Witch's Marsh No sleeping now

Please note: Gavriel will be hanging out in the background (PP w/ permission). Anyone's welcome!

Wildfire woke up this morning with a very compelling need to speak to her mother. She had intended to drop by the caldera and visit weeks ago, but that had been before her exile from Moonspear. Now she couldn't be much further from her first home. But the weather was warm and her ribs were no longer bothering her. So the young Theta approached the commander and received permission to go on a scouting expedition, though Thuringwethil urged Wildfire to take along a companion: @Gavriel. The experienced ranger was simultaneously insulted and flattered that the Heda thought she needed an escort, but she agreed to his company.

After collecting said chaperon (who smelled weirdly musky), the Theta led the way away from Sleeping Dragon, heading south so she could eventually swing west around the mountains. They traveled in companionable silence through much of the morning and early afternoon. They passed through Phoenix Maplewood, then agreed to rest when they reached the fringes of a marsh. It was a dreadful looking place, so Wildfire slaked her thirst in the nearest pool and didn't venture further, choosing instead to relax on the outskirts. Her amber eyes found Gavriel, who milled nearby before slumping to the ground.

Having not joined with the last pack he had come across, Kaertok headed south again. Well, he didn't intentionally head south. He just sorta ended up going that way. The boy meandered this way and that, never really knowing where he was going from one hour to the next. It was freeing, really, and he briefly wondered if his parents would have approved. Perhaps he should have missed them, but he did not. Kaertok had not been brought up to be a sentimental wolf.

The cracking of sticks, followed by the lapping of water caused Sungiwok to wander toward the sounds, curious to see who was there. Peering through the brush, he spotted two wolves: a bright red, small one and a large grey wolf. He could not discern anything else from sight alone, and he lingered until the large one slumped to the ground.

Kaertok made his presence known by stepping out from behind the brush and chuffing loud enough for the other wolves to hear. His posture was relaxed, but his guard was still up. He wasn't about to let it down just because they didn't seem an immediate threat.

She zoned out a bit, simply relaxing and enjoying the sounds of spring around her (and ignoring the musty smell emanating from the nearby swamp). Her eyes even drifted shut, though she remained upright. When she heard a shuffling, they snapped open to see Gavriel suddenly alert. She followed the direction of his gaze and prickled instinctively at the sight of the young white wolf approaching.

Wildfire swallowed, wetting her lips with her tongue as she swept onto her feet. Gavriel's here, she reminded herself, though every single muscle in her lithe body was still tense. What did this stranger want with them? There was only one way to find out: ask.

"Can we help you?" she asked, her tone neutral right along with her posture. Her lips twitched faintly when she felt Gavriel sidle closer.

Likely a cameo only. Skip me as needed.

Gavriel feels a little weird about the whole children thing but he tries not to let it bother him more than it is. He'd been asked something of his leaders, even if recognizing Gyda as an equal to Heda—in the eyes of only Sleeping Dragon—and he'd complete his task without much question. Separating himself from his duty has always been important as a warrior and, to make matters a little more complicated, after spending time with Gyda, he'd been given a new job.

With limited time with the queen, he follows orders quickly and Gavriel is on the move with Wildfire. A little tired, urging to rest by the time the afternoon was upon him, and so he slumps lazily to the ground for a little while. Ears erect on his head, he drifts around in his thoughts until another catches his attention. He shuffles quickly to his feet, bristling, but Wildfire takes action to speak before Gavriel uses his body in force. Brown eyes don't leave the male, listening and waiting until he's needed.

"Can we help you?" she asked, and Kaertok wondered about the answer to that question. Did he need help? Was she offering both her help and that of her companion, or merely asking if they were capable of helping? This was one of many reasons Kaertok disliked spoken communication. It was too ambiguous. There were too many ways of interpreting it, especially with strangers. He did not know if they would be able to help him. If they had been able to, would he accept their help?

Kaertok shook his head. No, he did not think that they could help him. Nor did he think that he would. Nor did he think that he would have accepted help from them. He was not even sure what he would need help with.

The boy remained where he stood, poised to leave if she had nothing more to ask or say.

