Askan yawned as he paced along the bank of the creek, his eyes focused on the shimmering water that flowed on by. The gateway was the easiest way to access the field and so the Yukon wolf spent a great deal of time patrolling this area, as well as keeping a lookout. It was early, the sun had only just risen over the horizon but Askan was already contemplating on whether he should go for a nap. It wasn't that cold today and the weather was clear, so really he had no excuse not to do his bit for the day but his sleep had been rather restless the night before. Askan was troubled and his sister-once again- was the cause of his concern. But rather than try and deal with her, he decided to avoid her like the plague.

Pausing for a moment, Askan bowed down to lap at the stream. They were fortunate it hadn't iced over, after all it was their main water source in their territory, without it they'd be in trouble. But as of yet, everything seemed to be going well for the Rye wolves. They hadn't had any more trouble with the Whitestone wolves and their numbers were slowly but surely rising.

Everything- despite Askan's troubles- was going well. If anything, he should be happy right?

Or at least that was what he told himself. His optimism was short lived.He looked up from the creek and- who the... A small blue eyed wolf was coming his way. He could of sworn he- What was she doing here? Askan didn't remember inviting her, that's not something he would forget. Ever. No matter how tired he was. Shaking his head- as though he thought she was an apparition caused by his sleep deprivation- he closed his eyes, then opened them to see if she was still there. Yep she was. And she was coming this way.From waaaay within the borders of the field.

With a scowl, Askan trotted over to meet here and came to a stop once he deemed himself close enough.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice as sharp as a blade.

By no means was she an enemy, but she was unexpected and with his mood being so sour he immediately took a disliking to whatever the hell this situation was.

Askan ignored her playful insult and instead focused on the words that followed them. Packmate? Surely not. He had heard of no such thing, he had not invited her. And yet, she held certainty in her eyes and her words were ladened with resolve. She wasn't lying, of that he was pretty sure, but to be certain Askan leaned forward and sniffed at her. Drestig's scent clung to her like a soft protective shroud that shielded her from Askan's ire. Without it, he would have no doubt questioned whether she was telling the truth or not. But the fact that she did smell like the Rye King... Well it proved that she was telling the truth.

Castel Noor was a Rye wolf. No doubt about it.

Askan supposed she wouldn't make a terrible addition, as he didn't hate her but her presence here was still surprising nonetheless. She must have come here on her own accord, might have even followed his scent. Not that it really mattered now, she was here and it seemed as though she intended to stay.He didn't exactly like being called a 'pissy big brother', as it hit rather close to home. There was no denying that he was pissy, but would he ever see her as a sisterly figure? He doubted that. Three was already more than enough for him and the fact that one of those three sisters were here in Relic Lore was enough to wear Askan down.

"I didn't know you had joined." He explained, sounding more than a little defensive. "But we are a family, sort of, but I'm not your brother. And I'm not pissy either." She clearly knew he was and his words weren't going to change her mind, so really his point was moot.

The Yukon wolf huffed and took her in, analysing her with his piercing gaze. If she was a Rye wolf she couldn't just take their name, she had to act the part too, even if she was sick. Surely there was something she could do, because even though Askan did adore Drestig he couldn't help but worry the old man was too soft. It was all well and good letting stragglers in, but if they just took up space and didn't contribute...Askan scowled, concerned.

"But anyway, you spoken to the others yet? Started helping out?"

Askan shot her a dark, resentful look at the implication that he was old. Never in all of his days had he heard such complete and utter rubbish. How on earth was he old? In comparison to her, was he old? Not that really, he was only a couple of years older than her but she made it seem as though he was greying and on his death bed. Askan had plenty of life left in him. But that wasn't quite what she was implying, was it? She was making a point of highlighting just how grumpy he was, how crotchety. And of course, he didn't like that. But he liked the fact that she was able to read him so easily even less.Did he have to be such an open book? Why did he always wear his heart on his sleeve? Try as he might, Askan had never been able to hide his feelings or intentions. He had always been earnest, if not a little (very) blunt. And by the Gods it was annoying, more so than he could ever explain.

