Sacred Grove safety

@Aponi !

Kite had promised Mirren she would return soon. The woman wanted to travel some, and to expand her medicinal inventory. Although she desired to be a scout, Kite knew that this trip could provide her with a dual purpose. And so she set off, eager to get on her way and then return. It took Kite all of a day to arrive to The Heart, the travel long. She had long since rested, and now, the newly invigorated Kite felt her purpose ignite within her. The tawny woman paused at the entrance of the grove, momentarily entranced by the beauty and the power she felt emanating from it... and then, she entered. The place was ridden with tracks of deer, and signs that they had recently passed through. Kite lingered near a branch that held evidence a doe had brushed across it...

It would be good news she would be bringing to the leaders of the Woodland. Now, if only she could find them. Visuals would be better than scent. They could have passed through from this place, to the next. Once she had tracked them, she would seek out the flora that was placed everywhere among the grove, sure something here was to be found. Be it a word of a herd or a plethora of medical plants, she would be bringing home something. Her strides grew all the longer as she weaved inexpertly through the wood. Although she had certainly grown more practiced than she once had been, she was still learning the way of moving in this sort of territory. It took a good deal of her concentration to not trip over a lifted root and remain relatively quiet so as to not alert the herd of her presence.

Oh my, sorry I suck so badly, also just keep in mind this is before she joins a pack so she will smell like a loner :)

It had taken some time but eventually Aponi had convinced @Mercy that she would be safe by herself on a short scouting mission. They would leave shortly to make their ascent up the mountain and once there decide what their plan would be. It had been a couple of days since Mercy had decided to leave with her and they had spent it mostly lounging throughout the falls, resting before their trek. This morning however she had woken up restless and couldn't shake the need to move, so she had promised her companion she would be home before the sun set and taken off to the south, making sure to follow the lines of the mountain so as not to get lost. She had been moving for hours now with no sign of other life but the exercise cleared the need to move and so she was content to keep trotting.

Almost subconsciously Aponi changed direction as the scent of a nearby herd reached her. There was no way she could take down even the smallest by herself, but if she found them between her and Mercy they could probably slay a fawn. The idea caused saliva to gather in her jaws, her blue eyes sweeping the ground as she moved forward more slowly now, tracks were everywhere. Sure of herself Aponi pushed through the foliage into the clearing, confident that the herd would be in plain sight, but instead she found it empty besides another fae. Sinking back slightly so the leaves would block the majority of the yearling from view the ice eyes swept over the stranger, making a quick assessment. It seemed they were close in age, but she carried the scent of a pack she didn't recognize and it set Aponi on edge. The yearling was not one who trusted blindly as many others did, strangers were dangerous and unpredictable, and so she said nothing, choosing to observe unless forced otherwise.

No you don't! Sorry for my delay <3 That's fine :D Kite just wants to be helpful >_>

Kite was so concentrated on the task at hand that she nearly missed the scent of another. Nearly. She paused, noting that the source was not too far away... and her eyes swept across the landscape as she posed to be the vigilant wolf for a moment. Why would the other remain hidden...? Well, perhaps she was shy. Kite was much the same, and thought of herself in the situation the other might be in. Kite once actively avoided company, exercising her every ability to remain out of sight so she would not be a bother. It took a single wolf to realize that doing this was a waste of time, because hell, if she had, she would have missed out on him (@Mirren); but still, old habits died hard. Even now, Kite felt the cold hand of her overbearing nervousness push down upon her shoulders... which she rolled, so that she might relax. Ah, well, if the other did not want to be bothered, it would be best to mind herself.

So with this in mind, Kite moved forward some to give she and the other some distance. It wasn't too far, but it was a not-so-grand-gesture on her part, so that the other might feel some comfort. The land was certainly big enough for the two of them... and, besides, she was busy!

Kite remembered herself and her task. Yes. Hunt. Furrowing her brows and nodding her head, the L'Crowe drank in the scents of the world again, ready to once more get a move on. The scent of the stranger had given her immediate pause, stopping her dead in her tracks... but since the other was not in sight, Kite could only assume that she did not wish for company.

