Ouroboros Spine lambent, flashing, red and white.

Setting this up as we discussed a while ago. Hope that's kay :D <3

The woods here--they were lovely, dark, and deep. There was a coolness to the air that hung still between the evergreens that couldn't be completely attributed to the season, the Cinderloch suspected. Her nostrils was consumed with the scent of pine, timber, river and rock; everything you would ever hope for it to be. Harlyn was intoxicated from the moment she'd come upon the place, and thus her journey as a lone wolf had ended almost as spontaneously as it had begun.

"Ahh, I just want to bury myself in this place," Harlyn said out loud to the man at her side. Her fiery ginger eyes turned to search his face, wanting him to see the realness of her expression. @Mordecai was his name, and this pack belonged to him and the alpha female--no, queen--Cara. She loved it. She loved that this place had a queen. It was unconventional when compared to the other packs she'd been with or had heard of. She loved the vibe it gave the place, which though magnificent, was also quiet, melancholy, lonely. It was beautiful. It was honest.

The dark marbled female couldn't wait to truly immerse herself within this place--her home.

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Works for me! I still think I need to title you... kinda took off for work yesterday without realizing I hadn't. >__>;

How the Spine was lucking out in finding able bodies was beyond him, but he was grateful all the same. Keeping them close would be another learning lesson for him. The options and opportunities lied before him, but the routes and where they led to were for the most part, unseen. Soon, he sought to rally them, and whether or not Cara aided him in that quest was another beast entirely.

Harlyn's words pulled Mordecai out of the quiet reverie he had been investing himself in. His gold eyes sought her own for a moment, before he cast them to the scene in front of them, and beyond that he felt the ghost of a smile tugging at his face. “It's worth burying yourself,” he said, finding the words that she had chosen odd on his tongue.

“We've done quite a bit to hold onto this place, anyway. You should have seen it when we first came here… makes the scenery now even more beautiful.” The Spine had been good for late summer shade, but in the autumn he found the coats that some trees adorned while others retained their pristine hue made it increasingly eye catching.

Harlyn found herself hooked on Mordecai's every word, her thirst for all of the knowledge he could share with her running rampant in her veins. She gave another soft smile and looked back ahead, studying all that there was to see and gleaning from it all that it could tell. She took a deep breath--her 30th or 40th since being accepted--still somehow unable to get enough.

She'd chill out eventually. "You've done amazingly," Harlyn complimented, "The trees are so healthy. Hardly a single one shows any deformity or high level of fungus growth. They're good and strong." It was an idle comment; not one to which she expected any sort of response. Her mouth held within it a very loose tongue. The Cinderloch was no keeper of secrets. Her thoughts were unbridled and told freely, whether requested or not.

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Her compliments meant more than she realized; Mordecai hadn't quite grasped just how long it had been since he had heard a good word. It was more than just oddly satisfying, more than just a stroke of ego. Perhaps it even unknowningly took an ounce of stress off his shoulders. Maybe it wouldn't be too much of a feat into talking Harlyn to stay, at least once she probably realized just how much they were in dire straights to stay afloat. He turned an ear as she spoke of the trees and of their health, a thing that Mordecai had never considered.

“Pay attention to that kind of stuff, do you?” he said, though the question was more rhetorical; she obviously did. “You know, if you'd like I could show you a better view of the Spine. There's a ridge not too far off from here that would really give you something to marvel at.” His smile came easily, and he gave her yet another cursory look. But the offer was just as genuine as the smile on his face, and Mordecai was willing to share one of his favorite places.

As the pair continued walking, Harlyn was having trouble believing her luck at coming across such an accepting pack. Had Mordecai instead chosen to drive her away, it would not have been the first time the Cinderloch had had to run for it when attempting to find a place for herself amongst someone's ranks. Not all wolves approved of allowing strangers into their homes, even those whose intentions were clearly innocent. Harlyn found that she could not blame them, though. Survival was a tough thing much of the time, and sometimes extending a kind hand was not always an option.

"Really? You'd do that?" she asked when Mordecai pulled her from her reverie, "That would be awesome! That's so cool of you to offer to take me." Harlyn gave him another broad smile, again marvelling at the kindness she had been shown. It would have been simple for the russett wolf to excuse himself and let his new recruit find her way on her own, but instead he remained with her, and not even to teach her of the pack's laws or instruct her on what was expected of her, but to show her some of the natural treasures within the land. She shook her head lightly and even chuckled gently out loud.

