Sanguine Cove So this is how it is

Backdated to October 19th, roughly midday, special tag for @Chan but other SC members are welcome to join too

She had set out with Xulia many days prior on a trip to the wolves of the mountain at the behest of Viorel. At first it had gone well, but at some point while they were traversing the mountain the weather had turned bad and she became separated from her travelling companion. Clover had taken some time to try and find her, but she had no knowledge of the rocky terrain and hoped that maybe Xulia had continued onwards and she would meet back up with her at their destination. She could only hope she was not hurt and did not need help, and could only imagine what would happen if she returned to the backwater without her.

Finally Clover reached the border of the Cove wolves, and she stopped at a respectable distance away. The bundle of herbs in her mouth was dropped carefully on the ground, and she glanced around hopefully for Xulia before calling out for the leader of the pack. She did not know who would be showing up, but felt that the gifts she had brought with her would be satisfactory and to their liking. The herbs she had bundled up were unable to be found in rocky and mountainous terrains, and with winter soon approaching she could only assume they would want to stock up with as many medicinal herbs as they could before then.

She sat back on her haunches, keeping an eye out not just for one of the Cove wolves to show up, but also for any sight of Xulia. Maybe she had already arrived and was waiting for her? She could only hope.

Chan was relatively nearby, sniffing around for that blasted cougar. When he heard a stranger's call, he forsook the venture to see what was needed of him and his pack. In short order he located the visitor, and when his mismatched gaze landed on her pale frame, he realized this wasn't really a stranger at all.

"Clover," he greeted with an amicable smile. The bundle at her paws did not go unnoticed, either.

"Is this an official visit?"

She did not have to wait long before Chan appeared, and she could not help the smile that appeared on her maw. It had been what felt like a lifetime since they met that day of the ash-filled sky, and she wondered if his darker coloured companion was still with him. Her head dipped in greeting, and she made sure her posture was properly subordinate as a gesture of respect for his leadership position. Though he may not be her alpha, she felt he was still deserving of that same respect.

"Yes, I've been sent by Viorel for some official scouting business, and I brought a gift of my own to show our gratitude for when you did the same last time you stopped by." Her words were cheery, but there was  a hint of worry in her eyes as she spoke. "It consists of medicinal herbs that are hard to come by up here on the mountain that I think will help you out during the colder months." The bundle contained mainly Hellebore, Sweet grass, and Yarrow, with small amounts of Wild ginger and Lavender hyssop that she could spare, as well as even a few sprigs of Goldenrod that she had found.

"I travelled here with a fellow pack mate, but there was a sudden storm along the way and we became separated shortly after reaching the mountain." Clover looked at Chan with a hopeful gaze. "Her name is Xulia and she is Viorel's sister, have you by chance seen her? Did she reach here before I did?" It would be her fault if something had happened to Xulia, and she did not want to place any burden upon Chan's likely already weighted shoulders, but she just had to know.

Chan's tail swayed with ease about his hocks, his posture lacking any airs of superiority or dominion. His long-teeth peaked out from behind his black lips when she explained the makeshift parcel; as hoped, the Backwater had returned the favor. It would help greatly, as Clover's timing was pretty perfect.

"Ah, you'll be making Aquene's week," he replied, the smile breaking open into a wide grin.

"Thank you so, so much."

She went on to bring up a partner, and the expression melted into one of mild confusion. To his knowledge, Clover was the valley's first visitor since Daesamar joined them. Perhaps one of the others had seen the woman, though?

"Not that I know of," he answered in a tempered tone, expecting that this was not the answer the young medic wanted to hear.

"Come, we'll ask the others, and get you some food. Does she look like Viorel?"

Chan then picked up the gift and turned to lead the way toward the pack's den site, hesitating only to ensure that she was willing to accompany him. If not, he would need to call for someone to help spread the message, most likely his brother.

(This post was last modified: Nov 30, 2021, 05:40 AM by Chan.)

Her mood was raised a little bit at Chan's acceptance of her gift, and had she not been so worried about finding Xulia she absolutely would've asked if she could have some one on one time with this Aquene so they could talk herbs and plants. But it would have to wait for another time where she could take some time to sit down and chat for a while. She nodded her head in response, glad to have brought about something that they would find useful. "It's no trouble at all, there's quite a bit of these growing around our borders, so if you ever find yourself running low feel free to send someone down and I can assist in gathering more." It was the least she could do to help out the neighbouring pack, and it would do good to cement their positive relations with each other.

Clover's ears and entire head drooped when Chan said he had not seen Xulia. That was not good at all. A soft sigh escaped her maw at his suggestion of asking his pack members, and she gladly followed him as he began to walk, now feeling the tiredness in her body as she thought about getting something to eat and resting for a bit. "Thank you for your hospitality," she said, thankful that he was willing to ask around and try and find her friend. "Not exactly, her eyes are a similar colour, but her fur is mainly grey and silver, and she is a bit larger than him." It was not much to go off of, but Clover would recognise her if she saw her, and she could only hope her friend had stumbled her way up here and was waiting to go back home.