"Help me? I don't need your help." He spat, an automatic reaction.

What could she do anyway? Pft. Like he'd stoop so low and accept her help, he didn't need it anyway. He was tired, for sure but he wasn't so weak and feeble that he needed a helping hand-or paw- to go about his day. He was fine. More or less. But she was so... She really did want to help, didn't she? She wasn't trying to score points or get into his good book. He felt as though she probably wasn't, but he couldn't help but feel suspicious. As though, maybe just maybe she had an ulterior motive. One that was out of Askan's reach.

"But yes, it's good to help out the others. Just not me, cause I don't need it. Not unless I ask for it. Which I haven't, so don't be like this." He added, after a few moments. Not because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but because he wanted to set matters straight.

She wasn't going to let this go was she? Castel was trying to show that she cared and Askan should have been grateful and accepted her offer but there was already an over abundance of sweet, caring wolves in his life. He couldn't deal with another, especially when he didn't understand why they cared. For all of his prickly words and harsh glowers, Askan knew who he was. He didn't like to acknowledge it but he knew... So why was she bothering? She didn't even know him. It was almost annoying, he wanted to sit her down and explain how stupid she was being.

But he didn't. He just sighed and watched her leap to her feet. He didn't exactly want to help her, but she was a pack mate now. It'd be inappropriate if he turned her down, and as the second he was supposed to try and lead by example. Not only that, but how was he supposed to bitch about the other's being lazy if he himself didn't want to do his part? With all of that in mind, Askan caved in pretty quickly. The logic was sound, he had little choice in the matter.

"Fine." He huffed and began to follow her down the easy decline of the hill. "But I'm not doing all of the hard work."

He was content to walk in silence, they didn't need to talk to track down something to eat, but the same apparently couldn't be said for Castel. Another chatty cathy huh? He knew he wanted to bolster the ranks of the pack, but really did they all have to be so talkative? Just his luck, he supposed. Her question was pretty unexpected though, so much so that he almost faltered in his steps. Almost, he managed to stop himself just in time.

"Icicle? Course I know him. He's been in the pack since the start. Why?" He asked, sounding suspicious.

Askan didn't know what she expected. With it being the dead of winter and the open tundra lacking any protection from the cold or the wind, well there wasn't a whole lot on the menu. And that was putting it delicately. The Rye wolves made do with what they could get and were- in Askan's opinion- doing a good job of scraping by. By no means were they thriving, he doubted any pack at this time of year was, but no one was starving and for the most part everyone was in good health. Castel being the primary exception to that rule.

"Sure sure." He grumbled, dismissing her first lot of words. "But, there ain't a lot about this time of year." He reiterated, explaining his previous thoughts. "We've got bison, caribou, elk. But there's no way we're gonna take down something that big. Most smaller animals avoid the lowlands and stick to the woods. So... Let's just see what we can find."

It wasn't much, but it was a plan of sorts. At this point it was as good as they were going to get, they just had to hope that they got lucky and stumbled upon something worth their time. With that in mind, Askan began to lead the way, pressing his nose to the ground to see if anything had passed this way as of late.  With all of the recent snowfall, most of the scents had faded and so were faint wisps of what they used to be. Not that it really mattered anyway, it was nothing of interest. Unless Castel fancied trying to eat a mink it would be best if they moved on.

Raising his nose, he inhaled deeply trying to find a trace of a scent that lingered on the wind. He thought he smelled something, but his attention was pulled away by the sound of Castel's voice. Annoyed, he glanced over at her and continued trotting on in the general direction of that interesting scent he'd caught.

"Cute?" He sent a bemused look her way. "Really? What makes you think that? He's so...." Askan had to narrow down the long list of adjectives that could be used to describe the Field's resident albino. None of them were very flattering, to say the least. "Weird."

With his piece said, he then breathed in again to check if they were going in the right direction. When he glanced up, in the distance he saw a couple ravens gliding in the air, standing out stark in the greyness of the winter sky. Something had caught their interest, maybe it was worth their time too? Only one way to find out.