Heron Lake Plateau thanks to a little something called helvetica bold 24 point.

Poe sat back panting as she dropped the fresh rabbit carcass into the cache. It was the third she'd managed to nab that day, and it was definitely feeling as though it would have to be her last. The Ostrega was physically exhausted, but very much pleased with herself. She was determined to make good on her promise to pull her weight for the Redhawks while she remained with them and felt as though she'd done a decent job thus far. The Willows remained in the back of her mind and she knew that soon, she'd need to take a day trip out to see if she could find any leads on their location. But for now, she felt as though a bit of a rest might be in order.

Poe stood to go, but dropped back down to her haunches as Harlyn's nagging voice echoed in her mind. Frowning, she shut her eyes and breathed the scent of her kill in, centering the image of it in her mind. She knew her mother's prayers by heart from hearing them so often growing up, but she preferred not to say them aloud. She liked to keep them silent in her mind and in her heart, as she did now - thanking the gods above for giving her the life of this rabbit to sustain her new pack, and thanking the rabbit for its sacrifice so that they might survive.

Heyy-o, hope you don't mind me!

 

Thick canine teeth shown as Rye yawned deeply. His teeth lightly blood stained and yellow from a past meal and years of use. There wasn't exactly tooth brushes for wolves but Rye made do with picking at his teeth with the bones of his kill. For the most part it worked, but Rye wasn't concerned about it now, having just awoke from a wonderful nap. Dreams of the pack he grew up in surfaced during the couple hours he slept. Rye felt the dreams were pleasant, nostalgic but made him feel homesick over his former pack life. He had his mother, father, and siblings to lean on when things got rough, and here? No one, at least not yet. Rye didn't even humor the thought of leaning on the pack, he didn't feel right to lean on it, he still needed to give much more than he took.

Not wanting to dwell on the past, Rye stood and shook out his coat. Dust and dirt floated everywhere, and stuck to everything it landed on, which was mostly just grass and rock. Some of it, however, got far too close the the males sensitive nose, causing him to sneeze. Repeatedly. Only when Rye trotted away from his own filth did he find relief, and in doing so he spotted an unknown wolf by the cache. A pack member? The male figured an introduction was in order, he still needed to meet more of the pack and now was a good a time as any. Without further hesitation Rye walked over, eyeing the stranger he we went, taking note of the peculiar actions of the wolf. 

Rye reached the other wolf within minutes, a small smile grew on his lips as to appear friendly, not wanting to look like a total hardass. Though a problem arose, Rye lost all ability to function and start a conversation. It was easy with Towhee because he rehearsed what to say dozens of times but this was not rehearsed. Ryes smile faded as time pressed on, and the pressure squeezed his brain. The male ended up just saying, "Hey, uh - the names Rye." Yup, that was the best he had. Riveting stuff.

of course not!

Poe's eyes fluttered open as she heard someone approaching. She turned to spy a wolf she could only assume was a packmate considering how deep within the territory she was. A smile leaped across her muzzle as he introduced himself. She didn't realize yet that they had it in common, but she too needed to get familiar with more of her packmates, and she was pleased at this opportunity to do so.

"Hiya! I'm Mariposa, but call me Poe," she replied, pulling herself up onto all fours and giving a quick shake to her coat. "I'm a newbie around here. Are you a Redhawk? I mean, I know we both are part of the pack, but are you, like, a Redhawk Redhawk?" It occurred to her that she probably wasn't making a whole ton of sense, but if he was an actual Redhawk, he might understand her. Maybe.

Thank goodness for the other wolfs ability in conversation making, things could've gotten stale fast if not for her. A smile was quick to reappear on the males face once the females polite tone eased his mind. He sat on his haunches and listened as Mariposa spoke, ears shifting towards her but with the occasional flick in a different direction. Hearing he wasnt the only new wolf in the pack helped Rye find further comfort with Poe, he felt he didn't stick out as much with other greenies near by. As Rye continued to listen Poes question confused him, 'a Redhawk Redhawk'? Perhaps she meant an original Redhawk, a second pack? Best to clarify.

"Well I'm new as well, about two weeks?" He questioned himself, unsure "I am a Redhawk but is there a second pack or something? Another Redhawk?" Rye asked, Poe made his seem like there was a second pack attached to this one. He didn't notice or smell any other territories on his trek to Redhawks, but maybe he missed it?

