Otter Creek Rivers flow only one way

Don't know if this is also trespassing or not, but I figured that the pack in KF only owns the Blackfeather Woods and that posting in there is trespassing. So, @Wildfire @Charon @Cicero, let's go!

Jolon was gracefully walking besides the creek, admiring the view he had. He had come all the way from the mountains and was delighted to feel something else under his paws. It was a tough journey but this view was worth it, he thought. He hadn't explored the lands here enough to know exactly where he was going and where he wanted to go, but he couldn't care less. Travelling from place to place, not knowing where or how, filled his lonely life with joy. Travelling was the only thing that made Jolon relax a little, easing his always calculating mind. 

after a while, Jolon had grown bored and tired of walking for so long. He decided to rest near the creek. He lay down after carefully looking around to see if there was anyone, His big head resting on his front paws. If anyone would dare to step closer he would notice it in an instant, for his ears could pick up the tiniest of sounds. It was one of Jolon's lifesaving abilities, for he had avoided great danger in the past by just listening. If a wolf would stroll towards him, he would great them friendly, for he was in a good mood today. If he wasn't so tired and desperate for a nice conversation he would most likely jump up and start a fight with the wolf who had dared to come closer. But for now, he wouldn't mind some company.

i assumed that they were exploring together; let me know if any of the pp is not ok Kat! :3

Charon had agreed to go with Dhole to explore to the east. Charon'd been confined too Moonspear for too long, anyway; he yearned to get out there. He used to explore loads before coming to Moonspear, after all. The mountain still had enough prizes left to give and places to explore, but seeing the world that he usually looked down upon was nice too. Otter Creek turned out to be a lot further away than he'd thought when looking down at it from Moonspear's many viewpoints.

"Do you come here often?" Charon asked Dhole as they reached the riverside, curious if she knew anything useful about this area. "I think this is close to where my friend Potema from Blackfeather Woods lives. She's your age, too." Charon hadn't picked up her scent, though, so he wondered if the nearby pack was really the right place. Just as Charon leaned down to take a drink from the river, he noticed a wolf on the other side. Charon froze in his tracks, head halfway down to the water, and tail twitched tensely while he gauged the situation. The other dude didn't seem threatening, and he appeared to be alone, though.

She hadn't spent much quality time with Charon lately, so when the Alpha seemed interested in exploring with her, Wildfire happily seized the opportunity. She led him due east, pointing out the burnt woods where they had chased each other through the ash many months ago. They crossed a small river, roamed across a familiar prairie, then skirted around Greatwater Lake. From its southeastern shore, they traipsed along the bank of a partially frozen stream, stopping just as the scent of a nearby pack began to tease the young scout's nostrils.

Her leader's voice caused her to slow, then stop. "I've never actually been to this exact location, though I've visited many of the surrounding areas," she told him. "I've met her," she added with a small smile, recollecting her one brief encounter with Potema. "We actually met on Moonspear, believe it or not, before it was claimed," Wildfire recollected aloud. She had been looking for Uncle Papa Pan at the time.

She reminisced for a moment, then began to ask, "Hey, do you sm—?" but before she could get out the entire question, Charon stiffened noticeably. She followed his gaze, her own amber eyes clapping upon a large, swarthy figure. For an instant, she thought it might be her father, though she quickly realized it was a total stranger. His cold, pale eyes were so different from Peregrine's dusky jade.

Charon hadn't said anything yet. The redheaded diplomat exchanged a quick glance with him, then faced the stranger again and called, "Hey." She sidestepped a bit closer to her pack mate, their shoulders brushing, black tail waving speculatively as she anticipated a reaction.

It didn't take long before his peace was disturbed. He had heard footsteps but didn't think much it, that was until he smelled others of his sort. There were two of them, both a female- and male one, drenched in a pack smell. Jolon wondered if he had found himself in pack territory, but could not remember crossing a border of any sort. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. It seemed the female one had called out to him. Jolon had almost mistaken her for a fox, for she had a very similar color pallet. He had not seen many foxes throughout his lifespan, but could tell the difference between this she-wolf and a real one. Her tail was as black as Jolon himself, something he had never seen on a wolf. then again, he never saw many wolves at all. The male however looked more like a fighter, a coat as white as the snow that was covering Teekon Wilds. His flawless white coat was disrupted by many scars, giving Jolon the impression that he could be a worthy opponent. Jolon was not really in the mood to fight this male and hoped that this wolf had the same idea.

