Broken Antler Fen if you were church, i'd get on my knees.

If there was one thing Penn Blackthorn did not do, it was admit weakness. Even the shortcomings he was aware he had, he didn't actually consider to really be shortcomings. For example, he knew he was not blessed with greater than average size and strength and he didn't try to fool himself into thinking he was. But that didn't necessarily make him weak. He made up for it by being quick and cunning enough that he didn't need to be a powerhouse, and so that "weakness" was irrelevant.

He was troubled with this one, though. Penn had spent the morning walking the borders, completely forgetting he was supposed to be pissing on them so basically being useless. His mind was on his delightful reunion with Fennec, which... could have gone better. Could have gone worse, but could've gone better. He was contemplating his next move and quickly discovering he wasn't too sure what it ought to be. That's when the unthinkable thought had popped into his brain.

He should...

Ask...

For advice.

Penn's entire being rebelled against the notion. That was definitely admitting weakness, and it was admitting to a mental lacking which was just severely not okay. If he was proud of anything, it was of his wit and intelligence, which far outshined most. He just needed to think on it more. Or, think of a way to reconcile this unspeakable need to seek someone else's opinion on the situation.

I have too many characters in this area, cannot resist

Bridget was a big fan of these new digs.  The trees were thick enough to remind her of home, but there was water everywhere.  And while some wolves might mind that, she was thrilled, because that meant 'hollllyyyyy shit think of the duck hunting this spring'.

For now, the lakes were iced over.  She was tempted for a brief moment to try her luck on the surface, but getting a dunk and drowning so soon into joining had to be bad manners.  So instead she went for a jaunt closer to the edge of the fen.  Where she would then, at some point, run into Penn.  (Between Penn, Fenn, glen, and fen my brain just...)

She recognized him from the meeting they'd had, and he seemed to be right around her age (if a little younger).  Perfect.  Hey, you! She called out, jogging to catch up.  You got a name?  Sorry, didn't get to actually really meet anyone at that meeting before.  She laughed, a little breathlessly.  I'm Bridget.

<333333 you are always welcome to not resist!

Penn heard her before he saw her. He turned to watch as a blond wolf appeared on the snowy landscape behind him. He felt a brief jolt of electricity through his body the second his eyes landed on her, due in no small part that for a moment, he thought she was Fennec. But a second glance at the markings on her face told him otherwise, and he settled. He remembered this chick.

He stopped moving to let her catch up, offering her one of his most devilishly charming smiles. "I have a few names," he replied with a smirk, "You can call me Penn, though. Most do." He paused, then added, "I remember you. You're the late girl."

*o* <3

Late girl.  I like it.  She grinned, self-satisfied, and finished her approach to stand with a lazy stance.  Few names, huh?  You change those by the week or is more on a case by case basis?  Polite thing would be to give a girl a heads up on that sort of thing, mainly so that she could choose if she'd just give him a name herself and leave it at that.  Though, if she was readin him like she thought she was, she might end up naming him regardless.  Trouble.  She knew a kindred spirit when she saw one.

You been running with this group long?  She asked, falling easily into conversation.  She hadn't managed to snag anyone to get a good feel of the place yet, and it would be nice to nab some perspective from a few of the longer standing ones.  Not that anyone here felt particularly settled.  That was kinda the whole point of laying down roots, yeah?

Penn smirked at her response. The sentiment resonated with him as he too would probably take pride in being late. He took a moment to give her an appraising look where he'd mostly dismissed her before once he'd determined that she was not Fennec. She had a pretty face and interesting eyes. Since that was paired with a sense of humor, he decided to categorize her as interesting. He'd wait to stretch it further and consider her worth his time just yet, though.

"It evolves as circumstances dictate," Penn answered with a shrug. He'd been called Pox as a child out of affection by a mother that amused herself by comparing his rambunctious, rebellious nature to a disease. Maturity (LOL) had driven his name to shift to Penn because it sounded cooler. In truth, his actual name was Foxegrine, though he'd never actually gone by it before. He was sure there'd come a day when a new nickname would come along and stick. He kind of liked to keep changing it--keep people guessing. Never commit to being one person. He liked not committing.

"Yeah, on and off I'd say for a few months," Penn replied as he started walking again, just making the assumption that she'd follow, "I grew up with Maia and Wraen, though I spent a while on my own before running into them again." He paused to give her time to appreciate how independent and cool he was before continuing, "What brought you here?"

Interesting.  Did he choose them, or did another?  Bridget assumed maybe a combination of the two.  Wolf of many faces, she answered laughingly.  She liked the sound of it.

She also appreciated that Penn seemed to have the the same easy manner she did when it came to talking with strangers.  Sometimes she had to do a little work, but this time there wasn't any awkward to it.

Good to know they appreciate some freedom of movement.  Bridget had been thinking it might be nice to explore a bit more of their new home.  She'd appreciated their time as loners, in spite of the constant worry over her companions, because she'd been able to see so many new places.