Her packmate admitted to also being new to the pack, but he also claimed to be a Redhawk. Poe had no reason to doubt his ascertion, so she simply smiled and admired his (assumed) full name in her head - Rye Redhawk. It had a nice ring to it. She considered telling him, but the latter end of his response got a few other wheels in her mind spinning.

"Yeah... Quixote mentioned something about that to me when I joined," Poe commented, frowning a little as she recalled his words, "He said quite a few had split off to join a new pack. Are they also called Redhawks? That'd be confusing..." Which, of course, made her smile again. "From what I hear, some around here are none too happy about that," she added conversationally, wondering (and doubting) that Rye was one of those.

So many new questions popped up like weeds in a garden, all hopefully to be tended to and trimmed away. Rye knew nothing of the second pack or its name, this was the first he was hearing of it and least to say he was surpised to learn of it. A second pack luring new members in? Rye pondered what that pack offered that Redhawk didn't, more food? Breeding rights? Better rankings? The list of possibilities was endless but Rye saw no use in questioning things any further, those questions had to be answered at another time. The males attention focused back onto Poe, his eyes drifting over the females features as she spoke. The female was quite beautiful with her brown coat and eyes, but Rye would never admit that, not even to himself. In typical Rye fashion, he spaced out briefly to inquiry about the females origins but alas, he was ripped from his lapse in attention and put his focus back onto the conversation at hand.

Poe's reminder of Quixote, sent Rye in a small panic. He had yet to meet him, and certainly the Alpha would not take too kindly to Ryes lack of introduction, something the male was no longer looking forward to.
"I don't know," he said, responding to Poe's question about the other pack, "This is the first mention of the pack to me, so I've naught a clue about anything." Rye slightly shrugged, and then asked, "What is Quixote like? Towhee, the Beta, said to meet him but I haven't yet, so any advice?" Any advice was as good as a fresh Elk in the dead of winter.

Rye Redhawk didn't know the answer to her question, so Poe fell back on the assumption that they probably did not also call themselves Redhawks. Since it really would be confusing and all. She considered his question with amusement, finding it interesting that he had met the beta and not the alpha, and she had met the alpha and not the beta. Little things like this amused her, but they often didn't amuse others, so she kept the comment to herself and just answered his question instead.

"He seems..." Poe started hesitantly, pondering for a moment to find just the right way to describe the leader, "Fair. I think 'fair' is the best word for him. I'm only here for a few months until Winter passes and then I need to be on my way again, and when I told that to him, he didn't turn me away, but he didn't pretend he was perfectly okay with it either. He seems very straightforward, and... fair."

Poe paused, blinking as she came out of her reverie and back into the conversation. She looked at Rye, her face breaking into a grin. "I've only spent about ten minutes with him, though," she added with a shrug.

Fair? Rye could handle that. His worries drifted away and the breath he had been holding was quietly released, as to not reveal his anxieties about the situation. Rye wasn't opposed to expressing concerns or worries, but now wasn't the time to make a big deal of things. He nodded at her assesment of the Alpha, and chuckled a bit after hearing she had only spent ten minutes with Quixote, not much time to get a good read on someone but Rye appreciated her observations nonetheless. "Fair huh? Alright, sounds fair to me." He joked. Could that even qualify as a joke? Rye thought so. 

Poe's mention of leaving in a few months caught his curiositiy. In Rye's old pack he had heard of a few just like her, his mother called them Snows. She wasn't particularly fond of them because often none would do their share in the pack and also due to the fact they could be spies from a rival pack. Though Rye was confident Poe wasn't one of those, " And, if you don't mind me asking, why are you leaving? And where will you be headed next?" The male hoped he wasn't over stepping boundries by asking, he didn't want to offend her but he was very curious.

Poe, fortunately for Rye, was a creature that found it very easy to laugh. His comment made her chuckle appreciatively and she wracked her brain to come up with something to say to continue the joke, but it failed her, so she merely nodded along.

As for the story about her impending departure, the Ostrega had no qualms explaining that to anyone who wanted to know. "Well, hopefully I'll be headed back home," Poe answered, "I came this way searching for my older brothers. I've never met them before, but my mother told me about how she and my Dad had them and my older sister somewhere around here a few years back. My mother and sister ended up leaving for my mom's birth pack after Dad disappeared, but she left my brothers behind. I'm here to find them, or find out what happened to them, then go back home and let Mom know that they're okay."

