Broken Antler Fen I wish I was special

@Haiku

The stillness of winter was sometimes felt eerily to Wraen, because she always missed the exact point in time, when the songs of the summer birds became quiet and the only members of the winged bretheren that occasionally broke the silence were crows and a random sea-gull pulled way off-course. The wonder, of where the little guys went and when exactly, occured to her, when she was walking the borders of their forming claim. The place still belonged to the wilds, their numbers too low to properly mark and defend their home, but she had high hopes for the future. 

She stopped by the tracks of cougar that had passed by during the nighttime - it had been a young male, fearless and bold to venture that far in the wolf claim, but the longer she tracked, the more relieved she began to feel. The path was not fresh, it led to remnants of a quick meal and then off into the wilds again. After inspecting the leftovers on the meal dish and finding nothing useful, she returned to the patrol she had begun earlier.

Spring and Summer were more of the Mackenzie’s tempo when it came to seasonal affairs. To revel in the rebirth and bloom of the Earth during the warmer months, the Thawdrift was the unconventional type of male who had no qualms frolicking amongst flowers all afternoon or sun lounging on a warm boulder for the day without a care in the world. Autumn and Winter had their notable characteristics as it was a time for pack bonding; keeping warm amongst each other, helping each other survive the frost, and spending more interpersonal time with one another.
 
This was the first Winter of Haiku’s life where he was alone. Though he could not resist the pull of wanderlust at his paws, deep down his soul duly ached for the company of his former pack. He felt nostalgic for times he and his twin sister attempted to ‘skate’ across frozen lakes and when their entire family brought down the largest game of the season to feast on. Those fond memories pushed him through the toughest travel days. Ironically, it inspired him to keep going.
 
At his usual trot, it considerably slowed when his nose picked up scents. They seemed quite faint yet and elusive to get an accurate sniff of, being ignorant to the fact a pack was forming here. Eventually crossing the faded tracks of the cougar himself, they intermingled with a second pair of canine tracks that caught his interest. Haiku decided to follow the fresh prints until in the distance a gray-colored wolf was seen on the beat. ”Hey!” Haiku barked, loping a couple of strides forward to get closer proximity but eventually slowing to a respected distance. ”Know where that cougar went?” He inquired, giving a swish of his tail.

Wraen jumped a little, when she caught sight of a stranger moving through trees and heading directly towards her. A quick glance around reaffirmed her that she was perfectly alone in this one, so with a sigh she turned to face the approaching man. First a little apprehensive, then upon the second glance she suddenly thought about Toad and her interest in eligible bachelors. If he proved to be a valuable asset and not a psycho, she would have fulfilled her end of the bargain that she had jokingly promissed to the lady from Firefly glen. 

"Good day to you, sir," she greeted him with a polite smile and a dip of her muzzle. "Wherever it is - seems to be far off for now," she replied. "Unless you saw this guy in person somewhere near."

The lone male’s initial appearance seemed to startle her and so Haiku kept his respectful distance. It had been quite some time he saw another wolf with a coat featuring dominant grays, although she had undertones of brown and silvery-white woven in. Her eyes were the brightest green he encountered thus far and was a stark contrast to her overall coloration and the Winter environment surrounding them. She kindly addressed him and his concern regarding the cougar’s whereabouts. ”I see—good to know.” He responded, flicking an ear. ”Haven’t personally seen it myself but curious to know if they do much prowling around these parts.” It was a valid concern, especially for a lone wolf like him. He would be in competition with other predators during the Winter that didn’t hibernate.
 
Noticing there were a plethora of faint scents yet she was the only wolf in this area, Haiku couldn’t help but inquire further. ”You know, I thought I smelled what seemed like a pack presence but I may be wrong… are you from around here?” He questioned. So far the resident wolves in the Teekon Wilds whom he encountered to date had all been helpful to him passing through. Hopefully Haiku wasn’t stealing her away from anything to pressing in her patrols.

"There are a few - depends on, where your hunting grounds are," Wraen replied, remembering a scuffle she and other two wolves had got themselves into, while trying to scare a cougar away. Then there had been a time, when a cougar had stolen a puppy at Sunspire, but she was no longe sure, if memory wasn't simply tricking her. The older she got, the harder it became to remember certain events of her youth in detail. 

"Well, me and some of my friends are working on forming a claim here," she explained. "We were vagabonds until we decided that perhaps banding together for winter was both practical and safe. My sister got attacked by a crazy man and there have been rumours about other unfriendly packs combing the lands..." she shrugged.  "What about you - why are you on your own during this time of the year?" she asked.

She spoke with the pleasant stranger for a little while longer and then they left on mutually good terms.

I editted an ending to it for now, since it is getting outdated. But, whenver you feel like returning, we can revive this, edit and continue it. :) Just PM me!