With news of a handful of packs forming or having formed in the Wilds in the last several weeks vaguely on her mind, she was finding herself more invested in the territories beyond her doorstep. It was not her place to lay claim to them, though, but she would intend to have their presence known among them and aim to notice any suspicious activity from loners before it could escalate into them wanting to create a claim of their own.

She was comfortable with the neighbors she had, and that was it. Donnelaith lined the coast, Redhawk was on the other side of a valley and then a forest, while Silvertip loomed at a distant peak. None were overly close and she liked this just the way it was. Knowing someone planned to make Neverwinter their home did bother her -- first because she liked the place and second that they would do so that close to Silvertip's doorstep (which had been theirs for quite a while now), seemingly with good faith that it would co-exist flawlessly. Amekaze was wary of that notion and didn't want to see it happen to her mountain.

As she concluded her patrol she shifted gears to ranging abroad. On this outing, she scoped south down the range, traveling near the base of the mountains with her nose low and senses sharp. She made no effort to conceal who she was, and carried along with her the scent of a pack well-equipped to succeed here in this stretch of landscape. Namely, she was looking for wolf scents, be they from other packs or loners, just to get a feel of who all else was traveling through here recently.

If she didn't find anyone, that just made her job easier and freed her up to only track prey instead.. but in a way, she almost hoped she might catch a hint of something more interesting than a rabbit's trail here in the shadow of the flattest mountain.

Scent, sound, then sight of another wolf got her attention before too long. Ame lifted her muzzle from simply just cruising it along a little ways above the ground and blinked herself into focus, as if she was searching for some better sort of recognition after the female knew her name. The scent said Charon and the pieces aligned perhaps a beat later, all of which was confirmed by the speckled female not long afterward. "Correct," she replied readily now that her curiosity changed gears from just sniffing around the landscapes to understanding her newest recruit better. "Greetings," she chuffed and waved her lifted tail in a few amicable wags.

Considering the directions they'd both come from, Ame may as well ask: "Anything interesting that way?" she arced her neck towards the south, guessing that was Ness had possibly delved deeper into the Wilds than right here.  "Do you scout?" she asked, mainly since it was at least vaguely possible that was what she was doing out here. The possibilities of things to be busied with out here were so vast.. but that gave her someplace to start. 

The answer was quite to the point. Amekaze may have seemed stone-faced at the notion, but she prickled at the idea of another pack. Knowing the followers were few only helped minutely. "Anything else about this wolf?" she picked, trying to fish for the details of any potential pack and its wannabe rival alpha of these stretches of wilds. "Maybe it is new still," she offered as a guess in return and consulted her mental map of the southernmost territories of the Great Bear Wilderness. If the moosefields were what she thought they were, it was still a decent distance from Moonspear, her main concern above all other things right now. Her further details about the path between here and there did line up with that, too, so that was worth knowing.

Assuming that this did pan out for whoever was at the head of it, that meant this would be the fourth new pack in her general region. None were very close, and she didn't even know where the one on the coast was exactly, but they were stacking up awfully fast suddenly. How long until they were too close too?

Then, on scouts. "Just a few," she answered. Rain (her first main outrider), Floki, and Wildfire came to mind, along with her own halfway developed interest in the duty sometimes. They all usually started out as wolves who liked to travel, though.

Ness painted a reasonably distinct picture of the aspiring leader in question and Amekaze enjoyed the details, name and all. And indeed, she wasn't all too surprised. He sounded like he fit the bill of healthy wolf, one probably emboldened by his strength who yearned for more for himself in the way of securing alphaship. She was no stranger to how ambition worked and how potent a motivator it could be.

Since a whole menagerie of wolves had given their go at leadership over all the moons she'd seen in the Teekon, she guessed he was probably some dispersal from somewhere -- something hinted at by his decent condition even in wintertime, but, she wouldn't know for sure unless that came up. "I see," she murmured, considering this at length and wondering if he would ever drive his pack and its name to become more relevant to her in any way, good or bad. He was just on the edge of being close enough for her to be aware of, but so far, that was about it.

The pale yearling went on favorably about scouting, and Amekaze couldn't help but nod. "It sounds like you may have some skill at it," she encouraged judging by the detailed briefing she'd just received. As for anything in mind to help her establish herself, Ame would need a little better feel on her first. "Ah, well, what else are you good at? What do you like to do? I am sure you have this same sort of talk with Charon.." she smirked, and while they had spent more time together lately, the details of all the newest members didn't always come up in full. "I personally like those who are clever and cunning about their strengths.. and the Spear itself has many niches yet to be touched, so there are a lot of ways to carve yourself in."

More and more of the pale female revealed itself, and Amekaze's understanding of her only continued to take a greater shape. She was satisfied to find out that she pegged herself as challenge-oriented, which did add an element of dynamism to her that was not quite so often seen in others -- and neither was it expected, frankly, in this time of steady turnover among the newest recruits to the pack. Usually she just started on what already interested someone when she attempted to gauge where they might fit in with her pack because it was most doable for any wolf in a time of many changes (as a new pack often was) but she was quickly getting the sense that it was way more than just that where Ness was involved.

"Good. I like it," she nodding knowingly with a thoughtful flicker of her tail. Ambition in its many shapes and forms was a trait she did want to see nurtured in others within reason.. so the gears were turning. Ness did give her a lot to listen to, and she drank all of this up, inferring what she could from the past spanning behind the lean female until the question turned onto her. "Hm, I like sparring, fishing.. all the mountainside life provides me," Vague was all but her middle name, but a playful smirk accompanied it nevertheless. She could probably list on down to the minor details, but she'd spare her. "And, well, I suppose I can summarize it best as simply learning. Of all things -- histories, cycles, weather, philosophies.. does not matter, I am still curious," she said, for it was exactly part of why she valued scouts like she did. She could only cover so much ground as one wolf with one set of paws and maintaining alphaship (another important "like" of hers) at the same time took a certain balance that good scouts just made easier for her.

She mulled it over for a beat, but her answers came readily. "Teaching.. less so, but I do still see the satisfaction in it," she replied. She had amassed a share knowledge on a handful of topics and to some, it was worth passing it along. Ame wondered if maybe her interest in teaching may settle in more the older she became, or just if she had properly eager students at her disposal -- not that she was particularly in the market for them right now anyway with enough else to keep her occupied with.

"Fishing is a summer hobby, mostly. It has been a while since I have had a good go at it and I still need to learn the best spots for it on the Spear," she shrugged, making note. It was about to be that time though and the Moonspear's creeks were going to be tested by her thoroughly. If they didn't satisfy, she knew good spots in the flatlands. She'd have her aquatic meals one way or another.

But to step back, if there was anything she was most interest in teaching, it was sparring -- although mainly by way of letting them get their experiences with an eager opponent. She was never going to be one to verbally impart that kind of knowledge. "I am always open to new sparring partners," she suggested in way of agreeing with Ness. Truly, any scouts should be well-equipped for anything.