Firefly Glen innaktuk (3)

From the edge of Neverwinter Forest Kigipigak could see the immense mountain rising on the horizon, dominating the view. As he moved away from one border he found another—well marked and so close to the forest that he was, at first, confused. Had he somehow tread over those invisible lines and delved in to an extension of the claim? It smelled of many bodies here; young like him, others even younger.

Kigipigak stopped and prowled across the grassland, following the hill and seeking more scents. They were very thick as he delved further, and so he stopped and sank back a few feet; he paced, thoughtful, considering going back the way he had come and then returning to the Watch.

A sound among the trees gave him reason to pause. Kigipigak stopped pacing and looked attentively to the dark twists of the trees with a tilt of his head, listening, alert—concerned he may have followed the wrong path.

His path came angling out from the Glen, heading roughly for their northern reaches and beyond. Antares had decided that he could stand to prowl closer to Neverwinter, possibly, since he had not lingered long on prior passes lately. Never hurt to keep an eye out, of course. That was the original motivator and in continuing to keep things secure around here, he thought it prudent to consider all angles--middle-grounds certainly weren't safe from him.

But his trot began to hone in on something after some time, and his ears led the chase for now. He heard the footfalls before he could see the other, but eventually, he could make out pale fur ahead. First suspect was that this would be neighbor, but Antares couldn't find too many markers of the evergreen pack so far It was early still, and his approach was still closing in.

He materialized from between the trees and went towards the pale stranger on a pointed path. Antares brought with him no worries, only scrutiny, though his tailtip did point up. At least the other wolf looked around their age at first glance. Who are you? He'd start this time.

Who are you? Issued forth a strange voice; it was androgynous in nature and came from very closeby. Kigipigak stood up a little straighter and pivoted as he searched for the source.

A pair of night-sky eyes met his copper duo, set in to a young but thick face. The stranger did not look outright hostile; Kigipigak recognized some of the scents hanging about the glen as being this stranger and so he put two and two together.

I am Kigipigak, the traveler responded.

I was seeking the mountainhome beyond this glen, but it is full of fresh scents. You are part of this tribe...? He asked, already having determined the answer based on the way the stranger skulked along the claim's border passage. May I have... passage? I have a meeting with one of the mountain.

Kigipigak, he said. Antares blinked first. Something struck as vaguely familiar in it but that was all. He did not know this wolf, though.

I am, we are part of the mountain's claim, he answered as for their tribe. He still considered them one in the same, and all beneath Moonspear in the end. They just supported this territory and its sprawling hunting grounds, in addition to having privilege to the slopes if they wanted. I can take you. Who do you seek? he asked right after, since it felt natural to be at least mildly suspicious of him before he turned--his nose pointing for a route he kept towards their northern edge, and a relative straight-shot to the Spear.

Which.. he knew all of its inhabits, as least on the basics. He had to wonder who he was looking for among theirs, never having scented him before now. I'm Antares, he said, waiting to ensure the other would step into motion with him; he didn't want to feel followed in this.

As someone who grew up in a small village whose nearest neighbours were a fortnight away in any direction, hearing that this pack of would-be dispersals was more of the mountain was surprising. Would they not run out of food if they shared their land with a second population? Did the tribe of the glen work as hunters and trade their food back to their brethren of the mountain? What sort of arrangement could have them working in such close proximity without issue...?

Kigipigak kept his thoughts and his queries to himself. He had a job to do here, a meeting to reach. He would think about these things at a later time and wonder at all hours of the night; but now was not the time, so when the shadow asked for clarification Kigipigak was eager to answer.

I seek Kukutux. We are not the same tribe but... Our people share a common way of life. She invited me for a meal. He did not want to be discourteous or secretive; however, this was but a boy, and Kigipigak did not want to confuse him or bring attention down upon himself for his true reasons. A match-making was a private affair.

When he revealed who it was he sought, Antares said nothing at first. Hearing her name so freshly after his reminded him, he felt the syllables strike similarly and maybe that explained something. Maybe that was what he had been drawn to before. On the whole, it was a viable explanation so he replied first on a slow nod--though he still seemed a little suspicious. Willing, but.. 

After an exhale, and being sure his company was coming, he picked up an smooth trot towards the mountain as it loomed. Antares would skim a route on their northern edge borderlands, and on the way, hoped that the mother was home; he hadn't noticed her leave recently, so.. he was trying to trust this fact first. So what is your tribe? he had to ask--wondering who his aunt was fostering relationships with most of all. He knew about the ugi thing too.. was this related somehow, or something different? He would deliver this visitor but hopefully in exchange for whatever he could find out. We are Firefly Glen, of Moonspear, the dark yearling had pointed his snout upward then at the end; maybe Kigipigak knew this already in some way, depending on what exactly he had heard before from Kukutux.

The boy was willing to escort him some of the way at least, judging by the manner in which he set off and did not drive Kigipigak away; so the northern wolf followed, a burly spectre besides a hefty shadow.

He had anticipated the question about his tribe and lobbed an answer back without pause. It is called the Raven's Watch, a piece of a mountain that friends of mine have taken as their home. Before that I came from the far north within Tartok territory; a place where ice and sea is plentiful. 

As the other boy explained, this glen was both a segment of the greater mountain territory and separate from it. A tribe of the foothills with loyalties to someone upon the mountain. It was a strange arrangement to Kigipigak but there was much about the southlands that he was adapting to.

You have not been here long, though. He comments, basing this upon the many very fresh scents. An established claim of long standing would have layers of old beneath the new, which this place so far lacked.

