Siv had not yet truly gone to the extent of exploring her new pack land. She was still mesmerized by the outside world and all that it had to offer. The Savoy girl was also a girl of the sea. She’d been born on the windy shores, and her heart was drawn to them. Already, the coywolf was falling in love with her pack and her new family, but she knew very little about the caldera. After her talk with Perry, she’d come to realize that focusing on trades would be a good start to meld herself into the pack life and it would be something to keep her busy. The trouble for the youngster was deciding on which one she would lay her primary focus to. To be truthful, she would have wanted to do all of them, but being limited to three made things far more difficult for the impulsive creature. Naturalist, Gamekeeper, Chronicler, and Outrider had all sounded appealing to the young woman. Her frustration was in not knowing which one to pick. It was early morning on the caldera, and Siv had a restless night. She rose from her den and took to a brisk trot around the base of the topless mountain. The coywolf’s lips were thin and her legs were taut. She had not anticipated pack life to be so busy, so different from her life as a loner. She did not imagine she would have found herself in such a position had she never stumbled upon Fox near the borders of the new pack. The Savoy girl didn’t regret her decision to become part of the Redhawks, but she needed focus… she needed a purpose. Until she could narrow down her interests, she would take to briskly walking in the chilly autumn air, waiting for the sun to rise over the mountaintop. |
As soon as he was given the chance, Amon delved in to the freshly claimed territory. It took some time for him to hike up the steep slopes, and he hadn't even managed to reach a very grand height upon the mountain when he had to take his first rest. Come on legs, you've tread on worse than this,
He thought idly, as he stood overlooking the stone-laden path that he had traversed in order to reach this point. A sigh sifted through his teeth, and as he grit them tight, Amon began to climb some more.
By the time he caught sight of another living animal, he was quite out of breath. She was ambling about the place without a single ounce of pleasure in her stride; and then he caught a blurred image of her face as she passed on by him, and Amon noticed her stern expression. With a low baying, he called to her. Hey! In a hurry?
The sound of another voice seemed to startle the long-limbed girl to the point that her body actually shook with the force of being drawn from her thoughtful state with such vigor. Drawing her bright blue gaze in the direction that she had been hailed from, Siv locked her eyes on the figure of a handsome agouti male. A frown had settled onto her tapered features, which was an oddity on the – normally giddy – face of the young Savoy girl. She seemed to have taken such a shock from the male’s abrupt appearance that she could not quite formulate a response. Heaving a sigh, the coywolf girl drew her ears forward and flicked her tail, following the lines of his frame with a strange intensity. “I, uh,” she said dumbly, flicking her tongue across her nose. Realizing that she must have looked like her head was permanently inserted in her ass, Siv shook her skull from side to side once or twice before blinking at this stranger and taking a second to compose herself. “Not really. I was just going out for a stroll. The weather’s just keen,” she was finally able to respond. Had she not so intently been bent on reaching a conclusion when it came to trades, she probably could have held a better conversation with the male. And yet… she had no idea who this strange wolf was. |
His voice appeared to present a barrier of which she had to avoid, resulting in the girl halting quite suddenly and turning to regard him. It was now that Amon noticed the specifics: she was a dainty thing, far less wolf and more... Something else. But he wasn't one to dwell upon such unimportant things like bloodline. She was smaller than what he anticipated, having expected her to grow a bit larger as she got closer, but she did not. Curious.
Ah yeah, the weather.
Amon gave a small nod as if he understood, but he hadn't been here very long. The lake hadn't been a cold rendezvous point for the wanderer - and now he was in this open country, where the sky met the mountain. The morning was taking forever to arrive, with a pale light creeping up the equally pale sky.
Want some company?
He asked, but wasn't exactly asking. While his voice rumbled, his body advanced so that he could stand side-by-side with the tiny girl. I just got here, see. If you're goin' on a walk then I could use a guide.
And Fox had told him to seek other wolves out, so, he was just following orders.
