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Clouse was thankful for his parents' many tales of this place, otherwise he would have turned tail the moment he realized he was leaving behind crimson pawprints which made him think of blood. He'd found the Red Sands, then. It felt more like clay to his own tender pads, wet and cold as the snow. The young man hated Winter, and had to wonder with each stride how different, and likely prettier, this would all be if it were only Summer.

Maybe he'd find a reason to be around here long enough to see it.

Something had begun nagging him down in his gut, pulling him toward the storied Lore and the many homesteads of his predecessors. If he had known that his sister was here searching for him, he would have beelined it for the Ridge. Unfortunately, Clouse was oblivious. He slid down a slope of snow-slicked sands and giggled boyishly at the way it tickled his stomach, the picture of a wolf who was in no particular rush at all. After all, he was still savoring this freedom he'd ran away to know.

Wrynn had been feeling quite morose after the pack meeting where Woya explained they were disbanding. Since Levi disappeared he'd felt strangely alone, and had decided he wouldn't be moving with the others to the pack on the mountain. Partly because he felt that he didn't really belong, and partly because he was still afraid of heights. Even the thought of going up there sent a cold shiver down his spine.

His paws brought him back to the red hills just south of the pack lands, now covered in a thin film of snow. But it seemed as if he wasn't alone. His muscles froze at the sound of giggling up above him, ears flicking back against his skull as he tried to figure out where exactly it was coming from.

He saw a darkly furred wolf sliding down one of the slopes, spraying snow and revealing the red dirt beneath. Wrynn licked his lips nervously, feeling his throat tighten so that he couldn't even make a sound. Maybe he could slip away before the other wolf even noticed him...

The stranger would have no such luck, as Clouse's storm-grey eyes were quick to spot the smudge of tan and briar further down the rolling foothills. It had been some time since he'd crossed paths with other wolves and excitement was quick to rise in his chest, that social butterfly in him eager to unfurl its wings once again. He let out a yap to let the other know he was approaching and then began to scale downward, slipping here and there with a small laugh at himself each time.

He took the final few yards in a leap, landing hard in the snow quite close to his unnamed company. He flashed a grin from his gray-smattered muzzle, black tail wagging happily.

"Hey! Name's Clouse. Who're you?"

Crap, he'd been spotted.

Taking a deep breath and doing his best to stop his ears from pulling back against his head, Wrynn turned to face the other wolf as they came skidding down the hill towards him. He skittered back a few steps at the spray of snow from the stranger's hard landing, quickly shaking off the flurries that had dusted over his neck and side.

He licked his lips nervously at the introduction, figuring that the other wolf did not mean him any harm. It helped that they were of similar size and proportions, but old habits died hard. "Wrynn."

And now he didn't know what to say. Wrynn had wanted some solitude to think through his thoughts, and so had not prepared himself to socialise with someone else. "You... from around here?"

Why was talking so hard?

Clouse began to notice the other wolf's unease, but he did not outwardly acknowledge it. As a teenager, he'd appeared to be quite a different wolf, wracked with anxieties and utterly unsure of himself. With maturation had come confidence, and when he met others who appeared to have that familiar struggle he did for them what he was thankful others had for him; he simply treated them the same as anyone else, giving them the time to warm up at their own pace.

"Nah. Well-," he paused, shoulders rocking side-to-side as a soft ehh sound leaked from his maw, "kinda. My family is. Why? What about you?"

Was he just making conversation, or did he need something from a local? Maybe Clouse was too close to his home. Who knew! At least the guy didn't seem mad or wounded.

Clouse seemed friendly enough, even reminding him of Levi a bit, minus the size difference. His ears waggled a bit with curiosity as the other wolf continued speaking, thinking back to that woman he had met a while back. She too had been looking for her family. He briefly wondered if she ever found them, before snapping himself back to attention, hoping he hadn't missed anything else Clouse might have said.

"Err... not really." Wrynn hunched his shoulders a bit, softly biting his lower lip. "'m part of a pack... but," he trailed off, glancing down at his paws, "we're disbanding." It felt strangely final to say the words out loud himself. Part of him wished they weren't leaving, but it didn't feel right to go with them. And so he would be left behind again, by himself. He was used to being lonely though, so everything would surely be okay.

He glanced back up at Clouse, twitching an ear forward. "You looking for your family?"

Oh. That sounded kind of... sad. Clouse didn't frown, but his smile did deflate as he regarded the other wolf with consideration. Plenty of questions leapt to his mind at the revelation, but before he could get any of them out Wrynn had volleyed his own query.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he offered first, assuming based on his demeanor that the stranger was unhappy with this turn of events.

"Kind of the opposite, actually. Everyone moved on from here before I was born I guess. I left them to come this way. What're you gonna do now, if the packs splittin' apart?"

Clouse's words were kind, especially considering they didn't know each other at all and there was no reason for him to be so nice. Wrynn was still used to others being so nice for no apparent reason, still feeling like he had to earn that kindness. He merely shrugged in response, not really knowing what to say in response. It was what it was, and even though he was moping about it a little, there wasn't really anything to be done about it.

Wrynn thought about Clouse's words, brows furrowing with the effort. He finally exhaled, a single long breath that ended with him clearing his throat. "I dunno... don't really have anywhere else to go, might just stick around here for a little longer." It was that or take off somewhere else where he didn't know the lay of the land. At least here he knew where landmarks were and where to find fresh water, even if it was a little frozen from the winter. Plus he was hoping he wouldn't be the only pack member not leaving to join the pack on the mountain.

"What made you wanna leave your family?"

Stick around. Clouse felt words leap into his throat and crowd there, for he was hesitant to let them out. What did he know about this man and his situation, certainly better than Wrynn himself? Nothing. Encouraging him to take advantage of this and rush blindly into the unknown might be the opposite of what the other wolf needed, even if it had been the best thing for the wayward Archer himself.

Thankfully, his acquaintance bought him time, posing his own question.

"They wanted too much from me," he answered simply, shrugging subtly. Too many things that he wasn't willing to give anyone, expectations that didn't fit with who he truly was. It wasn't that he hadn't loved his grandmothers and certainly his immediate family, but he wouldn't sacrifice himself like that even for them.

"Leavings been amazing. I've seen so much, met so many new wolves already... I'm totally different than when I left. Maybe you'll find a way to make good out of your situation too, yeah? You're young, aren'tcha? We got so much time ahead of us still."

Wrynn could almost feel the closed-off response from the other wolf, and sensed that he shouldn't push for more information. Not that he was the type of wolf to do that anyway, but he definitely didn't want to make Clouse angry by being too nosey, even if it was accidental.

At least it seemed things had gotten better for Clouse since the wolf had dispersed from his family. That was something Wrynn still felt like he had yet to properly achieve, and he was as of yet unsure if he had made the right decision in not sticking with the rest of the Chasm wolves when they left. But he'd made that decision, and would have to stick by it.

"I s'pose. Still tryna... figure out what I want to do, I guess?" Without structure he felt so lost, overwhelmed even. But Clouse seemed like he had a plan. "You heading anywhere specific?"