Swiftcurrent Creek Ghosts

Mild autumn days made for easy travel across the wilderness. Sweet grass, late summer berries, and warm sunshine accompanied Valtyr on his journey back into Teekon. Though the trail was kind, it was a journey he'd never thought would befall him. His youth in this western scrim was but a distant memory -- he had left it for a more promising life out East. The young wolf had found a home, held a rank, and nurtured a budding family. Yet, like most things in the wild, it had scattered abruptly.

These days, the sooty man tried to think of other things... or nothing at all. He meandered with a blank stare towards a distant creek, but the faint smell of pack put him on alert. The scent was old... quite old, and he relaxed knowing that whoever occupied these lands had moved on some time ago. He passed, what he figured was, their meeting place and wove his way through an old den site. Peeking his snout into one of the hollowed homes beneath a grand tree, he snorted up a cloud of dust and stale perfumes. A strand of light caught a tuft of fur's frayed edge snagged in a twisted root -- red and silver hair tangled together. He blinked slowly, thinking of his own daughter, Ratha, and continued on towards the direction of water, leaving the old burrow behind, unaware it was the place of his own birth.

Since leaving the plateau, Sunspot had done nothing but eat, sleep, and wander aimlessly through the mountains. She'd expected to feel empty and listless without a pack to bring purpose to her life, and she supposed that, in a way, she did feel exactly that. But it was different than she'd expected, and she found herself revelling in the aloneness more than feeling lonely, most of the time. The life of a loner wasn't something that she wanted for herself, but the woman still thought there was something to be said for a bit of independence. She and Grayday just weren't meant to hold power over each other. It was why he'd left Sameth, and it was why she had left Morningside.

Having not much to do, Sunspot decided that she'd go for a swim, before the weather got too cold to allow such luxuries. There was a creek nearby - they'd passed it on the journey to the plateau - that ran just warm enough in the shallows to be enjoyable in the peak of the sun's heat.

So, she wasn't surprised to see that there was already someone at the creek that day. Sunspot watch as the man sniffed at something before moving on to the creek. She reached the water a beat after him, and waited to see if she'd be chased away before making any more moves, her head cocked curiously to the side.

The Sveijarn trod steadily towards the running water and walked straight from the bank into the shallows. Water rose halfway up his arms, obscuring his vermilion socks, while silt squished between his toes. Valtyr fell still and silent. He looked down into the gentle current to see his reflection. 'I look tired,' Valtyr thought to himself, noticing the dour expression upon his own face.

Footfalls caught his attention, which caused the Sveijarn to turn abruptly. He hadn't expected company. After all, the pack-scents had been stale. It was a she-wolf, honey in color, only a few lengths away. Instinctively, he sized her up, though her posture appeared easy-going and non-threatening. Valtyr licked his chops, a bit embarrassed he had been caught so off-guard. "Your land?" he asked her cooly as he sloshed through the water to face her.

He didn't seem to notice her until she was already standing across the water from him - a fact which made the huntress decidedly uncomfortable. She hadn't meant to come up on the male and surprise him. Sunspot was a lot of things, but never a sneak. People didn't like sneaks (she certainly didn't), and sure enough, there was an edge to his voice as she spoke.

"Don't have any," Sunspot replied innocently, holding her ground as he approached her and making an effort not to admire his physique. Success was limited, but she doubted he'd noticed. Sizing each other up was normal, after all - it was the enjoying it that she had a problem with.

A healthy dose of mistrust was often the difference between a living lone wolf and a dead one, but Valtyr's guard soothed as the stranger stood fast with a neutral posture. The man made his way back to the shore, belly now wet and cold. His burnt ears orbited as she spoke and his copper eyes diligently scrutinized the waif in an objective manner. "No pack? Then... you're a traveler?" he intoned, steely gaze meeting hers -- oblivious to any amorous undertones.

Sunspot's ears flickered in surprise at being identified as such. She was many things, but a traveller? No - she travelled, but that was hardly a key part of her, was it? Who was She?

"For now, " she agreed, not quite content with the idea, but seeing that there wasn't much point disagreeing with the man. "What about you?" she asked, thinking that this couldn't be his land, either. She'd passed through here just a few weeks ago with her family, and there'd been no one to speak of around, then.

For now... how enigmatic. Curiosity caused Valtyr's ears to prick as he waited for the woman to continue her story. However, it seemed she did not care to divulge what caused her to wander. The Sveijarn blinked slowly.... delibritely... calmly... as he pondered the sandy she-wolf's retort. "Well," his lips smacked in thought, "I'm somewhat of a traveler, too. I grew up in Teekon... with the Blackdeer Plateau Pack. I've been gone a while... and it felt like it was time to come home." Home. The word made Valtyr's chest tighten. Home was truly with his Sybil and their children, in the sweeping forests and fields of the East. But now, Sybil was six feet under and pushing daisies. His sweet, beloved, silver wife -- taken before her time.

Without missing a beat he continued, "my name's Valtyr Sveijarn. What's yours, traveler?" The man's amber eyes cast a warm gaze towards his company, as to not betray his blue and aching heart.

Though she'd not given up much information herself, the male seemed quite willing to talk. Sunspot felt herself relaxing into her voice, and she realized that she'd been wary of him, before. Perhaps it'd been the way he approached her, as though it'd never even crossed his mind to fear her. Now, though, she found she rather appreciated his calm demeanor.

"Blacktail Deer Plateau?" she hedged, wondering if they were thinking of the same place, or if the two places just had similar names. "My brother lives there, now. I did, too, for a while, but..." She still couldn't really say why she'd left. "There's a pack forming on the coast," she revealed. "I think I might cast my lot with them."

He hadn't asked, but he'd given as much information himself. And, when he did ask something of her, she found that she was wholly willing to give it. "Sunspot," she replied succinctly, for she had no true surname. "And... I'm not a traveller, I don't think. Just a wolf."