@Ukko ! (Ukko apparently means old man in Finish, hence the thread name)
It was colder, up here. As if that were possible, but it was. He could feel the icy wind break through his furry barrier and seep into his skin, his bones. Hush shivered, attempting again to fluff up his pelt against the wind as he travelled to the Sleeping Dragon - the home of his new pack.
He was curious what these wolves would be like - he had only met Gyda so far, but his first impressions were rather pleasant. He hoped that the rest of the pack would be the same: proud, confident, helpful. Hush also wondered what the other wolves of Teekon were like. So far he had a great first impression with the residents here, but this land was a vast one. He hadn't even begun to explore the far reaches of this territory. There could be all kinds of wolves and packs here, cultures and languages that he never encountered before. The thought of it excited him.
But he needed a rendezvous point first. A place where he could return to and eat when needed. He stood near a stream, lapping at the cold waters briefly before raising his silvered head and sniffing the air. As he passed the mountain, he could smell a pack to the south in the vast forest below. His head turned towards the woods, studying it curiously. Hopefully, the wolves there would be friendly. As friendly as a rival pack could be.
It does, indeed!
He’d gone straight to Reek after meeting with Lucani to let him know about what he’d found, only to be told he was a day late and a dollar short. Reek had met the leader of Sleeping Dragon the day before, made an agreement with consulting the rest of them, and that was that. A little unsure of what to make of the situation, Ukko tries to find the good of having another pack so close to them. It isn’t terribly close, the are not a threat to his home, but close enough that one wrong decision could set the whole tone.
Reek had left it neutral but his curiosity isn’t satisfied. He moves up the bank of the stream before he spots the agouti wolf up ahead. Words rush to the tip of his tongue that he swallows back, trying to keep his thick fur from bristling. He moves upward until he’s almost directly in front of the other wolf with the stream between them. He smells a little like Lucani but there are new scents added to it and it isn’t too strong, leaving him confused.
“You from Sleeping Dragon?” he barks across the water.
So under the impression from
this thread, Reek would have told Ukko about the agreement. If Hush hasn't met Thuringwethil before this thread, he wouldn't know about it. If it's after, he would. :)
Hush as of this thread has not met Thuringwethil.
The silent wanderer sniffed the air, acquainting himself to the crisps scents of the north. He had thought he knew winter and cold - his home was famous for its deadly winters, despite the hot springs and geysers that burst through its ground like pimples - but he had never been this far north. He wondered if it would smell like winter even as spring and summer rolled over this northern land.
Distracted from his musing, Hush turned towards the call that beckoned for his attention. Across the cold stream another wolf stood, his orange-brown eyes fixated on Hush. The silent wolf, wondering if he was a member of his new pack, this Sleeping Dragon, nodded, his pale eyes resting curiously on the other.
The wolf only nods his head to his answer and says nothing more. Lucani hadn’t given him a lot of information either and the distance he feels in the other wolf, he doubts he’ll get much more. Ukko steps up to the bank of the stream, the ground cold on his toes as he peers across.
“You’re a little far down then, aren’t you?” he asks with a raise of his brow. Crossing the stream wouldn’t be too difficult but it is the river that really separates them. Phoenix Maplewood had everything to the south and one of the others just traipsing through their own hunting grounds is enough cause for concern. The claim to the north of his home is new, as well as everything else, so he eases back his irritation a little to give the wolf a chance to explain.
Hush was quite confused at the wolf's questioning tones. The silent wolf's nose began to sniff fervently as he tried to locate a border. He thought that the pack was further away than this. Did they have a large buffer zone? If they did, why couldn't he smell it? Hush displayed his perplexed state of mind with an exaggerated tilt of his head, eyes widening slightly as he beckoned the wolf to explain what he had done wrong. Gyda had not told him this, nor had he met with the other queen that ruled over the Dragon. He was at a loss.
The wolf looks confused with his comment and Ukko narrows his eyes, adjusting his footing on the cold, frozen bank. The pack is new, perhaps the message hadn’t gotten to everyone just yet, but that didn’t mean the other’s at a risk of facing off with Maplewood. The stream wouldn’t be terribly easy to cross, but it won’t hold him back if he needs to. Even if the nameless wolf didn’t know the new law between the two, he could still break it.
“You shouldn’t be this far down,” he tells the other. The river between the two serves as a barrier and the stream is on his side. He could cross up ahead without hunting and be safe, but Ukko wouldn’t dream of putting himself in such a situation.
Hush understood the need for a boundary, but the news of this river being the dividing point of land for them was relatively new. Hush hoped that the rival wolf wasn't duping him into giving his pack a wider berth than normal. He nodded in understanding, but did not move himself. It was probably a stupid choice, but it was a choice he made nonetheless.