The distinct scent of the seaside haunts had begun to fade from her presence during her time spent further inland. There, the wetlands had been a proper substitute and reacquainting with those stretches of land had soothed her somewhat for the time. But they were only that: a temporary distraction from the greater picture.
Now, her travels angled a path back towards the coast... but progress was slow as motivation waned. Hunting had been thin for her, with scavenging much the same, so she was feeling pushed towards an unwanted crossroad. Life alone may not last much longer. It was either join a cause, or return to the one she had been born to while she felt no pull towards either. The weight of this consideration was heavy on her shoulders.
The dark loner had begun to approach the mountain, albeit not the smaller gyrfalcon one she usually did frequent. Instead she moved towards its elder sibling, prepared to meditate upon its slopes to focus her thoughts. Of all the mountains in this region, it was the one to most remind her of home.
However plans changed swiftly as her senses quivered in realization. A marked boundary..? she wondered, turning her verdant gaze towards the silver spire overhead. They were very fresh and not Tartok returning to renew their claim from months back, or even the wolves formerly of the nearby Neverwinter. Amekaze did note something familiar about it, although the full implications did not dawn on her yet.
She lurked contemplatively at the very base, roughly a stone's throw from the strongest of the scented spots, and looked to see what else she could learn here or what she would find.
![[Image: 5ifpFkc.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/5ifpFkc.png?1)
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Most of the time, it was impossible to see the base of the mountain from any point on it. Much of the base was swathed in forest and brush, and therefore hidden from sight. It was important that those portions of the mountain be well-guarded, and it was something she took note of almost immediately. There was a part, however, to the north-east of the mountain that met with Gyrfalcon's Keep where the foothills were barren except for rolling grasses. There, Jinx could spot any wolf moving toward the mountain well before they reached it, and it was from here that she was able to catch sight of a black wolf approaching.
Mistaking it for Sitri, Jinx began to jog down the slope to meet him. Only when she came within earshot of Amekaze did she realize that the rogue wolf was too dark-furred and lean to be the strange male. As soon as she realized it was a stranger, Jinx's hackles prickled to life and she thrust her head up, approaching with lips peeled back to assert her superiority and simultaneously warn away aggression. Her eyes flared as they sought Amekaze's own.
It had been quite some time since she'd last seen the lone wolf. The familiarity of her stance and her appearance niggled in the back of Jinx's mind, keeping her from chasing the woman off immediately as she yearned to do, but she couldn't quite remember where she'd seen Amekaze before.
She did not travel far before the sight of white-fur caught her eye. Amekaze's guards were quick to rise as she stopped and fanned her ears back. She kept her head level with her withers and tail relaxed; her intentions here were not ill but it was only reasonable for wolves to chase others away if the mood struck. Amekaze would test her luck in this.
However, this was a familiar face and she knew not what to make of this information exactly. They had crossed paths only once before and as fate would have it, it had been here further up the slopes -- where she might have liked to have gone, had it not been Jinx's new boundaries keeping her at bay.
You have chosen well for your claim,
she complimented with a dip of her muzzle, then glimpsed briefly over the snow-furred female's face. There was a small ache of being displaced and no longer able to visit these spaces but she kept it minimal for now. As was only natural, the lone wolf would always lose to the united cause and this was a feeling she grew to reluctantly understand. I was unprepared to smell boundaries here once more, and ones tended to as keenly as you did..
she added, only just beginning to admit her fledgling interest.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Nowhere was the answer she got, which was a relief, because it meant she wasn't from any packs that Jinx considered enemies. Amekaze wore upon her pelt the mingled yet faint scents of a number of wolves, but all of them wore fragrances of different packs. There were two kinds of pack wolf, the one who stayed home and the one who wandered, but even a wandering pack wolf would wear the scents of their Alphas most strongly on themselves. The mambo drew back with an appreciative rumble for the compliment she'd been given, but didn't speak until Amekaze revealed her surprise.
"A longing to guide my own destiny brought me here," she revealed, alarmingly even-tempered compared to how she'd treated Blue Willow only a day prior. "I suppose you must long for the same, to choose solitude still, but I was never much of a loner." There didn't seem to be a lot of purpose behind these words. Idle chatter, for Jinx was intrigued by Amekaze's continued singularity. "It is necessity. I have had many... Ah, misfortunes with nosy neighbours," she admitted with a coy little smile. "It would not do to half-ass the borders here and invite their continued meddling."
In this place, she aimed to be the enemy of no one. Alone there was little she amounted too. Just a single presence of no particular threat. The worst she could do was scavenge too close to their places and even then, she had long since learned to keep away whenever she was able. It was only the nature of her once having thought she'd have business here on these slopes that turned into learning more of something that kept her rooted.
