Totoka River glean a bit of information

Now that he felt somewhat familiarized with his new home, Kennedy had decided to take a trip to the coast. He had always liked the saltwater and sand, even though he knew the dangers of swimming too far out. Still, he wasn't a completely old fogie, and he did enjoy a good splash now and again, so he headed out west and north from Horizon Ridge toward the ocean's sandy shores. His feet took his large form swiftly along the way, and even though the drizzle made him blink far more than he would have liked, he actually felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. The fact that his brother was not here was certainly part of that, but it probably had more to do with him not thinking about his brother nearly as much as he used to. No longer was he competing with somebody; now he was just living for himself.

Slowing at the riverbank, Kennedy stepped carefully on some stones that created this bend in the stream. He lowered his head and began to drink the fresh mountain water, knowing that it would be better to get his fill now rather than wait until he got to the coast. Drinking salt water was a good way to get one's self killed, and Kennedy had no intention of doing that anytime soon.

Again the woman of the salt-waters found herself escaping the threshold of what was meant to be home. The place that she had found was one she visited frequently; she felt it was her own, and it brought her comfort. Anemone would find Hawthorne when she was well enough to travel again, and then return to the Vale. She would be a loyal subordinate throughout the winter, giving as they had given to her. Anemone owed them that much, and would show her thanks tenfold.

She thought of this as she followed the river toward the coast. Her tail hung limply between her hocks, twitching idly as she thought of the salt-water... she missed the oceans embrace, but would not be able to have it in its entirety until the sun could truly warm her bones. The L'amour girl would not risk death, but she visited Kei in what she imagined to be Her truest form as often as she could to look upon her and pay tribute.

Her eyes fell upon the figure of another. She was unsure what way this wolf traveled, but knowing the way she went, she thought it would be wise to do as he was. Within the caves she had found she was sure she could (eventually) find some source of freshwater, but for now she may as well have her fill of what she knew was well and good.

Anemone darted closer to the bank, though kept a safe distance between her and the other wolf. She did not want to impose or distract him from his original intent, but she thought it pointless to hide her objective by darting further away to drink instead of simply doing so now. Her eyes lingered upon the dark form for a moment before Anemone lowers her head to drink. Anemone is careful to keep her attention upon the other should he approach, hardly desiring to risk injury in the process of slaking her thirst.

Kennedy’s eyes flashed to the female who had suddenly appeared. He had not noticed her until she was already at the bank, lapping up the same water that he was dining on. With his head still lowered and still taking his fill of the fresh water, he took in her form. She was distinctly feminine, and he could not deny that she was… well… attractive. Kennedy had often thought of having a mate of his own and the children than came along with such a coupling, but he had never had the chance. Not that he expected this lovely lady to somehow be that chance.

She had incredibly bright and happy blue eyes, though he could not say for certain that she was happy. Something like that was such a personal think to reveal to somebody, and usually it was something that one kept guarded from strangers. “Good afternoon,” he greeted after only a moment had passed (despite all his thinking). If she did not wish him to speak to her, she would surely make that known.

She lapped thirstily at the waters beneath her. How they contrasted from the robust sea! But the river was surely strong, and could carry one away just as the ocean may. A child of Kei knew all the dangers water could bring, and she was wary of them even then. The water was cold... drinking too much too quickly would surely not be wise. So she pauses in time to hear the male's baritone fill the air. Surprise is the first emotion felt. The only wolves she had truly interacted with—other than the ones at the Vale—had been her family. She had lived with them two years, and perhaps would have remained with them were it not for Hawthorne of the lot of them leaving... Anemone had been content. One day she presumed she would have taken over the family pack itself, finding a mate and ruling with her brothers the homeland of Kei, where she spoke and her form could be seen. But life was a fickle thing, and there were other plans in the work.

