Northstar Vale you break me up

from the creek, she had led @Nikai west. She had spotted what seemed to be a path through the mountains, framed on either side, one she expected to cut through the mountains. thinking this would only serve to hasten their journey, she had led Nikai down the path excitedly but came to find the cut quickly ended as another rocky peak rose before them. still, she led them onward, thinking that perhaps they might come across another path further ahead. 

She had come across the faded scents, born to her on the breeze, soon after midday. her demeanour had undergone a visible change. excitement laced her steps, and she hurried, playfully urging on her brother and an excited gleam in her gaze. earth turned to stone, and she led them upward, scent growing stronger all the while. finally, when they stood at a higher altitude, the scent seemed so very close. offering her brother an excited nudge, she tilted back her muzzle and howled, sound sounding hollow, but still containing the basic melodic notes. her thoughts moved quickly the @Rannoch, and she gave an excited little shake.

It was strange to see Keoni undergo such drastic changes since they had left home. Nikai didn't remember seeing Keoni so happy for a long time. It was encouraging and made him curious about where she lead him, but it was also disconcerting that she was so much happier away from home and it made him wonder what path lay ahead of them. Leaving Keoni didn't even occur to Nikai as a possible outcome, but what if making his sister happy meant making their mother unhappy? He felt his stomach a bleak pit at the thought, and so his energy came and went in waves -- excited to finally listen to his wanderlust and to see his sister so happy, but dreading where it may lead them and dreading a betrayal, to him, of their mother and her well-being.

Nikai's ears cupped forward as Keoni howled for someone and he sniffed the air. Respectful of the other pack's border and feeling a little wary of being so close to another pack for the first time ever, Nikai stayed close to his sister, nosing her shoulder nervously while he waited with submissive body posture, neutrally splayed ears, low tail and alert expression.

I’ve been asked to powerplay Rannoch!

Thanks to Rose’s attentive care, Cypress was back to his old tricks — namely, keeping the borders marked and spending the majority of his time with his brothers. He’d spoken to them both about solidifying the Vale’s tentative alliance with Moonspear, but at Rannoch’s insistence he’d been lying low. There would be time enough to visit Charon — and the Cerberus — when Cypress was fully recovered. For now, he had been issued a formal command by both his alpha and his beta to take it easy. So…he ambled along the borders with his brother, scent-marking and leaving rubbings of his wild dark fur on the trees and rocks he passed.

When the howl arose, they were well on their way to answering it, but they quickened their pace just a little to get there in a timely manner. Cypress and Rannoch approached the two siblings, the latter with his blocky skull lifted high and his tail curled over his back. The raven moved at his left, his narrow muzzle a few significant degrees below his brother’s and his tail just a tick above neutral, looking obliquely down at them with piercing sulphureous eyes. “Hey,” Rannoch rumbled, a sunny smile lighting up his brilliant turquoise eyes. “You’re looking better. Is this a relative of yours? I don’t remember if you guys ever met, but this is my brother, Cypress.” He gestured with his muzzle to his sulphureous-eyed littermate.

Cypress regarded the younger wolves with a characteristically stoic expression, nodding cordially toward them. “Hey,” he said, unconsciously echoing his brother. “Rannoch said you might come back.” Cypress hadn’t met the girl personally but there were few secrets between the Frostfur trio, and he’d heard about the girl from both Rian and Rannoch. Too, they’d traveled together for a time. So…he knew her. Adjacently. The two prospects were younger than Cy, and therefore his instinct was to protect and shelter instead of defend. “You look like you’ve traveled a long way,” he commented, his attention drifting from the more exuberant sister to the wary, freckled boy. He did not smile, the leftmost corner of his mouth drawn as it always was into a hooked frown, but his voice was quiet, even, and nonthreatening.

cameo!

The sound of the gravelly howl drew his attention from the base of the pine he was rubbing against, and he cupped his ears to further absorb the sound. It wasn't familiar to him, but he knew Cypress and Rannoch both were near enough to the location—the pair of them were more than enough to handle any border calls. He turned to face the call and issued one of his own—a soothing melody that rang all is quiet, all is well. 

