Roads Untraveled
MATURE CHARACTER!
478 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#1
Claiming Sawtooth Spires #1 @Iqniq

They traveled for miles and days, some of them scouting ahead but others hanging back with Tonravik and the rest of the pack. She was practically bursting with her pregnancy; in truth, Nanuk was surprised she had not given birth already. This, and the fact that they we're currently homeless, spurned her forward, ahead of the pack until there, in the distance, rose an intimidating peak. It's jagged edges reminded her of the Spine and its snowy caps of the North. 

A howl rose, calling her Alpha and friend. The fiery male would soon join her as she pressed ahead to close the distance between herself and the rising spires.
Always up for the following trade threads:

[Image: warden.gif] [Image: warrior.gif]
932 Posts
Ooc — Soap
Offline
#2
They were moving. Slowly, but surely, they guided the remaining members of the Spine through the wilderness and flatlands as they turned north. Towards snow. Towards a new beginning. Towards a start where they could begin a new legacy of Tartok fresh from any lingering holds of former packs. His earlier discomfort and pessimism was erased only to be replaced with determination to find a fresh location for everyone. Something equally warm and cool. Something they could all rightfully make their very own.

Nanuk took point. She scouted a head as Iqniq fanned wide. They'd skirted too close to Blackfeather woods for comfort as they travel around the mountains, but he did not wish to take any risks that rugged terrain and harsher travel might bring Tonravik's pregnancy to an end prematurely. They took an easier route over flatter lands and he stood sentinel until a howl beckoned him to leave his station as he moved from the outskirts of their caravan.

He pressed forward, nearing towards their polar bear of a wolf as he ascended the slopes of a mountain and realized just what it was she'd found. This place... It felt like something his mate would approve of... so long as there was a summit somewhere that could support snow even in this summer season. A hefty request, but the looming spire in the distance surrounded by these jagged slopes felt very... very Tartok.

He moved onward, joining up with Nanuk with a friendly nudge of their shoulders.
MATURE CHARACTER!
478 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#3
He joined her quickly enough, coming up behind her only to bump his shoulder against her own. She lightly pushed back, gold eyes glancing at him briefly. The wolves formerly of the Spine were holding up well and she knew that their group remained consistent in that by the lack of worry on his face. What was there had been there from the moment they'd stood with Tonravik at the Pond. 

"We should check it out." Perhaps unnecessary words but she said them anyway. Around Iqniq, she was not always so silent. Nevertheless, she started up the side, her pace as brisk as always. Would this mountain prove to be the end of their short lived, nomadic stint? She hoped so, for the bear had not missed the life of a wandering wolf.
Always up for the following trade threads:

[Image: warden.gif] [Image: warrior.gif]
932 Posts
Ooc — Soap
Offline
#4
He met up with her. She returned his shoulder nudge with a press of her own before he stepped aside to put a comfortable distance between them. She spoke, echoing his thoughts. "Mmm," he murmured, a sound of confirmation if only because they were already on the same page in this. All they needed now was to scout the area and see if it would meet the rest of their mental list of requirements.

They needed this place to be a stronghold and easy to defend from outside packs. They needed a place where animals felt free to roam so they might hunt regularly. For Tonravik, he wanted snow. For himself, a pool or pond where he could enjoy his summers as he was partial to warmer weather. Forests. Mountains. A place where they could roam and his children could grow without fearing the outside elements. He hoped this place would satisfy those needs.

Nose to the ground he took a few wide strides away from Nanuk so they could cover more ground. He kept the white wolf in his peripheral while he searched for hints of life. This place was close to the place where the tornado touched down. He was uncertain of what that would hold, but he was curious all the same.
MATURE CHARACTER!
478 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#5
Distance stretched between them now as they surveyed this land. Potentially, it could be everything they were looking for. She just needed to get to a higher vantage point to check things out. Heading further up, towards an outcropping, the weighty polar bear turned and looked. First, her eyes found the reddened Iqniq but moved on thereafter, brightening at the glimpse of thick green that hugged the foot of the spire.