Jolon lifted his head up, giving them both a better look before saying anything. They didn't seem like they were in the mood to pick a fight. Good morning. Jolon replied. What are two pack wolves up to on such a nice winter day, if I may ask? Jolon continued in his normal speech manner, which was colder than the icy winds up north. If the two would react friendly to him, he would most likely stay and have a nice chat. If that were not the case, he could always run for it. He knew which way his home was and was sure that someone would be kind enough to help if things got out of hand. So he got up a bit, sat down, and awaited an answer.

"Huh, funny," Charon agreed with a smile when Dhole made mention of meeting Potema on Moonspear. He wondered if Potema was still around the area; he felt the sudden urge to go looking for her and see if she was doing alright. Having been born in Blackfeather Woods, surely she was still in the area, like Dhole and himself? But then again, there were odds that she had moved, too. Charon knew from experience that not all wolves that were born here stuck around. Some left, sometimes without prior warning. Hopefully that wasn't the case with Potema. Maybe he ought to look for Blackfeather Woods sometime soon.

Distracted from his thoughts about Potema by the other wolf, Charon looked up as Dhole called out to him. He waited the response, head arched up to display his status and natural dominance; he was perhaps nowhere near Moonspear, but being an Alpha had impacted much of how Charon carried himself, and he had grown more dominant since rising to become a Jarl. A polite 'good morning' was a good start, and he seemed polite enough, even though not exactly nice. The wolf was on the other side of the narrow river, which allowed both parties some relaxation, perhaps; it wasn't like either party was going to leap across the river and attack. "We're exploring," Charon said dryly. "What about you? Do you know this area well?" It'd been a while since he had socialised with anyone; especially wolves not his age. Charon's experience with older wolves was that not all of them respected his authority as Alpha, thinking him too young for the position. Most of his more positive encounters in the Wilds had been with wolves his own age; especially now that he had grown out of the cuddly puppy phase of his life.

He reacted politely enough, wishing them a good morning and then posing a question. Wildfire found his wording interesting, particularly the fact that he deliberately referred to them as pack wolves. She couldn't put a finger on why this intrigued her, just that it did. Before she could answer, Charon spoke up first, his tone cagey. He had a question of his own.

"Are you from the nearby pack?" she tacked onto the young Alpha's query. Today's mission was about scouting, checking out new areas and mapping the lay of the land. But learning about the local packs was an important part of the process too. There was definitely one nearby, the scent still tickling at her nostrils, and she hoped to gather more details from the nameless stranger.

Speaking of which, she thought to add an introduction, since neither male had bothered with one yet. "I'm Wildfire," she said simply, letting Charon introduce himself if he liked (although she could just as easily picture him withholding), amber eyes resting on the dark male's face across the way.

The male at the other side of the river had a dominant appearance, giving Jolon the impression that he was of a higher rank in the pack that both these wolves came from. He looked rather young, despite how he acted. The freckled male replied dryly to his simple question, but that didn't bother Jolon since he himself spoke in a rather unfriendly manner as well. Exploring, ey? Just like he was doing before he would turn back to the mountains. He wanted to see as much of Teekon Wilds as possible before settling at the place the dragoness had seeked out. With the answer came more questions that he would answer honestly. I wanted to see what this land had to offer before settling somewhere. He answered truthfully, but without giving details about where he was going to settle. Who knew if these wolves could be trusted? Of course they didn't seem like the one's who could stab you in the back, but you never knew for sure.I do not know this area like the inside of my den, no. To be honest, this is the first time I have ever been here.He continued to answer the questions given to him in his own cold tone.

The female had her own questions it seemed. While Jolon was not from an official pack yet, he had sworn his loyalty to one who wanted to start a pack. It had been the dragoness, Asterr, who had recruited him and he had sworn to stay by her side forever.I'm not from an established pack in this area, no. But I have a place to call home in the mountains along with others. Again, he wasn't giving the exact location of their rogue group or the ones who had already joined. If he was honest, he only knew of Asterr that had wanted to settle in the mountains, but she had said there were more.

