Red Fern Forest pull my little ribs around you

4/25, after nightfall. For @Riven only.

It had been a while since they'd run into a pack of their kind, but of course Scully and @Avella knew why. He kept an eye out for them when the peaks of Mt. Dire's range first pierced the horizon line, and continued to do so even as there was little trace of their presence at all. Coyotes. Fuckin' vermin, chasing his parents from their home and then what? Where were they now then? Did they take it all just to throw it away like it'd never been anything?

Something else began to tickle at his senses as he moved, mired in darkly bitter thoughts. The realization lifted his spirits; he'd stumbled across a prey trail, soiled by the scent of several wolves. A pack lived around here, or at the least a band of others. That was something.  He pushed on, following the faint smell of musk toward what he hoped would provide him with information and if not that, at least a meal or entertainment.

Springtime was well upon them, warming up the air and causing plants to bloom and blossom where they had originally lain dormant beneath the snow. With Saga and Rhaegara both expecting, Riven had felt it necessary to gather as many bundles of sweetgrass and ergot that he could manage. Pineapple weed would be growing soon, as well, but he'd found none that was useable just yet.

The blond padded quietly through the red forest, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might be useful to the small pack he'd found himself in. What he had not expected to find, however, was company.

A larger male - not huge by any means, but not as small as Riven, either - with a unique black-and-silver cloak. The medic perked his ears and tilted his head to the side, wondering what the other wolf was doing so near to their territory. It wasn't as though he'd crossed any borders, of course, but with pups on the way, it was best to be a little cautious.

"Looking for something?" Riven asked as he padded forward, tone pleasant and a swish to his tail. He stopped a few yards off, blue eyes still scanning the male, waiting for a response.

It wasn't long before Scully was met with exactly what he'd been seeking; company. His silver eyes lit up, lips snaking upward in a wry smile while his tail swayed casually behind him. Ears and posture relaxed, it would hopefully be clear that he came in peace. Even if he could totally whomp this little blue-eyed guy's ass if he wanted, the Archer was confident after giving the blond a once-over.

Scully lifted his nose to the air, sampling the scents attached to the other wolf's fur before answering.

"Lookin' for you, handsome," he answered breezily.

"Last I knew, this place was empty. Things have changed, huh?"

Thankfully for the both of them, Riven was not a fighter. Especially not with someone who was not actively trying to fight him. Blue eyes widened a little at the larger man's words, and he felt his face heat up at the compliment. He was... not used to having other wolves be so direct and... flirty. And he didn't really know how to feel about it.

Embarrassed was definitely one of the emotions he was experiencing, though, and he let out a small laugh, hoping to squash down the awkwardness he felt. It was almost nice, actually, if not a bit weird. His mind wandered to Adelard, and he wondered, vaguely, if he should try this technique on the other man.

"Well, you found me," he responded, offering the man a small smile. "I suppose they have. Our pack has been settled here for a couple of months now." He wagged his tail and took a step closer, no longer worried that the dark-furred wolf was an imminent danger. "Can I ask your name?"

Couple of months eh? Good to know. Scully made sure to remember that, especially in context to the inevitable questions he'd be asking about coyotes.

"Scully," he answered, "I'm passin' by with my sister. Who're you? N' your pack?"

That was the polite thing to ask next, right? This Archer sure thought so, silver eyes blinking back at the other man with amiable expectation.

”My name is Riven,” he responded, a small smile stretching on his maw. ”It’s nice to meet you, Scully. My pack’s name is Fool’s Gold Chasm; Hudson is our leader.” Maybe that wasn’t descriptive enough, but Riven didn’t really know what else to say. He didn’t want to mention the pregnant women, nor did he fully grasp the ranking system just yet - if there even was one.

”Are the two of you planning on staying in the area?” he asked with a tilt of his head, tail swishing behind him. This man didn’t seem to be a threat, so he felt he could relax a bit.

Fool's Gold Chasm. Scully liked that. In all honesty, he liked that a lot. His gaze dodged past Riven, toward the territory behind him which he protected. Where was the chasm? All he saw now were trees and ferns, nothing very exciting.

"Actually," he began, turning his eyes back onto the younger wolf, "we don't really know what our next step is. It's... been a while since we've known."

Did he know where he was going with this? No, no he did not. But he was definitely going somewhere with pyrite walls.

(This post was last modified: May 18, 2021, 04:04 AM by Scully.)

Riven followed Scully’s gaze, back into the reddish ferns and trees behind him. Somewhere back there, his packmates were going about their day - patrolling, napping, preparing birthing dens. It brought a small smile to the boy’s maw, before he turned back to face his new companion.

”Are you looking for somewhere to stay?” he asked, curious. ”I think that’s how a lot of us felt, before we decided to form a pack together.”

That easy, huh? Scully gave Riven a closer look, interested by his prompt kindness. He seemed like the angel on your shoulder. Those kind of wolves were often super useful to befriend.

"'Band of loss souls' kind of thing?" he asked with an increasingly-lopsided grin.

"Ain't there something I gotta do to 'prove myself' to you? What's the catch?"

“You could say that. More along the lines of found family, I think,” he reasoned, picturing Hudson as the gruff uncle, Saga and Rhaegara as the badass aunts, Aubine as the fun cousin, and Adelard... well, he wasn’t too sure about that yet. Something important, no doubt.

Ultimately, it would be up to Huddy whether or not these wolves would be able to stay, and Riven was going to have to go get him before inviting Scully in past the borders, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a bit of fun with it.

Riv tipped his head to the side and smiled, arching a brow. “Well, now I’m just curious on what you were planning on doing to prove yourself to me,” he stated playfully.