Blackberry Fields Maybe it's time to look ahead

ooc: @Katariina, dated 9/2/15. Early afternoon, light rain, 48°F. If anything needs to be changed let me know and I'll fix it. :D

---

Kenelm stopped, blinking away a few stray raindrops as they sprinkled down into his eyes. His lungs having cleared substantially in the last day or so was a blessing unlooked for, and the deep breath he took to taste the rainy air was indulgent and mercifully lacking in discomfort. He still was not well, nor did he think he would be for quite some time, but he did feel less like a walking carcass and a great deal more like a semblance of the wolf he had been before the fire. He still had not found any sign of Calanthe, although he wasn't surprised by this anymore. He had given up finding her trail again after deciding to move south from the fjord; if there was anything left, he would not have lost the scent to start with. But he was certain she must have come this way; even in this light afternoon drizzle, he could see the appeal in this wide stretch of open grassland. Blackberry bushes flourished here among tall grasses, and both faunas well and beyond made up for the lack of trees for cover. If she didn't go after the easy snack the berries provided, Calanthe would surely have taken note of the scents of rabbit and deer that settled over this area. There was prey here, fat and just waiting to be snatched up by a hungry wolf. Calanthe must have come this way. It was such a clever place to seek out, after all, and her coat would help her melt into these grasses! Surely she knew that; all that was left for Kenelm to do was to search this field until he either found Calanthe or someone who knew where she might be now. ...And stopping for a few berries wouldn't hurt, he decided. There seemed to still be a few ripe berries left, down in harder to reach areas of the bushes. Thorns didn't bother Kenelm so much, not in the wake of everything else he had been through, although one or two jabbed him square in the nose and made his eyes water from the pain. Did he look a fool? More than likely. On the other hand, this was by far his easiest snack since leaving Spirit's Gambol, so he wasn't inclined to care about how ridiculous he looked.

With ash on the wind, I move forward...

Let's Cause Some Chaos

@Kenelm - Sorry this is late!

The young child, no one could insist that she was anything but, did not mind the rain as he seemed to fall from the sky. Like most things in nature, Katariina found herself in awe and in love with it, admiring the fact that the heavens let water fall for them, because water was essential to life and a wolf could not live without water. For that matter, the Hollow wolf figured, their pelts would be caked with mud if not for water, though so many seemed to have an issue with it in some form. Sure, if it rained at night it might leave one sore, but it was something worth having, and it was a small price to pay for something so essential.

The curious scout pressed her luck, lingering farther north than she had ventured before as she looked around, finding what seemed like an endless expanse of bushes filled with mysterious black colored berries. She was curious, that went without saying given the fact that this was Katariina, and so she was checking each bush, sniffing around at the berries while wondering if they were edible. She was curious and a bit naïve, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know anything, so she dared not touch the berries which she had admittedly never seen before in her life.

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to flyyy.” She was singing the very familiar tune to herself in the medium alto voice she carried as she galloped along the open fields, the wet grass grazing at her paws and making her paws web in their own manner. She had a lopsided and friendly grin on her face, accompanied by a fiercely wagging tail and her tongue lolling on the outside of her mouth. Life was good in her little paradise. She had a pack to return to, Grizzly Hollow, and she even had a codename. She was excited because codenames were cool and mysterious. She had made a sort of a pact that the only wolves who would know her actual name were those who already knew and those who could call themselves a wolf of Grizzly Hollow. That was fine with her.

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

Kenelm's ears pricked at the sound of nearby singing, and the grey wolf froze, his head still half-buried in blackberry vines. That wasn't Calanthe's voice, but that arguably made it even more important for him to turn back around and face whoever it was; the promise of an easy snack was no reason to allow a potentially hostile wolf to catch him unawares. With a sigh, he pulled himself free of the bushes and shook himself out, sending thorns and bits of dead blossoms and dried-out berries flying every which way. is muzzle was still stained magenta with berry-juice, and no amount of licking or hurried scrubbing could fix that. Oh, well. He listened for a moment, trying to pinpoint where the singing was coming from. The singer wasn't far off, but wasn't visible yet, either. At least she sounded rather young - not a child, but not as old as Kenelm was, either. Perhaps this was a yearling? Surely she couldn't be wandering out on her own, not without someone nearby to return to if she ran into trouble. A pack wolf, perhaps? Kenelm moved quietly towards the sound of her voice, keeping low to try to blend his ash-and-silt coat in with the tall grasses. From several dozens of yards off, all he could see was a darker smudge of color against the grass. He could tell of course that the smudge was a wolf - but the shape was blurry enough that he was certain another wolf unused to his sight would not be able to identify the shape. He rose to his natural height again and closed some more of the distance between himself and the stranger before calling out, “Hello, there! Are you lost like I am, or am I intruding on your pack's territory?”

