kept running, it was the scenery that surrounded her. It was something she'd gotten away from for a time, the constant worries of threats following her, but now? Now she was starting to settle back down, tracing herself back to who she'd been before she ran, before her sister was murdered before her eyes.

Although her cold exterior would never show it, Yvly was very much enticed by the double rainbow hanging in the sky, much like a magpie to a shiny object. She appreciated the beauty in all things non-wolf related, and while she had seen many rainbows in her life, seeing two stretch across the partially clouded sky was quite a sight to behold. So much that she felt herself drawn out of the cedar trees and into more open space so she could see the sky a little better. And while one may have been a little more transparent than the other, almost like it was trying to hide, its myriad of colours still stood out brilliantly against the pale coloured sky.

Coming upon the creek, the tawny female let the water lap at her front paws, head tilted back to look at the wondrous event. Who knew how long it would last? And before it disappeared she wanted to commit it to memory. However, her sky-gazing moment was interrupted when a gentle breeze brought with it the scent of an unknown wolf. Mouth opening in surprise, tawny ears twitched back to partially lie against her skull as she took a couple steps back. Yvly did not like surprises, and this was most definitely a surprise. But she could not blame this wolf, it had been her own fault for not checking the area for other signs of life. Snorting softly, she mentally told herself to get a grip and stop being such a namby-pamby. Woofing lowly to get the others attention, Yvly forced her ears to turn forward and her lips to slightly curve up in a smile in a show of intrigue and friendliness rather than her want to just slip back into the shadows and continue being antisocial.

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Lilya’s nose twitched, her eyes not quite leaving the phenomena that was present in the sky, not even at the scent of a foreign wolf, a pack wolf, hinting at her nostrils as they flaired slightly, eyes intently gazing until she heard the soft woof that alerted her once more of the stranger’s presence. Her ears had been perked, though her tail remained neutral, wagging softly to the soft breeze the flew threw her fur. It was only when she heard the woof that the yearling turned with a soft smile holding against her features, gently moving towards the other woman who’d gathered there, curiosity hinting at her features at the same time.

She supposed she could start things off, the other not saying a word to her, and Lilya still remained hesitant to get too close. “Isn’t it beautiful? Never seen anythin’ like it.” She drawled softly, a soft glance to the tawny lady. “M’name is Lilya.” She offered a name though her gaze fell back on the double rainbow, racing through the colors she could make out from the distance. Red then orange then yellow then green then light blue then dark blue then indigo… it sure was a sight to behold.

Did this kind of thing happen often around here? Again, she defended that this land was different, but she still couldn’t quite place why it was different.

The similarly-looking female (though her coat was much more subtle in its colouring than Yvly's) turned to face her with a smile and curious express as she moved closer. The other seemed about her age, maybe a bit younger, but it was hard to tell without asking. And of course her hesitancy to engage in social conversations absolutely forbade her to do that, so she would simply have to deal with not knowing unless the other spoke up about it. Although the other female did not stray too closely, she did strike up a conversation, commenting on the beauty of the phenomenon above, as well as giving out her name. Lilya. That was a nice name. Pretty, just like her.

"Crystal," she returned with a soft smile of her own, making sure to stick to the nickname code her pack abided by. But either way that was still the name she would introduce herself by no matter what. "And it is. I've seen one at a time before... but never two," the tawny female added as her gaze also returned back to the spectacle of colours. They reminded her of the differences between wolves, but that at the same time they were all alike in what they wanted out of life. "Are you from around here?" Yvly asked somewhat out of the blue, trying to keep the conversation flowing rather than leaving it to become stagnant. If that happened she may as well just turn around and leave to find something productive to do, but it would be nice to meet another outside her pack. Recruiting was also an option, but she would test Lilya's psyche first.

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The yearling found herself growing more chipper at the introduction of the other woman; Crystal… it was a name she’d be sure to remember, the other wolf seeming friendly enough though not too prone to starting conversation if the low woof greeting of earlier had told the Valrorys girl anything about her,,, granted it could have been for a lot of other things like disinterest or something of the likes… she found that less likely because of the soft smile that’d come with the name she’d been given to call the other woman by. Her attention was split evenly between the woman and the wonder she found herself commenting on.

It wasn’t a common occurrence… she drew that from the fact that Crystal had never seen more than one at the same place. So that wasn’t what was strange about the land… maybe it was just the feel of the land that had Lilya feeling so displaced… after all she’d been within the Lore for a couple days and had yet to see a fight… that was something new to her and it was nice. Crystal asked if she was from around there and she shook her head lightly, tail swaying softly from side to side in a friendly manner as her lopsided grin fell just a little. “Nope, m’from faraway lands… haven’t been here long though I’ve been stickin’ to the north…” She explained, a little gesture with her head towards the north.

