Blacktail Deer Plateau and you'll never hear the wolf cry

 

Catori drew in a deep breath, letting it out just to watch the way the air itself fogged and billowed with her exhale. She was getting tired of running the borders but it was something she had to do - obsessively taking to them after what had happened to Lavender and Grayday. She was grateful for what Raid had shown her, but, with @Pema back she was wondering what else they might experience - or if anyone associated with the pack had dealt with such an event. She wondered how @Aditya was getting on too, but, she also didn't want to interject. There was enough rumors going around that Catori had a feeling she and Gray wouldn't be the only couple ringing in the new year together. 

The ginger kissed hunter shook her coat out and took towards the center of the pack after checking a nearby cache. If she caught any of the kids out, she'd probably drag them along - no time like the present to really start the family bonding, right?

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Pema had an agenda to patrol the border today. Hearing that in her absense Lavender and Day had been attacked by a lone female looking for a meal. In the past she wasn't usually the one that patrolled the border. It was very helpful to have Howl around in that instance, but now with him being gone and the pack being short of 'fighters' and 'warriors', Pema was more then happy to patrol the border. 

But on her way to the border she spotted Catori. She hadn't seen her much since she returned and thought it would be nice to hace a chat with her. "Hey Cat" she called out before making her way over to her. "How have things been?" she asked wanting to start things off and see what had gone on with her while Pema was out.

Before long Pema had found her and she gave the other woman a weary smile. "Hey Pema," The question was expected and she wasn't offended by it at all. She canted her head slightly to the left and then right before she shrugged. "It's been, y'know? The whole thing with that loner shook me up but I don't want to let on with Gray right now." She admitted. She didn't feel the need to carry it all on her shoulders but at the same time, she wanted to be a rock for the rest of their family when it was needed. She knew the waves and tides, she could handle it. 

"How was the trip?" She asked, hoping to divert back to more pleasant thoughts; she loved exploring and the idea of combing around the area was one that she was slightly envious of. The group had gone further inland than she typically ran but that didn't mean that she'd never have the chance - she just happened to be right where she was needed at the right time. 

Pema had hoped that the loner wouldn't come up in conversation. It was still fresh on everyones mind and even though it was serious, she hoped other things would have masked it a bit. The hope always was that the goods would out weigh the bad, but sometimes that wasn't the case. She felt bad for asking and gave a simpathetic "Yeah."

"We had our high and lows. We were meet with success when it came to mentors, but we learned about a rather hostile pack and the things its members have done. It's been something in the pack of our minds." she said refering to herself, Dawn and Adi, not sure if the message had spread through out the pack yet.

 

No one wanted to dwell on the whole matter of the loner and yet it was all she could think of. It was like the matters the group had encountered out in the wilds - no matter what she didn't want to think about the fact that someone was out maliciously looking to harm others. She sighed, disappointed by the way the world seemed to be headed. "I'll head up to the coast and see if my cousin is around, she knows a lot more about herbs than I do." She admitted. Catori only knew the very minimums - wound care, some about pain - but there was always more that could be learned. "I just....don't get it. Why someone - gods, especially an entire pack - would do that." She'd only heard a little from what Grayday had told her. She hadn't smelled anyone else on that loner - otherwise she would have suspected that they'd be from the same unit. 

"At least there was some success out of the trip though - if there's folks to be learned from that's always a good thing." Catori didn't know how one could exactly find a mentor for scouting, it was just a natural interest for her. Still, it was fine by her to explore and learn as she could. 

Pema wasn't sure if Cat was bring up her cousin for her own reasons of as a possible mentor for Pema. It seemed almost out of the blue, but hey, thats how the mind worked sometimes. In either case if would be good for someone to know some more about herbs, especially with winter causing most of them to wither away. "If you do end up visiting her, you might want to ask her what herbs grow in the winter. It's been a bit hard to do my usual practices with so many of the herbs being burried by the snow. Ya know?" she suggested.

She didn't want to make excuses for the loner, far from it. But there must be a reason for why those types of wolves did what they do. She would have said something, but she couldn't find the words. They wouldn't have been comforting or helpful and so she didn't say anything. 

"Yeah. Luckily there are people just as friendly as us out there. I think we out weigh the others." she said, finally thinking of what might make things seem better. That the overall persona of the world was good. 

Her head tilted a bit at Pema's specific request and she tried to remember something - anything - that Seelie might have hoarded. For her it wasn't as useful, but then, she didn't know about the specifics the way her cousin did. "I'll definitely try and find out.....maybe we could go together? She was living across the sandbar on the island last time I saw her." Which was entirely too long ago if Catori was honest. She had so much to discuss and it made her realize how bad she felt over missing her for so long. She needed to hurry up and get over there and change that. Whining about it wouldn't fix things after all. 

