Moonspear keep flying

Wraen had been attempting to hunt mice all afternoon - she had dug up a frozen specimen of it's kind by chance and after gulping it down whole, she had decided to work on the area and see, whether it's siblings and relatives were hiding there as well. She plowed the snow with her muzzle diligently, checked several spots and dug at some places, but other than a faded and very old smell her work was futile.

And as the saying goes - try, try and try again and then don't be stupid and leave it - she gave up and settled down in the nest of snow she had made earlier and began to groom her feet. Having ice between one's fingers was not a nice thing.

hope this is fine!!

Gannet's thoughts were in a tizzy, a state that he found entirely disagreeable and honestly rather vexing. When he had agreed to Charon's deal, it had seemed so simple. Join Moonspear, work at being a good packmate, and remain with newfound friends in a family he could choose.

After his meeting with Liffey, however, he had the unwelcome sensation that more was going on than he understood, and while he did not think his decision a mistake, he couldn't deny the anxiety they once more laced his presence here.

Trying to avoid it, he threw himself into his exercises with a will, increasingly determined to get better as soon as possible. Today he took a chance and climbed the slopes a bit, making his way upward on the mountain for the first time. It strained him to do so, but he powered through, knowing the effort could be bad but impatient to strengthen. He needed to be able to run.

When he reached an even spot, however, he plopped down to a seated position, panting from the effort. He didn't notice Wraen a ways off; he was too busy trying to catch his own breath and stretch the ache out of his legs. They weren't used to the activity yet after so long off his feet.

Wraen was chewing on a broken nail, when a movement in the vicinity made her alert. She looked from one side, to the other, until her gaze locked on a white walking/limping figure in the distance. Had it not been for the telltale black socks, she would have thought that this was either Charon or Vela - there weren't that many white wolves in the area. But recognizing Gannet made her heart swell with joy. She liked her cousin and, if this encounter was going to be just as fun as their last one, she was up to having a very good time indeed.

She got to her feet and hurried towards the young male, who had now sat down to take his breath. "Hello, brave warrior," she greeted him from afar. "What has brought you to these heights?"

Wraen ran us as he was beginning to, but not quite, catch the air back into his lungs. As it was, he opened his mouth, only to smile as he was unable to speak for another moment more.

"Practice," he said finally when he got it under control. He hadn't realized quite how tired the climb would make him, but he could feel an ache settling in on his injured leg. Thankfully the way down would be easier!

"Gotta learn," he explained a little further, hopping up on somewhat shaky legs to stand once more. If he favored his leg, the standing made it a little easier to cool down.

"Wouldn't that be easier to do on a flat ground first?" Wraen tilted her head to the side and arched an eyebrow, as she said this. She did not hide the fact that in her opinion and in his place she would have no business being high up here. Rather practicing, where it was easier, and making the best use of herself, where she could function properly.

"How is you leg?" she asked, her gaze lingering at the injured limb for a bit, before refocusing to Gannet's face.

He grinned at her expression, knowing exactly what she meant by it. "Yep." But that was the whole point!

"It's alright. Still hard." He took a few steps. His balance was better but the off stride still threw him. He could walk now but hadn't tried running yet. Just walking was hard enough. "Why're you up here?" I mean, technically most of the mountain was up, so it wasn't all that odd. But he was curious still.

"I happened to run accross a spot that seemed promissing for mousing, but apparently even the little guys get cold feet in this weather," Wraen commented on the sudden drop of temperatures in the area. She was well-equipped for such weather, but her own paws still needed an occasional tending, when ice accumulated between the pads. 

"You know what - I usually don't boss lower-ranking comrades around," she began quirking her eyebrow, "but as your delta I don't want to have you snow-balling from the mountain and I suggest that you come with me to the forest and engage in something more useful than possibly breaking another limb." To emphasize, what she had meant, she went to block his way, in case he decided to disobey.

"After all - I guess Cerberus and their parents didn't just keep you because of the mercy of their hearts? They expect something back, don't they?"

Oh. That was interesting. He would have enjoyed snapping at mice if they were around, but his demeanor grew a tad sheepish when she went on to call him out on his travels. He thought he had it well in hand personally, but if she was pulling rank, he wasn't about to argue. Hanging out with her seemed more fun than pushing through the snow alone anyway.

"Yeah. Says I owe them to make it up." He said, tail waving slightly as he followed without argument. He didn't disagree; they hadn't killed him, had they? Quite the opposite really. "S why I'm practicing," he finished somewhat proudly. She might have her doubts, but he was merely happy to have made it this high. Progress!

