Otatso Wetlands Traveling used to be fun

Southern Edge of Otatso Wetlands! :3 @Nanook @Sesi @Andrei && also open for @Nochtli @Citali

Scarlett was rather quiet during their travels. She couldn't really talk with Andrei but she got a lot of support from him with the wolf just being there with her. Scarlett was very keen on keeping an eye out on her three daughters and their surroundings. Traveling wasn't easy with young children. The mother realized that now. Hopefully she hadn't put false trust in Saena and her pack. Scarlett hoped that they would be accepted, they had to be right? But maybe some wolves are cruel enough to reject a mother with three babies, after all they weren't the alpha's pups. That was what scared Scarlett. She wanted a good home for her and her pups. If she wasn't able to find one she wasn't sure if her and her babies would survive. That thought made her sick to her stomach. Her ears fell to the side for a moment. Everything was still replaying through her heard. Hearing from someone she loved that she was a monster hurt so much more than to hear it from the wolves she would expect it to hear from.

The small female decided to call for a break at the edge of the wetlands. They gave a good source of fresh water and maybe Scarlett could dig up some frogs for the girls. Scarlett had done that before with Néa. She wondered how that little girl was doing. Scarlett sat down, clearly not in a very happy and cheerful mood she usually was. Her head hung low to the ground, before she decided to lay down for a moment. She felt like a horrible mother, she failed, while she thought being a mother was the one thing she would be good at. She had poured all her time into them and still... it didn't seem to work. Scarlett looked at her daughters for a moment, feeling ashamed, and in the past she thought Lusa was a bad mother. Well, she wasn't far off it seemed. Scarlett lifted herself to drink, not wanting to let her daughters down any longer, and tried to find something to eat for them.

Setting this after Sesi's run-in with Nochtli and Splinter, so that it would make sense for Nochtli to recognize Sesi's scent if you want to. :D Keeping it vague because the thread isn't done.

A dark cloud followed the little family on their journey north, but Sesi was feeling oddly optimistic. She had survived a Big Dangerous, and done so without the help of Desna or mommy. She could be a warrior! Or a warden! The thoughts did not extend beyond the spark of an idea; the pressing darkness that dominated Sesi's mind were quick to snuff them out, but she was pleased to have even considered such a future. Her shadow had settled behind her again, faint and distinctly two-dimensional in the dull light of day. Perhaps it only came alive when she really needed it.

She stayed close to Scarlett, settling near her tail when the white female slumped to the ground. The wetlands smelled funny, and Sesi hoped to the high heavens that they would not be claiming this dump as their home. "Hungry," she announced, wrinkling her nose at feeling of her stomach churning.

She didn't venture far today, not feeling the hard pull of wanderlust right now, not after the fiasco with the bear. Still, she roamed to try and track the thing, mostly to make sure that it lingered nowhere nearby. Saena was healing but that didn't meant that Nochtli wanted another instance of the damnable creature coming back to terrorize them; they would do well to know the bear's location, if it's location was too close to the Phoenix' home for comfort. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it) its trail had gone cold.

What she did scent, however, was that pup from the other night. Out here? Her mouth formed a thin line, wondering if she had wandered away from her mother again. "Cheetah, this way." She called to her mocha friend, pointing her nose in the direction of the scent. Her paws carried her forward, surprised when she came across not one pup but three, and two adult wolves. Their parents, perhaps? Her eyes flickered between them all, and then to the pale mother. "Everything alright here?" She did look rather exhausted after all...

She was splitting her time back and forth between tending Saena and Nochtli. While Saena's wounds appeared more grievous, Nochtli had suffered a head wound or two. Physically, those never looked like much, but Cita couldn't be sure of any internal bleeding or any other lasting damage that lingered beneath the skin. She was keeping her eye on her dark sister just as much as the pale alpha. When one went wandering, she sure as hell was right there with them.

It struck her as somewhat interesting that she was spending quite a bit of time in this region as of late. The fields and plains and marshes here were significantly nicer than the colder, harder grounds of the north. Thankfully, it was all so close and therefore just a matter of choosing the right direction. Nevertheless, she was tagging along with Nochtli today... which meant she was present when they encountered the caravan of wolves.

There were enough in their company to form their own pack. This was somewhat concerning. Phoenix Maplewood was still nursing their wounds as a result of the bear and any threat of a takeover in the form of this many wolves in one place was not something that sat kindly with her. She understood that most of them were growing children... but that didn't keep her from her suspicions.

All the same Nochtli approached them. Her way of asking the questions was far more amicable than her own, so she followed Nochtli's lead and went from there. "Family outing?" she asked, searching for answers.

