Cold Water Creek portamento

@Marianna <3 || Morning, Patchy rain possible, 67 ° F, 19 ° C

The rain seemed to have a mind of its own. Coming and going and following that pattern for most of the early morning into mid-morning. It was rather undesirable if Abaddon did say so. While her coat was browns and blacks she didn't appreciate the added mud that seemed to cling around her ankles. "Gross." She inwardly chimed with an out loud huff. She needed someone to wash her paws off so it would just pile up through all of her trudgings.

She moved about like a looming dark beast in the soft drizzle of rain. Had her brother not come back home and been such a damn rat she wouldn't be out here right now. She would happily be scooping up the throne from her mother and leading Hollow Highlands into a victorious reign. Yet she was here with nothing to her name. She was a dirty loner for now. Hopefully, she could find a light at the end of this dark tunnel and truly be what she was supposed to be.

The sound of moving water distracted her from thoughts of her unborn reign. Bright yellow eyes quickly scanned the area as she picked up her pace some. Large paws and bulky form moved rather chaotically through the foliage until she could see a creek in the clearing. A loud grateful sigh left her lips as she moved into the water. Despite them creeping into summer's grasp the water was rather cool. For the first time in a long while, a smile tugged at her features. A good cleaning was exactly what she had needed.

Was she going in the right direction? If Ari was founding her own pack (which would require to have far more many friends than she did, but screw the idea of a co-leading male; if Blackwatch Canyon taught her anything, it was that gender roles were useless, and if you wanted something badly enough, you went to get it) she’d do it near easy water. The benefit to a river (as opposed to a lake) was that it would serve her better in the winter – but this wasn’t her pack to start, just her brother’s pack to find.

And it wasn’t here.

There wasn’t anyone at this river at all – or there wasn’t when she dipped her head down to wet her throat. When Marianna glanced back up, she was met with an eyeful – a beautiful black female, wading into the cold water. Her tail began to swing behind her wildly, a wide grin picking up the corners of her mouth. “Hello!” she rumbled, thinking nothing of wading in from her side to get closer to the other wolf. How close could a river actually be? “You from around here? You don’t know a Kino, do you?”

Frankly, she wasn’t sure if she was hoping for a yes or a no.

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Usually, her smile would have waved at the sound of a face but this time it remained. The wolf before her was large, powerful, represented a bear mostly and was female. Abaddon never denied the company of a fellow strong female. Her tail swayed behind her easily as the earthy female asked a question.

"I'm not from around here, no." She admitted with a kind shrug as she helped close the distance between them. "The name Kino doesn't sound very familiar either I'm afraid." Abaddon managed to put on a small frown for the girl before regaining her smile. She carefully leaned down to lap from the cold water before she lifted her head. The dark female didn't bother to lick her muzzle off of the droplets, she was in the rain in a creek so what was the point?

Yellow eyes carefully swept over the female before focusing on her face and those stormy eyes. "I know the name of a stranger you're looking for but don't know yours." Abaddon chuckled softly. "Would you mind telling me? A name for a name?" Her tail kept up an easy pace behind her. This day was turning out to be good despite the weather.

Ah, shit – just as lost as she was, and no Kino to boot. What was he calling himself now? Alabaster? “Albatross?” she blurted out. “I think he’s calling himself Albatross. Or something.” Though if she hadn’t run into a pack, and hadn’t run into a Kino, it was likely the strange woman hadn’t run into her brother at all. And she had a good point. Here they were, just meeting in the middle of a creek, no less, and all she could ask about was her silly brother and his silly girlfriend.

Once she met the other loner towards the middle, she reached out to bump their muzzles in a friendly greeting. Her ears pressed forward; never did it occur to Ari other wolves might not like the same overt displays that she enjoyed. “Sounds like a good deal to me.” Even if she wanted to, she probably couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her muzzle. This girl was so cute. And so nice! “My name’s Ari. Been lookin’ for my brother’s pack, but I guess I ain’t in that much of a hurry. Don’t run into such pretty ladies every day, that’s for sure!”

Was it flattery if it was true? Her tail continued its tireless wiggle. “What’re you out here for?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Abaddon let out a fit of laughter, shaking her head softly. "Now that's a name I think I would remember." Albatross. Like the one bird or whatever she'd been told. "Still no on that, though. Don't know any Kinos or Albatrosses." Abba wasn't one to feel bad but she did feel a little sorry that this girl didn't seem to have much to go off of. Asking strangers in a creek if they heard of some wayward fellow.

The bump got her off guard but she simply smiled. The girl was cute and beefy - which was likely the only reason why Abaddon would allow the contact to happen. Her grin seemed to become shyer if anything. There had certainly been no wolves like Miss Ari where Abaddon had come from. The dark female wasn't used to hearing compliments that were more about her looks instead of how she threw her weight or her sharp tongue.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ari. I'm Abaddon but feel free to call me Abba." She gave a soft nod to the slightly larger girl. "And I have to agree. Don't get the pleasure of meeting someone so easy on the eyes every day." Abba wasn't really sure which way she swung. Maybe one way, maybe another, maybe even both or all over but this girl was undeniably nice. A trait that the dark female could pity or respect depending on the situation.

