Silver Moraine Hiraeth

All welcome, but tagging: @Arion, @Saena, @Ryker, @Citali, and @Nochtli!

In the wake of the fire that destroyed Redtail Rise, the displaced pack-members traveled east in the hopes of finding greener pastures.  Memories of home weighed heavy on Reek's heart and mind, but the Rise as they knew it no longer existed in a physical sense, but only in fond recollection. No doubt it was just as hard for the others to cope with, but no one spoke.  A somber silence followed wherever they went.  

The ragtag group of refugees had stopped to rest, but Reek pulled ahead hoping to find paradise over the next hill... However, that was not the case. The storm had touched more than the Rise, that much was obvious.  Felled evergreen trees dotted the landscape like pimples on a pubescent pizza-face; ugly pockmarks on a once tranquil tract of land.  Massive roots stretched into the air like branches that once provided shelter.  In more ways than one, the world had been turned upside down.

Continuing forward through the line of fallen trees, Reek passed into a curious and barren stretch of upturned dirt and rock. He pressed his nose to the ground to examine the damage and came to the conclusion that the storm was not the culprit in making this uneven and uninhabitible shit-hole what it was. Not a single plant grew for as far as the eye could see. No plants meant no prey. For all he knew, they were walking straight into oblivion.

The wolves of Redtail Rise mourned their home. She supposed it was rightfully so. After all, they had set roots in such a place. It was only right for them to miss it. Considering she'd been a lone wolf for far too long, despite her short stint on Frostfire Ridge, she didn't really have such an attachment for any one place. She could not mourn with them, nor sympathize with them, so she set herself to other busywork which included a personal survey of what plants survived the storm. Plants, she could do. Crying, she could not.

When Reek slipped away to scout onward, Citali pressed along behind him. He ventured closer towards where the Frostfire lingered in the distance and she'd be a liar if she wasn't hoping the storm hadn't completely annihilated that pack. Her spite ran deep. In this, her hope ran deeper and turned into bitter disappointment when she realize the storm path hadn't quite gone that far. She scowled. As it was one of her favorite expressions, it was difficult to tell that her face shifted, but she did her best to deepen her look of disappointment as she neared the former Redtail healer.

"Abysmal, isn't it?" she mused, letting her eyes scan over the pockmarked terrain. "Not that it was much better before, but I never imagined the north could be any more horrid than it was perviously. Seems nature proved me wrong." It had before. It likely would again. Alas, nature was something of her expertise and she was constantly relearning its patterns. "Any idea where we are heading?"

Pulling his nose from the dirt, Reek stared out at the wasteland that stretched before him in sober silence while sporting a disappointed grimace. So caught up in his own misfortune, he hardly noticed Citali who followed him and had eventually made her way to his side. It wasn't until she she spoke that he stirred from his sullen spell.  Normally, this would have been a pleasant surprise seeing as how their first impression of each other had gone so poorly, but Reek was feeling far from jovial.  Just as soon as his life got back on on the rails, the universe demanded a derailment. Fucking irony.

Abysmal.  A good word for the empty feeling that had settled in Reek's chest, and likewise, the landscape that Citali referred to.  While he disagreed with her sentiment on the north in general, she was certainly right now. It was trashed, ruined. He nodded in silent agreement before saying, "it's disappointing," in a flat and matter-of-fact tone. Disappointment was a stark understatement, however, words failed to capture how Reek really felt.

She inquired about a plan. One that didn't exist. Unfortunately, due to the unforeseen nature of disaster— plans didn't just fall out of the sky. But, Reek and Saena refused to let on that they had absolutely no idea where they were going. Truthfully, they were making shit up as they went along... but the rest of the pack didn't need to know that. "We're going to keep going East," he said. "It shouldn't be too much farther." A lie, but the others had too much to worry about as it was.

I FINALLY HAVE A ROUTER I'M SORRY -runs around throwing posts up-

The wolves (formerly) of the Rise were a resilient group, their leaders keeping brave faces despite the circumstances. The Amazonian shadow knew the tells, knew the small motions that made things a bit more obvious to her bright eyes. They were wandering, searching with intent, unsure of where the pack would end up. But they kept at it, making sure that their followers' morale stayed up and that they survived. Nochtli made no mention of the Alphas' lack of a plan — despite what Reek was telling Cita now — as it was not her call. These two were doing the best they could for their pack and she would not be the one to but in and cause the others to panic. If anything, it allowed her to find a fair amount of respect for the pair.

