Duck Lake May Starclan light your path.

@Merrick

It felt odd for Snowskip to have no more respondsibilities. As a warrior from the Clans, she would spend the day patrolling and hunting, sometimes tending to the queens and elders, or whatever the Major and Deputy would want. Though she was only recently granted her name too! So she couldn't forget the annoying tasks of being a Apprentice.

It also felt lonely.

But she could only carry on with a smile- knowing she survived. She did survive, and had to live her life, for her Clanmates that did not. When she moves to Starclan, she will definitely share what she had seen- including this grand lake.

bored with the meadow, annoyed by the reeking glade of foxes, and restless, merrick left ursus that day and trotted for the body of water lying in the distance. the ground was soft, the air filled with gentle rain. but he had become accustomed to it, and so only narrowed his eyes and continued on.
when the soggy earth gave way to mud, then to the disintegrating banks of the once-placid lake, the boy blinked. he shook water from his muzzle, gave the bursting edge a wide berth, and found himself distracted by the immaculate paleness of a figure a short distance away. for a second, merrick thought it might be ico, but another searching moment disappointed him with the discovery of a shadowed mantle upon this one's shoulders. 
he said nothing, called nothing, only descended the slight hill and began to approach with a confident, rolling step.

He approached, no noise to call, or a word toward Snowskip, but nontheless approached, "Hey there!" the girl called out happily to the stranger, "this is a neat looking lake." It wasn't as large as some she was familiar with, but pretty.

"Do you know if any geese hang around?" Friendly as she was, the past clan-wolf asked him so. They were quite delicious, but with this rain, she wondered if they all flew away.

"they probably got tired of the rain. went to rest somewhere else," merrick observed, though not once did he look toward the body of water. a hunter of wolves; his single eye trained itself to the woman and traced back an assessment of the things he believed might be her weaknesses.
"were you looking for a hunt?" the bearwolf inquired, canting his head as he extended a silent invitation. perhaps beside the lake they might discover a goose or two, or perhaps merrick might find a different use for that deepened surface.

"Kinda, but not really, just curious!" They were delicious, but she also wasn't to keen to try to hunt them in this rainy weather. It was hard enough to try and grab a vole while swishing through the mud, Snowskip didn't want to try her luck with sliding through the mud to lunge at them mid-air.

Sounded cool, but super hard.

"I'm Snowskip, by the way. You live near here?"

just curious, and so far she had not yet taken notice of merrick the way any other might. interested by this, finding it a welcome reprieve from the close appraisal he received for his scars, he nodded. "merrick. and yes. my pack is back that way," he gestured.
too far to lure her home as a gift.
"what are you doing out here? just enjoying the weather?" the boy teased, closing his eyes as he tilted his muzzle skyward. "feels like it will never stop."

"I didn't know there was any packs around," she confessed, despite questioning so, "I guess I just haven't met anyone except you!" Though what she understood as the outside was much different then the Clans, as so the elders say. They would warn against interacting with them, but anyone who came really, was chased off without a question.

Now it was the chance to ask these pack-wolves what was what. She didn't think anything of his appearence, as a few warriors had the same. Even the elder One-eye was like him.

"Oh, well, yes, and I don't really have a home, so, yes." She kinda rambled at the end, as since there wasn't a place for her to return to anymore, everyday was 'enjoying the weather.' Despite the fact, this rain never ended.

the bear-prince's expression began to shift as snowskip admitted her lack of proper protection, the absence of structured walls. merrick wanted to tell her the only name she need know was ursus, but decided to keep his cards close to his narrow chest, play her closer 
"hopefully i am less dreary than the rain," merrick purred, the cyclops-eye fixed on the soft wildflower hue of her own. "the leader of ursus might give you a place to stay," he suggested airily.

She looked at him with a confused smile, and wasn't sure what that meant, "I think you look okay." Her head tilted as she stared at him so, being liken of a bear of scars. He acted like a gentleman so, and perhaps would've swooned her if she had have any experience in that department. Though all seemed of simple talk.

"Oh, do you know him?" innocently so, she asked, "id love to stay somewhere! I don't know anything about the areas. I had a companion, but I seemed to have lost him somewhere." Snowskip wondered where Earp went.

we can continue this one a bit longer or fade & have one at ursus if you'd like! <3

"oh?" merrick dared, pleased that his ploy had worked. "he's a bit beat up, but he's fair." he began to drift back in the direction of ursus, the rock walls of the valley rising high and enticing. 
to his eyes, merrick supposed.
"what sorts of things do you like to do? pursuits. some are good at hunting"
hunting wolves
"and others — well, we have a doctor at home. evien. he doesn't like fighting but he's very good at patching fighters up." perhaps that would be more appealing. "and your friend is welcome, also."

fade and one at ursus would be a-okay!

"That's coolio, I hope he okay with me crashing in." Well, if she had him, at least then someone to veto her in! Wouldn't want to visit and then suddenly be casted out, that would make Snowskip quite sad.

"Where i'm from, everyone is a warrior and hunter. Only a few specially chosen are medics! Usually like, two to each Clan." There was Four Clans in total, excluding the fifth traitorousclan- but each usually had only two medics. The current one, and then his apprentice. They always held special connections to StarClan, so she was told, but Snowskip wasn't one, so, whatever was between the medic and StarClan, was between them.

"I hope he'll follow our scents- not sure where he went." She looked back, but he was indeed no where in sight.

very sad, indeed. but snowskip had yet to pass the travails of the blackbird. merrick had learned the vengeful nature of his beloved wraith; he was loathe to bring another woman into her encampment without permission.
but his mind spun yarn and yarn and ribboned-edge
a gift a gift
what his blackfeathered sweetling made of that, he did not know, only that he was eager to atone, and happy to accompany snowskip into the throat of the bear itself.