The fox-like wolf now had her eyes on him, and he returned her gaze with his own grey orbs. He gave a faint smile, but it didn't suit him at all. She introduced herself as Wildfire, an intriguing name that matched her appearance fairly well, Jolon thought. It had seemed the topic of introducing themselves had been glossed over by all three of them. Jolon hadn't even thought about mentioning his name, but now he had to since it was the politest thing to do.It is a pleasure to meet you, Wildfire. As well as you, frosty stranger. You can refer to me as Jolon. He said calmly with a warmer pitch to his normal emotionless voice. He was curious of why they were exploring rather than staying home with the pack they obviously had. Since they had asked him about his pack, more or less, he felt like he could return questions of the same topic.Why are you exploring these lands instead of staying home, if I may ask? He asked, truly curious about their decision. Maybe their pack wasn't far from this place, but it still bothered him. He had only thought of a pack as a place you could never leave because it was your home. At least, that's what they had taught him as a pup. Maybe there were more rules to it that he had yet to learn, and if he wanted to learn them, what better way than to ask two pack wolves?

Gods, this guy was wordy. Charon listened, though he lost interest rather quickly. He forced himself to listen to this guy's yacking, even if he didn't instantly answer the question. Like Charon gave a damn if the guy didn't know the area. Obviously he only wanted to know in case the dude could tell them some tidbits about it. But it turned out that he was here for the same reason they were — to explore — and when he answered Dhole's question, it turned out he already had a pack to go to.

"Those mountains?" Charon asked as he gestured towards the Sunspire Mountains with his nose. He didn't really care if it was settling there — truthfully, Charon only really cared if the guy was with some pack settling near Moonspear.

'Frosty Stranger' was his given name, and Charon actually kind of liked that. Made him sound like some kind of super hero, which he found very suiting. "I'm Charon, Alpha of Moonspear," Charon said. He grinned a little while he added: "But if you've grown attached to Frosty Stranger, 'the tall and handsome hero with the frost beam eyes', that works for me too."

Jolon's next question seemed kind of weird, considering he was about to join a pack himself; one that was settling in the mountains. Sure, Moonspear wasn't exactly around the corner, but it wasn't like they were at Jolon's pack's borders. "Just scouting. You know, checking the lay of the land, seeing what it has to offer, what prey levels it's got, what sort of packs are around. The usual." Charon shrugged casually, his stature and demeanour less hostile now that they had gotten into conversation. "So, this place in the mountains of yours. Is it an aspiring pack, or is it just a couple of wolves with no intention to settle?" While they had this guy here, they may as well try and get some information, after all.

It suddenly occurred to her that they were getting close to the spire, although that didn't explain the pack scent; it was not only unfamiliar but coming from another direction entirely (west rather than east). A puzzled look drifted across Wildfire's face before it smoothed, visage now expressionless as she listened to Jolon speak. He mentioned living with others in the mountains but said he wasn't part of an established pack. Wildfire licked her lips thoughtfully, glancing at the ridges above them, then back to the stranger. She was reminded of why she usually didn't bother too much trying to keep track of these things; packs seemed to come and go even swifter than the seasons.

Her lips twitched when Jolon referred to Charon as a "frosty stranger," wondering if it referred to his appearance, personality or both. The Alpha took the opportunity to introduce himself and answer some of their new acquaintance's questions. He covered everything rather succinctly, leaving little for Wildfire to add. She did wonder why Jolon seemed taken aback about their scouting endeavors away from home. Was he not doing the very same thing? And he was alone.

Of course, they had no ill intent, so there was nothing to fear. Charon raised some questions of his own and Wildfire remained silent, ears perked for Jolon's response, even as she exchanged a glance with her leader and began roaming nearer to the water's edge. She was thirsty and wanted a drink. As her petite red paws pressed into the moist clay at the bank, she observed tiny impressions that looked like paw prints, the digits slenderer and more like fingers than toes, a strange line connecting each of them.

Sorry for the late reply and the short response. I'm packing for vacation and such so yeah :/

Jolon watched as the male gestured to the mountains where he had come from. He followed the direction of the white boy's muzzle with his gaze, only to let his mind doze off as he thought about Asterr. Was she lonely now? Jolon hoped not, but wanted to make it back to her as soon as possible without being impolite to these new faces.

Indeed, that's where I came from. the young boy answered with a small nod of his black head. Oh, if only he could be there now, his bum was getting numb because of the cold ground.

Charon, was the white male's name, which fit him better than the name Jolon had given him. It surprised him that this male, who looked younger than him, was an Alpha, but he knew that to judge someone just by their age was wrong. Hell, even Asterr was younger than him and she seemed much wiser. The black male let out a chuckle when Charon said that he liked the made up name and he began to wonder if this Alpha wasn't as cold as he had thought. I think I'll use your real name from now on. He said with a little smile.

