Redhawk Caldera melting glacier

@Bridget @Maia @Teya

She was late!

Admittedly, Seal had been too afraid to traverse the Bramblewood alone. The memories of the hellcat still haunted that place and the young woman, knowing her friend Frolic was not waiting on the other side, decided it would be best to go the long way around.

Eventually, she arrived at Brecheliant’s borders without a moment to spare. The rations of dried bison meat she carried had run out!

Quickly, Seal groomed herself into a tidy and presentable look. Around her whithers was a shawl of otter fur: a gift from her parents on her coming-of-age ceremony.

She howled at the borders and waited, doing her best to channel her inner Sialuk.

Peace, she thought to herself.

It was the first step of many along the path of womanhood.

brecheliant felt far more isolated than it was. teya supposed that was her fault for such a culture of insularity. for the sake of the others, she would come out of herself. ceridwen, whether or not she liked it, was proving to be quite a candidate for leadership, and secretly the raven hoped that the young woman might settle down this year.
the young woman at their borders was given a soft look. "i teya. how can i help?" she smelled of moonspear, an ally, and the woman felt she somehow knew the younger wolf, but could not be sure.

“Teya,” Seal greeted the other wolf as she regarded the Brecheliant woman.

“My name is Seal Sveijarn-Corten and I hail from Moonspear.” She peeked over her shoulder to the grand, looming mountain behind them.

“My village leader, Sialuk, has sent me here. I’ve come of age and…” her voice grew quieter, a bit bashful, “…I walk the path towards womanhood. Sialuk wishes me tae learn from Brecheliant and tae help ye any way I can… if you’ll have me.” Her head dipped politely, hoping Teya would want her.

the girl introduced herself and turned out to be from moonspear, brecheliant's most unknown 'ally.' teya took this as a good sign, and nodded warmly when seal offered to stay with them. "i think this good. my thanks to sialuk, and you. i teya blackthorn, raven of brecheliant. maia blackthorn is our auspex. we related by marriage."
she stepped aside to let the girl in, motioning seal to her side. "most here were born here, or have been here so long they family now."
walk the path toward womanhood. teya had little idea how to proceed, because she had little idea how to successfully raise a daughter.
"brecheliant have many trades represented. i fisherwolf and understand weather. and stars. maia is great scout and knows full history of the pack." she had been talking a lot, and now fell silent, guiding them toward the lake and its leaping fish.
something about seal's accent triggered her memory. "are you related to njord and meerkat?" teya asked, a pang ripping through her chest.

Teya seemed to approve of the exchange and this made a gentle smile appear on Seal’s face. On the inside, she was filled with relief even if her concern was unwarranted. Brecheliant had always lived harmoniously with Moonspear and Seal felt bonded to them through Frolic and Bronco’s sacrafice.

Secretly, in her mind, she hoped she could give some small payback.

Teya went on to explain the pack ranks and important figures, wishing desperately that Frolic was still here!

And then she spoke of trades. “I look forward tae learn from everyone,” Seal said humbly. Information about the weather and constallations interested the budding ecologist, but beyond trades it was important to learn skills like leadership and collaboration.

“I ken about plants and medicine. I’m hoping tae become a midwife someday,” she added.

“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed. “They’re my parents. They’ve moved tae Sun Mote Copse in the Hinterlands,” Seal explained.

a midwife. hm. teya was not sure if there would be any babies in brecheliant this year, not unless dwin found someone appealing before the end of spring. 
this brought her to mind of another truth: would the pack continue if no children were born? surely yes, through force of will and establishment.
"our healer, bridget, has many skills. knows all kind of medicine. she can teach you much. and i can tell you about stars," teya grinned.
"your da saved my husband after he was attacked by a cat. i will not forget him, nor your family." she led seal in the direction of the lake, pausing to invite the girl into a nearby cache. the raven eyed the otter fur in curiosity. "did you make this?"

Seal’s eyes sparkled at all the generous opportunities Teya offered. Seal would be sure to give it her all to make both Brecheliant and Moonspear proud!

But then, when Teya recounted the encounter with the hellcat, Seal’s gaze dropped apologetically. Frolic had told her Bronco had passed… and for this, Seal would feel eternally guilty and responsible. There were so many things the young woman wished to say to Teya… but the moment did not feel right.

“Y-yes,” Seal replied humbly when the topic changed. She turned a should to give Teya a better look at the otterskin mantle. “I learned this trade from the moon villages,” Seal explained.

the moon villages. teya wondered again where brecheliant fit into all of this, or even with akashingo for that matter. 
bronco smiled inside her chest. she almost sighed, but bit it back and studied the fur closely. "very skilled," the raven commented. "maybe you show some of us?"
her smile was genuine. the only one she blamed for bronco's death was — bronco.
unfortunately. she knew it was unfair and senseless, and yet the pain needed to be shoved into one alcove or another.
"you have any questions, seal?" teya asked, not wanting to cut away so soon but finding herself inside a struggle that was weakening her composure.

Seal was so caught up in the idea that she had everything to learn from others, that she didn’t realize she had her own special talents to share.

“Of course!” Seal obliged. Maybe this would be the perfect way to pay back her host village.

A final question prompted a shake of the young woman’s head. “Not right now,” she affirmed. Feeling the conversation reached its natural conclusion, the budding ecologist assured Teya she would earn her keep and then set off to locate a temporary sleeping place.