Silvertip Mountain Somebody gimme a beat

June walked with a sweeping gait up the same path FitzDutiful had led her and Mason on what felt like ages ago. For her, time moved slowly. Others seemed to change at a more rapid pace than she did. Even Mason was quite different from the way he was when she left with Gracious not long ago, though June didn't think their bond had changed any in the interim. They were still together forever. But seeing him so grown up and mature in such a short time, while she still struggled to even comprehend complex situations, was sometimes a worrisome thing, one that Humility would never admit got to her on a deeper level.

As she crested the rise and the thunder of the waterfall greeted her, she allowed herself to shed all layers. She was no longer June and she was no longer Humility. Standing in these crystalline waters, June had once chosen her name of Mystic, the wolf she felt herself to be within, just as her father was Trustworthy and her brother was Ranger. That's who she was now as her fiery eyes fluttered closed and she let out a serene breath. Her grief for FitzDutiful flowed in this moment, carried on a sweet breath, and silver tears leaked from her eyes for just a moment. She was seemingly able to lock away all of her sadness by being someone else entirely, for June was only a mask she'd always worn, but Mystic felt it all even if she showed it only here.

She slipped her forepaws into the water, momentarily relaxing into herself and feeling at one with the wind and the spray. It was the most tranquil she'd ever been as she let her shoulders shake with withheld tears and basked in memories of her father as Mystic.

Set prior to the locusts.

Hope you don't mind me jumping on here!

Krypton had heard news of FitzDutiful's child June returning after leaving for a short time. She pitied her to say the least, returning so soon to see her father dead upon the ground. She decided to go and look for her, hoping to meet her and finally introduce herself.

With a light bounce in her step, Krypton decided to check the most popular spots of STM territory. She first checked in the forested area, but no wolf stood upon the ground. She moved on, checking the glass caves and the bat cave, but yet no wolf named June was there.

With a huff, Krypton made her way over to the falls. Finally, she saw the white wolf with burning eyes. Her paws were in the water as her body was relaxed. Krypton hated to break her peacefulness. She hung back a bit, hesitating to move forward and ruin the child's moment.

The thrum of water on water whisked her away on the cloud of her mind. Her thoughts became weightless as birds drifting through her head like it was the open sky, transient and unimportant. Yet Mystic could only enter this head-space where worries melted and emotions burst forth for a short amount of time, because June was still alert and could sense the near soundless approach of another creature. She was forced to resume the mask of June as she turned timidly and let her fiery eyes flutter open.

Krypton wasn't a wolf June ever interacted with, and for good reason. She was an intimidating wolf, somewhat more masculine than feminine and very unlike June. Her paws were large, sprawling mitts that hugged the ground and thumped with her weight, hefty for a female wolf, and her chest was large and open. Her face was womanly, but the illusion was broken by the scars that drew jagged lines in the thin fur. For June, who was almost vain in a childishly innocent way, Krypton was frightening.

The girl's tail waved nervously at her hocks as she folded back her dark-tipped ears in deference. "Hello," she greeted in her crystal clear sing-song voice, but it was tremulous and unsure. Krypton was a trusted wolf of FitzDutiful, or so June thought, but nevertheless, Krypton wasn't FitzDutiful nor Steady nor Mason, so her size wasn't comforting in the way their size was comforting, and the Zeta was cautious and intimidated.

She seemed to be a bit... frightened by Krypton. Of coarse, if Krypton had seen herself from June's point of view, she'd be pretty afraid herself. The girl was huge to say the least, and anything small seemed to tremble beneath her weight.

Her irises glided across June, watching for small signs of fear. Her black-tipped ears folded back, though Krpton decided to ignore it. The tail wag was very evident, though it seemed a bit forced. however, the tone of june put Krypton off a bit. She seemed okay to say the least, and greeted Krypton. However, she picked up signs of being unsure.

Shifting in her paws a bit, Krypton gave June a soft and warm smile. "You must be June, I hadn't been able to meet you face-to-face before" she said, hoping to break the ice with the younger girl. "It's nice to see more family members in Silvertip." Krypton was saying everything in truth, it was quite nice to see such new faces of the Dutiful line come about. Now with the new line of offspring, his legend would surely live on.

In spite of Krypton's intimidating figure, the woman mustered a kindly smile that put June slightly at ease. She wasn't one to ever completely warm to a stranger, for only family had June's best interests at heart, but she nevertheless smiled back and let her ears airplane ever-so-slightly, a sign of relaxation. Minute relaxation at that, but it was a start.

Krypton's observation was correct, though June felt a lurch in her heart at how easily the larger wolf guessed at her identity. June was not her true name, not so far as she felt it was, but she was still uneasy when someone she hardly knew spoke it aloud. It shouldn't have surprised her. She was a Silvertip, Mason's only trueborn sibling, and her identity was therefore not easy to hide. Everyone knew who she was. It made no difference to the yearling who was most comfortable being unseen and unknown, but she accepted it well enough beyond the initial jump of her heart.

"Yes," she confirmed, but Krypton hadn't needed it. "Silvertip would not be Silvertip without its crown family," and this she said with only a hint of pride and no arrogance. She knew she was not the heir to Silvertip and wouldn't have wanted it even if she was. There were other things June sought in life, and it was Mason's destiny to lead the mountain. She dared not speak that aloud. Krypton was a friend of FitzDutiful but she was likely also a friend of Zaria. June had nothing against Zaria, but the woman was not a Silvertip, and her claim to the mount was only temporary until Mason claimed it for himself.

"You knew my dad well?" she wondered, but she'd already assumed yes. Assumptions were never right to make, but June hadn't grown up that much yet.

