Mara was out on her usual patrol around the area she hoped to claim as part of the gorge. The light breeze ruffled her russet fur as she padded along their 'borders'. The area she hoped they would take consisted of the gorge itself, along with some gentle slopes that surrounded the ravine. The surrounding hills were forested, covered with thick branched evergreens. Some small streams ran through the territory, leaking down in tiny waterfalls into the river below.
The gorge ran directly through the middle of the territory, as Mara was hoping to claim both sides of it, so it was more protected. To the north of the gorge, the steep ravine walls evened out and became low river banks. At first this had made the slight she-wolf a bit uneasy, as she thought that someone could just walk right up to their home. But after further enspection, she found that was not possible. The walls of the gorge narrowed too much and the river became a deep, fast moving channel that created a barricade that made it to reach the inner parts of the gorge.
yay discovering hey does the gorge split across the river pointing north, or more parallel with the river? Also it's on the west side of the heartwood right?
Runt woke up in the place where she'd slept the night before. It wasn't too far from the clearing for fights, a small grassy spot. Of course, she'd utilize the caves soon, once she knew them better. As she got up, she breathed in the fresh morning air. The plants in the gorge grew tall and green just like any flora above, and the rapid river's waters added a quiet rushing water sound the gorge, completing the perfect hidden paradise. She caught a glimpse of rusty fur up ahead, and ran towards her, skidding to a stop next to her. "Up fo checkin' this place out, Mara?" She asked the alpha-to-be with a toothy grin.
Well, the river sorta runs through the gorge, so it is parallel to it, and it is north of the heartwood, on the river
She was pleased when Runt joined her, greeting her best friend with an equally toothy grin and a happy shoulder bump.
"I always am." she replied with a smile, heading towards the rocky trail that led out of the ravine. It seemed to be cut out of the rock wall itself and had a sheer drop directly below it. The path itself was only about four feet wide, making it a dangerous ledge that always held the possibility of falling off.
But that was one of the things that made it so safe. It was so hard to find, let alone get down, that there was very little chance of someone finding their home.
"Wanna do a round on the borders?" she asked, starting the climb up the steep rocks.
Runt wagged her tail when she said they could explore, check it out. "Yeah, the borders'll be ours soon anyway. Betta check 'em out." She said. Although she wasn't sure if the borders were along the gorge walks, or outside the gorge around the drop of the walls. It didn't matter a ton though, since few would be able to get in unless they knew the hidden entrance. And chubby people like Audrey might have trouble getting in. It was lucky she had been there to save him just on time.
The gorge was like a secret paradise, but it wasn't perfect. Mara felt she needed to claim some land around the gorge so they would have the extra forested land for finding food sources and other resources they might need. She climbed the last two steps of the rocky trail, nodding to what Runt had said. The borders would be theirs soon, they just needed to make sure they were thoroughly marked before they could make it official.
They stared walking away from the gorge further into the woods above the gorge, finding the scent markers Mara had been laying out lately. "I want to claim the gorge as well as the hills around it." she explained. She wanted their territory to fan out around the gorge, a large circular area with the main vein of life(the gorge) running right through the middle.
Runt nodded silently in agreement as Mara answered her unspoken question about the borders. As she walked, any who would've watched from the side would've seen the limp very obvious in her foot as she tried to keep up with Mara and not be a burden to her or slow her down. "Will we give the nearby hills names?" She asked the alpha-to-be. If so, she had some pretty cool name ideas in mind.
Mara thought about Runts question. Would they name the hills around the gorge? Was that even allowed? Maybe they could just use the names within their pack. That was actually a really good idea?
"That's a really good idea! We could use them in the pack to make things less confusing." she agreed, nodding her head and smiling at Runt. "Your gonna have to come up with some good ones." she grinned.
As they padded further along the border she realized that Runt's birthday was coming up soon. "Speaking of picking names, what are you thinking for yours?" she asked, looking at Runt with interest sparkling in her eyes.
Runt nodded enthusiastically, she had some pretty killer hill names in mind. Steep Hill, Green Hill, Hobo Hill, Grassy Hill... The list went on and on. When Mara asked about her own names, she blushed nervously. "Well... I thought of a few. Tsunami, Cobra, Riptide, Honor, Redwood, Sunflower, Bone, Promise, Cheetah, Cara... Ha, I kid. No Cara. But I'm havin' trouble decidin' and I don't even know if my ideas are good. ....Help me pick?" She asked Mara with a toothy grin that was supposed to be persuasive.
As they continued along the border, they fell into easy conversation, Runt listing some of the names she had considered. She couldn't help but chuckle at bit at the mention of Cara. She listened intently to all names. Most of them fit Runt pretty well, but one still stuck out the most to the soon-to-be alpha.
"Personally, I like Tsunami." she replied, a thoughtful look on her face. "Or Cobra." she continued, a smile on her face. "But which one is your favorite?" she questioned.
lol those two and Riptide were actually my favorites :)
When Mara put in her thoughts, Runt grinned at their similar thinking. "I liked Tsunami, Cobra, and Riptide best, but I couldn't decide. Thanks, I think your input may help in my final desicion. I think I'll announce it when I turn one in April. I need a middle name too so havin' two names picked out would be helpful." She said with a nod and a smile at Mara. She only had a little more than a month left, since it was near the end of February and her birthday was near the beginning of April.
This is my last post since this thread is severely outdated, thanks to me lol
She grinned at Runt. It was funny how they had thought both names had suited her, but that was probably because they were really perfect for her. Runt was definitely like a tsunami, or a cobra. Or a riptide as well. They were all powerful, and they struck fast, just like Mara's best friend.
Along with her turning one in April, Mara noticed that Runt was getting bigger and soon she would be bigger then her. Unlike Runt, Mara was not a pup, and she would unfortunately not grow anymore. Runt still had a lot of time left to get bigger.
The russet soon to be alphess smiled as she looked at Runt, proud of how much she had grown, not just in size, but in character as well. She was a strong young woman now.
"I think those are perfect!" she barked happily as they padded off further along the border.