A craving for beaver had pulled Saena from the safety of her home for a several-days-trip. There were no sizable lakes or rivers in the north (that she knew of), so the woman traveled southwest. She slept in the shadow of the Sunspire range the first night, made it almost across the mountain pass by the second, and on the third morning, reached the lake she remembered so fondly from her childhood. Greatwater Lake always reminded her of better times, though her most recent encounter there was an unsavoury memory. She'd acted like an ass in front of Wildfire and she knew it, but she couldn't help herself. The pup represented everything Saena had lost. One could say she was a trigger just for existing.
But Saena was almost relieved to see no sign of a red-furred wolf currently on the lake's wide shore. She began to pace along the eastern edge, heading south with hopes of spotting a beaver dam at one of the lake's offshoots. She knew they frequented here; she'd seen them more than once before. Even a small one would sate her appetite. There would be nothing to bring back home. The effort would be too great. But if the alpha female felt guilty about having no intention of sharing this treat with her wolves, she certainly didn't show it as she prowled along the lake's edge.
I hope it's okay if I join you ?
While remaining in this parts of the Teekon Wilds, Akela had already met certain types of wolves. Some only wanted to explore, others were driven by a need for solitude or adventure. He was getting used to not having to run, in a sense that he could always come back to something that was feeling like home...or well a shelter he was comfortable staying in. What drove him to go back to the waters however, was simply a wish to hunt on his own, for old days sake.
Maybe some fish ...not that he was skilled at fishing, or some frogs, or a beaver. He had been suicidal enough to use floating wood to get slightly into deeper waters, and of course...that worked to his disadvantage when the slipped.
"Daaaam - " a big splash and he was in the water. He swam back to the bank and shook himself. "
Oh for fu- " he then noticed another wolf.
" You have not seen what happened, have you ?"
Saena's focus was mainly singular, so for a long while, she didn't notice the bizarre sight out on the water. She sought only a beaver dam and looked only at the edges of the water. And yet, something compelled her to lift her head—maybe the prickling sensation of another presence nearby—just in time to see Akela lose his balance. Squinting, the pale female drew to a halt and mouthed, what the fuck, as first a piece of wood, then the wolf, surfaced.
Did he seriously, she started to ask herself, but the dark figure was paddling toward her. Ever cautious when away from the north and especially so now that she was alone, the alpha female let her hackles prickle threateningly and took about five steps back. There. That placed a significant distance between the edge of the water, where Akela was now shaking himself off, and herself. Her shoulders hunched forward as the male began talking to himself, and she stared back when he addressed her and asked a question.
"Yeah," she answered immediately, though she hadn't seen it all. She could only assume he was standing on the wood, but she'd only seen the fall. Still, if it was something that would give her the edge should he decide to turn hostile, Saena would tell him she'd seen everything. Maybe that would keep him over there, where he was no threat. "Why would you even do that?"
Akela shook himself . Thankfully, summer was still in the area, and it was actually a nice cool experience. " Call it poor made decisions and experimentations to get something out of it. " he replied and chuckled slightly. "I'll never learn it seems. " he added with a sigh. The eyed the female, not wanting to appear aggressive nor defensive. He only appeared neutral, giving her a space without giving her any reason to attack. He was still recovering from his injury and getting back to full strength, engaging into a fight was not on top of his priorities.
"Now that I lost any manhood in your eyes, I can assure you that normally I have a more dominant wow factor and less laugh factor. " he added not facing the female upfront to avoid any wrong messages or give the impression that he wanted something. They were just passing by each other. "You're out for a drink or some food, dear if you don't mind me asking ?"
Akela's explanation was vague enough to leave her wanting more. Hard-eyed, the female took one step closer and asked, "but what do you need to experiment for?" Couldn't he fish from the shore like a normal wolf? Maybe he wasn't fishing at all. Maybe he was doing something else before toppling into the water, and Saena was only assuming hunting because it was on her brain as well.
Akela explained that he normally had more wow factor, a comment that made Saena arch a brow at him, though she couldn't help but smile at his goofiness. He was tall, athletically muscled, but she hardly looked at men when she had her own waiting for her at home. His personality might've been what he meant. She almost asked, but snapped her jaws shut and tensed the lower one when he called her "dear". The only wolves who ever called her that were Blue Willow and occasionally her mate when he was being a goofball, and Saena learned rather abruptly that she didn't like it coming out of anyone else's mouth.
Maybe because she was insecure? "I'm not your dear," she told him sharply, and then said, only a tad more gently, "yes, I'm hunting."
"Because my brain doesn't always asks me what it wants to do. It could have been genius had it worked, but oh well, it did not. I was bored and looking for a new technique to fish, it is by experimenting that you gain skills as my grandmother always said. " he explained. He liked to try new things, even if sometimes it was not the best ideas. Even at his age, he still had that silly need to discover things.
