Boartusk Heights Look how we all make it

@Leto @Minna went ahead and posted up the second traveling thread since the first is nearly finished. PP that I can edit if you want. @Zaavier not sure if he would come this far east but he's welcome to find them here or wait until they get closer! Anyone else is welcome as well!

They left behind the lake in favor of following the mountains south, hoping to find an easier passage than heading around or by falling to their deaths from the heights of larger peaks. The plateau and canyon filled mountains farther south were more accessible but not easy to cross. 

By the time they had crossed through, Liri's paws were scraped and sore and her bones ached with weariness. She had taken a stumble in one ravine, scraping her lower leg but not damaging it permanently. It had scabbed over though it still throbbed with every step. 

When they had finally reached the other side of the mountains, Liri stopped, turning to her family. "We can stop here for the night," she glanced up at the darkening sky. Tomorrow they could keep moving.

The mountains were not extremely difficult terrain, given that he had been through worse when fleeing Moonrise with Liri when they were only children. It was however, still difficult in the sense that they were mountains. Leto could understand why they had chosen to cut through the tusk-shaped peaks but wished they could have somehow found a perfectly convenient passage through the mountains. That of course would mean that they had good luck, something Leto and Liri never seemed to have much of.

Once through, weary and ready to collapse so that he might hibernate for several months, Leto had no objections for stopping. He lay down against the trunk of a nearby tree, thoughts of Minna filling his head. She seemed to have wandered off but Leto couldn't help but wonder if it was becoming a tradition for the wolves of Rosings to be abandoned by their spouses. 

The thought troubled him but he had hopes that his wife would simply appear later on to meet up with them. If not, Leto couldn't imagine himself getting over it.

Liri leaned against her own tree, though she didn't lay down yet for fear that she would sleep deeply for the next week or so. They would have to keep moving forward come tomorrow.

She turned to her brother, seeing the frown of concern painted on his features. Minna, her confidante and closest friend, seemed to have disappeared. Liri knew Minna to be filled with wanderlust, assuming that the Scout would find her way back to them after exploring the new territories around them. Still, she too worried that Minna would be gone as the rest of Rosings had left.

Liri moved to Leto's side, laying beside him and resting her head on his shoulder comfortingly. "She'll be back Lee," Liri murmured to him.

Up the mountains the man went, hopping from one outcropping to the other, or clambering up a steep hill. Although, none of it bothered him, for he kind of enjoyed it. He enjoyed it more than the ocean, that was sure, but after meeting Janai, he was determined to be more open minded about it.

Zaavier paused to breathe in the crispy mountain air. However, with that air came the strong scent of wolf. There were others here, and he planned to find them. He crept further up the cliff until his steely gaze rested upon to white wolves speaking to one another. As far as he was, he could not hear what they were saying, but they obviously knew each other. They were not strangers. 

He continued forward until he finally decided they were not threats -- for now. He the brute put on his best smiley face and plodded forward. "Good evening." 

Leto rested his head atop his sister's, drawing comfort from her. "I hope you're right," he mumbled, still feeling the sickening sensation in his stomach that Minna had just left without a word. More so, he couldn't even be mad. Hadn't he done the exact same to the wolf he now leaned upon?

The scent of an unknown male, steadily growing stronger indicating that he was getting closer, drew Leto from his worries. He stood, ready to defend Liri if need be. For a moment, the thought that maybe it was the abusive ex-husband she had told him about crossed his mind. 

The man that appeared was russet coloured and very tall, especially to the short and stocky arctic wolf. His demeanor was friendly, causing Leto to relax his defensive posture slightly.

"Evening. I am Leto and this is my sister, Liri," he introduced them both with a nod towards Liri. He then stepped back, figuring she could handle this. Liri was the diplomatic one anyways, the former Alpha and all that good stuff.

Liri had just opened her mouth to say something when the smell came to her, unfamiliar. It was a male, that much she could tell, and he was getting closer. Leto had faster reflexes than she and was on his feet first, though she followed shortly after him just as the stranger appeared. 

He was tall, even taller than Samuel had been if she remembered correctly. He was muscular as well though not in the way that Leto was, thinner and leaner. His smile and friendliness seemed to put Leto at ease but Liri remained cautious. 

