Porcupine Ridge moment for life

AW.. but given that Taggarik is claiming PR soon, she might be a bit territorial should any wolf outside of their group find her. ;)

Shadows danced before her in the Northstar Vale as she gazed down upon it -- the sun nestling in the horizon behind her seeming to weave a tale as it inched closer to darkness.  Her form was held with a hint of ride as she sat -- her spine arched straighter, and her ears erect. The final day's glow illuminated the silver that tipped her ebony pelt, and her eyes seemed to gleam as they cast down the slopes of the Ridge -- a part of her wondered why Taggarik would choose to claim here, rather than even further down to the valley.
 
Their days had been busy. Capri was found mostly at the side of her best friend, Terich-mir, but there were moments she would steal for herself.. such as this. The serenity that seemed to fall upon the hushed lands as day melted to night stirred a spark in her heart.. one of longing. Finally, she and Terich-mir would belong somewhere else other than her birth pack.
 
Capri was anxious to see this new life unravel.. but more so, she was content to steal the moments of solace such as this and find gratitude. Her periwinkle eyes watched as the final rays of the sun disappeared past the horizon, her muzzle tucking slightly as she inhaled deeply. She was not yet tired -- nor would she be for hours to come.

I hope you don't mind if I jump in. Maybe we can place this before the other thread?

Anwyl trotted along, another days journey had led him to yet another rocky ridge. He didn't mind rocks and mountain, but he preferred snowy forest. However the sunsets on the mountains sure were pretty. He stopped at the crest of the stone peak. He looked out at the sea of yellows, oranges, pinks and blues. Sunsets were nice, but sunrise was better. Sunrise meant that there was a whole day ahead of him. He liked the idea of a whole day to do whatever he wanted, it made him feel... safe.

Suddenly a brisk wind blew past his soft fur. A new smell wafted past his muzzle and he caught the scent of another wolf. He turned his head to see a black pointed female sitting atop another ridge not far from him. Maybe she has a pack. Maybe I could join? He thought optimistically, barking at her female in a friendly manner. He trotted towards her swiftly, eager to meet the woman. Once he seemed close enough, the young grey male bowed his head submissively, glancing up at her. Hi, I'm Anwyl. Sorry if I'm intruding or anything, I didn't mean to. He greeted her with a genuine smile, hoping she wouldn't be mean or anything.

Her thoughts had taken her elsewhere, it would seem, for it was not the wind that brought the other to her attention but his bark. Caught off guard, Capri's muzzle whipped about, her pale, frosted eyes falling upon the wolf and almost expecting to see Taggarik or the other tawny male -- one whose vocals she was not entirely familiar with.
 
She was met with a rather youthful male instead, and had he not slunk forward in a form of submission, the she-wolf likely would have bristled at his presence. As it stood, the other seemed to recognize the possibility of her discomfort, and his laid back words stirred her ears to her skull, but otherwise put her at ease. "Capri," she offered, her gaze drifting past him to see if any of her future pack mates were about to appear from the shadows of the dusk. "Of to be claimed Porcupine Ridge pack."

A new pack? Oh great! Anwyl thought hopefully, the idea of a pack intrigued him. He had been on his own for nearly 2 months now, barely had he survived. He had grown very skinny, being so young and small had allowed him not much chance at hunting decent sized game. He'd survived off of mice and the occasional rabbit for a while. He had almost grown desperate. However he was an optimist through and through. Simply giving up wasn't an option. This female looked strong, and considering it was a harsh winter, well fed. That was a good sign for him.

Oh ok. Porcupine Ridge, kinda silly name. He offered up a little joke, though he had grown tired and found that it wasn't very funny. He glanced around at the area. For a pack, it would supply cover, and most likely down in the foresty grottos, food. It seems a nice place for a pack though. How many of you are there? The grey and white male inquired, now interested in this Porcupine Ridge pack.

Shifting her weight to better look to the boy, her wolfish brows would arch at his comment about Taggarik's pack's name being silly -- something she wasn't entirely sure he would appreciate. She made no comment on it, determining to later coax the boy in to seeking out the local residents to which the Ridge was named after and see if he found them silly as well.
 
"Four," she offered then, amusement suppressed from her lips at his casual goofiness. Laid back was a far cry from the serious and rather aggressive wolves she had encountered during her own time as a lone wolf, and she would admit inwardly that the change was nice. "The Ridge is being claimed by our Alpha, Taggarik." She was not entirely forthcoming on information regarding the pack -- seemingly innocent as he might be, she would not trust him yet.

