Purposefully, she guided her path towards a small meadow that edged in an outcropping with the long bone of a bighorn sheep's femur clamped between her jaws. Today her intentions were simple: a step back for just a moment, and a deep breath to go with it. She'd practically engraved her pawprints into the borderlands already this morning and without other interests pulling at her, it seemed like as good of a choice as any.
She hiked up the last stretch then moved to the nearest edge. There, she settled onto her haunches and left the bone at her forepaws for now.
Her sights were pulled skyward towards the cloudy skies. It was easy to do so up here just above the main treeline of the mountain. Even further up would have been better for watching the weather roll in, but, this worked. She didn't want to remove herself
that far from the pack's happenings for today, after all.
The longer she waited, the cloudier it seemed to become. And, with a brisk chill on the wind, she was beginning to suspect snow tonight. Or at the very least, an icy rain.. which was all the more reason not to go much higher in elevation. None of which she was particularly enthused about, save for wondering how accurate her predictions may turn out to be.
Ame sighed to herself and chewed aimlessly at the bone while admittedly, her thoughts drifted to warmer days of springtime. She wanted to see the Spear in full bloom.
possibly a meteorologist thread. maybe.
Although Floki was far from being a naturalist, he could tell that the bitterness in the air spoke of impending snow. It was his first winter, and the white stuff had taken some getting used to at first, especially since it made the rocky slopes slick and unpredictable. But after the first few snowfalls, he had grown accustomed to the feel of it beneath his feet and found himself welcoming the falling powder. If nothing else, it was beautiful and serene.
He was prowling the lower ledges after having hunted in the lowlands earlier in the day. He still hadn't earned his hunter trade, but still felt accomplished since he spent a lot of time patrolling the borders. Soon, he would request some "time off" from Charon and Amekaze; they both knew he was an outrider and he suspected that neither one of them would mind if he took a few days to plunge into the wilderness, perhaps with Wildfire at his side.
When he came across Ame's scent, he followed it without a second thought. He wanted to get to know the Alpha female better -- especially since it seemed that Charon was beginning to show romantic interest in her. It was easy enough to track her down, and the sound of her teeth grinding against a well-worn bone only drew him in faster. He smiled, lowering his stance slightly and greeting her with a chuff and a wiggle of his tail tip.
She slicked back her ears and lends much of her focus to the bone-chewing with a side of skywatching, but at the sight of Floki's arrival, she sat up a little taller. He's a welcome presence so she chuffs back at him between licking at the backs of her teeth now that she has something else to do with them. She even mustered a few slow wags of her tail and the bone goes ignored between her paws for now.
"Floki," she greeted more formally with a nod while she takes the chance to look him over. The mountain had treated him well, to her observation, at least. Which, to contrast, she couldn't help but think of his twin -- Tevinter, and how his scents were not so strong in recent days. She wondered how he seemed utterly unable to find himself comfortable here in so many ways, which was such a marked contrast to his own twin. Amekaze was suspicious the other brother was up to something, too. But Floki had done nothing but meet her expectations and then some. "What brings you up this way?" she asked, first and foremost. He probably wasn't here to admire the charming view of a cloudy, dreary sky.
"Hey, Ame," was Floki's response once she acknowledged him. He dropped to his haunches a few paces from where she lay, not wishing to encroach on her personal space but still desiring her company at least for the time being. In comparison to Charon, he hardly knew Amekaze at all -- and, in fact, still considered her quite mysterious -- but it was evident from recent occurrences that she had some faith in him and believed that his leadership would be beneficial to the fledgling pack.
He shrugged his shoulders, throwing his gaze briefly skyward. What had drawn him out into the overcast day? He didn't quite have the answer that she was looking for, but he replied honestly. "I just came across your scent and thought I would see if you need anything from me," he offered. Although Floki would appreciate the opportunity to become more acquainted with Ame, he would also happily depart in order to follow any instructions that she gave.
His question makes her think and she does come up blank. Since she had not been able to find any particular duty for herself, it was hard to muster something for him too. "Nothing really comes to mind," she shook her head. "On my watch, it has been quiet. I think the weather looming like this has things peaceful.." she reasoned with a partial gesture towards the cloudy skies. Just looking at them, they were such a sleepy gray, and she would not be surprised to hear his findings lined up with her own.
"I actually came up here because my patrols were so bland today," she shrugged, not wanting to sentence him to the same monotony or mindless repetition. He'd know just as well as she that their boundaries were nothing to shrug at. They had it covered, especially since Floki's promotion. The pack seemed to run smoothly when it came to things like that, thankfully.
Floki nodded, turning his gaze briefly skyward to eye the ominous wintry clouds. It was literally the calm before the storm; indeed, it was peaceful, as Ame said, but likely wouldn't be long before freezing rain or snow fell from overhead. He looked back to the Alpha female when she mentioned the unexciting nature of her patrols. His had been the same, but he was thankful for that. It offered him plenty of time to practice and gather experience without having to deal with any outright conflicts.
"Same here," he agreed. "Nothing of note since that coyote," he added, referencing the mangy beast that he, Ame and Charon had torn apart together.
