Bramblepoint You can tremble, you can fear it

Gannet was going to visit Liffey.

He hadn’t told anyone but @Lagan about this, mainly because he wondered if his cousin might want to come with.  The two had grown close in the last few months, but Lagan was too busy with his younger siblings, so it was up to him.

He had heard through the grapevine where she might be, so was heading to the mountains that rose to the north of the Caldera.  He flashed back to a similar mountain trek with Lagan; travel was less fun alone, sure, but still fun!

Life in the Caldera was good, but sometimes, it was nice to look outside and make a change.  Everyone was so tied up lately; Gannet wasn’t big on kids, which seemed unusual with their pack, and his sister had returned, which took up the other half of everyone’s attention.  Lagan was really the only one he spoke much too anymore, partly because he didn’t want to be a bother and partly because it seemed Towhee and her like still hadn’t forgiven him for his last departure.  Probably she’d be mad now too.

He wasn’t worried about it.  He’d be back before too long, and they’d be too busy with everything to even notice, probably.  Satisfied, Gannet rolled over onto his back, taking a short rest and letting the afternoon sun warm his belly.

After her patrol, she again found herself heading toward Bramblepoint. This was the impromptu meeting point of she and Towhee, and she knew that if the girl had any other news that this would be the place she would come to share it, if not Moonspear itself. Once Hydra had come to the Caldera to respectfully inform Towhee of the wolves of the Woods, and while it would make sense for Towhee to come to Moonspear to inform her of any news (which she very well might), Hydra was impatient. She itched for a fight, but none had come. Hydra felt the wolves of the Woods had limited time and knew it—the anticipation was something she could feel in her bones. 

The scent of the Caldera was here, she noted. It was something the wind carried. Hydra trailed it absently until soon enough she came across a wolf who was distinctly not Towhee, and Hydra's attention would have strayed had she not noticed it was a boy before her, now. 

Pale, though raven-kissed, and with eyes that reminded her of the sun when it made the sky bleed red and gold. No, wait—they were simply a reflection of the sky as it was, now. As he moved she noticed the shift; they were silver, though they could hold in them anything they beheld. That was a marvel. Hydra did not stare, and contemplated moving on. In the end, this was what she decided to do—it looked like this wolf was ready to rest up, and she doubted he'd appreciate a chat beforehand. Even if he was handsome and rugged and wild, Hydra would let the impression she could make wait as she shifted to pass through. So as to not act as though she were skulking around, she did not hide her presence, though neither did she make it blatantly obvious she was there.

It took Gannet a bit to feel the other wolf’s presence, but eventually the tingle of being watched made itself known, and he rolled over, eyes narrowed as he glanced about.  Someone was there.

There she was, standing a ways away, watching him.  He frowned, wondering why she stayed back like that.  Was she friendly? Or a threat?

”Who are you?”  He finally asked, standing and shaking leaves from his pelt as he did so.  Autumn was taking the trees and lighting them as though on fire.  It was a pretty sight, but he still preferred the full green of summer.  Last winter hadn’t been particularly kind to him.

As she moved to depart, his gravelly voice came out. Hydra turned as she heard the rustling that foretold of movement, and when she next saw him he was standing. He had the same stature as all men she seemed to prefer—perhaps it was something in the water, here. But, if she were being honest, Hydra had no real preference at this point in her life—she was simply a bit... boy crazy. They were all so handsome, now... but she desired more than that already. Strength and confidence, to name two things.

Hydra, and yourself? she introduced and inquired before continuing (after leaving room for him to introduce his own self), I was passing through—I thought you might want to not be disturbed, she explained. Seemed she was wrong, or else, he didn't see it as being 'disturbed'. Maybe he wanted the company. He could either deny or confirm the fact, and if he confirmed it, she would be on her way.

She looked to be about his age, but his complete opposite.  Black and graceful to his white and leggy.  But not a threat.  In fact, she was downright friendly when she introduced herself, and the suspicion fled his expression in favor of a smile.

”Gannet,” he responded, making no real connection with her name.  He’d never been big on mythology.  She said she thought he might not want to be disturbed, but that didn’t really make sense to him.  “Why’d you stop?”  It was as frank and straightforward as his questions usually were, and had that same honest and curious tone to it.  If she thought he didn’t want her to, why did she stay?

