Firestone Hot Springs It's just some beasts from the wild can't be tamed, babe

AW, for tracker specialty :) forward dated for @Wraen (around 10/12-10/13?)

With autumn's grip tightening on the earth - squeezing the life slowly from the vibrant world of summer - preparing for winter's breath to freeze the evidence of death left behind, a balance shifted in the world. The small creatures were preparing for the coming struggle: harvesting grains and nuts for their stores, fattening themselves for the long rest of hibernation, lining their beds for a sleep that would see them through to spring's return. So too did Liri prepare: stocking caches near the Door in the event that a season of blizzards erupted like her last winter in Teekon, storing her dried herbs within the atrium's cool and dry walls (for there were sure to be a number of stuffy noses to treat in the coming months), building a nest to rival even the best of birds - a combination of pine needles, fallen leaves, feathers, and animal pelts to keep her family warm on frigid nights. 

The gathering of deer that resided on the plateau had moved west in search of warmer pastures - their own way of coping with the change in seasons. It was the time of their migration, and as such, the tracker rose at dawn to follow. She paused at the entrance of her den - turning back to brush her peppered muzzle tenderly over the dark crown of her mate. Her gaze softened, falling on the spry Illidan who had grown so since she found him by the river. How she worried for him. 

The fae touched her nose to his sooty forehead - gently, as if to assure herself that all was well with the child before finally, the healer departed on silent paws.

The light was dim beyond the shelter of the caverns, for the sky had only recently lightened from the atramentous plane of true night to a deep violet. Periwinkle peeked through the broken gaps in the east, falling where it could between the towering pines and the pale, skinny birch trees. The leader weaved amongst the thick forest - a ghost dancing nimbly over fallen logs and around brush alike despite the ravaged leg dangling from her left flank. 

The birds were quiet yet - it was too early for their songs - and the insects had long since ceased their chirping. The only sound left to grace her ears was the soft wind whistling through the mountains. 

As the tree line thinned, the spirit emerged - gaze drawn to the sky above as she trotted through the dark grass. A few stars lingered - despite the golden light beginning to glow beyond the mountains at her back - and the moon peeked over its shoulder at her with a gibbous face.

Splashing through the shallow portions of the stream - the healer shook out her coat when she reached the far bank, feeling refreshed. The footpaths led her over the edge of her home, into the unknown of the waving grasses. 

The hunter's path was sure, for it was one she'd traveled many times, and she scarcely needed to check for scents or landmarks to confirm where she was. They'd resided on the plateau long enough for the fae to become familiar with the neighbouring territories. The outcrop of her home was nestled just above the Flatlands - the steppes seemed a front yard of sorts to the tracker. She kept within it, for venturing too far south meant risking the chance of encountering her former captives. To go too far west was too intrude upon Moonspear's hunting territories - who were enemies to their allies, Sunspire. The tracker would not go east out of courtesy for their friends in the mountains, not to hunt anyhow. That left north of the Flatlands - to the sea - and the grasslands which were home to their deer. 

The sky lightened - the clouds twisting in the wind as the sun's light turned them orange and gold, much like flames - the stars winking out one by one as Liri approached the land where the deer usually resided. There were hollows in the ground - depressions where the deer had rested - and short, cropped grass where they had grazed. Trampled grass pointed the tracker east, towards the Firestone Hot Springs. 

The water was no good to drink - it was tainted with sulfur, as evidenced by the lingering odor surrounding the pools - but the hunter had an inkling of why the herd might travel to the pools at night. 

As the healer reached the hot springs - halting atop the hill overlooking the grouping of steaming baths - her theory was confirmed. The deer had gathered on the strips of land between the sloughs; some leaned on each other in order to doze while others curled upon the ground. 

Liri rested on her haunches, curling a thick tail around her paws to keep them warm as she observed from her perch in the chilly, dew-dampened grass. She would watch them as the sun rose, as the fog rolled in and plumes of white steam rose off the springs, until the herd moved on to graze by the sun's warm morning rays.

Wraen had spent the whole afternoon and evening of the previous day at Hoshor plains. Even without the duties and responsibilities of a leader, searching for food took up at least 2/3 of her time awake. As the daylight hours grew shorter, nights colder, the number of small prey - rodents and lagomorphs mostly - dwindled and it was considerably harder for her to track them down. Especially, since finding one did not automatically mean a success. Even for an experienced hunter like her the rate of hunts with a good outcome was around 50% at best and often it was even less than that. 

