Sunspire Mountains Waiting for a friend

"I guess that you speak from first-hand experience..." Birk remarked smiling, while not really understanding the appeal in watching a long-legged, clumsy, bony, skinny and overall impractical creature wobble it's first steps in the world. Rather than thinking the sight to be magical, he would most likely try to figure out, how to take that thing down in the most effective and easiest way.

"Do you know what - another common thing. We have been chased by moose. Check!" he added a mark into the imaginary list. "What pack are you from?" he asked then, since she had brought up this subject herself and he was happy to pounce at the opportunity.

"Not exactly a pleasant experiance, I might add. Being chased by a moose isn't really my favourite past-time," She laughed, the glanced back at Birk "My pack? Oh, I'm from Marauder's Keep. It's very close to here." That was, in fact, the only reason she was here. She had come to meet Knew in the same place they had originally met, but instead she had met Birk. "I'm an Eta," she added, wondering if the rank meant anything to him. Currently many packs around here had different names for their ranks, so remembering what each one was could prove a difficult task.

"Now you disappoint me - just as I thought that you look exactly like an adrenaline junkie," Birk pretended to be disappointed, though the smile kept breaking through the serious facade he tried to keep up. Eventually he gave up the struggle and chuckled. 

"I think I have met someone from there, though I can't recall who and you it definitely wasn't," the gate was open and the flood of words had begun, controllable at the moment, but, who knew for how long. "Anyway - you are still prettier," he added and wagged his tail to emphasize the point. "Eta is some sort of title, right?"

Gwen chuckled "Ah, if only," was her sarcastic response, that she gave with a smile. "No, I have never met you before, though I have most certainly had a pleasant time." She said, and it was true. Birk was a humerous character. His jokes, so far, rarely failed. "I wouldn't exactly call myself pretty," she blushed "And yes, Eta is a rank. I'm not sure on the actual meaning though." She replied with a tilt of her head.

"Well, you know what they say - the quiet waters are the deepest or something like that," Birk shrugged. Perhaps behind the innocent looks there was a heart pumping adrenaline and brain set to do everything and anything to get the kicks. 

"Why thank you - I have had an extraordinary time with you. And don't underestimate yourself - you do look nice," somehow most of the girls he had met so far did not think of themselves as beautiful and were surprised, when he had told them that they were. His sisters on the other hand had always been confident about this matter and never needed reminding it. They did it themselves quite well.

"Doesn't it feel a little dodgy - the fact that you do not know, what your rank means. It could be something... bratty, for instance," he said, amused by the very fact that people named ranks at all, let alone put major importance in them too.

Should we begin to finish this? Like start to fade out in the next few posts? I think it's been a curious meeting in Gwen's eyes, haha.

Gwen returned his shrug then said "No, thank you. If you hadn't scared me half to death then we probably wouldn't have begun chatting," She chuckled. "And my rank name actually doesn't bother me. I've never really thought much about it. Maybe It's because I've spent half my time trying to hunt... and in this cold I've hardly found more than a few carcasses. Not being ungrateful, of course. I just wish there was more. I can't exactly prove myself to be a hunter at the moment." But she knew she'd have to return to her pack territory once more. Especially seeing as it was beginning to get dark. They had chatted for more time than Gwen had realized. "I suppose I must go now... but perhaps we will meet again, Birk." She said with a sigh but she stood up. "It's been a pleasure, really."

"Yeah... there can never be too many carcasses, can there?" Birk mused, remembering all of the long weeks at his home during the dead of winter, when they had had barely a scrap to eat. The emaciated bodies of his comrades, deeply sunken eyes with half-apathetic, half-crazed look in them. The rising aggressiveness between the packmates and such. He shuddered - he was glad that he was away from that now. This far South the winter just couldn't be as worse as it had been.

"Going already?" he asked, sounding truly disappointed by her - what he thought sudden - departure. "Oh, well... Would you mind if I accompanied you on the way down? It's either that path or the shortcut that is way too steep for me to survive the fall."

"I wish I could stay, but I have to get back to the pack." She said, slightly guilty at his disappointment. "Perhaps we should hang out again sometime?" They might never see each other again, but maybe it would be nice to see Birk again, even if it was a long time to wait. "And sure, I'd be glad of the company," She nodded, her smile still in place.

The first part of Gwen's reply made Birk glad that he did not belong to any group at the moment and was free to go and do, whatever and whenever he wanted. As it has been stated many times before, he loved his freedom and needed yet to find a leader or a family he would want to join. So far - though interesting - he had not been tempted to trade his current way of living just yet. 

"Definitely - we have to!" Birk replied, yet he could not yet tell, when would he find himself at this part of the world. A second meeting too soon would give her the wrong impression and to him probably an inclination to prolong his stay. "Let's go!" he then said and went ahead. As they made the way down he was sure of one thing - Gwen would not be easily forgotten.