Honeyed Pasture Rain can't make flowers grow

scouting thread

Now that her paw had healed, Niita made a second trip to search for the pups. This also managed to double as a scouting expedition, a way of working towards her trade. It was what Niita did when she felt useless, how she felt every time she returned without Odette and Stoic, throwing herself into work.

This land must have once been abundant in plants, there was sign of wallows from bison and thick brambles that created sheltered thickets that must have once been birthing areas for deer. Coyote tracks and scat was plentiful, though she caught no sight of the scavengers. 

Unfortunately, Niita also didn't catch any sign of the pups. Stopping with a sigh, Niita scanned the horizon. "Where have you gone?" She whispered to herself.

Oh scouting thread count me in :)

Devin was out on another scouting mission, well it was more of a little trip. She technically just did whatever she wanted, so mission was a bit of an overstatement. She trotted through the browning meadow, enjoying the sun and the freedom of being on her own. She didn't miss the hollow pack in the least, she loved being independent. No rules, the only burden she carried was herself. And we'll the pack back home but this scouting mission was for her. She might hunt on the way back to pick them up something, but this was just an enjoyment trip.

She paused in her tracks when she heard a voice on the other side of the tall golden grass. Where has who gone? She said curiously, pushing last the tall grass into a clearing where another white wolf sat. This wolf was bigger than her, but they shared a few characteristics. She sat down, finding herself easily distracted by a small pebble on the bracken coated floor. She glanced back up from her pebble from time to time to see if the other female was gonna answer. She was a blunt and impatient young girl.

omg she's like a mini Niita

Niita glanced over as a similar looking female, albeit a bit smaller, appeared and began to play with a small pebble. Niita smiled a bit, reminded of Reiko who seemed quite similar to this female and also seeing a bit of herself in this stranger. They shared the same bluntness, proved by the girl's curious question.

"The pups from my pack. I'm looking for them. Kinda fluffy and a brownish grey color, happen to see them?" Niita asked hopefully before smiling and giving an introduction. "I'm Niita, you are..?"

Haha I see it! But Niita's too nice for Dev xD

What! Pups! This lady had lost her pups! How can that happen? Devin's birth pack held a gang like mentality. Children and family came first. She hadn't even thought it possible for someone to lose their pups, but of course she should've known it could happen. She shook her head no and replied. Haven't seen any. How'd you lose your kids? Dev assumed they were this female's pups, but they weren't. The other introduced herself as Niita, with a smile all the same. Dev returned the smile, almost forgetting entirely about their previous conversation. She went with the flow, and moved quickly from one subject to the next. 

Devin. Her mind went back to the pups, perhaps this was a little too big of an issue to move from that fast. I guess I could help you look for them? She asked, offering to help. That wasn't something Devin did often. Usually she only did things when she could get something in return, but she could only imagine her father's face if her and her siblings had all died. It wasn't pretty.

Niita blinked in surpise, she had always figured Devin to be a boy's name but it seemed to fit this girl. Not that Devin was boyish but something about her name suited her. "Not my kids, just kids in general. They ran away." Niita left it at tthat, unsure if Steady would want her to real the whole macabre story of Zaria's demise and the pack feasting on her.

"You can if you want though I don't think we'll find anything to be honest. I haven't smelt or seen any tiny foot prints." Despite the situation, Niita chuckled lightly before beginning to search.

It made more sense that the pups weren't hers. But still how could the whole pack lose its pups. Something else that surprised Devin was the low will power Niita to continue on. She wondered how long this woman had been searching for these pups. Perhaps there was no hope. But they could still try. Maybe these kids were just being like her, pretending to run away and thinking they could make it on their own. The only difference was that she had always gotten caught, maybe these pups would prove stealthier than she had been.

Dev walked forwards and sniffed at Niita's pelt, getting used to the scent of the other female's pack. There would probably be traces of the pack scent on the pups, so it'd be good to know what they were looking for. Then she stuck her nose to the ground and disappeared through the brush. From one direction to the next, the little bullet of a wolf searched for a scent. She paused, realizing she may have left Niita behind a bit. She'd caught onto a bit of a scent that reminded her of the white wolf and thought she ought to bring her.

She trotted quickly through the tall golden grass. A small white head with large blue eyes poked suddenly through the brush to look at Niita. I think I found something come here!

We can say either what she smells is just another pack member's faint scent or the pups, but the trail will stop after a bit :)

Niita tried to keep up with Devin, though the smaller female could dart to and fro faster and turn quicker than she could. More often than not, Niita was left blinking in surprise and turning to trot after Devin. There seemed to be no method to the madness until Devin stopped and called out to her.