Desna was hungry too. She fell down on the spot her mother stopped. The plump pup was tired. Her feet hurt and she didn't feel like moving much more. It was rare for her to feel that way because even though she was a bit on the fat side she wasn't lazy. The girl was always busy exploring and running around. She never traveled this distance before. She looked up at her mommy who was drinking now. She then looked at Sesi that was close to her mommy. "I'm hungry tooooo," she whined to her mother. Dang it! She should have eaten more from that carcass. She pouted, looking around to then see two females coming towards them.

She let out a bit of a bark, not sure why she did that and moved closer to Sesi. She normally was very outgoing but the hunger made him a bit cranky. She didn't want her mother to talk to these people she wanted her to get her food. She was trying to hunt herself but she wasn't good at it yet. She was too slow and too small. Her mommy was very good at hunting so Desna decided to nudge her. "Mommy...," she insisted a bit impatiently. She hadn't whined or complained during their travels but now she was really at the end of her latin.

Nanook completed the hungry trio, but her sour mood distracted her from her grumbling belly. As much as she'd tried to force mama to go back, they'd only kept walking further and further from the Valley, until Nanook couldn't even smell the family they'd left behind anymore. Every step brought new urgency and a growing doubt that she'd find papa and Xan when she finally made mama see she had to get them to follow, too. Sesi and Desna sure weren't helping; as far as Nanook knew, she was alone in her endeavour, but that wasn't about to stop her now.

She left a visible gap between herself and her siblings, but fixed her family with a hard stare. She'd tried screaming and arguing, to no avail. So for the past hour, she'd turned to the silent treatment, and staring mama down in the hope she'd break her and they'd have to head back to the valley, where she Xan and papa had to be waiting.

Her ears twitched at the sound of new voices on the air, but she didn't turn her gaze to meet them. If she let her stare break now, she'd lose for sure, and they'd be stuck moving forward and further away. "No, they left papa and Xan behind." She raised her grumble loud enough for them to hear, whoever they were, and she kept her murkwater eyes fixed on Scarlett with an icy glare.

Set after the thread with Citali, since it wouldn't make sense at all. Keeping it vague since the other thread is not done yet.

Quiet was the word.  They all looked miserable and Andrei did not know just how long he would follow. It wasn't a question of loyalty. Scarlett and the pups were a liability. He only had joined and did not feel that strong of a connection to the former beta to give her his life if things were going to be messy. However, he could hear that annoying little voice in the back of his head, that he could not leave a mother and her pups on her own, when he had been in the same pack as they. He did not dwell over what happened. By now that was past, and if she kept going like this, she would be lost.

He was probably the less tired of them three. With Autumn hitting, prey was not that easy to find, and without backup, bigger preys were impossible to hunt. While she was resting, he did start to dig up frogs, and threw them and the hungry mouths when he got one. Not much, but it would give the female a break from the hungry mouths.  He washed his muzzle from the mud in the water when he noticed two female too.  The scent was familiar, and when he laid eyes upon one of the females,  he knew why. It was the wolferess of under the rock.

Scarlett let out a soft sigh when her babies were all hungry, of course they were. And normally they never really experienced hunger since she usually had a meal with her or laying around. Clearly that wasn't something that would be happening here. Two females approached and Scarlett first felt fear. Her babies was the only thing she had left. The two seemed friendly so Scarlett didn't immediately jumped on them. Her small body trotted forward. Desna cried out for her because she demanded food and then Nanook basically told them what happened in one sentence. "Ehm. Hello," she greeted. "No not really. Our pack disbanded and I met a female recently, an alpha female called Saena, and I am looking for her pack. Hopefully she can offer us a home," she spoke quietly. "Do you know that pack?"

Scarlett wasn't close enough to smell the details in their scent, and by now Saena's scent was also vague in her mind. They had only talked briefly after all. Scarlett's red eyes looked over them and then to her pups, to then look at Andrei. They all looked a bit worse to wear. Hopefully she could trust these two females. Scarlett just wanted a safe home and to be far away from the Kove. Her ex-mate hurt her deeply.

Jumping Sesi in the posting order Let me know if that's not okay!

Not only were there three pups but there was another adult as well. Five wolves. Five mouths to feed, which could mean that with their proximity to the Maplewood, they could be eating prey that the Phoenix wolves would normally catch. She had a feeling Saena would not be pleased with the threat but would not run them away simply because of an inkling. Fiery eyes focused on one of the girls for the moment, looking up at the mother in confusion. Had the two wolves split up or was she kidnapping pups? Could a mother kidnap her own puppies? It was a question that she wasn't sure how to answer but she considered everything being said, ears perking a bit when she mentioned Saena by name. Even more curious, it seemed.

