Where she was going had been a mystery, as was the place she'd ended up. It was dark, yet comforting to the raven of a female. The place was perfect for a dark-furred being, and even better for Sen in particular as she heard some cries from foxes in the distant. She'd always liked vulpines, finding their whine-like screams to be amusing. Having never met one before, her thoughts on them were based purely on stories she'd heard. Cunning creatures, always tricking so many others... they were like creatures from her dreams. Those were just the foxes in stories, however, and she was sure she'd be disappointed by them if she'd ever meet one. So, the female would avoid them the best she could, but that didn't mean she planned on leaving the forest so soon.
Sen was searching for something, but she didn't know what just yet. A friend, perhaps? No, that couldn't possibly be it. The sooty woman was a solitary being, always shoving others away with her rude words and arrogant attitude. Still, that type of life could get a bit boring and old, as well as lonely. Maybe she really was searching for a friend, a companion, someone who could tolerate her while others could not. Shaking her head to clear away the invasive thoughts, the lupine continued on her path, amber eyes aglow in the eerie shade.
After leaving the pair of strangers to their reunion, Swordfish continued his search. The afternoon wore on to evening and he found himself stalking through a deep, dark forest. Within its shadows, the yearling came across the scent of a rabbit and tracked it. When he came upon the hare nibbling at some dry winter grass, he gave chase but lost it in the underbrush. He took the failure in stride, moving on through the woodland, keeping his senses open for other opportunities.
Instead of prey, he found himself crossing paths with yet another dark-pelted wolf, this one a female. Her amber eyes glowed strikingly in the dark. Not wanting to surprise her or otherwise sneak up on her, Swordfish announced his presence with a rumbling woof. His tail swept tentatively side to side, his body language indicating that he was friendly and did not mean to disturb her.
"Good evening," the young traveler said. "I'm Swordfish." The way he stated his name clearly invited her to mutualize the exchange. He stopped in his tracks, regarding her with his coppery gaze.
The sound of another invaded her ears, leaving the female with no choice but to turn and face the owner of the sound, and also the words that followed. She could have simply continued on her way, ignoring the brute, but ignoring another was something the lupine refused to do. Her amber orbs were greeted by the sight of a male, coat adorned with several colors and posture friendly. Sen's own posture was neither friendly or aggressive, but instead took on a more neutral air. Why he had decided to approach her in such a friendly way, she couldn't understand. It was quite clear he belonged to no pack within the Wilds, and yet he approached a pack wolf so leniently. What was going through his mind, she was unsure, but the male managed to grab hold of a pinch of her interest.
"Name's Sen," she responded, having realized he must have wanted a greeting as well. Her voice held it's usual cocky edge to it, as well as some dryness, but neither factors were as prominent as most other times. The raven girl wasn't all that in the mood to play games with the wolf known as 'Swordfish', but in the end she would. Her game of causing a disturbance and getting on the nerves of other wolves she didn't care too much for was inevitable; though he had gained himself some time, as Sen was not yet sure if she could tolerate him or not. "What brings you here?" Curious as to what would happen if she continued to speak, the woman asked a question she was sure could keep a conversation going—or, at least, it usually did for others.
Neither her posture nor her tone particularly invited conversation, Swordfish observed. Well, he would ask her a few questions then get out of her hair. Although he liked meeting new people and making conversation, not everyone shared his interests. He would not force his company on anyone.
"Nice to meet you, Sen. I'm looking for someone, actually. Perhaps you can help." He paused. Rather than naming that someone outright, he decided to ask a broader question. "I'm told she can be found in one of the packs around here: Blacktail Deer Plateau. Would you happen to know where I can find it?" He cocked his head, soft brown eyes inquisitive as he patiently awaited an answer.
It was a rare thing for Sen to actually provide help for another. Whether it be answering a question, pointing someone in a certain direction, or anything else, she'd almost always react the same way; make a sarcastic comment and be on her way. Her thoughts from before must not have been pushed away as she thought they had, for it was those thoughts pushing her to answer the male's question. He had given very little information as to who he was searching for, and she liked that in another. To her, secrecy on any level, whether intended or not, was a good trait to have depending on the situation. With their current one being two strangers meeting, the action was a wise one.
"Never been to the Plateau before," she answered honestly. "But I know you'll have to venture rather far from here to reach it." Her ears folded back a bit as she started to think, running through each place she'd been to since coming to the Wilds. She had a general idea of how to get to the area the pack resided in, but wasn't going to be so quick to give what she knew away. The raven woman's knack for causing troubles outweighed her want to make an acquaintance by a long shot. In the end, her ears were pushed forward once more and a grin worked itself across her maw. "Can't say I know the way there, though."