She nodded to him as Leto introduced her, glancing at her brother as he stepped back. "What's your name? And where do you come from?" Her words might be taken as rude, if one didn't notice the curiosity in her tone.

"We come from Blackfoot Forest, once we led a pack by the name of Rosings," she explained, in hopes of that it would make him more open to answering her questions.

The first one, a boy piped up first. He and his companion were both shorter than him, and he gazed down with his dirty brown gaze. Liri and Leto. Then, Liri spoke asking him for his name. "Zaavier," he simply said. "I come from the valley just over there," he jestured with his tawny tail. "It is my home." He rested his gaze upon the horizon for one moment, until something else the white girl said caught his attention.

"Once led, huh? Does that mean that the pack is no more?" he asked with geniune interest. If they needed a home, he would offer it to them. They seemed like a jolly bunch.

Leto thought it generous to say they both had previously led the pack, he had only gone as far as Gamma. "More like she led, not me. Liri's just humble," Leto joked. He wasn't bitter over his wife's promotion to Beta, he'd been happy with Gamma.

He fell silent once more after correcting Liri, watching the conversation take place before him. The arctic male didn't think that it would turn violent or even aggressive in the slightest, but he would watch just to be safe.

 it's sad how fast I respond 

Liri stuck her tongue out at Leto, exasperated that he had to bring it up. Couldn't he have just let the stranger think they were both Alphas? Zaavier might think Liri was actually good at leading, in reality she hadn't been able to keep Rosings afloat for more than a week.

"Your home, is it a pack or are you alone?" If he was alone, Zaavier might not want them coming too close. Perhaps he was a hermit and had come to warn them away. 

"If you're looking for pack mates we would be valuable, I assure you. Leto was a warrior in his first pack," she told him, wondering silently if the fact that he had no trade as a Mercenary would affect what she said. 

"I myself am a Caregiver, I earned my trade sometime ago. Whether or not I'm a good advisor depends on your perspective," Liri grimaced. Her pack had been short lived of course but if Zaavier looked to her for advice she would not hesitate to give it.

Zaavier's smile became wider and wider as the duo continued on, nodding vigorously. "Absolutely. I am in great need of a good Medic, especially one with a trade. And Warriors," he told them brightly. Liri's next input made him smile. "Ah, don't you worry 'bout that, I'm pretty bad at that too." 

His tail wagged behind him, but he was careful to keep himself calm and collected. He cooled down very quickly and nodded over his shoulder. "Would you like to see the territory?"

It's sad how slow I respond!! Btw -- Minna is joining too right? Just wanted to make sure.

Leto nodded at Zaavier, smiling in recognition though he knew, as always, Liri stole the show. It was the way things had always gone and Leto wasn't bitter over it. 

He glanced to his sister questioningly, waiting to see what she thought. Part of him worried that Minna would be unable to find them but another part recognized the opportunity presented to them. Winter was coming and this may very well be a place to settle before it hit.

Minna has wandered off IC and has a thread open with @Arturo she may or may not be coming with them depending on how that goes. We can wrap up after your post or here if you like

Zaavier seemed excited, even if it was suppressed, causing her to glance over him in attempts of reading him. Could it simply be excitement at having people join his might-be pack, or something else? She'd joined one pack mistakenly and would be damned if she did it again. This time, the healer reasoned that she had Leto if things went bad. 

Last chance. After this you won't have a chance to find Samuel. Liri inhaled sharply, surprised at the thought. She thought she had pushed all thoughts of her ex-husband to the corner of her mind where she kept her loss. 

He left you behind. He doesn't want you. 

"I would," she agreed, shoving aside the the thoughts of any and both ex-husbands in favor of smiling kindly at her new leader.

Zaavier nodded, returning to his formal self. He pivotted on his hind legs and motioned with his tail for them to follow him. "Come along with me then, It's just around the corner." He waited for just a moment so the two could catch up before setting off at a brisk trot, back to his home. 

Short post >.< And okay, sounds good. You guys are free to post threads in and around HS so we can get our thread could up, but other than that, Welcome! >:D
Think I'm gonna Archive here so we can wrap this all up!