Whitefish River I'd rather find myself in nature

backdated to March 6th? Lol this should be the final scout thread…I think
@Connor

Emrik had wandered from the main den site. They would be leaving for the plains soon, but the man wanted to take one last jaunt around the territory. His leg ached fiercely, and the large gouge in his cheek throbbed. It had only been a few days since his fall, but even his stiffness wouldn’t distract him form his duties.

He had drifted upriver, heading in the opposite direction of the running water. The river was still violent from the melting snow, and the man gave the waters edge a wide berth. He had no intention of falling for the second time. He could already imagine Speedy’s worry upon his return with the scrapes he already had.

Connor sat outside of the den site, he couldn't really sleep so he decided to keep guard for a bit until either someone decided to wake up, or a stranger wandered by. The titan's face was painted with boredom, due to Emrik's u fortunate fall, the group had to stop for a bit until he was able to move again. While Connor did feel sympathy for the man, he longed to go out and stretch his legs and explore more of the Kaistleoki territory before the pack officially moved in. The large man sloutched his neck and let out a heavy sigh with his ears lazily flopping to the sides of his head.

But the sound of movement from behind him made him crane his head up and his ears shot up, his face with a more curious expression, he turned his muzzle to see Emrik had emerged from the den. The cinnamon man thumped his tail in greeting as he beamed at the injured man, "hiya Emrik!" He greeted with a cheerful woof, "how did ya sleep? You feeling any better?" The man tilted his head with a symapthetic and encouraging smile, hoping to lift his partner's spirit.

“Hey Connor.” Emrik offered a smile for the man, and flicked his head in the direction that he wanted to head. “Come on.” He started walking, figuring they could walk and talk, multi-tasking at it’s finest.

“I slept well, thanks for asking. And I’m feeling pretty good.” Again he smiled, glancing over his shoulder at the larger man. He was feeling better, if only marginally. But he had no wish to complain, seeing as there was nothing that could be done until they returned to the plains. “Thanks again for the rescue, I don’t know what I would have done without you and Inna.” Emrik could only imagine how much worse the situation could have been.

“How’s it been going?” With his most recent injury Emrik hadn't been able to help as much as he would have liked, and he was anxious to return to Speedy. He wasn’t sure what his cheek looked like, but he knew it wasn’t pretty and he knew it would be better for Speedy to take a look sooner rather than later. Alas he had no intention of calling the scouting trip early. They needed to return to the river. This is where he wanted his children to be born, and where he wanted to start his new life.

Emrik gave him a welcoming smile as a greeting and urged the titan to come along, nothing was going to stop Emrik, Connor found that trait very Nobel. The large man nodded his head and skipped to his paws and began to walk behind his packmate. His wounded comrade turned his head to look at Connor with a dreadful expression as he thanked the cinnamon man for his concern and rescue with Inna. "As geez, it was nothing, I couldn't let you just lay there," a chuckle emerged from him as he caught up to Emrik's side, towering over the smaller man.

Emrik asked how things were going with Connor, the green eyed man shrugged with a smile, "goin' pretty good so far! I think I am getting the hang of things, learning the territory, getting to know my packmates at such," he rambled with his eyes searching the sky. He then tipped his blazed muzzle down to Emrik, "you gonna be alright? I'm more concerned with your injuries more than anything, once this is over, we can get you to Speedy ASAP," the larger man expressed his worry with a bit of concern to hid expression, but he was unaware that Emrik and Speedy were mates.

Emrik was glad to hear the Connor was settling in, well as settled as you can get in the middle of a move. Em nodded along to his packmates words, “Good I’m glad you’re doing well, soon enough you’ll know this place inside and out.”

Humming along to the man’s concern, Emrik once again nodded in agreement. “I should be fine to return to the Plains.” There wasn’t really much of an option, he had no desire to stay here by himself and so he would have to head back with the others in order to get proper medical attention. “I can only imagine the earful I’ll get once she’s treated me. I doubt she’ll ever let me out of her sight again.” Emrik chuckled slightly, and shook his head. He had obviously been to confident in the promises he had made before leaving. Something that was sure to come back an bite him in the ass.

The trees grew thicker along the path. The stronger more resilient trunks having survived the quakes best. The ground grew rockier and the light didn’t quite reach the ground. Emrik had rarely been this way, but it was really the only way left to explore. Before the quakes this hadn’t been a popular place to go, and the path they currently followed spoke to that effect. It was narrow and windy, weaving between the edge of the river and the thick trees surrounding the rushing water.

Connor was happy to have someone like Emrik here, he was a good packmate so far so the titan didn't really have any concerns about him at all, but he was just worried about his current injuries. The man said he should be fine to return to the plains, but there was an aching feeling that was telling Connor that perhaps he should keep a close eye on him, just in case he falls in a hole again. But he thought of it as a little joke, so he turned to Emrik with a teasing look, "I might have to scout out your route so that you don't go falling into any holes again!" He laughed for he always thought a bit of humor would light up any situation so the mood wasn't so gloomy.

The titan's ears perked in interest when his packmate said that Speedy wouldn't let him out of his sight again, he looked at Emrik with a bit of curiosity, "so you and Speedy must be close then?" He concluded, it was the only reason that he would say something like that. The cinnamon man still had to learn a lot about his packmates, but chatting with Emrik was a very good path forward for him. Their journey started to get a bit rough with everything growing thicker by the minute, Connor knew he would be fine, but he wasn't sure how his partner would vary, so he would purposefully go ahead of Emrik and look back to make sure he got over the terrain okay. It saddened the man when he saw the destruction the earthquake caused, but he had to remind himself that his scouting help would push Kaistleoki in the right direction.

And he was more than happy to lend a helping paw.

Emrik joined Connor in his laughter, allowing the other man to take the lead. There was only one path, and it matter not who lead who. At his question, Emrik paused for a moment, realizing Connor hadn’t been part of the pack before he left. Most who knew them before the quakes would assume the new relationship. “Very close.” He agreed at first, a deep hearted smile formed on his lips, “We are mates.” It was an obvious love, there was no need for sweet or sentimental words. It was Speedy and Emrik, Emrik and Speedy, the most obvious of sayings.

As the path continued, the way narrowed. The early spring left wiry branches, with little vegetation, to hang close by. Brushing their sides as they walked. The rocks grew into boulders, and the dirt turned to gravel, and they skirted narrowly against the edge of the river. The rushing water, roaring in their ears, vibrating through the rock. With to much snow melting nearby, the river was bursting with energy. The snow made it difficult to make anything out, except for a dark smudge of to the right, where the path lead straight to.

The large man was in a pool of joy, he was just happy to connect more with his packmates then he did when forming Aristos. It seemed that Emrik enjoyed the cinnamon male's company and that was all Connor could ask for in a packmate. As they continued their path, Emrik said that he and Speedy were mates, and he was very obvious about his affection for her. The titan turned his large head to Emrik, his jaws parted in a small gasp and his eyes were wide, "oooooo!" He chuckled as his lips formed into a wide grin.

"I see you Emrik," he gave the man a teasing smirk with a flick of his tail as the two men came towards a peculiar path of wild vegetation.

The den wasn't overly large, but it wasn't tiny either. Clearly the quaking earth had uncovered a home between the rocks. As Emrik inspected it further he found the interior was rather perfect for whelping pups. But toward the back there was another small cave, which was completely dry. He wondered if Speedy could find a good use for this with her herbs.

"Quite the find Connor. I'll have to show Speedy when the rest of the pack finally makes it here." With that he lead them both back tot he common area to continue their scouting party.