"That's what they tell us all," Wraen sighed, keeping the "don't see them doing much to deserve that" part to herself. She did not like, how they expected a blind loyaly, or how, if they did a favour to you once, they considered that you owed them for the rest of your life. Or this twisted "I did not kill you, therefore you owe me" philosophy. That was not a way, how you made friends or acquaired good followers. The very idea that someone should feel thankful for not being killed at the mercy of the would-be-killer was absurd. Because normal people generally did not go around killing others in the first place.

But she had got carried away in the train of her thoughts and Gannet was waiting on her. Therefore she snapped out of it, by shaking her head and smiling at the boy. "Follow me then - let's inspect some other mousing spots. I know quite a few around here," with that she led the way, stopping occasionally to see, if her cousin was keeping up with her and if she needed to slow down.

That was news to Gannet; Wraen was there because she needed to make something up? She was trusted it seemed, so he had assumed not. But this gave him some more hope to his own predicament; it was possible to work his way up in merit then.

"Okay." Mice were barely a mouthful, but it was the fun of catching, not the meal!! "It's like the locusts," he said, suddenly remembering a time long ago when he'd played with Whip and Ferret and da among the insects. He didn't know if she'd had a similar experience, but that had been a fun day! He failed to remember that this had also been the day Fox had been half-blinded. The good tended to stick around a little better for him.

"Locusts? Are they rodents too?" Wraen asked, having never heard the term before and never been taught much about the insects. To her they had always been too small to be of any importance. Except for wasps, which could sting very painfully, and ticks, which did not belong to the same group at all. 

Still listening to, what Gannet had to say on the topic, she stopped for a moment, casting a carefuly look around, then proceeding.

"Big bugs," he said, trying to recall what exactly they looked like. He couldn't really, just the crunch of catching them and the weird, weird taste. Not bad, but not good either. "They growl, but not normal." He added, suddenly remembering the buzz. It had had a quality to it that he knew he couldn't reproduce if he tried.

"You didn't see them?" He asked. Maybe her home didn't have such things; he'd only seen them once after all.

"Growling bugs - well, that is something I would love to see," Wraen said, though in reality she would not be very thrilled about a swarm of bugs that left wreckage and desert, wherever they landed. She had been born after the damage had been done to the landscape and by the time she had set out her first steps in the world, all of the dead bugs had been already gone (consumed - most likely).

"Nah, that's the first time I hear about them, but I caught a whiff of a backstory there," she replied. "Please, elaborate on the matter."

Honestly, when that day had been there, Gannet had spent much of the day hiding from them. But once the craziness had died down, and only the stragglers remained, that was the fun he remembered.

He tried to remember more about it, as much as he could. "There were a lot, loud and big." He thought for a minute. "They took all the plants." After they'd come the Caldera had been stripped, and prey had been scarce for a while after. He'd almost forgotten about that. That was when... nah. Wraen wouldn't want to know about that.

"Have you seen the ocean?" He asked instead, the thought trail following. It was a bit of a leap, but thinking about that got him thinking about his parents' tales of other places, and that was probably the last of them Gannet had yet to experience himself (save northward, which he imagined to be more trees and mountains. Nothing too interesting there).

Gannet's mention of locusts taking all of the plants rang a bell to Wraen, who recalled Osprey telling her about the wide-spread famine in the wilds around the time she and her siblings had been born. Yet these memories did not stand out particularly, because for the most part of her childhood hunger had been her constant companion. Her parents had been working hard to provide for all three pups, but it was at times a very difficult task that had got easier only, when all three had begun to hunt for themselves. 

"I think I have, but it was pretty much a frozen plain, when I happened to be on the coasts last," that had been in December. "I spoke with Charon recently and he agrees with my mom of it's magnitude. Her former pack was located on the coast, by the way. What about you - have you seen it?"

That sounded even more interesting than normal ocean, honestly. "Does it freeze?" He asked, referring to the water. It was hard to imagine that much, but if it did, could you walk on it? Explore out beyond without even swimming? He liked the idea of that!

"I haven't, but I wanna," he said, then glanced up the mountain. "I only got to the mountains before.... here." He had been exploring with Lagan a bit, every so often taking trips to different regions and adventures. He was going to suggest the coast next, but supposed he would need to find a different travel buddy now.

"Well, you are closer to the ocean now than, when you lived in Redhawk caldera," Wraen said. "All I can say that, when you do feel better and can walk long distances properly, go there and see it for yourself. Maybe Charon or any of the three sisters can accompany you there," though she thought it a little unlikely that any of them would do anything for the sake of having fun or taking a break from pack business. 