With that, he resumed his rubbing against the trunk and moved off further into the darkess of the far reaches.

She shifted, excitement making it hard to stay completely still. Then they came, Rannoch, and Cypress, and she returned the brilliant smile that Rannoch offered her, her gaze shifting to the ground as the oddest sense of sheepishness fluttered in her chest. But her gaze returned to him when he spoke again, a nod to his question and poking her muzzle to Nikai's shoulder when he mentioned "brother". 

Cypress continued, and at his question, she nodded too, gesturing over her shoulder at the valley that lay far behind them. Her gaze was quick to travel back to Nikai, and she poked his shoulder again, gaze asking him to speak for the both of them. There was only so far that nodding, shaking one's head and chuffing could get you, and she wanted Nikai to have no qualms of speaking for her.

Two wolves appeared, and Nikai lowered his body and tucked his tail instinctively at the sight of the dominant posture of one of them. He glanced at Keoni, trusting her but also hoping these were the wolves she was looking for. She looked positive, almost a little happy, even, at the sight of them, so he turned his attention back to them, subconsciously licking his lips in further submissive gesture.

It was hard to have to speak for Keoni, Nikai realised only when he felt expected to answer certain questions and keep up a conversation with wolves he'd never met. He by no means found it difficult to meet or talk to new wolves, but these wolves were both new to him, and not to Keoni, and he could not help but feel a little bashful.

"I'm Nikai," he introduced. "Keenie's my sister." He wasn't sure if they knew she couldn't speak and neither was he sure if Keoni'd want him to tell them. Then again, they'd find out soon enough... One of them was named Cypress, the one that'd spoken last, but Nikai wasn't sure what the other guy's name was; he didn't link the Rannoch in Cypress' words to the guy standing here.

Considering the other guy'd spoken directly at Keoni in a way that suggested he didn't know about her condition yet, Nikai said, "She can't speak anymore." His voice was even and calm, even though he felt full of emotional turmoil on the inside at the thought of Keoni's condition and how it'd come to be (or what he knew of it, anyway — of how someone had hurt her). "We're... out exploring. What is this place? Did Keeni meet you here before?" It seemed like it was just another pack, and one that Keoni had been to before. Nikai had somehow hoped it might be something a little more... adventurous and exciting, but he was still excited to meet new wolves.

Rannoch's gaze jumped between Keoni and Nikai as the later interpreted what his sister had intended to put forth. "Nikai," he rumbled, his turquoise eyes resting briefly on the darker of the two before turning to Keeni. "Keeni," never having a name until now, Rannoch felt satisfaction in calling the freckled by her name. Before this moment, Rannoch had never known what to call her, and it was a relief that he something aside from "you" or "hey!".

The ebony male went on to state what Rannoch had known for quite some time, but, despite this knowledge, he kept his tongue until it was his turn to speak. "This place is our pack, Northstar Vale," he began, answering the questions in the order which they had arisen. "I am the Alpha here, Rian," he indicated his earth-furred brother with a gentle point of his nose, "is our Beta and Cypress," his attention turned briefly to the raven-haired man, "is our Gamma.". Rannoch was proud of what the three had created and was always happy to share with those who would listen about the upbringing of their numbers. When the conversation shifted to Keeni, Rannoch smiled fondly at his mute friend. "Keeni and I met long before we found this Vale. My medic, Rose, and I found her right after she had been attacked." As the subject matter darkened, Rannoch's appearance shifted appropriately out of respect to the gravity of the situation. "We healed your sister and strengthened her until she was set to go back to her family. But, in her time with my pack, she became one of us and she still remains one of us even though she returned home." By this time in his explanation, Rannoch's gaze sought Nikai once more. It was then that Rannoch had a eureka moment and he turned to Keoni with bright eyes. "Did you bring your brother here to meet us?" He asked, a wisp of excitement accenting his words as he looked to the Eta of Easthollow. If this was her reasoning, was there more to this visit? Rannoch didn't want to get too ahead of himself, as he was a fan of Keoni's company, but, the prospect of Keoni being at his doorstep made him happy regardless.

