Stone Circle la maldita primavera

Some more scouting, 's all.

The sun had long since reached its peak. It had begun its slow recline down the slope of the horizon, leaving room for the moon to rise in all of its glory. Dulce watched as the colors fell across the canvas and the choirs of night dwelling creatures began to sing. There was no silence here, she had learned; music was the god of this land.

Another border fell not far from the last. After having had her encounter with the previous pack, Dulce was ready to see what else this plain had in store. She trotted her way around an eighth-of-a-mile span, before slowing down and beginning her call.

Arlette was never really the patrol and guard kind of gal but with her mother being unavailable due to having newborns, she was eager to help the pack out in any way she could. She was probably far to friendly with strangers but Arlette would at least try. She knew that she would have to be tough if they wanted to cross their territory. She knew that such a thing wasn't allowed.

As she galloped to the borders she realized to her luck that the other was respectfully waiting. Perfect! Arlette slowed down and stopped before the wolf. "Hello! Welcome to Easthollow," she greeted. Her red eyes glanced curiously over the other wolf. What does her mother always say? Arlette thought about it for a moment. "Umm.. Can I help you with anything?" Help was not the right word... shit. Oh well. This wolf didn't seem too bad or an evil mastermind. But then again, if they were they probably wouldn't look like an evil-- Arlette stopped her thought process and tried to focus on her task.

It was Dulce's first time using a call at someone else's borders, and while it did still feel foreign, she appreciated how much faster a response came. Lowering her head slowly, so as to not startle her companion, Dulce flashed a wide grin and spoke, No. She never came to these borders looking for much of anything, other than general knowledge.

Something that Dulce had noticed was that at this pack and at the last, it was a youth who had made the initial move to greet her at the borders. While this one was significantly older than the last, it was equally unsettling to find herself trying to conduct business with a child, regardless of age. Well, Dulce had never been one for official business, anyway. 

Easthollow. Having gathered the pack's name was a start, but there were still more questions to be asked. Is this yours?

Arlette was mildly confused that the female had howled, indicating she would need something from them. But, this female said no to wanting something from her. Arlette tipped her head a bit. Alright, that was something that she wasn't used to. Then again, she never really did this borders thing.

"No. My mother leads here. However, at the moment she is unable to respond to border calls as she recently gave birth," she explained to the other female. Arlette was sure she would understand. "But if I can't help you with anything then why did you call?," she asked curiously.

Well, it was certainly a fair question. Anyone with common sense might have thought to ask it, but Dulce was not of those wolves. She gave a half sigh, cut short by a moment of thought. 'Dunno, she replied, another charming smile creeping onto her cheeks. Nonetheless, the two of them were already present, and so Dulce saw little use in wondering why. 

Wondering where to go from there, she thought that if the conversation were to be saved that it ought to be from her side. Your mother? she asked, wondering who that might be (for future reference, of course). Give her my congratulations.

Arlette frowned, not wanting to be too rude, but that she howled and didn't know what for was very confusing to her as well. Since she couldn't do her job well, a job she wasn't very experienced at doing. "Yes, her name is Valette. She founded this pack," she spoke. Not knowing what else to say she glanced to the side. The female spoke of congratulations. "Thank you." It was very kind of this stranger to be happy about the birth of her siblings.

"I'm very excited to see them," she admitted. "I never had younger siblings before," she started to babble. Arlette always tried to make the conversation. "Do you have younger siblings?"

It was a nice change of scenery to find a pack founded by another woman. Most of the ones she come across were either family run, having been founded by an old or dead couple, or they were run by men; neither of which suited her tastes. I don't think so, Dulce replied, thinking back to her folks back at home. She probably did, or she was about to, but there was no real way to be sure. I had a close friend who is a little younger.

For a moment, Dulce allowed herself to reminesce on her time spent running wild. When she and Roja were together, there was nothing that they couldn't do (at least, to them). You're a brave girl. Very good older sister. Even though wouldn't know this child from a crowd of wolves, she was confident that she had something special. Sort of reminded Dulce of herself.

Arlette wondered what it would be like indeed. She was the only big sister left really. Oh and Ira of course. But most of her litter mates were traveling. "But these will be really tiny apparently!" Too tiny to play with her mother had said. Arlette looked surprised at the compliment and then flushed a bit. "Oh thank you!!," she admitted and looked flustered.

"So do you live all by yourself? No pack?," Arlette asked. She had never lived without a pack, a stable family. She was not very keen to leave it. She knew nothing of living alone. Maybe this wolf could tell her more about that.

Most children were tiny at first, Dulce had learned. Of course, she'd seen a birth or two and thought it safe to assume that the girl before her hadn't. You have to be careful, she said, though it likely went without saying. One of the things that Dulce thought she might like most about a pack was the pups (not her own, to be clear). It must be nice, having new faces and personalities every spring. Maybe.

Alone, she replied with a nod of her head. I only had one pack. I was very little. It had been years since she'd belonged to anyone but herself and Dulce didn't see that changing anytime soon.

Arlette nodded seriously. Her mother had spoken about that as well, she couldn't be too excited around the pups as they would be really small. Though they would quickly grow and Arlette was sure that then she could play with them and watch them. 'Yes, my mother told me," she confirmed to the other. It was still a shock to her that the female didn't have a pack.

"All alone? How can you not be sad!! I would be super sad to be all alone," she whined and then shook her head in disbelief. "Why don't you join our pack? Easthollow is very nice to live and you will have lots of friend who will become a family," she nodded. She had seen lots of wolves she was not related to, becoming part of her family, like Greyback and Ira. Although, now she was a bit related to Greyback as he had fathered her new siblings and was kind of a father to her as well.

Hearing the surprise in the girl's voice, Dulce gave a short, breathy laugh. Thank you, she replied, finding herself quite flattered by the offer. It was obvious that this child had not yet tasted the bliss of freedom, of venturing on one's own; it did get lonely from time to time, but that was neither here nor there. I will think on it, Dulce said, now standing as she got ready to depart. She flashed a grin, wagging her tail happily behind her, before turning and setting off toward the plains.

Arlette couldn't understand why the female didn't want to join. She would think about it but Arlette wasn't sure that she would. Perhaps she was much like her sister Clary and her aunt Nanook. Her mother spoke of them always traveling. Arlette didn't really like the idea. She dipped her head. "Alright. Well stay safe," she offered as she noted that the female wanted to leave. Arlette would let her plus that would mean she successfully did this border thing. Which she was proud of doing, knowing she helped her mother by talking to this loner.