King Elk Forest that is so not my motto.

Winter seriously was the worst. Mariposa frowned as her stomach whined again about how little it had been fed. She was going on day eight without a decent meal and it was beginning to make her rather uncomfortable. Lone wolf-ing it had been all well and good a month ago when the weather had been warmer and prey was easier to catch, but now the ground was covered in snow and Poe had been disgruntled to find that it was indeed the hinderance her mother had warned her it would be.

She hated it when Harlyn was right.

Poe paused then and shut her eyes. She was doing it again. She was letting her temper get away with her and ruin her outlook, and from there it was a short, slippery slope into a level of negativity that would be the end of her. Her legs trembled a bit as she stood in the snow, but she ignored it and let her mind empty. Her breathing was the only thing she lent her attention to as she pulled it in, held it, and then slowly let her lungs empty, once, twice, and over and over again.

When she opened her eyes again, the angry cloud in her head had cleared. She was no less hungry, but she was a little less upset with her predicament. She was an Ostrega. She was built for wandering and finding her own way. She'd find food soon enough, and maybe some shelter so she could rest up for a bit. And then, Poe would be on the road again. Nothing was going to stop her.

The cinnamon girl smiled to herself, then started forward again.

Well I looked again and realized you hadn't actually said Mariposa's stomach growled aloud, whoops... if you want me to go back and change this to delete that out, lmk.  ;) 

To a point Owen had been reluctant to go very far from home. His lengthening young legs were starting to grow itchy and restless, however, and tired of seeing all the same snow-covered sights whose scent was likewise dampened by the presence of the cold white stuff. (Stuff that frankly Owen was still not quite convinced might not secretly be at least part stardust, in all honesty, but that was a different story for another day.) What he didn't want to do was repeat his sister's escapades of recent days, so he kept making longer detours around the edges of the various patches of water to the south, regardless of how thickly the ice seemed to be covering them. Owen stopped for a little while to rest at the edge of Verdant Basin, then, regarding the lake with a shiver, swung wider yet around the treacherous water's edges and passed under the trees where he felt safer.

The snow was less thick upon the ground here, save for where the occasional tree had managed to dump its branches' burden and make the piles even deeper. But some of the ground was almost clear, if a pup was careful where he walked. Owen wended his way unevenly through the trees, casting a cautious look upward where a partial umbrella of tree-clutched snow still obscured large patches of sky, only to stop short and prick his ears at what sounded like... a small, strange growl nearby? Owen's hackles rose, and he hunched his head down, sniffing with wide eyes as he toyed with the notion of turning back for home, or at least backing off far enough to see if there was a braver sister or parent nearby that he could yell for. But he'd come all this way to encounter new and interesting things, hadn't he? So after a minute's hesitation Owen stalked carefully forward to get a better sniff and perhaps catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had made the small sound. It might have been a growl, true, but it had sounded pretty small, at least... so if it was something looking to challenge Owen's trespassing on its turf he figured he could probably outrun it in a pinch. Hopefully. His ears perked higher and his eyes grew saucer-like, as his nose inhaled more deeply and caught wind of the scent of a youngish and unfamiliar girl. He heard her take a few deep breaths, and homed gradually in on the noise's location.

Hey! he called softly after another few hesitant steps and another moment of deliberation. He padded a few more venturesome steps forward to climb partway up one of the bigger snowpiles, from which he could survey the area and get a look at the stranger. Who're you, and how come you're all the way out here? Owen frowned a little, his brow creasing slightly as he considered the female before him. Something about her reminded him of his sisters, some. Not the coloring, certainly; maybe it was something in the way she carried herself. Or the adventurous distance she probably had just traveled, though that was a bit of an assumption since she certainly hadn't come from the Plateau itself. Y'got snow on your back, by the way, he pointed out, green eyes flickering over the dusting of white on her ruff. ...And...was that me you were trying to growl at a little bit ago? A hint of hurt crept into his eyes and voice at the notion, along with a slight whining undertone of his own, to sort-of match the other's plaints. It really wasn't fair if she was growling at him...he hadn't even done anything, geeze! But if she wasn't...well, that was more worrying, in its way, because then it must be something—or someone—else that had inspired the attitude. And while Owen didn't see anything about worth growling at at first glance, that didn't mean there wasn't something nearby. Hiding. Maybe while it colluded with the cold scent-dampening starstuff, here.

