Great Bear Wilderness I finished up my studies and I practiced law

Here @Birk!

It was a nice warm day when she left the borders of Easthollow. She had finished discussing a possible alliance with them and now she set off once again.

It took a long time to get to the Great Bear Wilderness, but it was worth it for sure. She did love exploring, and she had not had chance to do so while the pack was setting up. Now that they were settled, she had more time. Of course, she couldn't go away for more than a few days, but she planned to head back toward the Bypass in the morning. By the time she did get to the Wilderness, it was late afternoon. Still warm, though.

She lay under a tree, resting in the light. It was a nice day, to say the least. Gwen felt relaxed, if only for a little while. It was peaceful and quiet.

ooc: thanks for starting!

Birk had spent most part of the day, working on digging at a badger's burrow that he had found located not far from the caldera. He had seen the sturdy neighbour now and then, but had never paid much attention to it, until the lush smell of rotting meat (and lots of it, judging by the intensity) hit his nostrils this morning and had made him venture closer and explore.

Needless to say that, while the smell was strong and great, it was not easy to reach the source. He had dug diligenlty for hours and stopped only, when the stash owner had approached itself, hissing and spitting like little Lauren and with every intention of biting Birk in the buttocks. He replied with a snarl of his own but left, deciding to return later.

While thinking about, whether to invite reinforcements and how to reach the hidden stash, he came accross a white wolf, which he did not recognize, though he had met her months before. It was rather unusual sight among all the grey and black pelts, therefore naturally Birk drew closer to find out, who the stranger was. "Hey!" he greeted from afar.

Np! Sorry for the lil post!

Gwen's thoughts were broken when a man approached, his pelt not disimilar to his own. He greeted her rather casually from afar, and the Empress gave a smile. "Hullo." Came her friendly reply, glad to have some company here, despite having enjoyed the quiet. 

It was only after she studied his features and lifted herself off the ground that she thought she recognised him. She did not remember who he was, not from this distance, but she was sure she knew him from somewhere. Just.... where?

Most people Birk had met during the months he had spent wandering had been one-time-only encounters and, though some had been more pleasant than the rest, he did not care to remember either the people or the names. For the simple reason that their paths rarely if ever crossed again. However, now as the she-wolf's facial features came in a closer view, he realized that she was - in fact - not entirely unfamiliar. Probably around the time Gwen asked herself the question - Where? - he did the same.

"I don't say this often to people, but have we met before?" Birk asked curiously, taking a seat within talking distance.

As he came closer, Gwen held tighter to the belief that they had met. He, too, seemed to think the same. "I.... believe we have. What's your name?" Maybe that might spark more recognition. Perhaps not, but it was worth a try. It was really frustrating when you thought you recognised someone but you didn't know where from. "I'm Gwen."

The white wolfess tilted her head at him, gaze alight with curiosity.

Gwen. Birk furrowed his brow and scratched behind his ear - an odd ritual that occasionally helped you remember things. Perhaps the scratching increased the blood-flow to the brain and therefore to the relevant memory compartments. Whatever the reason, it did not help him this time. The name did not ring a bell to him, while the looks of the person emitted familiarity. 

"Sorry - not a clue," he gave up and shook his head. "But my name is Birk - nice to meet you - again - anyway!" he added with a smile.

Gwen, most likely, had not met as many strangers as Birk, so her memory for names was stronger. She did not, at first, recognise the name, but after a while there was... something. A little memory, but she just couldn't get to it. "Well.... yeah, you too!" 

She waited for a moment, thoughts flickering momenarily back to her pack, wondering how they were doing. Her mind then wandered to Knew, who she still hadn't found. She remembered when they first met, and then.... there. There was the memory. Birk... Birk Birk Birk.... Aha! He was... the one who Gwen had met.... while waiting for Knew? That was right, wasn't it? "Oh!" she burst out, then stared at the man with a curious look on her face. This was him, wasn't it? Or was she mistaking him for someone else?

