Wapun Meadow atlatl

this is a random mishmash of info & ideas but

@Amneris and @Athalia were growing larger, taller. old enough to hunt, ancelin decided, but more than that, old enough to be wary of the scents around them.
he'd come back and the comfort of the primal forests had persuaded him not to urge his little family away, not yet. 
now he stood in the meadow just outside, a stretch of snowcovered ground that he told the girls belonged to them, to those who lived in the bearclaw valley.
@Ameline too, was invited along.
this was a hunting lesson. this was a tracking lesson. this was a survival lesson. "we've moved into a place with a lot of wolves and a lot of packs." he pointed to a trickle of frozen urine in the snow. "tell me if that's a pack wolf or a lone wolf," he instructed the girls. "pack wolves, avoid unless one of us are with you. lone wolves might make good co-hunters. or they might join us." his eyes shifted between them. "but never speak your name first, athalia. and don't lead them right home, either of you. that valley is ours. ours. it's ours, so not everyone can just walk in. only @Keiko is allowed to do that because she was here first."
honestly, ancelin wasn't sure what to make of her; she kept to herself and didn't leave often, but if they claimed it, then a conversation would need to be had. he didn't want her to leave; the idea of her formally joining them was a way better one.
his voice was firm but not harsh; he glanced several times to his mate. if they were going to make a home of the valley, a proper pack, then it started with the four of them. 
"that reminds me. i — we —," including ameline even though he was speaking what he thought would be agreeable to both of them for both of them — "— we think you should start using the last name bearclaw, like us. because," and ancelin's chest swelled, "we're"

athalia did not know it, but this land did belong to them.
once, it had been a pair of sisters with sad eyes. a man with a bird perched upon his shoulder. and now it fell to the hands of grandchildren; great-grandchildren. ruddy blood and addled minds, holding up a painting and looking closely at the brushstrokes.
athalia listens, but does not look anywhere in particular. her gaze is fuzzy. theirs. ours. mine. lone wolf? she isn't sure — she didn't quite know how to tell. she hesitates for a moment before her lips twist in a wicked way; crushing the stained snow with her paws, she replaces the marker with one of her own.
and then there is the mention of names, of one name; bearclaw. ancelin bearclaw. athalia ostrega. ostrega ostrega ostrega bearclaw
this was the territory of athalia bearclaw.

Amneris trailed the man silently, watchful of their surroundings as he spoke. It seemed to her that he addressed Athalia, not her. He had not spoken her name, after all. And so she did not bother to give him her attention.

The sky was far more interesting to watch anyway. The clouds. Though it sent a prickling rush across her hackles to think that he meant to make her sister family and not her, too, Amneris ultimately discarded the notion. She didn't need his concept of family; she wouldn't beg, no more than she'd begged her mother to stay.

She watched the sky.

While there were other packs in the area, Ameline almost felt comforted by their presence. In the winter, they hardly crossed paths thus far- leading her to believe that they might not have too much friction when it came to hunting area. Nevertheless, the girls would need to know where they stood in their new realm; and how to deal with strangers. 

Any thoughts of finding their parents had long since fled; the girls were theirs, and she felt as comfortable with giving them the family name as she would have for any who shared her blood. Neither objected at the notion, though she did smile when Athalia moved to cover the loner's scent by pushing her own paw into the snow. She noticed Amneris' wavering attention, and gave the top of the girl's head a lick, raising her brows if she could catch the girl's gaze, and give her a warm blink. She seemed less interested, but Ameline felt it was important that she felt included as well. 

"There'th altho-" How was she supposed to speak his name? She sat back on her haunches, drew one claw across her chest and did her best to imitate his guttural roar. She settled her paws back down onto the ground. "It'th how he thayth hith name." She shrugged, a light smile tugging at her lips. "The bearlike guy; I think he want-th to thtick around." In a way, he reminded her of Augur- silent, perhaps a bit difficult to read at first, but a good ally to have.

there. it was done. he was pleased, though ancelin was now unaware he had committed a faux pas in the way of blundering young man. "ancelin, ameline, amneris, athalia bearclaw," he grinned, waving his tail with a low croon in his throat.
the bear guy. the big dude. "i definitely want him to stay. he's huge! we could start including him in kills maybe. or hunts. he and keiko, if they want," the bearclaw murmured, trying to think of ways to be hospitable to those who had made the valley first their own.
"lone wolf," he affirmed athalia, then pressed his own paw into the snow next to it. "theirs has one scent, maybe two. usually just one. just their own. but mine — it carries all of us, because we all walk in the same places."

athalia often forgot it was not only the four of them. to her, it was only her parents and her sister; the last remnants of a family long since scattered. the bearclaws.
the chatter of her parents becomes muffled as she focuses more on the scent at her feet, and slowly, she begins to waddle after it. she does not look behind her to see if her family follows; instead, she is curious as to where this trail may lead her.
before she can recognize it, she is far from their view; lost in a sea of grey and white.