For a handful of days now, she had been rooted to the mountain. There were no trips out into the wilds in search of Ferdie, or even his cougar, or anything else that did not immediately pertain to her here and now. She had thrown herself headlong into duty here on the slopes of the Sunspire, from guarding to hunting and all else in between.

The dark alpha was feeling particularly aware of the shifting seasons lately too. Daylight hours shrunk, yet the days still were oftentimes humid and fairly warm still. Then, some nights would almost frost. This was much of what spurred her to hunt nearly constantly.

And now, she was resurfacing from establishing a new cache higher in elevation than some of her others after a morning of rabbit chasing and an afternoon of fishing. Deciding she was satisfied enough with her progress, her path headed for the nearest waterway -- the one that came to a waterfall.

She traveled a ways in the water, and a time then after just along the bank, although her dark coat remained slicked with a bit of water -- especially at her chest and underbelly. Eventually, she saw the white against the scenery and narrowed an owlish look into a squint; it was Vale. Or Leo. She still had not decided which she preferred. He was at a ledge, and she approached quietly, maneuvering to her own vantage point after a low chuff of greeting.

Amekaze had smelled him around here and there but had not sought him out specifically since he had joined. He didn't need her lording over him that seriously and she had been busy anyway. She at least he knew he wasn't festering somewhere, and from the looks of him from here, he seemed to be healing -- if only by a marginal amount. It all had to start somewhere, though.

She watched him with interest -- not quite the same scrutiny she had regarded him with last time she had seen him at the borderlands, but a look still tinged with curiosity. After all, he was still very much an enigma to her and her pack, but he was still here and around a bit (to her knowledge), so it was something.

Mhm. Well enough. Busy.. she explained with her eyes on the waterfall then. Ame had made herself stay busy here. There was plenty to do so it wasn't like it was difficult to find tasks, but it was largely to keep her from feeling compelled to rove abroad as she had been doing weeks prior. She stayed rooted and pressed forward for the future.

That and she had been busy with settling into her role. It took her time, despite what she showed for all to see. She was still learning exactly what sort of alpha she was meant to be, as well as what this mountain needed her to become for their best strengths to be brought to light. It had been Ferdie's creation so she supposed it had been easy for him to fill the spot at the top and do what he needed, while she (and the role and pack combined) adapted and shifted.

Nevertheless, she turned her eyes back onto him. Have you been settling in? And your wounds? she asked, assuming that she was not interrupting anything. He did not seem outwardly adverse to her company yet, so she stayed.

Indeed, there were the benefits to keeping busy. The borderlands were tended well, the pack's caches were not depleting, and on the whole, she could not find too much amiss here. The pack seemed to function well, even without her having to harass everyone into activity. They did what needed done, even if they were not always the most close-knit of groups -- their bonds were just as strong as they ought to be (in her opinion), even without hourly reinforcement. Wintertime may change this, when the pack became forced to hunt together more and should matters worsen enough, rest together for warmth. But it would take time to tell for sure how exactly winter would pan out here.

She then listened, understanding; certainly, she would much prefer to remain hidden away when healing so she knew where he was coming from in saying that he was alright with not seeing many in this current statue. Not that she was overly sociable anyway, but the presence of injuries or weakness only drove her further away from the eyes of others for her own well-being.

Good, she replied evenly, regarding his wounds once more with less concern and more.. curiosity. Rarely did she see the work of a cougar up close. She had avoided their claws in her own meeting with one weeks back and briefly imagined Ferdie's pristine coat marred by such workmanship. I was pleased to not smell you festering anywhere. We once had a small handful of aspiring medics, but only their stockpiles are left now with me picking up the slack using what I learned from them and from my homeland combined. And there, healing was limited to basically just keeping wounds clean. In the midst of the warring clans, the luxury of expansive medicine stocks were not always available. However, those days were behind and even without her presence among them, she hoped the mountain and its old forest doorstep were reveling in their hard-won peacetime. Which, I am glad you have not needed, she too smirked. She would make for a crude and questionably effective medic.

All the same, more hunters and capable wolves on patrol are welcome. I am usually at the borders myself, nowadays, where once she would tend more towards the central reaches of the mountain or even the uppermost elevations. Duty had demanded otherwise in light of all that had changed here in the recent weeks.