The weather, yeah, that good old small talk was what real conversations were born from. Siv immediately regretted mentioning the state of the weather to the older male, but knew that it wasn’t something she could necessarily take back. He seemed kind enough, however, and he soon inquired as to whether or not she wanted company. The brown-furred fellow did not seem to really wait for a response, though, and took a few forward steps until he found himself at her side. She glanced upwards at him with a small smile, noting that he was considerably larger than she was, but then again her mixed blood aided to her narrow features and petite frame. Too busy taking into consideration the shape of his body and the deep chocolate of his eyes, Siv almost missed his remark about being new to the caldera. When she had finally caught up to the end of his sentence, her blue gaze widened and she peered at him curiously. “Man alive, so you’re new!” she exclaimed with a lopsided grin, flagging her tail behind her in excitement. “That’s swell. I’d be happy to play tour guide for a little while,” she then added with a firm nod of her narrow skull. Her offer was, of course, a genuine one. Siv very rarely found that she did not desire company of some sort, and she was interested in this male. He seemed somewhat gruff, but she was not thrown by this feature of his personality. Instead, she was further intrigued by it. It was rather difficult to smother the curiosity that dwelled inside of the coywolf female. Motioning with her head, she set off at an easy walk, turning to face the stranger with a small smirk. “I’m – uh – Siv Savoy, by the way,” the girl introduced. |
Man alive, so you’re new!
The girl exclaimed, growing abruptly excited when this obvious fact dawned upon her. Her acceptance of her role as tour guide caused Amon to smirk, kind of, and a light chuckle rumbled from his belly. Siv Savoy - sounds important to me.
The man commented as he took the first step, and after a few more he turned and gave a roguish bow in the girl's direction. And I'm Amon. No last name for me though, ain't that grand.
It seemed like his bow wasn't going to stop - but that was likely just his hunching shoulders. The bear-like lump that gave him his looming quality. Well then little Siv, lead the way.
Around them the earth was ragged and dry. The territory seemed to be primarily made up of mountainous ridges, and none more prominent than the caldera itself. Briefly Amon wondered about why wolves would choose this place to home themselves - but he was ignorant, and a little biased since he had just been visiting the nearby lake.
“You look pretty grand to me!” Siv exclaimed with a quick smile, motioning with her muzzle towards the male, as though he might have been confused as to who she was referring to. He was much larger than she was. Composed of thick sinewy muscle and handsome earthy colors, the coywolf girl found herself rather impressed with Amon. “Plus, last names aren’t all they’re cracked up to be… let me tell ya,” she then added, trying to make the male feel better about not having a surname. Now, Siv was the type of girl who treasured her family name. It really was nothing special when it came to the rest of the world, but it was the only tie that she had to her father.
Allowing the male to take his place beside her, Siv set off at a steady pace along the caldera. Already, her mood was brightening; she’d found a form of pleasant company – someone she’d never met before – and she was acting as a tour guide. What more was there? Darting her bright blue gaze upwards at the tall male, Siv peered at him curiously. “When did ya join the caldera, Amon?” she inquired with a half-smile.
You look pretty grand to me!
The girl commented, no doubt about his great size. It was an asset in some cases, but now that he was older Amon felt the aches and pains of his bad joints; being big wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Not any more.
They walked for a bit before Siv's question popped in to the air, When did you join the caldera, Amon?
And with the question came Amon smirked and gave her a shrug. About the same time as it's creation. I heard the howling and met with one of the leaders the next morning - ah, I think it was Fox? The little red one.
Or had it been Peregrine? Blast this memory of his. How about you?
As they walked, he mentioned having been wrangled in by Fox. A smile struck the girl’s face and she quickly nodded her head. “Yeah! Fox, she – uh – actually, she was the one who recruited me too,” Siv responded to him with a wagging of her tail. “She’s great. I think she and Perry are perfect leaders.” There was a lot of blind faith that went into Siv’s loyalty to the alphas of the caldera. She trusted them unwaveringly. Perhaps it was a good trait for someone like her to have, though. “Where’d you come from before joining the caldera, Amon?” Siv inquired, darting her blue eyes towards him.
She, like most new faces, had questions. Amon was never particularly interested in anyone's past, but it seemed as if this was a trait left to the young. Maybe these youngsters thought he had some sort of grand life that he'd happily share - but when the question was voiced, Amon chuffed a tiny laugh, and rolled his shoulders. He deflected. It was as natural a reaction as breathing, to him; the Guard did not deserve a place in his memory, nor in the minds of others. Ah, nowhere. Everywhere. I've been wanderin' a while - close to two years, methinks.
That was true, he had been wandering, on the run from the Guard, so to some extent he was sincere.
What about you, little lady?
The beastly man responded swiftly, turning the conversation away from himself and back upon Siv. She was young and probably didn't have much of a life to talk about, but that would change. As they walked, she elucidated upon the topic - and while Amon listened, his mind drifted to thoughts of the Guard and the threat they may pose upon the caldera. What were the chances that those plainswalkers would find him here, though? Amon mindlessly walked alongside Siv and distracted himself with idle chatter, until their silhouettes were swallowed up by the rocky horizon.