Copper Rock Creek We fixed it but it's broken

Nearby plants sparkle with autumn frost - @Aleksei

feel the wind, make me whole

Treyah Tainn

Treyah was still searching for her mother and brother, and now she had added Lacey to the list of the missing. Her tender age was enough that the yearling leader had been pushing herself further and harder than ever before. She was at the the outer limits of her range when she had bunked down for the night, doubting the pup would have wandered this far without assistance of some kind. At least all the travelling meant that she actually slept.

Now that the sun was rising she was ready to head back home. Just a quick drink, and food if she could find it, and then she would be on her way again... Or so she had planned. She found herself quickly wrapped up in her surroundings, the glittering red rocks lit up under the morning sun, the light was dancing off the frost covered leaves, it was so different to the sooty world in which she usually dwelled. She couldn't contain the low "Wow," that left her lips.

“‘Wow’ indeed.” Aleksei rose up from where he had been sat, admiring the view himself. Shooting the yearling a smile, he hopped down from his little rocky perch.

He had left Wild Rye Field for a small while, in the hopes of doing a little tracking. There had been talk of a hunt not too long ago, and it would be good to understand the movements of prey beforehand. Finding himself on the doorstep of another pack had been unexpected though, and it was with a dollop of disappointment that Aleksei pressed further on—too close to these wolves’ hunting grounds. Perhaps he should’ve stuck to the tundra and its healthy population of caribou …

And so, after further walking, he had found himself here, watching dappled sunlight bounce off glittering rocks and frosted foliage. It reminded him of home—of Cut Rock River. His birthplace. More of a home to Aleksei than Hearthwood had ever been. Things had been simple back then; things had been easy.

“Sorry for distracting you from the view. Felt a bit odd to just simply watch from afar.”

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

'Cause nobody can save me

Treyah Tainn

The girl flinched as a voice joined her own, head whipping in the direction of the stranger with wide eyes and the tips of her canines showing beneath taught lips, her ears pinned flat against her skull. Once her heart stopped thundering in her ears and she could breathe again she offered a nervous laugh, her head dropping with embarrassment as she looked away, her tail waved at her back despite her sudden bashfulness. "Sorry!" she managed to blurt with another laugh, her face burning beneath her fur. She managed to gather herself enough to look up again "Didn't see you there!" Or smell you, or hear you. She was being ignorant again and one day it'd probably get her in a lot of trouble.

But he seemed friendly enough so she didn't bother to raise her guard again, "I'm Treyah, from Charred Ash Draw in the wildwood," she introduced herself, allowing her gaze to wander back across the creek before her. There was something familiar about it. Maybe it was the sound of water rushing over stones or the way the sun broke through the canopy overhead, but it reminded her of the bend, even if the colours were all wrong.

He hadn’t expected to catch her so off guard. Perhaps her head had been somewhere else? Aleksei knew well enough how it felt to be startled from your thoughts. Shaking his head at her apology—because, really, she didn’t need to apologise—the agouti wolf smiled as the young woman introduced herself. Treyah of Charred Ash Draw. He made a mental note of that information. It never hurt to know there were packs around, even if you didn’t exactly know where they were specifically.

“Aleksei, of Wild Rye Fields. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Treyah.” His tail briefly wagged behind him before falling into a more neutral position. Chartreuse eyes followed her gaze back to the creek. He’d always felt drawn to water, even as a pup. His heritage tied him to rivers and shorelines, lakes and brooks. Wherever a Baranski was, there was always going to be water nearby.

“What brings you from your packlands then?” Perhaps she was like him, tracking prey and memorising places … or was she simply admiring the scenery?

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

fell the wind, make me whole

Treyah Tainn

Treyah tucked away the man's name for future reference, her tail maintaining a steady wave even when his stopped. The question he asked strained her smile until it was almost more of a grimace than a grin. "Actually, I'm looking for one of our pups," and then she realised how it sounded, "Not mine of course! My co-lead's. She wandered off, I'm sure she's fine but it's starting to get a bit concerning that we haven't been able to find her yet." She wasn't the only wolf to go missing though. "Also, my mother... she wasn't well, kept forgetting where she was and who the rest of us were. She's been missing for longer though," and by now, she had slipped down the list of priorities to somewhere after finding Lacey and holding the pack together as best she could.

She didn't like to frown for too long though, otherwise the storm clouds would gather over her head and she'd lose the desire to eat or drag herself out of her den in the morning, so she forced another smile to her face. She could convince herself she was happy if she just tried hard enough. "So the Rye Fields, are they north of here?"

Aleksei frowned as she explained what had brought her out here, ears pricking atop his head. A missing pup? Well, that certainly wasn’t good. Treyah, bless her, was quick to add on that it wasn’t her pup, just her co-lead’s. The Wild Rye subordinate had to suppress a grin—she did look a little too young to be chasing after her own wayward kids. It wasn’t just a missing pup, though. Treyah’s own mother had slipped off the radar.

He could understand how uneasy missing family could make one feel. Hell, he’d felt like that about his sister. He’d given up, though. He couldn’t find her, and had gone home. Aleksei figured that if Karina wanted to be found, she’d make herself known, but it didn’t stop the bitter sting in his heart whenever he thought about her. Not even her own child knew where she was—certainly a similarity between Bennet and Treyah, if only that.

Still, the young leader (being in charge at such a young age surely must have been a taxing role to fill) wore a smile as she changed the subject, curious about the fields. Aleksei bobbed his head with a slight smile of his own. “You’d be right—they’re on the cusp of the tundra.” It didn’t really occur to him that she might not know where—or what—the tundra was. “If you’d like, I’ll keep an eye out when I head back? See if I can’t spot your missing wolves. What do they look like? And, ah, what are their names?”

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

'Cause nobody can save me

Treyah Tainn

Treyah had never seen a tundra, and the concept had always seemed foreign to her. She couldn't imagine a landscape with no trees as far as the eye could see, even the rise and the meadow had trees here and there, but her contemplative look as split with another smile when he offered to help her keep an eye out. "Would you really?" Well that was a stupid question, he wouldn't have offered if he wouldn't and she scolded herself silently in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Umm, Lacey is the pup, she's light browns with a dark muzzle, about 6 months old now so she can get by and mother, well, her name's Naira, and she's a bit shorter than me and has darker markings on her face... just... might be safer to keep your distance." Not that she didn't think he could handle himself, "She can be a bit... explosive, and there's rarely any warning."

But she supposed, there was one name she never seemed to forget, and he'd need to know who else was looking for her in case she did show up. "But, if you tell her Triell Tainn is looking for her, she might get as far as the Grove without too much prodding I suppose? Dad seems to be the only one she doesn't forget." It was as sweet as it was maddening.