Nightingale Palisade taste like magic

Saying that the trail left by the stranger was easy to follow would have been a gross understatement. Every inhale brought another waft of grafts clinging almost lazily to her damp nose, running into her nostrils to be stored away with the rest of the information. She wouldn't have even needed to run her tongue along the leathery surface to wetten it if she hadn't wanted to. It was as if the trail was begging to be followed. No, tracking him was easy, but pacing their steps? That was hard. Should the stranger see fit to stop and rest, or catch wind of a hare the pair would run the risk of crossing paths with him. What a pity that would be. He surely wouldn't lead them back to his pack, knowing that they'd been trailing him for so long, and if the Gods granted him anything in the way of knowledge, he might actually think to lead them to another pack's borders. She pondered Greer's thoughts on the matter, but said nothing.

Neither of them had spoken yet, focusing entirely on the matter at hand, though sometimes she'd glance over to make sure he was still there. The light thudding of his paws against the soil should have been enough to suffice, but still, she looked. It was almost awkward, a strange thing since the woman tended to prefer the silence. Ah well, there would be plenty to talk about once they returned. Craw was waiting, after all.

The shadow was not sure how he felt about working in a partnership. Despite growing up in a tight-knit, family orientated pack, Greer preferred to be on his own. Especially when it came to travelling through the vast land of Relic Lore. Although they did not converse, as they were focused on the stranger’s trail, her presence made the Archer uncomfortable. However, if he wanted to appease the spider and prove that he could be useful, Greer knew that he would have to succumb to his disdain toward company. Even if he was trying to appease his leader it did not stop the scowl from tugging at his lips as he followed at Celandine’s heels.

Ensuring that they maintained a lengthy distance from the stranger was frustrating but necessary. Both the long-legged shadow and the dove were quick on their feet; Greer could only imagine how irritating it was for the green-eyed girl as well. As much as they wanted to, they could not move any quicker, for fear of tipping the stranger off. With his scowl still etched across his dark maw, the shadow continued alongside his partner. While he was not yet sure how he felt about the pale dove, he appreciated that she was unafraid of silence. There was no forced, awkward conversation; they were solely focused on the task at ~~hand~~paw.

This area was new to him and while his paws itched to deviate from their tracking, he swallowed the desire to abandon their job. Disappointing Craw was just as bad as disappointing his sister; he did not want Craw to think he had made a mistake in allowing Greer to join them. With his nose still wrinkled, he glanced over at his companion as they followed the strange wolf, his curiosity growing with every step. Who was this wolf and how had he managed to irritate Craw so badly? Where was this pack; what were they like? Perhaps he was a little more excited to satisfy his own curiosity than to report back to Craw…

The silence dragged on nearly the entire trip, both wolves dutifully scenting at the rich soil beneath their feet. Oddly enough, Celandine found herself relieved to be trekking beneath the forest's canopies. It had been too long since she'd had much cover from the sun since the tundra didn't cater to the naturally thick coat she'd been ~~cursed~~ blessed with. It made her paws itch, as if she could run for miles, run away and never come back. The idea was certainly plausible. Greer would follow for a while, maybe he'd even catch her. Casting a sideways glance at the male, she determined that he'd hardly be trouble. The others would never catch up. She'd never have to feel pathetic and worthless. The idea sprang life into her eyes, lit a fire in her gut.

The flames turned to ash almost as soon as the thought had been had, her mind snuffing out any remaining coals lest they burn too bright. She couldn't leave. Not yet anyway. The bridge would remain intact. An audible sigh echoed through the trees as her nose returned once more to the ground.

It wasn't long before the lilt of coursing water caught her ears, which forced her paws to slow. They wouldn't have any trouble if the male headed straight across. However, if he decided to go for a swim to stave off the heat by walking through the rapids... well then they would just have to figure it out when the time came.

As soon as he heard the sound of rushing water Greer began to worry. By the sound of it, the water was moving at a leisurely pace, which meant it would be easy to cross. But had the wolf they’d been trailing done the same? Or would this water make it more difficult for them to figure out where he had gone? A frown creased his lips at the thought. For a fleeting moment he considered abandoning the mission, but he knew he couldn’t. While the shadow was not sure how he felt about the silver spider, he cared for his sister and did not want to disappoint her. Until he decided he was no longer needed, Greer would do his part for the monadnock pack. It wasn't home, but neither was the Ridge.

As they drew nearer to the river he glanced over at his companion, a brow raised. It appeared that the duo was going to have to get their paws wet. “Cross?” He said, finally, after the lengthy silence between them. He just hoped that the object of their mission had not decided to go for a swim. However, their mission had been fairly easy thus far; it would not surprise him if things started to get more difficult after the river.

Greer's words were the first spoken on their journey, and for all it was worth, probably the last. They worked better in silence anyway. With a nod, the woman moved, confident that the inky male would follow. The sun, though hot, had not seemed to warm the water in the slightest. Still, Celandine did not waver in plunging straight into the coursing river.

No more than three steps in the pale woman found her paws scrambling for purchase. In retrospect they should have found a shallow place to cross, but such was the life of a scout to be. In and out, as fast as possible. The current pushed at her sides, egging her downstream but Celandine refuted. Four strong legs pulled forward, while her nose remained willfully above the rushing water. She wondered if the stranger they were chasing was as good a swimmer as herself, or whether the current would have pulled him down further. They hadn't gotten a look at him after all. He could have been a scrawny thing.

The crossing was relatively wide, but she neared the other edge in seconds, her toes once more feeling the silt sliding between them. She would look for Greer once she found herself safely on the other side.

Fortunately for the scouting duo, the warm weather had caused the river to not be as lush as it could have been. Which made crossing it a completely feasible task. As expected, the dove did not answer verbally — words, spoken by either wolf, were hard to come by. They were only exchanged when it was absolutely necessary; otherwise, silence suited them much better.

She plunged into the water without hesitation. Greer quickly followed suit, his spindly legs cutting through the current as he pushed himself forward. The water toyed with him, tugging at his legs and begging him to just let go, but refused. He pushed, throwing his weight against the current, and propelled himself to the shore. He would not fall victim to the river; not now. Unfortunately the shadow had responsibilities to fulfil.

A breath he had not realized he had been holding expelled off his tongue as his paws reached solid ground. With a final shove he pulled himself out of the river, water dripping from his sides as a grimace was perched effortlessly against his inky maw. He shook his fur frantically in a feeble attempt to eliminate most of the water. It was sort of successful; his fur still clung, heavy, to his body. He glanced over at his pale companion, brows knitted together. Now, to find the scent trail once more.