After descending the mountain, then finding herself continually disgusted by the proximity of the plains pack's scent, she made stealthy passage and headed north for the river. While unimpressed with the goings on down here in the wilds below her mountain, that was all there was to be done for now. Judging by the best scent she could catch wind of, here interests were still further ahead..
Days prior, she had seen smoke rising from the distance. Eventually, even the scent of woodsmoke drifted her way alongside a soaking rain -- which were frequent on these muggy days lately. This led her to believe it had not been able to spread far, but she was curious of where it had been exactly. Easily, it could have been the Sunspire's slopes afflicted by the blaze, or even grounds she hunted upon.
She found her trail heading closer and closer to the Plateau by the minute, and wondered idly if it had been there exactly. Ame skirted over thought of the pack, and a small handful of the individuals she knew -- Lasher, and the sterling male most recently. This thought remained short-lived as a touch of hunger diverted her attention, even with the Plateau's silhouette looming on the horizon. She made her way into the waters of the river, traveled on its edge until the scenery suited, then waded a little deeper. After a few failed attempts at skimming out something edible (and big enough to be worth stopping for), she finally slung her wet head back with a silvered prize in her jaws.
She paused at the bank to eat her fish, but listened keenly, and swore she could still smell the faintest hints of old burnt wood.
*shoves timeline under a rug* :D
It had taken a while, but eventually the pain within Harlyn's skull faded away to join the other terrible memories of the past couple of weeks. She had been unable to help when the fire burned her pack's lands and then unable to help search for those they feared were lost due to the blaze. She was determined now to make up for lost time, and thus she had set out early from the Plateau on her own to search to the south of their borders.
The druid had little hope in her heart that they would ever find Dante or the girl (Harlyn had never met her and she tended to be disconnected from the Plateau wolves in general, simply because she did not see her home amongst them). She certainly prayed that both were alive and safe wherever they were, but she felt it far more likely that they would find their way back to the Plateau before any of their packmates managed to locate them. Besides which, her faith told her that the earth mother held them tightly and safely in her arms - wherever they ended up was the will of the gods and it was not Harlyn's naturd to question the spirits that protected and guided them all. They would return when fate allowed. All she and the others could do was continue to pray that the gods would be merciful and bring them home sooner rather than later.
Still, Harlyn knew well how important it was to Mordecai not to give up the search, so it was out of her love for him that she dutifully did her part to find whatever evidence she could of their whereabouts or well-being. Her search led her along the shores of the river that traced a southerly line past the Plateau and down towards the Heartwood. The sound of splashing water drew her to the presence of the unknown female who was settling down upon the bank to consume a fish that Harlyn could only assume she'd just caught. She gave a low chuff to announce her presence to the woman as she came nearer, adjusting her posture to one that communicated neutrality so as not to cause any alarm.
She ripped at the scales and picked apart the cool meats below. With her nails dug onto the side of it, she worked the prey item over slowly, mulling over her next trail as she did so. There was always further down the river, which would only take her to the sea soon enough. However, she had no business that way. It would be wisest for her to trek nearer to the mountain, so to not indulge in the wanderings again so soon.
Sometime a few bites into her snack, she swiveled an ear. First, came the subtle sounds of an approach -- difficult to distinguish over the water, and just when they seemed near enough to warrant a look, a chuff followed. Ame's eyes fell upon the female, and unintentionally lingered over the burning orange of her eyes. They were too striking against her darker shades not to alongside an overall look that was certainly easy to behold.
Ame straightened some, lifting her head and posing neutrally as well for she too meant no harm in being here as she were. She licked her lips and chuffed back in return. "Greetings," she offered simply and had noticed the scent similar to that of the sterling male, and Lasher as well. Perhaps she was closer to the Plateau's boundaries than she realized.
She then stood quietly over the remains of her fish with her head tilted subtly in question. Had a reason brought her to here? Or was Ame about to be questioned on her intentions first?
The stranger regarded her coolly, but not with any sort of malice. Harlyn was happy to take that an as invitation to converse, for a little time at least. She relaxed her posture even further and offered a smile. The woman's scent was not one she recognized, so she was at a bit of a disadvantage to her, but she was yet unaware of that.
"I hope I didn't interrupt your meal," she said kindly, "I'm actually looking for a pair of wolves of my pack, from Blacktail Deer Plateau. There was a small fire there and they've been missing ever since..." She paused then, allowing the woman an opportunity to brush her off if she had nothing in her memory she could offer that would assist.
