Otter Creek All my flowers grew back as thorns.
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#1
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Taki had made it to the creek within a few hours of setting out on her mission to find her brother. She had picked up his faint scent soon after leaving pack territory and had followed it here. The scent appeared to head towards the mountains, so she stopped to prepare herself for the possible trek through rough mountain terrain. 

She padded to the water and lowered her head to take a long drink, afraid it might be her last for a little while. After drinking as much as she could handle, she sat facing the mountains in the distance, planning her next move. She had a good teacher in Siarut, so she knew she was prepared for whatever this scouting adventure would throw at her. She just needed to remember to keep her wits about her at all times. She was by herself and any mistakes could prove fatal in a hurry. She reminded herself of this constantly, which is why she still sat looking at the mountains, trying to to recall all of her training in preparation for the hard journey she knew lied ahead of her.
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Wraen had left Sunspire at dawn, spent some time in the plains, catching mice and after an hour long nap in the safety of reeds at the Greatwater lake, she went down South. There had been several tracks of deer and, though not the most fresh, she decided to investigate. 

Her path led along the Otter creek, while it snaked near Blackfeather woods, Wraen occasionally stopped to sniff the air and casted wary side glances. Just in case any of the forest's ominous inhabitants showed up. Unknowingly she had met at least two members from this group and yet the prejudice was still strong against them.

Her step and posture grew more relaxed, when she was past the supposed danger zone and entered grounds, which at first glance seemed familiar to her. Some time in winter, she had come this far and hunted otters with a wolf, whose name she had either never found out or conveniently forgotten. Yet the surroundings looked different from what they had been, therefore she ventured further and further. 

Her mind drifted for a while and she stopped by the stream to have a drink, only to notice later that there was another face in the vicinity. A cream colored wolf, who seemed to be lost in thought as well. Wraen stopped, looked up and watched the other carefully.
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An unfamiliar scent filled her nose, and Taki whirled her head in the direction, rising to a standing position at the same time. The scent belonged to a dark, unfamiliar wolf near the water. 

She hadn't expected to run into anyone, which was a stupid assumption to make near a body of water, especially one that held the new and old scents of many different animals, wolves included. 

She realized she hadn't socialized with anyone other than her family since arriving here and found herself unsure what to do. Keeping her body language neutral so as to not seem aggressive but also not wanting to appear weak, she took a few steps towards the other wolf. She finally decided to dip her head in greeting and waited to see what the unknown wolf would do.
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She was a beautiful specimen - Wraen found that the color of the other's eyes was the most striking feature and it was hard to look away from them, even if courtesy and peace-keeping rules required to do so. The lady kept her posture neutral, even though it was evident that not only had she been startled by her arrival, but she was also interested as well. 

So, whether to make contact or leave now, was up to Wraen. And the natural curiousity of other people won this time - she stood tall and proud, presenting herself in calm confidence and wagged her tail in a friendly manner. "Good day, mis," she broke the silence between them.
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She confidently returned the she wolf's eye contact, tensing a little at the prospect of a fight. But when the dark wolf wagged her tail and offered a friendly greeting, Taki relaxed. She was never one to fight unnecessarily and was glad to see the other wolf hadn't offered her any aggression.

"Hello," she offered, the heavily accented word paired with a bow of her head. She could speak the common language fairly well, thanks again to her brother. She walked a few more steps in the other wolf's direction, soon closing the remaining distance, deciding that she appeared to mean to harm. Taki sat down in front of the grey wolf, meeting her light green gaze with her own orange one. "What brings you to these parts?" she asked curiously. She hadn't been here long or ventured much out of pack territory, so she was unfamiliar with the area and what drew others to it.
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The second thing Wraen noticed, when the she-wolf came closer, was that she looked vaguely familiar. Well, this was news and she quickly went through her memory to place this face alongside one of the existing files. She found none and gave a quick shake of her head to clear her mind. Mistaking her for someone else was the only possible explanation. 

