Shadowwyn Moor Slow down, you're doing fine

looking for somebody from Saatsine <3

The shadows were tall even in the middle of the afternoon. Days shrank, burning from both ends with sunrise coming later, and sunset arriving prematurely. This being only the second winter that Ameline could properly recall, it was still a novelty to find how quickly the cold came in the wake of autumn. It would only be a matter of time before heavy snow fell and blanketed the valley and the areas surrounding it; keen on scouting these lands out before travel became tricky, she left her home, and began to meander in a clockwise course around it, hoping to arrive back at the valley's entrance around sunset. 

Ravens watched her from the trees. Below them, a caribou carcass, picked clean by scavengers who took all but the bones which were now coated in an even layer of frost. As she moved on, she found another- and then another. The last one she found was still being picked at by raves while a hungry fox lurked nearby, hoping for scraps. She snarled and clicked her teeth at the birds so she could draw closer and investigate. The birds, offended, swooped toward her and snatched a clump of fur from her shoulders; she moved away to let them finish eating. 

The wolves who had killed it had seemingly made no attempt to cover their tracks, which Ameline followed until their scents became strong. They did not smell of Swiftcurrent, or Kvarsheim, but there were enough of them that she felt concerned. She called out, seeking an audience so she might learn more about the band of wolves that hunted in the valley. If they were going to settle this close to her pack, she would need to know.

There was little reason to go backwards, but Sulukinak would trek wherever the urge drew her. The feeling she held with the Saatsine was one of constant forward motion and she appreciated the momentum and the work, although not so much the people. They had their uses: teeth for cutting, bodies to throw in the path of the caribou, she could think of no other uses.

Alone now, and constantly, the hunter made her way quickly to where one of the creatures had been felled. The whole of Saatsine had feasted before moving on with the herd; there wasn't much left, and still she sought it out.

Maybe for some bones. Maybe to see what else might be drawn near. She was not disappointed—the squall of birds made Sulukinak's curiosity pique, and as she sulked closer, she saw the shape of a wolf (or perhaps a mere shadow) circling.

Amid the carrion-eaters strolled a wolf, and Ameline watched her approach warily, lifting her nose so she could scent the breeze and see if there might be more who accompanied her, perhaps waiting behind to see how this meet-cute went. Ameline allowed her tail to hang low and sway at her hocks- an indication that she had no interest in challenging the stranger over bones. 

You with the pack that'th been huntin' all thethe caribou? She called out across the distance.

The stranger's voice caused some caribou to lift their heads, or turn their attention towards the pair of wolves. Until now their watchers had been silent as they encroached among the herd, weaving through the outskirts of bodies, and this new disruption caused a stir. Sulukinak noticed this and waited until their attention drifted again.

Saatsine. She answered. Sulukinak tilted her head, a half-smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, though her gaze stayed cool and measured. It’s where I run for now. The words were as sparse as the frosted bones scattered between them, their brevity sharp and deliberate. They acknowledged a connection—fleeting and practical—with the hunters of Saatsine, but offered no deeper ties, no illusions of permanence. Sulukinak, it seemed, was as transient as the shadows stretching long across the valley floor.

For now?
Ameline felt lightly confused by the wolf’s wording, which could mean either that she seemed to want to leave the pack, or that the pack might be moving on. She tried not to show her confusion, though, and merely nodded, with a light chuff. At least she got a name for the pack.

I’m Ameline, of Bearclaw Valley, She said, gesturing to the ridge of trees that sat perched in the distance, along the edge of the sunken valley. You been huntin’ a lot, awful close to our home. She said, in her voice a cool warning. Thaatt-thine plannin’ on thettlin’ down here, or will y’all be moving’ on thoon?

A valley?

Sulukinak wanted to keep going; she desired to move along with the caribou, but for now would pause her observations to service this stranger. They looked about the same age - but she looked softer, this Ameline. Round, plush; something maternal about her physique that made Sulukinak a little less nervous to linger.

No, her tone sharper than necessary, accusatory almost, —the Saatsine do not settle. They go with the caribou. A wave of her tail dispels what tenuous energies have built along her spine.

When they go, we go. A small snort, perusing at the grass now which had been bitten short by flat teeth. If this woman wanted them gone sooner, perhaps she could find a man to chase the caribou away; but it would no doubt take several, and she smelled of only a few.

They followed the caribou.

It was an interesting notion- and the caribou herds were so fast, that it would never be extinguished by a pack of wolves who ate only what they needed. And from what she saw, they ate quite well. 

Nomadic, She murmured. If they come thith way again, call for Bearclaw. We would be glad to join you for a hunt. It was the only negotiable way that she would be satisfied with the wolves who chased the herds, hunting this close to her home.

She did not know the word nomadic.

It had always felt strange to be settled anywhere. When in the place of her mother, she had been on the move always. Only the dead did not move, and to stay in one place was like inviting the end to come to you.

The woman relaxed somewhat. She did not seem as annoyed by Sulukinak's presence, and went so far as to offer her people if the hunt came back this way. Sulukinak regards her cooly, then nods.

She murmurs, I will let my uncle know. If they come this way again, the call will be to Bearclaw.

With that agreed, she moved along — not at an unruly pace, perhaps to invite the stranger to talk more if there were more things to be said, but eagerly enough that she could disperse if there was nothing else.

She hoped that the offer seemed charitable enough in nature as to be appealing, and yet stand as a declaration of their hunting grounds as well. She would give them a chance with the veiled warning, and simply hoped they would be wise enough to give the valley a wider berth the next time they passed through. 

The woman was polite enough- but with the agreement established, Ameline saw her movement and did not notice any motion that would stand as an invitation. 

Thafe travelth, She wished the Saatsine woman, and would return to the Valley, wondering if she would hear from the nomadic pack again. At least now she knew- where the caribou moved, the pack would follow.