Once she started to recognize where she was, the tawny form of Ambrosia couldn't resist seeking out her last failed attempt at joining a pack. Malice and her shadowy brood had chased her and Brandy away from here, rejecting them and sending them into the paws of Sebastian. When she was met with a lack of borders, she just had to go in and see the places she'd missed out in. Was there anybody left, or would she be able to pass right on through the lands unstopped? Perhaps there were loners here, taking advantage of the grey wood.
Either way, she pushed through, finding old dens and caches but nothing of any use. There was no pack here, for sure, but there's still the possibility of a loner or two. The scout was on high alert for others as she moseyed on through, unashamed and holding herself high.
Backdated to June 19th :3
The new Ryūjin member calmly looked around as she stood by a barren tree, yellow eyes searching out for life. Her heartbeat provided the only evidence of such, thumping almost too loudly, and Menta licked her drying lips in exasperation. This was clearly the wrong place to come in her search for prey - or anything, for that matter - and she turned herself back towards the direction she had come from.
A direction that she now finally heard sound from, albeit the wrong kind. Another wolf, her noises amplified by the leaves underfoot and eerie stillness of the forest, and Menta heard her long before her shape came to view. Perhaps the other female knew how foolish it would be to even try hiding her presence, for she seemed to hold herself in a proud and obvious fashion.
Mayhaps her pack was nearby? The cream wolf knew her own new home was a good distance away, and Asterr had not given her much description of the lands beyond their surrounding areas. While Menta always enjoyed exploration of any variety, she was starting to become a little uneasy with her ignorance as she watched this wolf make her way with such confidence.
Ambrosia scented another female on the wind and though she wished it could be Malice, here all alone, but alas she knew the smell of that female. This one was different, and the tawny woman trotted ahead with a friendly grin on her jaws. Her lemon eyes flicked to Menta, a question dancing in her eyes of a friend.
"Hello. Im Ambrosia, the scout and ambassador in training of Broken Antler Fen."
She urged on conversation with a wag of her tail, introducing herself and giving a little bit of information away.
The wolf standing before her was, in the most simple of terms, gorgeous. Menta had seen wolves of unusual colors around here - in fact, that's the only kind of wolf that seemed to live here - but this one had her coloration flow smoother, with auburns melting into a dark undercoat and highlights (darklights?) abound. The cream felt her tail wagging in response before she realized, and quickly tempered it down.
Ryūjin, she blurted out. Nope, not what she had originally wanted to start out with. An inward sigh, a cleared throat, and the Theta attempted to collect her thoughts. Menta Spezia, the female tried again, not entirely sure why it was important to include her last name. Broken Antler Fern, though, that was good to know. Is Broken Antler Fern nearby? she asked, trying to distract her mind with the mental maps she liked to build.
Menta's looks didn't fall on blind eyes, and Ambrosia's grin widened. Her own lemon orbs looked over the creamy woman's body, taking in her lack of scars and the similarly colored eyes.
A giggle escaped her throat at the strangers frayed nerves, and she correctly assumed the second part of it was her name.
"The fen is... Um..."
Swinging her head around, it took Ambrosia a moment to regain a sense of direction. Tawny pelt heating up in embarrassment, she flicked her tail to the South West. It was a general idea, but she knew the fen was long behind her by now.
"A day or two travel that way."
A giggle reached Menta's ears, and all the cream wolf could do was give a meek half grin. Her pride would be hurt later, when she reprimanded herself for being such a dork, but for now her brain was emptily caught in the moment. She nodded in comprehension when Ambrosia gave her a basic idea where the pack was. It seemed rude to her to assume that Ambrosia was equally ignorant of where Ryūjin was - especially with those lofty task-titles, scout and ambassador - and so for that reason alone Menta did not offer the same guidance.
Scouting now? she asked, almost hopeful that perhaps scout could in this case translate to scouting for potential food sources. The quiet and currently barren forest seemed to echo her question back with laughter, and Menta tried an encouraging wag or two. Surely if she was just optimistic enough, the answer would eventually come back positive.
The pale womans nerves didn't seem to calm, and yet Ambrosia could feel nothing but confidence. For a second, she wondered if that was a bad thing, but surely it wasn't.
"Yes, now. Heading to the coast next, I think."
The tawny woman glanced around the surroundings, but there was little to even scent around here it seemed. Hunger gnawed at her belly, but Ambrosia rolled back on her haunches to make herself comfortable. She had no wishes to hunt in this confusing grey wood, even if it would give her a twisted sense of satisfaction after being rejected from here.
The coast. Ambrosia gave no hint or directions about where or what that might mean, but Menta nodded as if in comprehension. Asterr had told her the general lay of the land enough that she knew there was plenty of coastline to be found around here, although she hadn't truly explored much of it.
