Permafrost Hollows you cannot swallow a life that large

a the vartija founding thread || border patrol for @Faeryn

dawn is just reaching it's peak when wintersbane begins his patrol along the marked borders, the hollows still painted in the cast of the moonbeams even as the sun begins it's slow, peeking ascent in the horizon. the tundrian's breath leaves his lips in writhing tendrils of steam that unfurl in the frigid air. it's refreshing from the stale and damp air of the tunnel and cavern system beneath the hollows but at least the air is warmer beneath the earth, heated by the hotspring somewhere deeper in the grotto. he hasn't found that particular cavern yet but it's a low priority in the wake of everything else that needs sotaherra's attention. patrolling, recruiting, regularly checking in on the vartija's foundlings, resource scouting and herd tracking and cache filling. those things all took priority over exploring the still unknowns of the hollow's map.

those blanks would fill themselves, given time. wintersbane tries not to let their small numbers discourage him — progress is still progress even if it is slow and he thinks that eventually their numbers would have to begin to swell. there were a lot of packs in the wilds already, a lot of them full or close to filling; and with the influx of them in the western regions he hopes ( regardless of how cruel! ) that their over population will constrict like a noose around them and drive prey away ...which would, in the end, drive wolves to his doorstep. at least, that is how it would work out in his strategic thought process — though he knows that nothing hardly ever falls to plan so predictably.

all was fair in love and war, after all ( though he might feel a bit different if he knew his daughter was currently cooking in elixir's oven in a pack he deems in one of the 'overpopulated' zones).

he treads the border, pausing at places to bow his head to inspect at the scents and to strengthen them as needed, content to brood ( and plan, for whatever good that did ) in the serene silence of the early morning.