She was a pack wolf, smelled like a pack wolf… but she was friendly from what Lilya could tell. “What about you?”

When Lilya responded with a negative answer to Yvly's question the tawny female nodded thoughtfully. She had thought as much, considering the other's lack of earthly scent on her pelt from the direct surrounding area. The only scent she carried was her own, completely devoid of another's musk. She must have been on her own for a while then, and it was likely she was searching for a place to settle down in. But she never made such assumptions, and so simply regarded her as a traveller for the time being. If later on in the conversation that topic came up, then maybe she would place an offer.

"I'm part of a pack that lives directly west of here," the tawny female commented with a slight cant of her head in the direction she had come from. It would take no more than an hour at an idle walk to return back home, which was the maximum distance she tried to stick at when venturing forth from the border. That way if something happened it would not take her too long to get back and find out what had happened. It was the one precaution she took, but sometimes she went a little further when her mind strayed too far into deep thoughts. "Did you pass by any others in the north?" Yvly asked curiously. She had wanted to go further than the Secret Woodlands border for some time now and see if there were any other packs further up north, but so far she had not had the chance to bring it up with Veho. Maybe she would ask the next time she saw him.

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She kept that smile hinting at her features, about a hundred questions racing through her head. Why was there a double rainbow? What pack was this woman from? She had far too many questions to ask without sounding like some overly curious pup sticking her nose where it didn’t belong… she was trying to avoid trouble, and stay on the move because who would take in a girl, especially with the season and how pups were brought forth at this time, if they thought that maybe there were demons tracing her shadows to nip at her heels? She didn’t think anyone would. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to settle down, it was that she felt like she couldn’t.

Was it not better to be vigilant than to be lazy and lack the alertness needed to protect one’s self? It was a question she’d often asked herself when she doubted whether or not they were still after her. She’d betrayed her parents and her enemies wanted all of the Valrorys blood spilt on the ground… so what means would they go to achieve just that? The woman went on to explain quite a bit but not a lot at the same time, explaining that there was a pack directly west of their location and that she was from within its borders… and then she posed a question.

She nodded as she thought about it. “I didn’t run into a pack… but I met a woman who said she was from Hearthwood River, and another man later on who’d carried the same scent.” She recalled the information she’d stored to memory, not giving out names – that was a whole other security matter she didn’t feel she needed to express. “Why d’ya ask?” She wasn't a pup, but she was always the curious one.

Tawny ears twitched with interest at the mention of a pack name... Hearthwood River. She would have to remember that and tell Veho if it the next time she got the chance. If there was a pack nearby that even he did not know of then it would be a good idea to go and see if they could strike up an alliance with them, or at least be on friendly terms with them if they were not willing to go that far straight away. It would also give her the chance to leave pack territory, stretch her legs across open ground and go far and wide on the way there. Of course, if Veho did know of it then she could always go there anyways and catch up on the latest gossip. That was always fun.

Yvly shrugged her shoulders when the other voiced her curiosity about the question she had had asked. She supposed there would not be any consequences of telling Lilya what she aspired to be. It was not like she knew the name of the pack, or even her true name. What was the harm? "I'm hoping to become a scout," the tawny female explained, "And I have yet to go up north and see if there are any neighbouring packs that way." Well, that was almost a lie. Technically Secret Woodlands was to the north, but she had been on a set mission with Veho to trade herbs with another from that pack. Not to mention the storm in the sky had chucked out any thought of going further north from her mind. Storms were dangerous. But then again, a rainbow always appeared after a storm, and in this case there was two.

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The other woman had appeared not to know of the pack that she’d spoken of, the twitch of Crystal’s ears being the sign that gave it away as she offered a soft frown. Kisla had appeared to be knowledgeable, but perhaps there were packs that she did not know of that Crystal did… she supposed she’d find out, a question she’d asked once before that she’d ask of another now. She just had to pick her words carefully, trying to find the best way to describe her situation.

Running into trouble against packs was the last thing the loner girl needed at a time like this, a soft twitch in her tail that momentarily interrupted it’s sway as she tried to figure it out, thankful for the reprieve of silence as the other woman spoke. Lilya had never been one to somaticize but that constant lurking threat she still thought existed plagued and picked at her brain. The other woman explained that she was looking to be a scout, telling her why she was asking… a scout? She knew how to word the question, finally. “Say, as a scout-in-trainin’, do ya happen know if any other packs in the area that I’d best be watchin’ out for? M’trying to avoid trouble.” She cast occasional glances towards the double rainbow, still curious by it, but she found herself more intrigued in the conversation than the actual phenomena itself.