Antares sought to set the pace, but still keep the traveler nearby as he noted for the first time Raven's Watch. It being a piece of mountain interested him, and Tartok, felt somehow weighty as well like maybe he had heard it before. He had certainly heard that Kukutux came from a place of ice and sea, north, but not Tartok.. right? Something to ask, either his aunt or uncle, later. Raven's Watch is news to me, he mentioned to try to hint for anything else in a broad sense, wondering how far or how new it truly was. Whatever the case, it lead him towards considering what sort of relationship they were fostering once more--especially if it might concern Moonspear's greater good, or his little cousin's future. Maybe that was jumping ahead, though.

On the tail of his next question, he pinned Kigipigak as pretty perceptive, at least. No. Only officially for about a moon, he replied. It was getting close enough to such a marker, and he rounded up only a little. But it has been my family's hunting grounds for years, and there are enough of us now to make that statement.. more firm. It was a concise summary only for free as they skimmed the Glen's reach.

His observation had been correct. Kigipigak would make note of what he learned here, bring it back to Stjornuati.

It was good to know which of the valley tribes were strong and which were not; so far there were many tribes within this small area but it was Moonspear, and by proxy this glen tribe, which was the most widespread. They had to have many wolves roaming their extensive claim in order to maintain it; best to keep on their good side, then.

In the north our tribes are solitary, Kigipigak mentions. They tend towards being family groups; parents, aunts and uncles, sometimes grandparents. It is rare that they grow as large as your joined claim, but the north is not a place of such... containment, not like this southern land of valleys. An easy-going conversation to pass the time as they journeyed.
It is impressive. Kigipigak compliments.

He went easy into the role of listener as he guided their route, cataloging this alongside what little else he knew of the north. Most of it had trickled from Kukutux in one way or another, he realized. After, the dark yearling dipped his head to the bit of praise, if it was meant as such. Impressive was one way to call it. Yeah? It is a family thing at the core here, but not exclusively. Others had certainly come to join them for many reasons and run alongside them all the same. My grandparents founded the claim, distant allies have come and gone. And some were probably so inconsequential that it had never mattered for him to learn about them before. We're the first of something so.. he paused with a gesture that swung his snout, concluding on the mountainside ahead. It was a lot of things. .. homegrown, here. he explained in such a very vague, general sense.

Time would tell what they were going to do with it exactly. Antares was proud, and he was confident in his footing in many regards, but it was all new in practice still; he was figuring out the groove of the bigger picture. Maybe talk to him again in six months or so and his opinion might have a better backbone. For now, it was best to go smoothly though.

What about Raven's Watch--are there neighbors there? he asked, curious enough. Or were they far enough north to be solitary too? Down in this relatively southern stretch, had never felt that crowded here in their nook of the Wilderness, but not since the famines (thanks to the earthquakes) that had accompanied his earliest hunts, he had not felt pressed for resource.

A family affair. That was how all tribes started, it was interesting to Kigipigak that this particular family had such well established holdings; it was rare enough in the north to find a small family in good health, let alone a growing kingdom.

What about Raven's Watch—? The boy asked of him.

Kigipigak could not give a straight answer to this, as he had not explored the area around the claim all that well before departing. He thought about his answer as he walked, his answer somewhat obscure.

I have not met any. They could be far, they could be close and well hidden. Perhaps they are afraid! My brothers are warriors first-most. He lets out a small chuckle at the thought of wolves sneaking around like vermin.

While there was not much to be said for the meat of the answer, Antares still appreciated its delivery. He smirked over his shoulder. Perhaps they are wise to keep away then, he offered with a smirk, and could likely carry them in a higher favor knowing that they were warrior sorts. It was all the more reason to watch where the relationship between the two packs may go. Maybe there could be something there.

Plenty more he could say, he opted to focus on what was ahead. I'll let her know we're coming-- the dark yearling gave a brief pause to lift his muzzle skyward and howl short note to Kukutux so she could expect their arrival--that she had a visitor he was delivering; he didn't want to interrupt any business if he could help it. This way, she could meet them accordingly, then with that said, he kicked up his gait to a lope and urged their route towards the elevations on faster.

As they came upon the middlepoint, where the glen tribe met the mountain's earliest hills, the shadow called to alert Kukutux of their passage. Kigipigak appreciated this—at the same time, he was not yet ready to make that last leg of the journey. Fortunately there was a corridor of no-mans-land between the two claims that wound south and then west, clearly overlooked by the constant passage of bodies between the territories and poorly marked. Here Kigipigak would wait.

Thank you for the escort, he said to the boy. There is time enough for me to make the rest of the journey without distracting you from your duties, and I would like to find a gift at the very least. Kigipigak thought he'd have time enough to hunt down something small; perhaps a songbird, or a collection of inedible feathers, something that would not bother the wolves of this land should he take it for himself.

He looked to Antares and wondered if the boy would take offense to this attempt to dismiss him, and smiled in a friendly - still somewhat guarded - manner. It was good to speak with you. I have much to learn of you southmen.

To the thanks, he dipped his muzzle with a short nod. The rest of the path was plain to see from here, even on their fringes. He trusted the northwolf could figure it out, not that his other duties were so pressing that he must go immediately. I will leave you to it then, he said, though he might not be far; he still didn't trust the stranger that much, good company or not. They had only just met but Antares could respect the want to finish the trek himself. It was. And I think we may cross paths again, was what he offered in lieu of a true farewell as he began to turn away to head off elsewhere.