Softly, she shook her head and licked her lips. She couldn't exactly call this an interruption. If she so pleased, she'd continue the meal all the same.. but, for now she could certainly afford to give this female her full attention.
Her mention of the Blacktail pack solidified this sort of thinking. Amekaze had no ill-will against them, not since many many moons ago. The few wolves she knew from there were of the favorable sort, so she was somewhat interested in this. "I saw the smoke.." she mentioned. It had been a few days ago, although she couldn't say exactly how many for sure.
Not that she knew many Plateau wolves, some shade of description would help her. "I have not seen anyone seeming lost by the mountains so far.." she said. This female was the first Blacktail wolf she'd seen in a while, with their sterling alpha being the last on the coast weeks back. "Do you think they are together still?" she asked, trying to gather details if she could. Unfortunately, she had nothing of helpfulness to give so far, but she could keep an eye out in her travels from here on out.
The stranger admitted to seeing the smoke, which gave Harlyn a clue that the woman did not live too far away. She fell a little when the woman said she hadn't seen anyone who seemed lost, but the druid had had little hope for that in the first place. If anyone had come across them, they would have sent a messenger back to the pack to let everyone know where they were. They would not be wandering the wilds lost and uncertain of how to get back - they were wolves, not common cats who barely knew up from down.
"I don't know if they were ever together, though I certainly hope so," Harlyn replied with a faltering smile, "It was a subordinate who disappeared into the flames first. Our alpha went after her, though I don't know how long it was after she'd disappeared that he did too."
More details were revealed. She listened with a somber expression. Very reasonably, the disappearance in accordance with the fire inspired concern. To know it was a subordinate and alpha was mildly helpful as well, although Amekaze had only a vague idea of the wolves in their rankings. Notably, the silver male came to mind. She knew he was important and well-established there. "I will keep an eye out," she said with a slow nod. It was not much, but something she could offer to do -- especially since she had no real information to offer in exchange. The Plateau had never done her any harm, so she hoped they'd find their wolves in good health in no time. While finding them near the mountain was probably not the most likely since so few found their way to her doorstep anyway, she'd watch out for anyone seeming misplaced all the same.
Whoever this wolf was, she seemed to be the quiet sort. Her response didn't offer much for Harlyn to say in return, but instead of deterring her, it simply made the druid all the more intrigued. She nodded and gave a smile to express her gratitude before furrowing her brow curiously. "Do you live in these parts?" she asked. If she was going to keep an eye out for the pair, she was interested to know where exactly that eye might be set. Plus, it was a question that would help her glean a bit more about the woman, even though part of her suspected the answer might be just as vague and shrouded as the female's character.
She did need prompting if she was going to share. The dark wolf's question was just enough to get her talking, albeit only a bit, especially since Amekaze preferred to be the one asking questions and not answering them. However she understood fully the give and take necessary, and considering the Plateau female had been nothing but pleasant so far, the edge was softened marginally. This probably wasn't obvious, though. "Not too far away.. The Sunspire," a quick gesture its way was almost reflexive; the mountain loomed wherever she was and never felt all too far away. Possibly why she was often keen to roam when she could. "I have a good vantage point," came with a subtle, small smirk.
What little hope she'd had that she might still garner some information about the female slipped out of her fingers when the woman gave yet another short and vague response. Harlyn followed the gesture until her eyes settled upon the mountain towering in the distance, and her brows lifted slightly. She was impressed. "Yes, you certainly do, don't you," she murmured, "I can see how you spotted the fire now. The higher slopes must offer an incredible view. Probably plenty of prey up that way too." It was idle talk, mostly just her own musings.
She soon enough turned back to the woman and offered a polite nod of her head. "I should let you get back to your meal," Harlyn said then, allowing the other the opportunity to dismiss her without being rude. She felt certain now that this dark female was not really the talkative type, and the druid had little reason to continue to pester her.
She was not the type to be overly generous with information, and it was nothing personal -- just how it was for her. Neither did she mind the other female's words that brought her trail of thought to light and listened (the role she much preferred when she could have it). Amekaze nodded, all of it was true of the mountain, absolutely, but she wasn't one to brag either.
Then, the agouti took her leave. Amekaze chuffed a low farewell and turned her teeth back towards her fish. Afterward, her travels would resume.