Poe sensed she was being watched, but only about 30 seconds prior to actually being approached by her watcher. Nonplussed by this, however, she stopped and turned to see the stranger - a young boy - approach. She hadn't noticed the stomach growl that had summoned him to her, so she first assumed that she was maybe treading a little close to claimed territory. She was nonplussed by that as well, and regarded him with a friendly smile and an interested cant of her head as he bombarded her with questions and comments.

"I definitely didn't mean to growl at anyone, so have no worries there," she answered, deciding to prioritize her responses, "I'm Poe. I'm here because I'm looking for a place, and maybe some someones, but I don't exactly know where I'm going, so I'm kinda just wandering around. And actually, I did know I have snow on my back. I was born with it and the sun hasn't figure out how to melt it yet." She grinned, her tail wagging behind her to show her amusement. She liked this kid. She didn't know why - and frankly, it wasn't unusual for her to like total strangers for no real reason - but she did. "What's your name? Do you live nearby?" she paused, her smile faltering a little, "I didn't trespass, did I? I kinda get distracted and miss that sometimes." Poe glanced around at their surroundings then, her nose twitching as she attempted to discern the scent of pack.

She hadn't meant to growl at anyone...so did that mean there was something growlworthy here, by process of elimination? Owen was a bit worried about this, but given the blase attitude of the older girl before him he didn't want to seem too overly concerned. "Have no worries..." sheesh, if only. But he tried to imitate her and play it cool, though his shifty eyes might give the game away anyhow. Owen wasn't any great shakes at hiding his feelings.

He halfheartedlly summoned up a weak smile in return for the girl's own more-convincing one, however, more out of mildly concerned distraction than from a lack of feeling. Oh, uh, hi Poe, he said, his eyes drawn again to her strange white specklings. Where're you from, anyway? ...And wait. You're looking for...who now? Or where? His speculations about a bizarre galactic origin story for this girl were getting a little derailed by her muddy explanations of what she was doing here. Stardust—er, snow on her back, from birth, that is... that surely must signify something exotic and special. But did she come to greet all the earthlings in peace, or...not? Owen had to admit that if she was a magically-dusted alien she made a pretty convincing mimic of a young wolf, though. She even properly smelled the part: bravo. ...Thoug Owen did suspect, after a moment, that maybe her jauntily wagging tail and wide grin signified she was having a joke at his expense with this. Maybe it really was just snow, who knew. It didn't always all melt right away, after all; that much at least he had figured out.

Oh, uh, I'm Owen, by the way. He'd almost forgetten her other question, in his distraction. Owen...Redhawk-Voulge. I live up a ways northerer; don't worry, you're not trespassin'. Our lands're up thattaway, past some lakes 'n' stuff. Wait. Was "notherer" even a word? Yeah, there was no way he'd come off as cool and collected as he might've liked. Owen gave a little cough and cleared his throat in embarrassment, pretending for the moment to be very very interested in what the next little gust of the cold and fitful wind might have to show him and his gently snuffing nose.

Owen - as it turned out his name was - unfortunately did not take her priority-first approach to responding to her. His anxious nature made her think that maybe they were both trespassing, but it wasn't until he finished speaking that he offered the reassurance that they were not. She breathed a sigh of relief at that and immediately resumed her friendly, laid back attitude. Now that that was out of the way, she eyed the boy curiously. He was a little worked up, but maybe that was just the way he'd been manufactured. Nothing wrong with that.

"I'm from the South. Somewere off..." Poe spun, squinting until she found what seemed the most likely direction and gestured with her muzzle, "...that way." She turned back, grinning. "I'm actually looking for family. My parents used to live around here when they first got together and when they moved South, they left behind my two older brothers. I'm trying to find the place to see if they're still around." The Ostrega peered at the boy thoughtfully. He probably wouldn't know anything about it - no one had so far - but, why not? "You don't know of a forest around here at the base of a mountain with a ton of willow trees all over the place, do you?"

Owen's eye followed the older girl as she pivoted in place and then indicated the general direction whence she'd come. Owen squinted obediently along the compass point she lined her nose up with, but of course there was nothing to see except snow and trees. Owen paused to give his own ear a little scratch and buy himself a moment to think. He had no real idea what might lie beyond the edge of this forest, though; heck, this was the first time he'd even wandered this far. He didn't really want to admit that to Poe here though. Might make him seem like a big ol' chicken.

