she wondered how long, exactly, the pack had been here; hardly near enough to be considered any sort of threat or near neighbour, but too not far enough to go unnoticed for as long as it had. her brow furrowed once as she peered through the trees, a fair distance back from the markers that revealed little about hos long the pack had been here. perhaps a few weeks, perhaps a few months; she was willing to bet on the former, but didn't particularly care. 

muzzle tilted upward to let fly a summons to an inhabitant of this place, be it leader or ranking member. she merely wanted to trade information, to learn where this pack ranked on their scale of allies.

a boy arrived - huffy, it seemed, though if this were standard border practice of merely an angsty adolescent she had yet to determine. no names were offered or demanded, no introductions, merely a question laced with trace amounts of sarcasm. she paused a moment, briefly, before adapting to answer in a similar fashion.  "telling me the name of your pack would be helpful. I'm a scout, and I this is the first I've seen a pack here." 

he seemed especially fond of sarcasm, and she watched him a moment before continuing, not revealing her own allegiances or rank, and would not unless pushed. "and how long have you been here?" it wasn't especially relevant, nor useful, but less intrusive questions might have the boy open up a little more.

he offered the information offhandedly, noncommittally, yet she took and stored it carefully. one never knew when tidbits of knowledge may become useful, she'd learned, and said nothing. finally, a name was offered, and after a beat did she echo his introduction. "Dawn, Morningside."  both a surname and her pack, though it would be seen how it was interpreted. 

she felt like this was very much a one-sided interrogation, and this had her hesitate before forging ahead. "who leads your pack, then?" leader's monikers could certainly be useful, and was hardly considered sensitive information in most packs.

he offered the information easily enough, but seemed to clue into that he should be getting something out of this as well. she could hardly blame him, and it was only fair to offer information in return. "morningside is to the north of here. we claim the maplewood and the neighbouring plains." she bit in another question, allowing the boy room to speak, should he wish to, without more question to navigate.

he continued to question her, making up for lost ground, perhaps. "my mate and myself, and a woman called Pema." she paused a moment before her next question, coutning through those still ingering in her mind and pulling to the firefront those she deemed most important. "does swiftcurrent claim any hunting ground beside the river?" as morningside had claimed the maplewood, perhaps too did swiftcurrent lay claim to some other territory she ought to avoid in the future.

so they hunted the length of the river, but not much beyond that. that was easy enough; she didn't have much patience, nor love, for fishing. backtracking to something he'd said earlier, she probed, "are you from the coast?" perhaps it was only him, or the pack, but either way the coastal packs had interested her always.

judging by his tone, he seemed less than eager to talk of his time on the coast, of the coast in general, and she merely nodded. she was fairly satisfied with what she'd gleaned from the boy; this was Swiftcurrent, led by Constantine, and they claimed the river. her tail shifted behind her, her weight shifted, and yet she was hesitant to leave just yet. "do you know of any other packs to the south of here, or in the valley?"  a question both to determine their own allegiances, and to see if any others had settled her recently.

well, that was certainly a dead end. still, she might as well ask the final question that weighed on her mind, still. "have you met a boy called sunny? greyscale, and wandering the valley, I think."  it was unlikely, surely, but perhaps he'd come here at some point or another, and she'd like to keep tabs on her hotheaded brother.

her brow raised a fraction, and she replied, "our mother was a simple-minded woman, before she up and left." pausing a moment, she dipped her head, rising smoothly to her paws. "thank you, Arrille. I won't take any more of your time." surveying him once more, simple facts committed well to memory, she uttered a short farewell before turning on her heel and heading north, paws easing into a lope as the territory to her rear faded.