Broken Antler Fen Here

Sebastian trotted past Lake Rodney. He had a lot of memories at this lake from the time he was staying at the Caldera pack. He had injured his shoulder badly and needed to recover for quite a while. The male looked over the lake before threading further. He hoped to find a good location for his new pack. He liked the south even though his father and his pack of quickly irritable minions were close. Sebastian wanted to settle a bit more south. His paws traveled further, around Lake Rodney. He had to cross river to get to the other side of the lake. The air was crisp. The landscape drained into a low point which made place for a rich wetland embraced by a broad timberland of sweet-scented cedar and willow.

As Sebastian looked down into the dip into the landscape he was memorized by the richness of the land. As a future healer these wetlands would be a great source of herbs and plants, not only the aquatic ones. The male stepped further, careful not to cross any pack boundaries, but as it turned out there were none. The place felt so still and serene especially because the boughs of the forest sheltering the area. Sebastian instantly felt like this could be his new home. He had the feeling that even Aduin would like it. Sebastian stepped closer to the water as he did there were several broken moose antlers littering the ground. An indication that there was at least one big prey animal around. Sebastian raised his muzzle a bit, sniffing the air, followed by him looking over the water fronts.

He loved water and fishing. His eye fell on a beaver dam, which only indicated that there were more prey species around. Sebastian wondered... trying to imagine himself as the alpha of this place.

Though Ness had traveled quite far from Moonspear, her return to the peak was imminent. She had little to no intention of leaving her pack for any permanent reason, but circumstance was an unpredictable phantom— any number of things could prevent her return, none of which she considered on her journey now. The teenager had been quite lucky on her travels before and she rather enjoyed exploring, having not yet been a victim of anything that would deter her from the gratifying pasttime.

The sun rose once or twice (she didn't keep track) before she reached as far south as she wanted to go. A lake glistened before her, the fringes hard with a rim of ice, but the main bulk of the lake dipped and waved in the southwest winds. She took a few tentative laps at the water, shaking her head as the chill overwhelmed her senses and stunned her teeth. Licking her chops, Ness began to stroll along the length of the lake, keeping the forest on her right side. Having eaten earlier, she wasn't keen on hunting but kept her options open considering that there was no telling when her next meal would com around before she made it back to Moonspear.

Instead of finding the scent of prey, however, she found herself following the trail of a male wolf. He materialized as she crested a small hill set against the curve of the lake— a stormy, heavyset creature that seemed to be observing his surroundings.  "You look thoughtful," she commented airily as she began to descend from behind him, wagging her tail slowly. She paused some feet away from the wolf, attempting to gauge his demeanor.

Sebastian had been quite absorbed by his surroundings wanting to make his pretend real. He felt like he was ready for the next step. He was almost three years old. He might be officially an adult already but sometimes it was tough to feel like one. The young male turned his head to a new sound. His pale eyes looking up curiously, the sound had not been vicious which meant that he had not been startled. Though he looked at bit surprised when seeing another wolf, a younger female. Sebastian quirked up his lips a bit in a handsome smile. Instead of being vicious and chasing her away the male had a different approach.

"Actually, I was deep in thought," he admitted to the female as she walked more down into the dip of the landscape. Sebastian pushed himself to his feet, his tail wagging gently as did hers. His nose registered some other wolves in her fur which often meant that she was living in a pack. He was curious to know if there were any packs around. Sebastian didn't want the same fiasco as he had with Saltwinter and wanting to settle too close to their lands. "I am Sebastian," he introduced, leaving a moment of quiet if she wanted to reply with her own name. Not all wolves where that open, he would know soon enough if he could ask her more questions once she replied. Sebastian was very open to meeting new wolves especially now.

thank you for replying <3

"Sebastian," she repeated, dipping her muzzle slightly. "Well met. M'name's Ness," the youth introduced, not bothering to mention were she was from or if she had any particular business here— which she didn't. Bravely, Ness closed the gap between them until she was almost nose to nose with the stromgray wolf, sniffing at him with broad interest. Her tail was lifted and waving, but it was more a reflection of her bold age than a display of dominance. Seemingly satisfied with something, she took a step back, mis-matched eyes peering at curiously. "So what were you thinking about? It seemed pretty deep, whatever it was."

Sebastian pulled his head a bit back when she stepped closer, more because he could be an awkward thing when it came to females and he was a bit unsure what she was planning to do. He relaxed when he realized she was just sniffing him out, in which he returned the favor, now catching her mis matched eyes. Sebastian tipped his head a bit, it looked quite beautiful. "Ness, nice to meet you," he spoke once she had stepped back. His mind could only work on one thing at the time. His tail started swaying a bit when she asked about his thoughts.

"I am thinking of starting a pack here," he explained to her. "It seems quite a good location. The water, the several types of prey, wood and wetlands..," he recalled his observations. He was always quick to grow enthusiastic. His tail up a bit more, now he was starting to say it out loud he believed it more. He then looked over her with his pale eyes, almost taking her in. Maybe she would be willing to join. But first he would respond to her reaction. Maybe she was a scout from another pack protesting his presence here.

