Her paths often roamed up. So eagerly did she turn her focus there, once a meal settled her hunger and the lower reaches of the mountain had been lapped at least once. Amekaze was learning much in a short span of time. She was enjoying the relative freedoms this gave her..since she had not returned to Swiftcurrent's territory any since leaving to scout, then finding herself with Ferdie and Jace afterward.

She followed a creek, one that spawned somewhere further up the mountain. The waters were always crisp, chilly but sharp in their currents. It was far from the waterway of Swiftcurrent, but instead a suitable mountain stream to feed the landscapes just nearby. Usually she came to it for a drink, trailed it a while then departed. However today, she followed it best she could, even when the mountain's slopes began to grow a little less easy to just lope merrily across.

So she would put her nimble paws to work. The water's pace would quicken over rocks now and again while its path would shift abruptly. In places, it would be forced to shrink down to nearly nothing, or made to divide its current into several tiny streams instead of one decent one. Ame eventually found a steep face, but with it came the creek's brief transformation into a waterfall. She was forced to pause, loitering at the base of it with the smell of mountainside water clearly in her focus.

The day was fading into sunset already, but she was far from ready to end her investigations. Ame was looking for a path even further up, at least to the top of the hidden creek's waterfall..

She milled around quietly, after a quick drink of course, and tested a few routes upwards that did not quite suit her. She wasn't paying all that much mind to what exactly rested overhead, especially with the sound and smell of the waters taking up a lot of her senses, but instead the best way to trek. Since the mountain was largely uninhabited by anyone she was unfamiliar with, and even less so up further up the elevations, she felt at ease enough to not watch all angles all at once.

Soon though, her paws took to a slick path and she ascended further bit by bit. She was still pleased to have found this facet of the landscape at all, and just as satisfied to know that treasures like these lay hidden upon the mountain territory.

Then, her stoic investigator's expression shifted as realization stopped her in her tracks. Ferdie..? she chuffed with a look of surprise. She had smelled him around the mountain here and there but always guessed he was pretty busy -- either healing up or otherwise. Things had surely been out of the ordinary for him with his exile from the creek, his injuries, and all else. Plus, Ame usually kept to herself anyway, so not always encountering others was not odd for her. Although she did suspect him to be leaving random gifts for her (which was curious to her), but she had yet to catch him doing so.

I did not even smell you, she called as she made the final few bounds to reach the top, which allowed her to get a good look at Ferdie's lookout log. She smirked. You have found quite a perch here, she complimented with a gesture towards the fallen wood. The waterfall had interested her well enough and this was all the more. What do you think of all this? she asked, this time with a broader gesture towards the whole of the mountain. Considering the circumstances of everything, he looked.. well. This was easy to notice as she settled into his company.

She peered to the current then, having already doubted it to be a very good fishing spot at all a little ways down stream even. Ame was not surprised to see it so swift here, but she liked it anyway, and smoothly stepped onto the log to peer downward. Afterward, she was quiet while she took it in. Mountainside views paired with the waterfall's stream suited her alarmingly well.

Amekaze settled neatly at his side. Mhm, the fishing seems better downstream, anyway.. she remarked, for she had been scouring the stream for potential good spots. She had not yet spent any length of time actually fishing though. That would come soon enough. But the view there does not quite compare. She exhaled softly.

The expression got a little more serious for a beat. Nodding, she had realized its defensive potential as well, and was pleased that he had seen it too. Ame had wondered what Fox may ever do to her pair of exiles once she realized they had set up a claim here, if anything, or if other enemies would arise from elsewhere in months to come. I agree, she mused and glanced towards him. I am learning it steadily already. If we are ever attacked here, the mountain is our advantage alone.. though wise wolves rarely attack mountains, she huffed. Her father had talked of their tactical advantage more than once, and even though she had been too young to fully appreciate his teachings then, what she did remember stuck with her now. However not all here are wise. She flicked an ear, vaguely considering who all this could apply to.

And, winter was another matter. One that was still faraway but inevitable. Certainly worth keeping in mind, even now. Hm, hard to say. The hills of this mountain may harbor a handful of small herds. If not, I would guess the Vale will winter more.. But these were mere guesses. In my homeland, the mountain still had some hunting come winter's reign, although the forests at the foothills were much better, not to mention easier to hunt in.. She felt his eyes on her but didn't shirk back. In his company, she was at ease; let him observe, then.

Winter on a mountain would never be entirely easy, but such was the nature of the season itself. It made sense to her now why her parents insisted on the claim of the mountain and the forests nearby, no matter how much the rivals would pressure it at times. The pack would have never been able to sustain the same sort of growth in times when the mountain was even more unforgiving than usual.

She listened, feeling strangely determined to not let the prospect of the future irk her any. Everything had always been so vague and uncertain to her, with her next day never planned in any amount of detail. She had been going with the flow which had eventually led her here. What it would continue to become remained unseen.

