Bearclaw Valley some kind of majesty, some chemical load

still the spirits did not talk.

astara had tried -- how she had tried -- to commune with them in the manner she had seen her dam once do. every day she set upon the pale mantle, grasped the pelvic bone between her claws, and closed her eyes in the hopes the eye within her mind would open.

and every day, that eye remained firmly shut.

how did he do it? how did it come so easily to him, those whispering spirts? astara's melonii indigo eyes flared open in frustration -- and with a growl, she flung the bone clattering down the stony steps.

Every so often, the Queen wandered down from her perch, seeking strange places and wolves who might join them.  Today, she stumbled upon a pack scent.... not established, but enough to warn.  Kiwi stood near the scent line and watched the woods within with narrowed gaze and a twitching tail.  

She wondered how careful they were of their borders... and how strong their ties were.  Lifting her muzzle, she called to summon an audience.  If they were weak, perhaps they might be persuaded to move on elsewhere.  She had room enough on the peak.

Skoll had heard the clattering of something being thrown not far away from where he was currently walking. It made the fur on his neck fluff up, though he quickly made it flatten again. Now that he was pledged with the group named Ursus, Skoll couldn't help but feel like he'd somehow caused a new stressor on his life. But he wasn't going to leave them. He'd made up his mind when he'd spoke to Merrick before. He joined them to figure out what they were all about, and in the process, he was finding it to be interesting. Though, it looked like their leader was battle scarred and war hungry, in some ways. 

Skoll himself wasn't a good fighter, but he could hold his own on wolves that were similar in size to himself. If not, he had the legs to run. His sister was always the stronger one than he himself, being muscled and good at fighting. But he would have to learn eventually, and this pack was as good a place to start. Even if it wasn't currently official, yet. 

He heard a howl a bit away, in the opposite direction of where he was walking now. Maybe he would just have to follow it, in hopes that at least one of the other pack members would join him. 

---

Hope you guys don't mind that I toss him in here! He's about a round away from Kiwi, same with Astara.

the pelvic bone cast away, astara turned her simmering gaze to the borders where a howl parted from the trees. she jeered at the bone and lifted herself from the snow, following the tracks of skoll amir towards the thinning tree line.

a woman lingered. astara noted her with a coldness; she looked hale, and something about her overall demeanor suggested she was perhaps more wicked than her little frame insinuated. astara found herself drawn with curiosity, and she rounded the stone with an alert but non-possessive slouch. if the woman was here, surely she wanted something -- astara would give her audience, if nothing else.

Kiwi had to wait, and momentarily wondered if she should just depart.  She wasn't interested to the point of waiting a lot of time.  Fortunately, Astara showed up while she was still deciding.

The girl wasn't much to look at, if she was making a claim.  There was a laziness to her approach that failed to impress Kiwi.  She gave a small, soft huff of judgement, but her appraisal was cold.

Who claims this place? she asked, sitting down and lifting her head a little.  She wouldn't assume it was her... likely she was someone's lackey, less than enthusiastic about their duties.  Perhaps this wasn't worthwhile.

When Skoll arrived, there was sight of Astara, a woman he had yet to truly meet with, and a wolf he'd never seen before. Really- there were a lot of others traveling through areas around them all the time. Truly was something to keep an eye on. The brown stranger asked who claimed these lands- he wasn't sure if she was asking about Merrick, or just the pack in general. Either way, something was up and he didn't like the thought of it. 

His initial thoughts were to just make her leave- nothing could be so important if the woman wasn't panicking. "Ursus." He replied the name of the group that they were, having yet to mention anything about Merrick or anyone else.

astara received kiwi's silent judgment with unnerving patience. born mute, she was used to such condemnation, and it had long since failed to get her back up. her gaze flickered from the proud visitor to her compatriot - he would have to be merrick's mouthpiece.

and he was -- denoting this was ursus' claim. astara felt a stroke of pride in her chest, that her merrick had collected so handsome a bunch of wolves. curious if kiwi would say anything in response, astara mimicked her motions and sat in the snow alongside skoll amir, waiting.

Not a very talkative bunch.  Kiwi smirked, thinking, mind running over what her goal was here.  Same as always; prove, one way or another, they were less.

