pawwash

@Kaskara

Star had gone to the Creek a little bit before noon. The current had been gentle today, just was she was hoping for. She stepped just a little in. She knew that further in it could be deeper and there were sharp rocks that could easily cut her paws. She was washing her paws today because they were dirty. There was dirt in her usually perfect fur, and faint bloodstains from her battle with the silver wolf that smelled like Shadow. Hopefully the Creek would wash it away and her paws would be perfect snow white again.

Being beta was a strange thing for her, though not unpleasant. Kaskara vowed not to use her new responsibility without consulting others first, especially those who had been here before her, like Kieran and Galileo, and even her brother. She wanted to be the best leader she could be, and if that meant asking questions and deferring to others, then that's what she would do.

The dark warrior moved along the creek's bank, enjoying the brief presence of the warming sunshine, when she spotted Star up ahead. With a grin, she trotted forward, and came to a stop a few yards away, watching the girl wash her paws in the cold water of the creek. "Are you hurt, Star?" she asked, concerned for her pack mate's safety. If she was, then she would help. If not, then she was curious to know why she was exposing herself to the cold waters when winter was upon them.

When the dark brown wolf arrived, she glanced up. She didn't really know Kaskara, but recognized her from the meetings she'd been to. She had overheard her name and knew she was either a)related to Scimitar or b)good friends with him. "I am fine, Kaskara. My paws are just dirty from running, digging, fighting, etcetera." As she said that a shiver ran down her spine and her hackles rose. "It's cold." She said flatly. Sometimes Star could really be Captain Obvious.

"Oh, that's good," she said, watching as the girl continued to wash her paws. Then she shivered and stated that she was cold. Kas smiled and motioned for her to get out of the creek. "It's pretty cold in the water, especially during winter. Why don't you dry off?" Something she said sparked a question in her and Kaskara let Star come out of the water before she asked, "Who have you been fighting, Star? Anyone I know?" Kas wondered if it was friendly sparring or more serious fighting, but decided to wait to ask Star that. She might answer it without being prompted.

"Yes." She said before getting out. She shook off each paw in turn before walking towards Kaskara and sitting down. "There was a Bypassian silver wolf at our borders. Me and Scimitar dealt with him. I also had a friendly spar with a man from a mountain pack. It was just for both of our practice on neutral territory." She told Kaskara. The friendly spar had been good, because she could try to improve her skills without getting hurt or hurting anyone.

Kaskara nodded, remembering what her brother had told her of the wolf they had driven off. Whoever he had been was lucky they hadn't torn him limb from limb, considering he had trespassed and was part of a pack they considered their enemy. But the next part caught her off guard. A mountain pack? The only one she could think of nearby was the Sunspire, and they were still at a tentative truce with them. "It's good you were able to practice with him. Do you remember which pack he was from?"

"Uh. He smelled like a man I met once called Mordecai. He told me they were a pack in a valley nestled between mountains. He didn't say what it was called though." She told Kaskara. That was all she knew about the Spine. She hadn't met many of the wolves from there. The furthest wolf she had met had come here, but she had been from the sea. Star planned to take Eos's advice one day and visit the ocean.

The name Mordecai was unfamiliar to Kaskara. If it belonged to someone within the Sunspire, surely she would have heard it mentioned before now. "I'm not familiar with him, but I'm glad you got to spar with him." Of course she didn't know every single member of that pack, but that name didn't ring any bells to her. And the description of the pack didn't match the Sunspire, either, so that allayed any of her fears about Star sparring with potential enemies.

"Tell be a bit about yourself. It seems like you're going after the warrior trade, perhaps?" Kas smiled and watched Star expectantly, her ears turned toward the white girl to listen to her answer. It would be good to get to know her members if she was going to lead them. "What else?"

