Shadow Mountain i ain't gonna be cookin' all day

Whatever happiness Ukko managed to store in the few months he’d been taken care of has long since left his system. With the turn of the weather to colder and short days, something he’d once been used to, has taken much more out of him than he’d like to admit. Without Inari by his side anymore, and no real direction, he finds himself in places like this: the backyard of Ryujin. It isn’t the first time he’s returned and perhaps it won’t even be his last but if he knows Asterr, she’ll find him. He licks his lips and holds his head up, staring across the lake where the lair begins an incline. Most of the terrain is covered in snow with no hint that someone is on the opposite shore looking back.
 
He turns his head away, moving along the show of the lake as it leads further into the mountain range. The mountain on his left is mostly unfamiliar to him, having not explored much beyond the immediate surroundings of his former home, but it does not give him drive to expand it now.

It could have been said that the panther was often spotted stalking the rocks and ledges across the mountainside, but in fact she was not - one would have to possess an undeniably keen sense of sight to catch a glimpse of the Nightstalker. The rogues banded together already were aware of her fleeting presence at every corner - she could often be listening in to a conversation while the participants were entirely unaware, and perhaps it was fear that drove them to follow her commands. But, too, it could just be the similarities in dark thoughts that plagued each soul the ink-coated woman had found and brought to her growing domain.

The day was as ordinary as any other - perhaps it was Kelina's bloodlust and tendancy to be an adrenaline junkie that made her see this day as one so boring, but it was a not a thought that could be helped easily. At least this is what she believed until the scent caught her attention at a distance from her mountain.

The Nightstalker, having nothing else to do at the time, began to prowl toward the source of this scent, svelte and shadowed body weaving through any trees with swift ease.

Silence settles heavily on the lake, the odd snowfall nothing more than a clipped dusting of white flakes. The wraith moves parallel to the lake, and for a long while there is naught beside the soft crunch of her own footfalls and the low murmur of her breath. Her direction is aimless, with only the lakeshore to guide her, before her upturned muzzle catches a glimpse of some dark shape. Duelly does she adjust her course, for here is something of interest in this empty day. When she draws near does she chuff lowly, though thinks it unlikely that her presence has not already been noticed. "hello." Her greeting comes as she stops a good distance away, but near enough so that her voice carries when finally she speaks. Glacier gaze tracks it's way across him, evaluating once before returning to his face, mask of detachment clicking smoothly into place as she stills.

Two for one, aren't I lucky.

Much to his surprise on this cold day, he is with company. Dark, orange eyes watch the figure turn more into a wolf the closer he gets. Her pale form mimics her backdrop but soon enough there is definition. Eventually he slows as he notes her intent, watching her approach and listening to her greeting. “Hello,” he says gruffly back, clearing his throat realizing he has not spoken much in the last few days, perhaps even weeks. “Do you know this place,” he offers as less of a question, attempting to hide any ulterior motive in his expression.

Upon arrival to the scene, the Nightstalker did not yet care to approach. Rather, she observed from the cover of shadows the two contrasting figures - one she recognised as the pale woman (one who blended spectacularly with the snow) she had recently recruited, the other was a stranger to her piercing gaze. Few words left the tongues of either creature, a simple hello before the male offered a question, and she found the conversation to be rather uninteresting. But, still, here was a stranger so close to her domain and she was intruiged for now about who he was.

So perhaps that was why she finally slunk from the darkness, lithe figure sliding into position nearby Aeronwyn. Her ink-coated ears cupped forward, black lips quirking slightly upward. Her only greeting was a chuff, though there was no warmth within the gesture, a solemn sound that seemed to oppose to the small, feminine smile gracing her features.

He slows, and she becomes aware in the same instant of another presence. A sidelong glance into the shadows reveals Kelina, and her gaze returns to the male when she determines there to be no threat. He asks of the ground they stand on, and after a moment she obliges. "this is Shadow Mountain," adding a moment later, with a brief glance at the woman and a tiny shift of her muzzle, "she seeks to lay claim to it." The latter comment is made almost conversationally, though it has been a long time since the wraith has attempted anything like it. Her gaze slips over him once more, finding that while he possesses the same dangerous space others have, he seems to lack the empty bluster of those like Slade and Saul.