Anwly decided he liked this Capri. She seemed nice enough, and his joke made her smile at least. During his travels down from the north he'd met a couple other loners. Unfortunately they weren't as nice. One had called him scum and spat at him. That had really hurt the boy's feelings. It was nice to be around another civilized wolf. Four of them huh? Not many but its enough for a pack. He thought for a moment, pondering the idea of joining them. But he wasn't ready to pledge anything yet. He barely knew anything other than the pack name, its alpha's name, and the name of this woman.

Oh cool! Well it seems to me that you all chose a nice territory to claim, however silly the name may be. He chuckled, enjoying the company of the female. Anwyl shivered as a breeze blew through his already wet fur, giving him a chill. He shook it off with a grunt, though his teeth began to clatter. He worried for a moment that the female wouldn't want him around if she thought him to be weak or sick. No if he wanted to join this pack, he had to seem strong enough to help. It was hard to seem strong though, when you're starving.

The icy eyed male decided to make small talk, maybe get to know Capri better. Sooo, Cap-pri. He stuttered through another blast of cold. Where do you come from? I came down from the north. My old pack was having some troubles so I thought it'd be better if I left. Now I'm not so sure, this winter has been really r-rough without a pack to help out. He had always been very open with his history. It might've been a flaw of his, but he didn't exactly have secrets to be keeping anyway.

She again remained silent regarding his jab at the name of their new home -- she had placed little thought toward it herself, but somehow it seemed better than the packs who adopted random, spiritual names to call themselves. She was a traditional wolf at heart, and as such, Taggarik and his pack suited her very well.
 
"Away from here," she offered then, slowly raising herself now. Her nose tilted in the direction of the boy, inhaling softly as she determined the scent he carried. He was completely unfamiliar, though she had suspected no less. "What sort of troubles?" Her tone was soft -- an attempt to maintain friendliness and yet gauge more information on the boy. He would not be a prospective member if he brought trouble with him, but given his innocence and friendliness.. she very much doubted he would.

The female seemed a bit more reluctant to share about her past than he was, but Anwyl didn't mind. It gave him more time to talk, and he loved talking. She leaned in to sniff him more. She was obviously curious about him, and her next question prompted him further. Well my parents were betas of my pack. We weren't a very big pack, my dad's brother was the alpha. We were just a family pack really. I had four brothers. Everything was going fine until one day this huge pack moved in right next to us trying to push us out. But there wasn't anywhere else for us to go, we would've had to wait till winter was over to move because of my uncles new pups. The other pack started taking all of our food and my family was starving.

So I left. A couple of my brothers started talking about leaving because there wasn't enough food and all. I thought since I was the runt and they needed me the least, that maybe if I left they'd at least be able to hold on until spring. Basically I left because I didn't want to watch my family fall apart. Anwyl finished with a sigh, looking down at his paws. I had occurred to him that maybe he should've stayed and helped fight. But he wasn't a fighter, staying would've only added an extra mouth for them to feed. No he made the right choice... he hoped.

The younger wolf was quite open about his past, and had she been on closer terms with the boy, she might have revealed her amusement of such a thing. As it were, she wished not to hurt his feelings -- especially when he had been so open with her. "It is not odd to disperse from your birth pack," she crooned, hoping to smooth away any unease he might feel at his decision. She could not fathom leaving behind starving puppies -- but as he said, perhaps one less adult to feed would be less strain upon his family.
 
She could have questioned him more-- groomed him for answers regarding his interest in joining, but given his surprise at coming to them, it did not seem his trip to the Ridge had been deliberate -- instead, she quieted an invitation to call for Taggarik, given the youth likely needed time to consider what he wanted to do.

Last post for me <3

Anwyl was comforted by Capri's comment. He was glad to have someone else supporting him. The guilt of leaving his family had been plaguing him for a while now, it felt good to have the good intent of his actions confirmed by another. He decided then that he liked Capri. She seemed to care, unlike many others he'd met on his travels. Perhaps settling down here wouldn't be so bad after all.

He looked up at the black pointed female and dipped his head respectfully. He needed some time to think about what he'd do. Well thanks for the chat. It's been a while since I last had a decent conversation. If I do decide, that maybe I'd like to join your pack, I'll be back. Well, see ya then! The yearling gave her a smile, one of his signature goofy smirks. And with that he turned and trotted away to contemplate his future. Little did he know that he would make his home here, and very soon at that.

As soon as the boy came, he determined he was also going to leave. It had been a whirlwind conversation -- his youthful exuberance was hard to not enjoy, and with a tip of her muzzle in silent farewell, Capri watched him go.  If he came back, the she-wolf determined she would vouch for him to Taggarik.
 
With the pale agouti wolf gone, the female lifted herself, giving  an idle shake of her pelt. Without word, she began to trot towards the heart of their territory, her nose to the ground as she sought out the companionship of Terich.