Blacktail Deer Plateau so get your head out of the clouds and get your feet back in the dirt my friend

internal territory discovery? @Nieve

The Plateau was certainly no Sound, and Raleska found herself missing some of the smaller comforts of her home. She had never thought she’d miss the Grotto, but here she was picking her way through the forest, wondering if any tunnels lurked under her feet. 

One thing she wished to explore further, however, was a dark mark that stood a distance away along the plateau’s face. It was too far to tell its shape truthfully; Raleska believed it might be a tunnel in the plateau’s wall. She suspected with the frequent gyrations of the earth, that such a conquest was dangerous — but it didn’t stop her from making her way absently towards the edge of their claim anyway.

Like Raleska, Nieve missed home, but it wasn't the grotto that she pined for. She missed the sea foaming over the dark sand and the tide pools where oysters and urchins might be found. She missed her toes in the water and the ever present crash of the waves. She missed the towering sequoias that stood sentinel over their cove.

The plateau didn't feature any of these things. The forest was more dense, the trees short and thin in comparison to the giants on the coast. The packed earth and stone was hard on her paws, which were accustomed to the shifting sand of the shore. The rivers and streams were lined with more pebbles than sand. The wind was louder and colder here than she was used to. It cut through her short fur like razor blades when it howled.

Nevertheless, Nieve remained optimistic that the sea would calm eventually so they could return to their home. In the meantime she made the most of the plateau, digging hollows in the ground to serve as shelter, collecting leaves to line the beds, and mapping the borders. Searching for Scarab took a back seat to making the plateau more comfortable for its transient residents. She was just on her way from the borders when she ran into Raleska.

Following the woman's gaze, Nieve too noticed the dark smudge on the wall that might hide a cave or a path through the mountain. The golden juvenile moved to flank the Epsilon, announcing herself by quietly wondering, D'you think it could lead back to the grotto?

Raleska's studying of that strange spot came to an end as a voice sounded besides her. She had heard Nieve's approach only seconds before she heard her voice -- turning an ear towards Nieve, Raleska drew her gaze away. She didn't know what it was -- but she didn't think it was safe. She liked the idea that it could potentially lead back to the Grotto, but was the Grotto even in existence anymore? Or had it collapsed under the endless pummeling of the sea?

"I wonder.." She answered, her tail swaying as she turned back to that distant mouth. "I don't think we can get to it.. and it's probably not safe.. but I kind of worried more, about whether or not there was something in there." Like the boogeyman, came a voice in her head -- or the hellcat that had nearly killed Svalinn. She hadn't scented any cougar here, but the Plateau was still relatively unmapped, and she wasn't quite settled in yet. "I was going to go look for a new place for headquarters, or something.. Do you want to come?"

Like a bear or something? Nieve guessed, having no knowledge of how a bear had once upended Raleska's entire life. It was possible here in the mountains they would encounter all manner of hostile beast; for the wolves of the coast, this was uncharted territory. Nieve wasn't afraid of bears or mountain lions, having had no occasion to fear such things, but the gentle wag her tail had adopted was stilled by the thought all the same.

You think we'll be here long enough to need a headquarters? she asked, accepting Raleska's offer silently by stepping forward and bumping her hip lightly against the Eyjolfur's. A place like the grotto would be nice. Like being home, sorta. Even if the sound of the sea would always be the thing she missed most, at least a cave would remind her—maybe everyone else, too, she hoped—of the sound. Of home and happiness and safety.

A bear hadn’t even occurred to Raleska. She started subtly, looking at the ominous hole with a new sense of dread. 


She did not know which was worse. Lion or bear. Whether one was more evil than the other was pushed aside by the hope that neither considered the Plateau their home. Coming back from her worried thoughts in time to register the slight bump of Nieve against her hips, Raleska considered her most recent question with a frown.  Hopefully not bear... or anything. Maybe it’s an old badger den. she could hope.. As for how long we will stay... I don’t know. It doesn’t seem safe on the coast. Raleska reflected bitterly on how her home — and Nieve’s— was primarily underwater. Do you want to see if we can find anything here..? Besides bear, I hope. Maybe we will find something like the Grotto..

Normally Raleska was so certain of everything, or at least she seemed that way to Nieve. To hear her waver on when they might return to Ankyra Sound made the gilded girl a little uneasy, but she quickly put it from her mind. Erzulie had said much the same thing: the coast wasn't safe and they might be here a while.

She didn't like it, but there wasn't anything to be done for it now. They needed only to survive, so despite her question, Nieve saw the benefit of finding somewhere like the grotto where they could hunker down.