He gave a small, absent couple of nods as Poe described her family, and then looked back at her as she asked him another question. Uuuuhhhh, he said, again failing to come across as worldly or intelligent. Dangit! He'd thought maybe she'd be easier to talk to than his sisters, but now instead Owen was feeling like maybe it was actually harder. He sure hoped this wasn't a sign he was doomed to spend the rest of eternity only talking to his family, though; he was getting kind of tired of them sometimes, especially when the sisterly teeth were brought out and latched onto his innocent form. Uh. Nnnn-no... no, sorry, I don't. Owen frowned. But uh. I guess one of the other Redhawk wolves might...? I could ask, at least, if you want... or you could. If you want me to show ya where the packlands are. Owen didn't really have all that well-developed protective instincts developed yet, either. And he hadn't lived through any of the wars or feuds that some of his relatives certainly had... He was a little too preoccupied, in any case, to consider that there might be discomfort or danger to Poe if she wandered onto what was after all land that really didn't belong to her. The only canine Owen had ever seen actually getting in trouble for trespassing as of yet was Sizzle, and he didn't really count, seeing as he hadn't smelled or moved quite right. Do they have names? said Owen with a curious arch of one brow, rather. It seemed pretty weird if they didn't, after all, and possibly even weirder that Poe hadn't just started off by saying them if they did. Maybe there was some sort of History there...?

Or maybe she had to translate them from Star-language. His green eyes flickered again to those strange speckly dots on her shoulders.

As she'd expected, Owen didn't have any information to give her on the location of Maurauder's Keep (which I still cannot f'in spell). She didn't feel any disappointment over this though, so none showed on her face as she regarded his next comments thoughtfully. She had no real plan mapped out for her search. She'd already deviated far too much from the path Harlyn had described for her to get back to it, so the only direction she took was from her whims alone. She did, however, have an empty stomach that needed filling, and that needed to take some precedence over finding her brothers at the moment.

"Can you just tell me where to find your packlands?" Poe asked, smiling hopefully, "I really need to find something to eat soon, but I would like to make my way up to them if you think they might have a lead for me." When Owen questioned the names of her brothers, she felt a teensy flare of hope again. So maybe he didn't know the Willows, but would he knew them? "Pippin and Silas are their names. Pippin and Silas Ostrega."

Uh—yeah, sure, I guess! Owen nodded with a bit of hesitation. He'd never had to give directions before, especially not over such a distance. But he supposed at least she wasn't a pack wolf, so maybe if she got steered wrong and blundered into a lake someplace to sink and disappear forever maybe no one would miss her all too much or quickly... Owen mentally kicked himself for this uncharitable thought. ...If you keep heading north, but to this side of the Weir and that side of the basin, you should smell the plateau we've claimed...? Uh. Alpha's Quixote, officially, though Raven's probably the better one to talk to even if she stepped down for a bit... there's also Aunt Towhee who's Beta but she can be kinda weird sometimes so I'd probably ask for Raven still if I were you. As he was maundering on about various pack and family members Owen realized he was subconsciously starting to sign some of this stuff at the same time he was saying it; embarrassed, he made himself stop and sternly held his body much stiller as he continued. Poe wasn't likely to understand a word of ptero anyway, after all—heck, even Qui still wasn't great at it after all this time—and Owen didn't want to look like he had some crazy uncontrollable twitches or anything going on here. At least that's what he assumed Poe'd think; he probably looked like he actually had sister Kite's jittery issues to the non-ptero-initiated when he signed things.

There's more stuff to eat nearer the Plateau too, least so long as you don't mind hunting yourself some grouse... Owen continued. ...bit cold for fishing even where the ice hasn't taken over, really. And there are bugs around sometimes too I guess, if you like those, but they've pretty much all gone for the winter too. He paused with a slight thoughtful frown as Poe mentioned some names. No one I know, I'm pretty sure at least, but...I may've heard one of the grownups say something about some Ostrega at some point? It felt like it rang a vague bell in him, somewhere, though he was a little reluctant to mention even that much, in case he was mistaken or getting mixed up. But yeah, I'd definitely ask them. Or Raven at least. ...I'm probably gonna go ahead and start back that way myself in a bit, to be honest. Unless you know of something more interesting to do around here...I mean, I'm fine talking to you and all, but I sure ain't gonna try hunting any deer or anything, and that's about all I'm smelling here besides you. Thus far Owen was not much impressed by this area. It seemed like it was mostly just more trees and snow, and some deer hanging around someplace which he couldn't do anything about himself. Yawnsville. He was glad he'd met Poe at least or this whole trip mighta felt like it was entirely wasted.

