@Rifter
Edited because I apparently decided that Wapun Meadow and Otatso Wetland are the same thing.
Dry days went by without a hint of rain, but when Saena woke that morning in a small ditch in the center of a field of wildflowers where she'd spent the night, it was to the feel of raindrops striking her snout. She slowly blinked her eyes opened, shutting them again as a drop smashed against her brow, and then slowly lifted her head to gaze out at the wet world around her. Her ears slowly lifted up to hear water drumming against the ground and pattering on the grass and buds alike.
Rain didn't bother her. She was surrounded by the scent of petrichor and the flowers stretched hungrily toward the dark sky, making it both refreshing and welcome. A glance upward told her the rain was likely to get heavier later, but for now it was gentle. She stood up from her pit in the ground, stretched her legs luxuriously, yawned widely, and headed out into Wapun Meadow in search of a bite to eat. She knew it would be harder to scare up prey in the middle of a rainy morning, but the Gamekeeper was confident she could find something eventually.
His traipse was rather happy-go-lucky at first, despite his raggedy appearance. There was no real reason as to why – the lands he had come across were intriguing to him, and they certainly didn’t hurt the eyes. Still, he was thinner than usual, which was saying something, and the life of a lone wolf wasn’t treating him well. Gaunt ribs were becoming more apparent, and as his form slinked across the rather lavish meadow, his bright eyes sought out the potential of an easy meal.
It would seem there was none. Deflating, the boy cocked his muzzle as he made to steal another glance around. If he was not careful, he would be caught in a rain storm – the air tasted of it. It would prove to hinder his ‘hunt,’ and Rifter found himself slowing his pace, cringing as a rather fat water droplet slapped his nose.
Blinking, the silver boy glanced up, his eyes catching view of a rather pale form. Upon first stolen glance, he thought he was looking at a rather exotic dog – the bright ginger ears seemed to be a giveaway to this. Closer inspection instead informed him that it was a wolf.. and even better, it was a girl. Hesitating for only a brief second, as she certainly wasn’t hard on the eyes either (was her tail missing..?) Rifter took a rather brave step forward, imagining it to be a suave sweep of his ganky frame. “Lo,” he called out rather amicably, studying the she-wolf with mild trepidation.
Saena continued pushing through the tall grass, actively stepping around each bud in her path, in her search for food. Her attention to detail was rarely this spectacular, but with limited knowledge of herbs and vast knowledge of life, she knew that each bud had the potential to be life-saving. It may not save her life, but if it continued to grow there each year, then it could save the life of one of her offspring, or their offspring, and so on. She was always careful for that reason never to crush a flower underfoot, even when most of her attention was on hunting.
Her focus melted away when she spotted Rifter coming toward her through the faint curtain of rain. For a brief instant, Saena tensed and awaited his response with her shoulders hunched defensively, but he didn't show any signs of hostility. Instead, he swept onto her scene with what she supposed was gentlemanly flair, and greeted her in a single syllable. What was meant to be suave came off a little silly, so much so that she laughed aloud.
"Smooth," she complimented, not mocking but definitely amused. She couldn't help the slightest wag in her short tail at his antics; although it was brief, his display said a bit about his character. "You do that with all the rain-soaked ladies you meet?"
A myriad of changes went over his companion – hesitance and potential aggression initially swept over her in the way her form hulkered down – but as she seemed to realize that the boy before her was no more of a threat than a bunny rabbit, she seemed to shift to amused.
Rifter was used to such things, and at her friendly greeting, his own tail waved through the air with a clumsy beat. “Only the exceptionally pretty ones,” he determined with a lopsided grin. She was far out of his league, but the playful banter was certainly welcome, and the silver male gave a lavish bow of his forelimbs – both foolish and unorthodox. “And what might be milady’s name?” Of course, no one talked in such terms any longer.. but without having companionship for awhile now, it was an understatement to say that Rifter felt giddy at the opportunity presented before him.
Saena smirked when Rifter made his witty response. Being complimented on her looks was, sadly, new for her, enough that she didn't yet know how to handle them with elegance or even with humour. "Thanks," was all she could think to say. Thankfully, Rifter saved her from an awkward, possibly unappreciative silence by asking a question, this time with an eloquent and foreign tone and the use of formal words that Saena hadn't heard before.
Still, the meaning of "milady" was easy to guess. "Milady's name is Saena," she said with a gentle drop of her head, unfortunately using the word incorrectly, but that wasn't nearly as bad a word crime as her following up with, "and what is migentleman's name?" "Migentleman" sounded incorrect the minute it left her lips, but it was too late to take it back. All she could do was stand there feeling sort of foolish.
