Golden

Poossssibly join? Depending on what he's told...
RE: The rivers are running low, smaller streams are drying up.
@Elettra / @Angier / any WR welcome

After the painful visit to the graveyard that was Darkwater Rapids, Rowan was quick to leave and continue his familial search. It seemed like common sense to fight rising water with higher ground so he set his sights to the mountain, but the yearling was sorely mistaken. There were surprisingly few scents to be found as he climbed the crags - even less of them were wolf. Winter had cleared the peaks clean out.

The lack of life made an easy traveling decision. Nobody was up, so he'd have to go down. But that didn't make the Serpent's Pass any kinder to navigate. Rowan ate when he could - always when he could - but it was harder to feed himself than he'd hoped. He caught the small things if there were any and scavenged the dead things when he found them. When the opportunity presented itself to descend the mountain he did so eagerly - but by the time he made it to the bottom the Attaya boy felt like a corpse re-animated.

Hard rock beneath his paws turned to dirt. The open air of the mountain range began to close in with trees. Specifically, willows. Now when the quiet May air stirred it brought with it a pack scent. Here he was almost beginning to think there was not a soul left in this place. He ignored it in favor of a different sense; dark ears twitching to the sound of flowing water. Rowan took off in pursuit, aware that each step brought him closer to the thick scent, until he reached the river. Leaning down he was disappointed to discover the surface of the water was peculiarly further away than the bank seemed to have suggested. In the back of his mind he wondered if that boded ill for the spring, but lapped at the river regardless. Maybe the water would sate his hunger, at least temporarily.

When his belly grew weary of it Rowan stopped and lifted his head. Licking residual liquid from his blackened maw he leaned his weight into his hind legs, adopting a lazy stance. His hard gold eyes scanned the lengths of the willows' branches, long and swaying in a faint spring wind. The markers were not too close up ahead but impossible to ignore from the riverbank. They were not only strong but well-established, worn into the dirt like a familiar trail. This pack had been here long and without trouble, it seemed. Perhaps they might be able to tell him something he could not figure out for himself.

Song inspiration: Golden
Tongues on the sockets of electric dreams where the sewage of youth drowned the spark of my teens...

adopt thea?

The wolves of Willow Ridge had been fully capable of tending to their Leader, heavy with children as she approached her last days of being pregnant. Though she need not for a single ounce of food or herb in order to keep her full and her ill feelings at bay as the puppies pushed on her insides, she craved herself a fresh drink of water above all else. Her movements were slow, very slow, as she made her way out of her Infirmary. It was a hollow dug straight out of the ground, located within the pack's main den which was a collection of rocks formed together within the heart of the Drooping Willow territory, creating an open cave for her and her fellow members. She was the pack's main healer and for much of the time, their only healer. Members from various packs of various distance had come to her for treatment and what she collected in the depths of her Infirmary. Now @Adelaide was a healer and Elettra had taken the time to tell her that whilst she was using the Infirmary to second as her birthing den, there was another area to store herbs if she wished it. A secondary storage at the edge of their terriory, far to the east at the foothills of the mountains. A sliver of rock for a single wolf at a time to pass through, opening to a small cave there. She wished the woman well in her training and help of those in need while Elettra was herself incapable, but today she would be of use, if only this final time until her pups could be alone....

It was for an acceptance (or deny) of a lone wolf at her borders. Seeing as some of the smaller streams and pools of water had dried up, Elettra was forced to move further from the pack den, to the edges of her territory for water. It is where she found @Rowan. He was not against the borders of her home, as though he might be seeking out the pack, but merely lingering at the river's edge, the exact thing she had been looking for herself. He was skin and bones, having wondered as a rogue for quite some time, she could only think, and although she would have otherwise not been threatened by him in her condition, she was in a condition herself.

Her approach to him was slow, her tail level as opposed to it's dominant stance above her back. She assumed he was only getting a drink and so, did not access him in a manner she would have otherwise - Leader to Subordinate. Her eyes flickered between him and the river, keeping her distance though mainly certain it was clear what her intentions were. Her lips bared, silently, if only to show warning for him to keep back before they eased once more for her head to lower and get herself a drink.

From the wall of scents that mingled in the willows ahead emerged one in particular, one that gave him reason to pause. Two things sprung to mind at once: first that he was certainly not beyond marked borders and second, the yearling was not quite ready to pack it up from the water. If one river was shallow, surely all the rest were too, and it might be a while before he found water - much less food. Sticking to the resource he'd found, Rowan decided instead to watch the arrival of the matriarch. Surely enough, she showed.

