Swiftcurrent Creek his little girl's got

For @Shadow — Sorry for taking so long to get this up for us!

Edit: Placing this before this thread for my own reference, in case Magpie gets hurt there..

It had been an exciting few days for Magpie; life in the creek was suddenly starting to seem more normal, rather than oppressive and risky. She knew, as every wolf knew, that such a thing could change in a single instant. A wrong move, a simple mistake, could cost one their life. It was inherently strange living amongst wolves that were not kin, but evidently it was how things were done in the "outside" world. She longed for the Corvidae, still; although they constantly moved, constantly interacted with different wolves, Magpie knew that returning home to their camp meant safety and security. On some level, the creek meant that, but she had never worried about the possibility of being forcibly removed from her home when she was growing up in the embrace of her family.

But she was beginning to see the adventure to be had in this place. Magpie would still need to be careful, but there was no immediate harm in reaching out to more of her pack mates. She woke this morning and yawned, stretching as she emerged from her den at the edge of the territory. It was with purpose that she moved through the claimed lands today, seeking out any pack mate that she hadn't yet met.

Life at the creek had settled into a somewhat pleasant cycle but as he and all the other Creek wolves knew, this could and would change in an instant. Shadow could only hope that it would be delayed so he actually had time to enjoy life in his pack. He was actually enjoying his stay here unlike the time when he stayed with his sibling's pack. There, everything just seemed wrong, just wrong if that made sense at all.

That morning, he trotted towards the edge of the border, ready to do some border patrol. Perhaps along the way he would meet some newcomers.

While she was moving towards the center of the territory, another wolf was moving towards its edges — it wasn't long before their paths crossed. Magpie froze as soon as she saw him, suddenly unsure of what to do now that she had met her first goal. Her small body went on guard, though it was subtle, for even if he was a pack mate he was still a stranger. For whatever reason, she seemed to lose her voice around anyone she didn't know. After standing there awkwardly for a heartbeat or two, the girl finally gave a soft bark of greeting.

Shadow eyed the horizon wistfully remembering the days with his siblings when a bark of greeting interrupted his thoughts. His ears pricked, he turned and saw a young black wolf who's fur changed to white at her underbelly. Her forepaws also white. She was very young, younger than him.

"Hey,"he said, his silver eyes brightening as a smile graced his lips. She seemed a bit unsure about what do do, he had been like that when he first came to Swiftcurrent Creek. A suspicious, reserved, awkward wolf but soon he had gotten out of his armor though pieces of it still remained, ready to assemble themselves again when needed.

When the male returned the greeting but did not say more to further the conversation, Magpie was torn between simply leaving, or staying. If she did stay, the juvenile didn't know what to do — if only because she knew for certain that she wouldn't speak. After a few more heartbeats of indecision, the little black-and-white wolf sat and simply watched him with her green eyes. It occurred to her that she didn't really know how to introduce herself to outsiders; before the creek, her mother had always been at her side to initiate things and protect her.

Shadow noticed that the other wolf seemed hesitant to say or do anything to continue the conversation. Then suddenly she sat down and simply stared at him without saying anything or doing anything to encourage the conversation.

"I'm Shadow, one of the Swiftcurrent Creek wolves as you probably know. Who are you?" he said rather gently but with a small hint of impatience.

Her eyes narrowed as she considered how best to respond. Having grown up only speaking to her family, disallowed to speak to outsiders without Raven's permission, the little black wolf did not know how to go about her new world at all. She opened her mouth, closed it, then shook her head pointedly. It didn't occur to her that he would think her dense, but her intended message was hopefully clear: I don't speak.

She stood, then, and made a slow turn. Magpie had never seen herself in full, but she knew what her namesake looked like and that she was often told she looked uncannily similar. Perhaps the stranger would notice the bands of white and catch her drift, or perhaps not. When her turn finished, she sat and watched once more.

The silver wanderer stared as she opened her mouth and closed it, then shook her head. Was she saying that she didn't speak? He tilted his head, confused as she stood up and made a slow turn, what was she trying to say? He noticed the bands of white across her body and was thinking about what she meant. Black and white? She looked like a Magpie, was that what she was trying to say?

"Magpie? Is that your name?" he asked, curiously. No longer impatient but curious and amused.

Magpie couldn't help but grin at the stranger's reaction, pleased that her wordless communication had been received loud and clear. She gave an excited yip of approval, suddenly standing and dancing a small little jig. All too quickly, she became aware of her potentially embarrassing reaction and returned to a seated position... and though she looked at the male somewhat sheepishly, her tail gave a contented thump against the ground.

The silver wanderer couldn't help but grin as Magpie gave an excited yip of approval, standing up and doing a small jig but as quick as she stood up, she sat down again, looking at him rather sheepishly as her tail gave a contented thump on the ground. He sat down too, curling his tail around his paws as he smiled at her, wondering whether she really couldn't speak or she just didn't want to.

"Do you choose not to speak or you can't speak?" he asked her, curious, wondering if she had some kind of sickness or if she was just shy. But if she was shy, she wouldn't even want to be in front of him, would she? She wouldn't even have approached him, she would have ran away. So what was it?

Truthfully, Magpie wasn't always sure why she was so determined not to speak to strangers— there were the stories that the Corvidae told of outsiders, of course, which painted less than flattering pictures. But the youth loved the company of other wolves, and felt withered and weak if there was too long between interaction. But she was young and did not understand herself, so she couldn't explain this to the male even if she had wanted to. Instead, she shrugged. Their "conversation" continued, as much as it could, until one or the other grew bored of the pantomiming and they both went their separate ways.