She might have felt silly speaking the words – realizing they were not quite within context, and yet not correcting it. Rifter, however, practically beamed at her for even encouraging his little game, and shuffling his paws at being called a ‘migentleman,’ his tail gave a sweep through the air to reveal his content. His new companion was positively adorable! “Rifter Dask – a weary traveler.” There was a small pause as his eyes stole around them to regard the area they were within. Teekon Wilds was a place unknown to him, but as he traveled, he was finding himself quite fond of the resourceful area. “Perhaps, Saena,” he murmured, using her name to test it out upon his tongue. “You could tell me where I am?”
His days bled together – the monotony of traveling alone.. He had been chased from a few pack borders already.. apparently being determined a waste of their resources for such a scrawny youth. He did not find this as much of a deterrent – his upbeat self instead argued quietly that they were not worth his time.
Rifter didn't ridicule her for butchering "ye olde language", which she was grateful for. She vowed to never again try to speak like a proper lady anyway. It didn't suit her tongue. He introduced himself as Rifter Dask, weary traveler, a title which Saena pricked her ears eagerly at. Perhaps he was a scrawny male, but Reek was scrawny too. It didn't mean they weren't able to do anything. While the tiny pack assembling on the ridge had need of guardians more than anything, she wasn't about to put out a poor, weary traveler should his interest lie with her.
"Teekon Wilds," she said promptly, gesturing around. "Goes on for miles. I'm not sure what this meadow is called," she apologetically informed him. Her travels in the north didn't include learning the names of all the lands in between, and as far as she knew, it didn't even have a name. "Maybe we'll call it Wildflower Meadow, while we're being creative," she snickered, knowing it was about the most unoriginal name she could've come up with for a meadow full of wildflowers.
"I do know what that ridge way over there is called," she said slyly, gesturing to the very distant outline of the ridge. "We called it Redtail Rise, because there are lots of hawks there with reddish tails. If hawks and heights are your thing, well... we'll be a pack pretty soon and we have openings for migentlemen such as you."
She introduced the land as Teekon Wilds – stirring his bright eyes to shift from her and steal around the land before them. And then, quite promptly and without complaint from the silver rogue, she named the field they stood in. A lopsided grin made its way to his face then, giving a faux serious nod of agreement. “Definitely fitting,” he determined, though he was wondering if she held much knowledge to the lands they stood in.
His eyes followed her directions then, spotting a looming slope in the distance. With his interest piqued, the lone wolf canted his muzzle slightly to the side, listening to her words and wondering if he had just stumbled upon the lottery. An upcoming pack. One that did not want to chase him away. Exhilarated with this possibility, the poor youth tried to contain himself, shifting his front paws lightly as he gathered his thoughts. “Do you have followers yet?” She spoke with ‘we,’ which indicated they were others.
Saena could tell from the way Rifter's head lifted and tilted that his interest was piqued. In her brief time away from her natal pack, Saena had quickly learned that getting others interested in her project was easy. Convincing them to commit was harder, though. She thought back to Arabella, the strange, whimsical she-wolf from a far away land, who had seemed plenty interested but chose not to join. Rifter could very well be the same sort of wolf, but she couldn't know without trying.
"There's a few of us," Saena said, "a male, a female, myself, a couple other potentials. Nothing huge." Pause. "So, in other words, there's lots of room for another," she said, suggesting him with a grin and a somewhat uncharacteristic wink, "if a wolf should be in need of a fresh start and can work with others."
He felt a flicker of nervousness pull at his chest at the mention of others -- especially since a 'couple' could be determined as upward of two others. Still, he could not stay a lone wolf forever, and the female before him seemed a decent sort.. and laid back enough that he could appreciate her as a new friend.
"I can do all of the above," he perked, hoping his hesitation and concern did not shine through his voice. With a lighthearted grin, Rifter gave a cant of his muzzle, his eyes straying past her to study the distant ridge she had seemingly set to claim. "What luck I must have to bump in to you today," he mused aloud then, his tail giving a quick sweep through the air to reflect his contentment in the matter.
"Well then," Saena said with an even broader smile in spite of the rain that continued pattering down on them, "welcome to the pack." Perhaps Rifter would be a transient member, or maybe he would stick around for the long haul. Right now, the young aspiring Alpha was only concerned with having the numbers to secure the ridge. Their future plans were their own. She hoped a few would stick around forever, but it wasn't total commitment she was looking for now. It was able-bodied wolves capable of setting the claim, and then their lives were their own to command.
So she didn't speak of commitments or future plans for fear of driving Rifter away. Instead, she asked him, "what brought you here anyway? You leave home for a change of scenery, or couldn't stand your siblings anymore?" She studied him carefully, looking for any sign that this topic was uncomfortable or disagreeable, before asking as they left the meadow behind them, "what's the story of Rifter Dask like...?"