His inquiry was one she understood, and it looked as though she might not respond when she turned thoughtful. There had been another reason she had stopped, of course, other than the fact that his eyes had caught her off-guard when she had seen him. It was this one she shared: My friend was attacked some time ago by a pale-furred wolf. When I saw you, I wanted to be sure you weren't them, but his ink-kissed paws had confirmed he was no such wolf before his eyes had. Though she had smelled the scent of Towhee's pack, it wasn't him that she had scented—he had come from the opposite way, and with the wind out of her favor she couldn't be certain at this distance that he did run with them, yet.

She thought on his name. Gannet. She hadn't heard of it before, else she'd make the connection that he was definitively a Redhawk and a relative to Towhee. She didn't know a redhawk from a blacktailed hawk, after all; owls, hawks, crows, ravens... all she had was their common names in her repertoire. Gannet. It fit him. Hydra offered him a pretty grin and a tail-wave. So, I'm not disturbing you, then? A slight, playful headtilt punctuated the question.

“No.”. It was a twofold answer. He didn’t recall attacking anyone recently, unless they’d come too close to home, that is.  And she wasn’t bothering him.  Very few ever did.  He didn’t quite catch on to the playful air she had; sarcasm and innuendo were two things Gannet had never really learned to grasp.  He said what he meant and figured everyone else must do the same.

”What if I was them?”. Would she have attacked him?  It was strange, for her to be out here looking for a fight, but he guessed he’d done much of the same when Peter had disappeared.

Good, Hydra succinctly thought. His inquiry surprised her—not that he asked it, but that he wanted to know. Try to kill you, Hydra said with a shrug. She wasn't inexperienced with that. Not only did he attack my friend with intent to kill, but I think he also took part in kidnapping someone. My sisters and I got him to flee the first time—he has to know that if he comes back, the odds of him leaving again are next to none, that was if he ran into them, of course. But Hydra did search for him. If he did return it could only be for one reason—to continue with his, or his packs, plan to destroy. One did not need to be bright to concoct that, given all they had already done.

Hydra wondered what he would think of all that. Would he be put off? Well, Hydra was not looking for the fainthearted. She was looking for those with strong stomachs. Rannoch, for all his looks, had proven to be quite soft (though recently he had shown he may have some potential)—and fancied soft, himself. She was no damsel in distress—she was a princess who was just as capable as wielding a sword as any sworn knight was.

Her answer didn’t really come as a surprise.  Had he expected anything else?  But it did make him glad not to be this other pale wolf.

”Alone?”  It wasn’t a question against her abilities.  She certainly looked like the type who could handle herself.  But as far as he could tell, when you wanted to kill someone, it was easier (and safer) with the pack.  

Probably her home wasnt me wasn’t a place he wanted to wander, then.  Maybe she had an idea of where he could find Liffey.  He had no way of knowing if her sisters would practice her restraint, in any event.

Alone, she confirmed with a nod. While last time she had attacked with her sisters, Hydra did not doubt her own ability to take down the hasty wolf. That did not mean she underestimated her opponent, but she knew what she was capable of. She wasn't the only one who would kill him on sight, either; there were many who were interested in the head of that particular wolf.

Hydra blinked at him. I'm sure you're capable of defending yourself, but I would be wary. He came for my friend without cause and without restraint. And I don't know why any wolf would take another and torture them, but they did, there was nothing to be gained by that, unless Drageda had been an enemy, but that had never been expressed. The she-wolf was Gannet's sister, unbeknownst to Hydra.

While he didn’t think her plan was the brightest, who was he to argue? Just a stranger.  He couldn’t tell if she came from a pack but he assumed, the way she spoke, she did.

”[b]Do you know Liffey?[\b]” He asked, changing the subject rather abruptly.  Not that he didn’t enjoy talking about killing those who needed killed, but the conversation had kinda run its course in his mind, and he wanted to know.  

If he knew Wildfire’s story, Gannet might have put two and two together. But he had left before getting brought into the loop, and had been on the outskirts of pack before then. He had no clue that the wolf she spoke of was a part of a problem his own family was also contemplating solving.