"Tracking," she beckoned to the numerous footprints of the deer that had stopped by and afterwards crossed the river some strides away from them. "What about you - anywhere around from here?"
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Her attention was brought to the deer tracks the were scattered around the area. She hadn't noticed them before now. 

Taki nodded her head in response to the question before saying, "My pack's territory is nearby." Although she wasn't actually from around here, she now called blackfeather woods her home. The thought of home reminded her of her missing brother. She was really worried. The only scent trail of his she had been able to find was old, which furthered her fears that something had happened to him. 

She pulled herself from her thoughts, not wanting to dwell on things that she wasn't sure had actually happened. She realized she had yet to introduce herself. "My name is Takiyok, by the way."
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Nearby? Wraen turned to look over her shoulder and stared at the dark woods looming in the distance with a frown. Could it be that nearby? Most likely - yes - unless this was another packmate that Rannoch had accepted and she had missed the news. And - now, what? She faced Takiyok now, expression thoughtful.

Technically, Sunspire and Blackfeather woods were not supposed to be friends, because of... the bad stuff that had happened to Moonspear and the war at Redhawk caldera. Come to think of it - on one side it was a wise thing to keep a distance, on the other - how come that they had deemed this pack their enemies, even though they had had no direct interactions or fights. Ever?

Now - should she continue talking or excuse herself and run for the hills? Could this wolf turn out to be a cunning murderer or torturer that the said pack was infamous for? But she did not look bad. Hmmm.... "Wraen from the hills," she replied, realizing that maybe she should not have given her real name a little too late. "I am not trespassing, am I? These are not claimed hunting grounds I do not happen to have any knowledge about?" she decided to go for diplomacy for time being.
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"Nice to meet you, Wraen," she said offering her a small smile. "As for trespassing, I don't think so. As far as know this is neutral land." She thought the question a little strange, but maybe the she wolf was just being cautious. Nothing wrong with that.

The friendly wolf had said she was from the hills. Her knowledge of the common language was pretty good, but she wondered if by hills she maybe meant mountains. The thought gave her an idea. "How well do you know these mountains?" Taki asked lifting her had to point at the mountain range in the distance. Maybe this wolf could give her some insight into the area she would soon be traveling through.
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"That is good to know," Wraen replied, her relief obvious. "Not all packs up North," she beckoned towards the distant mountain range, where Moonspear wolves resided, "are of the same opinion. Be careful, if you happen to wander up there." She was still not sure, how to treat the de facto enemy, and whether her task - instead of warning and sharing knowledge - would be lying and getting them in trouble? Difficult thing - politics, that is.

"Do you have any particular interests? Because the mountain range is quite big and my knowledge definitely does not match it's size," she replied.
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Taki Nodded in thanks at Wraen's warning. She hopefully wouldn't need to go that way, but appreciated the warning. 

"I'm needing to cross the southern section,"  she said pointing her nose in the general direction. At least, she hoped that's all she would need to do. "I was just looking for any tips to make my travel easier," She added looking back at the wolf in front of her. She was no stranger to mountains; there were plenty where she came from but not all were the same, and since she had yet to explore this range, she didn't know what all to look out for.
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"Do not know much about the Southern side - can't help you there, unfortunately," Wraen shrugged, having never wandered and explored much of the southern territories of the valley. Now that it had come up, she thought she could spare some time to go and see, what it had to offer. 

"Why do you need to get to the other side? Is there a person or something you are looking for there?" she asked.
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It turned out the other wolf didn't know about the area she would be traveling. Oh well, she thought, it's not like she hadn't taken on exploring new areas on her own before. In fact, exploring new places was one of her favorite things to do. 

She considered Wraen's question for a minute. She didn't see any harm in telling the other wolf of her plans. Maybe she had even seen Tomkin, although she knew that was probably a long shot. "I'm looking for my brother, Tomkin. He's been gone for a while and none of my family knows where he went." She left out the reason he had left; that was family drama that was not really important to the story. "So far, I've tracked his scent here, and it appears to lead into the mountains," she added, casting a worried glance that way as she spoke.
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"Oh - haven't heard of a character with that name," Wraen replied, though Tomkin's name reminded her a bit of a bird, but she was not too sure. "What does he look like? I could take the message home and we could keep on a lookout, if your brother happens to be nearby," was the best she could offer at this moment.

