Felltree Marsh Gigelorum

Avoiding the marshier, ice-rimmed parts of Felltree, Shea picked his way carefully through an undisturbed portion of the woods in search of either a meal or a hint that his brother had been through here recently. This latter goal was a complete long shot, as he had not gone far enough from Sapphique to feel comfortably out of their range, but he kept his mind open to the possibility despite focusing more on filling his belly.

Nose to the ground and daylight waning into dusk, he listened for the inevitable stirring of crepuscular foragers as he tried to ignore how small he felt in the wake of discovering some troubling news concerning his bloodline’s reputation.

The want for food drove her beyond the pack's claim, and toward the Marsh where she'd tracked rabbits in the winter. With the swampy region covered in a layer of snow, the ground was easier to navigate- less getting stuck in the mud, and the hibernating marsh grasses provided good food for the herbivores. 

She spotted the other wolf, though, before catching sight of any roving prey. He moved with a quiet step, his ears perked; possibly also trying to hunt down something to eat. This marsh was not a part of Redtail Rise's claim- but it was close enough that the selfish girl felt entitled to the prey that roamed in the area. Her instincts told her to fend him off, drive him away so she could hunt this area on her own- but she had enough experience with hunting in groups that she knew she might stand a better chance if they teamed up. 

That was, of course, if he was cooperative. 

She uttered a soft chuff- barely resonating her vocal chords, but offering a puff of warm air that shimmered in the dying light, to catch his attention.

Shea lifted his head towards the soft sound aimed at him, his eyes following a puff of warm breath on the cold air to meet the steady gaze of a blond-laced teenager. She was slim and wiry, with blue eyes so pale that they appeared silver in the lowlight. The older male was able to read the readiness in her stance and the invitation in her querying voice to know what she wanted and think the same of her.

His crooked tail wagged, beckoning her nearer, giving her control over how close they would come to one another. He then gestured in front of him, where there were telltale signs of frequent beaver activity.

This area, with several trees stripped of their bark, was near a stream that ran down into a large pond where a beaver family’s lodge would no doubt be found. The hour of the beaver was fast approaching; they would leave the pond with their nearly-ready-to-disperse adolescents and traipse upstream to forage here, giving the two wolves a perfect opportunity to set up an ambush before that moment.

Shea tilted his head at the young huntress, wondering if she understood the situation or required his guidance.

She drew closer, and her eyes were drawn momentarily to the swaying of his tail- broken, at some point, she guessed, before looking back to him again. There was a mildness about his features that proclaimed no devil, and he welcomed her with a calm friendliness that put her at ease. She knew not all friendly faces could be trusted- but he seemed to understand her intentions. She'd hunted with strangers before- the last one had given her the entire kill, taking only the antlers for himself. Oddly enough, both wolves had a hint of briny sea air to their fur. This one didn't smell like Sapphique, though. 

She didn't understand what he was hunting at first, as she'd never pondered the option of hunting beavers. The only times she saw them, they were in the water, and as soon as she was spotted they made a loud smack with their tail on the water's surface and dove below where she couldn't get them at all. But as they moved, the began to notice the signs that they'd come out of the water. Alders with bark stripped, trees that had been cut down leaving nothing but a spiky stump behind, and tangles of cottonwood that had been consumed bit by bit. 

She looked to Shea, then, her gaze curious. How exactly did he intend to catch one? She assumed they'd wait somewhere, to see if the beavers would appear- but she wasn't entirely certain.

so so so sorry for the wait! <;

Shea watched as the girl began to notice the beaver signs, examining each symbol of their presence with her clever ice-blue eyes. Still, she seemed inexperienced in the matter of hunting these riverfolk, as told by the way she looked back up at him, questioning and curious.

He gestured towards the rolling current that tumbled down into the pond. Them beavers’ll come upstream tae forage as tha sun goes doon, he explained in a hush. We gunna ambush ‘em. Hide close by an’ cut off their path back tae tha wat’er. Ye wi’ me, lassie? He tilted his head, mossy eyes scanning her face for either agreement or confusion.

Darlin’ I’ve been so behind too lately- no apology necessary <3

As soon as he spoke, Lilia’s focus broke. Her pupils narrowed and she searched his expression and features as though looking for some sort of explanation. She inhaled, assessing his scent, and found herself so distracted by her thoughts that the hunt was easily forgotten.

”You thound like thomeone I know,” She said. ”An I’m not Lathie, I’m Lilia,” She said, her tone almost offended. She thought of Quennell, and how he had abandoned her. ”You know a guy called Njord?” She asked quietly.

Shea's head reared back a little when Lassie -- sorry! -- Lilia made a comment about his voice. He had been waiting for weeks on end to hear a sentence like that, chatting up every wolf he ran into in the hopes that just one would be familiar with his accent. But now that it was happening, in the middle of a hunt no less, the Loch wolf could only blink in mild bewilderment, trying to collect his thoughts.

Then, before he could recover, she said the magic word: Njord.

His eyes widened. Well o' caurse Ah do! Shea said excitedly, forgetting their hunt. Somewhere behind them, there was a sudden splash. He didn't even notice, crooked tail flying back and forth. Njordie's mah brother. Ah been lookin' fer 'im every which way. D'ye know where Ah kin find 'im?

She felt the fur along the nape of her neck prickle; her lisp was not something that was often questioned, though she felt defensive about it nonetheless. Fortunately, he seemed to understand what she’d meant when she’d spoken- and wisely, he didn’t draw attention to it.

Like him, Lilia forgot about the potential hunt, and didn’t even flick an ear when one of the beavers alerted the others to their presence. He seemed delighted to know his brother was known around here- but she knew she didn’t have great news for him. 

”Well, he wath living at Thapphique, a pack along the coatht,” She said, and gave a sigh and a shrug. ”But when a bear attacked…He jutht grabbed hith family an’ run off.” She said. His abandonment didn’t concern her terribly, as it effected her very little- but his infidelity did ruffle her a bit. ”I doubt he’d go back there. If he wath thmart, he’d go far away after duckin’ out on ‘em like that.” She commented frankly.