Niita moved closer, sniffing eagerly at the scent. It was the smell of Silvertip but it lacked the tinge to it that the pups had. It was also rather stale, meaning one of her pack mates must have passed through several days before. "It's a dud." Niita sighed, not upset with Devin but upset with herself at not being able to find them.

Niita sighed, apparently her new start was a dead end after all. Devin frowned, feeling very sorry for the parents of these pups. Niita seemed to be very upset with losing them, she couldn't imagine how their parents felt. She kicked her white paws through the dirt a bit, as if to dust it. Her ivory fur was now tinged with tan, much like the beta of her pack Kja. Except his brown legs were natural fur, not dirt. I'm sorry. I can keep helping you if you want. She offered, looking around and mapping in her head where she'd already checked and where she hadn't. This pasture seemed to be an endless span of golden. Like honey almost. She'd remember the place, assuming there were likely massive herds that passed through when life was here. It might be a good future reference for hunting.

"That's okay, it's a waste of time. They haven't been through here or we would have found something. Thank you for your help though." Niita smiled genuinely in thanks, appreciative of Devin for being so kind when it wasn't even her pack. 

"What pack are you from anyhow? I can smell it on you but I don't recognize it." Niita spoke bluntly, not meaning harm with her questions.

Dev was sad to see Niita give up on the pups. She wasn't a very loving girl, but she knew if she had pups, if she ever wanted to, that she would never stop looking if they ran away. Never. She would be doting like her father, but respect then just like he had. This pack must've already looked quite a bit, and it was quite a shame that they couldn't be found. Don't sweat it. She said, offering a smile to cheer up the white wolf.

The subject was changed to packs. It was a simple question, but she liked Niita's bluntness. She couldn't stand wolves who beat around the bush. Saltwinter. It's by the coast. Lots of cool big trees and dense wood. And ocean. She said with a nod as if approving of her description. What's yours? She asked, head cocked to the side a bit, luminous eyes trained on Niita.

trying to respect IC decisions by not letting her find them but also trying to seem like she's actually trying to find them XD

"That's cool, never been to the ocean except for once with some of my packmates. We saw this weird thing on the beach, Phocion said it was an octopus? Ever eat one of those?" Niita let out an excited string of babble, remembering the disgusting looking creature they found on the beach and how it had wrapped itself around Steady.

"I come from Silvertip Mountain, it's up in the mountains but that's kind of obvious. There's a cave there with lots of clear rocks that make rainbows fill the cave when the light hits them just right. It's really beautiful. I think it's called the Glass Cave but I didn't know the name so I just called it the Rainbow Cave." Another flurry of info left her mouth, probably overwhelming poor Devin in the process. Niita never usually spoke so much but out here she and Devin were on an even playing field, neither had to adhere to a pecking order. They could speak freely as equals.

Lol poor Niita <3

Devin listened as Niita responded to her answer about where she lived. An octopus? Nope. And what was a Phocion? Dev frowned and shook her head. Never had one. Whatever it was, it sounded rather nasty. She'd had many weird things, but never anything like that. She'd ask Kjalarr about them when she got back to Saltwinter, he might know more. She stopped thinking about octopuses when Niita answered her question about her own pack. That was when Devin discovered another thing about Niita. She liked to ramble on a bit. Devin liked to get to the point and fast. She would've been ok with, 'Silvertip Mountain, over there.' but that wasn't what she got.

However the description of the glass cave intrigued her. She'd never seen or heard of glass caves on her travels, and the rainbows sounded cool. I like night time, but some daytime things are cool. Like rainbows. She said, fidgeting around again. She was ready to move on, whether or not Niita came with, but her scouting mission wasn't over yet.

Niita nodded, glancing at the steadily lowering sun and realizing it would soon be nightfall. "It's going to be dark soon. I suppose it would be fine to head out separate ways." She could make it home before it got dark if she left now and she didn't know how safe it was to sleep in the open during a famine.

Niita didn't know how far Saltwinter was but she assumed Devin too would want to be getting home. "It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you safely make it home." With a last smile, Niita made to depart but not without calling some parting words over her shoulder. "Watch out for octopi!"

I'll archive <3

Just like that, Niita was ready to leave. Devin nodded, though she wasn't going home. She would spend the night out in the forest, and continue her scouting trip. Hopefully she'd find something good to report back to the pack. She liked using her abilities the best she could, and wanted to prove herself to the alpha. So she stood and whisked away as Niita did the same. See ya round! Then she simply disappeared through the honey colored brush. Devin was a strange creature. She preferred to be gone as quickly as she'd came.