Sex: FemaleWhat did it take to find some damn water around here? The thirst parched her tongue like sandpaper, threatening to strip it away if she couldn’t find an ounce of moisture. It felt like even the moisture in the air was gone… the blood in her kill seemed appealing in that regard. At least it would be something wet for her to consume. She made her way along the trail of a dried up riverbed, heading to the north in hopes that the drought had not yet reached lands that were rumored to be laced with eternal snow… surely it could not be that bad, right?
Her hunger began to pang, a noise escaping that caused her to pause, tasting the air in hopes of finding some relief for at least one of her problems. She didn’t understand what spirit or goddess she had pissed off to punish her so. She’d ventured for a long time, in the sweltering heat of lands far south… and yet nothing felt nearly as miserable as the land that she had found herself in. Perhaps she was better off fleeing back to the lands from whence she came… and yet, something stayed her paw from actually making the move.
Instead, there was a low and frustrated growl directly mostly at herself, frustration over the lack of prey on the air. The last thing she needed was another problem that she could not solve.
Archer Valle
Archer had left home yesterday morning, intent on reaching the mountain as quickly as possible. He knew there was still water in Bramble Falls to the north, which is where he usually travelled, and he could usually make it within a day if he moved fast, but he didn't know of any sources along the direct route to Lost Lake. He hoped there was still some water to be had there at least; it had been the biggest water body he'd ever seen. There had to still be something there, right? And the company would be much better than the lack thereof at the Falls.
A frustrated growl met Archer's ears and he paused, sniffing the air. He smelled someone else, someone he didn't recognize. They carried no pack-scent, so Archer continued forward, albeit cautiously. He didn't want another encounter like the one with that absolute madman at the now-dry riverbed. He spotted her not far ahead and stopped a respectful distance back. "Hello?" he called. "Are you okay?"
[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.
She tasted the air, trying to find prey. Prey would go where the water was, wouldn't they? Instead of prey, though, she found... other wolves. Well, maybe they were also looking for water. Or for food. Probably. She almost felt bad, fleeing from the Willow Ridge pack; she'd have to go back if the waters returned; that pack had a great source of water prior. The hunting had been easy, too, and she'd managed to stay out of the pack wolves way and go fairly unnoticed. Probably not unnoticed, but ignored.
One smelled like other wolves; probably pack. The other one, smelled like nothing but the forest around them, or perhaps the area from which they'd come. She kept her distance, behind the male wolf, waiting to see if either of them were going to be the kind of wolf that she needed to take off and run from.
A younger voice breached the air, her head turning to spot the yearling (or at least pretty damn close to being a yearling) asking if she was okay. She frowned, taking a deep breath to calm down her earlier frustrations as best as she could before using it as a learning opportunity. The scents of other wolves clung to his pelt. “Okay enough… looking for some water, if you know where to find any.” Perhaps the child would know… because she liked to think if he didn’t know, then he would be dead.
It was in her head craning that she caught a scent, and then the sight of another. “Who else is out there?” She called out more general, hoping to force Leda to reveal herself in full earnest. There was no reason to hide, especially with the state of the land. Wolves needed to work together in order to survive, right? At least the pack boy should understand that… the other woman, it was too soon to tell, until she got at the very least a good scent off of her.
Archer Valle
It was quickly apparent that this woman was not going to behave the same way that crazy guy had and Archer was able to relax a little. She didn't seem to be guarding any food. To nobody's surprise, she was looking for water too. Archer shrugged. "There's some at Bramble Falls, north of here," he said, not mentioning the lake far closer. He wasn't about to lead a stranger to his neighbor's home - especially since he himself would be arriving unannounced.
The tawny woman suddenly turned her head and called out for another. It was only as he turned that Archer scented the other girl. His ears twitched; how had he not heard her before? He prided himself on his awareness of his surroundings, trained into him by Eros's antics. Still, he decided to sit and sweep his tail around his feet to make himself as unthreatening as possible.
[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.
Two others was a bit of a crowd. But neither of them seemed like they wanted to hurt her; and so, she took her chances, moving nearer slowly. "I'm sorry if I startled you." She doesn't direct the statement to either wolf, and does not seem to mind if it's taken as a blanket statement. She had not been prepared to run into others, to socialize... but she wasn't going to take off if either of them might know of water, some shelter from the heat would be nice too.
But mostly water. Her head was starting to ache, and she was pretty sure she'd blinked her vision into blurriness more than once.
Food. Water. Yes, both of those things made the three of them kindred spirits. It made the entire world kindred… and yet, it was also the things that shed the most blood. The boy was quick to provide an answer. He was larger than her, though he also appeared to be about her age. The woman on the other hand was older, though she could not tell how much. “Where is Bramble Falls?” She asked curiously, wondering if the boy would indulge her that or if he would become protective or territorial over the water.
She hummed and shook her head at the statement. “You didn’t.” She stated, her voice soft despite the bluntness of her words as she looked between the two of them. “There’s no water here, but perhaps the three of us could figure out a way to remedy a food problem, eh?” She posed with a soft smile. She was a tiny thing, which made her fast in a hunt, but to take down anything potentially bigger than a dehydrated rabbit, she would need friends… she just hoped they could be the friends she was seeking.
Archer Valle
The third wolf revealed herself, though she sounded less than pleased at being called out. Perhaps she'd merely wanted to wander by, and now felt obligated to socialize. Archer could understand that desire; sometimes his brother could drag him in to things he held no interest in doing. Still, they were here now, discussing water and food.
He turned back to the first woman he'd been talking to, though he kept the other in view in his periphery. "It's almost straight north from here; if you follow the mountain without turning up the pass, it'll be there." It was the nearest water source to home so he probably shouldn't be sharing, but he didn't want to be the reason someone else out here died. Whatever reason they were alone, it didn't mean they deserved to suffer.
At the mention of food his ears pricked. "A hunt?" he asked. He hadn't been on a proper hunt since the disastrous first, wherein he and Eros had been banished for disobeying. He'd caught smaller prey on his own, but the idea of taking down something bigger with hunting companions excited him.
[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.
"I'd not mind a hunt," she stated, she was small, fast, though if they wanted to hunt something large enough to share, they'd need to do it together. Leda didn't usually share her food, but then again, she usually only caught small animals like rabbits... which meant there was enough for her.
"A hunt before we find water?" She inquired, glancing between the two.
She was grateful for the information that her agemate was able to provide. It was a clearcut direction that offered water. She would seek it out after their encounter with each other was done in order to parch her own thirst, perhaps a bit greedily. Still, if there was water to be had, then she would seek it out.
They both seemed open to the idea of a hunt, though truthfully the girl was not sure if they were thrilled about it or if they were agreeing out of obligation to their social contracts… either way, she did not dwell on it too much. “It’ll keep our energy up and the blood will help with our thirst a little bit before we can make it to the falls.” She had no idea if what she was saying was accurate, but they seemed open to it.
“I thought I smelled some game heading north… seems like it would be on the way too…” Maybe they could find some rabbits stirred up by the herd even if the three of them were not able to catch something bigger. They would have to leave it up to fate as to what they found.