The cream sat herself down in her place politely, tail curling around her haunches, as she was a comfortable distance both well within hearing range and outside a sense of threatening closeness. The Fern wolf in front of her seemed content to engage her in conversation versus see her as a nuisance or an aggressive wolf to run off, and for that Menta was appreciative.
You know this place well already? she asked, for although she was starting to get comfortable with this pretty wolf, their surroundings made her a little nervous. Their words seemed to bounce back at them, her own motion of sitting seemed too loud of a thump.
Menta sat with her, and asked about the woods. Shaking her head and tossing her shoulders in a shrug, Ambrosia gave her a sorry look.
"Not in the slightest. I'd been to the borders when there was a pack here, when my daughter and I tried to join. The bitch snipped at our every word, and acted as if we had no ambition. I'm only here now to see what I missed out on, and I have to say I'm not impressed."
The tawny woman could hear Malice's words ringing in her ears, "You and your young will not survive long in the wild, so I advise you to seek a dream and a new home. Perhaps when you have found yourself, you'll be able to join a pack.". Just the memory made her spine prickle, and now that she was no longer a loner with a pup to care for, with strength behind her paws and confidence in her heart plus she didn't need to protect a pup she wished one day to see Malice again.
"Have you been here before?"
No ambition. Menta thought the concept over, curious as to what exactly the alpha could have meant and what Ambrosia and her daughter had ambition for. She smiled in what she hoped was a sympathetic manner and shook her head. If she was alpha, she would have accepted the female before her on the basis of beauty alone. Probably that meant she should not be alpha any time soon, if ever. The cream had a bit too much of a soft spot and trust for attractive females, and the novel beauty in front of her was no exception.
No, Menta confessed now, agreeing with her sentiment about the lands. It's a little too empty for me. Empty, mocking, bouncing back at her. The land here probably didn't want her either, and it didn't seem to sustain much life at all. My pack is Ryūjin, and it's a bit of a travel from here - and I'm new even there besides. She added that as an afterthought, sorry that she couldn't tell Ambrosia very much about this area at all.
You and your daughter aren't from around here originally either, then? Menta left the question open ended, curiosity ever urging her to inquire about another wolf's past. A life time living with family members made for dull stories, and it seemed every wolf she ran into around here had a unique story to tell.
Ambrosia was a vain and rather flirty female herself, and beauty played a big part in the first meeting of someone on neutral grounds. Often was it a bad idea, finding her facing fights and rude people or someone she just didn't get along with. The way she saw it, though, was that if she could meet a kind soul like herself out here, she could make a friend that was both true AND good looking. This creamy woman had a home though, and attempting to recruit her was pointless.
Menta went on to agree with her, sharing her thoughts of the empty feeling it gave. It spooked her a little bit to be here alone, truth be told. The fae also went on to talk about her pack, that she was both new and far from home. Sounded like Ambrosia. Before said tawny woman could respond, Menta asked of her family's origins, which she was happy to give along with questions of her own. It hurt her to talk about, the entire story, but it was who she was. She didn't give the gorey details, of course, never did she, but she did tell everything.
"No, we're not. I grew up in a pack called MidnightShadow, and was months away from being the head protector when I got pregnant. I-I was raped by her father, and even after he was dead I found I couldn't stay in the pack. I gave birth a little over a year ago, and blacked out after seeing one that looked just like... Him. All but one of my pups made it, and I took her away in the night without a goodbye.... I raised her as a loner, by myself, for nine months before we joined Broken Antler Fen. We came to the pack here, Moonlit Hills, but she rejected us for being tired and unsure of what we could contribute because we were new to the reigon."
Menta found herself drawing forward, taking a few steps towards the other female as if to comfort her through this terrible story. There was a sense of familiarity, of need, in this story of vulnerability and the cream wolf's body responded automatically before the brain took notice and made it stop again. She was too close to this stranger, probably, but she hoped the small sad smile worked as apology enough.
She made a stupid call, Menta said softly as she looked around now to their surroundings, both in where to call home and who she accepted into it. If that could make Ambrosia feel better, the better for it. Clearly, the alpha's choices meant that her pack was no more - the ultimate failure for a leader. Menta wagged her tail slowly as she looked back to her new friend.
Can I accompany you to the coast? she inquired gently. It seemed interesting enough to Menta, and an opportunity to distract Ambrosia away from the story that had been pulled from her. There was a sense of guilt within the cream for reminding her of such a harrowing past, and she didn't quite know how to make it dissipate.
Menta drew closer, and the tawny woman found solace in the closeness of another, even a stranger. Her smile was met, and there was simply nothing to forgive. Ambrosia foud herself even leaning closer, but stopped herself too. The cream woman supported her thoughts, and she was right: Had Malice made the correct decisions, perhaps she would still hold reign over this shrouded wood.
The pale woman asked to come with her, and Ambrosia grinned.
"I'd be honored to have your company."
She'd already calmed from her tale, pushing it deep down once again. She didn't lie: the company would be lovely.