Heading to the base of Moonspear, Toad had a light skip to her step as she wandered through the foothills. She took note of all the rodents that popped out of their silly networked holes. It had been quite some time since she had actually ascended the mountain, though she often heard the howls of visitors and residents alike. She wondered how Sialuk was doing, wondered how big she and Hydra's batch had gotten.

Toad decided that she had enough time to stop and try for a prairie dog or a vole as a gift to her other leader. There was enough bad that was afoot that surely, Hydra the Fierce could use a little boost.

Not once, not twice, but three times Toad positioned herself as carefully as possible. She waited until one of the critters would venture out of its hole, and she launched herself at it. This not only didn't work, but the third time, she tripped over a rock and got a face full of dirt. Standing up, Toad spat and lolled her tongue uncomfortably, licking herself to try desperately to clear it of bad-tasting filth. She had a scrape on her leg where the rock had hit, but she didn't notice.

As Toad recovered, she found an unfamiliar voice calling out to her. Oh yeah, she answered without looking, shaking her head and spitting the remainder of snowy dirt out of her mouth. She reached out her leg to observe the scrape, but it was quite minor. Happens all the time, right? When Toad looked up, she saw that it was a pseudo-familiar face she'd seen at the most recent rally. His face was marred — an uneven stare found her. She remembered his coat pattern, but not... his injuries.

With a wag of her tail she greeted him, smiling and pretending she hadn't just embarrassed herself. I saw you before, but I don't know your name. I'm Toad Amelia, she said with a nod.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if he was a bachelor. She now constantly had her eye on the lookout for men who might fit her list of 'wants,' always remembering what Meerkat had told her about putting herself out there.

Toad narrowed her eyes. Was he...talking down to her? While she didn't bother responding to the unnecessary comment, it certainly left a terrible taste in her mouth that wasn't related to the dirt. Her nose twitched.

☑ over two years (probably? scars like that weren't normal on youngsters..)
☑ tall
☐ kind

Toad frowned. Just her luck that the first man that was closer to her age in the pack was also "kind of a jerk" as Wraen had put it. Yet, maybe she was wrong. He did offer to take a look at her leg. She shrugged a bit, sticking her leg out. I think it's fine, she said, although I don't know about 'the' medic. Dhalia knows quite a lot. She didn't particularly love when people just assumed that were "the" thing. That would be like Toad saying she was "the" hunter when really all of them pitched in, especially those like Bronco who specialized in it.

I do a lot of hunting for us, so these kinds of bumps and scrapes are things I'm used to, she added, offering a small smile to Holland.

Holland's cool tones relaxed Toad somewhat as he knelt down to her. He spoke in a different language, which might have been attractive had she known him to be a nice person. As it was, she assumed he probably said something snarky and rude under his breath in a language she wouldn't be able to understand. With pursed lips she waited for the doctor's diagnosis, and after a moment, he gave it. Oh, she said, eying it as though expecting the scrape might get infected immediately.

After he'd finished, she looked at him for a moment, looked at his one unnerving red eye for a split second before focusing back on the scrape. Toad leaned over and licked at it profusely for a few moments, clearing it to the best of her ability of dirt. Good enough for me! She grinned, tail waving as though she had just accomplished something great.

Have you been up the mountain yet? Toad gestured with her head toward moonspear's famous peak, tilting her head and looking at his curiously.

Holland looked at her straight on. The intensity of his...everything made her mildly uncomfortable, but she kept the guise of a smile going anyway, looking away. Yup! She said brightly. She had been looking forward to seeing the old crew once more. Some of the Moonspearians had come down the mountain on occasion to say hello, or even for the more serious conversation that had been held regarding Simmik's kidnapping. Toad wanted something a little more light-hearted.

Sure, yeah, tag along, she answered gladly, not realizing he meant to babysit her and ensure her health. She started moving forward along the hills, this time ignoring the rodents she knew were underground. Instead, she decided to ask Holland about himself like a good neighbourly wolf should.

So you're a medic. How'd you find yourself at the Glen? She tossed her head toward him expectantly.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Toad's opinion of Keres dropped a bit when he mentioned that she had guided him here. Although it was no doubt useful to have someone in the Glen who had some medical expertise, especially since Fennec had left, she liked to think of Glen wolves as friendly and neighbourly. Holland didn't seem to be either. She supposed it was probably true that these were qualities only she really cared about. Perhaps an unfriendly doctor was exactly what they needed.

That was kind of her, she noted. Toad honestly didn't know much about Keres other than her abilities. She had clearly done them an incredible service by looking into Simmik's disappearance. She was everything Toad wasn't.

Sort of, she said, smiling a bit and glancing toward him. I'm not an Ostrega like Osiris, but I'd say everyone's sort of "a family" here, right? It was a nice sentiment, but she knew blood meant a great deal to others. I'm Meerkat and Bronco's great aunt, I found out recently. My nephew Phox and niece Towhee are in charge of Redhawk Caldera, her smile widened as she spoke of her relatives. They had done very well for themselves and she was quite proud to be part of the family, even though everyone else was far less excited about the relation.

The rolling hills spanned a fair distance, but so long as Toad occasionally watched her feet, she travelled easily over them. She was sort of pleased that Holland wanted to tag along, but figured it would be a good thing for him to come up the mountain to meet Hydra and Dirge and whoever else. She thought it likely since he was pretty new that he hadn't been introduced to many of Moonspear's residents. Maybe he'd fine good company up in the mountain air.

When he asked after Redhawk, she went right into it, more than pleased to talk about family and the legendary Redhawk Caldera. Oh it's just fantastic, she broke into a great smile, one that would have been a cheerful grandmother to shame. She swung a pleased glance to him, her eyes lighting up further with a loving glow as she spoke of the place she had come to the Wilds to see. When I was little, my older sister Robin used to tell us these stories about it. If you can imagine a mountain, but you took a big scoop out of it and filled the middle with water, that's what a caldera is. But this one's... it really is gorgeous, you just have to see it, her tail was wagging about, suddenly forgetting whatever had bugged her sensibilities. She wiggled a bit as for walked, rather like a child excited for a first hunt.

If she'd been wiser, she might have understood he was probably asking about the pack rather than the land it sat on.

He seemed quite disinterested in everything she had to say, which did the rare action of disheartening her. She couldn't help but drop her pleasant expression, replaced with a small, dead frown. As they entered the forest toward the base of Moonspear, Toad was surprised that he asked what distance they might have to travel. Like a pup, he grew impatient, and her frown transitioned to something more straight-faced and stern.

Pretty far. Usually it takes me almost half a day to get up where I'm heading, she explained, no malice in her voice. You really don't have to come with me the whole way, but it'd be good for you to meet Hydra, she suggested, the thought bringing a new smile to her features.

She wondered what Hydra would think of medic Holland.

None of it particularly surprised her, although it had been a long time since she had been flat out rejected. It probably should have bothered her more than it did to have a person like him, a medic no less, decide that she wasn't worth his time. He'd seemed so very intent on travelling up the mountain with her. She wanted to believe that maybe he just wasn't up for a day trip, but it seemed an unlikely cause for his change of mind.

All right, see you! Toad answered, pleasant as ever. As soon as he was gone, she couldn't help but internally rejoice that he no longer had his weird, unnerving gaze on her movements. No longer did he study her with a precise and cold eye.

So much for Firefly Glen's one eligible bachelor.