He took in her response without comment, then bobbed his head. It seemed she could not give him any specifically helpful information, though Swordfish didn't hold that against her. He would keep moving and surely cross paths with other wolves that would be able to point him in the right direction. He was confident of that.
"But you've heard of it," he observed astutely, "and I'm at least barking up the right tree." He smiled. "That's all right, Sen, you were still helpful. Are you from a pack around here?" he found himself asking conversationally before he remembered that she didn't seem to be the particularly chatty sort. It was in his nature to make conversation, though he would be on his way if Sen proved reluctant to stand here and talk.
The female was quick to notice the smile that appeared from her little bit of information given. Any normal lupine would most likely feel guilty or upset for not giving another more information on something that might be important to them, but Sen was not the most normal of creatures. He had even called her, of all the creatures out there, helpful! The sooty female was one of the most least helpful living thing out there; or so she'd always tried to be. That streak was ruined by only a few simple words, and yet the woman couldn't bring herself to be angry at the other. A bit annoyed, yes, but full on anger was nowhere to be seen.
She regarded his question, amber orbs flickering about to look through the trees, before landing back on Swordfish.Answering could do no harm that she saw, leaving her without a reason to ignore the question. "Sort of," Sen answered. "The pack I'm apart of is in this area, but it's a bit away from this forest." The raven lupine thought back to the path she'd taken to get to the forest, recalling how far she'd needed to travel. It wasn't something new to her, though, and she never minded traveling the distance away if it meant she had a chance at seeing something new. In her current case, it was someone new, rather than something, which was a bit disappointing. Coming across another wolf wasn't something she was trying to avoid, but it still took a bit each time she met one to determine whether they were worth liking or not.
"How about you?" she inquired. "You from anywhere close by here?" It was clear to her that he was a loner, having spent more of her life as one than she had as a pack wolf. The scent he carried with him was also a giveaway to the fact that he belonged to no pack in the area, and she saw this as an opportunity. Choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt, she waited to hear his answer before proposing an idea.
She gave a vague answer, not that Swordfish minded. He likely wouldn't have recognized the pack's name had she given it. Still, he wondered at it. Bones and their guest had told him a little bit about the Teekon Wilds and he found himself wishing to learn more. He didn't want to settle here—no, he was quite content in Thief River Falls—but he was a curious yearling.
Sen perpetuated the conversation and he answered her readily. "I live in a pack a few days' travel from this area. It's called Thief River Falls. It's relatively new and the Alphas are quite young. With that said, we are doing exceptionally well." His plush tail waved. "What is your pack called?" he wondered in the next breath. "And how many packs would you say inhabit this region?"
Hearing him say he was apart of a pack was a bit perplexing to the female. Her nose must have already grown too accustomed to the scents of pack wolves in the Wilds, forgetting of the packs that existed outside of the area. It was a foolish thing to do, that was obvious, but she never thought she'd need to know of other packs outside of the area again. Teekon Wilds was far too nice for her to just up and leave, giving her no real reason to remember her days outside of it. In the mountains with bears and moose, goats and cougars... those scents she could never forget, since they also existed in her new home.
Sen found the male's curiosity to be slightly amusing. She'd never asked another of the area, not even after joining her pack. Her paws would just carry her around to new places, and if she happened to meet another along the way, she'd find out the name of the place and commit her way of getting there to her memory. "My pack is called Duskfire Glacier," the dark woman answered. She'd never heard his pack name before, but with it still being new, that was to be expected. "There's several packs in this land, though I've only actually come across one or two of them, I believe."
"That sounds like a lovely place. I can picture it in my head," Swordfish said. Indeed, he imagined an enormous glacier shimmering orange and blush as it reflected the setting sun. "That's what Bones, my Alpha, told me. She used to live around here," he added when Sen mentioned a variety of packs, even if she was only personally familiar with one or two of them.
"I think I'm going to keep moving in this direction, cross these mountains and see where that takes me. I figure a plateau might be part of a mountain range," the young male thought out loud, copper eyes settling on Sen's face. "On that note, I'll leave you be. It was nice meeting you, Sen. Thank you for the information."
Swordfish bowed his head and waved the tip of his tail before gliding off into the trees, keen still to locate Blacktail Deer Plateau and the uniquely colored wolf he sought there.
His voice was easily caught by the woman's ears, and while she didn't respond, she did give a nod of her head to show she had been listening. Even as he thanked her and left, no words were quick to leave Sen's maw. With his appearance, she had hoped to make an interesting acquaintance, and even played rather nice in order to try and succeed in her goal. In the end, however, the male known as 'Swordfish' was just another wandering soul, searching for something uninteresting to her. "What a pity..." the raven lady finally said, before turning herself about and heading in the direction opposite of the man's.