Lost Lake you get what you give

Backdated to 6/20, all welcome! Chan is leading an herb-harvest outside of the pack territory to both bolster the Cove's stores & gather surplus to take to DEB. This of course won't be the only time he's doing so, any Cove wolves are welcome to say they helped Chan a different time w/o threading it. Special mention to @Jethro bc u aren't on discord, no pressure to join!

Finally things were somewhat plateauing for the wolves of the Cove. It'd been quite a while since their last emergency, and Chan was beginning to feel confident that he could spare some time away to revisit Vayko and his kin. He wanted to make sure he came back with something, to make it clear that he meant what he said. Ever since the children were born he'd been working on large pelts, taking the time during his moments of leisure to meticulously pick clean the skins so that they might leather and last.

Now, sun-dried and ready for use, three of them were laid out on a grassy knoll, fur-down and ready to be loaded up with goodies. Chan sat beside them, waiting for his brother and mother who had agreed to meet him here to help. They likely wouldn't fill them all today, but it would make carrying things back far easier no matter what amount they scrounged up.

Chan was due to go visit another pack sometime soon to deliver supplies to them. Things that were useful and medicinal in nature, and those were categories of things the dark one knew next to nothing about. Before they did that, however, they first needed to gather said things - some of which would be kept for the residents of the cove and for the others down to the west. If he was going to be useful, and learn anything, it seemed like exactly the sort of event he’d want to attend as well.

Despite his initial reservations, Jethro found himself oddly excited at the prospect of gaining new knowledge, and even more so at the possibility of going along to meet the other pack. There were things he stood to gain from it - sure. The trust and alliance of others, primarily, but just doing the work and busying himself helped him, mentally, too. And that was.. nice.

He ventured to where the others would be, beyond the pack territory, seeing Chan already there waiting. Some other objects rested beside him, spread across the grass. Though curious as to their purpose, he did not question it, completing his approach and coming to rest a few strides from the other. ”Chan,” he greeted affably, with a small nod. ”Mind if I.. uh, work with ya?”  

(This post was last modified: Jul 06, 2021, 11:53 AM by Jethro.)

To his surprise, it wasn't family that met him first. Jethro appeared, just as dark-pelted but clearly, distinctly himself. Chan smiled, happy that the wolf was following through with the interest he'd shown in helping out.

"Of course," he grinned back, "just waitin' for Nash and Mom to join us."

He then nodded toward the outlaid skins.

"We'll be takin' two of these down the mountain, hopefully chocked full. You down for that kind of work out?"

It was more so a tease than any kind of challenge to Jethro's ability.

(This post was last modified: Jul 12, 2021, 02:55 AM by Chan.)

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

The sun was higher than it should be as metallic eyes blinked to block out its brightness. The shadow had overslept on the only day she had to be somewhere. Her long limbs moved through the trees and over boulders at a slower pace than she had in previous years. She was beginning to feel her age. Aching when she woke up, moving slower, forgetting things easier, and the tell tale signs of age - silver hairs weaving through her facial features.

Moon moved towards the borders, crossing the invisible line following the scent of of her eldest. It wasnt much longer before the familiar agouti form appeared before her. Not far from him was the dark form of Nash? No he had too much brown woven in his coat...must be @Jethro then, Nori's companion. A warm smile caused her eyes to wrinkle as she approached the two men. Her silver dusted banner waved easily at her hocks. "Hello y'all" the Eastfall matriarch greeted giving her son's lookalike a dip of her head before giving Chan a nibble behind his ear. She was looking forward to collecting herbs for the neighboring pack, even if she didnt have much knowledge of herbs.

Word Count: 000

Nash was, unusually, late. He liked to be punctual, which was why he was so often quick to reach the borders when someone arrived. Today, however, when he actually had a planned rendezvous, he got lost in his wandering and was late.

Things had been so tense with Chan - Nash's own fault, he knew - before the elder boy went on his last trip. Nash didn't want that to happen again, no matter how anxious his brother's excursions made him. He wanted to spend as much time with Chan as possible between his outings; he wanted to give his brother a reason to come home.

So, realizing how high the sun was, Nash turned and bolted through the woods toward the meeting place. As he cleared the trees he realized there was another dark man here - his niece's friend.

The word 'niece' still did something nice to Nash's insides.

Good. He can get to know him better too.

Nash skidded to a stop beside them, panting only slightly. "Sorry I'm late," he said.

Chan, of course, did not mind the help. The dark one hadn’t expected him to, really, but it did not hurt to double-check. For now, they were just waiting for the other members of the Eastfall family to join them. Their task would be to gather enough useful items to fill in the outstretched skins on the ground and use those to transport the goods. With at least four of them working, Jethro supposed their chances of filling the makeshift containers were pretty high.