She stayed as she was when Jinx drew closer but tension rose inwardly. Amekaze held fast and would not cower, though she was keenly watching the other's posture -- down to its finest of details. Her ears steadied. I do,
she replied in an exhale. Her greater picture and purpose remained uncleared still but even speaking of today alone, it had been in her duty to come to this mountain. The solitude has been necessary, albeit self-imposed, for when I doubt most leaders to be worth serving for any true length of time,
and since she had not wished to join a pack only to feel inspired to raise trouble in the uppermost ranks once she regained her own strength enough, she kept out. Amekaze could not tip her head to weakness. But the lifestyle loses its luster..
She yearned for a cause deep down, one more real than her own unclear goals, yet could not find any worth the price of her freedom.
There had been a brief appeal in the Ridge that had faded in face of its (former Alpha's) unsteadiness, and then a vague interest in the Vale after finding Xi'nuata there that was of her more fresh opinions. The Creek left a strange taste in her mouth after hearing two wolves speak of it while despite its interesting members the Plateau had never been among her interests at all, for Ariston had put her off them.
As for what to make of this new mountainside claim, she did not know yet. Jinx appeared to have similar thinking in some aspects, for Amekaze remembered agreeing with her before. I see,
she hummed back. She liked Jinx's approach -- what of it she could understand, at least. I do not know pack relations in the region, but best to take care of it before it exacerbates,
her ears fanned back. Too many were unworthy of this mountain's presence at all. Now that it was claimed, all the more reason to keep away.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
It seemed that the loner, too, was unable to bow her head to anyone she considered inferior. Of the wolves known to Jinx, there were two main kinds: the ones that accepted the way their world worked and adhered to the principle of being led and kept in place by the strongest wolf, and those who believed their kindness should give them some recognition over those stronger than them. Jinx found herself respecting any wolf with the former belief, and mocking those with the latter. It was easy to view Amekaze as an equal in some ways because of this.
She didn't speak until the loner mentioned pack relations. The topic instantly turned her ears. "There are those who wish to foster summertime friendships with their rivals," she said, "and those who do not wish for friendships that will result in backstabbing. Ever will their desires clash." Rolling her shoulders to ease the tension, the Alpha folded her legs and seated herself, seeing no further need to be wary of the lone wolf. Soon, the mountain would not tolerate it... But that hadn't happened yet. "I subscribe to the belief that sharing only weakens your own. If a wolf hunts near my land, they take prey that could feed my own. So, to preserve my group's strength, it is in our best interest to... Mm, take back what is rightfully ours. However, to prevent them from trying in the first place is ideal." Of course, Jinx meant to take much more from her neighbours than what was rightfully hers, but it was presently irrelevant.
Circumstances had never led her to feel anyone was truly that kind of leader for her. She had come close a few times, but consistently, something happened. While her luck had been relatively good when it came to survival, the pack matter remained the opposite. Amekaze wasn't always looking outright for a pack, true, but she was keen to their presences and despite intense introversion, the instinct of the wolf could prevail at times. She missed camaraderie, although wanted nothing to do with company not worth her time.
She shook her head subtly, still listening. It only seemed natural that a division like that should arise. While she thought the pack relations here to be largely peaceful, that may not always be the case. Especially if more single entities of packs stayed around for decent spans of times. I am not surprised to hear it,
she exhaled. Conflict was inevitable, to some degree. The wisest belief. I would expect more to feel the same,
she agreed. Although she was removed from pack life, she realized how it should flow.. even her beliefs were not the most compassionate to all. Amekaze prioritized herself and her immediate company first and foremost; aspects she had picked up growing up in a familial (despite them not all quite being blood bonds) kind of pack.
I think you will do this mountain justice,
she chuffed back then, after having decided she liked the way Jinx seemed to think about neighbors. Tartok had been unable and in recent months, Amekaze had grown to understand the mountain better than she ever had before. Had an unworthy, weak leader come to try to lay claim here, she would have only hoped they crumbled quickly so that she might resume her time among the slopes. Yet, she would respect Jinx's new claim until given any kind of reason not to.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
“I am glad to hear it,” she responded amiably. She hoped to do the mountain justice, just as her father had done Shearwater Bay justice. It was her intent to make this land a stronghold against the hostilities of others, while upholding all the traditions of wolves. Theirs was a social breed, but she could not live the same way as some other Teekon Wilds wolves. Alliances were only beneficial for a short time, and then rivalries sparked. Friendships outside her pack mates only placed demands on her time. To Jinx, there was no point in any of it.
“I must be going,” she finally said, dismissing the loner. It was not in her nature to invite strangers to band with her, but as if to extend the offer impartially, she added, “if you require me for anything, you need only summon from the flatlands, and I will come.” It wasn't such a formal invite as Amekaze was likely to have heard before, but it was more of an invite than she had extended to many others who were not family or hers.
With that, the pale female turned and padded away, confident that Amekaze would not linger long.