Lost Lake at the shrine of friendship

For @Zeta only the first round, then open to all FTC wolves after Zane howls.
Dated 10/25 - Clear skies & sunny, midday.
Halloween RE: Zane, you find a freshly killed deer at the borders of a neighboring pack! Trick or Treat!

Of all the vast changes in landscape the duo had witnessed since their quest for their father had begun, this range of mountains was by far Zane's favorite. After having crossed at Bramble Falls, he was reluctant to completely descend and return to the flat forests below. Therefor, they had begun to travel south along the ridge, enjoying the marvelous change of pace, the crisp air and the constant challenge of find their footings. Still children despite being half way through their yearling year, they had made many a game of their situation, never bored by the lack of company so long as they had each other. In fact, Zane was coming to terms with their new freedom, and had decided somewhere along that steep climb that he could be happy just like this regardless of whether they have found and end to their searching or not. The boy still missed his mother, especially on cold nights when he was forced to realize that he was beginning to forget how it felt to have @Delia curled up with them, but he felt confident that she was safe with their natal pack. It was Zeta who needed him, and Zeta with whom he would always find happiness with.

Their solitude was not to last, however. The yearlings had spied the cove from a distance, the beauty of it immediately drawing them inward. Yet as they approached, it became apparent that not only did they have company, but it was a full pack that called this area home. Should've figured, Zane had thought with an inward sigh. Such an oasis would of course draw any mountain-dwelling wolves together into a pack. Part of him wished to turn then and there, to avoid this gathering of strangers, but he could not forget their true goal, and even if he did, Zeta would surely remind him.

"Think maybe they've heard of him?" he asked his sister as they sauntered closer to the borders. Despite the many (NPC) strangers they had come across during their time in the Lore, not a single soul was familiar with the name Argyris. If Erebos had come this way, surely an established pack would have heard of him, right? They could only hope, for the children did not know of Erebos' relatives, nor that his brother was a king many times over. Erebos had been unwilling to share more than his surname with the woman he had loved, leaving them with little ancestral history to be passed to them by their mother after he had disappeared.

Before he could receive an answer, however, Zane was swiftly distracted by the scent of something different drifting toward them. ANy words his sister might have said in response would be lost upon him as his tremulous nose set to work and he picked up his pace, jogging ahead to find what it was that so thickly clouded the air. It didn't take long to come across the freshly slain corpse of a deer, laced heavily with the scent of something else. The boy, having never before come across a Lynx, could not place the other predator that had taken down the kill, and knew nothing of the danger that may or may not still be lurking nearby.

"Zeta! Look at this!" he urged, hesitant to touch the meat before him. As much as his stomach was rumbling, he knew that this meal did not belong to them, even if it lay just outside the border of this foreign pack. It was theirs, but why had they left it here?

"Do you think... maybe we should give a shout out to tell them? I mean, what if they forget it and it rots?" That would certainly be quite the waste, and oh how Zane hated to be lavish.

Zane might have found their trip long and boring, but for Zeta every mile they had travelled had been an adventure all on its own, each new territory alive with sights and sounds and smells the rabbit had never imagined could exist before. Meeting new wolves had been almost as exciting, but with none of them having any information on their father, Zeta's excitement had cooled with each time she heard that their latest encounter could tell them nothing about Erebos or where he might be now.

All the same, she couldn't stifle the urgent hopefulness she felt at Zane's question. Grinning ear-to-ear, she let her tail wag freely behind her as she said, "It's worth giving them a call..." She frowned, noticing that Zane wasn't paying her any mind - in fact, he was trotting away from her, his nose twitching. Annoyed at being ignored and curious about what had drawn his attention, the rabbit followed her brother, her own eyes fixed on him. When they finally found the deer carcass, Zeta's first instinct was to reach down to take a bite - she was starving. But Zane's words gave her pause long enough for her to realize how very close they were still to the pack's territory; theft of their prey probably wouldn't endear the Argyris twins to these wolves very well.

Grumbling to herself, Zeta plopped down and nodded once, grouchily, to her brother. "I guess we probably should, frère. It'd be pretty bad if this got left to rot."

the rabbit

Adopt my twin!

@Vespertio @Namid @Pharika @Kajika
@Athena @Aleister @Cernan @Neha
-skids back in at the last second- YO. FTC, Zane and @Zeta have a "lost wallet" to return, if you will~

Even if her sulking had not been so blatant he would have been able to read it, but Zeta always made it easy to know just what was going on behind those brilliant green eyes, a probity that he had always admired. To Zane, it seemed as though such vibrant expression sourced from a thorough comfort with herself, though this was one facet of his sister that was not utterly known to the long-legged yearling. He assumed it all the same, yearned to share the trait with her, but as much as he had tried throughout his life, he could not shake away the feelings that he was most ashamed of feeling. Perhaps that was what made him value her honesty so thoroughly.

He nudged her shoulder with a tender smile, hoping that she might meet his gaze.

