Lost Creek Hollow cause the best part is falling.

@Mordecai

Harlyn wove her way quietly between the tall tree trunks that spotted her new home.  She had spent a great deal of time as of late working to mark their borders and secure their claim.  She had just finished a long day of doing just that in fact when she'd turned inland and decided to spend the rest of the evening exploring her new home instead of guarding it.  Somewhere beyond the leafy green canopy, the sun was fading into the horizon and twilight was stretching across the sky.  One by one, she could spy the stars beginning to peek at her between the leafy limbs and she regarded them warmly like old friends come to accompany her on her late night journey.

By the time she reached the southernmost edge of the Hollow, it was perfectly dark and her attention as more on her surroundings than the heavens.  Her ears picked up on a trickle of water that was stronger than it was throughout much of the Hollow.  She had long ago figured out that the territory was simply teeming with small streams and creeks, but this was a rush that sounded stronger than others, and so she pursued it eagerly as she was intrigued by what she might find.

The discovery she eventually made did not disappoint.  She came upon the river in time, wider and stronger than the others she'd found thus far.  The sound of rushing water grew stronger as she followed it South until finally, it opened up and began to break apart and spill down into a series of pools that grew larger and larger as they flooded down into separate shelves.  Harlyn stood upon the precipice of the first shelf, gazing down at the pools below with wonder in her eyes.  The trees cleared out here, and she could see further down that the shelves eventually dropped off entirely and fell down, down to a long valley that lined the Southern edge of the Hollow from East to West.

And all along the sky, the stars glittered brightly for her, smiling down at her joy and wonder as though truly happy Harlyn had stumbled upon the Hollow's greatest treasure.

Nightfall fell upon the wolves of the forming pack, and with it Mordecai also departed the borders that they were founding. Already they were beginning to bolster their numbers and that alone he took some pride in. But there was still much left to be done and this they all seemingly knew; for the most part no one had come along to challenge what they were trying to claim, nor had their borders been disrupted entirely. For that he was thankful, but was reluctant to say that their venture there was easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Following the faintest tendrils of Harlyn's passing markers, he wondered to where she had spirited herself away. They had scarcely had their time alone and he found himself wanting it, but perhaps far from any sort of romantic notion. It had been set in her mind that he would lead with her and though he had balked at the concept for some time, he found himself coming around to it. It was something he carried a modicum of experience in, though he hardly considered himself built for the role. Still, he had no qualms in support what she wanted; perhaps somewhere within himself he found that he did not sit well with the idea of someone else at the helm alongside her.

So when he stumbled upon her, he held back for the faintest of moments to draw in the sights that she had spied for herself. He had skirted past the area on a previous venture untold, but hadn't investigated it. Waterfalls were waterfalls, though he had to say it had been a long time since he had seen one that cascaded so well as this one. And when the lingering became too much, he pressed ahead towards her, quiet in approach bar the notion that he was coming up from behind her. His silence may as well have been reverence to the scenery, another vista across the expanse of the world that they had only begun to etch out and explore, and understand.

"Too bad we passed by this place without checking it out the last time we came this way," he murmured, recalling their departure from the Spine. Even that seemed like it had been ages ago.

Harlyn settled down upon her haunches to take in the sight.  Soon enough she was imagining what the place was like during the day and picturing herself and her packmates wading about in the waters of one of the wider pools.  Obviously they would keep their distance from the edge, for she suspected after the fourth shelf was when the land gave away to fall to the deep valley below.  The water didn't seem to be in too big a hurry to fall though, for the pools themselves seemed steady and slow moving as much of the waterways were in the Hollow.

Her musing was interrupted then by the sound of approaching paws, and when Harlyn turned to look, she half expected to see Luke joining her.  The alabaster male seemed to be a regular fixture at her side now that they were settling this territory they'd discovered together, and it was strange for the briefest of moments to realize it was not him.  The feeling was replaced soon enough with joy as Harlyn saw who it was instead, and the pit of her stomach fluttered in that familiar way it did whenever she spied his handsome face.

The druid pondered his words for a brief moment before she responded.  "I don't think we were meant to find it yet," Harlyn replied thoughtfully.  The pair of them were just setting out then, ready for adventure and discovery.  This was the place they were meant to stay and spend the rest of their days - back then, they weren't quite ready to settle.  Back then, they hadn't even realized what they felt for each other..  Or, she hadn't at least.

He joined her, settling back onto his haunches as she spoke. What all Harlyn believed in, Mordecai could not have said he had a clue about. But he did not question it or discard it, instead feeling that if she believed all was up to fate and higher powers, then all the more power to it. Sometimes they all needed something else to put a little faith into, he supposed.

"Is that so," he rejoined good-natured. It was idle chatter for him; truthfully Mordecai did not have words to supply to draw up a foundation of dialogue. He blamed it on the rush of things, the tiresome feeling that came to him now that he had chosen to stop moving for just a moment. They had been busy, but all in good spirits. "There's a few herds outside the lands at the moment. Might be worth keeping an eye on if no one gives them chase." He had reasons to believe that they were not entirely alone in their neck of woods, so to speak, but nothing had given him concrete evidence yet. Sure, there had been long calls during the night, but how close they were was hard to tell. It could have just been a band of travelers. It could have been another pack. Mordecai did not dispute either option at all.

