Wild Berry Meadow line them up on a stage, see which ones are clever and which ones declined with age

Please let @Draper post first.  Other tags are strictly for reference; don't feel pressured to join.

It had been a while since she'd had a moment to step away; it seemed like everything happened so fast ever since she met @Zephyr and @Rowan's ragtag band of misfit toys.  She had a home now, and that was step numero uno.  With winter approaching, it would be best for them all to stick together.  Now she just needed to find someone to take care of her husband up because frankly, all she wanted to do was sit at home, defend the territory, and be some guy's trophy wife.

Until then, she figured she'd do her best to enjoy the place and all of the duties that came with it.  There were a number of territories surrounding where they had decided to set up shop, and she thought it best to familiarize herself with them.. in case of... reasons, of which she was sure existed and were not some paranoid figment of her imagination.

This one was her favorite so far.  The cold had taken away much of the beauty, but she was certain that come springtime this place would be brimming with color and life.  Some of it still remained despite the harshness of the winter; she could name only a few of the berries and ate none of them, but continued her exploration with renewed curiosity for the world around her.

He still felt sore in some places, but that crazy bitch had at least reminded him that yes: some wolves were absolutely insane. He had met a couple of okay ones, but that wasn't saying a whole lot. When the bar was set so low, "okay" was pretty easy to achieve.

Draper trudged onward, still no signs of anybody quite like himself, and at this point, he doubted that would happen. Maybe, when springtime came, he'd seek out one of the "okay" wolves. One of the ladies, that is. Maybe if he found one that was more his type he could make that work. That certainly was an option if it came down to it. The urge to reproduce was a strong one, and last spring he had come up dry (wow, that word choice though).

Stumbling upon some kind of berry heaven, Draper had spent much of the afternoon snacking. They weren't as substantial as some of his scavenging finds, but they were decent and would tide him over until tomorrow. That was good enough for him.

The sound of footsteps pulled him away from his task, and Draper stood still as the blonde wolf came into his view. He took a deep breath, wondering which side of crazy she landed on.

A sound pulls her from her thoughts, some rustling bushes behind a set of trees that shielded the source of the sound.  She slows down, thinking of the girl she'd met in the plains, somehow worried that when she rounds the corner she'll be met with some hostile jab.  The wound in her foot throbs, and she stifles a whimper as she collects herself and rounds the corner.

Her eye lands on him just before he finishes the mouthful he's on.  He's smaller than her, and his features were sharper too.  She'd had enough experience with coyotes to not be weird around him on that alone, but unfortunately for Draper, Electra lacked the social skills he might find in some other lady.  Relieved that she likely wouldn't have to protect her hide, she says, How do you know which ones aren't going to kill you?  I can never tell them apart.

She asked how he knew which ones would kill him and which ones wouldn't, and it took him a long moment before he realized she was talking about the berries and not wolves. Draper chuckled, amused at his own misinterpretation of what she had said, but he mostly managed to keep it together.

The bad ones usually don't kill you, he said, They just leave you hurtin' for a few days.

And hey, that applied to wolves, too. How the heck was he being so philosophical right now?

Name's Draper Featherwind.

He thought of Sleepy then, wondering if this particular wolf might be able to help him attain the information he was looking for. Unfortunately, he had gotten some of the details wrong.

You wouldn't happen to know a Kurtmock, would you? Or maybe a Ratska? Friend of mine says they used to live on the coast, but they aren't there anymore.

Huh. Oh, well. At least if things got really tight, she knew she could come here and eat whatever this was and maybe shit herself a little bit or whatever instead of kicking the bucket.  Well. How do you tell that?

Draper Featherwind, I am Electra. Uh, Vael. Who gave their full name anymore?

To his final inquiry, she sucked in air through her teeth and then sighed. Sorry, pal.  I just got here myself. She hardly knew anyone, even those who mattered to her.  But if they're important to you, maybe I can keep an eye out.  I live over there, she said, gesturing with a paw towards the forest she didn't know the name for, but we OOCly know as Blackfeather Woods.

Experimentation, Draper said, and to make his point, he grabbed a few berries off a bush within reach, chomping down on them before smiling with a mouth full of half-chewed food.

Electra did seem to fall into the category of "not crazy," which was a plus for Draper. And she wasn't terribly bad looking. He really needed to stop checking out wolves and meet more of his own kind. Then again, what if...? Nah, that would never work. But Charles...? Nah, probably not.

Not important to me, but important to my friend Meerkat, Draper clarified. She had pointed to a forest, and Draper looked over to it briefly.

By yourself, or...? he asked.

Maybe he could make another one of those "don't let your pack kill me" deals, assuming she was with a pack.

Oh, she said flatly, but her brows betrayed her surprise as they raised while he chomped down on some berries that neither of them knew what the fuck they were?  Tentatively, she stepped forward to grab a mouthful herself.  If they wouldn't kill her, she could use the nutrients (and handle the pain).  They were delicious, and she curled her toes with delight at how the juices tasted.  

He spoke again, and she snapped back to reality I understand, she said, thinking of the way she would go an extra mile for @Phillip just because he was @Zephyr's friend.  No.  With my brother and some of his friends.  I dunno if I'm sticking around yet but they seem to be a good bunch.

Maybe he was a little reckless, but who wouldn't be in his situation? He had nobody to report to, nobody who reported to him, and he was a free spirit! As much as he yearned for more consistent company, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed some aspects of his loner life. He wandered around, did as he pleased, and if he croaked one day, nobody would be too disappointed. Okay, maybe that was kinda sad.

Electra explained that she was here with a brother and "some friends." That was fairly vague, but who wasn't these days?

Sounds nice, he said.

I dunno where my siblings are these days. I just kinda assumed they figured out what they wanted to do with their life, whereas I just... don't.

If it makes you feel any better, she says conversationally, I don't know either.  Zephyr seemed put together, at least from her perspective — maybe it was jealousy that he had the whole pack and she just sort of had herself.  She'd like to say that she had Zephyr, but they'd just met; maybe in time that could change.  I left home and now I'm here,and I'm only here by chance.  Zephyr, my brother, was an older littermate.  We'd never met.  She shrugs.  And now we have.

There was little else to it than that.  You taught me something, and that's valuable. I don't expect you to stick around or anything, but if you wanted to swing by some time, I could make sure you're greeted kindly.

He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. Maybe it didn't do either. Still, he was enjoying their little chat, and he allowed himself to relax a little bit more. It always went like this when he was eventually able to chill around a wolf. Started out tense, then he'd slowly, slowly ease up around them.

I'll keep that in mind, Draper said when she offered some sort of promise that he wouldn't be eaten on sight. That was now a few packs who would refrain from attacking him, but he knew that those who would attack him far outnumbered those who would not. That's just is.