first on the agenda

All welcome! Viggo is just hoping to get to know those near Lost Creek Hollow. ;)

Only a few days had passed since Viggo had returned to the Teekon Wilds. He had joined up with his uncle—who was more of a brother—and his lady. Eventually, the Ostrega planned to make his way further west and visit Ouroboros Spine. He did not imagine that the wolves there would take kindly to him coming within their borders, so he had no intention of doing that. He did, however, want to say a goodbye from the distance to Ptarmigan. Perhaps that would finally allow him some solace from her passing.

For now, though, he trekked just a little way to the west to meet with the closest pack to the one Mordecai was in the process of forming. Lost Creek Hollow would be a decent pack, Viggo could only assume, so long as those who started it stuck around. And really, not all of them had to stay. Just enough to keep things moving. He assumed that Mordecai and Harlyn would try for children in the spring, too. All of this meant that they would need to be on good terms with their nearby neighbors.

And so, Viggo stood well away from the clearly-marked boundary, taking a seat and waiting for the inevitable pack wolf to come by. Hopefully they would not be immediately hostile. Even if that was the case, it was better to know now rather than later.

Since Xan's player requested to be there a mild PP for him! @Xan

Scarlett moved the pups out of Raziel's den, they had overstayed their welcome more than enough. Scarlett also thought it would be good to get her your used to the elements. The rendezvous site would be perfect for this. It would be a safe place for them to play and explore, but also to come home too. She was certain that some of her babies would really like that. The downsite was for her that once the sun arrived her pups would be awake. She had promised Xan to show the borders and it would be a good time to bond with the pup. She grabbed him by his scruff and walked towards the edge of the river.

She really didn't want him to learn how to swim yet because then she felt like she would lose her little boy. The female placed him down on the ground. "Stay close to mommy okay? We need to find the Boulder path," she spoke to him. She started a casual trot towards the huge steep wall. Their valley only had one entrance, one small path of rocks and fir trees that lead up to he edge of the cliff. Scarlett wasn't sure if he little one could do it, but at least he would be tired at night to sleep through to the morning.

The red eyed female stopped at the beginning of the path and then nudged him encouragingly. "Up you go," she spoke. "You get to mark your first border, isn't this exciting!," she let out. She had no problem getting to the top, and once she reached it the female noticed that there was a wolf waiting. Was he waiting for them? Scarlett then realized she should set a good example for her son. "What is your business here?," she questioned.

The young wolf had yet to learn of where the exit to the valley was located. He'd heard a few words of some sort of 'path' before, but never had he'd actually been permitted to view the space. The moment in which his mother had promised to show him the borders, however, was the same moment it became clear to him that he would finally know how to leave the valley. He would know where to look once his father returned, and would be sure to greet the elder properly. The only issue to his plan being the river. For once, he allowed Scarlett to pick him up without much of a struggle. Before she'd stepped into the water, he had squirmed a bit, as was usual for him, but the second one of his paws grazed the surface of the cold liquid, he curled his body as he was suppose to do. The touch of the water had come as quite the shock to him, more due to it's temperature than anything else. His head would move back and forth as his mom carried him across, looking down at the river around him. It looked different up close than it did from afar, which amazed him greatly. Xan could see and feel the sunlight reflecting off of it, as well as see how the current seemed to move around the older albino's body. He wanted to be able to enter the river as he pleased, but alas, he knew he could not. The concept of 'swimming' was unknown to him, and his body was much too small to just walk through, well, any part of the river, really.

Once they'd reached the other side and he'd been put down, he'd found himself turning to look back at the strip of water, as well as the space that laid across it. The area he was use to wandering in, and had yet to truly leave until now. It gave him a new taste of freedom, as if he was already older and able to go anywhere he pleased. Of course, that was not actually the case, but Alexander's mind was one that could not be so easily restricted. When the soft voice of his mother reached his ears, they perked up slightly and he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. Seeing that she'd already started moving ahead, he turned his body around entirely and started after her. With legs that were still quite short, he had to jog at some points in order to keep pace with the adult. Even so, he did not complain or ask to be carried. The child enjoyed walking on his own, being in control of the direction he went in, and being carried prevented that. It was probably one of the worse parts about being a child, and he could not wait for it to end.

