Whitewater Gorge the journey of a thousand miles begins with...well, you know

first scouting thread! this is for @Dawn and @Pema but if anybody wants to make a random appearance I can't stop ya. let me know if i assumed anything wrong.

they had followed the river leaving morningside's territory, traveling south along its western bank. he was told its name was "whitefish," and it was aptly called so: the fishing was plentiful, better than anything he had seen before. they had feasted quite well so far.

now, after an uphill climb, they stood atop a gorge with jagged sides, plummeting steeply into the rolling river below. adi had no desire to try and scale down those cliffs, and said so out loud, hoping his companions would agree with this logic. after all, they would do the pack no good if one--or more--of them were to break their neck on the first leg of the trip.

aditya stood quietly near the edge of the cliff, the wind ruffling his silken agouti pelt. the weather was growing colder by the day, and he found himself wanting to sleep closer to dawn, to find comfort and warmth nestled against her thick fur. at the same time, he did not want to appear too forward, and thus always kept a slight distance--regretting it when the nights grew freezing.

from the gorge, he could see another mountain range ahead. they told him there was another pack there, homed on a fairly accessible crag. he deduced they were a little less than halfway there, but all that rested between them was a large, flat glen. it would not be so difficult, then, to make it to the mountains in the next couple of days.