It was rare for her to stray from the cliff's edge but lately she had found herself to be more irritable than usual and figured it was best for everyone if she took a breather from the cliffside. So with no real direction in mind, Rose simply let her feet wander and she eventually, after several hours, found herself at the peak of a mountain. It turned out scaling the slopes were just as difficult as running along Drageda's cliffs, ever nook and cranny threatening to trap her as she pushed onwards.
But she'd somehow made it to the top unscathed and as she basked in the evening sunlight, Rose found herself drawn to the view of the glacier she'd once took shelter in. It had been so long since then and despite the place holding no real value to the opkepa, it had been the last place she'd seen her brother, the only real family, besides Tulip, she had left. She rarely thought of him these days but in that moment she couldn't help but wonder how he was and if perhaps one day, fate would reunite them.
Juniper was brought to Nova Peak's summit for purposes other than reflection. She was bent low over a small cluster of scat, sniffing lightly with a wrinkled snout to assess its freshness. Maybe an hour old at best. It struck her as odd that a hare would come up this high, but it wasn't completely unheard of, so she padded in a slow circle away from the waste, trying to suss out other clues as to the hare's current whereabouts. Tracks in the snow led her east along the mountaintop.
That brought her eventually to Rose; she knew there was another wolf in the area by the scent on the wind, but wasn't expecting such a jarring specimen when she lifted her head. Her pelt had smatterings of red in it here and there, as any tawny wolf's did, so she wasn't unfamiliar with it, but the she-wolf in front of her was totally comprised of ruddy hairs. Rose's brilliant coat threw her into sharp relief against the pale sky and Jinkies exaggerated the point by squinting lightly and calling out, oi, you seen a rabbit come through here?
She found it odd that another would claw their way towards the peak of the mountain at the same time she had, and even odder that a rabbit would do just the same. But, she wasn't one to linger on such trivial thoughts and quickly tossed whatever skeptic ideas she had floating around in her brain out the window and into the winter breeze. "I haven't" she answered with a curt shake of her head, eyes narrow and torn between a look of uncertainty and interested as she swept over the figure of her newfound company.
Perhaps it was the way the agouti woman peered at her that made Rose feel like she was under a microscope but, the feeling she was left with could only be described as unpleasant, even if the intent was not. So with an awkward shuffle the Opkepa shifted her position while her eyes darted around the surrounding landscape, mind wondering if the stranger would stay or be on her way.
Ah,
said Jinkies with a disappointed frown. She didn't know what a hare was doing up this high and apparently it hadn't known either, for it had gone on its merry way, probably back to more sane heights. Their conversation seemed to be at an end and it was a good indication that she should move on, try to find the trail again, but instead she just stood there.
It was a few uncomfortable seconds, during which Rose rearranged herself, before Jinkies spoke again. This time a slightly backwater accent might be easier to detect if not in her voice, then in the peculiar thing she asked. Ah, you been drinking lots of blood to get that hue in your fur?
Because obviously it came from drinking copious amounts of elk blood. Duh.
She had never been one to stick around for a dying conversation, specifically because she was an introvert with particularly bad social skills who often made more enemies than she did friends. But it seemed her newfound company here was the opposite and where the Opkepa normally would have been on her merry way, she decided to stick it out and see what happened.
"Pretty sure I was born this way" she let out with a halfhearted smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Was she supposed to joke back? Probably. "What about you? Eat too much grass to turn yours eyes that pretty green?" Ah. Good one...
She didn't expect much of a response based on Rose's previous brevity, so she wasn't at all disappointed when the red-furred woman jested back. Throwing back her head in a raucous laugh, Jinkies rejoined with, why, yes, I did!
The notion was utterly ridiculous, as ridiculous as drinking blood to turn your hair red, and that made it funny to her.
Ma always said eating your veggies makes you big and strong,
she shared with a wink. She wondered for just a second if Rose's mother had similar advice when she was young; maybe Jinkies' mother was the only eccentric one around. Her mother had insisted that foliage helped the stomach process food, but she wasn't sure how much stock she really put into that. So, what brings you up here to stare so seriously off into the distance?
It was a pleasant surprise to see that her joke had at least been a hit with stranger since Rose herself thought it awfully cringe worthy when said aloud. "I prefer a more carnivorous diet, you know, elk blood and all that" she shared when Jinkies revealed the secret behind the color in her eyes. Berries were a nice treat here and there but anything green she primarily steered clear of cause, now let's be honest, who actually wants to eat anything green. Yuck.
As for why she was up here, well "I used to live on the glacier over there" she answered while motioning in the direction of Duskfire. "Decided to climb up here and reminisce about the good old days." Had they been good days? Her memory of that place was foggy but for the sake of giving her past self a little light, Rose decided why the hell not make them good. She deserved that thread of happiness, even if it was fake.
She followed Rose's line of sight to the glimmering glacier in the distance, her tail tip flicking in idle thought. She didn't think it looked like a very comfortable place to live from far away, but you couldn't always judge from first appearances if a home was good or bad. Home was home, and the wolves hailing from any given home often thought the best of it. That was Rose's former home, however. Jinkies wondered if it was still the place her heart wished to return to.
My home was a big, deep forest,
Juniper shared with a wan smile. I miss it a lot. Do you miss your glacier?
Then, almost as an afterthought, she asked, is your old pack still there?
Might as well get some useful info on the locals while she was at it. She didn't think it was her kind of place... but a pack was a pack, no?