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“Of course. It might help you to get the lay of the land, too.” Mordecai had no qualms about contributing to the pack, but that was a given. His loyalty to the Spine had paid off in minute ways if he were to suppose, though he had largely taken it upon himself to take control of it. And for the most part, it hadn't been rejected… not that there were an overwhelming faction against him. In a way, his decision to pull wolves into the pack was double-sided without him giving thought to it, and he unknowingly garnered support.

Nudging Harlyn's furry shoulder, he sprang forward with a bark and broke into a run. Though the walk would have probably been more scenic than the run, time was not something he found himself wasting as the days grew shorter. The trails to the ridge were familiar to him and he wove neatly through the winding forestry before them. Though the last time he had visited the ridge he had been happened upon by Ptarmigan, the memory did not come to him as the ascent began. It was only as he neared the peak that his steps slowed into a trot of sorts, and he threw a glance backwards to see if Harlyn had been lost.

Harlyn was not expecting it when suddenly Mordecai broke into a run. She felt the nudge upon her shoulder and turned, only to see him take off. It brought another smile to her face, and soon she was picking up her own pace and running right after him. Her attention diverted from the land around them to following the alpha's trail, however she did steal glances the their surroundings as it whirled by them. She wanted to remember each landmark to make sure she would know how to return here, for if it was a good place to get the lay of the land, then she would certainly be returning there for future study.

When Mordecai slowed, so did Harlyn almost in perfect sync. She took the opportunity to catch her breath and to look back at the path that they had come down. She turned in time to see the male looking back at her, and she flashed him a smile of reassurance. She wasn't about to be lost that easily.

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Finding her, he was pleased that she had not been lost or otherwise put off by his taking off. Flashing her a toothy smile, he made the climb effortlessly, bringing them to a part in the trail where the ridge seemingly plateaued off. In reality it did no such thing, but there was something about the view that framed it just show, giving it the illusion that they had come to a proverbial shelf. From there, as he cast his glided gaze out over the territory, autumn's full colors stood out against the conifers that dominated their basin-like claim. The last time he had come there, he had been happened upon by Ptarmigan, and the forest had not adopted the decorative coat that it now wore.

It was stunning, to say the least, and he drank it in at length. “From here, you can almost see everything we have claim on. It really gives you a sense of how large the lake in our territory is, as well.” Mordecai had never thought the cratered lake to be as vast as it was, but it dug into their territory considerably. His eyes skirted over it, pressing to the highest peaks that they could not reach; a smattering of snow clung to some pinnacles, but for the most part the squat mountains were not as well adorned as the other ranges of the Wilds.

He had to pull his gaze after several moments to return to the patterned face of Harlyn.

“What do you think?”

Harlyn returned the smile that was given, then hastened her steps to follow him up the incline. Mordecai climbed artfully, his paws landing with skill upon each foothold with grace. Harlyn followed more slowly, clearly less familiar with the terrain and climbing in general. She made a mental note to work on that for she was fairly certain that this was not a feature of the land reserved only for this particular spot.

The Cinderloch came to her alpha's side after a beat, setting her gaze upon the view. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped slightly in awe as she absorbed the layout of the land. Her ears twitched as Mordecai spoke, her head head nodding gently. Her eyes swept to the lake as he remarked upon it, only to shift again to the other features in turn.

Harlyn turned her gaze to Mordecai a few seconds before he looked at her, and thus she was able to pause and reflect upon the swell of pride and admiration in his eyes as he looked upon the land that was his own. A small smile twisted across her lips, broadening even more when he turned to look at her and request her opinion.

"Definitely worth the climb," Harlyn responded with a wag of her tail, "It's gorgeous. I bet it's even more incredible at dawn." She could just imagine the sky changing colors above the pines and beyond the distant snow-capped peaks, the lake's surface bathed in the shades of afterglow. "It matches you," she added after a beat, giving him another smile.

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My bad on the brief delay here. I keep on derpin' instead of posting the last couple of days.

He caught her gaze for a moment and found himself spying the inner fire that seemingly illuminated her eyes. The happiness that Harlyn exuded was uplifting still, and he wondered just how long it had been since the wolves of the Spine had felt a sense of confidence in what it was they were doing. Which, technically that should have been surviving, but there had been more than enough to come tearing down the pillars and foundation of their morale. Somehow, Mordecai sought to change that for the better. It was simply a matter of figuring out how to do it.