Her unmindful tangent took all of thirty seconds to pass within her mind before she responds, To you as well! in a warm voice, eager to meet another. The wolf was dark, a color she had seen few and far between. Her beta was of this shade as well so she would soon grow used to it, but she was used to silvers, browns, reds... The L'amour wondered at his interest as well. He could easily be a kindly stranger... there were many that had passed her by with a hello and a kind greeting. Could he want to communicate with her other than the formalities? ...She licks her chops, relatively perplexed, before going out on a limb: I'm Anemone.

She accepted his greeting with grace, and for that, Kennedy was thankful. He did not wish to make others feel out of place or upset, so it was a relief that Anemone (as she introduced herself) seemed relatively pleasant and pleased with his company. “Pleased to meet you, Anemone,” Kennedy replied, inching over each sound with care. It was a trick of a name, but he managed it alright in the end. “I’m Kennedy Razorback.” He did not always introduce himself along with his surname, but he figured it could do no harm.

For a beat, Kennedy pondered what he should say to continue their conversation. There was always the weather, but even he found that boring to speak of. There was the old "where are you from and what do you do," but that seemed a little too routine for the Xi. He could ask her where she was heading, or where she had been, but those could easily be construed as personal questions, and tended to set off triggers in those who had less than happy pasts. But then the most perfect subject seeped into his thinking stream, and he smiled contentedly at himself.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a good place to round up some grub, would you?” he asked. Food, while it had touched a nerve with Pump, was generally a safe subject to speak of with anybody. He even felt that this question would not have set Pump off the way his other actions had.

His name was a handsome one. She had not heard of anything quite like it... it was simple. Nice. Perhaps that would be the extent of their communication, a simple introduction. Anemone would not mind that, although she did desire to prolong their interaction. She was a social beast, and without the constant company of her brothers, she had no one to interact with. Anemone could feel herself yearn to say something... typically, it was Narcissus who would fill in the blanks after Anemone took the lead. And Hawthorne... Ah, well, she would find him and surely Narcissus would find her. They were predictable. Thriving was impossible without one another nearby.

Kennedy's question brought her to her wits again, and she tilts her head for a moment. Not by the river, no, she answers honestly, and her face seems to scrunch as she turns thoughtful. It was too cold for fish by the water... but there were seals in the place she had discovered. I haven't been in this area much. I usually follow the waters to a place by the ocean I have found... there are seal there, though they are not easy to bring down. Narcissus and Hawthorne could bring them down with her easily enough, but they knew one another's tactic and how clever a seal could be in order to escape. She leaves her suggestion in the air, but thoughtfully adds, But I would not mind looking for something more... local. The ocean is some miles out,

Anemone confessed that she did not know of anywhere in the immediate area that was particularly good for hunting. She then spoke of seals, but Kennedy thought they would be too tough to take down with just the two of them. Considering he was a long way off from Horizon Ridge, and she was presumably not immediately near her own pack, bringing together more wolves did not seem likely. Still, Kennedy was not necessarily set on bringing anything down right now. He was happy to just scout out possible future sources.

“Maybe we could head toward the seals and you could just show me where they are,” he suggested. Then again, maybe she would not be so willing to show him the location of such a good food source. Kennedy was the last wolf to try and use something like that to his own advantage, nor did he wish to harm Anemone or her livelihood, but he could not help thinking they could find something along the way. “Unless you’d rather scout out something around here, of course,” he added, allowing her an out in case she wasn't into trekking down to the shore.

Anemone is thoughtful for a moment, ears still as she thinks on his words. She had become more protective of the place than she had thought, and wondered if the man before her was an opportunist merely seeking things for not just him to hunt, but his pack. An ear shifted. The thought of a pack hunting on her lan—

Ah, but they were not hers. And truth be told, there were more than a few seals around the place she had discovered... She was being selfish, and she knew it. It was a flaw, and one she was trying to rid herself of. Anemone wanted to be a leader one day, a role model. There were more than enough behaviors of hers that would prevent that from ever happening, and she sought to eradicate that. The L'amour nodded her head, the movement somewhat rigid despite her attempt to seem at ease. He was kind, he had attempted to give her a way to avoid bringing him, too... but she did not take it.