Her reaction made Akela 's ears go forward. Gosh she was defensive. He could understand why, she was a female, seemingly alone with him around, a male that had no business talking to her without wanting something. However, Akela truly only conversed out of social reasons. "That is obvious, but I did not say my dear, I only said dear, as in darling, lady, gal, wolf woman . Do not assume anything by those petnames, no belittlement or flirtation. Without a name, I do have to refer to you in some ways. " he reassured her. " Although you do look lovely if you permit me to say so, no courting intended." he added only as a compliment without looking for anything else and bowed his head a little to show her more respect , since she seemed to need it. "Well I'm sure you will do better than me ."
A new way of fishing. As a gamekeeper, Saena could see all kinds of flaws in such a plan, if he truly had been trying to float out to the middle of the lake. But she didn't comment on it, instead listening to his lengthy response regarding the term "dear". All of the words he listed had very different meanings and connotations, but Saena was tight-lipped about it, if only because he obviously hadn't meant offense. He complimented her and she accepted it without a word, primarily because she didn't know what to say. When he mentioned she could do better, she abruptly told him, "I have a mate," maybe to turn down any further discussion on the matter.
Desperate to turn the conversation toward something less personal, Saena glanced back out at the lake surface and asked, "how did you intend to catch one? They stay near the bottom. It's probably a hundred feet deep out there." Much deeper toward the lake's center, surely, but Akela had been nowhere near that. Still, she doubted he could reach down a hundred feet even if he was the world's best swimming wolf.
"Lucky him. I hope he is treating you better than I." Akela remarked , taking some pleasure at making her uneasy. It seemed like she did like the compliment but was not sure how to reply to it. He could appear flamboyant at times, literally drowning the fish in his words. It must be the canadian blood in him, a french flair he could not get rid off. What she would never know is that he couldn't get passed family friendly behavior, the death of his mate was like a shadow on his being, unable to move on on a semtinal level. So she was mated, which meant she was within a pack, he wondered which one. One around here, one further away, he did not push matters further, because he was not here for that.
"Are you asking me to share my secrets ? " he asked with a sly smile. " with the heat, the water is lower, insects are close to the surface and the storm has disoriented more than one living creature. I was testing if floating on this could allow an easier catch...it does not"
Aside from the feeling she got that he was just a little bit detached from reality, she supposed the man had a point. Hot weather and an abundance of insects could draw fish to the surface. She still doubted any wolf would have the balance necessary to ride a piece of wood out onto a lake and actually catch one, but she seemed to think on it now, and even nodded her understanding. "Maybe eventually," she mused, though she seriously doubted it would ever succeed. Maybe Akela knew that as well, and would stick to catching fish from shore in the future.
Now that all that was settled and out of the way, she found herself wondering other things, like where this bizarre wolf even came from. He didn't smell like Blacktail Deer Plateau, and she suspected any adult from Redhawk Caldera would've tried to kill her by now (she was still a little paranoid about that). The Sunspire, maybe? "Where're you from?" she wondered quite suddenly, curious whether his was a new or old pack. A lot had changed in the north. She didn't doubt for a second that the same was true of the south.
Akela scratched his ear and huffed at her reaction. "You're giving this more thought than you attended to, don't you ? " he scoffed. "Even if it doesn't serve it's purpose, it was fun, I'll admit as much" he added. This incident would probably not keep him from trying something else. The older he got, the lazier he wanted to be, if he could hatch a fish with an easier method, he would look for it until he would find it. He would probably also go back to how his father had taught him to fish, which entailed a lot of frustration and some slippery business, cause you had to earn those fishes the hard way.
"I'm from the area they call British Columbia. I've been traveling for quite a while now, my path has finally lead me to the south. The Teekon Wilds is quite an interesting region, dangerous nonetheless, but interesting and filled with peculiar individuals. " he answered and perked his ears towards her. "And you if I may ask? Where are you from ?"
Though Akela hit the nail on the head, Saena chose not to comment. Thinking of it or not, it was a silly endeavour to her all the same. A topic she was more or less finished with. It seemed the male was as well, for he went on to explain his origin and how he came to be in the wilds. She'd been hoping for information on his status, be it pack or dispersal wolf, but it was probably better that Akela didn't mention that outright. The south was no friend of hers.
"I'd be careful in those parts," Saena suggested, evidently feeling as though the south should be no friend of Akela's either. "There are some unkind folks in the south. Some that would kill you for looking at them the wrong way. Others that would trick you then take you out once you trust them." She believed the only pack to behave this way was Redhawk Caldera, even if it had only been toward herself, but she wasn't privy to the other murderers of the south: Blackfeather Woods. Her only experience with them was with their alpha, and it was an experience she would only remember if the strange woman's name was spoken.