Her slow movements gave him enough time to assess her. Particularly dark in color, with threads of gold and silver that reminded him of his own family lineage, she was hardly much smaller than he but in far better standing. There was enough muscle on her curved figure to pummel him into the ground if she decided he was too close. And she very well might, though he didn't seem to interest her. It was abundantly clear that she lead the pack nearby, from the heaviness of her scent alone that came down on the breeze and the roundness of her belly. A quick display of pointed teeth ended his surveillance. Rowan averted his gaze and leaned away from her as he shuffled backward, hoping to give her space to drink.

For a moment he held tension in his legs, debating if he should leave. To a pack there was nothing so important as a prosperous future, and that lay with the regal she-wolf drinking at the other side. If another pack member showed, Rowan easily saw an attack. But he couldn't help the discontent that brewed in his mind. While he hated to trouble her under the assumption that she had far more important things going on than himself, Rowan knew he would not find another chance like this one.

The Attaya boy maintained his distance, not stepping any closer as he addressed the female with a blunt statement. "You lead here," he rumbled, his voice low by nature and hoarse from weakness. If he had worse manners Rowan might have instead suggested she looked smart enough to know what happened around the Lore. Instead, he kept his crutch simple, and went on to divulge the meaning of his addressing her. "Do you know anything of the flood on the other side of the Pass? Last autumn." His words came out clumsy, processing from thought to voice without a filter. But the less he thought about them, the less difficult it was to speak of. "There was a pack at the Falls, but they've been gone since."

He had been staring at her, watching her movements as she descend the small slope from her territory lines to the river below, worn into a path in the Drooping Willows. His attention averted upon her warning, offering her a bit more room to herself as she stepped back silently and for this, she appreciated. The soothing water caused a pleased rumbling from her lips, pausing a second to let the cool liquid flow down her throat and swirl around in her gut before taking a few more quick laps. She then settled, siting at the river bank in order for a moment of break. Getting around was much more slow these days and took a whole lot more effort then usual. She was, after all, but days from birthing, it would be any moment now...

She was very important to this pack, Rowan knew this, and kept his distance respectfully. She was their Leader and not held their future within her belly, ready to be soon released into the world. Pups brought a glee to most other wolves, giving something new for their focus to rely on, pushing them harder to work within the pack because they knew it was to help little ones that could not help themselves. Her head turned to Rowan once more, who was just on the other side of the shallow river. When he spoke, his words were blunt and obvious. A brow of hers lifted with a slight tilt of her head, her lips forming in a hard line and she kept the sentence, 'The fuck you think?', from slipping past her lips. Surely, her expression would say enough.

His question there after had her mind turning, however, and she pondered the pack he had mentioned. Unknowingly to her, Kade had ruled that pack, a wolf which a time before within the Hollow, Elettra had been quite close to. But word of the flooding did not meet her ears, way south and on the other side of the mountains. She knew of a pack within the Cedarwood now, though did not know they were former members of the Rapids Rowan spoke of now. "I have never been to any Falls over the mountains." She admits, only knowing of the 'Bramble Falls' which had opened a location to pass over the Mountains. Once over the mountains, it had led her into the Spectral Woods and from there the large group she was with moved south to the Verdant Mosses. It had been her first and only travel over the mountains from there. "I have only gone over the mountains once and since then I have been informed of three packs over there, one of which no longer exists but was called 'Pitch Pine Trail'." Her enemies were now gone, disbanded after their Leader's death, no doubt and by the work of her own jaws. Magnolia Glen was Phineas pack and the Swift River wolves now had a new location over the mountains. "Perhaps if you could give me some names, if you looking for someone in particular?" Surprisingly enough she was willing to help even though as of yet it had been of no benefit to her. The wolf before her was young, a Yearling, and in the flooding of his pack had likely gotten separated from his family. In that case, she would hope that should her own pups get lost, someone was willing to help and so, she did.

For a moment the rust-flecked youth saw the swift end of the conversation in the purse of her dark lips - but she graced him with more luck than he imagined. To his content the Leader did more than humor him, giving him her truth. Rowan accepted her admission, understanding the unlikeliness that pack wolves belonging to the West would make the difficult and lengthy trek East, and vice versa. Still he was grateful of her to divulge him anything at all. Rowan could see there was a time limit on this conversation, or at least he figured there ought to be, before the queen would need to see to her kingdom.

Three packs gone to two - he knew there had been two more when he was around, but the particulars of either were not well attended to by a pup as he had been. He wrinkled his nose briefly at the name Pitch Pine Trail, if only in a show of confusion. Never heard of them, and now they weren't even around. The months away had felt so dreadfully long, because they were, and yet how quickly things could change. Well, he thought darkly. He would know, wouldn't he?

Her request for names caught him momentarily off-guard. Rowan could not bring himself to smile upon the Leader's kindness he dipped his head with respect. His response was quick but not urgent, attempting to be less of a burden than he was. Still, for a rogue, opportunity is everything - and he would see this one through. Swallowing any hesitation he said, "The pack was Darkwater Rapids. Lead by the Attaya pair."

