Stonewatch Timbers Strange Terrain

OCC Comments: @Raela Dated 2/27 about midday
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Traveling further north Tyne figured he was at least a couple days journey from the lagoon that he and his pack mates had temporarily set up camp. The agouti male decided to go out and scope the land that they were dumped in. while this is what he told himself, but subconsciously he was truly trying to find a way back home to the coast. He had meet a couple of other wolves on his travels and agreed with Blitz to an extent. The land wolves were definitely different but not all of them were bad. Sure there had been one maybe two that didn’t share his open kindness but to each their own.
 
This terrain was much different than anything he had ever experienced. There were cliffs back home sure but they weren’t covered in snow and weren’t so crumbly. The tawny yearling learned quickly that he was unable to move very fast for when he did his large paws would either slip on a patch of ice or fall on a loose rock causing him to almost tumble down a ledge. The sun was high in the sky marking that it was about midday. He hadn’t traveled very far from the small den he had found in the rocks, but he was definitely gaining altitude. Coming around a bend, Tyne found himself atop a hill with an amazing view of the forest below. He was on a small plateau that was just above the tree line. 

For OOC preferences just check Moonshadow's profile

Raela was very much preoccupied. The russet woman was tearing through the powdery snow behind an equally white and fluffy rabbit, a rabbit that was incredibly startled and streaking for safety. It was a good use of the woman's time and pent up aggressions with her season bearing down. Her scent was stronger now though, and it had alerted her quarry much too soon. The critter was zig-zagging wildly between the timbers, skipping across the snow's surface while the heavier wolf sort of blasted right through. It was so hard to track movement in the flurry of white, and this hare was a sprightly one. 

Predator and prey dashed through the valley, both oblivious to any other living things in the vicinity. Raela had already pursued this thing for too long, it was going to find a place to hide soon and she was going to loose it. That, or give up and save her energy for a less botched attempt at lunch. Before the thought could even fully materialize the varmint was ducking down into a burrow, leaving the frustrated wolf behind. Raela skidded to a stop just outside the earthy shelter, sticking her nose into the entrance and pulling back with a snort. It was gone. 

So many hunts ended this way, and it was nothing to get that upset over; there wasn't a hunter in the world that didn't fail at hunts, and certainly no wolf that caught more animals than they lost. The Queen of the Crest wasn't supposed to be pouting like a child, but she was. The woman turned from the burrow, body almost seeming to snap with agitation. She took a deep breath. It had to be the hormones; she was so on edge and tense and she hated it. It wasn't like her at all. Raela's sunny eyes turned up from the valley to one of the hills above, unaware of the fact that someone up there might very well have caught a glimpse of her ill-fated hunt between the trees. She angled herself toward home, and began padding back beneath the pleated at an easy trot; head lowered to a meager shoulder height. She would find something else to eat. 

            

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

The view atop the hill was absolutely breath taking. Snow dusted tree tops went as far as the eye could see. The tawny male hadn’t seen anything like it before. His awe stricken state was broken by commotion in the valley below. He heard the commotion before he saw it. Charcoal tipped ears captured the sound of paws pounding on the snow below. His gold irises drifted down to where he believed the origin of the sound came from.  Not seeing anything he was about to look elsewhere when he sees a white blur fly across the terrain. He cocks his head to the side a bit in confusion about what it could possibly be. Then a blur of browns and creams races after it. His confusion fades quickly as he realizes that it is a hare that is being chased by a wolf.
 
He was much too high and they were moving too fast for him to make out specific details about the other wolf. He watches the two forms dart across rocky terrain when the white hare quickly disappears. It must have found its burrow. That’s unfortunate for them he thinks to himself feeling empathetic for the stranger. He had his fair share of hunting busts. When he was younger he would really be bummed out when a hunt didn’t go well. As he learned more he realized that he was gonna fail more than he was gonna succeed. The stranger paused for a moment then turned to make their way towards the peaks, and towards the agouti male.
Thought

For OOC preferences just check Moonshadow's profile

She was plodding along, still feeling a little of the sting of failure and the overblown frustration that the season had brought when her brilliant yellow eyes just happened to drift upward. They picked along the rocky hillside, finding the standard trees and shrubs and not thinking much of it. That was until they snagged on something not so tree-like. Raela was lost in her own thoughts enough that it took a moment for her usually attentive self to realize what the smudge on top of the ridge really was. Her honey pools widened in acknowledgment and she came to a stop. Just how long had they been watching? Had she looked like a fool in front of a stranger?

The Queen of the Crest wasn't sure if this was a sinister encounter, or just another wandering yearling. It was too hard to tell from her position below him and the wind was not being helpful. The woman simply stared for a moment, before her jaws parted in some sort of howling-woof; a shortened call meant to cross the considerable amount of frigid air between them. Her eyes locked onto his shape; glowing with a sort of curiosity and some apprehension. Who was he and what was he doing up there? The matriarch's tail came up to sway back and forth a couple times in tentative greeting. Raela at least, was not here to eat him. 