Now it was her turn. "I'm from Blacktail Deer Plateau, in the large mountain range that way." She gestured with her snout in the vague direction of her former pack. "Born and raised," she clarified with a grin.
The wolf nodded. "I shall be careful. " he replied. " But if I may ask, which packs should I avoid ? " he asked , curious to see which names would come out of her mouth. He wondered just how much hatred and how much fear went into the Blackfeather Woods reputation. He was a member of that pack, but given and depending on the wolf he was speaking to, pretending to still be a loner was far more safe than stepping into troubles without knowing.
He followed her paw and smiled. "Must be nice to always see where you come from. Know that family and friends are never really far away" he replied with a little envy. " So you are not with them anymore ? " he thought he smelled a familiar scent on her, but he could not really quite pinpoint what it was.
"Redhawk Caldera," she said immediately, as much to deter Akela from ever joining that pack as to warn him of their nature. "A bunch of murderers live there. I've also heard of another pack full of rapists, but I'm not sure where it is." That one was a bit of an exaggeration. It was pulled from Scimitar's words to Meldresi and was in no way an accurate retelling, but embellishment was woefully common for the yearling. Unintentional, but common. "I left a while ago. The leadership wasn't right for me, not strong enough, and I wanted more. It's a good pack, but a bit cushy if you ask me. In comparison, packs in the north are a bit harsher about pack law but also typically kinder if you follow that law.
Speaking of which, if you're in the market for a decent home, you should swing by." Never one to shy away from attempting recruitment, Saena broke out a winning smile. "Nice view, nice company, and plenty of sap for a sweet tooth. It's a maple forest after all." Akela was a bit weird and Saena would forever maintain the belief that his fishing style was completely ineffectual, but a body was a body, and anyone could be taught to be useful.
"I shall keep that in mind " Akela spoke and listened to her words. He nodded, agreeing with her statement. He was from a north pack, they were kind and firm, had values and honor, they could die for you, but leave you to die if you acted like a brat. Maybe that was also true for other packs that was not his native pack. "Well, if it suits you and you find your path , that is all that matters. Family is important, but the family we make and choose for ourself becomes rapidly the second lung you need to breathe" he explained.
The wolf smiled, giving her a courteous headnod. "Thank you for your kind invitation, but I'm afraid - and the next words that are going to come out of my mouth are going to turn the wind on this conversation I feel - I'm already with a pack, the alleged rapist pack actually. Blackfeather woods. " He had not been planning on telling her, but he was curious to see her reaction to it.
Saena could agree with Akela's view on second families. Hers was pretty much her fourth family, but the principle remained the same. Her pack was the closest thing she had to a family now and Saena knew she would do anything for them. Akela could easily become one of them if he accepted her invitation. While she wasn't overly warm with strangers, a wolf that joined their fold and made themselves useful quickly won her graces.
Well, that is, until they admitted to being from a pack of rapists. Saena's jaw tightened at the mention. Blackfeather Woods had never directly affected her and probably never would, but Scimitar's and Nochtli's reactions to their lead bitch was enough for the yearling to know it wasn't a good pack. Having heard only those two opinions on it, she wouldn't call it notorious either, but she certainly didn't want anything to do with it even if it was a pack that didn't call much attention to itself outside of isolated incidents.
Having associated himself specifically with the "rapist" pack, Saena drew the incorrect assumption that he, too, was a rapist. Maybe he was the rapist. Whichever it was, he was certainly dangerous and Saena had no compulsion to continue hanging around a dangerous wolf, even if he seemed clueless (in a cute sort of way) and kind enough. So without bidding Akela a good day or saying anything further on the subject, the alpha female briskly loped away from him and the lakeside. She sidestepped, keeping him partially in her line of sight, until she was far enough away that she could turn fully and leave the area.
Young wolves and they way of seeing the world. He saw almost in slow motion as the wolferess realized what was happening and how both disgust and fear painted itself on her face. Strange how one's behavior could not make up for the rumor surrounding something. But then again, he would maybe never see that wolf again. One less problem in his life it seemed. He watched her run away, fleeing from him and shook his head. At least she knew what was best for her.
For his part, the wolf went back to his fishing, oh well attempt to find a new technique with anything that floated. His new test subject, was well another tree. Some learned, some never did, but despite the fact that test number 2 ended like test number 1, he did fetch a fish while slipping into the water again and swam to the bank with it. He looked at it and sighed. "I should just go to the beavers " he told himself and decided to sit down and enjoy his catch under the last sun of late summer.
- end -