And your leader? she asked, meeting the eyes of the silent woman before turning back to Skoll.  He seemed capable, though perhaps not the brightest.  A snap judgement with absolutely zero context to it.  The fact that there were two of them did mean she needed to be careful, but she pushed anyway.  Are they... capable?  She looked around, a little haughtily.  Your claim is weak.  Now how would they take that, she wondered?

When the woman next to him didn't speak, Skoll only wondered if she was challenging him somehow. Every time he met with a wolf that belonged in Ursus it felt like a challenge. His talks with Merrick before were like that. Contstant questions and words passed back and forth to get an opinion of one another. He wasn't entirely sure what to think of it, other than it was maybe to gauge how well he would do in the group. ...Though the favorite color talk was strange if this was the case. 

Was the woman trying to figure out if he was good enough to guard the borders or something? He would never know- not aware of the fact that she was mute and unable to talk entirely. If the stranger at their borders decided to cause some kind of fight, with two of them there it would be good enough to scare the stranger off. The question and statement that came from Kiwi's mouth didn't surprise him in the slightest. 

Skoll didn't want to give out Merrick's name yet. He didn't know the goal of this girl. 

"Our leader is extremely capable." He replied, simply. That was it- the only opinion the man had over their leader. He was capable and clearly knew what he was doing upon meeting him. He talked the talk, but also clearly enough walked the walk. "Of course it is. We are but a pack in coming, right now." A pause. "But I do hope you respect those borders enough to not get mauled by a bear." Added on after. Merrick- he was a bear. A bear fighting to live with said creatures. There also was bears in the area... though he figured anyone would know that information.

Astara did not know of the uncertainties in Skoll’s mind, but she sensed it. she stole a glance his way, her dark gaze rife with tranquility. 

returning her focus to the earthen she-wolf, Astara flicked an ear in response. a trickle of distaste fluttered in her heart, naught but the faintest suggestion to her features. 

Astara waited for Skoll’s riposte. Once she felt he had finished, she demurely stalked over to Kiwi, meeting the woman’s gaze in desultory interest. 

she did not slow as she breached Kiwi’s personal bubble; instead she hiked her nearest hind leg, lobbing a long, acrid splash of trickling yellow in the interloper’s direction. a musty steam rose from the snow, curling in pale tendrils around her lifted leg.

They were loyal.  Or at least, the man was.  The other still just stared.  Kiwi felt her patience begin to wane as he threatened a bear, and she scoffed softly.  As if they had dealings with such a creature.  If that was their bluff, they weren't trying very hard to be realistic about it.

She could do better than this, she thought, though she froze as Astara finally made a move.  Her jaw clenched as the stream hit the air and she took a quick back step to avoid any of it... and visibly struggled for a moment to maintain her cool.  For a moment, she teetered on lunging into a fight she surely wouldn't leave unscathed.  Not two on one.

But then her expression cleared, and the haughty aloofness hit her expression.  When your pack fails, come north.  I may give you another chance, if you are lucky.  Or end up as bear shit.  Who cares?  She said, but the ice behind it showed they'd gotten beneath her skin.  

If they didn't stop her, she'd turn and disappear, unwilling to waste another minute on them.

Skoll watched as Astara stalked forward only to release a stream of liquids at the other girl. Really, Skoll didn't see how that was useful in any way, but it seemed to deter the red woman that had decided to bother them. Skoll was ready for a fight to break out, only for there to be nothing, and for the other woman to claim that their pack was going to fail and they would be meals for the bears. 

On the contrary, they would not. 

"You're mistaken. You will be the one devoured by bears if you come here again." He replied, waiting for her to leave- unless Astara stopped her. Skoll would keep an eye out on their borders after this- to make sure the girl didn't come back and try something stupid.

the nightshade readied for retaliation, but none came. instead, her little gimmick had thorned the interloper, who now struggled to maintain her composure in the face of such rank and steaming piss.

astara smiled smugly, pleased. with her packmate alongside her, she suspected the woman would not challenge them further. as she assumed, kiwi managed a reply, her tone acerbic as she addressed each of them.

astara had nothing else to contribute. skoll was the wolf with the last word here -- she simply watched, those fathomless indigo eyes rife with malevolence as kiwi departed.