The green was a thicket, a hollow, nestled in a seeming ring of mountains. It was as if the land had been untouched by the devastation that had been wrought elsewhere. Her bark to garner the Alpha's attention echoed in the quiet; "Get the fuck up here!" To others, it might have sounded like a command but in reality, there was the barest trace of excitement in her words. 

This could be it.
Always up for the following trade threads:

[Image: warden.gif] [Image: warrior.gif]
932 Posts
Ooc — Soap
Offline
#6
There were tracks here. Evidence of life and prey still lingered after the aftermath of the storm. Nose to the ground he picked up the scent of deer and other wild game. Fresh scents too. Whatever roamed still clung tightly to these parts and would do wonders to satisfy the hungers within them. They'd managed a meal here and there as a pack, but it would be nice to have something more permanently within reach.

He scouted the undergrowth as the made their way up the rise. The plant life was vast. He didn't see anything as of yet to be overly concerned with. Instead he saw possibility and as they ascended he liked this place even more. He turned his gaze behind him, looking down over the lower valley. The Spine had been a marvelous defense, but he rather liked the idea of foreign wolves having to charge up steep slopes if they desired to reach their inner bastion. A pack on a hill was well protected. A pack on a mountain? Even better.

Nanuk's words sounded. Flicking an ear in her direction he turned his pace and moved to join her in her discovery. Turning his eyes out towards where she looked, he spied a quaint little valley tucked beneath the ring of mountains. Sleepy Fox Hollow... He'd been there a time before. Having a place like that so close was an added bonus to this place.

A glance at the beta female and he nodded before turning to lift his voice to his mate. @Tonravik... We've found something...
c o n q u e r
916 Posts
Ooc — Steph
Offline
#7
She was not too far off from the pack, keeping them collected and united. Her spirits were far from down; in fact, they were exceptionally lifted. In the face of the ugly storm, they had lived. Only one was unaccounted for that she had known personally—the red one—and her heart was heavier for it. This was life, however; unfortunate circumstances. Right place, wrong time. She was summoned in a howl, and the alpha female moved as fast as her heavily pregnant form could allow her. The pains were more frequent. Tonravik felt the cubs in there were ready to burst; she could only hope they lived through the journey. The woman swore she felt kicks, but then, she was unexperienced in this avenue.

The leader was not one for hoping. It was futile. Hope did more harm than it did good.

But the unfeeling matriarch hoped nonetheless.

She was not so far from the place she had been summoned to. The whole pack traveled in increments, keeping to the destroyed path so as to ease their journey. They had learned that it was better to move where it passed through than the wreckage, where there was danger at every turn. An unstable tree. A bear, falling from the sky that had been blown upon a tree that survived. Having grown wise to this, they went with what the storm had given them. A trail.

The mountain was massive. Far larger than the Spine, and far more difficult for those unused to such territory to do much of anything before they knew it. While at this point, she was willing to settle anywhere due to her condition, she truly enjoyed the prospect of the challenge. To conquer this mountain, to make it her own. The woman had usurped, and would again if need be—she thought of Silvertip on their journey—but the place here presented a clean opportunity... and one she had no choice but to take. She was fortunately pleased to make it, as she climbed. There was a new verve in her step. The leader was exhausted... but she felt, as she climbed, that the time to bring that tiredness to an end, to grow well-rested, had come.

From a distance, these were all things she imagined. The peaks and then some were littered in snow. At last, she slid between her mate and Nanuk, her eyes upon the same thing as theirs.
MATURE CHARACTER!
478 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#8
Her ears flickered as his voice rose to call the woman who led beside him. While they had not fully scouted out this land, already it was a great prospect. Mountains could be like fortresses and this one was truly such a thing with the ringed valley that sprawled at its foot. With snow at its peaks, the climate would be much better than what they'd experienced in the Spine. 