"Are you... the one I met on the mountain? In the Sunspire? I was waiting for... a friend... and then there was a white wolf like you there, who I chatted to for a while. I'm sure.... I'm sure his name was something like Birk...."

Now that Gwen mentioned it, Birk recalled that the meeting had indeed taken place there, but then again there had been other wolves he had met near or at other mountains. So, regrettably he did not remember, what they had talked about and how their meeting had ended. On a positive note, hopefully.

"Could be. I trust that your memory is way better than mine - sorry, for that, by the way," he said still smiling. "How have you been and, what brings you here so far from the mountains?" he asked, beckoning towards the distant mountain-tops.

He didn't remember completely, but that was understandable. It had been during the start of Winter, hadn't it? She didn't fully remember either, but she did recall that they spoke for a while. "It's okay. I've been.... alright. I mean, things haven't been going perfectly - Knew, my... erm, I don't really know what to call him. But anyway, he disappeared. We... were supposed to start a pack together but he vanished. I ended up starting the pack on my own, with the help of my packmates.... So it isn't too bad. Other than Knew leaving, it's been pretty good. The pack is doing great." She did not mention the few inter-pack relationships that had been growing, as not all of them were good. After the recent attempt for someone trying to poison the group, everyone was a bit tense. But they were working on finding out who it was, and anyway, now was the time for joy! Two of their members were expecting pups. While one of them was not planned, there would be a future generation for the Bypass.

"I came here to... explore. Running a pack is stressful and I wanted to get some time away for just a little bit. Now the pack has settled down, it seemed like a good time. They're fine on their own for a few days, I know the more experienced members will run the place for me while I'm gone. Also, I don't live in those mountains anymore. Marauder's Keep - my old pack - disbanded, which is why I left with Knew to start a pack. We're in the Noctisardor Bypass now." With that load of talking done, Gwen smiled and gestured toward Birk. "So, what about you? Did you finally join a pack?" She could tell by his scent, and she wondered what had driven him to join a pack. There was various possible reasons, and Gwen was curious.

"Congratulations on the new pack!" Birk said, feeling impressed by Gwen's courage to assemble and lead a group of people. He himself had never had any aspirations of becoming a leader, because taking all of the responsibility seemed a very hard and stressful job indeed. "And it is nice to know that things are going well too," he added.

"Well, long story short - I got some serious frostbites that needed tending for and the only person I knew, who had got the skills, lived in the caldera. Got a bargain - she helps me heal and I return the favor by staying with her pack and helping out," still a very long sentence. "Anyway, it hasn't been a decision I regret, plus, the fact that the healer in question is quite attractive definitely helps," Birk chuckled.

"Thank you," She replied, giving a small wag of her tail. Leadin was indeed a tough job, but it had helped to bring Gwen out of her shell. She used to find it difficult to talk to anyone, and now she felt able to talk to everyone. "Yeah, hopefully they'll stay that way. Spring has been good so far."

She chuckled at his last words and nodded. "It must do. Is it nice there?"

"Definitely nicer than my homeland," Birk replied readily. The spring had just begun, the snow had melted away weeks earlier and days were sunny and very pleasant. Not only did you see the big, shiny orb in the sky, but you could also feel the warmth, which was a very big improvement. 

"There is a forest, a big lake and an odd hill, what they say once was an active volcano - or whatever it is called," he told her. "The people there are pretty decent too. Except I am the only white one standing out there. That's - by the way - how I noticed you. Not many white wolves around here."

"I find that many places in the Teekon just seem... nicer... than anywhere in my homeland. It sure is strange - I'm definitely happier here than I was there." Gwen thought briefly back to the pain (both physical and mental) that she had been forced through, and she supposed any wolf would have felt safer here than there. Here... Knew had helped to soothe that pain. But he wasn't here anymore - she'd just have to cope with it herself.

"Oh wow... I heard stories about volcanoes when I was younger but I've never seen one before." She chuckled slightly at his next words, smiling. "Yes, white, any other time than winter, seems to stand out quite a bit. Can be a pain for hunting, but I wouldn't change my fur colour."

