I know TS is moving and I'm not sure if they're already moved on at this point, but Tail would want to visit Spine's failed kingdom. <__<
Her sister had told her of this place; the sloping Sunspire that had been her brief kingdom. Tail wasn't sure why exactly she wanted to see the mountain that had been Spine's greatest failure in person, at least not until she arrived. As she approached its foothills, the yearling was overcome with a sobering stillness. It was a reminder of why she was here, and why she could not fail in her ambition. As she drew closer— she fully intended to climb the gentle slope— Tail's nose filled with the breeze, and she paused abruptly.
Other wolves were here, though the scent was difficult to pinpoint. While she did not climb further, Tail also did not retreat; she watched the mountain's side pensively. Perhaps one of its inhabitants would speak to her, if nothing else... or, perhaps, she might muster the courage to climb regardless of the danger.
idk what my timelines are anymore but let's just say this is sometime when she's here *sips wine, shrugging*
Her grip on the mountain had begun to loosen already. Somber, and a little difficult to bear at certain points, it was met with mixed feelings all around. She had felt so restless as of recently, and the idea of a great change certainly excited her, but this had been what she had known for so long, and many moons ago, what she had helped to create.
Now though, it was time for something new. The mountain had served her beautifully and she only wished she could have done better by it -- more of what it deserved, honestly. The pack had dwindled, she had been unable to inspire them or bring new lasting recruits into their midst like Ferdie had done once. She had become the only ruler, when it deserved greater, and never had they greeted new life born to the claim on these slopes. Which.. was not often something she considered, not until very recently, that was. Was the mountain more barren than its verdant slopes led one to believe? Or was she the only one to blame for this?
Nevertheless, she considered time here restful as she casually moseyed from cache to cache to clear out anything of worth. Soon, she would be setting out for her explorations and there was a good chance she'd not come back at all. Already she'd skimmed the south, looked for Rain more, and then now it was time to bring her time here to a close. She jogged downward until the scent caught her. Soon after, she was spotting the stranger from afar and guiding her path that way. Ame approached, poised and calm, but curious of an unknown visitor who looked to be.. looking at the mountain? Visitors were awfully rare, after all.
"Need something..?" she asked, not unfriendly, but to the point as she drew to a halt.
As Tail debated whether to wait or simply forge ahead, her scanning eyes caught the movement of a dark silhouette. In the time it took for the other to approach, the yearling had shifted to a posture of deference. When the woman stopped before her, Tail risked a glance at her face before her gaze settled upon the mountain wolf's shoulder.
"Hello," she responded. "I wasn't sure if there was anyone here," came her quiet explanation. Tail hadn't trespassed, not truly, and it seemed that the other was of the same mind. "My sister told me of this mountain— she was Alpha here, for a time, but she abandoned her claim. I just... wanted to see it," Tail explained.
It was no surprise that she had been uncertain of wolves here. Amekaze had not been as effective at enforcing the borders and spent much of her time scouting these days. Even over the course of the summer, she had been far flightier than ever before. Their numbers were small and their enthusiasm waning significantly, so even here and now, she was far less possessive than she might have been normally. "We are here.. for a little while longer at least." Her timeline was not specific but it was worth a mention; this was not a pack at their height, by any means.
She tilted her head curiously, eyeing the female in more detail now after she spoke of a sister ruling here. She knew nothing of the sort but now she was curious. "It must have been long ago," she said, hoping to hear more so she was feeling an ounce more hospitable. "I knew no history of its claim before our own, and there was only one Alpha male before myself." She did not mention that she had been in the region for a long time even before that -- even if she had stayed closer to the coast in the very beginning. Perhaps it had been then? It had been gone before she had joined the Creek, though. It hardly felt right from denying the wolf's interest in the mountain and keeping her from it when Amekaze had already decided to abandon it just as the stranger's sister had once done. Maybe it was just part of the cycle. "What would you like to see?" Was the view from here enough?
The dark female's words were ominous if not forlorn, but they confirmed Tail's suspicion about the mountain's virility. Her blue-gray eyes cautioned another glance back up the sloping peak, but returned to the woman's shoulder as the elder spoke. Tail risked meeting her eyes at the final question, out of surprise at the invitation rather than challenge. She nodded her acceptance, first, "If you truly wouldn't mind."