After coming from the bleak, grey forests, Ambrosia had looked for the next body of water for her and her daughter; coming across a lake. The orange-tan and black she-wolf couldnt tell if there were border marks here, and hoped they'd found an unclaimed piece of land. If not, well, then she hoped that any wolves they met werent mean; Ambrosia had had enough of aggression, suddenly wishing she were home again but shooing the thought away in the same moment. When they reached the shore, she stopped and laid down with a plop, dipping her muzzle into the water and drinking gulps of water. She was exhausted. When Brandy lied down behind her, Ambrosia lay back on her shoulder and laughed, relaxing for the first time in a while.

Brandy had ran with her mother from the forest until they were back in green forests. Gasping for breath and almost as tired as she'd ever been in her life, the young bronze and red she-wolf followed her mother to a lake shore, where she got a cool, long drink and stretched out beside her mother with her paws and nose-tip just touching the water. Her mother lay back on her shoulder and they laughed; Brandy started licking her mothers ears as they took a moment to relax. For the first time in a while, Brandy was able to stretch out her lean muscles and feel the Spring sun heat her soft bronze and red fur.

I forgot to bring him into here

Finally, Aduin managed to catch up. He had lagged behind, wanting to check something out. Though it was mostly due to something else. Deep inside, he wished for someone else he knew to be following behind. Like his sister, or a friend he had made. Then he really did find something, got distracted, and next thing he knew, no Seb. By the time he caught up, there was another nearby already. Quickly, the nervous wolf ran over to Sebastian's side, eyeing the other with suspicion.

"That is deep," the pale girl remarked, smiling at him as he brought up the perks of his proposed new residence. She was far enough south that she doubted his presence here would impact Moonspear in any way, but she felt this would still be useful for her superiors to know. Even still, she didn't consider herself spying. Nothing she thought of the male so far had been bad, and just as she was about to speak again, Ness felt her attention drawn in two different directions.

Scents were pouring in suddenly, and she was glad the body count stopped at three or else she might have had to go on the defensive. Only one of the scents approached, however, and it was in the form of a male her age, ducking like a child to the side of the comparatively broad and confident Sebastian. Looking at her like a threat. Ness didn't pay the two-toned male much of her attention. The other scents—the two females— remained at bay for now. "Some choice digs here, Bast," her lazy smirk returned, nicknaming him without permission. Ever casual. "And some friends, I see. I don't see what you have to stand around deliberating about then. Too much thinkin'— not enough action."

Raven Marie, I made you a separate thread that takes place right after this one seeing that I can't have all pledges in the same thread seeing that I am using this one for discovery of the territory! Hope that is okay? You can reply there so Ness & Aduin can continue in this thread! Let me know!

Sebastian had smelled the females too but he did not pay too much attention to this seeing that Aduin came to him. Sebastian was greeted by the nervous male. The male didn't even say hi to Ness. Sebastian nudged him. "Aduin, say hello. It is polite," he spoke. Sebastian didn't have the feeling he had to explain the basics to Aduin but sometimes the male's nervousness would make the other closed off to strangers. Sebastian knew this as his step older brother. Sebastian nodded shortly. "It was deep thinking," he admitted.

Sebastian popped his ears up at the nickname, he wasn't too bothered with it. He was rather pleased seeing that he thought that this meant Ness was comfortable around him. That was at least better than being tense. He nodded when she spoke about not enough action. Yes he should start some more heavier recruiting. "Talking about action. Would you be interested in joining?," he questioned the pale girl. Sebastian was rather interested in her as a character. She seemed bold, and someone he could learn from.

I am assuming by Raven Marie's reply in the other thread that we can go on.

Aduin gulped nervously, peering around Seb. Given the encouragement, he took a couple steps into the open. 'Be brave, Aduin. Be brave' he told himself in his head. After many repeats of the phrase over and over, he stood a little taller and slightly more relaxed in posture, giving off a miniscule smile. "H-hi. I'm Aduin" he greeted. Not only was he bad at talking, but it was worse with the opposite gender. Always worse. He tried to keep the smile there, keeping eye contact with his relaxed expression. If Seb could trust them, so could he. For their sake.

"What's up, Aduin?" Ness asked by way of greeting him, though the question was actually rhetorical. Ness cared very little for the views of the meek. "No need to be shy around me— I'm pretty chill." A featherweight attempt to draw the boy out of his reserved demeanor, but an attempt nonetheless. Her attention returned to the decidedly "more fun" Sebastian as he asked her about joining them, and Ness smiled, appearing genuinely flattered.