It's a bit of a distance, she informed, in case he was not up for a trip, But maybe along the way we might find something more convenient...? She rolled her shoulders, unknowingly thinking along the same lines of him, and smiled. You ready?

She seemed hesitant, and Edy was ready to call the whole thing off, when she finally perked up and replied that she was willing to take him there and show him around. The Theta's tail wagged with delight, and his head bobbed when she asked if he was ready. It was not as if he had to grab his keys, wallet, and phone! He was glad that they would have a bit of time to talk, even if he did not know her beyond her name and the fact that she seemed to know something about game. A jaunt was the perfect time to get to know somebody.

Kennedy slipped beside her, just one stride behind, and let the first question roll off his tongue that he could think of. “Did you grow up in this area?” he asked. It seemed plausible, especially considering her knowledge of the local game. She may have just been an explorer, though, always on the lookout for a good hunting spot.

Their trek began, and he was quick to ask her a question. No, she admitted, I was born somewhere North of these lands. You? He had her pegged: she was an explorer. She liked to learn of places, but truth be told she had been very few places as of yet. Anemone had discovered the Cape easily enough... but seldom wandered anything beyond that in any direction. It was mainly because she missed her brothers and home that she lingered at the place she had found and named; she could not move beyond that until she could move beyond their absence. But had they been here, surely she would know of these lands more in depth than she did. She breezed over the riverlands toward the turbulent waters of the sea; it was why she knew no hunting grounds in this particular area although it was along the way.

She supposed she already knew Kennedy's answer, but it was polite to ask just as well, and perhaps he had but rarely moved past the packlands he lived in? She trots slowly, sure to keep their pace a comfortable one. Who do you run with? she asks after a time, curious as to which pack he pledged his allegiance to.

“Can’t say I was born anywhere close,” he replied. The Razorbacks tended to keep to themselves, and Edy had been the first to leave in quite some time. It was a bit amusing that his birthplace had also been a ridge. He had not thought of it until now, and he wondered if he had done that on purpose in some deep-seated subconscious way. Not that Kennedy thought his subconscious was particularly smart like that.

“Horizon Ridge,” he replied. “It is… different than where I am from.” Kennedy could not quite tell her why, because in all reality, it wasn't that different. The members were not his biological family, and he did not even consider them an adoptive family (yet). That would come in time, when he got to know them all better and he was more established within their ranks.

She listens to Kennedy with plenty of interest although she did not look to him. So they were both foreigners to this land! Another thing they had in common. She was warming to him further by the minute. And that the wolves he ran with, or the land itself, was different than his home... she could understand that, too.

I go with the Vale, the L'amour begins. It is nothing like my home. The wolves are kind, the only similarity, but I have always lived near the sea. I miss it, she looks to the ground for a moment before looking up, but the Vale is good to me. So I visit the Cape I am bringing you to often when I am homesick. She had gotten more personal than intended... and she looks away. Her mouth often ran away from her, and got the better of her to boot. She felt weak for such an admittance, perhaps it was not wise?

“Why did you not choose a home by the sea?” he questioned. If she missed it so much, it seemed silly that she was living away from it and only slipping away from her pack lands to seek it out when she felt a longing for her home. Kennedy, being the predictable guy that he was, had sought out another ridge. Although the wolves there were different, the landscape was quite familiar in a lot of ways. Still, he was glad to know that she seemed at least somewhat happy where she was staying now. Edy was not sure why, but he could not help but care for the safety and happiness of others... even strangers like Anemone.

His feet carried them closer to their destination, although Edy continued to let her lead the way. It seemed they were heading toward a cape, based on her previous words, and he was curious to see it. Scouting out food for Horizon Ridge would surely look good for him, and he was eager to please Akhlut and get in the good graces of the pack.

When they finally reached the coast, full of seals, he stared at them in wonder for some time. Thanking his acquaintance, he soon headed back to the ridge to inform Akhlut of these hunting grounds.