With ash on the wind, I move forward...

Let's Cause Some Chaos

She had been in such a daze that she hadn’t even registered the voice that called out to her, greeting her in a seemingly kind manner until the tail end of the sentence. She froze, her head tilting to the side with a certain curiosity lacing into her thoughts as her eyes widened slightly, pupils dilating just a tiny bit as she let a smile grow on her face. She was like a naïve child to most, but there was a sense of familiarity with the situation. She reminded herself of her new name, the name she had chosen for any interactions outside the pack. It silently killed her on the inside, because she loved the name Katariina, but she lasted still, and she would hold true to the pack’s tradition.

“Oh hai!” She called out, a Finnish accent thick in her tone as she spoke the flawless English, something she was proud to show off. “You are not intruding! I’m a scout, so I’m just doing some scouting of lands outside my pack’s lands… so you are good!” She explained as she bound up to him with a skipping nature. She loved interaction, craved sociality with other wolves, so this was right up her alley.

Life was good, life was kind, and she had proof that it always worked out in the end. “I’m Morgan… who are you?” She asked, remembering Rook and his nickname Gaheris and how anyone who didn’t belong to the pack did not know his name… unless it was already known of course. Still, Kat let her grin hold true, holding her tail is a soft wag. She wasn’t lethal or deadly; she was in essence a child who loved to talk and was good at seeing other sides. She was still a yearling, barely at that, but she could talk… a lot.

Kenelm was surprised to discover how thickly accented the woman's voice was, though it wasn't unpleasantly so. It required a more careful ear in order for Kenelm to catch what she said, but he was used to paying rapt attention to whoever he spoke with, and she was clearly proud of her English, so Kenelm smiled back at the younger woman and said, “I see; that's a relief. I was worried I might have accidentally violated your pack's borders.” He let his tail wag slightly as she bounded near, not at all bothered by this friendly sprite - especially now that he knew that she, too, seemed to be a Scout. Common grounds were marvellous ice breakers that way. “Morgan.” A surprisingly normal name. He dipped his head at the inquiry that followed her introduction, half out of respect and half out of politeness. “My name is Kenelm,” he told her honestly. She had offered no second name, and so regardless of whether that was due to a lack of one or her own preference, Kenelm did not offer up his own. “I'm a lone wolf, for now; I'm travelling in search of my younger sister, a pale yellow she-wolf named Calanthe. She's around my size, but with longer legs and a finer build...?” His ears pricked forward just a bit, betraying his hope. A pack wolf, this one; could Morgan or another one of her pack mates have heard or seen any sign of Calanthe? Might she have even joined their ranks?

With ash on the wind, I move forward...

Let's Cause Some Chaos

Curiosity killed the cat, and that was something that Katariina had preached. She was curiosity and apparently she killed cats. “Not to worry! Our lands are nearby but you’ll smell them before you cross them, that I can assure you.” She did her best to ease his worry as her tail thumped against the ground, allowing herself to take a seat on the ground as she looked towards him. He introduced himself, and then asked about his sister and if she had seen her around anywhere. As a scout, she felt she was privileged to be able to share any info she had concerning his missing relative. Katariina had not been in Grizzly Hollow long, and while she vaguely remembered hearing names on the wind being mentioned, the one he was asking about did not ring a bell.

The description did not ring a bell either as she took in his form and analyzed him, picturing what a female version of him with the minor alterations would look like. “Nope, I’m afraid I haven’t seen or heard her around here. I wish I could be of more help in that regard, but these lands are vast and surely she’s around here somewhere.” She felt a frown forming on her face when she realized she wouldn’t be able to provide assistance. “If I do see her, I’ll tell her that you’re looking for her… yes?” She asked, her thick accent making some of her speech blurred, but not enough to not be coherent.

