Hours of walking was fine by Echo. She used to walk for a day or two when she was a pup. Though she wasn't mountain climbing as a little one, so making it over some mountains was kinda hard for her. Still, she had made it to what she was going for. Duck Lake was shimmering beautifully in the daylight, even though it was cloudy. Echo wasn't sure if the lake was saltwater or freshwater, so she didn't risk it. She hoped that the thirst would go away soon so she could go around the lake without wanting the drink it.
The lake wasn't terribly far from the Ridge. A decent journey, but considering Citali had half a mind to put as much distance better herself and that terrible farce, she decided it would be better if she spent her time elsewhere. Firstly, it served as the perfect distraction from how terribly fall she'd fallen. Secondly, she could scout the area for useful herbs and plants and the like. Thirdly? She needed this escape to refocus. She wasn't going to be able to do that back on that Ridge.
Here? Here she had the world at her paws and she was ready to explore. She found herself looming near more amicable territories and extending into areas that were far more satisfying. A lake. A brilliant lake bloomed in the background and Citali slipped into the shallows to bathe off the toils of her travels. This? This was how lands should be. Perfect. Useful. Not barren and void. She paid little attention to her surroundings as she tended to her task of hygiene.
Echo noticed a female in the crystal clear water not too far from where she was standing. She gave her a small smile, she wanted to be friendly while outside of her pack boundary. She pawed the top of the water causing ripples to spread out from where her dark gray paw had dipped in."I'm Echo." She tried to start a conversation with the other wolf.
Citali lifted a paw behind her ears, cleaning lightly at her brown fur as she sought to erase the dust and grim of travels from her pelt. She rubbed there, turning her head into the water so as to help her accomplish this more completely. With one ear done, she moved to repeat the process with the other only to find small ripples of water outside of the ones she was creating colliding with her form.
She turned, searching for the culprit only to set her eyes on another wolf who swiftly introduced herself. Echo. Cute. It seemed she'd elaborated on that by creating those ripples in the water, much like an echo would reverberate and bounce across the air. "Oh. Um. Citali," she offered up quickly. "Where on earth did you come from?"
"Over the mountains. I'm just traveling a bit." Echo felt the thirst climbing up her throat. She ignored her mouth when her tongue dry up. " Is the water nice?" The silence was kind of awkward for Echo. The other wolf's name was pretty though. Echo hadn't heard anything like it before, she had heard lots of other names like her's before though.
Echo decided that this wolf wasn't going to attack her. She wondered if there was any others that were this nice. She didn't want to risk going any closer to other packs though. Unless Echo was invited she didn't want anything to do with them. She shook her head, honestly she always thought too much.
Her question had been somewhat rhetorical, but the girl answered anyway. Citali blinked back at her. These lands were neutral and unclaimed. Any wolf would have to travel somewhat to reach them. But if she came from the mountains? She diverted her silver eyes in that general direction. "That's quite a ways..." Then again, Citali had traveled far enough herself.
"The water is pleasant." She shifted within the pond and resumed her cleaning. Twisting upon herself, she tended to her pelt and worked out any snarls she might find with her teeth. There were a few of them... and as she searched she discovered a few burrs that clung to her that were less than pleasant. She untangled them and tossed them aside.
Echo nodded and got really quiet afterwards. She slipped into the water and started to put her fur back where it belonged. Her fur was all over the place from the journey. The water felt nice on Echo's hot body, black fur wasn't the ideal color in hot weather. When it came to mountains and snow, it was very useful. The water trickled over her rough fur and back into the lake.
It appeared as though the two of them would be grooming. Each of them, tending to their own fur and baser forms of glamour in turn. Citali worked through her pelt, untangling each knot, tossing away each burr, and smoothing the rest of it down into something that would gleam with her natural earthen tones as soon as she was finished here.
Mm. That would do...
She pulled herself out of the water and shook herself off. Water flew and her pelt seemed to bristle in it's dampness before she traveled to a nearby stone and lay upon it. Sphinx-like, she basked upon the rock and soaked up the sun. "What brings you here?" she asked, turning her eyes towards the still bathing female. "It's quite a ways from 'over the mountains'."