Before long, they'd reached the path, and Xan took a second to stand still and let his body rest. When he was nudged towards the path, he looked at it, examining it with a seemingly calculating gaze. It was unlike any terrain he'd gone across before, what with the steepness of the ascent from the valley, and the boulders that were littered across it. "Mark the borders..." he repeated, rolling the idea over in his head before starting the trek. That told other wolves and animals that the land was claimed by a group of wolves... right? Yeah, he was sure of that. Which meant that him marking it would tell others he was in charge. Though that wasn't how it worked, the thought had already taken root inside the boy's mind, and set a fire of determination ablaze within his tiny form. Starting up the path, he struggled a bit, but managed not to fall too far behind Scarlett. It took him a second after reaching the top to notice that they were no longer alone, and he was unsure how to feel about that. The new presence was a stranger, and was not to be trusted, and yet the older wolf spoke to him in a calm manner. Xan focused his odd coloured gaze upon the elder male, perking his ears to hear what the other had to say in response to the question. For now, he kept quiet, but for how long that would last was something not even he himself knew.

There was something decidedly unnatural about the wolves who approached him, though Viggo could not quite figure out what it was. He stared a moment longer, even after the adult female spoke, still trying to decipher what made them different than the hundreds of other wolves he had met during his time on this earth. "Meeting the locals," he called out from below. He figured there was an easier way to get up to where she was than right here, though he made no attempt to do so.

Viggo glanced at the smaller wolf. From here, he could not determine whether the pup was a boy or a girl. Not that it mattered, anyhow. He or she was still much too young to be trusted around strangers. Although he had not been around for the first years of his own children, he had been around plenty of others. Not until they were closer to full grown were they allowed to meander on their own, getting into trouble and mingling with those outside their pack.

"My brother—Mordecai—he's settling down in Lost Creek Hollow." Viggo gestured toward the forest that was now his home, assuming she would not know the name of it. "I'm joining him there. My name's Viggo Ostrega."

Scarlett looked at the male before them as she stood protectively by Xan. She was quickly answered about the fact if this male wanted to join their ranks or not. It seemed he was not. He talked about his brother and a pack settling close by. The pale female looked a bit interested, because even since the Bypass wolves disappeared they had the valley for themselves. They were living in a smaller valley of the Rising Sun valley, that sounded funny somehow. Her blood red eyes scanned over him for a moment. She really didn't want a fight with the neighbors, maybe they would be handy as allies. Who knows. "I'm Scarlett, Beta Female of Bearclaw Valley," she returned with the same politeness the other showed.

They were safe here, since this was the only entrance. No wolf could sneak up behind them and that is what Scarlett really liked. She then looked down at her son. She would let him introduce himself, since he was big enough for that after all. "I was just showing my son our borders." Normally it was very quiet here after all, not many wolves passed through here, with the occasional longer looking for a home. They weren't easily reachable.

The boy paid close attention to the stranger, examining him the best he could. He was curious, but not enough to actually try and approach the new wolf. There were few in the pack he trusted, few he could tolerate, and some random man wasn't about to earn himself a place on that short list. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but want to learn about the other, and know why he was there. He suspected he'd be permitted to bear witness to the acceptance of a new pack member, but the answer provided tore that thought to pieces. He was not there to join them, just there to meet them. It seemed odd, at first, but as he thought it over further, Xan realized that it wasn't too bad of an idea. Getting to know those already settled in the area, and in a calmly manner, too. He suspected it would prevent tensions from raising past a breaking point in the future, not that that currently mattered to him.

As his mother finished introducing herself, he contemplated whether or not he should share his own name. Once he was mentioned, however, he found the decision had more or less been made for him. "I'm Xan," he voiced then, making sure not to introduce himself with his full first name. 'Alexander' was a mouthful of a name, and he preferred his nickname over all else.