"No good hunter is in the wrong color," Birk grinned, because ever since he had left his former home, where the yellowish white fur had been the best camouflage, he had never run into any difficulties at hunting because of it in these areas. 

"I had heard stories about the Earth spitting out fire and that being because of trolls or whatever lives down there. I can't quite remember though, how exactly were they involved," he scratched behind his ear, but that did not help him in recalling the exact legend. While he loved stories, he was never good at retelling them. 

"This one, however," he continued, turning towards to the caldera looming in the distance, "they say is quite dead. Any fancy stuff your pack can boast with?" Birk asked with a friendly grin, inviting Gwen to join in the childish game of "who's home is better".

Gwen smiled and then nodded as Birk spoke more about volcanoes. "I've never heard anything about trolls," she tilted her head curiously, "But the stuff about spitting out fire is what was usually in the stories I was told." But perhaps the bit about 'trolls' was true as well. Though she was not really completely certain about what a Lauren actually was.

"No volcanoes in my home, sadly, but we're surrounded by mountains, which makes it super safe. Maybe not cool, but y'know. There's only two ways you can get into the Bypass unless you try and cross the mountains, so we don't encounter many dangers. We've got everything we need in there - plenty of prey, a big lake, all sorts." It was nice, really, to be able to relax with packmates without having to worry about keeping constant patrols around the territory. Of course, Mawk always insisted on doing that anyway, but it was not really necessary.

"Sounds quite lovely," Birk nodded, imagining easily a bunch of wolves just basking in the sunlight every day with no worries at all. "Though I can't say that I encounter many dangers here on the lowlands. I mean, I help in patroling, but I can't say that we have encountered many grave dangers so far," then again as the old saying went - never say never!

"How did you find that place? And how many of you are there?"

"Would be, if there wasn't a psycho running around trying to kill one of us. She's already hurt a few pack members. And we've been poisoned by one of our own." Why she had told him, she did not know, but it did not matter. Gwen was struggling with leading the pack through this - she had been betrayed so many times - in love, in friendship, in everything. She was sick of it, frankly. But she couldn't give it all up, for the pack's sake. Perhaps that was why she told Birk - maybe he knew something or someone who might be able to help. Probably not, but it was worth a try, she supposed.

"We haven't had so much trouble for quite some time." She sighed, flicking her tail. Hopefully it would just all end soon.

"Me and...." She paused, biting her lip. She didn't want to say his name. She missed him. She wanted him here but he had left. "...The guy I was leading them with... we went exploring. We wanted to find the perfect place to call home. We travelled for a few weeks, and when we found the Bypass we knew it was the place we were looking for." The Empress hesitated for a moment, counting the members, before continuing. "Eight, currently. But two litters on the way."

"Phew... now that is some drama to say the least," Birk was quite shocked to hear Gwen's account of, how "peaceful" her life at the Bypass was. Poisoners, murderers, psychos... it made life in caldera look mundane and boring. And good thing it was. 

"Then there must be plenty of food for all," he thought out loud. Two litters - that was a lot, when in his former home at the Ice fields lack of food made his pack skip the season alltogether. Where there weren't enough resources for the residents, no new hungry mouths to feed were necessary.

"One litter is your own, I presume?" he asked.

The Empress chuckled slightly, despite the stress she felt at the moment. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she had wanted to get away for a little while. "Indeed it is. Should be over soon, though. I doubt she will stay for too long - we're all prepared for another attack now." 

She shook her head, a small hint of sadness in her eyes. "Afraid not. I would love to have a litter some day, but the only one I was prepared to have a family with has gone. I'm happy for the two mothers, though. They are both very good wolves and I'm glad they are a part of Ganador." They were well respected members, too.

"You are a generous person," Birk said. Or a very unconventional one more likely. He had seen only one way of, how families worked with the leading pair establishing and strengthening their bloodline. Letting others breed freely, while the leader remained childless... seemed odd to him, but perhaps this was one of the many things in life he did not know yet, therefore neither did he judge, nor did he try to convince the other that this was not, how things worked in life.