Harlyn smirked at him as he made his reply, but said nothing.  He knew what she meant, but she knew also that he didn't necessarily understand or prescribe to her same beliefs in the gods and spirits of the earth.  In her eyes, the spirits had lead them to this place.  They had guided her path with whispers from the earth and wind to bring her right here.  It had all been meant to be, just as wasn't meant to be back then when they had passed right by this place altogether.

Mordecai went on to mention the herds he'd been tracking beyond the Hollow.  Harlyn figured that was what he'd been up to besides marking the borders, and it was good thing he had as well.  They could claim the land all they wanted, but it did them no good if they could find no game to sustain them.  "Good, we ought to let Luke and the others know as well," she replied, "Luke I think aspires to be a gamekeeper.  I don't know yet about Andalusia or the others.  I think though that they would be happy to do whatever we asked of them."

She and Mordecai seemed to have gathered a rather cooperative bunch, and though Harlyn had little desire to impose her will upon them and force them to forsake whatever aspirations they had already, she had no qualms with making a few suggestions if they were uncertain which way to turn.

What an interesting pair they must have been to their followers; she was so much more ambitious than he was, truly. Mordecai found over time he simply was a better support than a dominant leader. Such reflected in the nod that he made, words forthcoming in its wake. "Mm, I'll be sure to mention it to them when I see them next." He made no remark on whether or not they would have been happy to do what they asked of them, though he too had no qualms about a gentle nudge towards one thing or another. Yet he often balked at the opportunity to do so, not entirely comfortable with the notion of I said for you to do this. But sometimes, the situation warranted it.

"It would also be worth exploring around the forest too, I think. I can't say I know a whole lot about what's beyond here but there may be something worth visiting too," he went on to say, appraising the scenery around them from memory. Rising hills and sprawling countryside, unquestionable lost from memory from the trails they had blazed so many months ago. "Hopefully we don't have any unfavorable neighbors to worry about." And hopefully, he did not add, they would not have to worry about being too crowded. That had always seemed a problem to him on the other side of the mountains — the perpetual crowding. The Spine had worried after the wolves of the Woods and later, of the Caldera. What had become of it and its wolves after he had departed was mostly unknown to him.

Mordecai agreed to bring it up with them and Harlyn nodded gently.  She was also not one to push her ideals upon others - as evidenced clearly by the fact that the faith she'd been born into and carried so deeply was barely even understood by her packmates.  She did not want to sway her family from following what they wished to, but unlike Mordecai, she was more than happy to nudge them in one direction over another if it seemed they'd be receptive to it.

Harlyn's ears perked as he spoke of exploring more of the area around them.  She had given little thought of their neighbors simply for the fact that she hadn't sensed any too nearby.  That didn't necessarily mean they weren't there, just out of reach of the lands they had passed through.  "If they are out there, I take it as a good sign that we haven't heard from them yet," she commented, "I'm sure if we were uncomfortably close or they were too territorial about the lands surrounding their own claims, they'd have been on our doorstep days ago."

What she said was true, but Mordecai also couldn't help but think it was because they hadn't made their claim as loudly as they probably could have. They had made their fair share of noise in the process no doubt, but once resources started to dwindle, or a usual route suddenly found itself blocked... well, he knew it wouldn't go so well if that was the case. Even at that, the hollow didn't strike him as particular traveled, either.

"I don't doubt that. They may feel differently about sharing hunting grounds, though." He let the statement hang in the air for a moment, as though the topic could go one way or another. Of course, the real dispute over what would come of their claim would probably be a topic better approached once the seasons changed. He did not fathom what the autumn or winter would bring, though the previous winter had been easy for them to deal with. It had gone better than he anticipated, but he knew better than to be complacent with such a thing. The weather was a fickle being, always keen to do what it desired above all else.

Mordecai made a fair point, to which Harlyn had no real answer.  She was not the sort to be confrontational about such things, though she supposed being an alpha now might eventually force her to be in that position.  Well, she would be prepared for it if that was one day the case.  Her family was more important to her than anything else and if that meant using violence to protect them, then so be it.  But Mordecai was certainly already aware of these things, and so she answered him with a little grin.

"I'm an expert sharer, I'm sure we'll come to some sort of an agreement with our neighbors," Harlyn replied nonchalantly, rather ready to let the topic go.  They had spent days at work trying to get the pack established and part of her wanted to forget all of the responsibility and seriousness for a moment.  Her gaze followed the rush of the water along the falls and it brough a demure smile to her face.