But she did not lament the challenges she had to face every day. Freedom felt good and with every passing day she grew more convinced that leaving and starting anew had been the best decision for her. On evenings she met Loneliness, which she had pictured as a she-wolf with a dusky gray pelt and dark, dark eyes. She never spoke to her, yet her presence reminded her of some yearning that was hiding deep inside Wraen's heart. Not entirely unfamiliar though - now that she had time to contemplate things more, she realized that this dark-eyed creature had been her friend and constant companion for a very long time. Always standing behind her, looming in the darkness and shadows, Wraen had felt her presence, but had refused to turn around and face her. 

But now that she did not have to keep up appearances, Wraen willingly sought out every fear, insecurity, anger, discontent and unhappiness. That night, in the safety and comforts of a fern grove, she dreamt about finding that dark pool inside her mind, she dived inside, knowing well that, when she would hit the bottom of it, she could rise again and be reborn. She was awoken by the sound of movement and feeling of warmth and, when she looked around, she realized that she was in the middle of a deer herd that had chosen the same place to take a rest. The young wolf smiled to herself - Here I thought that life held no more surprises for me - and moved soundlessly between the sleeping figures, careful not to wake them and scare them. 

Once she had put distance between herself and the herd, she turned to gaze at them once more, and then in the other direction, where the rising steam marked Fire Hot springs, and against the backdrop of the white vapour, she saw another hunter sitting and observing the herd with such an air of royalty as that of a queen's.

She had not noticed the form curled upon the ground, dozing amongst the deer, but her eyes were drawn to it as it unfurled - moving cautiously amongst the dreaming herd. Liri chuckled softly, recognizing it to be lupine as it neared the hill upon which she sat. 

The leader could not call out, for fear of startling the tetrapods away, but she nodded to the other - not recognizing it as Wraen, her ally, from this distance. 

The healer stood, moving just as silently down the slope with caution to not tumble with her uneven gait. As the leader approached, she was pleasantly surprised to recognize the mottled Beta. 

"Wraen," she greeted softly as she halted, tail wagging with welcome. 

Feeling in the mood to have company, Wraen decided to approach the white wolf in hopes to chat a little or, if the other did not want to do that, find out at least, who she was. However, when the distance between them was mere feet, she realized that introductions weren't going to be necessary. She recognized Liri - the leader of Blacktail deer plateau. And even though the former beta of Sunspire was not bound to the alliance anymore, it did not mean she could not be on friendly terms. 

"Good morning," Wraen's voice was loud enough to be heard by the other, but toned down so that it would not startle anyone else. "Admiring the gorgeous beasts?" she asked, turning back to look at the sleeping herd.

"To you as well," she returned in the same low tones, curiosity simmering beneath the polite expression she wore. The wind shifted, revealing the change in the former Beta's scent. She no longer smelled of Sunspire, of the layered scents of pack life. Wraen was now a lone wolf?

"I like to watch them. There's something graceful about them," Liri murmured, mahogany eyes landing on the herd fondly. It was hard not to feel attached to the group of deer that shared her home. 

"You are no longer with Sunspire," she stated softly, her inflection implying that the agouti needn't answer the next question if she didn't wish to, "may I ask why?" If it was personal, or otherwise not the healer's business, then the fae would leave it at that. 

"I get that question often nowadays," Wraen replied with a tired smile. All conversations with either acquaintances or total stranger sooner and later got to that point of "why did you leave?" and by now she had lost or joy to come up with a creative answer. Frankly speaking, she even could not name all those many important reasons that she had been so sure of, when she had split away from the group. 

"It just felt good to do so," she said and this was the most truthful she had got with anyone. "You must know the feeling, surely you have also once left to start something new?"

"I apologize for asking. You just seemed at home with them, at least from the few times I saw your pack." It was hard to picture Wraen a lone wolf, she was so used to associating the agouti with Sunspire's leadership. 

"I believe I have" she murmured, thinking back on the many packs she had sought a new beginning in and how it had taken forming her own to feel at home. "Many a time."

"Would you like to watch the deer with me? They share the plateau with us, but I'm sure you knew that," the sylph smiled lightly, knowing full well that the plateau had been home to the former Beta's family. 

"Well, what can I say... things change, people change as well. It's usually been brewing for a long time before, so I have learned by now," Wraen replied, feeling happy that this part of the discussion was over. After all her leaving was quite a personal matter and, when you were on a so-called soul-searching journey you did not go around bragging about it loud to everyone. It lost it's purpose that way. 

"Definitely," she agreed readily, though, while the deer had not begun to stir and move around, there was little else to see besides their sleeping forms. "Are you planning a pack hunt?"

The more Wraen spoke, the more Liri could empathize. It was strange how alike the two women were beneath the surface. She nodded along, silently thinking of the conflict brewing in her own ranks. She sensed a split in the near future, though she doubted it would be she who gave up her home. Liri was saddened by the prospect of their members leaving but it seemed out of her control. 

