Dogwood Strath laced with a familiar taste of poison

March 5th, 3am, Full Moon, Snowfall, 28°F, -2°C.

Sleep evaded her. Irritable and restless, the tundra wolf tossed and turned against the freshly fallen snow, kicking her legs to spray white powder over the nearby pine and dogwood trees. The freezing snow felt did little to soothe her prickly hot skin, even as pressed her body into it, sprawled out upon the ground like some helpless fledgling dove.

The female felt the urge to move, to roam, despite the incessant aching of her tired limbs. Picking herself up from the snow and shaking herself off, she stormed over towards the towering cliff face to frantically inspect the debris at its base. She needed a distraction, something to gnaw on, anything to prevent her plucking out her own fur or licking her paws red-raw.

Clambering over the large fallen boulders, she rummaged through the debris in search of the perfect pacifier. Nudging a large branch out of the way, she buried her nose deeper into a crevasse which appeared between two boulders. Dark nostrils flared as she caught the faint scent of decay, and after a dislodging a smaller rock, spotted the large curved end of a mountain sheep horn. Immediately she tried to retrieve it, desperately pushing her nose further until she could touch the treasure with her lips, but still it was out of reach.

Embla then tried a different tactic; attempting to move one of the boulders with her paws. Still she had no luck. She was simply not large enough or strong enough to retrieve the item buried beneath the mountain rubble. The already-frustrated female huffed loudly, causing a cloud of hot air to plume out in front of her as she glared down at the horn, disgruntled.

Avella had made it quite clear, much to her brother's quiet chagrin, that promiscuity within the Ridge would not be tolerated. This likely had meant varying things to each member of the pack, but for Scully it had communicated that he needed to stretch his legs and put in a little bit of distance here and there. He wouldn't be gone for long spans of time, still needing to be present as his sister's right hand, but enough to catch his breath and still have what he wanted too.

When he crossed a scent that burned, spilling down into a twisted strath, Scully couldn't help but entertain the notion some mischievous god had laid a trap specifically for him. They did so like to see wolves fall from grace, and he was far from above the temptation.

He pressed forward, downward into the questionable terrain in order to locate the stranger. He could hear her frustrated activity before he caught sight of her, and curiosity shone in his eyes as he regarded the woman's attempts. His nose wriggled but failed to tell him what it was she was after - all he could smell was her.

"Anything I can do?"

"Anything I can do?"

Embla spun around, completely caught off-guard.

Amber eyes darted towards the dark stormy figure who was eyeing her from a distance. She held his pale grey gaze for a moment, the dark fur along her spine bristling uneasily as she considered his intentions. Much like with the tawny male she had met at the willows, Embla did not trust him at face value.

"There's a sheep horn trapped beneath the rubble." She admitted, slowly stepping back from the rock she had been trying hard to shift, careful to keep her tail-end facing away from the curious male. "I was trying to retrieve it." Embla explained, looking back through the light snowfall towards the rocks, and then settling her dark gaze back on the male, interested to see if he would step up and help her.

Nothing about her appeared very friendly, but Scully was yet to be disappointed. Challenges could be fun, after all. He remained in place until explanation was given. Sheep's horn? He strode closer, gaze held steady on the spot in the ground she'd been struggling with rather than focusing on the amber-eyed woman. He approached it from an opposing angle, nose twitching to capture it's scent. Deciding that her approach had been a good one, just in need of a little more muscle, he leaned his shoulder against the stone and motioned with his muzzle for her to join.

"Let's get it."