Running and playing in the snows, failing at hunting mice, the aunt and niece had been following the main river west which had them finally make it here to this creek. A slow moving body of water cluttered with smooth yet sharp rocks just south of the Grizzly Hollow pack. "Attica, over here!'" called the aunt, who had otherwise been keeping Attica out from the faster flowing parts of the river. Dipping her toes in, Ravenna quivers and jumps back. "I don't know Atty, it's freeeeezing. Maybe we're better off without a dip." After all, Ravenna had still plans of trying to find something useful to take back home to her little pack within the Drooping Willows.
Running and playing in the snows, failing at hunting mice, the aunt and niece had been following the main river west which had them finally make it here to this creek. A slow moving body of water cluttered with smooth yet sharp rocks just south of the Grizzly Hollow pack. "Attica, over here!'" called the aunt, who had otherwise been keeping Attica out from the faster flowing parts of the river. Dipping her toes in, Ravenna quivers and jumps back. "I don't know Atty, it's freeeeezing. Maybe we're better off without a dip." After all, Ravenna had still plans of trying to find something useful to take back home to her little pack within the Drooping Willows.
Increasingly, the dark girl was finding herself stifled within the borders of Willow Ridge. She loved her brother dearly of course and would never think of leaving on her own lest some wild, savage beast snatch her up and carry her away, but when her aunt Ravenna had offered an outing she couldn't very well turn the prospect down.
Her energy had seemed limitless in the early stages of the journey, mimicking the way foxes dove for rats in the snow, but failing to catch more than a mouthful of snow at least she could laugh about it. On and on the journey stretched ever westward. Some of the pep was lost from her step as she eyed the towering forest before them. The earth under the crust of snow seemed to tickle the pads of her feet unpleasantly, an itch bordering on a burn... but before she could dwell on it too long @Ravenna's call drew her onward.
She laughed at the way her aunt retreated from the water, boldly walking forward with a smirk, "Can't be tha-" her breath was ripped right out of her lungs as paws plunged into the frigid stream. The girl backed up gasping, flicking her paws like a cat that just got thrown in a pool. "Yeah let's pass."
He didn't leave as swiftly as he liked which likely wasn't smart. He should have run as far as his legs would take him but instead, he slept in a surrounding area that night. A place not too far from a river that seemed to flow despite the winter. The sound had occupied his mind through the night and well into the morning. It helped chase away any bad dreams he should have had.
Without even knowing it he had slept through the morning and into the afternoon. He may have slept longer had he not heard chatter. Younger females and instantly his hackles raised. He prowled from his sleeping spot near a tree to where he could spot the two opposites. One of light muddy shades and the other of ivory and silvers. With his hackles still raised he approached them from the side. "Who are you?" He barked out as his eyes narrowed. "And why do you think it's smart to play with water in the winter? Your parents teach you anything?" He gave each of them a good glance. The darker one reminded him of someone but he couldn't think who. Morganna? His mother? One of his brothers? He brushed it off as mere coincidence for he was the only Archer in these woods.
He was certainly a rather brash wolf, coming into the area with question after question, a demand in his tone. Needless to say, Ravenna did not take rather kindly to it. Not only did he mock Ravenna as though she were no more then a mere puppy, he threatened the safety of Attica, who in all fairness was not useless or frail herself. Ravenna's stance stiffened, her hackles on end as she displayed herself in a manner to show how much she was not a child any longer. "So quick to assume all are so lucky to have parents, Hum?" Ravenna didn't point any names, she would never throw Attica under the bus, but she at least wanted to get this other wolf thinking. "I am Ravenna Archer-Lyall." She speaks with obvious pride. "And who the fuck are you?"
Attica wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but she did like collecting herbs for her Nonna. The smells were all so different and she was fascinated listening to what they could do when administered properly. She nodded to signal her agreement, drawing well away from the edge of the water, eyes turning to the trees, trying to figure out just which ones might help her Nonna. It was then a stranger burst onto the scene, the girls tail curling against her belly as she flinched at his harsh words, parents grating against her ears which folded down in turn, pale eyes seeking out her aunt as her head reeled. Memories were tugged on but she stomped them down. She didn't have time to be confused right now it wasn't safe.
As her aunt's posture shifted so did her own, taking strength from the older wolf's righteous indignation. She blocked out the P word again, bad words her brother uttered when he thought she couldn't hear bubbling at the back of her throat and held back behind tightly clenched teeth. She wouldn't introduce herself as her aunt had, despite her size she was still just a child and this was clearly an adult conversation. That didn't stop her from dropping her head and baring her teeth in a mock attempt at appearing more fierce than she was because he was the one that was outnumbered, not her.