Echo pulled out a little stick that was deep in her fur. How did that get in there and not be noticed? She continued pulling objects out of her fur and soon she had all the foreign things out. There was only a few things, so it was fairly easy to clean herself."I'm here to just travel a bit. There wasn't many others around at the time, so I decided to go on an adventure. Where are you from, you don't mind me asking?"
The girl was a clam. No matter. She could practice a bit more in the art of casual conversation and enjoy a little chit chat. Besides, the weather was pleasant. Not too hot. Not too cold. The breeze that lifted off the water was enough to fight off the summer heat and leave her perfectly content to bask within the sun.
She pressed her eyes closed as she listened to what the female spoke of. It seemed they were all travelers, now weren't they? "North of here, currently," she mused out loud. "But I'm also traveling." Herb hunting, more-like, but it was all well and the same. "Have you been here long? In the wilds?"
Sorry my life got busy
"Not long at all. I just joined Sunspire. What about you?" Echo sat herself down by the other female and looked at her. She wasn't on the same rock, but on the ground next to her. The sun was on her back and felt good on her back for once in her life. It was easier to tell how nice it was outside now that her fur was damp. Nowadays the weather was always a bit too hot.
No worries! Life is always more important!
"The Sunspire?" Citali repeated.
"That sounds lovely. Are you liking it there so far?" She'd not known of a pack in the nearby mountains, but if the wolves loved their heights she supposed that sort of terrain would do. She herself? She preferred forests. They were filled with such vast plant and animal life. There was no shortage of fun to be had within their midsts.
As for herself?
"No no. A lone wolf." Technically, she was a part of Frostfire Ridge and by extension Coatl's Rise. She was pledged to watch over a wolf who existed physically, but mentally was no longer the wolf she knew. Her stay there would not be for much longer... she had a feeling it wouldn't last, but while she was out in about? It was easier to be a lone wolf.
"Been roaming for a few months now."
"It's okay, I like all of the places to explore that I've found so far. " Since no one was there when she joined she didn't know what it was like there yet. Though Echo did like what she saw. She didn't know that this wolf was a lone one. Many of the loners she encountered were going to attack, but since she was a small one year old and still seemed like a puppy wandering around looking for her mother."You don't seem like the other lone wolves I've encountered when I was exploring when I was about one year old."
Oh good! it seemed as though this girl had a spirit of adventure in her and a common liking for all the places she'd encountered thus far. Good for her. It was always nice when a wolf developed interests of any kind.
"Other loners?" she inquired, not certain as to what the girl meant by this. Citali didn't like to think herself of as a type by any means, but whoever the girl encountered seemed to suggest that Citali was different from them.
Cyn smiled and nodded. "Long story short, you are much friendlier than most wolves I meet." She didn't want to give her a long story of her as a puppy. The other female seemed like a nice friend to have. Maybe they could be something like that. Her eyes looked out at the water in front of the two. The sound was pleasing to her ears. It seemed like a lullaby sung by Mother Nature herself, much of nature was a song if you really thought about it.
She listened and lied down. She put her head on her legs and watched the waves brush up against the edges of the lake. Echo almost fell asleep, but remembered Citali by her. Her eyes jerked back open to see the blue of the water.
A friendly wolf? That was quite possibly the first time in forever the word "friendly" had been used to associate with her. Of all adjectives, "friendly" was not the first that came in mind when describing Citali, but if this female saw her that way, she could only imagine what types of other wolves she'd encountered. Terrible creatures by the sounds of it.
She said nothing. She wasn't quite sure what could be said to that. Instead, she let her thoughts drift to the pleasantness of the afternoon sun. She seemed to doze, resting her eyes before a sudden sound emitted from the wolf as Echo pulled herself out of sleep.
"Nap if you need to," she murmured as Citali lifted herself to stand, she stretched a bit before deciding she'd spent enough time here. "It was nice meeting you. Best of luck to you." With that, the brown female departed.
-Citali exits-
"You too." Echo watched the lone wolf walk away and she put her head back on her legs. Her adventure sure was exhausted her completely. Maybe a nap wasn't a bad idea. With the sun shining down on her back she relaxed her tired muscles. She would travel to the meadows later. Now all she needed was a long nap to recharge. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Echo dreamed of flowers for miles and she stood smack dab in the middle of it.
Fin.