Lately, she kept to herself. Hunting small game, fishing, patrol, tired skywatching.. she just wasn't finding the energy to be overly interactive at all times when those were her priorities. That and recent conversation with her speckled mate had pulled her towards other introspective topics when she took the time to consider them -- but she sensed there was no way she'd be readied to bear them young if conditions here did not improve soon so perhaps it was not something to weigh in on right now.
So far today, she'd accomplished very little though. Her efforts had turned up empty-handed and she was forced to pick at an old cache she'd been avoiding. This did little to perk her mood so she eventually returned to wander beside a nearby creek, vaguely hopeful that maybe a small fish would help make her forget about the unpleasant scraps she'd had to rely on.
She pressed on, tracing a pathway that meandered slowly down the mountainside alongside the small waterway. Nothing caught her eye until she noticed large pawprints pressed into the earth. She pricked, moving upon them to flare her nostrils over the indentations. Scents were stale, muddled, but ominous -- even more so after she moved on by several lengths to then notice similar, but smaller tracks..
There had been some excitement within the pack the past few days with the addition of the slave female. Still uncertain how he felt about the whole situation, Dash had gone to seek out leadership to see if he could get some clarification.
He reached one of the creeks that ran down the mountain and instantly picked up Amekaze's scent. It seemed rather strong, so Dash nixed the water and followed the trail at a brisk pace. It wasn't long before he caught up with her, giving a chuff as he came up behind her, his head and tail lowered in respect to her. In his haste to catch up with her, he had missed the prints she was following. Hey, Ame. What's up? he asked casually, trying to begin the conversation he wanted to have.
Suspicion soon gave rise to that vague sense of worry, which recollections of Ness' mangled corpse further inspired. Amekaze was not the most masterful of trackers but she did know mountainsides and their inhabitants well enough to know prints like those did not sit well with her.
She was distracted from sniffing out the old indentations by Dash and lifted her muzzle to regard him in welcome. "Dash," she exhaled and swayed her tail softly. Then, to his question, she searched for a quick summary. "Not much, found a few old tracks around here that I am a little wary of.. I think it was a bear," she mentioned, briefly squinting up the creek. A bear itself was bad enough. What worried her more was the smaller prints of very similar shape. "Have you noticed anything?" she asked, peering back to him as she did.
His tail wagged in return at her greeting, brushing against the backs of his legs. He was instantly alert when she mentioned tracks, possibly of a bear. How old do you think? he questioned, hoping it would be from a while. A bear in their woods would not be a good thing, since the wolves were lacking the nutrition and sustenance to keep their muscles strong. Dash worried they wouldn't be able to fight off such a strong contender. Shaking his head, he admitted he had not seen any tracks. No, none before now.
He hadn't even caught their scent. Was he not paying enough attention, or did the bear simply pass through that long ago? I'll be sure to be extra vigilant in patrols. If I find anything, I'll howl, he said, hoping to relieve some of the fears she might be having. Well, at least he was having them.
Tentatively, he began the conversation he had sought her out for. I was wondering if I could talk to you about the slave? he asked, using her title over the name Charon had given her. He wondered if the leaders would take offense to that, but that's why he was here now.
Her muzzle wrinkled subtly as she considered what he asked. "Not sure.. it is pretty stale," she explained, but somehow this wasn't exactly easing her concerns and instead just making her more suspicious since she couldn't put it on a timeline yet. These bears.. however many of them remained (hopefully not very many at all) were not to be trusted and she knew not to let her guard down about it, especially if one of them potentially had young with it. Which was not the kind of information she ever wanted to confirm, but those smaller tracks did hint at it more than she liked. "Mhm, I think that is best," she sighed. "I intend to do the same. It will be good to be extra mindful.." she shook her head softly, not wanting to face a repeat of what had injured Nishu in the first place. They had to be vigilant yet at the same time she did not want to rally the wolves unnecessarily based on old tracks alone -- not when they were far from their full strength, so they could not afford bear encounters.
Nevertheless, she attempted to not look too far into it until she found better tracks, or a trail hopefully leading off the mountainside. These could very well be old news and Dash did bring about a change in subject. She nodded slowly. "Go ahead," she said, unable to help the little tilt of her head. She knew she may not be able to answer them in full though since the slave was.. a complicated matter still, one that she was seeing out for now, but something about the girl just didn't bode well with her yet.
