Sawtooth Spire Decently Departed

@Tonravik @Nanuk

He wandered. The crispness of fall was settling in with promise of that bone chilling wind that would come with winter. Their new communal den space helped maintain warmth, but truthfully there was little else to go around. Their stores were moderately filled, but aside from the small meal here or there weren't enough life sustaining wildlife nearby to make their time here worth their while. The Spine was perfect and ideal, but with the damage from the storm, those herds they followed were thinner than he would have liked. That presented a problem.

His gaze lingered over the horizon as sat along the edge of the sun shelf. Pensive and quiet, he contemplated.

The scent of the herds around here were thinning. Their cubs were still young; but she, experienced, knew that they would not last the Winter here if they remained. Surely her mate sensed it. And now she moved to find out. Her long-legged strides took her to him, an ear flicking. Tonravik shared his every mental sentiment, though she did not know it yet. She sidled next to him, looking over the shelf he stood upon and sniffing the wind. The days passing did not make things any better.

"We must follow the herds," she decided at last. Tonravik had no emotional connection to this place. If she felt anything, it was an allegiance towards those she had moved with for so very long. She would not lead them to death, and neither, she presumed, would her mate.

It wasn't long before Tonravik joined him. They idled in silence as they observed and scented the wind. Eventually she broke the quiet with her voice. An ear flicked, catching the words as she agreed with all that had been weighing upon his mind. "Take the children and anyone else who wishes to join us and leave this place?" A statement, but he phrased it as more of a question as he looked to her.

"Has Echelon reported back any good news?" Last he knew, she'd departed to scout out their alternatives.

Tonravik flicked an ear as she listened to him, humming in complacent agreement. Her dark eyes turned to him as he brought up her aokkatti, and she nodded shortly. "She is following a herd. They lead her to a place where there is a great migration." This interested her greatly. She hungered for the flesh and blood of them, but they were getting more difficult to find here in this place. "I told her to scout the lands themselves further. But I know where to follow."

She watched him, now. He seemed to agree with her; she was ready to get a move-on. "I would abandon none of ours. We can let them know our intent, howl to them. If they do not wish to join us, they can hunt what is left with another." She shrugged. Tonravik wished for all of them to join her. But some did form emotional attachments to worlds they were a part of. It mattered not. Tartok would go with she and her mate; none had earned the right to continue its legacy here, bar the wolves she knew would not leave her side. Her cubs she did not yet even consider; they were still Anneriwok, and too young. They had so much to learn, still.

It pleased him to learn of Echelon's good fortune. There were places beyond these wilds that still thrived. Well and good. It appeared as though this particular location had exhausted its generosity and could no longer cater as it had. His eyes skimmed the world beyond. It was pockmarked and ugly, riddled by changes made in the haste of that fateful night. They could not stay and hope that it would reach its full recovery. Survival meant seeking out other, more bountiful lands.

He turned to her, nudging her briefly as he rose to his feet. "Winter comes quickly. We should depart soon." Was this a discussion that required a meeting? Possibly. But those who were committed would leave without question. The rest? Those who stayed would only prove they knew nothing of Tartok. Their culture would remain with them and theirs and disappear into the world right along with them. "Shall we depart come morning or collect the children and go?"

As with her leaders, Nanuk had also noticed the lack of a decent meal recently. With Winter drawing near, the slopes would become icy and too dangerous to hunt upon, removing the usual opportunity for mountain goat from them. Below the peaks, the scent of the local herds faded and the beasts themselves grew sparse. As a lone wolf, she'd have moved on from this land by now; as a pack wolf, she could not. But she would bring the idea before her Alpha pair, tracking the scents that led her to a cliff where she joined them.

Having caught the trails of conversation, Nanuk offered up her own opinion. No surprise that it was in agreement with theirs. "Glad to see everyone's on the same page," She rumbled. "I say we go now. The sooner the better." An ear flickered, glancing at the lands below them. Nothing held them here any longer, and there was no point in holding on even for a few hours.

Tonravik nosed his growing furs back, and agreed with him. "Collect them, and any who wish to come, and go. Some might wish to stay." Tonravik shrugged; this was alright by her. They would inform them that they were following the herd and be on their way; that was that. Nanuk, upon arrival, shared her thoughts. Tonravik was chuffed to know the other was as willing to move on as they were. Reasonable, rational wolves. Smart. Tonravik shook out her furs, mountain-dust clinging to it.

And it was then she tipped her head upward to howl, we are moving on from this place. The call was a long one, and one she was certain her mate and her sister by all means but blood would join. And when it was finished, they would go to collect their brood.

It was settled and decided. They would collect those who wished to join them and depart from this place. His gaze glanced towards Nanuk, diverting his eyes from the dust Tonravik tossed within the air. He nodded. His mate howled. He lifted his voice to join her own. They would leave this place. There was nothing more for them in this place.

"I'll collect the children," he murmured before nosing them both and leaving the view of the valley behind.

-Iqniq exits-

Things happened quickly, and yet that was okay. Her voice rose with Tonravik's and Iqniq's, letting the pack know that their leadership was in this together. The trio became a duo with Iqniq's departure and Nanuk looked to her darker Alpha. Silence blanketed them but it was a comfortable thing, as it had always been. "I can take another and go ahead. Scout a safe path for the pups, try to find a meal for everyone to give them strength." They would all need it for the journey ahead, especially the young parasites.

Tonravik listened, swinging her head 'round to acknowledge Nanuk with an interested light in her eye. The alpha female nodded, deciding it couldn't hurt for Nanuk to strike out ahead of them to do just that. She, herself, would do a quick round upon the mountain before departure in case any wished to join them on their journey. And then afterward, she would find her mate and Nanuk. Tonravik nodded to the pale bearish figure before her, letting her know she thought it a good idea. "Go ahead. We will meet you. I will see if it will just be the family on our journey," Tonravik hummed. But she needed no other invitation to do anything else; she quickly set off, expecting Nanuk might do the same.

And that was that. Tonravik gave a few last words and departed. Nanuk turned to descend in another direction. Her muzzle lifted to call for another, summoning them to her side to aid her in the scout ahead. Perhaps their Spider would accompany her, though she would not mind any of the others. Her paws carried her easily, heading off in the direction that the herds had moved, following the faint scent trail that would lead her to a new destination.

Fin.