He seemed to hesitate, weighing her question. Wildfire's eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the unprecedented delay. She took the time to study him a bit more closely. It occurred to her that he looked younger, maybe even under a year of age. She relaxed somewhat, though nowhere near entirely. Her tongue swiped absently across her lips when the stranger eventually shook his head.

"What's your name?" she asked next, curious despite his reticence, perhaps even because of it. "I'm Wildfire. And that's Gavriel." Wildfire pointed her smudged snout in her pack mate's direction before angling it back toward the white yearling. "We're from Sleeping Dragon." Although she didn't ask outright, there was another question inferred by her words: And where are you from?

She asked his name. A funny question, that. She gave her name, and the name of her... companion. Then she told Kaertok the name of their home. The guardian, Gavriel, said nothing. He was, perhaps, more on Sungiwok's level than this girl who asked questions and told much about herself without knowing who she was talking to. Not that Kaertok was anything special, but he would have been more wary.

"I was born Malrok. But my mother calls me Kaertok. Sometimes, she calls me Sungiwok." They meant things—meaningful things—in his mother's tongue, which he had learned. He was solid; he was strong; he was the second born of his siblings. One day, he wished to be Tartok. But he would have to earn that.

He did not answer her unspoken question, for he had no way to answer it. He was no longer from Sawtooth Spire. Sungiwok was from nowhere.

Another wolf might have quirked an eyebrow at his string of aliases, yet Wildfire came with many nicknames of her own and didn't even question it. She did want to know, "Is there one you prefer?" It didn't really matter, in the grand scheme of things, as the chances of running into him ever again were pretty slim. "I go by Wifi most of the time," she offered as a sort of example, rolling her shoulder in a casual shrug.

He seemed particularly taciturn and didn't rise to the bait regarding his pack, so Wildfire deliberated whether to keep attempting conversation or just leave him alone. It would feel weird to dismiss him, as if she and Gavriel had any claim over this little strip of grass just outside the marsh. And she didn't want to pressure her companion to get up and leave just to avoid awkwardness, not when a rest was both well-deserved and needed.

In the end, Wildfire couldn't help herself. It was her inner ambassador, she supposed. "Did you come from south of here, by any chance?" she wondered. She was somewhat familiar with the terrain and had a route in mind to get to the caldera, yet she wondered if this passerby might know of any shortcuts.

Continue to skip me. I would like to get one more reply in to use it for my guardian trade.

Far more the social creature than he, Wildfire handles the conversation well enough. The boy seems stiff and short spoken but nothing particular strikes him as odd. He reminds him of the wolves back home, trained in battle and not of tongue, but beyond the way he speaks, he has little to go on. Wildfire covers the introductions and Gavriel only offers a slight nod of his head but doesn't go about his business. His job is clear but he doesn't need to butt in unless the other decides to do something to harm either of them. The large male just watches, keeping his resting spot on the ground, but he doesn't divert his attention.

Rem's dropping Kaertok, so let's wrap this up! :)

The stranger shook his head at her, appearing blandly disinterested in further conversation. Although Wildfire found his behavior rude, she decided to shrug it off and continue what she—they—were doing before his unforeseen arrival. She turned from the yearling and faced Gavriel, giving him a literal shrug and a mouthed, Oh well. She moved to stand beside him, then turned around slowly to find that their young passerby had already left.

"Let's rest for another half an hour, then we'll head that-a-way," Wildfire said to her companion, tipping her head to the south. "We'll aim to go around the mountains, then head west from there," she murmured, analyzing the route in her head (not unlike a GPS calibrating) as she slid forward to take her weight off her feet for a little while.

Gavriel has little interest in the strange male outside their interaction. If it had been up to him, he would have quickly diverted the younger wolf from his approach but Wildfire had accepted him into the conversation. He stood back and watched until, eventually, the other disappears and Wildfire's giving them instructions. He doesn't offer much objection and instead only his own shrug before he makes himself comfortable again. The guard doesn't rest much more, and instead keeps his ears up and eyes alert on their surroundings for another threat until they are ready to go.