She was alone, now, what would she do? Let the opportunity slip? Hydra had been practicing, and would practice even more—she would utilize her time well. But her sisters would surely know she was in trouble, they would feel it. They would likely come. Even without them she had faith in herself. Independently Hydra had dispatched wolves of multiple statures, with varying levels of desperation. 

His next inquiry shocked her. With no reason to be dishonest, Hydra responded, yeah, I know her, with a nod. How do you know her? She asked then, no hint of suspicion in her voice. Hydra did not know Liffey's whole backstory, after all. Just that she had come from the Vale. There was part of Hydra that hoped Gannet was Liffey's abandoned paramour, but she doubted it—the girl was so bland and boring, utterly vanilla.

What kind of luck was this?  She knew Liffey, and from her wording, from recently.  Was she from Liffey's new pack then?  It made sense; Gannet didn't know of many packs in these mountains.  Until recently though he hadn't even known about theirs.

"From home. My home."  Not Liffey's anymore, obviously, but there wasn't any resentment to the statement.  He hadn't been happy about it initially, when she left; even though he'd been gone at the time, it still felt a bit like he'd been left behind.  But since then he'd realized that was just what wolves his age did sometimes.  "She left though.  Does she live with you now?"

Home? Hadn't her home been the Vale...? Hydra knew that Rannoch had built the Vale himself, but could not think of Liffey's own origin story. Truth be told, she never considered it. Hydra moved toward him, and once he seemed alright with that she drew nearer to exchange scents with him. She took a step away once they were finished with that, and her ears twitched. The Caldera, a pack her father didn't particularly enjoy, but her friend Towhee was from there so she knew it wasn't all bad.

So, he and Liffey had likely been brought up together. The Ostrega's had been the only cubs on their mountain, blessedly so—all the resources and time of the adults had went to them. She does, she informed, at Moonspear. She came for Rannoch, she informed, that was the wolf who was attacked. Is she your sister? She asked, tilting her head. She couldn't see the resemblance.

She approached to take his scent and he returned the gesture, her own completely unfamiliar to him.  He'd never met a wolf from Moonspear; really the only Teekon pack outside his own he had any experience with was his sister's, Drageda.  He'd encountered a couple of others while out exploring with Lagan, but none that stuck.

He'd remember it, though.  Moonspear.  It was a good name for a mountain.  "Liffey?"  He shook his head.  "Friend."  He was more than a little amused by the suggestion that they were siblings.  "Cousin,"  he clarified after a moment.  That was perhaps a little more accurate, given how close their parents had been and how they always regarded one another.  The name Rannoch meant nothing to him either - he'd never been around when they had stopped by to visit.

Gannet paused.  He wanted to ask if he could come and visit, but honestly this conversation was a lot of talking, and he was starting to get antsy with it.  He couldn't explain why, it was just always something that had been true.  So he didn't.  He'd find out when he showed up, and if they didn't like it, well, he'd leave.

Friend—cousin. Related to some degree that he cared enough to know. Hydra nodded. She wasn't a fan of Liffey's, but maybe she had been cool, once. He didn't know the name Rannoch, either—so he'd never been a contender for the brat pack, then, it sounded like. When their conversation came to a lull, Hydra was thoughtful for a moment. She had told Rannoch she'd go with him to the Caldera, so she supposed she'd hunt for Towhee again another day. 

Two howls in the distance distracted her. Alya and Lyra called to her, and Hydra nodded to him. See you around, and that she hoped was true. He was quite cute, after all. She turned on her heel and bounded off in the direction she had been summoned from, toward home.

See you around.  She had things to do, apparently, from the calls, and he did as well.  But she'd been friendly, and he'd enjoyed this meeting just as much as any.  He wasn't a big talker, but he did love meeting new wolves.  He sat down and watched her go, tail thumping behind him, before he sized up his next move.

He could go north, see her pack and find out where Liffey was from there.  But now that he knew, he found he wasn't in a huge rush.  So instead he looked south a bit, towards another interesting bit of mountain.  Who knows who he'd meet down there?  And on his way back he could see about this Moonspear and what sort of wolves she'd made her new home with.