Her gaze lifted briefly to the heavens, knowing that the fate of Grezig, of all those effected by the drama, lay in the spirits' hands. 

She was drawn back by Wraen's agreement, tail wagging with joy as she stood to lead the way back up the hill - out of the herd's notice. 

"Perhaps. We've had good fortune in our hunts recently. I don't want to overhunt them but I do prefer to keep an eye on them," she admitted. 

"That's good to hear. Conditions have been favourable for me - a solo hunter - as well. Autumn is drawing to a close, but I still manage better than I expected," Wraen spoke from experience. She knew that this luck was not a norm and that it would too come to an end at some point. She had dealt with hunger before, but did not look forward to facing famine again. 

Liri had not offered any other thread to keep the conversation going, therefore Wraen lied down and watched the beautiful beasts in silence for a long time. Soon, however, her mind drifted from the deer to the Sunspire wolves, wondering, if they had reached their new home safely and if the life there had proved to be everything they had expected it to be. It would be great to go there just for a moment to have a glimpse at them all. Just to make sure that they were fine. Funny, how you cut ties with your group, but you still care for them deeply. 

A roaring sound of a particular kind in the distance drew her out of thoughts and made her focus to the furthest corner of the meadow, where an older stag standing tall and proud, was looking towards the dozing herd and challenging any opponent worthy enough to step out and face him.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure you've had offers," Liri smiled slightly. Wraen was a valuable addition to any group. "But should winter prove unforgiving, the Plateau remains your allies. You'll find sanctuary there should you ever need it."

She lapsed into comfortable silence as Wraen did - mind wandering idly to the conflicts at home. There was nothing she could do about it, save the one thing she refused to - seek out Grezig and plead for some sort of understanding between them. Liri would not beg for the Beta's friendship, for her love.

The cry of an elder caught her attention - freckled crown lifting to take in the grizzled stag with awe. His bugle lifted a plume of white mist into the air, the herd awakening and turning towards him in unison. 

So absorbed in her thoughts, Liri hadn't noticed his approach from the dark confines of the forest to the west. The resident stag of the herd - the king as Liri liked to think of him - came forward. Pawing the ground with broad hooves, his black tail raised in challenge as he faced the challenger with a low warning cry.

The ensuing fight was not too long and it was over in a matter of few minutes. Wraen watched the two stags engage in a fight, struggling to decide, who was the strongest, who was the best. It was interesting to bet on, who would win in the end, and at the same time the huntress found the deer way of establishing dominance a little peculiar. The younger bull won and chased it's opponent, until it was far enough from the herd he was protecting and had claimed at his own. 

"I wonder, how many fights like these they go through during the season," she wondered out loud, turning to Liri now that the main spectacle was over. "Must be exhausting for them too. Especially now, when food will be running low in the coming months. Not that I complain or anything - their loss is our gain."

"I'm not sure. In times past, I didn't call the Flatlands home. The past year I was in the north; the caribou are one of the few species where both genders have antlers but even so you can hear their fighting in the spring for miles around," she shared in low tones as the elder buck was chased away. 

"Indeed, the more that succumb to exhaustion and exposure - the more we predators thrive." 

"The ways of nature I sometimes find hard to understand," Wraen came to a conclusion that, while she was an expert in deer meat and how to stomach it in different stages of decay, she had not the slightest clue, what was happening inside her prey's heads and therefore, why they did things they did. It would probably not help her much at hunting, but it would be interesting to find out at an hour, where more leisure was available.

"Anyway, I should be going now. My sister promised to join me in the coming days and I have to check in every now and then," she got to her feet and stretched, before leaving the white queen of the plateau on her own. "Thank you for your company and see you around, I guess."

Last one from me. Thank you!

The hunter nodded absently, mahogany optics trailing after the elder buck as it fled across the steppes - growing ever smaller until it vanished into the dark confines of an evergreen wood. Her head tilted back towards the herd, watching as they milled about with lingering anxiety at the minor conflict. The younger buck continuously snorted, stamping broad hooves as he patrolled about his harem. 

She could not understand their ways but in truth, were they so different?

Wraen's words brought her attention back to the fact that she was not alone, her eyes seeking the former Spire wolf as if suddenly remembering her presence. 

"Thank you for joining me. Safe journeys, friend," she called out softly as she watched the mottled grey agouti disappear into the grass. 

It was some time before she no longer felt the presence of another, when it was again just Liri and the deer and the waving sea of grasses. The Alpha lingered, watching the deer from atop her knoll until they moved on to pastures warmed by the rising sun.