Menta was far from her new packlands, but she had finished off a great day of exploration and taken in so many new sights and sounds. Day was shifting into night, however, and the cream wolf sought out the peace and quiet she so desperately needed every night in order to sleep. Back at her birth pack, evenings had been full of pacing and a racing mind -- now that she was a claimed wolf again, she found her new lair to be cozy and serene. Out of pack territory, the sun set as her joyful desire to explore turned into a mission for peaceful land. She would need to spend the night away from her new home again.
And so Menta found herself here, knowing it was perfect as soon as her footsteps started to echo almost too loudly back in her ears. The sky was dark here, save for the moon and a few twinkling stars up above, and the wolf sat beside a sloppy make shift little burrow she intended to curl up in. For now she curled up her tail around her rump and peered up at the skies, clearing her mind so that she might focus on the night sky and wind down from her big day.
In order to not overwhelm herself, Banner decided to set out on a roaming adventure and hopefully become a little more knowledgeable about the area. Kind of a killing two birds with one stone thing. If only wolves killed things with stones. This quiet place, almost devoid of life, was so opposite of what she'd experienced so far. The noticeably cooler air was welcome, though, as the short female had spent most of her day traveling with the sun beating down on her dark fur. She let out a sigh and pretended not to be disturbed that it was so loud in contrast.
But, she'd caught a familiar scent a while back and decided to see it through. Menta was around here somewhere - she wouldn't make the mistake of forgetting her name again! Banner paused for just a moment to sniff, her head turning to the left when she pinpointed the cream female's location. Ah, not too far. Banner picked up the pace and had her friend in her sights before long.
"Long time no see," she joked quietly. It was only.. what, a week since they'd last seen each other? A lot had changed in the chocolate female's life. Banner came to a stop and sat back on her haunches near Menta, her green eyes twinkling despite the night sky.
What a pleasant surprise!
Menta tilted her head towards the noise that she heard -- an approaching wolf, and her muscles tensed up in anticipation from her seated position. But it was only Banner, the oncoming wind informed her just before the darker wolf's shape became visible. If she had to be interrupted by anyone, this was an excellent choice.
And so she struggled to keep herself seated, the burst of energy from suspicion turning into one of excitement, as Banner approached and took a seat beside her. Menta could not and did not bother to stifle her joy in her wagging tail as it thumped on the hard ground. Her friend smelled different now, full of wolves who had claimed her as their own, but Menta suspected she smelled the same way.
The name's Menta, she teased back with a grin as she lifted her maw back up towards the sky. The night's darkness was quickening, and many more twinkling dots had made themselves apparent than when she first sat.
She snickered quietly, still unnerved at how magnified any sound seemed in this territory. "Don't suppose I'll live that down," she mused with a shrug. Truth be told, that didn't bother her. Menta was an integral part of her brief lucid period while she'd been a lone wolf - it seemed like a mistake to bury that and pretend it never happened.
"Beautiful night," she offered conversationally, no traces of awkardness to be found. Though brand new, pack life suited her. She felt more relaxed in general despite the famine still going on and that aggrivating discord remaining in the Keep's ranks. Banner preferred to observe her fellow pack members for now and see what she could learn without engaging anyone directly. It was safer that way. Very little chance of losing her cool.
The sky was so clear tonight - she swore she could see more stars than usual. Banner lifted her head, too, and let out a soft sigh while she observed the night sky.
Banner's snicker bounced back to them, but the cream wolf much more comfortable with the stillness of the woods than she was last time. She was with a friend, now, and stillness had been what she seeked out for the night. Menta nodded when the other female spoke of it being a beautiful night; it was, indeed, and clear enough for both of them to be amused looking up at the sky together.
You smell like a pack, the cream now spoke optimistically, of that intriguing scent next to her. Like family? The question lingered there, did you find them? Menta was almost sure; with Banner sitting next to her, it took no effort to catch the mix of wolves on her coat - the strongest of which smelled so similar to her friend.