Pema's thought was one that she understood and wanted to cling to. If the good outweighed the bad then the world wasn't entirely lost, was it? "You've gotta be right." Catori said after a bit of consideration. "If good always triumphs like they always told us as kids then I guess it's up to us to make that the reality, isn't it?" She felt like as a whole Morningside stood together in that regard - they all had similar thoughts and feelings towards where they were aligned and she couldn't imagine a one of them deciding to do the worst.

Pema didn't spend much time with Cat and she wasn't sure why. Maybe thier timming just wasn't right. Both of them doing thier own thing at the same time. While talking to her Pema realized that they didn't know much about her. She knew more about Cat through rumors of the pack then through Cat herself. Going with her to visit her sister and spend some one on one time together seemed like a good idea. Especially if she could figure out some more herbs that survived thought the winter. "Sounds like a good idea. Let me know when you're thinking of heading over there." she said agreeing to Cat's proposition. 

Pema liked to think that all the stories she was told when she was younger had realistic endings and lessons. Most were, she thought, but some were only hopes. Like how good provailed over evil. From the stories Dawn had passed on from that other female, it was proof the good didn't always provail over all. When Cat spoke about it being out job to make it a reality, she hoped she wasn't talking about fighting against that other pack like Adi had been. Day had made it very clear that put into that situation they would flee, not fight. "Through example I would think. Some think we out to take wolves like those on, make sure they can't hurt anyone else. What do you think?" she asked, wondering where her thoughts lied. 

cat can't wait to show off Seelie to everyone XD

 

Catori's front paws danced a bit at the prospect of introducing others to her cousin. She was enamored to say the least, with her silky relative, and she rarely missed the opportunity to show her off. She gave a nod to Pema's suggestion - once she'd spent some time and made sure that Grayday and the kids were settled after everything that had happened then she would go to visit Coelacanth. "I'll definitely give you a heads up before I go see her - well. I might need to track her down first, it's not uncommon for the Corten to get a little wandery." She admitted with a smile. "I still haven't managed to pin her and Grayday down together." She gave a good natured laugh, she wasn't upset in the slightest or worried - it was almost natural. 

Catori wasn't one to fight personally. When it came down to protecting her family she'd give her own life - but when it came to getting involved in the larger matters that seemed brewing she was more reluctant. "I would give aid to those who needed it - but when it comes to war....personally I'm not the type who thinks bloodshed is the answer. When it comes to our own I'd defend them tooth and nail of course, but, I don't think us hunting down this other pack is the answer." Catori admitted. She didn't feel bad about that either - but if it was one of their own who had been taken, she knew she'd be saying something different. 

Pema nodded along within understanding. Grayday didn't leave the pack for long distances too much, but he did leave from time to time. If her sister was similar in that she liked to move around, getting the two to be where they were ment to be so the two could meet sounded difficult enough. Pema was alittle excited to meet one of Cat's realatives, not just because she might have herbal knowledge, but she thought that this would be a good chance for her and Cat to spend some more time with one another.

Pema listened as Cat explained her thought on things, similar to how Pema felt. If their pack was the ones involved she would have no problem defending and protecting them. But as it was now they were not involved and Pema saw no reason as to why they should be. "I agree. It's not as though we need to be heros that go off slaying dragons." she stated mediphorically refereing back to when they spoke about childhood stories. "Simply guards at the castle ready to defend." she finished with a smile.

 

Catori didn't want to be callous and ignore the needs of others, but , she also wasn't one to allow the risk to fall on her family. She knew it sounded bad but.....she had to prioritize their pack and family and their own safety. Catori smiled at Pema's words, nodding in agreement. "Ours isn't exactly the easiest castle to come storming." She mused with a chuckle. "As horrible as it sounds, if they tried, we could always see if the dragons could truly fly or not." It was such a morbid concept to consider tossing someone right off the plateau but when push came to shove.....well. Shoving was easier when it ensured that they stayed safe. 

Even though it was a serious topic it was good to light heartedly joke about such subjects to clear the nerves. Even though the possibility of war was always a reality for a pack, worrying about it wasn't going to help anything. Pema smiled at Cat's comment, taking another moment to relax.

Pema didn't know her too well, but she enjoyed spending time with her from time to time. At first she wasn't really sure where she came from or how she became to incorperated into the pack to quickly, but the more they spoke the more evident it became that she was ment to be here, like many of the other member of the pack. 

"Yeah." she said with a light giggle and a smile. "It was nice to catch up with you after the trip." she said sincerely. "Keep me updated on that trip to visit your sister." she said ready to depart for the day.

You ok with trying to wrap this up?

sounds good to me -thanks for the patience!  

 

Catori nodded quickly at Pema's request, she didn't even correct her. Seelie might as well been her sister as close to her as she was. "As soon as I can track her down I'll be sure to introduce you two- she  would love having more people to learn medicine from." Catori would need to explain Coelacanth and what had happened to her in her infancy. That could wait for later,  however. 

With an easy smile Catori parted from Pema with the intention of catching dinner - then she would track her family down .