Coming up on Cita's other side, she nipped at her friend's flank before looking around her at Reek. "If we're coming up with synonyms, there's dreadful, appalling, awful..." It was an attempt at humor, a bad one at that. She agreed with them though, bright eyes turning to look out at the flat, inhabitable land. This place was no better than the Ridge that Tyrr had climbed upon and so that he could call himself a King. Her thoughts did not stray to Tyrr though, instead racking at her memory to see what she could come up with about the area east of here. She had explored so much; she knew there was something.

"There is the forest to the east..." She mused, turning her eyes to her companions. "Large, plentiful, if it wasn't hit by the tornado. We could pause and see if the prey is plentiful there, to keep everyone well fed, at the very least." Her ears twisted for a moment, tuning in elsewhere before focusing back on the other two. Her suggestion was simply that, and she would take no offense if he brushed it off.

"Desolate. Dismal..." Citali offered as her shadow sister joined them. She had at her fingertips a dozen of dismal words. She'd been using quite a bit of them lately only now she could use them appropriately with out being accused of her inner pessimist; which was often alive and rampant. "Though truthfully this area had little to offer before. Nothing grows on that glacial path save pebbles." And now the trees that lined the once frozen river were also upturned and pockmarked. More reasons not to linger.

Reek said somewhere east. Frostfire was east. The notion of this made Citali's ears quirk with question as Nochtli suggested there might be a place in that direction to stop for a bite to eat. In all seriousness, she sometimes wondered if her sister might have made for a better hunter than a counselor. Most of their conversations ended up being about food. "I vote no porcupines," she teased, remembering Nochtli's nose full of quills.

It was apparent to her that no one really knew where they were going. She'd been a loner for long enough that it didn't much matter to her one way or another, but at these early stages? If she was going to have a say in anything now was the time. "So long as wherever it is isn't a mountain where nothing grows I'll be satisfied." She wanted a garden. A beautiful thriving garden where she could keep herbs at her disposal. Frostfire could not provide that. As Reek was something of a healer, perhaps he could understand her green thumb.

Nochtli was quick to join the impromptu pity party with a much needed interjection of humor. The mood immediately lightened and the synonym sisters were soon in full effect, rattling off any word that could possibly describe the bleak landscape that stretched before them. Mustering a weak smile, Reek stole a welcoming glance at Nochtli before the expression faded back to his resting bitch face while the two continued to trade synonyms back and forth like a couple of cartoon characters.

But after they had finished, Nochtli mentioned something that caught a hold of Reek's attention. A forest east of the Moraine. While it may have been torn apart in the storm (just like everywhere else had), pressing on was worth a shot. Craning his neck, he looked to Nochtli with gratitude in his eyes. "That's where we're heading," he assured, playing it off. "I promise Citali, no mountains— I'm tired of herb runs being an all day affair. Wherever we settle, that'll be a must." If the forest was as bountiful as Nochtli said, growing whatever they wanted would be no problem. Pressure's on.

With the storm driving the prey away, the constant rumbling in Reek's stomach had become common place. Given enough time, his already gaunt frame would waste away into nothing. At this point, Reek would have at least tried with one of Citali's dreaded porcupines. "But, no matter where we go... Food is yes," he continued. Hopefully the forest Nochtli referred to wasn't too far away. They could track back, rouse the pack, and be on the hunt in hours.

Ryker hung back with the others to rest temporarily whilst Reek walked ahead. It had been a long past few days. In relentless attempts to find a place that was habitable for their pack of what seemed like a mere five or six wolves. It wasn't a good sign but hopefully wherever the pack settled next more newcomers would follow.

Ryker could still pick up on the faint sounds of chatter as he decided to follow the trail of the others to see what they were up to. As he approached he heard small banter going on amongst the wolves. Seemed like they were all looking for words to describe the scene in which Ryker had just begun to witness. Downed trees and falling rocks scattered the mountainsides. Seems like the rise might not have been the only pack displaced from their home. Ryker had some concern for wolves he had met after first arriving in the wilds. He hoped everyone was okay but right now he was focused on making sure his immediate 'family' was okay.