It would have been far too difficult to hide her smile from Menta, so the dark brown female didn't even try. Her tail thumped the ground a couple of times, which still sounded so wrong in contrast to the wonderful quiet of this territory. "I found them," she replied, those few words falling out of her mouth in a rush. She blinked, her green eyes shifting to the cream female's face. Her smile morphed into a strange grimace for a split second, but Banner wasn't sure if her weird response was.. too weird?
She shrugged. "I've settled at Marauder's Keep." She felt proud of the pack, especially with how peaceful and protected it was. "And you?" she asked with a lift of her brow. Menta's scent was different than when they'd last met - the taller female had definitely found a pack to call home.
Both females were wagging their tails at Banner's happy news now, and Menta gave a wide smile. Back with family -- it must be nice to not feel so alone out in the world, and the cream was hopeful that joining Ryūjin would soon bring the same feelings. Congratulations, she murmured, yellow eyes still fixed on the twinkling stars above and completely ignorant of any unusual facial expression her friend may have expressed.
Hushed Willows, where Marauder's Keep resides. Hadn't she been instilling the same words and location in her mind just a few days prior at The Wall? Ryūjin, just around the corner from you, Menta informed her, personally very pleased that it was so nearby. She had already run into many wolves of several different packs, and they were currently both a good distance away from their new respective homes.
The cream wolf was about to inquire about just what brought Banner out all this distance when a sight in the sky stilled her tongue -- a shooting star, leaping through the darkness. It was quick, but Menta hoped her friend had caught sight. Did you see that? she asked after a frozen moment. There were no hangups of superstition or meaning in the Italian's mind, but her heart quickened a bit with glee at such a pretty coincidence.
Ah, her pack was so close! Banner was the first to admit that she didn't know the surrounding areas very well, but she had a general idea of where Ryūjin was. She offered Menta a smile. It was lucky that she had someone so close just in case she lost it or needed a day to cool off. Space to breathe and think and not hang around the Keep to ruin Stark and Captain's good names.
The smaller female's eyes had moved back to the sky mere seconds before the shooting star appeared. She perked up instantly and blinked serveral times in rapid succession. "I've never... That was...!" Banner felt like an excited pup, her disbelief giving way to pure joy. Laughter bubbled up in her chest and she looked to her friend. "I can't believe I've never seen one before now!" The dark brown female's front paws trampled the ground just in front of her in a physical manifestation of her excitement. All of these sounds were still so very loud in the stillness of their suroundings but she didn't care. She had but few fleeting moments to act like a child again and she was certainly going to take them!
Menta's surprised and pleased awe was broken by the excitement of her friend. A wide smile grew as the cream wolf looked over to Banner, who was responding in an exceptionally jovial manner as she laughed and barked. The laughter and stomping echoed back tenfold to them, making it sound like a whole group of wolves was celebrating, and Menta couldn't help herself -- fatigue left behind, she too got to her feet and barked along with Banner.
When Menta joined in on her noise and gleeful behavoir, Banner couldn't help but respond with a loud bout of laughter. She hadn't felt so free, so .. young in what felt like her entire life! The two of them sounded like their very own wolf pack as the noises around them were amplified by the very nature of this territory. The short female hadn't been a fan of it when things were quiet, but now she found that she appreciated it in a different light.
The Marauder's laughter slowed and she took a few gasping breaths to bring herself back to a relatively calm state. The corners of her eyes were still crinkled - the happiness wouldn't be erased from her face so easily. "How many of those have you seen?" she asked, her low voice taking on an awed tone.
PP allowed, fade out, huzzah.
The woofs and laughter reverberated in the otherwise still setting, and Menta relished it before it started to wind down. Her friend was happy, had found her family and new home, and the cream wolf was starting to feel settled in her own home just around the bend. It seemed like a lot of their stresses had released and shot across with that star up above.
Not many, the Italian admitted when asked how frequently she had managed to catch one in sight, I'm usually too impatient to stare up at the sky. But this was different, this had been with a friend and it made it fun to relax into the evening. She was the best of company for this, it seemed, and it calmed a lot of Menta's anxiety to focus on something so peaceful.
The two of them sat there, happily reminiscing in their shared experience as they settled back down and looked up at the sky. It was an experience that they wanted to repeat together, they decided, and made plans to do such at an as-of-now unknown future date.