She had no guesses as to why the female's pack was abandoning the Sunspire, but it seemed rude to ask. She couldn't deny that she was curious, however; was the mountain cursed, to see so many leaders in so short a time? "My sister's name is Muirrin Blackthorn, but some call her Spine," she offered... and realized she had never introduced herself. "I'm Teagan, and most call me Tail." That was punctuated with a sheepish grin, and a sweep of her black tail.
She couldn't help but be hesitant, even while her vague offer was accepted. Old habits made for a difficult current to swim against, but she stepped aside, granting passage beyond her fading borderlines to the female to let her decide her heading of choice. Amekaze would stay close but let her set the pace.
Soon, this would not be hers. Her future was elsewhere now.. and somehow, she felt it was her duty to let a curious wolf match a physical landmark to the piece of history she knew. The timing was good on her part, as Ame couldn't say if this would be an open invitation to a place she actually guarded. "Ah, the name is not familiar to me.." she admitted, although would keep it memorized. "I am Ame," she provided in return. "Do you know.. why she left her claim? Or how long it was hers?" she asked, not yet certain of how close the sisters had been, so there was always a good chance she would not know. It was her trying to get a deeper look into the history of the mountainside, one even beyond the parts of it she had known for as long as she had.
It was strange to Tail, too— to be invited so easily into a claim's borders. Instinctively, she took on a more defensive posture, fighting against the thought that she would be attacked at any moment. Tail glanced at her dark companion, wondering if she felt similarly alien, but could not glean much from her stature. In fact, Amekaze seemed content enough to allow the yearling to lead the tour, which felt all kinds of wrong.
Her steps were cautious, but she began the descent up the mountain's gentle slope. It got easier to ignore instinct as the darker woman continued their conversation, and Tail's gaze took in all that she could as they spoke. She wasn't quite sure of what she was looking for, really, but the experience was a sobering reminder of how quickly things could change.
"It was a few years ago, before I was even born," she explained. "She left because... she couldn't do it. Despite her name, she was a spineless coward." Tail cringed at the harshness of her own words, but it was true. "I'm sure leading is difficult, but— she just left them without saying anything. Without making sure they were okay." It was clear that the yearling was not impressed with her sister's behavior. "I'll never be like that."
On constant repeat in the back of her mind, she reminded herself that there was nearly nothing here to guard. The time of the Sunspire and her reign of it was coming to a close so this was just an inevitable part of the process of letting go. But, she knew that once she turned her back entirely on this place and put her paws back on Moonspear, it would come far more easily.
But she listened, and found that it was quite a time ago. Amekaze nodded slowly now and then, keeping her ears on the grayscale wolf and the rest of herself poised in careful neutrality for the company of a stranger. At times, it came more readily, especially when she was being given rare knowledge such as this to distract. "I see," she eventually replied, touched with a bit of somberness. "I could not imagine leaving wordlessly, and not without.. very good cause," she sighed. She had been on the receiving end of it a few times, although circumstances had probably prevented anyone from saying anything. "It is a shame the pack dissolved with her choice, though. The founding alpha of this incarnation of the Spire abandoned us -- although we suspect foul play with local cougars, so I took his place." Her own piece of the history, for whatever it was worth. "But that has run its course."
Tail was grateful for the tidbits of history that Ame offered, and she focused on her dark companion's voice or her own footsteps— anything that wasn't her every instinct screaming that this was danger. Her own posture was kept submissive, for she knew this was a rare honor that could be revoked at any moment. "That was honorable of you," the yearling told the other. She liked to think that facing the same situation, she would have stepped up to lead as well. Tail hadn't really thought of the other wolves abandoned by Spine, but she made the sudden decision that they were all cowards, too.
"Why are you leaving?" she questioned softly, unable to bite back her curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking," the yearling added quickly, not wishing to push her luck further.
Honorable was.. an interesting adjective to call it. Amekaze only nodded, withholding her further remarks on that train of thought. She'd only done what she had to, and failing to find and restore the former leader hardly seemed honorable. But, that was not the way to look at it, especially from survival's sake.
To the question turned to her, she answered more readily than she had anticipated. "I feel I have been here long enough," she answered. Details withheld, of course. The more she steadily detached, the more she understood the feeling in her gut to be the absolute. "I do imagine someone else will eventually stake a claim here. It has been a good mountain to us, but it is time for something new." Knowing it had happened before her time only made this seem more likely to her. She wondered if it would still be while she lived in the Teekon at all, or a long after when her tiny piece of the history here was old news.