Sun Mote Copse Think I'll slip on down to the oasis

for @Wraen! I can open it up if we want.  Also not opposed to jumping in with Maia too XD

Colt figured that if he was going to try and get solid in Wildfire's eyes, he should probably meet more of the pack in a bigger capacity than 'hey, howya doin'.  His first target was the sisters he knew to be around, though he wasn't sure he'd catch them together.

He wasn't going to call, but figured he'd just idly scout a bit while he looked for them.  Check the borders, scour the woods for trails, do a little loop outside.  He was a rover at heart and even sticking close to home, he liked to keep moving.

Unintentionally the Firebirds had fell into two distinct groups - those, who were Blackthorns and those, who were not. And it happened so that the first tended to hang together mostly with the first and the second banded together, because they felt a bit awkward in the familial bliss of people they hardly knew at all and were more at ease among the other "misfits", so to say. 

So, it was Colt's lucky day to meet Wraen on her own. She was nursing (or rather enduring) the effects of the bitter cold weather of the past few days, which had ended up with frostbitten patches of skin on her feet, tail and ears. The last two were quite easy to ignore, but walking was painful to her. Admitting a defeat was difficult and seeing Maia go on her daily duties did not improve her mood either. 

She was sulking and self-pitying herself (and feeling a little offended as well, because even Epic had not showed up today, no one else had!), when she spotted Finley's brother and called out to the guy, eager to have some company: "Hey! Good morning!" She could argue, of course, whether it was truly that great and wonderful, of course.

One of two! He'd take it.  Hey! Good morning yourself!  He came to where she was sitting and, hopefully before she had time to rise, sat himwelf down with a light oof.  The cold had been getting to him as well, a little more than he would like to admit.  His joints were killing him today.

If he'd known Colt's thoughts and that he was lumped into the group that was the new Blackthorn family, Colt would have been heavily surprised.  With Fin and Wildfire and Eljay and all of them doing the domestic thing, he'd been trying to reach out more, but he wasn't sure it was doing any good as far as putting him in the category of solid family.  He'd always been more of the strange uncle figure.  Most of his time lately had been spent with Niamh.

Sister of yours is off doin other things, eh?  Nice to officially meet.  I'm Colt, you're Wraen right?

"You have met Maia already - that will make things easy. I am the same, but a mini-version," Wraen replied with a light-hearted laugh, her mood now significantly improved, because man though without a cape had come and rescued her day. She pulled herself up and positioned herself so that she was sitting, while her hind feet were held slightly above the ground (check Finley's profile for reference, in case wording sounds weird).

"Yup, that I am," she nodded in agreement. "And your lovely wife - Niamh - is also away doing something?" she asked with a polite curiousity for the lack of something better to keep the conversation going.

Only in passing.  But I can see the resemblance  he replied, smiling.  They both shared a friendliness that was more open than you saw with many nowadays.  It was refreshing, and it made Colt immediately appreciate Wraen's company as well.

She is!  She's been tracking herds lately.  he said fondly, glancing off.  Meanwhile I'm slacking around here, though I'll walk the borders in a bit.  Idle paws and all that.  You're related to Wildfire, right? Is that why you ended up here, or did something else bring the two of you in?  It was always interesting to hear reasons for others' presence in places.

"We are cousins - yes - but we did not know each other at all, until I ran into her by accident several weeks before," Wraen explained, the words felt slightly odd on her tongue, because now it seemed as if she had known the russet pelted leader all her life. Some people had this surprising effect on you.

"And you are Finley's brother - one of the famed Blackthorns," as she said this there was a faint note of good-natured teasing in her voice. "From what I have seen and heard - daredevillry runs in your blood. Or am I wrong?"

So you've heard correctly.  Famed is right - gotta make the parents proud, he said, smirking as he thought what that must sound like in relation to his age.  A good joke.

And I don't think I'm too far off in saying I'm the best of them, though I'll give Fr- Fin a close second.  He course corrected halfway through her nickname.  He called her it all the time, but he didn't know this girl well enough to know her relation with his sister, and if she wasn't the type to use it right he didn't really want to give her that particular ammo.  At times he could be a decent brother.

Colt was an easy-going fellow and early in the course of their conversation Wraen took a great liking to him. The crazy-but-kind-of-cool-uncle from the woods type of fondness. "I am sure they already are," she remarked smiling, it was easy to believe that this beast's life had been filled with adventures all the way through. 

"In that case, it is even greater honor to meet you," Wraen chuckled at his declaration of being the best of the best Blackthorns. "Impress the curious bystander - what's the best adventure you have had so far?" she asked in that whimsical way of hers.

Colt had to think on that one.  Just because he had a (sorta kinda) mate thing going with Niamh didn't mean he was immune to the desire to impress a pretty girl, especially one who was hitting all the right compliments.  Hell.  He'd want to impress a pretty anyone who was doin that.

Hard to choose when you've had so many, he replied with a twitch of a smile, thinking back.  What was the best adventure he'd ever had.