“Mm? Oh, I suppose it does,” he said, glancing down at himself then, giving a long neglected once-over of his body. In spite of his general unkempt coat as of late, he was still put together pretty well. Of course, he wouldn't have lied that now he had a fraction of self-consciousness rolling in behind him. “I think it matches you too, maybe a bit more than me. Guess this is our season, huh?” Her coat was far more varied than his own, at least when it came to the shades of grey that masked her. She was patterned, he was a bit more in the way of speckled and dusted in places, all of which were confined to the smattering of thick guardhairs. All in all, Mordecai had not noticed how thicker his coat had become with the gradual change of season.

No problem bebe, I forgive you anythang ;) We all need to derp sometimes!

Mordecai's response to her comment made the woman chuckle softly. It was endearing the way he needed to look upon himself to see what it was she was referring to. When he commented that she too matched the scenery, she simply nodded with pleasure. "Yes, I agree," she replied with a gentle wag of her tail.

"I've always thought that Autumn was the time when all wolves are at their best," Harlyn continued, her gaze returning to the view, "It's when we work together the hardest to pool our resources in preparation for the hard months of Winter. I think it's when we bond the most, and when we best prove our worth." As she spoke, she sat a little taller, but not so tall that the alpha could have seen it as a threat. She was simply proud then of being a powerful creature of nature, and also one capable and eager to prove her own worth to this pack.

You're a peach! Right now I'm basically getting paid to play on Wolf. Was supposed to be overseeing workers today but it rained so no one's here but me. >_>

As she spoke, Mordecai found himself reclining to his haunches. His gaze swiveled back out over the Spine, but his attention stayed with her for the most part. Except for that little part that delved into his thoughts; an unavoidable consequence in the truth of her words. They should have pooled their resources sooner, which wasn't to say that they hadn't had their attempts at doing so. The Spine had such a sordid history to it now that he only hoped their deliberation and bickering within would not cost them their lives, or their territory, when winter finally settled in.

“I'd like to think that as well,” he said as her voice tapered off towards silence. “It still feels like there's a lot more we could be doing, but maybe that's because I don't feel we're entirely ready for what may come this winter.” The mirth that had been welcome in his voice suddenly came up absent, and for that he found himself momentarily scrambling for it to come back. “I guess we'll find out though, won't we?” he queried, finding the beat of mirth he needed and tacking a smile to it with good measure.

Harlyn noticed the change in his tone, and a smile frown slipped across her muzzle in response. Apparently, this pack was not as far along in their preparations for Winter as was ideal. For a moment, she found herself infected by his worry. She brushed it off quickly though as he offered another smile, shaking her head with a soft laugh.

"Well, that's one plan," the Cinderloch replied with an enthusiastic grin and a nudge to his shoulder. She turned away again, this time to scope out a good spot upon the terrain. "Or! There's no day like today to get a move on." She paused her gaze on a spot to the East where the woods seemed somewhat darker than the rest. She often came across prey within deep forests. "What about over there, that wood beyond the lake? That looks like it pays out pretty often," she commented.

He hoped his small admittance wouldn't deter her from staying with them. Mordecai anticipated that not all of those he recruited would last; to think that they would, well that would have simply been foolish. There already had been those who had moved on from their ranks to greater unknowns, and some of them had already been forgotten by him. Harlyn's shoulder nudge brought him firmly out of his thoughts though, and he brought his gaze to where she looked on past him.

“It usually does,” he commented, gathering a more positive train of thought. “I'm sure we could find something out there to go after, top of a cache or two.” There was little time to debate changing their mind about it too, as Mordecai chose then to move to direct them down from the ridge. He rose smoothly, hoping to bring the Cinderloch with him eagerly. “Shall we?” With a bit of ground to cover, he didn't want to burn any more daylight than they already had. Who knew how long it would take to suss out something fair?

Short post is short Stevie is sooooooooooo sleepy at work today ;_; Wanna close this up?

Mordecai took to her comment with eager enthusiasm, and Harlyn gave a smile in response. "Lead the way," she replied with a reverent dip of her muzzle. The sun was beginning to dip back down towards the horizon, pulling away with it the remaining light of the day. Soon, the darkness would lend itself to their cause and hide them even deeper within their kingdom. The time to hunt was indeed upon them, and Harlyn was quite certain in that moment that she could not have picked a better leader to follow.

Yep, I'll go ahead and fade out here. :)

With the ghost of a smile spread evenly across his muzzle, Mordecai once again lead the way to the sordid forest in the depths of the Spine. There he hoped he and Harlyn both would find something of interest, and that he would learn more of the newly recruited creature beneath him. Perhaps more importantly, the task at hand would strengthen the bond that he did not feel as well towards the place, and even reaffirm that what he was doing had reasonable ends to justify the means.