My friends and I came from another pack, one that broke apart.  She shrugged.  It was a good group!  But not meant to last.  There wasn't... y'know? That feeling.  Though didn't have much of that in my first home either.  There was no bitterness to it, just a friendly amusement.  She'd been a little shit as a kid, so she couldn't blame them too much.

Penn nodded. He too appreciated that Wraen and Maia had always been open to him coming and going as he pleased. Sticking with them seemed to have given him the best of both worlds--the freedom to travel and explore as much as he wanted while still having a place to return when he was tired or hungry. He definitely was getting the better end of the deal since he got to do whatever he wanted and steal their food, but not if you asked him. The pack was blessed to have his periodic company.

"Ah, that feeling," Penn repeated, casting her a quirked brow smirk. He didn't know what nonsense she was talking about--probably just some female thing.

It was clear he was messing with her, and she gave him a friendly look like really before laughing.  There's places that feel like everyone's interested in actually knowin everyone else and places that don't.  She answered, feelin like that was probably the best way to describe it.  Least so far, this place is showin some promise.  Even you, oh man of many names.

She knew that, in joking, she might be giving an impression here, but she never worried about that off the bat.  Instead she stretched, then stood.  Anyway, Penn.  You look like a guy I can trust to have an answer for this... what do you do for fun around here?  They could keep sitting around and talking, but a bit of challenge lit up her expression.  Nothing wrong with a healthy game amongst friends and she was feeling restless.  Hunting competition?  Spar?  You name it, she was in.

His comment prompted her to explain, as he'd wanted. She still didn't make much sense to him, but mostly because he hadn't experienced a place where anyone didn't want to know him. Everyone wanted to know him. At least, he'd never noticed if someone didn't.

He shrugged to acknowledge her explanation, but kept quiet until she asked a question he was actually interested in. Penn glanced around with a look of exaggerated boredom. "Haven't really figured that one out yet," he answered, "I'm still working on getting the lay of the land. So far, it's just your average forest. No cliffs to dangle over, no resident carnivores to harass, no rapids to cross... I know plenty of places outside the territory, though." He glanced sidelong at her, a smirk crawling across his muzzle. She had to be game for some fun to ask a question like that, right?

See, I knew you had some promise.  What a list, huh?  She dropped the previous conversation easily in favor of this new one.  Bridget wasn't one prone to dwelling on what she didn't have when she had a potential friend here posing such interesting pastimes as cliff diving and predator torment.

You got a favorite? Because I've got time to kill and, frankly, nothing that needs doing.  Her pelt prickled in anticipation at the thought.  His smirk did not hit her, but the promise of the world stretched beneath her or a river crashing by both sounded entirely new.  The forest hadn't had anything nearly so fun, and yet she'd managed to get into plenty of trouble there.  At least now she was old enough and smart enough to make sure none of it followed her home.

Penn glanced sidelong at her as she made her assessment of him, claiming that she showed promise. As though he was the one that ought to be judged. This chick had no idea what she was dealing with, though he resolved that she'd know soon enough.

"I've got some ideas," Penn answered with a grin, pivoting abruptly to turn their trajectory North.

Fast forward!

The shores of Lake Rodney weren't a far jog from the pack's borders. Penn hadn't visited lately, but he had a suspicion about what he might find there. His eyes narrowed on the shoreline as it came into view and a smile leaped across his muzzle. It was just what he'd wanted, and he slowed to a stop to admire it as they reached the banks of the lake.

A flat, shining sheet of ice stretched out a few yards from his toes out into the water. Snow drifted across it as the wind blew, but not enough to block his view of the great chunks of ice that walled its far edge. They shot up like great splinters, glinting in the sun. His eyes flashed eagerly, but he resisted bolting out onto the not-so-trustworthy sheet of ice to go exploring in order to look over at Bridget.

"Now, if you hear the ice splintering beneath your paw, my advice is to stop moving until it settles," he paused, then shrugged, "Or run for your life. Judgement call, really." He smirked. "You ready?"

Penn was willing and Bridget was more than eager to let him lead the way.  She figured his bark was bigger than his bite and he'd take her someplace lame, but instead he actually kind of delivered.  When he stopped, it was in front of an ice field, and it only took Bridget a moment to realize what he was getting at.  Oh hell yes.

Instantly her competitive side kicked into gear.  It wasn't something she'd had the chance to lean into much - try competing with a wolf like Teya.  She loved her to death, but honestly... Teya'd probably apologize to her for winning.

She shrugged off his explanation, tickled he thought she needed it, and the look she shot him made it clear she was humoring him.  I think last one across gets dinner, she replied, smiling in a way that was clearly inciting a dare.  And then she took off, recklessly, across the ice.