When he mentioned brothers and even a sister that he was presumably closest to she kept her curiosity keenly masked and knew not to be too surprised. As if he had not given her enough to wonder about, what with a name given so proudly and something about him that suggested a history spanning even before his time, she did not know exactly where to begin in coming to understand him best.

Mm, same for me. Before settling here, it was tend your own injuries or suffer and rot. So much of what I know stems from that, she quipped. Although my brothers were not healers, nor were my sisters.. Her mention of them was not quite twinged with the longing of his; she was picturing her littermates, for which she felt nothing but contempt. She only shifted her weight subtly as she then considered her younger, pale-silvered, brother with a touch more fondness -- Kaminari had aspired to learn the nuances of herblore, she remembered, but his time had ended before these dreams had even begun to be nurtured properly. But if that had been littermate Kyuuden and had he been savvy enough in that field, things may have ended differently for him.

Warriors.. I could never know too many. Myself and Jace uphold the title formally, with a small handful of others interested in the role, although not officially titled as such just yet -- they could use more experience still.. and for me to see their skills firsthand, she explained. While not a place steeped in warfare, it could never hurt to have many warriors in their midst, and recently, she was keen to let them focus on outriding and gamekeeping, what with a misplaced Ferdie to look for and winter to prepare for. It does seem like something you may be suited to, she looked at him sidelong, trying to peer best she could into the history he had come from and wondering what sort of experience he could have in that area. She may not know him well, but this was just the feeling she got.

She flicked an ear and canted her head ever-so-subtly as he told her she would be surprised. Oh really? she quipped with a plainly-worn smirk while she wondered what it could mean. Her suggestion had been simple. Do not be, she added then to his apology without any hesitation. Despite the note of ache in the words he had offered, she still wondered. Frankly she did not see a reason for him to be sorry and was instead more focused on what this implied, however unspoken it may have seemed.

I will say, you do have me curious with that, she mentioned outright although knew it could prove to be a more delicate subject; histories sometimes were. She herself was not particularly quick to speak about hers, especially without prompting. Not out of misery, or otherwise, but it rarely seemed to be necessary. Hers was what she considered an interesting tale, and in her own way, she was proud of it. However she recognized that not all could appreciate it in the same way.

Nevertheless, when he asked of outriders, Vienna came to mind first. Amekaze knew she had been out and about now and then, and it was easy to consider her one. Rain, too, seemed to be a prospect for it but she did not know her as well as Vienna. Not yet, anyway. There is one, practically fully-fledged, who has been putting in a share of work towards the title. Another who has expressed a touch of interest, too. Is it among yours? she asked. Outriding was certainly not one of Ame's own interests. While keen to explore, recruiting and gathering news about neighbors and so on was not really her forte; she could only dabble in such on occasion. Certainly not enough to make a hobby out of it, even.

He expressed his preferences towards fighting and guarding, and that she could understand -- while she did not fancy guarding one bit, it had become something she had adjusted to over the recent months. But, he was also willing to try out the others, and that sort of thinking she could appreciate.

Nodding, she did have to agree. Being a warrior was always my first priority, too, she mentioned. It carried over from my homeland. So, it made the most sense. It had been the first, and most direct skill for her to pursue amongst this pack. She had been one in her home before so it only seemed natural for it to remain her strongest interest here, although there was a markedly lower demand for such warring nature. Namely, no longer did she have littermates to compete against and with, nor her father's causes to help contribute to.

When they had their strife with Swiftcurrent months back, it had almost reminded her of those days, but decidedly less dire. It had never really become a long-lasting issue or blew up into a real war. Just a few scuffles here and there. As of late, it is my naturalist-type skills that see more use though. However I know well that times change, and a balance is necessary in all things. And she would not be caught off guard. More strong warriors would always be a good thing, in her opinion, because if war did become a reality, she would not have them suffer because of it.

With a few more things exchanged between them, this was soon a conversation that had run its course. She had learned a few more things about him, although it had worked well to inspire new curiosities as well, so it was time well spent. When it was all said and done, she bid him a quick farewell and was on her way.