As his jaws closed over his last words his tongue felt extremely odd in his mouth. That was the first time since his departure that he'd spoken his last name. When the lone couple found him beyond the Lore's reach, waterlogged and nearly dead, he didn't have the energy to tell them who he was or where he came from. Even when he had healed - physically - he still refused to speak of it, claiming he did not remember much. It was a lie. He remembered everything. But he would not lie to this wolf.

Once her question was given and received, he spoke quickly to answer her. Though the name 'Dark Water Rapids' was lost on her, having not being able to recall hearing of them before, the surname 'Attaya' was far different. After Kade had, I suppose, given up on being able to win over Jaysyek's heart, Elettra had never the pleasure of meeting Kade's mate in order to form this pack the yearling spoke about. After all, Elettra had left not long after Borden regained his title in the Hollow, as well as Kiche's return within the ranks. She had, for a time, often wondered of him but her attention had long since been placed elsewhere now.

She shifts in her settlement at the side of the river bank, her attention studying the youth a moment more before answering. He was dark mostly around his face and limbs whilst his torso was faded from the sunlight more so, bits of silver shining through and his eyes, a dulled gold. He did not paticularly look like Kade, who was far more dark throughout his entire body with bits of silver through out. His eyes, too, had been very pale in gray hues that matched Elettra's own. In fact, it could be easy to say Elettra's own coloring looked a bit more like Kade, where the pair had both thought the same thing of one another back when they had lived together. "Attaya..." She mold over the name, as though considering it, although she knew it quite well enough. After another moment, she did admit it.

"I knew Kade very well, back when we lived together in Grizzly Hollow. A while after I left, the current Leaders left with their kin, leaving Kade with his new mate in their place. I know they took the remaining members over the mountain to start a new, but I did not know where." Not until now... Thanks to Rowan, her questions had been answered as to exactly where Kade had traveled to with the remaining Grizzly Hollow members, which consisted of himself, his mate, Sibyl and she thought, one (?) other according to Angier a time ago. "Since 'Darkwater Rapids' is now gone, your guess is as good as mine to where Kade and his family went." Perhaps, like many others, outside of the Lore. Borden and Jaysyek had packed up and left, Ruiko and Aeylen, and who else knows how many others, as well as those who had since returned later. Though she had given the youth what information (however little) she had about the pack, although her knowledge of Kade himself was more so.

I knew Kade very well, she said after a moment of consideration, and he had to force himself to keep alert. The boy felt like melting into a puddle that his blood had been acknowledged. After the flood and those wretched months it sometimes felt like his life had been nothing more than a nightmare, but Elettra's words made it real - and not, for once, in a way that hurt. Instead he listened intently while a thin smile began to haunt along his lips. At times it felt as though the memories of Kade and Ava were slipping from him, that when he thought of his parents who had loved him so much he could only picture shadows in his mind. Meeting someone who knew his father before he was ever around invigorated the memory. The shadows turned to shapes, lines, fur and eyes like the moon...

Like any Attaya, Rowan knew his mother had bore him and his siblings in her belly when the migrated from the Cedarwood Forest to make their knew home in the misty rise above Secret Falls. And so did she. Her voice, free of contempt and easily spoke, told the dark-socked yearling his incredible father, Kade, and the Leader of this pack, had been friends when they shared the same home. The fact that she'd known him, better than he ever would, could have easily instilled jealousy in the young wolf. But it didn't. If anything, he felt grateful to hear anything about his family... even better the good things.

He inhaled slow and long, fixing his mask to be stoic once more and prevent the tremble that had been creeping into his legs. Yes, Rowan was ecstatic to hear of his father, but it did not change her ultimate statement. She could not speak for the remains of Kade and his family... He adopted a wry smile, or at least some vague semblance of a grimace and tried, "Kade is- was my-" Rowan's gold eyes found the ground in his moment of weakness. With a harder voice he declared, "I am his son."

This resolution, when spoken aloud, conjured up more confidence in his rumbling voice than had been before. "The flood occurred when I was still a pup, separating me from my three litter-mates, and Kade and Ava both," he offered, clearing up the his earlier intentional vagueness. Realizing he'd forgotten, he added, "Forgive me. My name is Rowan."

Despite obviously not knowing anything about the Darkwater Rapids pack, the flood that had ended it's existence, nor where Kade and his family were not, a smile crept over Rowan's features. Elettra could only suppose that he was at least happy that someone knew who he was talking about and that perhaps in this, he was headed into the right direction in finding what he was looking for. Then there was a stutter in his voice, his eyes a bit harder as he tried to straighten himself, only for his attention to fall. Kade is, was, his father, he finally went to say. Suddenly, the subject turned sour as Elettra quickly only assumed the once. If she had not already been sitting for the news, she would have. She could only expect the worst. After death, after death, after death, it seemed like many of those she found herself caring for were dropping like flies around her. Her placement of 'standing tall and strong' now leaving her with trembling legs and quaking breaths.