"I've actually just recently settled on this bitchin' mountain up north from here (more my style, you know?) so I'm not in the market for packs, but I got a desperate need for friends." She was a social wolf at her core, and knowing a startup Alpha seemed an advantageous venture for her. "I'm probably the best kind of friend you could have," she said, looking at him so seriously, her two-toned eyes dared him to tell her different. "You'd practically never be bored of me. I'm a pretty big deal, Bast. Speaking of which— do you have a problem with intimidating, possibly killing others? I might need your help with some.. no, a fuckton of stalkers."

Ness drifted off thoughtfully, then glanced at him, eyes dancing in jest. "See. Fun," she announced matter-of-factly. She considered the fact that she could do well with the gray male. She would certainly move him along faster, that was for sure. Ness belatedly realized that she had just encouraged him to settle here, and she wondered if she should have; not that it mattered now. "Are you two from this area?" she asked, deciding to include Aduin, looking to him briefly.

Sebastian watched a little interaction going on between Aduin and Ness, he was pleased it happened seeing that Aduin really needed the social skills. Somehow her white coat and her bold nature reminded him of Tiger. She was a bit like this female. Maybe that was what drawn Sebastian to her. He liked of liked her boldness, even now when she was suggesting to be friends. Sebastian could always use more friends after all he had enough enemies for now. He liked to keep it that way.

Sebastian smiled. "I would be more than happy to be your friend, Ness," he spoke with a chuckle. "I doubt we would be with you around." But then came the other part. She spoke so easily about killing, Sebastian had killed before but not out of pleasure. Not at all out of pleasure, he was not like his father, and he never would be. He was going to do his life his way. The male was proud about it too. "I do not kill. But I could chase them off, I tend to look intimidating the first time," he spoke. Especially the first time because as soon they knew he was not a killer the intimidation was over.

"I am somewhat from around here seeing that I lived here for over a year but I've been born somewhere else," he explained to her and then looked at Aduin, giving him a moment to speak for himself. "How about you?," he eventually asked her.

The shy young wolf stepped out in full, showing his whole body. His tail swayed slowly in a gesture of calmness, his ears pricked up halfway. He listened on the entire conversation, just waiting for a moment to butt into the conversation going on before him. So much he could learn. Though he missed the thing about her not being able to join, so that he would be unsure of for some time. 

Aduin tuned back in when she spoke about 'killing' some others. That struck a nerve, causing him to shudder slightly. Not his idea of fun. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to blurt anything out of turn. Everything seemed to be going well as of now. 

Soon, he had his turn after Sebastian. "My home is long gone. Now, I stick with the only family that stuck with me" he stated, looking over at Seb from the corner of his eye. It saddened him to say that his home was gone, but it was. No going back, ever. And his sisters were nowhere he knew, so the only family he had closest was the one he considered a brother.

Friends. This, she could do. Ness was smiling without knowing it, the expression easy and fitting across her muzzle. The white wolf twitched her ears as both Sebastian and Aduin gave the Cliff Notes version of their backstories, and she was particularly impressed by the shy male's words— they had resolution behind them. It was the only remotely impressive thing he had said since first laying eyes on him. Despite his meek demeanor, Ness had a feeling that he would stick by Sebastian, no matter what, and that was honorable in itself.

"I'm from pretty far away. Haven't even been in this area more than a couple weeks or so," she answered when asked, eyes glancing in the direction Moonspear lay. "But I'm thinkin' I'll hang around. I gotta keep an eye out for my new friends and such." A sly wink flashed in his direction. "I'm gonna head out Bast, Addy," she said, settling her gaze on each as she explored their new nicknames freely. "But stop by if you're ever up north. I stay on a mountain called Moonspear— and I'll come down when I can. If this is where you're gonna settle." After a small bit of affirmation, Ness gave her speckled body a shake and began trotting back the way she'd come, pausing to glance over her shoulder and wave her tail in goodbye, before loping slowly away.

Sorry for the wait, guys! I'll wrap this up here.

Thank you! This was a great thread! Aduin you can wrap it up and archive! :D

Sebastian gave a smile in return when Ness smiled at them. They were most definitely going to be friends. It was nice to meet new wolves. Maybe in the future they would meet again. Sebastian looked to the side at Aduin and smiled. "The plan is most definitely to stay here. I like this territory," he decided now. He had only a first look but that was about to change. Sebastian was going to scout some more but now the territory was at least discovered by them. He couldn't wait to show Aduin what he had found. "Take care Ness! I will come and see you at your mountain," he promised with a smile on his lips.

The young male watched the female trot off and Sebastian smiled at Aduin. "Come, let me show you what I found you will love it here," he promised to Aduin and started to walk more into the territory. They were at the water front of these wetlands. Sebastian was really eager to show all to Aduin.

Short post to finish up

Already Aduin was mildly fond of the nickname. The boy hoped to meet this new friend of theirs another time. She was much more friendly than he originally believed her to be. "Bye Ness!" he called after her, giving a flick of his tail in farewell, then nodded to Seb before following along with him to see the territory.