"Yes. I'm going after gamekeeper and warrior. I have not decided a third, I will have to see what draws me. The two seemed the best to me and stood out to me first. I don't know all of them though. What is there?" Star asked the new beta with a tilt of her head. Warrior, gamekeeper, healer, warden... That was pretty much all she could remember. That couldn't be it. She didn't have much of a strong personality to draw her towards anything- except for in general of course, helping the pack. Healer seemed too soft, and warden seemed okay but kind of boring. She wasn't sure what her third should be.

"Well there's also warden, which is like a warrior, except their main responsibility is guarding the pack and helping the warriors when they need it. I'm going for that one, myself." Kaskara smiled. It would be good to have the warrior trade as well, but she wasn't sure if that was what she wanted to do quite yet. "There's also outrider, which is kind of like a messenger. I'm the outrider of the creek. Aside from delivering and receiving messages, I also recruit pack members."

The others she knew only in passing, but Star might find some of them interesting. "There's healer, naturalist, chronicler, caretaker, and counselor, too. I think all well-rounded wolves possess a little of all of these trades, but focus on only a few to become expert in. Scimitar, for example, is warrior and warden. That fits his personality. I'm outrider and going for warden, and that fits mine too. I like meeting new wolves, but I also know the value of protecting my pack."

Star listened as Kaskara explained a lot about trades. She told Star the others- a few she'd heard of, but not all. Kas also explained that the trades often matched your personality. "What does a chronicler do? And how does a naturalist help the pack?" She asked the beta curiously. She knew what a naturulist was, but she didn't see how they could help out in pack life, while she could easily see how trades like gamekeeper, warden, healer, and warrior were helpful to the pack's needs.

"A chronicler serves as the historian for a pack. They gather all the stories and histories about it and tell them to new joiners and even leaders, if they forget their history. You've got to have a good memory to be one." Kaskara liked to think she had a decent memory, but sometimes things would slip from her mind and she would find herself unable to remember certain details. She wouldn't be a good chronicler.

"A naturalist helps the pack by tracking weather patterns and the cycles of the moon, and how that can effect our success in hunts and things." Kas knew that Galileo was trying to become the pack's naturalist, and she wondered how he was doing. "Galileo is working toward that. He could tell you more about it, if you're interested."

She chuckled. Well, that seemed about right. The only time she'd met Galileo he couldn't take his eyes off the stars. "Yeah. Once only I met Gali. He and I watched the stars come up at sunset. It was pretty fascinating, actually. But I don't know if I'd be good at "tracking the patterns". I'd probably just watch and think about how pretty it is." She chuckled. Honestly she still wasn't sure what she wanted to be. It was hard to decide, there were a lot of trades and quite a few others appealed to Star now, but she still couldn't decide what her third should be.

Wrap tis up?

Kas understood Star's sentiment only too well; she wasn't all that good at tracking star patterns either, but did appreciate the beauty of the night sky. At least that was something. "You have plenty of time to figure out what your third trade might be, Star. Don't worry about it." Kaskara herself wasn't sure what hers should be, and she was a leader! "Gamekeeper and warrior are wonderful additions to our pack, so don't fret too much, okay?"

sure. Last post from me! Thanks for the thread.

Kaskara's words comforted Star. She had plenty of time. She was going to live here the rest of her life, right? Well, loyalty was everything. And she would have so much free time to map out what her skills were. She was fine, she told herself. Star was filled with happiness when the Beta said that Gamekeeper and Warrior were wonderful additions, although her face portrayed no emotion whatsoever. "Okay, Kaskara." She could feel their discussion, or at least this topic, coming to a close. "I'll see you later then, I guess. Bye!" Star said with a thin smile. She waited respectively to hear any goodbyes or final words Kas had to say, before she turned and trotted off in the direction of her den.

Absolutely! We'll have another when Star gets back! :)

Kas was glad that Star seemed to take her advice to heart, though she had never been one to give it much before. With those she loved and respected, it was easy to give her advice. But with those she didn't know well, she never knew how much advice to give or if any of it would be well received. "Bye, Star!" she called, watching the younger girl trot off, likely toward her den. Kas stood there for a few moments before she headed off her in her own direction, toward Bazi or Paar or Scimitar.