"I have not explored much of the Southern terrain, but from, what I have seen, where I live, there are many paths up there and it is easy to get lost. Besides there are a lot of barren lands, where no prey lives at all. So - if I were you, I would not head in the mountains, unless you were very sure, where you have to get to."
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She smiled at the female's kind offer. "He looks like me, except instead of being all white, he has black down his back." She hoped he hadn't traveled that far into the mountains, though. "Thank you," she said with a bow of her head. 

She thought about the other wolf's warning. She was no stranger to traveling through rough terrain. The place she came from was freezing and full of mountains, and she had traveled through them many times while on scouting missions. As for the prey situation, she wasn't worried. She could go a while without eating; in fact, she didn't like to stop and hunt while she as traveling, only doing so when she absolutely had to. "Thank you for the information and warning," she said as she glanced towards the mountains once more. Turning back to Wraen, she added, "I don't think I have a choice, though. That's where my brother's scent leads. Not even unfamiliar mountains would stop her from tracking him.
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It had not occurred to Wraen that other people might have different and even more experience of the mountains than she did, therefore she was not entirely convinced that this person's endeavor to find her brother would end well. Especially, if she went up in the mountains. And, who could say for sure that the brother was still alive and kicking? But it was not Wraen's place to speculate and speak her mind out loud to the stranger. She had helped all she could. 

"Forgive me for taking more of your time - but I understood correctly - you come from the Blackfeather woods?" she asked.
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"I do," Taki answered with a nod. "Are you familiar with them?" She had only recently joined them to be with her family, but wondered why this wolf was so interested in where she came from. Maybe it was just harmless curiosity? She wasn't going to pretend she wasn't aware of the notorious reputation that followed her new pack, but she had too much family stuff to worry about before she left and so did not have time to inquire about any enemies they may have. Maybe that had been a mistake?
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"Can't say that I have met them face to face until now," Wraen replied (unknowingly she had - in fact - met some members from this group previously), feeling torn between the curiousity about this notorious pack and the fact that she was not even supposed to stand here chatting with this wolf. But Takiyok did not seem bad and not at all different from her. So the image of enemy did not stick well with this person in front of her.

"But there are rumours about the dark stuff this pack does - is there any truth in them?" she asked.
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With a shrug, Taki replied, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I just recently joined to be with my family." She knew it sounded bad, but it was the truth. She didn't really have any loyalty to the pack, which felt a little wrong, but she hadn't been there long enough to give them her loyalty; it was not something she gave freely. Her only real loyalty right now was to her family. All she wanted to do was find Tomkin and get him the fuck home. She constantly worried about her sister and the new pups, even more now that she couldn't see for herself that they were safe. 

"I'm sorry, I wish had more information for you to repay you for your warning," she added with a small smile. Wraen didn't have to warn her at all. They didn't know each other. But she had, and Taki was thankful for it even if she was stubbornly going to travel through the mountains anyway.
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"Oh no, that is totally okay - I have done nothing really," Wraen shook her head, feeling a little disappointed in the lack of information the she-wolf had. But on the other hand - if she was asked the same questions, what answer could she come up with? And did she really have to, because, why should a complete stranger know anything about your home? And perhaps the enemy status was mutual, so spilling information on either side would be treason. 

"Well, I wish you luck in finding your brother," she finally said, feeling that there was very little she could add to the conversation now. "I will go now," she dipped her muzzle politely and then left the scene, choosing to run along the river and back to Sunspire.

Thank you for the thread!
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No problem!

"Thanks," Taki said before giving the female a parting nod. She watched as the nice stranger turned and left. She really hoped finding Tomkin didn't take too long, but was not going to get her hopes up. With one last look towards the direction of her family, she turned and headed towards the mountains.
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