"I appreciate that, a lot," Chan answered the woman's generous offer, earnesty shining in his eyes despite his smile being tempered by sympathy. The description given was stored away, and would be communicated to the rest of the pack. They were the reason this Xulia was lost, after all; she likely wouldn't have been on the mountain otherwise.

"The same goes for you and yours; how's your mountain-fauna stock? Maybe we can send you home with something, if you'd like?"

It was the least they can do, given what this trip might have cost their neighboring pack...

Positive thoughts, he reminded himself internally.

"We'll do our best to find her. Hopefully she just got turned around and went back home? The range has been cranky lately..."

She gave Chan an appreciative look as he returned the offer, taking a few moments to think over any specific plants that would be useful to her that she couldn't find down off the mountain. There were a few she had been unable to find close to home, but was unsure of if they would be able to grow so high up. It was worth a shot to ask, at the very least. "I could use a bit of Wormwood and Arnica if you have some to spare," she said after a few moments of deep thought. "Maybe even some Solomon's Seal, if that grows up here?" The roots would have been very beneficial in helping heal Vayko's broken foot, but as hard as she tried to look she hadn't been able to locate it anywhere.

He went on to speak, and she listened attentively, letting out a soft thankful chuff. His words brought her some hope that maybe Xulia had decided to head back to familiar territory instead of pressing on up the mountain, and she was glad that he would use some of his likely already busy schedule to keep an eye out for her. "Thank you Chan, that means a lot." He seemed like a good and honourable wolf, and she could understand why Viorel was keen to develop a relationship between the two packs.

"Have others gone missing, too?" Clover was a little curious as to what he had meant by the mountain range being cranky, and hoped that her friend's disappearance was simply an unfortunate occurrence, and not common up here.

"We'll check with @Aquene," Chan assured her, tucking the plants named away in his memory. He felt certain they could at least partially match the list, but their resident medic was the only one who knew for sure what they had, and Chan wouldn't feel comfortable dipping into her stores without her permission in a non-emergency.

"No, but it's certainly not unheard of, unfortunately," he answered honestly. There wasn't a pack in existence that didn't experience missing members, and the mountain wolves had certainly not been spared. They'd seen lethal avalanches, drops and temperatures all, in addition to much, much more.

"I'd like to walk with you back down the mountain, when you go. Show you the way I take, it's the safest I've found and I've been up and down too many times to count."

Already guilt was gnawing at him about Clover's loss, he certainly did not want to hear that the weather claimed her as well.

(This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2021, 07:07 AM by Chan.)

She did not want to bother Aquene unnecessarily, but it seemed Chan was happy enough to provide her with an introduction to their pack healer. Clover would try and make the interaction as brief as she could without seeming ungrateful, as while she would love to hang around and chat, she really needed to get back home and see if Xulia was there, or warn Viorel of her disappearance so the pack could be on the lookout.

Clover spared a sideways glance at him, ears splaying to the side in a show of understanding. It was an awful thing to happen to anyone regardless of the circumstances, but it was good to hear they had yet to have one of their members go missing as of yet. The mountain was a much more dangerous place to disappear in than the woods and meadows closer to where her pack was situated.

It was a kind offer from Chan for a personal escort down the mountain, and she was very grateful for it. "Thank you, that'd be very helpful. I had a bit of difficulty making my way up here." While she had not had any injuries, it had been a bit of a difficult climb in some spots, and it would be nice to have a safer route for if she were to come by this way again in the future.

As for now, the thought of taking a rest somewhere warm and cozy was beginning to creep into the back of her mind, and she wondered how far it was till they reached the central area of the pack. "Do you mind if I have a short rest after we meet with Aquene? It's been quite a long journey." Her voice was a little softer as she spoke now, betraying the tiredness she was starting to feel.

He was glad that she was willing to accept his offer, and nodded along to her words.

"Understandable; we live on the shore of Lost Lake, after all."

Her following request was timed well, for they were strides away from the cache he'd planned to stop by before hitting the den, which lie just out of sight. The named body of water glimmered in the distance, all but hidden by the tree trunks. If one were looking, they might catch glimpses of it.

"Absolutely. In fact," he stopped, deposited the delegate gifts on the ground, and began to dig. The earth came away easily due to frequent use given it's proximity to their den site. He pulled out the carcass of a hefty hare, bites missing but still possessing plenty of meat and only a day or so old. He would consider it a good meal himself, and so hoped it was suitable for Clover. He dropped it at his paws and spoke while returning the clods of dirt to their proper place atop the stash.

"How about you take this and rest up in our den while I do the running? I'll put these away and grab you plants to take back, as well as check in with our guardian Nash about Xulia."

He would still show her the way to the den of course, as well as introduce Clover to anyone there before taking off to do these things.

"Is there anything else I can get you?"

(This post was last modified: Dec 15, 2021, 07:31 AM by Chan.)