Thoughts churning, she glanced at Cita, masking her surprise from the rag-tag band of travelers. "It's familiar to us," She replied, looking back to the crimson eyed mother. "You said you met her?" She needed more information before she simply spilled out that they were Saena's subordinates, though how she could not recognize their scents was beyond her. Maybe her mind was forgetful, or the stress of traveling with pups had affected her recognition skills. Who knew? Perhaps they would find out during the course of this conversation.

A male. A female. Three puppies. Five wolves without a pack. Packless was an educated guess based on her previous encounter with the male who was dissatisfied with life overall. It seemed he was still hanging on to this crew for some reason or another. She imagined he'd be very successful on his own, but he was duty bound to this brood. Nobel of him. She would not have been so chivalrous had she been in his footprints. Oh well.

The white female with red eyes confirmed her suspicions. No pack. Terrible timing for such a thing given the season. Nevertheless she was significantly less surprised with the news than her sister who turned her eyes in her direction. Nochtli was vague. That was fine. She could be too. Citali offered up a shrug. It was noncommittal and meant nothing. Nochtli had this under control. Citali didn't need to say anything.

Instead her gaze turned towards the male with question in her eyes. Still with them? her expression seemed to ask. They could have their own silent dialogue whilst the other two chatted out loud. The children were unimportant in this. Their decisions were being made for them.

Desna opened her mouth when her mother ignored her. Luckily Andrei gave her some food and without giving it much of a second look she bit down on it. It wasn't like she was expecting but she was so hungry that she didn't care. While she was occupied she ignored the two strangers. She did lick Andrei in thank you that he was so thoughtful into giving her what she wanted. The plump pup looked up after a frog made her stomach calm down. Her eyes fell on the wolf with the dark fur, like her!

Desna jumped up since her mommy said that they were going to meet other wolves. Where this those other wolves? She trotted up to her mommy and stood between her front legs, curiously looking up at the others.

Andrei blinked moved ever so quietly to be closer to Citali. He gave her a smile that was both resigned and had no clue to why he actually stayed with them. He gave the equivalent of a shrug. ' Sometimes I wonder myself '  He glanced at Scarlett. Family man, granny's voice in his head telling him to not abandon weaker ones.  He gave a head shake towards her, then tapped her paws on the ground.  ' I was going to come to you when it happened ' was what he meant. He then turned his head towards  the other wolferess and questionned Citali with his eyes on who she was.

@Nanook not sure if you still wanted to post or not, forgive me if you did!

Scarlett nodded softly. "I have met her, close to your packlands. She was very inspiring to me. Our pack disbanding and I was hoping she would take me and my children into her pack," she spoke right up front. She didn't really dwell on the matter, it had happened and she wanted a safe home. "This Andrei, one of our pack members but I am not sure if he will join too. It is his choice but I would like to join her pack so if you know her, please tell me which way to go," she spoke softly but determined.

She looked at the two girls and wondered if they were going to tell her where to go. She also looked at Andrei, not sure if he wanted to join another pack or rathe be a lone wolf. She wouldn't blame him.

PP'ing Nochtli with permission. Think we can fade this soon since the new thread started?

He didn't seem to know why he still lingered. Duty bound, she supposed. His shrug suggested he wasn't sure himself and she returned that sentiment with a light shrug of her own. He neared her, but their silent conversation was cut short when Nochtli's conversation with the white wolf began to include them, or at least introduced Andrei, into the mix. Her ear flicked to listen, her eyes still watching Andrei's pantomime as she tore her attention both ways. Well now, it seemed an opportunity to answer both of their questions had presented itself.

She shared a look with her amazon sister before speaking. "What a stroke of luck. I do believe my sister and I can help with that. Saena's our alpha and the leader of Phoenix Maplewood. It's not too far from here." Another shared glance and a nod between them. "I'm Citali. Nochtli's far better with directions than myself, but come along, we'll take you there." They lingered for a bit, waiting for their party to assemble so they might be on their way.

Wrapping this up since no one replied

Scarlett wagged her tail and nodded. "Thank you so much, Citali," she spoke with relief in her tone. They were getting a new home! She managed to get her and her daughters safe! The red eyed female nudged her pups and then followed the females. Desna protested and then looked at Andrei who wasn't following. Scarlett stopped and turned. She looked at him with a grateful smile before nodding in thank you. With that she said goodbye not sure if she would ever see him again. The female then rushed to follow the two ladies that would bring her to her new home.

-fin-