"Deacon." He finally addressed his name. "The one next to you." He let his eyes fall upon the muddy girl. "Who is she?" There was an age gap and he wasn't sure who she might belong to. Elettra and Angier? Perhaps Enoki had been allowed to have a child, but then who was the father? Surely Renier would have said something if he was a father. He was puzzled as to who this one belonged to. He had been alerted Morganna had left so it surely wasn't her child. Skoll never seemed the type to show affectionate, in Deacon's experience, so producing a child almost seemed out of the question. He wasn't aware of his littermates jumping the gun either.
When the man opens his mouth once more, going on about her father missing and her mother claiming how bitter and old she had become, her eyes shift, her expression offering question. Knew knew of them then, obviously, and she could only think that perhaps he was friends with someone in the pack or was an ally of some sort. Although he had a dark coat, highlighted in silver and gold as some in her family, she would still have never guessed he <i>was</i> family. He took a step forward then, daring her, and she growled, jaws parting as she snapped them forwards to bite down on air, offering that if the stranger got closer, those teeth would instead take flesh.
And then he said he was her brother. She could not help her ear's from perking and her head tilting in question. Deacon? She knew for certain she had an older brother named Deacon who had been a part of Greer's litter and names after her uncle who now had been ruler of Torbine. Though she had never thought to meet him, at least not like this... Mother and father had always spoken fondly enough of Deacon that Ravenna had not expected him to be so blunt, so disrespectful.... Then again, perhaps there was more harsher, sour eggs in her family other then Skoll and Sven. "No..." She first then responded. "Then again, it shouldn't surprise me that another one of my brothers is an asshole." She snaps back in the same rude manner which he had given her upon his arrival. And why wouldn't he be? Niles had abandoned the pack, taking their elder, blind father with him. Skoll had left without a word, seemingly to find them but never returned. Greer went off with Morganna whom had given up on the pack... So why not another jerk? As for his last question, she does not answer it just yet. Her had turns to Attica, leaving the floor for her if she wished to address herself.
His tone was awful and arrogant and the name was not a familiar one to her. He spoke of Nonna, and her missing mate with some familiarity but that did little to ease her growing discomfort. Attica felt like he was backing her into a corner with his stare, which caused her lower jaw to tremble in warning of the bites she was more than willing to unleash if he came even one step closer, her quiet growl loud enough to get the message across. Although she leaned back into her crouch, ears pinned and tail tucked, it wouldn't take much more for the young wolf to lash out. She couldn't just run and leave her aunt behind, and she trusted the silver woman had her back and so she would make damn sure she had hers too.
Even the word brother was not enough to get the girl to stand down. Obviously this man was nothing like @Sven. He didn't look lovingly upon his sister and if she had to guess she would say he had less than good intentions towards the woman at her side and even herself. When Ravenna turned to her she gave the slightest shake of her head. She wasn't giving the stranger a single thing, not her name, nothing more than a flash of her teeth and a growl as if it say its none of your business. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was go home.
It was obvious that Attica had no intentions of giving away her name to the male here, nor let him know 'where she had come from' when it came to the placement within their family. Ravenna could not blame the girl. After all, Deacon had acted rather rudely and arrogant in his approach to them, leaving with both Ravenna and Attica with bitter first impressions. Perhaps later on in life, Deacon would see it fitting to try his shots again when it came to getting to know his younger sibling and his little niece. For now, Ravenna took a few steps back from the male and shook her head to him in disapproval, offering Attica a side glance. "We should be heading back..." She mentioned, loud enough for her 'brother' to hear. She moves then, turning and nosing Attica along the shoulder to get a move on. If Deacon attacked, she would attack back and was sure her niece would follow suit.
Hopefully it would not come to that, however, and so Ravenna continued on swiftly, arching south along the edges of Cedarwood Forest before it once again opened up into the Willows. Along the Cedars here, perhaps they would be lucky enough not to have this day become a waist. "Now Attica, could you tell me what a white birch tree looks like so we can get some bark off of it for Nonna?" She spoke to the girl, testing her to see if she might know something about plants. Likely not, for she did not think Sven had been much into learning about plants when his attention had been towards hunting and guarding. Still, she waited to see what the young girl would say before she assumed. In truth, a few of these trees were right in view for them to strip some bark from. Maybe she would choose right.