Tonravik was not long in joining them, and the Beta swung her head to watch as the rotund female approached. Even now, she was a graceful beast, if a bit abhorrent in appearance. Being bloated with parasites in her belly wasn't doing her any favors. But Nanuk spoke none of these thoughts, instead pointing her muzzle to their find. 

"The valley, the hollow is protected by other mountains. From here, there are tells of prey, of herds. It's a stronghold. I can scout more and report back, but..." She shrugged, a grin pulling at her maw. "This feels like where we fucking belong." The polar bear had never claimed to be eloquent.
Always up for the following trade threads:

[Image: warden.gif] [Image: warrior.gif]
932 Posts
Ooc — Soap
Offline
#9
Short post. Muse is dead. -coaxes it to life-

His howl lingered in the air. Iqniq turned his eyes to the valley below and swept them across the rest of the scene. He could get used to a view like this. The fresh air. The slight sweep of wind across his pelt. There was something definitely pleasing about these summits. Perhaps best of all, it was cooler.

It wasn't long before his mate arrived. She made her way up the slope of the mountain with her heavy gait. So close to her time... His ears flattened for a moment as he realized just how much he did not wish for his children to be homeless when they finally came into the world. No... they needed a home and with this unclaimed land would be the start of something new.

She joined them and Nanuk took to speaking. He chuffed his own agreement, but said nothing. Their beta said it all. Choice words or not, it did feel as though they belonged here.

Iqniq glanced at his mate. Her opinion in this was just as important as any of their own and in this he wished for all three of them to be united.
c o n q u e r
916 Posts
Ooc — Steph
Offline
#10
dat was me w crazies going on omg

Tonravik listened to her Beta and saw with keen eyes much the same her subordinate did. And she also, like her mate, knew there was no time to waste. With the climate growing somewhat colder as they moved southbound toward the sierra, the alpha female was content to go onward this way. There was no reason to prolong the decision... she was decided.

"We will go now." She looked to Nanuk, ears swiveling atop her head. "You go ahead. Scout. We will meet you halfway." Other nearby packs, for example. And also, the legitimate livability of the place. It would be good to know what they moved toward, and she waited for the Beta to take her leave. Whatever they were to potentially go up against, it was best they know now and prepare for it.

She turned to her mate who was silent, waiting to see if he had any words to offer to their subordinate beyond what she had said.
MATURE CHARACTER!
478 Posts
Ooc —
Offline
#11
They were practically unanimous and with those words, Kroc moved off to do what she'd said would. The leading pair was left behind in great strides as the bear-like female went to discover as much about this mountain as she could, to include the world around it. Other packs, be damned; if they liked this mountain, they'd take it, and face all those that came to deter them from it. 

Kroc exits.
Always up for the following trade threads:

[Image: warden.gif] [Image: warrior.gif]
932 Posts
Ooc — Soap
Offline
#12
"Howl if you find anything interesting," he said, speaking unnecessary words as their beta departed. They all knew what to look for. What to be alarmed of. What to pay attention to. Thus far this area seemed like some kind of perfect, but he knew better than to get his hopes up or to think good things of a place too soon. There could be something around the bend that would dissuade them from this area. Better to keep looking.

Nanuk went on an adventure of her own. Iqniq turned, setting off for a different path with his nose to the ground, air, and wherever else to pick up clues as to what they might find here.
c o n q u e r
916 Posts
Ooc — Steph
Offline
#13
The woman watched her beta depart, and turned to look to her mate for a brief moment in time. He seemed to desire to investigate; she knew a big part of him was his ability as an outrider, and she would not stop him in this. It would aid them. Tonravik, however, could not be of much help given her heavily pregnant condition. She felt as though she had only days until she burst... and she would be correct.

Tonravik thus set off on the path back to her subordinates. They would, with certainty, head in that direction if not that mountain. It was best to inform them now they would be traveling again.