set at Raven's Watch
With the recent hunt and Lasher's resulting injuries, Dante had made the decision to stick close by the plateau just in case. They had a fairly strong member base but cohesion was still lacking... If a threat came, he would need to be nearby to rally them. Misgivings that they could be rallied aside.
This did not stop him from leaving though. As the mood took him he departed the borders that morning and took his steps north, a short distance into the mountains beyond the plateau's wall. He could not go far enough to scout territories just yet but he felt refreshed by the trip all the same, the silent mountains standing sentinel his only company as he traversed the path along the ridge. Looking down he could see a river stretching out below, though it disappeared soon after as it fell within a ravine. As much as he did not prefer mountains, their height and vantage suited him. Another reason he would find it hard to leave their current home, for it offered the best of both. Knowledge of the need to change and a desire to keep things constant warred within him and he was as of yet still unsure which would win in the end.
He slowed as he thought, gazing out without truly taking in what he was seeing with any depth. He didn't worry about being surprised here... It was unlikely any could approach without making their presence clear.
Durwin had traveled from the Sandy shores to a Rocky mountain. Once again, he had never seen one in person, so he stumbled and slipped his way up. His stomach still churned with hunger, so his legs shook furiously, making the climb worse.
He had tried hunting elk earlier, but his loner skills were not the best. The prey easily slipped from his claws. He desperately needed a pack to survive, but even when he passed by STM and BDP, he didn't bother to stop and see if he could join. He couldn't push himself to do so. Maybe it was because he couldn't communicate with many. He was almost certain a wolf that couldn't speak the tongue of others wasn't welcome.
As he walked on, he could see a grey shape over in the distance. He didn't bother to be sneaky, the other could probably smell him anyways. He walked closer, his stance neutral. His body couldn't handle a quarrel right now. "Alo," he greeted, quickly adding, "Vorbiți limba mea?"Hopefully this one understood him.
He did indeed catch the stranger's scent on approach, so had already turned to face him with a wary eye. Despite the lack of threat he was tensed for a fight, unsure why this stranger would choose to approach instead of simply passing by. Nothing about the alpha male had invited company, yet he did not immediately dismiss it.
When the stranger spoke it was with strange terms. An echo of it seemed familiar and for a moment he stood silent. The language of his ancestry carried many similar sounds but he was nowhere near fluent. And he sensed this wolf's words did not derive there.
Still, perhaps there was enough in common? He shook his head lightly. "Non. Nescio." And then to common speech. "I do not understand." He wondered where this wolf had come from to speak so differently and how he had come to be here. Derivatives he could somewhat make out... something about him (mea) and perhaps a reference to communication (Vorbiti? It was a bit like vocalis, though perhaps a stretch).
The words h spoke sounded familiar, but not quite. It was a shame really. There had to be someone around that spoke his language fluently. It would make it easier for him to thrive in this new world.
The second sentence Dante spoke sounded like English to him. Durwin knew some key words, but not enough to communicate properly. "Tongue English?", he asked, his usually acent heavy in his voice. He needed to learn more of the language, so others could understand him better. But a wolf didn't necessarily need to communicate with words a lot. There was always body language of course.
He nodded in confirmation of what he assumed to be a question, though the broken language did him no favors. "English." He confirmed, and while the words were steadily spoken, he did not relax his posture. "You want something?" He kept his question short and plain, hoping the drift would get through. Had he come with a purpose?
Because if not there was no point in trying to garble out words here. He wasn't sure he wanted to be trying to speak with someone who could manage it, let alone have the patience and forbearance to deal with linguistic barriers today. He was poised expectantly, keeping his attention on the other... An invitation to try and answer, if he could.
So he spoke english. What a shame. Why did communication have to be so difficult? One day, the warrior would learn, but not now. Who would have the time to do that? Maybe there was another loner around who happened to know both languages. He could be easily taught.
He nodded at Dante's next words. "Name of place?" He needed to know a lot more about this strange land. The names of the territories was one of them.
The name? Dante glanced about, unsure. There had been a time in the past when he had explored avidly, but even then he had never bothered much with names. Directions and distances were much more useful in the finding and features did well enough in explaining where one had been.
"I know these mountains are called Sunspire Mountains. But for this place, I don't know." He looked at the wolf again, and this time allowed some of his curiosity to show. "You are from far from here, yes?" The fact that he wasn't sure his words were even being understood made that clear enough. But he wondered if the wolf might elaborate a bit.
Through stunted speech they managed only some conversation, but soon enough Dante tired of the exercise and dismissed himself. He was not of a mind to entertain this any longer and had more important duties to attend to.