"And... we are here," she told the boy, when they had arrived to a place in the forest, where Wraen used to frequently visit and snack on rodents. "Choose any spot you like and track to your heart's desire," she said, walking away and examining an old trail left by a mouse.

"Maybe," he responded, knowing it would likely be Hydra or no one in the end. Or maybe Dune? He'd come from a ways away, maybe he'd enjoy the trip. Liffey was a wanderer too. Actually, she would be the first he'd ask when he got better, it would be cool to hang out some and he bet she'd know where the cool stuff was.

He nodded as she said they'd arrived... he'd take her word for that, it looked about like every other bit of forest! But he took her cue and began companiably sniffing around, finding a likely spot of his own. The little critters were quick, but he hoped he could manage one or two.

<3!!!!!! Feel free to close or continue! Hopefully we can thread again if maia ever finds them

While at leisure and free time Wraen's mind tended to wander and get lost in daydreams, when business was about hunting, she was all eyes and ears for the task at hand. She focused and worked with a tireless, excited determination. Were she a kid, she would be the kind, who preferred chess, board-games and building robots to all team sports that required more of a physicall fitness than mental capacity. 

Since it was still winter, any immediate success was hardly to be expected, but that made even a small win just as glorious victory. She made a little leap in the air, pounced at the little mouse, grabbed it and gulped it with ease. Then - smiling - she looked over at Gannet to see, how he was doing and whether he required any assistance. 

We can continue with the hunting for a little while? I could include this thread towards her Trapper mastry. Plus, Maia can run into Wraen any moment - she is frequently in the flatlands.

sounds good!

As soon as Wraen left his vicinity, Gannet set to work, sniffing about and pricking his ears for any sign of a mouse. He wasn't particularly practiced at such small prey; generally he was more a weasel or raccoon guy - but he was gung-ho for trying!

Before too long he nosed a section of brush and one darted for cover from between the branches. He snapped at it, but was too slow, catching a branch or two between his teeth but missing the objective. He lifted his head, surprised, and burst out in a couple of quick sneezes before glancing back at Wraen with high humor. He didn't mind having a misfire or two; just trying was well and good! Alright, next target!

Gannet had not been so lucky, but when their eyes met and she saw both joy and excitement for the activity, she smiled back at him. He did not seem disheartened - quite the contrary, he continued his search. She realized that this was such a change from her shared hunt with Korei Julia many moons ago, where her whining (Wraen's subjective/emotional view only) had been burdensome. 

She watched him work for a little while and then returned to her own chosen quadrant. Here and there she sniffed and plowed through the fallen leaves. No other fresh tracks were available, therefore she decided to examine another field. Some ten minutes later there was a yelp ("Ouch!") of a person, who has been subjected to unexpected prick of pain. 

Another moment later she called out to Gannet to regard the prickly, roundish and pretty deadish object she had found. A mumified hedgehog.

After the shared smile, Gannet set back to it, hoping to find and catch at least one in the time before they called it quits, if only to see what they were like eating.

There was one!! It was a distance off, and he nearly missed it from the corner of his eye. But when he raced to catch it, it was too quick, darting into hiding before he had the chance to snap it up. Darn! He laughed silently from the excitement though, stopping only when he hear an "ouch" from his hunting partner.

Intrigued, he came to see what she was looking at. "What is it?" He asked, unable to get a good look from the angle he came from.

"Come and see," Wraen said, moving aside and letting Gannet to have a good look at the dead animal. Her first association was porcupine, but she had never seen any that was this small and it's quills appeared to be pretty solidly attached to the skin. 

"It's definitely not alive," she added.

He stared at it, and as I'm pretty sure he'd never really crossed a hedgehog before, he had no more clue than she did.

"It's sharp," he said, staring at it but not getting closer. "Can we eat it?" He didn't really want to try but what if it tasted amazing? On second thought, though... "It doesn't look good." His tone was dubious, but curious enough that he watched her carefully to see if maybe she'd be the bad influence in this and suggest trying.

"And there is not much left of it either," Wraen agreed with Gannet, when she turned it over with her forepaw, revealing mummified remains of where once flesh had been. 

"It would be interesting to see one of them alive," she noted - there would not be much to gain from hunting them, but a creature so different from them should be an exciting thing to observe and thus entertain oneself. 

"What do you say - continue mousing or call it a day?" she turned to Gannet, leaving the choice to him. She would be fine either way. 

Fade out in your next post, please?