Ame seemed to think the prints were old, and Dash had to agree. If they were recent, they would have put him on alert immediately. Still, it was unnerving to think a bear had come through the territory. The fact that it went unnoticed was silver lining, as they were really in no position to get into an altercation with the large beast. If it had just passed through and moved on, they could move on, too. They were both on the same page, though, that extra patrols and diligence on security was a must.
The dark female was open to his topic of discussion, and Dash took a moment to decide exactly what he wanted to ask. Well, I understand, and am upholding, your and Charon's decision to take her as a slave, he began, wanting to it make that clear that they had his support in that. But I'm a little unclear as to how exactly we're supposed to treat her, he admitted. I've never been one to put others down, and I find it difficult, even with her. Would they think him weak because of that? He worried so, but he still wanted to be honest.
She listened, curious yet unsurprised when the thrall came up, so she nodded slowly in understanding of his approach here. Even she did not know how to handle her exactly. "Like an omega, more or less." The title of thrall added to it, yet that was a decent summary of it she had rationalized -- the bottom, the one to serve them, and the last one to see any of resources -- if there was even enough left for her at the end of the day. That was what made Amekaze most uneasy since she was injured and starved enough to trespass. Dead, she'd been a meal and not her problem any more after that.
As for how much to put her down, exactly, that was a matter of personal preference as Ame saw it. It was how she approached it, knowing full well that Charon's harshness would be stunning enough for all of them. Looking at her made Amekaze kind of prickly too, but she wondered if that would change the more use of her she saw. "I do not expect everyone to spend their energy on demeaning her and constantly shaming her for her mistake, though. I see little use in it. But, until she proves she is of any use to the pack, she serves us -- and she claims to have knowledge and useful enough skills. We should not tend to her unless it is times of excess, which it is far from.." she sighed, wishing it weren't the case.
The Alpha female explained that the pack should basically treat her as the lowest ranking wolf, the Omega. She would come last in all things, including food. Water was still plentiful, so that wouldn't be an issue, and Dash had no problem bringing her some. Unfortunately, times were very difficult right now, even for an able wolf, and since there was no excess food, she would basically get none.
So... will she simply starve, then, since there isn't enough food? he asked, his voice curious. What he hunted went towards himself and the pack members who needed it. By the time they found enough food for them all, she would be skipped in the line simply because it would take that much longer to find more food. Still, he didn't feel good about just letting her whither away and die.
She had to look at this realistically. Even so, she couldn't foresee the future. "It is possible," she said, fully understanding that it was not the ideal fate that she starve. It could even be said that if the famine pressured them hard enough, they all could starve. However she planned to do whatever she could to prevent that much. She couldn't have her way if the pack wilted and died off beneath her; they were very much a part of her own well-being, after all. "But, also possible that things will improve sooner rather than later, and it will not need to be the case." she mentioned.
Greenery was returning. Now, all they needed was the prey to support them easily again. She hoped to see it happen by the longest days of summer -- if not sooner.
Amekaze was honest with him, which he appreciated. Dash wasn't the kind of wolf who ignored the realities of situations. He was able to handle things much easier, and better, if he knew what to expect. The Alpha female did hold some hope, however, that the greens would return and, along with it, their food. Maybe it would happy soon, maybe it wouldn't. They had no way of knowing, except the tiny little blades of grass that were beginning to sprout from the ground.
Content with the information, he gave Ame a small smile. Thanks, Amekaze. I think I see things little more clearly now, he said honestly. If you need anything else, just holler, he said, waiting to leaving in case she had more to say.
He seemed satisfied with her explanations, and for that, she couldn't help but feel relief. Even she did not know how she was intending to handle the thrall entirely. This was something they would all be figuring out together, she suspected.
Amekaze nodded. "You are welcome," she said, and had nothing further to say on it. She also had nothing she needed of him for right now either so wouldn't stall his progress on going elsewhere. Amekaze was going to muster the energy to hunt if she could find anything resembling a trail, but she was feeling tempted to rest a spell first. Perhaps she could go find Charon first and see how his progress for the day was going. In any case, she could find something to occupy herself with.
She dipped her snout in a quick farewell and went on her own way.