Poe listened intently to the directions she was given, cataloging it all in her brain. She was actually very good at navigation, and was only lost now because she had decided against following the map her parents had drawn in her head. She didn't really consider herself "lost", though. She actually never had before in her life. She was always somewhere, regardless of whether or not she knew the name of the place. The trip to the Plateau seemed like a pretty simple one. Somewhere between a weir and a basin. She could manage that.

That done, Poe turned her attention to the names Owen listed. Raven, Quixote, and Aunt Towhee. Though she supposed she could probably drop the aunt part herself. She didn't know any of these wolves, so all she could do was take the boy's word for it.

After a moment, she noticed he was doing something odd with his paws, and interjected little head twitches and movements along with his commentary. He kind of looked like a robot short-circuiting, but he stopped abruptly, leaving Poe to wonder about what had just happened to him. It didn't really seem like the kind of thing to bring up, so she just catalogued the odd behavior away with the rest of her eidetic memories.

When Owen finally came to a stop, Poe could only smile broadly at him. "I like that you talk as much as me," she commented, her tail wagging, "And I really do appreciate your help. Once I find myself something to eat, I'll probably explore the area a little more, then head up to the Redhawks in a few days. So maybe we can hang out again once I get there?"

Owen realized he had been chattering a fair bit aloud, as well as in freaking ptero to somewolf who couldn't even understand it, and felt his ears growing a little heated with embarrassment. He waggled his own tail in response though—she'd said she liked how super-talky he was, after all, right?—even as he said, Uuu-uuuhhhh... yeah, I guess I do...sometimes. Owen noticed his feet trying to shuffle themselves about a bit and sternly mentally told them to stop. Even if they weren't trying to speak foreign languages in front of Poe, this time. I've liked talking with you too. I mean, not everyone actually listens when I try, so...

Owen hesitated a little again, then nodded with a new spark of enthusiasm. Poe was a lot pleasanter to spend time with than his sisters, perhaps in part because she was new and interesting, but probably also because she was, well, politer than to try chewing on him or shoving him into the pond. He found to his surprise that he was actually looking forward to her visiting the packlands at some point. Good luck with your hunting, then. And lemme know what you find! And remember—Raven's the one you prolly wanna talk to, if ya don't see me to point you toward her anyhow. 'Kay? Owen paused uncertainly once more, trying to run back over the directions he'd tried to give, and doubting them increasingly much—not least because he was already having some trouble remembering exactly what he'd told the girl. The sidelong dubious look he gave her was more a result of his own doubts about his own aptitudes than anything she had done...but then again, Owen would leave both footprints and a scent trail, and supposed that Poe could always follow those. He was starting to get a bit hungry himself anyhow. But he really wasn't sure there was much of anything good to eat around here...another sign it was time to depart, even as he hoped Poe would have better luck than he rather feared she might hereabouts. Owen gave her a more decisive friendly nod. With a final, freshly hopeful,  Seeya 'round the Plateau, then! he turned for home as he waved his tail behind in casual farewell.

Poe couldn't help but giggle as he stumbled his way into agreeing that he was indeed a rather talkative individual. She felt her smile falter a little as he mentioned that he wasn't actually listened to sometimes, but she reminded herself that he was young and likely had siblings that he was thinking about. Caje had never really liked to listen to her all that much when they were growing up either. He actually still didn't sometimes.

"I won't forget. Promise. Raven," Poe reassured him with a nod and a grin. He didn't seem particularly confident that she was going to remember, but she wasn't offended at all. She was all the more amused with this kid, which meant she was all the more determined to find the Redhawks and spend more time with him. If his family was anything like him, it would be quite fun!

"I'll see you, Owen! Safe travels!" she called after him as he left. She watched after him thoughtfully for a minute even after he disappeared, but was abruptly reminded that she needed to find something to eat by a sudden, loud rumble in her stomach. Sighing, the Ostrega turned and headed deeper into the forest, hopeful to track down the quail she'd scented very faintly a bit earlier.