Ferdie seemed to take her words for all their worth and she nodded as he spoke of the oasis. A mountain it may be but it was a prosperous one from what she had seen. While not knowing what it would be like come winter was a downside, she was confident it would not be entirely inhospitable. Her ears then pricked especially at the mention of a potential hot spring here on this very mountain. That would be interesting. There are the Firestone springs not very far away, so it is very possible.. she reasoned and felt inclined to investigate it further. Curiosity brimmed already.

She did not know the fullest extent of the geography of a hot spring, but if one was just a stone's throw from here, another did not seem impossible. How far up do you think it is? Judging by the steam he had seen, anyway. I have not been further up than this, really.. I do intend to see more, she murmured. Her sights had been set on the uppermost reaches for a long time now. How are your wounds, by the way? They seem to be doing well enough, yes? she asked now before her focus went too much towards potential explorations and other matters of that sort. Ame had been wondering about this for a handful of days now, and wanted to hear it straight from him. She took the chance to look him over intently, lingering where the worst of the injuries were.

Asking of his wounds was sure to stir some sour thoughts, but she would pry no further to irritate this further, especially since the outlook on them was good. She simply nodded. Neither he or Jace were evidently facing issues with healing. All they would need is time, now, and Ame's tail switched gently at the notion to signal her contentment.

She watched him attentively and let her muzzle be guided as he shifted her focus upward then. Her eyes narrowed to a squint up towards the mountain's upper reaches, where the mist rose in subtle tendrils into the darkening skies. Had she not been looking for it, it would have been easy to overlook. She tried to discern how far it may be, exactly, but she knew mountains were exceptionally difficult to predict.

Hmm, she rumbled thoughtfully as she scanned the slopes. There has to be a path. Somehow. Mountains are tricky, but I do not believe this one would make its secrets entirely inaccessible.. she murmured. I will see what I can find. Even if I cannot get all the way there tonight, a start is better than nothing... she concluded, and in a quick gesture she nipped at the fur of his chest and took to her feet. Are you coming too? she asked over her shoulder just before she sprung from the log and waved her tail.

With summer having lengthened the days considerably, Ame would just have to be mindful of the dark. It had been a while since she had done too much extensive mountain trekking, especially in the dark, but she was quietly confident in her abilities and sensibility to not let trouble find her or Ferdie's path. The worst that could happen would be that they would not find the springs and have to retire away for the evening unsatisfied.

He took the lead and for a beat she let it go unchallenged to lope after him contentedly. Most of all, she was pleased he was going as well, but after a handful of strides, she gathered herself and pressed forward to gain speed. Flattening out, she determinedly sped towards him and nipped his haunch as she passed by it.

She watched him from the corner of her eyes, smirking her satisfaction away while she ran across the slopes in company that she couldn't think of much she would trade it for. Eventually, though, she was forced to focus and not on him or his doings. The terrain shifted and her ears quivered eagerly at this change; it had been too long and with a chill, she was reminded of home. She could taste the air turn towards the thinner mountain's upper reaches altitude, too. Ame breathed deep, eventually slowing up to a much more reasonable pace for navigating the foreign ground underfoot.

She lifted her muzzle when a rabbit broke from the foliage just ahead, darting as fast as it could back into cover out of sight from predators like herself. Ame chuffed. She had suspected as much, but actually seeing them without looking was a good sign. I am pleased.. she licked her teeth and panted softly. ..to see prey even up here. Her tail waved. But look. It cannot be far. I swear, I can almost.. smell it, the telltale scent of hot springs was faint in her nose, unique as they were. All the time she had spent at Firestone made it easy to notice.

Her ears stayed forward and in a moment, Ferdie commanded her attention when he took advantage of the sudden rabbit. She turned on her heels to watch, anticipation building as she took it in. Although not her hunt, she was interested, and hopeful to see his success unfold.

The scent of blood soon touched her nostrils. With a low chuff and tail waver, she applauded his successful kill.

And soon, she was stilled to take in the sights that unfolded before her -- a sheer dropoff of rock, impressive and daunting by itself and unmistakably impossible to navigate. Dark as it was and bathed in the earliest moonglow of the evening, she kept quiet in the face of nature and let her eyes trail slowly up. Ame was impressed

Ah, well.. she eventually breathed and peered at Ferdie. The spoken question remained: how to continue, precisely. Ame would follow his lead for now and was perfectly content to see where it would take them. Feeling so relaxed and (dare she say it) comfortable in another's company was a strange sensation, but certainly not one she could find off-putting. Thus, why she was finding herself rather at ease, even on unfamiliar (albeit interesting) terrain.

She already appreciated the subtle mist and knew that, now or in the future, it may be in her interests to spend much more time here. Just to see what may come of it. Learning all the aspects of this mountain was going to keep her busied all summer long.

The slain rabbit fell limp at her paws and she peered at it quietly. He then spoke of truth, to which she nodded after looking skyward; it was particularly dark now and while she had been eager to face the challenge before, she could not surmount one as steep as this rockface they had found. She could concede defeat for the night but this would not be the end of it.

Sounds good, she murmured before plucking the rabbit off the ground and padding off gently to sniff out a decent place to bed down for a while, assuming he would follow to do the same. They would rest up, and approach it with renewed vigor later.