Bridget was ready to go. He grinned at her comment and was quick to follow when she suddenly took off onto the ice. It proved to be a bit sturdier than it looked, though I can't say he really paid any attention if it did creak or shift a bit as he went. He was too focused on beating Bridget to the ice piles. If he drowned in the process, that was an exciting enough death that he wouldn't mind it so much. As long as he left behind a good story.

He didn't slow when he reached the giant chunks of ice, instead leaping up onto the highest shelf he could reach. He landed with a laugh, though his smile slipped when he felt the pile shift beneath his paws. He crouched low, bracing himself on the ice and keeping as still as possible. There was no further movement, though he still could hear it creaking, threatening to shift again if he made a wrong move. That was the whole fun of it, though, so he merely straightened, wagged his tail, and looked over at Bridget to see what she was up to.

Bridget had been a regular of the frozen ponds the winter she'd spent back home.  Natural daredevils couldn't do any less, right?  She'd only ever doused herself once, and while it was a scary enough experience to make her quit for the day, it had hardly left a dent otherwise.  She ran with claws in at first but, with a whoop, stopped her momentum at the piles and rocked back on her pads. With her legs braced for balance she went sliding a ways, spinning around slowly towards the end to face Penn.  

She'd wondered if her newfound friend was as big as he talked and delighted to find that he was, in fact, the same type of idiot!  Well, shit, guess I forgot we need a judge.  Call it a tie?  She laughed, then half-walked, half-slid over to the base she'd bypassed.  She'd honestly learned a little secret, facing off against the kids back home.  If you ran rather than walked, your chances of actually breaking through and falling in were way lower.  Least... as long as the ice wasn't complete shit.

There was a ledge a bit lower than his own that she hopped up onto as well, and as she did, she too heard a crack.  Seems this might not be entirely stable, which made her wonder briefly how the hell it had even gotten here in the first place.

"I'll accept a tie for now, but we'll need a rematch at some point," Penn called back to her as he watched her move across the ice. He waited for the ground to crack beneath her and send her flying for safety (which would have made him laugh at her expense), but she made it safely up onto a ledge without incident. He too felt the ice shift when she hopped up, but she didn't run for it and neither did he. He may have found a legit kindred spirit.

He probably ought to test the theory.

"Seems like the ice is somewhat stable," Penn mused aloud as he looked around, "Let's see how well it all holds up." With that, he jumped straight up in the air and landed back in the same spot. He heard it creak again, but it wasn't anything too alarming. He glanced at Bridget, grinned, and then jumped up again.

Oh, Bridget caught his dare. She jumped once, off kilter from him, and then paused. The look in her eye became sharper and her smile grew wider. She rarely ran into anyone whose energy she could play off of like this and, immediately, she rose to the challenge.

She paused, waiting, and timed her jump with his. They landed together, heavier than necessary, and the ice gave an ominous crack. She felt it begin to list, slightly, to the left, and she paused only long enough to try and catch Penn's eye.

Ohhh fuck, she crowed, way too enthusiastically cheerful for the way the ice was likely about to send them both for a swim. Doubtless he'd be right beside her as she surged forward in a leap, heedless of the fact that she was about to land pretty heavily on the ice below again. Time to bounce!

is it cool if we fade this one soon? :)

Bridget would not be outdone. Instead of scolding him for his shenanigans, she joined right in. Penn grinned and continued jumping, now eager to make the ice shift beneath them even though (and because) it meant their position would become more dangerous.

When the inevitable happened, Penn steadied himself on the plane of ice for a moment, feeling it shift beneath his paws. He began to tilt to one side, slow at first and then swiftly. The blue water opened beneath him with a loud crack like a mouth opening wide to swallow him whole. He slid towards it, but at the last moment was leaping away to land on another icy surface. One that was also moving, as Penn quickly determined many of them within the near vicinity were.

With a laughing howl, Penn jumped again, dancing from shard to shard as they shifted and moaned beneath his paws. He slipped plenty, even once dousing a hind paw in water so frigid it hurt. He ignored the pain, though, and kept right on going until finally he leaped away from the shards and landed back on the flat plane the piles bordered. He heard the ice there cracking, but stood still until he determined it would not break beneath him. He turned then, searching for Bridget to see how she fared, his tongue dangling from his jaws as he smiled wide and breathless.

fading here!

Bridget was off as soon as the cracking started, racing across the ice. Like Penn, she didn't bother to look back or to see if her newfound partner-in-crime had made it. For a moment, the only things in the world that existed were her, the cracking ice beneath her feet, and the frigid water below it. It was exhilerating.

Her nearest miss was a moment when she nearly slipped, but managed to catch herself before her shoulder went crashing through the thin ice. She scrabbled and dug her claws in deep as she could, sprinting to a panting finish on the bank and spinning to see Penn on the side as well. She sat down and started to laugh, absolutely brimming with adrenaline and the energy of the moment. Shit, that was good.