Before he is given an answer, the form of a black female comes into view and he stares at her for a moment. It is the slow, calculated walk of Asterr coming for him and he doesn’t let his gaze fall away and he doesn’t have a concern in the world to run. Just like last time, he will not move. She does not own him anymore.

Ukko licks his lips and as she gets closer, his ears shift upon his head. She comes into focus and Asterr is gone. He blinks a few seconds, realizing it had been someone else entirely the whole time and he glances to his first companion and back again.

”I see,” he says evenly, letting a moment ease since his former mate disappears from his mind. ”Are there other packs nearby?” he asks a beat later, hoping to sound curious enough for what threat sits on the other side of the mountains.

No words slipped from the raven's maw at first, content simply to listen to the exchange. She set her vibrant, calculating gaze upon the stranger, observing and assessing him from only a brief glance - his scent carried no clear scent of a pack, so she assumed he was a lone wolf, and he appeared relatively healthy. Good. the svelte woman mused to herself, instinctively looking for any signs of injury in case he was a possible recruit. 

There was mention of packs, and Kelina took this opportunity in her grasp to mention what she knew. "I am aware of two packs in the East, though none in the immediate area that would be of any concern." The words slipped smoothly from her dark lips, tail flicking behind her back. She planned to do some scouting, but she would have to be particularly careful around one because it had been there during her time of wreaking havoc upon the Bypass' wolves, and was likely to be aware of her. Though time had passed, so perhaps they no longer deemed her a threat. Easthollow itself was of no interest to the Nightstalker, so she did not yet have plans to provoke anyone in their ranks. The other pack had not been there previously, so she knew little about it.

so sorry for the wait! I'm terrible

he asks next of nearby packs, and before she can supply an answer, Kelina provides her own. for a moment, she is silent, but continues after it seems the woman lapses into silence. "to the south-west is blackfeather - dark, arrogant, and preoccupied with their gods. beyond that, redhawk, seeing that they both still stand."  the former is best avoided, certainly, but it is up to the dark stranger to make his own judgments.

The dark woman answers his question and he makes a sound of satisfaction. Either they have not traveled further north or the pack in the lair is gone. Ukko turns his head a bit and narrows his eyes, looking off in that direction as if something caught his attention. He clears his throat and looks back. The pale wolf elaborates and names them, feeling a slight prick when she mentions the woods. The other pack is irrelevant to him, with no memory belonging to it. “You have others?” he asks, curious. He hadn’t intended to look for a pack but if it gives him a home base for a little while, perhaps he can use it to both of their benefit.

After the Nightstalker's shared information, the pale Skullchaser speaks up to reveal knowledge of her own and the woman of ink nodded slowly. Blackfeather. She had almost forgotten them, those dark, brooding wolves with their shadowed forest marked with blood - she had approached those borders once upon a time when she was innocent and believed power might come to her if she simply worked and waited. No, if you wanted power you had to sieze the opportunities within your grasp, and there were many ways to do such a thing. She herself had taken her chance and now she led these haunting souls. Even, she had offered the chance to Aeronwyn here.

You have others? 

His question was met with a charming grin, a sparkle in her violet gaze. "Yes. There are many who reside on the mountain now." The Shadowed wolves had taken up residence here quickly and they did not intend to let their home be stolen by any. They were savage creatures but that did not mean they were not clever - in fact they were dangerously so. Intelligence and bloodlust was not a common thing to claim, but that was what these wolves were.

I'm just going to wrap this up. <3

Ukko is intrigued enough, especially by the white woman that hasn’t spoken again. For now, it’s enough to offer a chance to learn more—whether or not he accepts it in the long run—and he smiles. Hopefully he can muster up enough charm to be given the chance, establishing the skills he does have. When they part for the mountain, he dutifully follows behind, silent in his search.