The time I managed to nab a fresh rabbit from a hungry momma bear might not be the best, but it was pretty slick if you ask me. Maybe not the kindest thing he'd ever done, but speaking objectively, he'd definitely known he might have his front separated from his hind if anything went wrong.  And those were always the best challenges.  He'd launch into the story gladly if it seemed she wanted to hear it.

"And you are alive still to tell the story, impressive," Wraen nodded, positively surprised. It could be that the exact facts might have been different, but, who cared really for the truth, when the improved version sounded so much better and legendary.

"On my very first meeting with Liffey - Finley's daughter - we tried to scare away and ended up almost killed by an angry cougar," and this - thankfully and by far - was the most reckless and stupidest thing she had done in her life. 

"But don't tell this to Finley - I am sure that she would cheer for us as a Blackthorn, but I doubt she would be impressed as a mom," she added in a conspirational whisper with laughter in her eyes.

She didn't seem too fussed by the details, but that had never stopped him from divulging tidbits before.  Well, becomes a bit easier when you use an angry moose as a distraction,  he replied with a wink, then and only then letting the subject drop.

It was good to hear at least one of Fin's kids was keeping the legacy alive!  Okay, that was a little unfair to Tegan and Clover, who both definitely had the stuff.  Eljay... well, he was a new form of Blackthorn.

I think she'd be impressed as both, so long as you lead off with the important fact that you got away intact. He said, duly impressed.  Glad to hear even the new family hasn't changed, and their company either.  You the adventuring sort too?

"On the moderate side," Wraen replied. Blackthorns were cheetahs and she was a snail. "I have travelled the wilds extensively though, but I cannot boast with too many crazy and mind-blowing encounters. I do have met interesting people along the way," she mused, though if asked to elaborate on the latter part of the subject, she would have difficult time naming just one on the spot.

"But I collect stories and I relive other people's experience through them," she added. "So, if you have had a pummeling match with a bear, then be sure, I am there too, watching and cheering from the side-lines!"

Always time, he said, though jokingly.  He imagined because she'd joined up here she was probably ready to settle in and enjoy the pack for a while, like he was.  She was good looking - probably had a fair number looking to settle with her.  He thought of Tegan, then dismissed it.  She looked smart - probably a few more years before he'd be ready for a girl like her, if he was anything like his old uncle.

Cheering, huh? I'm no professional, but I think I can set the scene alright.  He did enjoy a good boast about his own younger stupidity.  This one Fin wasn't along for, though I'm sure she'd be sorry to know she missed it.  Was me and my buddy Hawkin, not even a year on and already raising all sorts of hell.  Hawkin had always been more reckless, which... yeah.  Anyway.

We'd been havin a little sport with a moose, as usual, but managed to shake it and come high-tailing back to the pack.  On the way, we crossed paths with a bear and her cubs.  Normally we wouldn't bother them, but turns out, we hadn't quite shaken that moose quite as well as we thought.  He grinned at the memory.  Shoulda seen Hawkin's face when that thing charged through there, and that bear bellowed back.  Thought maybe he'd gone and shit himself.  Me, I saw the opportunity and used it to nab that nice, fat rabbit on my way through.  She nearly took my head off as I passed, but don't think I've ever had a better meal.

It was more or less true, though sometimes as he got older memory and story tended to mix until even he didn't know what was tale and what was honest.  Luckily most of the time it didn't really matter.  Only Finley could really call him on any of it.

Colt would be quite surprised to find out that Wraen was not surrounded by possible suitors. It had not happened last year, it had not happened this year and Wraen had resigned herself to the idea that she would be that dead-end branch of the family tree, that would grow old and die unmarried and childless. She did not complain, though romantic at heart and still young, time from time she enjoyed the idea of, what would it be like to love someone, to share a life and raise children together. On the other hand, life and experiences of others showed that this was hardly a road paved with roses. 

But she set these thoughts aside and listened carefully to Colt's storytelling. "That's quite an event," Wraen said in the end with a cheerful smile. "So - you were chased by a moose from one side, almost devoured by a bear from the other and while on flight, managed to pick up a fat rabbit as well?" she listed all the important points. "Don't mind exaggerations - Firebirds need family legends with all the gold and glory we can give them." 

Bout covers it! Not an exaggeration in sight, he said, with a wink.  But if you want to add some when you tell it back, well, I won't complain.  If she wanted some legends, well, look no further.  He could regale the little ones with all manner of good ideas.

Have you collected a good deal of stories then?  He was interested in her trade, even if he knew he could never pursue it himself.  He could hold his own history well enough, but he didn't tend to enjoy gathering from others.  Not unless he cared enough about them to care what their lives had been.

"I am more the kind, who invents stories herself, though I inherited quite many from my mom as a kid," Wraen explained. "Interest in collecting people's stories is a more recent one. And with Firebirds being a new pack, I think that it needs someone, who builds the foundation, on which to build the legendary history of us," she went on in that whimsically complex manner of hers. 

"So, if you are up to sharing more - be assured that this will be passed down for the next generations," she said, hoping to entice Colt to tell more about his past glory days.

Oh, well then.  Buckle down, because I'm a trove of good tales.  He had no interest in honing the craft or learning others' stories, but he'd always had a vested interest in making sure his own stories was a hell of a riveting time.