June's reply was short, though she explained that Silvertip could only be Silvertip with the family who bore the name. Krypton didn't see any signs of arrogance in the tone of June, only pride in her name and family. She had the right to feel proud, for each and every member of her family was nothing but kind and warm.

The curled ears of Krypton faced forward, her interest peaking at the question June asked. The brute didn't know FitDutiful personally like most, but she looked up to him and saw him as her own. She saw him as a brother, a leading role model, and a friend. Her smile was soft towards the ghost. "Not on a personal level" she said, wishing she could have connected with the man more before he died. "But I saw your father as a brother, great role model, and a friend" she assured June, being very careful with the words she picked. 

Feeling like the topic was a bit heavy on her shoulders, Krypton decided to ask a question and hopefully change the topic. "So, where have you been traveling since you left?" She asked, curiosity weaving into her tone. She didn't know where the girl ran off, and was quite curious about her travels.

Then on what level, wondered June as Krypton went on to name FitzDutiful brother and friend. If not on a personal level, then how did Krypton devise such bonds between them? June was not friends with anyone she didn't know well on a personal level, and Mason, her trueborn brother, she knew better than she knew herself. Ever a trusting creature, June did not deign to question it and accepted it with a cheery smile, though in later days she might think on it some.

"I was supposed to find Dutiful's pack," she said, glossing over the possibility that Krypton didn't know who Dutiful was, "but Auntie Gracious got lost and then I lost Auntie Gracious. So I came back." Her adventure wasn't a very exciting one. It took a great many days, but somehow she'd found her way back and none the worse for wear. "Auntie Gracious never came back, though," she noted with a soft sigh. Her aunt was no doubt just fine, but June nevertheless wondered after her.

"Did you know my Auntie Gracious?" she wondered, curious whether Gracious had spent much time among the Silvertip Mountain wolves or not prior to taking her niece under her wing.

Dutiful, was he the beginning of the lineage for Silvertip? Krypton could only nod her head and keep listening. June was supposed to be with her grandpa, but soon her traveling companion lost the way, and June lost her. It sounded like a bad trip in Krypton's honest opinion, but what did she know anymore?

Hearing June's question, the brute's ears perked up. She didn't know Gracious too well, but understood her and liked her personality. "I'm afraid I didn't know her well, hoever I do know that she was very pacifistic and against war" she said, hoping to break more ice with the yearling. "When you were gone, we were contemplating whether or not to declare war with a neighboring pack, though it seems they've dissapeared" Krypton said, not aware that her sister lurked in that place. She only spoke of that conversation to add some excitement to the conversation.

Krypton's affirmation of a connection to Gracious brought a smile to June's face. Although her aunt hadn't returned to Silvertip Mountain and there was no way to know that she was still hale and healthy, June hoped she was well wherever she was. She'd been a good traveling companion for as long as they'd been together, and it was only June's attention deficit disorder that had got her separated from the woman's side. They may never have found Gracious' pack, and June was growing to know that her place in the world was here.

She was surprised to hear about war. Surprised and disappointed. War wasn't something she thought that FitzDutiful would ever have supported, and yet it had been his idea. She wouldn't have wanted to know. "Why would we go to war?" she asked whimsically, as if the very notion were as silly as a fable. There was nothing worth warring over. Even young, naive June knew that it was only pride.

June's question about the war made the brute straighten her body a bit before settling down. Krypton had to think a bit, staring at her paws before coming up with the entire memory. It was merely a pack meeting that Fitz called, merely asking for the opinions of the other wolves. Looking towards the ghost, Krypton cleared her throat. "We had two packs within very close proximities to us, threatening our prey numbers" she started off, shifting her front paws a bit. "One pack, Moonlit hills, wouldn't move it's borders back. The alpha didn't comply to your father's wishes of peace and threatened our ways in Silvertip." Krypton didn't meet any of the Moonlit wolves, but she already had a distaste for them. Not even wanting to regard with peace was an insult to the brutish girl, along with the rest of her family. "They left at least, disbanding a bit later for an unknown reason" she said softly. She paused a bit, thinking about the pack. It had a familiar scent, though she wasn't sure what it was from. Her eyes feel upon her paws once more, becoming the tiniest bit quiet.

Thinking it was rude to stop the story, Krypton continued to recap the events. "Soon after, another pack moved in. Neverwinter Forest. They still share a border with us, and your uncle Steady and brother Mason already left to meet with them. The meeting went well at least, we have made progress with peace." Krypton remembered watching the meeting from afar, making sure no wolf could attack the betas from the side or behind. "So far, we have been doing great since, except for the famine" she sad, sadness tainting her tone.

Krypton's patient explanation of Silvertip Mountain's trials and tribulations with their neighbours was no doubt one that would make sense to most wolves. June was not most wolves, however. Her outlook was perpetually naive, and her helpless innocence was as much a downfall as it was an endearing quality. The girl listened as best she could, but in the end her understanding was only marginally better than it had been before.

"Did they trespass or threaten someone?" June asked next in a hopeful bid to better understand why shared borders meant that peace negotiations were required. Like a child, June was a little too quick to trust the word of others, though she was also shy and a little bit mistrustful as a result of that. Still, she wouldn't have thought her father to have an issue with anyone who didn't directly threaten Silvertip Mountain. While somewhat unsure, she thought Krypton's reasons sounded indirect enough.

Krypton felt it was June's rights to know what happened to Silvertip while she was exploring. Explaining everything in detail, krypton told June of the moonlit wolves and Neverwinter Forest. She told her about the outbreaks, problems, and everything else.

after, she merely ended the conversation and headed back to her den to sleep.