Her options warred inside of her, on one paw she wanted to find the herd but that would mean revealing herself, or she could retreat now and return to Mercy. Aponi knew the second option was preferable, especially of a yearling who had little experience as a loner, but still the saliva lingered in her jaws. She wanted that fawn. Gritting her teeth together in detest as the stranger looked towards her the silver girl held her position, careful not to move. The tawny yearling moved farther away and it gave the former princess some reprieve, though she knew if she didn't move soon that the stranger would find the herd first. If there was one thing she had learned in her life so far it was this; anything but winning is just losing.

It was along this thought that Aponi pushed through the branches, her blue eyes watching the stranger warily as she moved through the clearing. Taking care to keep along the edges so as to make a quick escape should she need to her movements were smooth despite her tense muscles. It was clear from her body language she wasn't looking for a conversation or a friend, and having the other girl there was a large inconvenience for the silver yearling. Watching as the tawny one surveyed the tracks and took the scent only further cemented Aponi's dislike for the stranger; that was her herd. Speeding up her paws she made it to the far edge of the clearing and despite hating to do so took her eyes away from the stranger. The tracks almost seemed to disappear into the foliage and the scent faded, where the hell did they go? Letting a frustrated growl Aponi pawed at the dirt at the edge of the branches, hoping to find some clue buried in the dirt.

Kite did not know the other was tracking the herd as well. But when she was far enough, she noted the movement of the other by sound alone. Kite couldn't see the sterling lass, because she was too far gone in her own task. Kite followed one trail while Aponi was investigating another. Rotating ears tried to catch sounds other than the silver youth, and some distance away Kite heard a crack. Her head whipped in that direction, and when she heard the frustrated growl, she turned back. For the moment, the other was in sight. Thoughtful, Kite shifts her weight... and then, she speaks.

Hey, ah, I heard something that-a-way, she turns her head in the direction, not sure the other would have heard it even over her relatively silent trekking, or else her dissatisfied growling. ...if you're even looking for the herd. Okay. And then Kite nods and darts in the direction she had heard the sound in. Kite wasn't always necessarily looking for friends either... but truth be told, she never minded a hunting partner. Famines they were difficult to find, and she was not sure if food was ample in these lands that the resource was one always fought over tooth and nail. The plains at home had good hunting... and the open land was great for seeing the prey. Trees and hunting in 'em was still new to the L'Crowe; she'd likely earn a few more bruises and bumps before becoming an expert. But she was more than willing to get those so that she might gain her stripes in these lands.

Kite was soon upon the broken branch, and the print near it was certainly that which she sought... but now, even that trail was gone. There was a small watersource ahead it had likely moved to, and Kite swallowed a snarl herself while approaching it, her eyes surveying across the way checking for prints of a particularly damp portion of land.

Water is beginning to freeze and some fish are trapped. Hunt Opportunity

Sorry this took so long!

Aponi herself had also heard the crack and her silver head whipped towards the sound, all of her senses honing in. Eyes strained to see through the foliage, both ears perked towards the sound and her leather nose twitched at a ferocious pace. It was in this state of deep concentration that the other's voice sounded much to loud for her liking, flicking one ear towards the stranger she replied curtly, "Yes I heard." The yearling made a move to start towards the sound when suddenly in the corner of her eye she saw the tawny one move. A snarl built in her throat as she watched the other girl take off towards the sound and instantly she flew after her.

The tawny yearling was faster than Aponi and so the silver girl couldn't quite catch up, even as she fought the frustration building inside of her she knew she couldn't win this race. Besides the other smelled of a pack, who for all the girl knew could be laying in wait to ambush her, with these thoughts her footsteps slowed. Making a snap decision she raised her muzzle to the sky and howled, longer and louder than necessary, a sound that was almost guaranteed to send a herd on a stampede. If she couldn't have the herd, couldn't bring down the fawn, than that stupid stranger certainly wasn't going to either. Aponi wasn't really losing if everybody else lost to, she was winning by forcing the competition to fail.

