The Heartwood You'll love me at once

@Kigipigak for the 16th or 17th

 

Chanel had waited. In that time, she had returned to the caldera shortly after meeting him- momentarily hesitating there, considering saying something to Primrose- but deciding to wait, in case the mountain he lead her to was not to her tastes. If she chose it... she could come back to visit the boy afterward, and give a proper farewell. And so she returned to the place she'd met him, and wondered between the lake and the surrounding forests, ears perked for a call. She found herself more anxious than she had realized, and wandered if she was making the right choice... but ultimately distracted herself from her nerves with some light hunting. Thus at present she followed the trail of some small creature or another, but was not truly focused.

After his dealings upon the mountain and after venturing as far north as the coast, Kigipigak was missing the Watch and Valmua. He could not wait to return there with his good fortune intact; there was news to share with the woman and the progression of their plan.

Kigipigak knew not to wait for Chanel by the caldera after being accosted by the dark man there. He remembered that they planned to meet somewhere nearby to it, so he roamed carefully through the fields until the girl's scent caught in his nose. He tracked her in to the woods.

There, he found her stalking after something in the leaflitter; not wanting to scare her or the prey away, Kigipigak thought to hang back a moment and chuffed softly.

The chuff that alerted her was welcome; she was not sure if her nerves would allow her to focus long enough anyways, and was not truly hungry. She turned quietly- assuming it would be him, but smiling upon seeing his face and having this confirmed. In case he wished to hunt in some minutes, she was quiet as she made her way towards him- not wishing to scare off nearby prey- though it was difficult to maintain real quiet in the presence of the crisp autumn leaves upon the earth. Perhaps it was not worth the effort... and after some moments she spoke at a regular volume, deciding they could hunt away from here if need be. Kigipigak! She recalled, waving her lowered tail as she paused in front of him. Did you meet your someone at the nearby mountain already?

Being met by a beautiful girl such as Chanel was a nice change of pace; not that Kukutux wasn't beautiful in her own way, only... Kigipigak did not see many wolves with such a strong mixture of earth and fire tones upon them, nor anyone so petite, so to Kigipigak this girl was a novelty that he wanted to keep for himself. A pity, then, that he should bring her home to the Watch as a brood for his brothers.

I did, it was a brief visit but a good one. He answered.

There is a woman living on the mountain who is of the north, like I am, and like my friends. It is hard to find such people this far south and so we shared a good meal together. His tail swayed, mouth salivating at the memory of the dried fish. They had such a strong flavor and Kigipigak savored it; he would not find such things when they returned to the Watch.

A small sigh passes his lips; he is sad at this thought, but banishes it just as quickly. Are you prepared? Ah, you have made your decision..? Kigipigak did not mean to get ahead of himself. He wondered if Chanel had accepted his offer and was eager to return home.

The boy explained that there was a woman there who was from the same place as him. Chanel had come from the North, too- though she assumed it must be a different sort of North. She doubted hers was nearly so far, and it was a place of grand estates and wealthy bloodlines, rather than whatever snowy land he seemed to be scooped out of. I'm glad it went well, She shared, Hopefully you two may meet again! He seemed well-versed with travel; she doubted he would lose track of the place. 

On the other hand, her decision was a commitment of sorts. She had not been on this side of the Barrier Mountains long enough to know it well; if she ever decided she wished to return, it was unlikely she would find the way on her own. Nevertheless, I... I have. She offered with a nervous smile and a skip of her heart. I'll miss the children I looked after, but... my goodness, they grew up so fast! I don't think they'll be needing me anymore, She sighed, bittersweet, And I wasn't especially close with the adults. I'm ready to go with you. And leave Redhawk Caldera behind, as much as change frightened her, it excited her, too.

Yes, hopefully—he would come back this way in the future to meet with Simmik at the very least, so perhaps Kigipigak would journey a little further to get a glimpse of the frostwife.

Kigipigak was more interested in what Chanel had to say next. When she went on to speak of leaving, of accepting the offer to go with him, Kigipigak felt like singing; he started to tip his chin up but held in the impulse and laughed instead.

Good! I am glad. We must head north to the mountains and climb them, so it may take a day or two before we reach home. If they moved as swiftly as Kigipigak did on his own, it wouldn't be long at all. She was smaller than him and lived a more sedentary lifestyle as a sitter; or so he gathered. It might take longer. I will let you set the pace. When we return we will celebrate! Come, come, let us go...

And so he set off, a lightness to his steps.

He was clearly pleased by her choice, and Chanel listened intently as he told her how long their travels might be. It was shorter than she expected- which caused her tail to wag. She had once been a mountain-dweller as a child, but it had been so long that she doubted she could navigate as well as she once could... not that the girls were ever out and about very often back then, anyway.

And so they went, him directing their path and her their speed, off to the Watch.