Then he explained. As a child he had gotten separated from his family, not knowing where his parents were nor his siblings, it seemed and now was returning to the Lore in order to find them once again now that he was old enough to care for himself. Likely, he had been raised by someone else, who had cared for him as parents more then his actual parents had been able to...likely for the reasoning for 'was' in his first broken sentence. She tensed, her teeth flashing and her eyes turning away for a moment. Why didn't he just say that in the first place? "I'm Elettra Archer." She introduced herself, pausing a moment as she still looked down the river before then meeting the youth's attention once more. "I'm sorry there isn't more I can do to help." Really, what else could she say? She had already said she did not know where Kade was but at least she knew that if he ever came by, she could mention one of his sons was out looking for him... At least she was wrong about thinking he had ended up dead.

The news caused the Leader, Elettra, discomfort, something Rowan noted with a grim heaviness. It was never pleasant to be the bearer of bad tidings. For most wolves misery loved company, but not the masked yearling. He preferred his sadness bottled up inside where it couldn't reach anyone but himself. The best he could do now was retract the situation to whatever ability he had.

He shook his head at her condolence and assured her, "You've done plenty. Thank you." Genuine words. Somewhere along the way he had begun to imagine his entire family as ghosts. Even when he visited the drowned den of Darkwater Rapids it felt haunted by them. Meeting the Archer queen changed that. The Attaya wondered where to now, but the reins felt too heavy in his raw hands.

It was very trying, this isolated journey of his. The avoided truth: Rowan Attaya did not want to be alone any longer. That was why he had slogged through the winter with those chaperones, why he had left the minute he felt strong enough and why he had fought tooth and nail to return to the Lore. At some point the memory of his litter-mates had been enough to feel some sort of company. Now his chest felt hollow, and it was a feeling he could not tolerate. Somewhere along the way emptiness always became nothing. If he was ever to see another drop of Attaya blood, he could not become nothing.

He allowed his gaze to fall upon the seated matriarch, settling somewhere about her paws and avoiding the directness of a challenge to her grey eyes. His dark legs began to bow, lean body lowering toward the ground. Where before they had been two strangers conversing, Rowan invited a different dynamic: Leader and Subordinate. "Spring is a busy time," he prefaced slowly, thinking his words through before allowing them to slip from his tongue. "Would you take an extra pair of eyes to watch over your territory... caches... young?" It did not mean he would give up his pursuit, but perhaps adopt a different approach for a time. The watched sun never rose quickly, but with sleep the morning came the very next time you opened your eyes. And if there was anyone he was going to follow in the mean time, it would be this regal wolf, friend of his father.

He did what he could to assure her then, telling her his thanks for what information she could offer him. He, too, had offered her information: the name of the pack Kade had created after the break-up of Grizzly Hollow. That it no longer remained and neither did Kade, likely to have left the Lore somewhere with what pieces of his family he had managed to keep track of. Elettra could only wish the wolf the best, these thoughts passing over her mind as her vision trailed away, only to be captured once more to the movement of Rowan, sinking towards the ground in a much lower stance. He spoke slowly, thinking his words through, it seemed, for what best fit. He was such a smart boy for such a young one, his wording careful and thoughtful. She smiles to the offering, subtle, as though more of a smirk and her tail thumps the ground in obvious liking. "I'd like that. If you have much of your father in you, I'm sure you will be a great asset to this pack." Hardworking, trust-worthy, protective, caring, faithful... Kade had been a great man in his own right. He had been there in many ways for Jaysyek and the rest of the pack that Borden would never in Elettra's eyes match up to. It should have been him which Jaysyek should have chosen in the long run, an option Elettra would hold and keep forever. Borden's abandonment was unforgivable, though the forgiving Jaysyek had done so for the 'love of her life'. Still, had it not been for her choice, she would not be faced off with the young male standing before her now and perhaps, Kade would have never become so successful over time himself.

He was willing to help as he could: guarding the landscape by ether defense of simply scouting it out for rogues and danger to report back or howl about. He would help keep the caches well supplied and, if Elettra allowed such a trust in him, care for the new young that would be stirring within the lands any day moment now. She lifts, her tail raising if only slightly by arcing out behind hr and her head kept high. "Rise and come." She gives her first commands of him, for him to lift in the full height of his being once more and to cross the narrow, shallow river at the edges of her homeland. "I should be heading back." She was far too close to her due date to be out long, mainly so close to the edge of the borders where it would take longer for her to reach the birthing den should she go into labor. She was tired, too, she admitted to herself and might as well lead Rowan around whilst she had the time and bit of energy left to do so.