She did not expect the strident sound. Normally the noise would not have been so abrasive to her, but in the moment it was. It was a call that Kite herself could not translate. It did not speak of hunger or of loss, of location or of even the hunt. Kite was no mind-reader, but it did not take a mind-reader to know what was going on in this situation. The woman once had no competitive drive to speak of. But suddenly, it lurked, an ugly, angry beast hunkering in her breast, pushing at her rib cage in a frenzy that furthered Kite's sudden irritation. Her ears swiveled as she swiftly moved onward, to check on the status of the herd...

They were alert. They had not stampeded, but the scout-to-be knew a hunt at this moment would not be easy. The head of their helm was not near, but likely nearby now, surveying the surroundings and at the ready to cause them to just go. Kite twitched in annoyance. As long as they were here, her mission had not been in vain...

But Kite turned, moving, now, to scout out the slower silver wolf. Her lips were in a grimace, her friendly disposition all but gone. Her ears fell atop her head defensively, and she—as best as she could—distributed her weight evenly throughout her limbs while surging forward. Her tail whipped behind her, but her muzzle draped over her throat protectively as her eyes narrowed in protective slits she could still see past. What was that for? She huffs, defenses up as she was quite certain the other was, well, a low sort of being.

Sorry this took so long! Also sorry Aponi is such a butt

The howl went on and on as Aponi felt the triumph build in her belly, sure there would be consequences, she would have to face the stranger but who gave a shit? Finally it tapered off as the silver yearling gave a loud growl, sure that the herd had not fled there would be no successful hunt at least. It would seem her assumption were correct as the tawny stranger came crashing through the foliage, ears tucked and such obviously on the defense. Aponi however was a proud wolf, foolish this was true, but proud. Her own silver ears were at full attention as her tail flew like a banner above her back.

A smug smirk was already trained on her muzzle by the time the other arrived before her demanding an explanation. Flicking her tail her blue eyes sparkled with some unknown emotion, "Why should I have let it be? I was saving you the disgrace of the unavoidable failure you were about to face, you would have chased the herd until you were exhausted and then inevitably you would have gone home hungry anyways. This way, you are hungry yes, but you are not a complete failure." A feeling of power surged through Aponi's veins as she looked upon the stranger who more than likely at this point was alone. Though she had it within herself to be loyal, and even if she tried kind, this sarcasm, this was her instinct. Not one to make many friends the silver girl knew she did not need any others besides perhaps Mercy, they would only get in her way. In any case, encounters like these were much more satisfying than friendly chit chat.

Kite was not a wolf who had been up against sarcasm much. So the words Aponi said did not hit as the other might have liked, and Kite felt her face wrinkle with disappointment. She was... trying to do me a favor? Kite could hardly believe it, particularly with the others grand gestures of presumed dominance, which Kite responded to without thought. Kite could hardly stand to see the other stand so proudly without she doing the same... it was like the other was attempting to one-up her! Still, Kite was careful to keep her defenses in check, her weight still distributed equally on all fours and although she stood a bit taller, her muzzle was still draped protectively over her throat. This one was obviously a bit crazy, and unpredictable to boot. She could not previse the way things would go, so she would always be safe.

You don't know that I would have failed, Kite responded, though she spoke in earnest, trying to get the other to consider her actions. I've seen my own mother take down a fully-grown one before. Granted, the animal was sick, but maybe one of them is. You've spooked 'em now... Kite sighs, and then continues, I'd say we could've worked together but... well, I can see you didn't want that. The others stand-offish nature even then was one that rammed against Kite's own affable nature, and she struggled with not saying more. Anyway, I didn't come to hunt. So, no harm no foul. Kite shrugs. Truth be told, if that had been her main intent, perhaps Aponi would have rubbed her far differently than she was now. So much was dependent on other things... but she had been scouting. While she thought she ought to get back to it, she figured it'd be fair to let Aponi get a word in edgewise... and she was curious about the other, anyway. The girl reminded her of the wolves that hadn't ever even given her a chance, and something in her felt she had something to prove here.