There was a measure of satisfaction in hearing that it had been quiet for him too. She'd assumed it to be true, anyway, but it was good to know. Maybe their location granted them such a vantage point that nothing really bothered them, or their borders effectively warded it off. Either way, she felt secure from outside threat.. and if only they could dissolve the bear issue in full once and for all, the peace could be whole. "Things may get a little more active when spring comes.. It would be like that sometimes on the Sunspire," she mentioned, hopeful for the arrival of springtime for many reasons all at once and maybe that was just another one of them. Even beneath such dreary, snow-heavy sizes, she couldn't seem to get the thought of warm, longer days entirely out of her mind. "Not that the quiet is bad, or anything," she amended, so it didn't entirely sound like she was looking for trouble to come for them in the springtime. Sometimes the monotonously boring patrols in the cold did get tiresome, though.
She seemed to think that there would be more to do when the temperatures rose; Floki supposed it made sense. Some animals were likely laying low during the winter months, wolves included, and although their ranks had remained steadily full since the pack's inception, travelers would hit the road as flowers began to bloom. It was possible that there would be loners knocking on their front door at some point.
He wondered briefly about the other wildlife that she might have had to deal with at the Sunspire; she hadn't seemed to be particularly phased by the coyote or the bears. She just wanted to deal with the issues with as little fuss as possible. Floki admired that. "What about the bears?" he asked after a pause, his chest tightening at just the mention of the creatures that he feared and hated the most. Had they seen the last of them, or would they be back for more?
She had considered the bears at agonizing length and she felt torn on how to handle it, exactly. There was appeal in a concrete plan of action (her conversation with Nishu came to mind with this), but the fact that it would always stand on the unsteady foundation of so many unknowns would bother her endlessly. "Last I knew, holing up high in the mountains, hibernating." Amekaze's ears angled back and her expression did harden. "If they go undisturbed until then, we can expect them to wake as soon as the spring thaws.. or at least once plants start to go green again." The finer details of bear hibernation was not well understood so she did not know what exactly signaled the end of it, or if it was even one event over another. She only knew it was something they did, not that it had stages or was as variable as the seasons themselves. Her best guess was that resources played a role. "I am not yet sure if we can use that to our advantage somehow, or if their hunger will make them more dangerous." Bears were far from her area of expertise -- none had ever bothered them on the Sunspire, so she was relying on learning in motion.
It was something of a relief to know that the bears would likely spend the rest of the winter hibernating. Although the season was drawing to a close and spring would be upon them soon, perhaps they could avoid any further altercations for the time being. At some point after the last incident, Wildfire had informed Floki that Nishu had provoked the slumbering bear into wakefulness, and that had started the whole ordeal. He was in awe at the knight's recklessness; they were all lucky that they had survived.
Floki shivered visibly at the thought of the hungry ursines wreaking havoc on their pack. He didn't know much about bear culture, but he could only hope that when they did return to consciousness, they would descend into the wilds to hunt. "I wish there was some easy fix to get rid of them," he quipped uselessly; it was surely no secret to Amekaze how fearful he was of the great beasts.
All uncertainties aside, an easy fix was what they all could use right now. "Me too," she sighed yet wouldn't mean that to signal her defeat in the matter that she would just hope for everything to fall neatly into place if she willed it to. Although she had resolved to find a way to make this mountain bear-free so they didn't even have to worry about the things resurfacing here again in the future, it was difficult to imagine how this was supposed to happen exactly. She felt like she had the key elements understood well, there were just so many unknowns and things that couldn't bank on the sheer willpower of a fighter alone.. presumably "I have confidence we will come up with something.. when the timing is right," she said. They were far too capable a pack to let bears rule them. If circumstances could only tip in their favor before the serious injuries were dealt.. that was what she struggled with.
An early spring after a mild winter may just make them resurface sooner, she realized. If that was the case, they could be able to get rid of them faster. She just did not want to see them here beyond the beginnings of spring.
Fade? :)
Sadly, neither wolf had an immediate solution for their problem. They would just have to wait and see what spring brought; Amekaze seemed confident that an opportunity would present itself, and Floki chose to believe her. There was no sense in dwelling on something he couldn't change, especially not by himself. He wouldn't let the slumbering bears impact his life.
The gentle pitter-patter of icy rain on his back suddenly caused Floki to look up. It appeared that the clouds had opened up and begun to release the wintry weather that they so threatened. He shivered preemptively.
"I'm gonna go get out of the elements," he quipped; their conversation had naturally waned, and he didn't feel that Amekaze would be offended by his abrupt departure. Besides, she probably wanted to escape the freezing rain as well, and likely didn't anticipate snuggling up with her co-leader's little brother for the duration.
With a smile and a wave of his tail, Floki began to pick his way carefully down the slope, which was already growing slick with each passing minute.
Right now, with the weather looking heavy, there was especially nothing to be done about the bear matter. Simple as that, they had to wait until the timing was most opportune and she readily agreed when Floki mentioned getting to someplace better. Amekaze nodded. "Good idea," she breathed and then chuffed her own soft farewells. Only after she watched him work his way down a path that took him out of her sight did she pick herself up and scope for a suitable place to wait out the weather's worst.