Broken Boulder and the sun said, "it hurts to become."

Tagging @Depp and @Sen for visibility. No need to reply unless they are here. And this can be used for a trade. :) Dio and Lorne, once you reply, you're more than welcome to start a separate thread that happens at the same time with this one and meet back afterward but entirely up to you. Preferably speedy replies.

The trip to broken bolder is mostly quiet. They go over the plan once before they leave and will one more once they've reached their destination. How well Drageda came together to help protect their empire filled her with a pride she hadn't felt in a long time. It might take time for them to move as one entity but it isn't long and she's vaguely reminded of the days in Seageda.

They reach the ends of the valley and the bolder in the distance. The scents she noted nearly a week ago were faint and, at certain points, distant. Closer is their approach and she realizes that the pair of wolves likely went elsewhere. She can't remember if their names had been announced but she pushes it away. When they are close enough, she slows to a stop before turning around to face @Lorne, @Dio, and @Lucani.

"The area isn't that big so this shouldn't take long. There are no particular new scents. We can split up, Lucani with me and Dio with Lorne. Don't wander too far off by yourselves. If you run into something, call," she explains before looking to her gamma with a featuring nod. "We'll meet back here."

The morning found them rallying together and trekking across the plains towards the invaders, if they could be called that. Lorne traveled alongside the male she had encountered, she had come to learn his name was Dio. She had pushed aside her ambivalence towards him for the possible battle.

She hardly knew Lucani and Thuring was closed off in a stoic way. Dio was the one she kept next to for most of the journey, seeing as she was most familiar with him. Upon arriving she was given instructions to search for the other wolves, their scents had grown weak. 

With a nod, Lorne moved off to find them.

The four powerful wanderers walked as a team, no joyful chatter or light-heartedness among them — for the situation, while far from terrible, was serious. Faces were straight, minds were prepared. Lucani walked at Thuringwethil's right paw in the absence of Gyda. While she did not change the tone by asking how the recently-injured Thuringwethil was feeling (she knew the answer would be stoic), she could see the young female in her peripheral vision and knew her to be healing very well. Either that, or she had perfected the art of acting. Perhaps later, when they were alone and if there was no need to be silent, Lucani would ask for an update on her Alpha's wellbeing. But generally, she knew Thuringwethil's current state to be nothing short of... determined.

They exchanged a nod, and the group split in two. The expedition was becoming more focussed.

Dio maintained his confidence that this would go in their favor as they set out across the northern wilds. The plan was simple, and the end goal was clear-cut, so alongside the determination to get it done successfully, he was hopeful that this would not be escalating beyond this. They trekked in silence and would make their point as soon as they got there, because if by some off chance this did not end in their favor, they would just come back at them even harder. 

He perked when the Heda drew to a stop, and swung his ears her way as the last string of instructions rolled out. Afterward, he glanced to Lorne, the little red wolf he was vaguely familiar with from before, and nodded. He followed her lead and moved off after she did, lowering his nose to the ground on the hunt.

You and me a few rounds, Ells~

Lorne and Dio take their leave and Thuringwethil watches their direction for a moment, deciding which way they might be going so she can determine where she goes. Once they're gone, she swings her head around to look at the older woman. She hasn't forgotten the unaddressed tension and even though they are alone, she doesn't bring it up. They have a job to do.

The dark leader jerks her nose in the direction she chooses and she takes a few steps to initiate their travel. Even with the changes in Drageda's future and Thuringwethil's own uncertainty, Lucani's presence is comforting as one of the few founding members left. Smoke and Eli's disappearance never settled well but she didn't have much time to think about what they failed to do.

To the right of bolder, as the approach, are several paw prints but the ground has dried and cracked away, signaling their days-old age. Nothing fresh is obvious yet but she continues on their exploration.

Lucani ventured onwards with her Alpha, the two peeling off from the group and going in their allocated direction. Such was the purposeful nature of their quest, the healer's mind swiftly turned away from healing and concentrated fully on the task at paw.

The way was easy. The ground was still cold with the remnants of Winter and the northness of their location, but the landscape was smooth — pleasant, even. Her eyes were not on the scenery, however, but on the road ahead, her muzzle low and searching. She spotted the pawprints as Thuringwethil did, but they were unremarkable.

Then the older female hesitated as she picked up a scent at the foot of a nearby beech tree. She lingered there... it was a wolf's scent. Not a border marker, but a scent nonetheless. Someone had been here recently... but was it a rival or an innocuous passer-by?

The paw prints don’t hold her attention for too long, old and wasting away, and so she turns and moves on. She doesn’t follow the exact flow of her healer and deviates, keeping her within her sight if she should turn around. The scent Lucani picks up currently goes unnoticed by the dark leader as she attempts to follow sporadic paw prints in wet soil, dampened by the melting snow all around them.

None of them lead anywhere in particular and something catches her nose but it takes her outside the territory. Eventually she makes her way around back to Lucani, watching her carefully as she closes the distance.

“Anything obvious?”

Lucani's nose lingered on the scent. She didn't recognise it, but she posed her findings quietly to Thuringwethil as the black wolf turned to regard her. A young female was here recently, she observed. But she couldn't be more helpful than that, having not had any experience with the wolves in question. For all she knew, this was a passing lone wolf — not uncommon in these parts. Do you recognise the scent, Thuringwethil? Is this one of them?

Since we already know the outcome, I've just wrapped this up. Feel free to reply once more if you'd like, I'll archive this in a few days. @Lorne @Dio.

Lucani speaks up and Thuringwethil turns back toward her, flaring her nose to catch the scent, but it's strength eludes her at first. She shifts back closer to her healer to absorb what she means but when she does, nothing comes to mind. It doesn't quite remind her of the female she met but that didn't mean much. They had followers, perhaps, even if the one she'd run into hadn't been with them. The dark leader shakes her head.

She spends the next little bit venturing to and from Lucani, keeping her within ear shot as she comes up empty handed. Thuringwethil isn't surprised but she does find relief that had been causing tension between her shoulder blades. She allows herself to relax a little. When they catch sight of the other two, she chuffs her order for them to speak only to come up empty handed again. Shrugging it off, she concludes their expedition. Deep down, she's a little disappointed nothing come of it but for the sake of their home, she couldn't have asked for more.