Firefly Glen Malkavian

set for after @Bronco returns from RHC, if you have time/want it <3

The boy who'd met her at the borders has been gone for some time. A trip, from what little she's caught from her other packmates; their lack of concern at his absence is most telling of all. Without a voice to ask or a rank to imply that she should know such things, Astrid can only assume. So when she finds Bronco's scent fresh within the borders again, her last kill of the day still dangling fresh and warm from her jaws, she assumes he is home once again. And the timing couldn't be more perfect. Rather than deposit the slain hare in a cache, as she might usually do, she takes it with her as she follows the boy's scent. Perhaps the meal will earn her some of his favor — her only true goal in interacting with her packmates, for now.

wc:274

After making his way home from the Caldera, the first place Bronco visited was the ravine, where the river ran along red stone banks. He followed his way along the riverbanks quietly and carefully, until he saw the small waterfall up ahead, which told him that he was getting close. Somewhere along here, he thought, as he glanced downriver- the coconut shell must have been carried on the current. But he saw no sign of it now, and assumed it had been carried further downriver. But that wasn't his first concern; what bothered him was the fact that it had been too long since he'd seen Fennec, and he had words for her.

But when he came to her den, he trudged up the stepping stones to the mouth of it and inhaled a breath; even without stepping inside, he could tell she wasn't there, which was a relief. But to his dismay...Her scent had grown old. She'd abandoned this den now too- probably because she wanted to live somewhere that he didn't know. Well, if that was how she was going to be, he'd scour the entire pack looking for her, if he had to.

So he was wandering back along the river's edge when he caught sight of Astrid- carrying a fresh kill with her, heading in his direction. He had other priorities, and had had no idea that she'd been trying to track him down, so he gave her a curt nod, and altered his route a bit so she could make her way toward wherever she was headed, and he could continue on- not knowing she'd been searching for him.

Bronco seems occupied when she finds him; distracted. Astrid halts a fair distance off, watching as he alters his direction a bit to avoid her — and responds as if she hadn't noticed at all. She dips her head in greeting, stepping forward at an angle of her own to intercept him with tail swishing. She drops the hare at Bronco's feet with a slight swing so it lands more in front of him than between them, pushing it forward slightly with a paw to make her intention clear. A gift — whether he has the time for it or not.

wc:212

In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of the turqoise-eyed female as she paused moentarily, before she began to move in his direction as well, and he took that as an indication that she wasn't simply going somewhere- but that she wanted to see him. To be honest, he wasn't in the mood- he didn't really want to talk much, and he knew that between the two of them...He would likely be the one who would have to do the most talking. Unless, of course, there was a chance that he wouldn't need to talk at all.

He paused to consider that possibility- that maybe, he could share a bit of a respite with her, and not need to explain himself or tell her what was going on, simply because she couldn't really ask him question after question and pry into his personal life.

She tossed her kill toward him, and he sighed softly as she pused it toward his feet. Any apetite he'd had had disappeared, but he still appreciated that one of the pack's new recruits, which he had vouched for, was doing a good job of hunting. “Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now. We can store it somewhere, if you'd like?” He asked. So much for not talking.

Hm. The gift does not please him, so at his suggestion, Astrid retrieves the offering and steps back to bury it in a shallow hiding spot in front of a tree, scraping a few tufts of her pelt against the bark to mark the spot. The action only takes a few moments. When she turns back toward Bronco, she comes up alongside and slightly behind him, stopping light on her feet with a pointed glance forward, then to him. Submission tinges her posture and movements, lending them a slightly low, slinky quality, to make her intention more clear. She's inviting herself along, a silent shadow for company, but only if Bronco will allow it.

wc:220

She took care of storing the kill herself, though part of him wondered if this was perhaps too close to Fennec's den to be planting someone else's food. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he was taking over her area, and making it into a storage of caches, though that really wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world. Hell, who wouldn't like to wake up only to find someone had buried breakfast right next to your bed?

She moved then to his side and showed her readiness to move- while waiting patiently for him to do so. “You...Wanna shadow me?” He asked quietly. He didn't really want company, and he didn't really want the obligation of finding some way to keep her engaged, because he would have preferred to be left to zone out and travel on his own. He wanted to try and track Fennec down, but her scent trail wasn't in the area. Any trace of her was at least a few days old. He sighed, but nodded, and began to walk.

He decided they would meander along the ravine, following the river toward the heart-shaped lake at the heart of their territory, to see if perhaps she had visited that area in the past few days to get a drink.