Poe paused, biting her lip a bit before adding, "I hope that's what I get to tell her, anyway. She still hurts over leaving them behind. I'd hate to cause her any more pain, but she told me whatever I find out, it'll ease her heart to no longer have to wonder what became of them."

Gaining a laugh from his half baked joke made Rye smile, and feel good, maybe even proud. It felt good to him to know he made someone laugh, probably one of the best feelings in the world. At least to him.

Hearing Poe's quest to find her lost siblings made questions pop up in Ryes mind about his own siblings, and if they would look for him. It was doubtful, but Rye had no problems with that. The male nodded as the female further explained, understanding her mothers pain for leaving. It was never easy to leave behind family, Rye doubted it could ever possibly get easier. "Looks like you've got a long journey ahead of you, I hope you find your siblings and I hope they're alive and well. If you ever come this way again, stop by, and tell me of your adventures. Well, if you'd like of course, I imagine returning to your mother is at the top of your priority list. Which I understand full well." He reassured. Rye didn't want to pressure Poe into a visit but would be delighted to know how things went.

"Do you know your siblings names? Maybe I could help with the search. I'm not sure how I could relay information to you but a second pair of eyes in a search is always helpful." Again, he hoped boundries were not being overstepped.

Thinking of Harlyn and her brothers was a sobering thing. It had personally taken her some time to find sympathy for her mother - after all, Poe was one of her kids, and she couldn't imagine feeling very forgiving if Harlyn had left her behind like that. But she had eventually wrapped her mind around it and found understanding, in that way the eternally optimistic girl always did. Her mother had always had a choice, but Poe could see how Larkspur's emotional ailments had made her feel as though she'd had only one. It still was not the choice Poe would've made, but Harlyn was flawed, and her daughter was okay with that. Hopefully her abandoned brothers would be as well.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere for a while," Poe reassured him, smiling appreciatively at his response and wanting to make sure he knew that this was a future thing, not a now thing, "I'll be around for a few months, at least. I promised Quixote I'd pull my weight here, and even if I were to stumble upon my brothers tomorrow, I'm going to make good on my promise before I go."

"Their names are Silas and Pippin Ostrega," she told him, thankful for his offer to help, "Pippin I guess ran off before my mother left the Wilds, but Silas stayed behind with their pack, Marauder's Keep. She said they claimed a forest of willow trees located at the base of a stretch of mountains, not too far from the coast." Harlyn had provided a bit more description than that, but she had confessed to not being the greatest navigator. Poe's internal compass had been a gift from her father.

I saw a street sign with your name on it while driving through town yesterday, thought that was interesting. You make up Mariposas name or find it?

Rye nodded at Poes confimation that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, he hoped he would be around for a goodbye, and maybe be able to give her a parting gift. A rabbit, or a somethin, Rye wasn't sure. Thankfully he had months to figure it out, or so he hoped he did, never know where life might take a sharp turn. "Thank you for doing so." Rye smiled, he didn't have to thank her for promising to pull her wieght but why not give thanks anyways?

Ears stood at attention when she gave the names, hoping on the off chance she would say a familiar one but sadly, no. In his travels, Rye had come across many wolves but none fit any names. "I'll keep an ear out for any names like that, and I'll certainly do my best to tell you if I find one of your siblings."

Fade after your post? Or the two can keep going, up to you :)

Mariposa actually means "butterfly" in Spanish :) I picked it up from a werewolf book I was reading once lol And here seems like a good place to wrap!

Poe gave a light shrug in response to her thanks. It wasn't really something that needed thanks in her mind - it was just a given for her. She could no sooner murder her own father than she could break a promise. Don't get me wrong though - if she were forced to choose one or the other, she definitely would not kill Mordecai.

"I appreciate that a lot," Poe told him, smiling brightly. She felt a yawn rise up in her just then, but politely held it at bay as she stood to excuse herself. "Well, I think I'll go catch a cat nap for a bit. Feel free to raid this cache if you want - I put a few fresh kills in it that are totally up for grabs." She reached to poke her nose into his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "It was nice meeting you. I'll see ya around," she said before turning and heading off to find somewhere safe from the snow and cold to rest.