It had been a grueling journey from the land of her birth to the place she sat now. Skyshire looked up at the awakening sky. She had finally gotten her few days of rest, after hiding her tracks, and stockpiling pine bark and mint leaves she had holed up in a den and treated her sore cracked pads to the point where she felt confident she could walk on them again. The gash on her leg had finally started to heal over as well, the brute that inflicted it was a long ways away with no thought of pursuit. She could start anew.
The early dawn was just touching the sky as she emerged from her sick den, a new wolf, a clear mind, eager to set foot in any direction she chose. She didn't know where to go, but she didn't really care at this point. Her pads were still a bit tender but she was at least determined to explore this new land filled with strangers. She could smell the borders of a pack nearby and was eager to move away from it in case they weren't too friendly. She wasn't quite ready to try pack life again, she didn't know if she'd ever be ready for that kind of commitment again, what with the abuse she had to endure before. She'd like to meet a sane wolf, make a friend, go hunting. She was hungry, being holed up in that den for so long of time made her starving.
She started to track for food on the side of the lake, unknowing how the glaciers in summer posed incredible risks.
She might not want to be recruited.. but Scim is going to try. :P Sorry for my boy in advance. ;)
The Glacier was not a place he visited – Tuwawi and Njal’s ‘ghosts’ might have haunted his mate, but the cinnamon wolf had not given the Sveijarn’s much of a second thought since their outburst at Swiftcurrent Creek and the blatant disrespect they had given Bazi.. but that did not mean he was not curious to the domain they had once claimed for themselves.
The silence was what he noticed first – but it was the scent of another that pulled him to investigate further. His trip from Nova Peak was meant to be brief.. he disliked being away from his family, but the pack was in a desperate state for members.. and while he might not have been the best recruiter, he also could not stand idly by and leave it all to his mate.
He saw the ivory form steal across the side of the lake – his bright aqua eyes instantly falling to her wounded leg. Picking up his pace, the Frostfur made his way toward the stranger, his form neutral in its stance.
((All good! Gonna be great))
The prey must have seen her coming, Sky couldn't seem to track anything. She stopped and looked up at the great wall of ice on the other side of the lake. She must have been missing something.
She flicked her right ear after hearing a pawstep on gravel and nearly jumped out of her skin as she whipped around to see a very large stranger approaching. He was coming on her mostly deaf side and those that approach her from the left typically surprise her even though he was still several leaps away. A weakness she hadn't had the opportunity or time to hide or compensate for.
"What!? What do you want? What." Despite his neutral approach she was naturally cautious and still skittish, unfortunately, especially around males. She silently cursed her own reaction, would she be jumpy for her entire life? Will she ever get over it? She struggled to change her posture to neutral as well but it still came off as defensive and submissive. She was already glancing over his shoulders to find easy ways of escape.
He was... very large. She was... Very not.
Unawares he had taken her by such surprise, given her partial hearing, the cinnamon wolf allowed his ears to splay back at her sudden onslaught of seemingly angry questions – his brows lifted as he regarded her warily, instantly regretting his decision to greet her. There was no reason he couldn’t turn back though, and leave her to her ow quiet thoughts.. which seemed to be what she wanted.
Instead, the Alpha stood awkwardly before the petite dove, feeling she and his mate would get along infamously. Or, throttle one another. “I was just coming to say hello,” was what escaped his jaws, and with his lips setting in a firm line, he gave a shrug of his bear-like shoulders. “Sorry for having disrupted you.”
He seemed genuinely surprised at her outburst and actually seemed nice.
"Oh... oh sorry. You just... I was just startled." She wasn't used to being so out in the open all the time, she hadn't gotten used to the new territories. She would have had her left side against a cliff back in her old pack, but that was pure self preservation and knowing the land.
"I'm uh.. He-hello." He was standing awkwardly and she was standing awkwardly. She just didn't know how to relax around others. The first wolf she ever met in these new lands was unpredictable and strange, but this one seemed much more in command of his faculties. It was just an awkward encounter brought on by her skittishness. Great job, Sky.
Maybe they could start over?
"I'm sorry... I'm uh... I'm new. I just haven't... I don't know the area well..." Her nerves showed, it was obvious she was trying to make an effort to be more receiving. Something just occurred to her, what if that pack she smelled nearby wasn't nearby? What if she was IN the pack territory!? "I was just... trying to hunt, I'm not trespassing am I?" She took a step back suddenly worried and trying to portray that she didn't mean to cross any borders. Though he was friendly enough, it could have been a front to determine what she was doing inside pack borders.
She was quite nervous – to the point he was sorely tempted to leave.. this was certainly looking like it would be a waste of his time. His emotion remained tucked away behind the stoical façade – his bright eyes moving over her to note her bi-toned eyes with mild interest. Did they have use for a girl who seemed to be afraid of her own shadow?
Given the constant fights they were in, likely not.
“No, but a pack used to live here,” he offered then, not commenting on her apology or stuttering. His muzzle gave a nod in the direction of his own pack, west of where they stood. “And my pack is that way. If you trespass elsewhere, that’s none of my concern.” There was a small pause, stirring the regal to shift his weight from one side to the next, debating his escape from this rather awkward encounter. “If you’re traveling, best be careful of the wolves further south. Some of them are an unpleasant lot.” If she thought he was bad – well, Blackfeather Woods would surely love to add her to their torture list.