Maybe we will find something like the grotto, Raleska suggested, and as she had said previously, Nieve agreed that somewhere similar to their home would be a comfort to the Rusalkan wolves. Let's go check it out, then, the gold teen decided, trotting toward what she hoped was a sizable cave mouth in the side of the mountain.

It wasn't just Nieve that was unhappy with their relocation. Raleska missed the sound -- or specifically, what it had been before the storms. Now it was a place of loss and terror, and no love.

She eyed that dark inlet a moment longer, delayed in following after the gilded teen. She dreaded finding bear or mountain lion within that black mouth, but swallowed her sense of dread and dutifully picked up her pace until she was alongside Nieve. The mouth of the hole only seemed to grow larger the closer they got, as if it was a giant's jaw opening wide to receive them.

Ignoring the chill that climbed her spine, Raleska looked up the promontory -- the going would not be easy, but maybe together they could spy a way to climb its face. "Looks like a jutting of rock over there we could climb," Raleska ventured, knowing it went without being spoken to be careful here.

From afar, the cave seemed small and manageable, but up close the entrance yawned above them, conjuring images of an indomitable labyrinth hidden in the depths of the mountain to Nieve's mind. That brought the grotto to mind, so unlike Raleska, Nieve felt no trepidation. Instead she was excited by what the cavern might hide within, and was already scanning the mountainside for a way up when the Epsilon suggested the rocks.

Good idea, said Nieve, and she wasted no time clambering up to the first foothold. D'you think if we can't go home, we can find somewhere more like it? Maybe with a river and some tr—

Her voice was cut off by a shrill yelp as the rock below Nieve's hind feet shifted and fell, sending her tumbling back to the ground with a whuff of air from her lungs.

Raleska's words scarcely left her lips before Nieve made motion to clamber up the rise. A smile, rare and quick to fade, pressed Raleska's lips as she saw the girl, full of her own admirable resolve, get ready to tackle the stonework. That all rapidly faded as Nieve yelped and then fell in a split second, giving Raleska hardly any time to respond before rocks, dirt, and Nieve came tumbling to the earth.

"Holy --" Raleska caught herself from swearing, coming to stand over Nieve with concern etched across her features as she looked from the girl, to the ominous rise above. Now she wanted even less to do with that darkening mouth, if that was possible. "Are you okay?!"

Nieve was winded and struggled momentarily on her back before righting herself. She remained down, limbs splayed in front of her as she eyed the wall. The cave mouth was right there, just barely out of reach, and she was feeling more and more positive that getting to it would make this place feel more like home.

I'm okay, she answered when her breath returned to her, turning a narrow gaze upon Raleska. What do we do now? The foothold they'd hoped to use wasn't a safe one. There were other rocks they could potentially test, but based on what had just happened, Nieve feared it was only a matter of time before one of them was injured if they tried their luck. Perhaps the cave would remain unreachable for now. She hated to give up that easily, though.

Raleska nosed Nieve in alarm, already panicking -- thank god the girl got up. Raleska would have never lived with herself, having to explain to her mother that she had been the reason her golden daughter was paralyzed for life. Trying to shake off her shaken composure, Raleska unbelted a deep sigh and looked from Nieve to the yawning chasm above.

Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a good idea. It was at least fifteen feet above their heads, enough to cause some serious damage if either of them god forbid, lost their footing. "I hate to give up." Raleska admitted, her chin jutting in a stubborn expression. "But I don't want either of us to break anything either. Maybe there's a way to get to it from the top?" But crawling down a plateau's face was equally dangerous, and Raleska soon regretted suggesting that.

Nieve hiked herself up on her narrow elbows, searching for a promising path from above, but there was no obvious way to the cave entrance. It occurred to her that the only way to reach the mouth above was to find another entrance elsewhere. That was an adventure in and of itself, and would need to wait until another day.

Her stomach growled suddenly and she slowly gathered her feet below her, casting an apologetic look at Raleska. Guess I'm getting hungry, she said, and though it was delivered in her usual dulcet tone, it was humourless. The hunger would only get worse, and in hindsight, wasting energy on pursuits like this would soon become unwise.

Maybe we can go get something to eat? We can always try this another day.

Can fade here!

Eating seemed like an amenable compromise. Raleska tried not to take their failure to heart. Neither of them had wings, and Nieve had nearly been gravely injured. In a time where things were lean, and plants and food scarce, it seemed unwise to tempt the fates.

She nodded dully, ready to accept their change in plans. They could always try to discover more about this darkened den another day, from some other vantage... and eating always had a way of refreshing the mind so you could see problems from new, previously unseen angles.

"Good idea." Raleska smiled, walking and chatting alongside Nieve as they made their way towards their gradually thinning caches.