Cypress kept quiet, not having much to add as the reunion turned into an interview of sorts. When it came to this part of leadership, he mostly left it up to Rian and Rannoch, interjecting only if he felt there was something he absolutely needed to ask or say. His sulphureous eyes clouded over with sympathy as he learned that the girl was recently made unable to speak — he could not imagine how frustrating it must be, never to be able to express a thought or desire without an interpreter of sorts. Still, although his eyes flickered attentively from face to face, he kept largely quiet as he fell into the position of a silent observer. His eyes settled on Nikai and Keoni as he waited for the boy to disclose their reason for appearing at the vale.

Nikai had always thought Keoni'd met these wolves before she had gotten hurt, but it turned out that they didn't even know her name. They must be special, considering they'd taken her in and treated her wounds when she was just another stranger to them. Nikai reminded himself he should always be good to these wolves, for they deserved it. He considered correcting Keenie to Keoni and opened his mouth to do so, but then Rannoch went on to tell him of the pack and he decided to just let it slide for now. It didn't really matter, anyway, Nikai thought when he looked at the happy expression on Keoni's face.

"Thanks a lot for taking care of Keoni when she was hurt. We were sure lucky that you are so kind, even though she was a stranger at the time," Nikai said with a soft smile. "We're from Easthollow, we live in our mother's pack there." He gestured to the east briefly while he spoke. "Keenie was really looking forward to returning here. I decided to come, even though I didn't know where she'd bring me." Nikai wondered what the wolves thought they were doing here. He wished he could be a part of them, but his heart also lay in Easthollow...

There was a shift in how Nikai addressed the mute woman before him and Rannoch caught on quickly. "Ah, yes, Keoni," he corrected himself with a sheepish smile. Though the variance in names wasn't that drastic, Rannoch wasn't sure which one she preferred. He watched her for a moment, as he wondered this, but was given no implication of her preferences. When this happened, Rannoch's attention was back to Nikai as he began to elaborate on the background of their visit. 

"Of course. We couldn't leave her out there after what happened," his expression grew sympathetic as the subject matter shifted briefly. "But, now, she's family and will always be welcomed back. You as well, Niaki," he offered as his characteristic sunniness returned to his eyes. "I'm glad you guys are here," he offered warmly as an afterthought. 

Though he wasn't sure of how far Easthollow was from the Vale, Rannoch assumed it was a considerable journey. "You guys must be hungry. Do you need anything?" 

do you want to fade this with them going off to hunt or dig up a cache or whatnot for food? :) since we have a more recent thread too :D

Nikai wasn't sure if Keoni would favour her given name or Keenie, but he did know he was really the only one who called her the latter, even if the difference wasn't too big. He should've probably thought of that when he had first addressed her, but oh well. Nikai was glad that Rannoch was such a nice guy though; he and Keoni were sure lucky that he and his pack had found her that time when she'd gotten hurt.

Rannoch sure was a nice guy, and Nikai's expression echoed that he was glad to be here. He was thrilled through and through and excited to be out of Easthollow for a bit, and to explore with his sister and meet her friends. He glanced at Keoni when they were offered food and then looked back at Rannoch. "We'd love something to eat — it was quite a while to get here, so if you can spare..." He knew how big a deal it was to spare food to anyone, so Nikai could barely believe Rannoch would be so nice as to give him and Keoni some before they'd be off again.

Sounds perfect!

"Of course," Rannoch replied with a smile. Summer had been kind to the Vale thus far, their caches were well stocked, and he saw no harm in parting with a few pieces of prey to help out his friends. From there, the Alpha guided the wolves down the rocky decline that lead into the territory. Though the decline down the slope had taken time, the group would waste no time in getting a bite to eat and resting along the Vale's river.