Regarding said skins with a curious look for a moment, Jethro then brought his gaze up to study the elder with newfound respect. ”So that’s what these’re for. Smart.” Damned brilliant, actually. He was already learning useful new stuff, and the real tasks hadn’t even begun. He hoped he’d have time to learn how to craft one of these.

The teasing, as well as the prospect of a real challenge, was just as welcome. It coaxed another wry grin out of Jet. ”Sure am. No pain, no gain.”

It did not take long for Moonshadow to arrive after that, offering both of them a greeting. ”Hello,” Jet returned the greeting, along with a nod of his own. The brief interaction between mother and son was also observed, so contrary to anything Jethro had ever seen before.

Nash arrived next, offering an apology for his lateness.. which, really wasn’t that bad. He shot what he hoped was an assuring smile to the other, as well as a nod. Was this it, then?

Chan shot Jethro a sheepish grin, quick to respond; "can't take credit, a pack to the North taught me everything I know about keepin' skins."

They'd utilized them a lot, even at one point using a caribou pelt to drag severely injured wolves back home over the ice and snow so they could be saved. He'd seen bits and pieces of the practice elsewhere, but none who had unlocked the full potential like the Tundra Walkers, as they'd called themselves.

Moonshadow was quick to arrive, with Nash soon thereafter. His brothers entrance earned a heartfelt chuckle from Chan, giving him an earnest "you're good," as he stood. Time to start, then. He faced the three of them, and addressed them all.

"Alright, we've got two main goals, and they don't have to be met today," he informed them; after all, it wasn't like he and Jet were taking off tonight. They also couldn't strip the mountain clean, obviously; they could only take what the earth was able to give and if it didn't meet the quota, they'd simply have to wait.

"First, we need to replenish our own stores. There's some specific things we've burned through, and I'm sure I don't need to tell any of you that we need to stay prepared."

@Zeal's care had taken quite a bit to not just pull him away from the brink of death, but also continue to care for and keep him comfortable. That's exactly what the herbs had been gathered for, of course, but who knew how soon something else like that could happen? They needed to be prepared again, now. Of course, having mothers and active pups as well as just day to day workings of the pack had also used up a chunk, and it couldn't all be left to @Landen. He was just one wolf.

"Second, is we need some plants unique to the mountain to truck down to the Backwater pack. I've got it memorized what we need and what I'd like to get for them, and I also scouted out good sources for nearly everything. All that needs done right now is the harvesting. So," Chan looked between them all, "who wants to prune and who wants to carry?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 13, 2021, 05:24 PM by Chan.)

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

It wasnt long after her own arrival did her shadow of a son burst upon them apologizing for his lateness. She smiled at him and gave her fluffy banner a good wave. She took a step back from her agouti boy and looked to the pelts at their feet. Curiosity swept over her but was set aside when Chan began to speak. Mercury orbs moved to his feature as he spoke. Pride filled her as he went over their goals. First to replenish their own stores, then collect herbs that only grow on the mountain for a neighboring pack down below. He spoke of knowing what they needed and where to find it then asked who would like to prune and who'd like to carry. "I could prune." The inky mother offered with another smile and wave of her tail. Though she wouldn't shy away from carrying either if was need.

Word Count: 000

Nash's rudeness was met with good-natured chuckles and a few smiles of encouragement, and he himself wore a large smile. It was good to have a family to belong to again.

Chan was quick to launch into an explanation of what they were doing, and Nash examined the pelts laid before them with curiosity. How come his brother hadn't showed him this trick before? Not like Nash did a lot of herb gathering, but it was still something that could be useful for carrying lots of small prey animals or bundling up troublesome puppies.

He glanced at his mother as she offered to prune. "I can carry," he said. "I don't know that much about herbs themselves." One would think he'd be better at telling them apart, given his time on his own, but he'd been lucky enough to avoid injuries that required more than a quick wash.

Chan stated that he’d learned how to craft the skins from a pack to the north. So there was yet another pack, out there? A truthful, humble admission - but where the skill had come from, Jethro didn’t particularly care. As long as he had the opportunity to observe and learn it, himself. For now, though, he needed to place his focus on different tasks. They needed to gather things to replenish stores for themselves, as well as to take on the trip at a later date.

So it was not all for the other pack. Jethro liked the sound of that - his actions would be helping these folks, too. It was good that Chan had already scouted and memorized what they needed to take, because Jethro hadn’t the slightest idea what to grab. He wasn’t quite sure what prune meant either, but given the options, could only assume it meant pick or gather, something like that.

”I’ll carry, too. Don’t have any idea what I’m lookin’ for, either.” If he was going to be carrying one of these all the way down the mountain at some point, it was probably good to practice with this task first, anyway.