The conversation turned serious again once Charon explained why they were there. It seemed the black boy still had a lot to learn about pack life, but was sure to learn as much as he possible could. He didn't want to disappoint Asterr or his fellow followers. He nodded as a response to the Alpha's words, not really having a comment on them.

The question that came next was harder to answer since he didn't know if he should reveal anything about their plans of settling. If he were to openly talk about it to another pack, the Alpha of a pack he didn't know, would they ambush them? No, they wouldn't. At least Jolon believed they didn't, so with revealing this he was giving them his trust. Oh, we have intentions to settle but that will take a while longer. We're hoping to form a true pack in the future. He said honestly. Now we're on the subject of my home, I should probably head back now that it's still day. He announced as he watched the fox-looking female nearing the waters.

no problem :) ooo, enjoy your vacation :D

The conversation remained rather neutral, despite Charon's attempt to make some jokes. He felt a lot like rolling his eyes and mouthing 'booo-ring' to Dhole, but he decided to refrain from doing so, in case he ever needed this wolf's good will. Instead Charon just nodded at the dude as he continued to speak, answering Charon's questions but at the same time, not really giving him much information. Dhole meanwhile seemed so bored that she went down to take a sip from the water. Charon looked at her, feeling the urge to push her in the water all of a sudden. Gods, she would look so funny if she fell in the water. He imagined how she'd go all wide-eyed and look surprised, then pout in the way she would pout when he'd say something mean but truthful to her.

Charon chuckled to himself while mentally picturing Dhole falling into the water and pouting when he realised that the other dude was still there. He said that he was leaving, and Charon nodded. "Oh, yeah, probably for the best, if you've got a ways to travel." Charon smiled amicably at the guy, even though he was a bore -- he was leaving, anyway, might as well be polite a bit longer -- and he wondered off-handedly if it was anything he said that made him leave so soon. They'd barely gotten a conversation started. "Pleasure to meet you, see you later," Charon said as parting words, assuming that Jolon would take off again now. He wondered what sort of pack they were starting. Maybe Jolon didn't know the name of the territory, and that was why he didn't share it.

Soon Charon was back to the subject of Dhole's impending wetness, and he watched as she seemed to study some thing or the other along the bank. The only reason that Charon eventually decided not to throw his shoulder into her butt to toss her in the water was the fact that it was winter and it seemed like a dumb and dangerous idea to get one of his pack members soaking wet in this cold. He'd just have to wait to see Dhole pout again until spring, when it would be totally warranted and safe to push her in the water. Charon grinned to himself while staring at Dhole and plotting future embarrassments. She was just too easy to embarrass, and Charon himself didn't even notice how it seemed that he was starting to enjoy putting her down more and more because, well, it was just so easy, gave him a power rush, and she looked kinda cute when she was unsure of herself, anyway.

After giving the prints a moment's study, Wildfire dipped her smudged snout toward the water and lapped noisily, drinking until her thirst was slaked. By the time she finished, Jolon was excusing himself to head home. She licked her lips, then pursed them as she exchanged a look with Charon. He hadn't stuck around long, had he? She shrugged inwardly, deciding it didn't much matter. She and her Alpha had come here to explore the lands, not the wolves that trod them.

"Take care," she called after his departing back before her amber eyes slid again to Charon. "What?" she asked, noting the way he was looking at her with a mischievous look on his face. Wildfire immediately grew suspicious and her eyes narrowed, albeit in a good-natured way. "Why are you looking at me like that? What are you plotting?" she demanded, a tremulous laugh in her tone.

Charon couldn't help but grin when Dhole looked around with a laugh as she noted the look on his face. She knew him too well. Charon trotted over to the waterside as he said: "Well, I was just thinking..." There was a mischievous sparkle in his eyes as he neared and lightly pushed his butt against Dhole's, not exerting enough pressure to actually push her in the water though. "... How easy it would be to push you in the water while you weren't paying attention." It was pretty strange to think how much they'd grown as friends since they had first met in the ashes, but Charon was glad to have Dhole in his life. He kept pressing lightly, though not enough to push her in; Charon wasn't a complete idiot, after all, and he didn't want Dhole to get sick from being completely soaked in winter.

She tensed as Charon walked over to her, preparing for... what, she didn't know. Fortunately, he announced his intentions, so that when he nudged against her, Wildfire could brace herself. But he didn't seem to be making an actual effort to plunge her into the river. She liked water and might have enjoyed a swim, if not for the icy air.