            

The wolf below him had looked up towards him he couldn’t be sure they had been looking at him though due to the distance. This uncertainty was washed away when the wolf stopped still looking up in the tawny male’s direction. Becoming more alert he stepped closer to the edge with charcoal dusted ears standing atop his head. A howl like bark reached him shortly after the other wolf stopped. The voice was kind in greeting and sounded like it came from a female. Raising his cream muzzle to the sky he lets out return howl like bark to alert the stranger that he wasn’t a threat.
 
Looking back down at the stranger for a brief moment the agouti male decides to make his way down from the ledge. Turning from the edge Tyne follows the pathway down from the plateau. Carefully walking along the rocks he made his way down the path. Rounding the final switchback he saw the stranger a ways down the path. He is able to make out more details about the stranger now that he is closer. She has a very similar colored pelt to the yearling. The tawny female was quite a bit smaller than he was. With a quick inhale Tyne was able to determine that this stranger was in fact a pack wolf. His posture his neutral for he doesn’t want to come across as threatening.

For OOC preferences just check Moonshadow's profile

Her autumn-colored ears stood on end to receive his salutation; one that was not entirely unlike Raela's own. She was grateful for the placid, even amiable tone as her tail came to rest easily at her hocks. Golden eyes tracked him until he backed away from the ledge and vanished from sight. The pack wolf had a hunch that the stranger was trying to find a way down to her from his perch, and so she waited with rapt attention. Her hearing pinpointed the male's footsteps as he descended. When at last the youth's russet coat emerged and swept easily through the trees Raela took him in fully. 

The thinner frame of a yearling stood there in the snow, but he was definitely her superior in height. If he hadn't been so tall she might have wondered if this one had Asurn blood in him. Thankfully it seemed to not be the case. She met his similarly colored eyes for a second, not wanting to make prolonged eye-contact and irritate the boy. He hadn't spoken a single word yet, and, seeing as they were now within conversational distance, the Queen steeled her nerves to greet him properly. 

"Hey," she started tentatively."What brings you here?" Well it might not have been her turf, it was still land in some proximity to it. It was better for the Crest Alpha to know what was going on in these parts and who was passing through them if she could. Even better, if she could find more lone wanderers to add to their pack. The ranks were in sore need of males in particular, so perhaps she was in luck.  

            

Approaching slowly towards the tawny female Tyne gave her a smile. Her voice was kind and with another inhale he detected the scent of others on her; causing him to assume that she was the leader of a pack. Worry instantly filled the boy. He thought he had avoided pack lands. He hadn’t crossed pack borders, for if he had this woman wouldn’t be so kind or neutral. “Hello, I'm just passing through exploring the lands. I woke up here a few weeks ago and wanted to become familiar with where I ended up” he responds with a smile to her question. His tail sways slightly between his ankles.
 
Charcoal and rust ears stood atop his head ready to capture her answer. He hoped that he hadn’t intruded upon any claimed lands. The agouti male wasn’t a fan of conflict or confrontation and tried his best to avoid it. Conflict with any land wolves would also hinder his and his pack mate’s chances of succeeding in this land. Even though they all wanted to get home, Tyne had had time to realize that they could very well be stuck here for a while.

For OOC preferences just check Moonshadow's profile

His answer was quite normal and she was ready to dismiss the lad as a typical vagabond, until he mentioned that he had 'woken up' here. Confusion took her golden eyes as well as her expression. How could one just wake up somewhere else? Her head tilted to the side gingerly in thought. She wanted to ask him, but just how took the woman a moment to figure out. Raela's brows furrowed and she lifted her gaze to look the boy over once again. "You just... woke up?" Her voice was soaked with curiosity. 

"What happened?" The  question seemed to follow naturally. She was perfectly fine with the yearling doing some exploring or whatever, but this was something she had never heard in her almost four years in the world. No member of her pack and certainly no loners had ever said such a thing. There was a hint of concern seeping into the Queen's tone as she realized that perhaps this could affect one of their own. Had he been ill? Should she even be standing near this wolf right now? The tension returned to her muscles reflexively as her sunshine eyes swept up and down his lanky form. He looked fine, so either this occurred long ago or it had not caused him physical harm. However, that made it no less dangerous; she knew of ailments of the mind. Sometimes those were even worse. 

            

Her curiosity was expected since the yearling had not only been curious himself but every wolf thus far that he has met has been confused about one aspect or another about him or his story. Whether it is where exactly where comes from or how he got here.
 
“Yea I just woke up in a meadow south of here. To be completely honest I have no idea how I ended up here. Last thing I remember was hunting for my pack when the elders alerted the rest of the pack of trouble. I went to the beach to see what was causing the alarm. When I got there every one was running and yelling. I turned to run as well when everything went black…I dunno how long I was out but when I woke up I had a splitting headache and was next to one of my packmates. She and I weren’t the only ones who were taken from our home, a few others were brought here as well” he explained pain and confusion laced in his words.
 
He looked at the white covered ground as he spoke of ending up in this foreign land. When he had finished he looked at the stranger with a half smile and placed his large cream haunches on the frozen ground beneath him.

For OOC preferences just check Moonshadow's profile