"Horrendous," Ryker added to the list of words. He bowed his head to the Alpha and the listened as the conversed as to the location to which they were moving too. He nodded as Reek brought up the subject of herbs and food needing to be easily accessed wherever we settled. "I haven't spent much time here in the mountains, but from what I have seen its not an easy thing finding herbs growing anywhere on this land," Ryker stated in agreement with the others. The land was far to rugged for any useful and much needed plants to grown.

Sorry it took so long. Crazy stuff been going on. I was worried I had lost Rykers place but it turns out i got here just in time. Lost wynter though. That I'll fix though. She wouldn't join this though because she's officially left the pack.

Nochtli remembered Cita's failed attempts at procuring a garden on similar terrain. She could only imagine how unsuccessful she'd be here, and how infuriated her friend would be. But the prospect of no mountains was a wonderful one, her tail wagging slightly as Reek promised them that much. Her ear flickered as an acknowledgement of the male's glance, bringing no more attention to it than that as she nodded. Having an inhouse garden/medicinal supply was a smart thing and she easily agreed.

A third healer joined them (male, likely to Citali's 'delight') and she welcomed @Ryker with a nod, listening to the statement he made, which had basically already been announced by her mocha colored sister. "I can go ahead with Cita to start tracking prey, possibly bring something down. That way there's food waiting for you guys." At this rate, the girl was much more likely to become a Gamekeeper than counsel, which was fine with her. Time as a loner had made her exceedingly proficient at it.

Food was an absolute promise. Or rather, a necessity. Perhaps they'd be able to find something between now and whenever they ended up wherever it was that they were going. She was no gamekeeper or master hunter, but she could follow directions easily enough and knew how to help herd something tasty towards someone who knew better how to end it. There was a reason why she hunted plants. They didn't move and ending their life was just as easy as ripping them out of the ground. Far easier. Sometimes just as messy.

Her opportunity to speak was quickly eliminated as a young male joined them. She bristled instantly. It seemed this pack was riddled with males... and healers. Her lips pursed. Reek himself was barely passable at such a subject and now this one wished to dabble in her art!? "Better to leave the herb finding to someone who better knows what they are looking for then. Would hate for you to get all excited to find something only to misidentify it and end up dead." Or he could go ahead and there would be one less pretender in the world. His choice.

She huffed. A puff of air expelled from her nostrils in the sheer annoyance of the situation. One male healer she might could tolerate, but definitely not a babe dabbling in potions. There would be words. But for now Nochtli had suggested removing themselves from the present situation which sounded like a damn good idea lest her temper fly off the handle and ruin their chances with this pack.

"An excellent idea, dear sister," she said, her words clipped as she took a few powerful strides forward. "If nothing else we can at least find an afternoon snack to tide us all over." Something they could hunt for real would be better, but beggars could not be choosers, now could they?

Soon the trio was joined by the young Ryker, who had previously expressed an intent go get into healing. Citali was quick to jump on the youngster's case much to Reek's amusement. Perhaps having three healers in a pack would be too many. Too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. However, Reek knew having Citali around would be helpful, seeing as she was trained and refined whereas Reek was largely self-taught and crude. Ryker, on the hand— Reek did know know where he lay in the system.

After pleasantly nodding to Ryker in greeting, Reek turned his gaze back to the rocky wasteland. But, soon after their new arrival arrived, the amazons excused themselves to scout ahead and start the hunt. "Thank you," sighed Reek, heavy with gratitude. "Seriously you two, you have no idea how much that means to me— to us. I'll 'rouse the rest the pack and we'll meet up soon."

Turning back to Ryker, Reek said, "Let's get out of here, shall we? Walk with me," before pulling away from the wasteland to begin the short trek back to their temporary rendezvous site.

I think I can wrap it with this post! Thanks for the thread, guys!

"No worries. We said we'd help, and we meant it." As Amazons, their word was their bind, and it held a significant amount of weight to them. Besides, the gratitude Reek expressed made her much appreciative of him as a leader, as their past ones had not even done that. It was a good feeling, to know their efforts weren't ignored or overlooked.

"We'll howl once we bring something down." There was no point in a good bye, seeing that they'd be meeting back up soon anyway. So, with Cita at her side, Nochtli headed off to the east to see about food and shelter for the temporarily nomadic group.

Exit Cita & Nocta! Thread fade.