"I don't know why," she murmured after a moment, "But I keep thinking about that time you taught me about the stars."  She turned her gaze skyward then to search for the little red star overhead - Antares he had called it.  After a moment she spotted it.  "There it is.." she said quietly.

what's kind of hilarious is the position of the waterfall also would line up with the actual (rough) location of antares this time of year. i actually used some google-fu on it and started laughing.

i also want to take out the rest of my trash but the idiot drunk drug dealer a few doors down is sitting out front of his apartment and i really don't want to walk past him again ughhh. #anxietyprobs

As silence lapsed between them briefly, Mordecai took the chance to steal a bit of a glance of Harlyn. She seemed at ease with things now, but then again she was also chasing down her aspirations at last. And he found that he remained neutral towards them, only hoping that for better or worse that they were ultimately making the right decision. Only time would be the answer of that, and of what would come in the days and weeks ahead.

His attention was swept away at her mention of the stars that had turned up in the darkening sky. As irony would have it, he too spied out the dim glow of Antares as it lurked over the waterfall, never to rise too high in the late summer sky or sink beneath the horizon just yet. A faint smile graced his face for a moment, recalling their venture; his voice followed it soon thereafter. "The little bear that follows the big ones is out too, though I don't remember its name any more. It's a little higher up, off center." He gestured, though it did little good.

Harlyn's gaze moved slowly from star to star as the pair sat together, both of their muzzles pointed skyward. Mordecai spoke of bears then, and the Druid eagerly searched for them. It took her a moment to find the constellation to which the Ostrega referred, but she smiled when she did.

"The Little Bear sounds like a good enough name to me," she replied when her companion admitted to not being able to remember it's name. She could probably have drudged up the name from her own memories, but she preferred his version of the stories, gaping holes and all.

The breeze coming up from the falls was cool, and Harlyn felt a shiver run down her spine. Almost instinctively, she scooted a bit closer to Mordecai until their shoulders touched comfortably. His warmth was comforting to her. 

Quite suddenly, the memory of the night she'd told him she was leaving the Plateau came to her mind. She'd said two things to him that night. One topic they'd discussed in detail. The other, Harlyn had not attempted to broach again. It occurred to her then to say it again for her heart certainly longed for her to. But, the hour was late, and they had more important things to devote their energy to.

"So what do you think," Harlyn asked, turning to him. "You want to sleep here tonight or head back into the woods?"

In a way, he could have cursed himself for not remembering such things. At the time, the skies above them may as well have been more than just a pretty picture. They were stars that had guided him, if only directionally, time and time again. But it wasn't like he could simply make a short trip to seek out his father for a lesson again, and truthfully Mordecai could not have gauged how such a return would have been received. If he could remember the way, honestly.

Harlyn's query removed him gently from his continued study of the astral plane above them, and his gaze lingered on her features. "Anywhere's fine," he said with a faint smile forming. "Did you have somewhere in mind?" Perhaps she had found some little nook to show him, as there were still parts of the Hollow left up to their discovery. Time would reveal the majority of them, though it would take some time before they knew the ins and outs completely.

Still, he was content to bed down with her wherever she decided, whether it was beneath the sky or the reassuring canopy of trees.

Since Mordecai was not a mind reader, Harlyn's private musings went unnoticed by him.  He kept his gaze skyward until she'd finished her question, at which point he fixed her with his quiet gaze and the usual somewhat bemused smirk he often regarded her with.  She couldn't help but smile back when he made that face at her.

"I don't really," Harlyn admitted a moment later, "But, I do like it here, under the stars.  I like the sound of the falls."  She turned her head to gaze down the river as it flowed along the shelves.  Perhaps there was a little nook further down they could creep into.

He nodded briefly in agreement, and rose to his feet. "Well in that case, I suppose we could humor ourselves with a little nighttime exploration," he said with a wave of his tail. Her wandering gaze hadn't been lost on him, as he too wondered what little nooks and crannies existed further along the winding course of the waters. They had cut paths deep into the stone and earth that were there and if nothing else, they spoke of a long testament few would understand.

"Shall we?"

Wanna fade this and has new soon? :D

Mordecai stood and agreed to searching for a place to sleep for the night.  His comment brought a wry smile to Harlyn's face and she gave him a nod, stepping forward to lead their way down along the rocky shelves.  An idea had popped into her head of what they might do when they settled down somewhere to sleep, and he had already unwittingly paved the way.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, creeping along the earthen paths until Harlyn found an outcropping of rock that would offer some shelter should the weather choose to turn.  Stretched out before it was a patch of plush grass and it was to here the druid gravitated, flexing her toes into the loam before glancing backwards at Mordecai.

"How about we sleep here for the night?" Harlyn asked, pausing a moment to give him time to agree before she turned to face him and took a step nearer, her expression darkening mischieviously, "Now... about that nighttime exploring..."  She tilted her muzzle upward and gave him a sultry smirk, fully anticipating that he would get her meaning.

Since you've started like the last... two or three I swear, I will start the next one. >_>;

*fades and archives, wheeeee*

Wordlessly they ventured on, and wordlessly they happened upon a place that even Mordecai would have admitted seemed like a good spot. He answered Harlyn's question with a nod, his gold-eyed gaze cast around their locale as his own steps slowed to a stop. But that gaze came back around as she stepped nearer to him once again, and the sultry expression was not lost on him. He understood her meaning crystal clear and obliged, whisking her away towards the plush cover of the grass.

And from there, they most certainly rested well following their "exploration".