An easy question was tossed to her and she gave a gentle shrug. "I'm doing the opposite of you. Leaving my brother's pack." She gave the bear-like female some insight but she didn't dare spill that it should have been her pack and that she was beyond furious. The pretty girl didn't deserve that kind of negativity right now. "Got any directions on where to find this pack? Might be able to point you in some sort of direction." Abaddon mused softly. She wasn't familiar with the area but she could possibly at least tell the girl where not to go.

At least, Ari thought gratefully, this wolf had the sense to shorten her name instead of lengthening it. Honestly. Kino was perfectly memorable, and then he went and did something silly, adding all sorts of extra consonants and vowels. Why couldn’t he be like her? Or this loner, here?

“Abba. I like it,” the large female rumbled, committing the calling to memory. And look at her! Such pretty words. Even nicer than her own. Steely eyes danced merrily as her tail waved behind her, no signs of stopping. In fact, she’d largely forgotten they were standing in the middle of a stream, much less that she should complain about how cold it is. The story Abba had to tell was far more interesting, and she was keen on hearing all of it. Her ears pressed forward. “Oh, huh? He said southeast of the stupid mountain. Which is a shitty set of directions to begin with, never mind he didn’t even give me a name. He’s just with this Sahal girl. Sahara maybe? Whatever, he’s trying to impress a girl.”

The bear dog’s grin slid into a slow smirk, her own thoughts on the matter quite evident. “I’ll get there when I get there. I wanna know more about you, though. Why’re you leavin’? No good there?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

While the dark female didn't feel like she needed anyone's approval, it was hard to deny some kind of warm feeling when Ari signified that she liked the nickname. Her tail kept swaying behind her. This was far better than the interactions back home. This large female was a fresh breath of air and a good omen despite Abaddon's personal (and selfish) struggles.

She held back a chuckle as her company seemed to be sucked back to reality. "Almost sounds like he's trying to hide." Abaddon finally freed a laugh. Anyone who gave poor directions with nothing but some dumb names to go off of didn't seem like someone to waste time on. "Certain length to go to impress someone." Her brow arched for a moment before her expression relaxed again. Ari certainly seemed to have an interesting journey before her.

"All you have to do is ask." She winked and smirked when the bear dog announced her want to know more. The dark female nodded her muzzle, though. A motion for her company to follow her. "Let's get out of the water and I'll answer everything." She moved towards the shoreline, tossing a glance over her shoulder to see if Ari was going to follow or not.

Once her paws met the wet earth she realized that she might have been in the water longer than intended. So worth it, though. She plopped down onto her stomach and stretched out her legs before fixing herself into a more regal position. "Well, if ya really want to know." She smirked and looked to Ari. "He left to go do some dumb stuff. The pack wasn't really even his. It was our mother's but they dubbed him some kind of heir or something." She rolled her eyes with obvious displeasure about the whole situation. "Of course, I should have been the heir. I never left and I was the oldest female of my litter. But no. When he came back he got to have it all again. It was stupid." She scoffed and stopped to clench her jaw. Anymore sputtering of her words and she was sure that Ari would find her a let less pleasurable than a few moments ago.

"So yeah," Abaddon chuffed softly. "no good there."

No secrets, all answers? Shit, if Abba asked her to stay in the water, she’d have probably said yes! Her pleasure was evident in her entire body as she allowed the swarthy female to lead the way, padding out of the stream to a drier patch upon the shore. Where the other wolf settled gracefully, Ari simply flopped – only realizing afterwards that such actions ran the risk of splattering her companion if there was any mud. So she grinned (albeit a bit sheepishly) up at the other woman and remained on her belly, thick tail thumping against the wet ground as she was regaled with the simply story.

Still seemed pretty unfair, though.

“Yeah, that’s real stupid,” she agreed, mouth twisting in one corner. “Especially if he decided to gallivant off. I was the one who stayed with my dad’s pack…after I found my way back, but that’s not important, but his mate got sick, and then he left, and then these dumb wolves took over. Wanted to get to know me, but why didn’t they do that before they needed me, huh? Stupid. Makes me miss Blackwatch Canyon.” Marianna gave a withering sigh, folding her front paws together. “But…your Ma was in charge, huh? Like, of everyone? Without your dad?”

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Abaddon decided that this large Ari wolf was rather easy to get along with. Where the dark female was a leader by nature her company seemed more content to follow. As long as the two of them could keep up this rather light atmosphere than Abba would be happy to comply with what the other woman seemed to want. Knowledge. Wasn't that one of the most important things in this world to have?

Yet with Ari's agreeance came the swelling of Abaddon's ego. It felt good to know that someone in this damned world was on her side when it came to this whole situation. Her ears carefully leaned forward as the tawny female told a tale of her own. Abaddon gave a soft tsk sound but not one of disapproval. Dark nose carefully moved out to offer a reassuring nudge to Ari. "Very stupid. I'm sorry." Abaddon said in her most sincere tones. Truthfully, it was stupid. Perhaps as much, if not more, of a mess than her own parting from home.

A wide grin spread over the dark female's face and she nodded her head. "My father technically was a leader by her side but it was mostly my mother who was in charge of the place. The head of everything, if you will. She was the smarts of everything." Her smile had not faded once. Despite the disruption of things and the ordeal with Dread, Abaddon was still very much proud to be the daughter of her mother.