Want the one about the eagles, the one where I defeated a waterfall, or the one where I rode the wind?  He plucked three from the air, ready to be told.  One involved Finley and two were massive, massive exaggerations, but true all the same.

"Wind riding sounds fun, though you will have to tell me each one of them, regardless," Wraen made her pick. Had she been familiar with "The Ingenious Gentleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha" she would have associated defeating waterfalls with the same heroic feats of the hidalgo, who fought windmills valiantly. 

"I will sweeten the pot, however," she suggested. "To make the exchange fair, I will tell one story for each of yours."

referencing this thread actually! good times - https://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=10235

Wind riding, an excellent selection.  He recalled the day, but the experience had been intense, and as a result he didn't remember the process well.  Of course, that wasn't really a problem, considering the line between fact and fiction was one he had a very loose relationship with.

A fair trade.  Alright.  He thought a moment on how to start.  I was out on the plains north of here, I think, minding my own business, when what must have been the god of wind himself took issue to my strutting around.  Wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't jealous, considering I'd given him a run for his money in a race a time or two.  The boasts slipped easily, and took him back to the days when he'd had these sort of conversations with women frequently.  Niamh got to hear some of them occasionally, but she'd already heard a good number of them by now.

Anyway, he showed up, howling and tearing up trees.  Took me right up off the ground with them, trying to toss me aroun, but instead I flew.  Honest truth.  Rode his winds like a pro, might have been the single most amazing trip of my life.  Which is saying something.  He'd had a pretty amazing life after all.

I must have earned his respect, because he put me down and I haven't seen hide nor hair of him since.  But if I do, I'm going to be ready, because that's one ride I'd be more than happy to take a second time around.

He sat back to see what she made of that tale.  The tornado had been incredibly deadly and saying he wanted another round was incredibly stupid.  But it wasn't like he could grow wings, right? And if he was gonna go any way, that's the way he'd choose.

Wraen listened with a professional interest and enjoyed the tale thoroughly. Had they met few years earlier, when she was younger and had shorter list of expectations in the possible and preferable mate, Colt would have swept her off her feet with his story-telling. In part, because she was a "book-worm", in part, because she would be able to see him with awe-stricken, naive eyes of a perso, who has had very little experience in the outside world. 

Now, however, she had seen and done a lot herself, Colt would always be viewed as that "crazy uncle, who lives in a shed in the woods and does all kinds of cool stuff" way. Not that he would mind, eh?

"A story in return. Alright, give me a moment," she thought a little, but did not have to look far. Tales of Greek gods occupied a very broad section of her mental library. "You might not be aware of it, but I have a feeling that you faced one of Aeolus - the wind god's - children," here she diverted slightly from the original, but it was easier for her to imagine the ruler of all winds having them as actual children rather than having them stored somewhere. "With gods often being fickle in their desires and actions, I think that..." she closed her eyes, appeared to be thinking about something and then found the right words and opened her eyes again. 

"Now I know. I heard the other side of your story. You see - Venus the goddess of love and the most beautiful woman in the world - had set an eye on you," she infused her knowledge with the story Colt had told. "And she always gets, what she wants, no matter, what others think, want to do. So, she asked her brother to send his children and bring you up to Olympus - her splendid home. But unfortunately for her the wind children are air-heads and, once they had picked you up from that cliff, they got too carried away in their own games. And - poof - you landed back on Earth and they returned to the goddess having entirely forgotten, what they had had to do in the first place.

She was angry - of course - but it is pointless to argue with the wind. So - in the end you missed out an epic date with a goddess," she finished. Now that was, how legends were born and how people kept them alive and kicking. "On the other hand - consider yourself lucky. Because her mate Hephaestus is not only a big and tough guy, but has a peculiar sense of humor. And you do not want to find out, what jokes are to his taste."

He admired that some could just make up tales like she did, with no basis on reality.  Her retelling of his adventure added a layer he knew he'd never recapture telling it himself, but shit, he enjoyed it.  Especially the part about the goddamn goddess of love wanting him.  Teenage colt would have swooned, and he had only grown up so much. 

Yknow, I think I would have braved a hundred Hephaestus back then to not miss a date with a girl like that.  But nowadays I would have to brave Niamh, and that's a whole new level. He winked, then laughed.  I shall have to thank the children for the ride then.  Maybe if I do, they'd take me for another one.

we can do more here or wrap this and have another for more stories, I don't mind either way!

Let's keep it going. 1 down, 2 to go. In the light of the recent events I will wrap this up. Thank you!

"Oh, I know. There is a bit of that goddess in each of us, be warned," Wraen teased him playfully, feeling a teeny tiny bit envious of Niamh, who had tied this fellow down. He was amazing to be around. Though later it would occur to her that she was, in fact, lucky to see the shine and bright of this guy and not have to deal with the less pleasant every-day stuff, if there was such. 

"So - eagles and waterfalls - who offended which first and how did that happen?" she was ready to here more "Amazing Feats of Colt Blackthorn".

Thus they bonded over their shared love for story-telling for another hour or two.