"Maybe they'll share? If not, I'll grab ya a nice fat rabbit. Promise," he told her, feeling absolutely no qualms about catching dinner while she rested. Zeta was just as capable as he, yet the boy adored doting over his sister, especially given how ragged this lengthy venture was running them both.

With their agreement settled, he tipped his chin up toward the sky, and let out a modest song, calling forth any members of the pack whose borders they were near to. Anyone would do, and he hoped dearly that they would be friendly.

When he had awoken that morning it had seemed perfect weather for some patrolling before a nice session of sunbathing. However during his time spent roaming the borders an interesting scent had caught his attention which he had decided to follow.  While doing just that he had tried to place the scent, what it could be.  It had also come to his attention that he hadn't ever smelled anything quite like it before and he wondered what it belonged to.  That was why he was so intent on finding the source of the scent. He wasn't sure how long he had been following the trail when it brought him to a small group of bushes but he felt that it had brought him some ways from where he'd started.

He was careful as he stuck his nose under the bush to get whatever might be under it causing the interesting scent.  It was soon disregarded as a call from the borders reached his ears.  The voice didn't belong to any one that he knew.  Still his ears perked as he raised his head from the bush.  He knew his duty was to go and find out exactly who was at their borders and what they wanted. He took one last look at the bush disappointed slightly he wasn't going to find the source of the scent but duty was more important.  With that thought he bounded off in the direction of where the call had come from.  After dodging trees and leaping over fallen stumps he finally came within a few meters of the borders where he paused a moment to watch the two wolves that were  there.  His senses told him it was a male and a female but that wasn't all, the scent of deer meat reached his nares as well.  This was an interesting situation  he thought as he slowly stepped in to the open keeping alert to any signs these wolves might mean harm, "What brings you to our borders?" He asked his tone friendly though is stance was assertive as he stopped just inside the border.

(This post was last modified: Dec 31, 2015, 05:46 AM by Kajika.)

Please see OOC Profile for OOC Preferences, Thank you.

The temperatures were slowly but surely dropping, bringing a chill with it that wrapped around them during the night like a wet blanket. Sickness could occur easily with the sudden drops, even her own sinuses had been taking a hard hit from the ups and down. Normally she would be out and about doing things, but the Queen had decided that she would take a different approach. Once everyone had been out of the communal den, she set off in search of as much moss and soft ferns as she could. Soon they would be gone as the snow fell, and it was her last chance to coat the floor of the den with as much warmth and softness as she could. She’d carried moss by the jaw full and pressed it into every crevice and corner that she could, insulating against any drafts that might sneak their way in. She placed whatever else she could find of it among the floor, spreading it as much as she could. When she’d found that she couldn’t find any more, she’d turned to lichens and soft ferns, dragging the leafy branches across the land and stripping the branches once she’d reached the den to lay the leaves amongst the moss. It was a long process that would likely yet take another day, but she’d paused her menstruations as a call rang through the air.

The voice she didn’t know, and it had a tone of a summons. Her head tilted curiously to the side and she moved from the den towards the borders where it was come from. Her pace wasn’t panicked or quick, but instead a steady trot. She would get there when she got there, chin lifted regally and tail lifted slightly. These were her lands, inside and out, and she knew it. Coming upon the scene she found two yearlings and Kajika. The first thing she noticed about them were their eyes, such vibrant colors that could almost unsettle one’s self if looked at too much. Next, she noticed their skinny frames and how their skin stuck more to bone than meat. They were obviously loners without her having to even scent them. Then, she noticed that deer at their paws. Her own mismatched gaze glanced around, seeing no signs of dragging that would indicate that the pair had moved the body here nor did she see any signs of a kill. The animal must have died of natural causes, and the duo had stumbled upon it. She stopped just a bit ahead of her subordinate, brushing her shoulder along his to let him know she had arrived. “Hello, my name is Namid. I am the lead female of these lands.” she introduced, not bothering to ask of their reason for being there. She’d heard Kajika ask it already and didn’t want to reiterate the question. They would answer.

The agouti adolescent silently trotted along his birthpack's heavily traversed borders. His parents scents and those of their subordinates littered the territory lines. The boy was quickly learning the ways of life here in the Lore and was on his way of knowing Fallen Tree Cove's territory like that back of his paw. If the prince wanted to inherit his fathers kingdom, the boy needed to know the lands inside and out like his father did. The mountains were treacherous and Aleister kept away from them for good reason with the snow covered rocks proving to be difficult for the most traversed wolf in the mountain. Al would have time in the spring and summer and learn more about the mountain, when it was safe for his rookie paws to travel through those lands.

A summoning howl broke his concentration, his dark audits rising. Quickening his pace towards the unfamiliar voice, his mismatched gaze alert, but wary. The Lake Prince soon came upon the party gathered, his mother and Kajika already present while two unfamiliar wolves stood alongside a dead deer. His colorful gaze questioned the two before them, but his mother had already been quick to figure out their motives here. Nudging his mother fondly upon the cheek and a lick place on the underside of her chin, the Prince waited for loner's response.

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health