"Just know that if you ever did something like that, I would exact my revenge," she rejoined, throwing him some playful shade. She then resumed a more serious tone as she added, "Check these out. What sort of critter do you think left these? I can't quite—oh, maybe beavers?" Wildfire said, clearly thinking out loud as she motioned toward the otter prints littering the riverbank.

Charon grinned when Dhole returned a playful motion of revenge to him. He knew it would not be necessary, because he wasn't daft; he knew well that it wouldn't be good for his pack member's health if he'd do it. Dhole then drew his attention to the prints that he hadn't even seen just yet.

The prints looked foreign to him, but he sniffed them and tried to imagine what sort of creature'd fit them. As Dhole suggested beaver, he shook his head. "Looks more deft to me. Kinda like rats, but the toes are shorter, and the prints're bigger." Charon looked thoughtfully towards the prints, then looked over his shoulder to see if maybe the prints and their scent lead back to somewhere he could trace, to see if they could find this mystery creature. Whatever it was, it'd probably taste good enough.

Charon didn't agree with her assessment. When he mentioned rats, she said, "Muskrat, maybe?" Her eyes tracked his movements as the pale Alpha glanced along the bank, a hopeful look on his face. There were no signs of the creature that had left the prints, however. Judging by the trajectory of the tracks, it had slipped into the waters. A quick glance at the opposite bank—not far from where Jolon had been standing moments ago—showed no evidence that the muskrat (or whatever) had crossed directly. Wildfire mulled.

Deciding it didn't much matter at the end of the day, she said, "I know some of the territories north of here and I know that that's Sawtooth Spire." She motioned toward the majestic peak just southeast of their current position. "And I think there's just a meadow to the south, then the steppes and the caldera that-a-way." This time, she gestured her smudged snout off to the west.

But Charon had been particularly interested in heading east. They had come quite a ways from Moonspear already but now she looked to him and asked, "Want to keep heading east? I'm not sure if a pack still lives on Sawtooth, so we could go south and skirt around it. There's a lot more to see, on the other side of the mountains." She was always game for a bit more exploration, though she sort of suspected the Alpha had come far enough and would probably want to start heading back soon.

The prints, when followed backwards, came from the grasses, but Charon found no evidence of any prints between them. He sighed wistfully and decided to give up when he followed Dhole's gaze out to the other side of the bank. There was no signs of it, so whatever it was, it was long gone. "Too bad," he said, and then he put the creature, whatever it was, from his mind and gave up. Charon followed Dhole's gaze again when she pointed out various landmarks and territories, nodding all the while.

While his adventurous spirit wanted to venture further, Charon sighed again when he realised that he needed to head back, lest they be gone for too long. "We should head back," he said, though it was obvious that he would've preferred to explore some more. While he turned around he said: "Hey, we should go out on an outriding trip together sometime." Charon was perhaps not an official outrider because other trades suited him more, but he did enjoy exploration and outriding a lot and so he enjoyed doing it. As he turned back towards Moonspear and went on his way, assuming Dhole to follow, he was beginning to feel excited at the prospect of a future outriding trip -- some day.

He said they should head back, so Wildfire nodded. It wasn't a vote. This wasn't a democracy. "Lead the way," she said offhandedly, only to pause and blink at his next comment. The way he phrased it struck her as mildly strange because, "What do you think we're doing right now?" Her tone was light, teasing. "But, yeah, I'd like that." Of course she would. Wildfire would always be a traveler at heart, whether or not anybody came along with her, but she would almost always welcome company.

Soon, they were breaking into a tandem trot. They could retrace their steps but she fancied taking a more scenic route back. "Follow the creek back north," she directed the Alpha, "and once we hit the lake, it's due west." Wildfire then allowed a companionable silence to stretch between them, the only sound the thudding of their paws and the low panting of her own breath.

"Well, duh," Charon said with a roll of his eye, though the smile on his face showed that he wasn't irritated a bit by Dhole's comment on his choice of words, "I meant a longer one. Maybe we could visit my uncle, he lives somewhere in the east, over the Sunspire mountains even." Charon wondered if Mordecai was even still around, but then, they'd never been very close. Perhaps if they had settled somewhere closer to the mountain range, it would've been easier to visit Mordecai. But they had not, and perhaps he'd never see his somewhat weird uncle again. Who knew.

Dhole instructed him on where to go, and though feeling commanded always annoyed Charon, he did follow her instructions and started heading north along the creek. There was a silence between them as they walked, following the creek's path, but Charon didn't mind. He just enjoyed being by a friend's side.