Kenelm sat when Morgan sat, not wanting to come across as though he thought himself higher ranking or otherwise more important than the younger woman. The reverse was true, after all: As a pack wolf, she would always hold higher authority here than a loner like Kenelm. It was nothing he held against her; it was simply the way the world worked. He could tell before she spoke that she had no idea who his sister was, though. She had the look of someone gearing up to say "no" - and so when she did, he had already moved past the sharp disappointment enough to be gracious and smile again for the woman. At least she was offering to pass word of his search along if she encountered Calanthe before he did; Kenelm could only hope he would still be nearby if that happened, so that Calanthe wouldn't wander around in circles chasing after his tail while he chased hers. Surely she was out there. Surely. Something else the woman had said caught his attention - her comment about these being vast lands. The way she phrased that almost made it sound as though "these lands" encompassed more than just the blackberry fields and wherever her pack lay... He dismissed the thought for the moment, promising himself he would ask about it in a moment. Instead, when he addressed Morgan again, it was to ask, “Your pack - does it have a name? Were you born there, or did they take you in?” His first question was relatively unimportant to him; all it would do, should she answer, was give him the name of a pack Calanthe had not joined or come across yet, and that would only be useful if another wolf gave him the same pack as advice as to where he might search next. It was his second question that concerned him more; did the wolves in these lands accept loners into their ranks? Spirit's Gambol would not have; he remembered being forced to chase an outsider away before his King had even deigned to hear the woman out. If these wolves accepted outsiders, perhaps other packs around here did, as well. It was an important thing to know either way.

With ash on the wind, I move forward...

Let's Cause Some Chaos

There was a gentle hum from her lips, barely audible to her ears so she assumed that the loner in front of her could not hear the gentle whispers to herself in the form of tunes. The other man posed himself, sitting down in a casual manner and it allowed her to grin. They were being casual and having a conversation! The only time the strange girl used formalities like dominance tended to be pack events or diplomatic missions. Otherwise, she felt they were redundant. Yes, she had a strange pathway of thought, but that was alright with her as long as it didn’t affect her job, her rank, or her relations with her packmate. She was an outlier, and she had learned that at a young age when her siblings often scolded her for how she behaved as a princess.

Kenelm asked her a question, or a few, which she took for pure curiosity and the potential of adding another member to the pack. She found it as her job in a hopeful diplomat and scout to seek out members with potential to bring to the leaders in the form of recruitment. “I’m from a pack south of here, a grand kingdom named Grizzly Hollow. I wasn’t born there though; they took me in as a scout and a diplomat underneath the kind king Gaheris and the lady Kay.” The Fay would go on to explain, a proud smile as she talked about her role within the pack. A certain curiosity claimed her as she dared to take a question of her own.

“What about you? Are you looking for a home? What type of things do you do or like to do?” She would ask like the bubbly yearling she was, a bright expression crossing her maw.

This Morgan was a rather excitable little sprite, although Kenelm kept that thought carefully hidden behind a friendly smile. It didn't really bother him, in any case; he had always preferred the company of livelier and more cheerful wolves, and even if he didn't, with as wayworn as he was beginning to feel, any company at all would be welcome so long as it was at least civil. Her answers he pressed into his memory, taking note of the way she phrased her explanation of her home and pack. A great kingdom called Grizzly Hollow, led by a kind King Gaheris and a Lady Kay - who Kenelm could only assume was Gaheris' mate. It sounded like something out of a children's story; Kenelm wondered (though not unkindly) how much Morgan was embellishing her story. Then again, he had always known Spirit's Gambol ran things differently from other packs - the few wanderers who had happened by always mentioned meeting other, supposedly "better-run" packs, where the royalty was chosen or respected rather than feared. Perhaps Morgan's story wasn't entirely unbelievable. And, good, these wolves did accept outsiders. Perhaps this was one pack Calanthe could at least count on to take her in, should she ever come their way. And hopefully theirs was not the only pack who offered such asylum to wanderers who sought a new home - or, at the very least, hopefully they wouldn't chase her away and then refuse to offer him any information when he came asking after her. Morgan's questions weren't unexpected - he had figured she would want information in turn for having given him information. Any good scout should, after all, and although she was young and spirited she clearly had the potential to grow into her role nicely. Her last question was more friendly than information-seeking, but that didn't bother him. Like as not, she was looking to see if he might be recruitable. “I enjoy running,” he told the girl honestly. “And taking long walks on my own, or with a close friend. As for whether I'm looking for a home...” He winced slightly, but this answer, too, was honest: “My home will be wherever Calanthe is. Wherever my family is.”

With ash on the wind, I move forward...

Let's Cause Some Chaos