Swiftcurrent Creek the two weed spots, the two hot glocks

@Heartha @Sylvas Streiter @Hawthorn @Kieran Adrien. Forward-dated 1-3 days from now. @Sunny, let me know if you'd rather be PP'd with Dawn in the background.

North again they went, following the churning flow of a river. They stopped often, either playing in the water or simply resting upon the banks. Dawn complained often of her sore paw-pads and aching muscles, and Grayday felt no need to push them to their limits right then. They had a lot of exploring left to do and he didn't want to wear them out before they got to the good parts.

They were resting now upon the shores, dipping their paws into the shockingly cool water. It'd taken Dawn some getting used to at first, but she agreed that it felt good on her aching paws.

"Wait until we get to the hotsprings," he said with a wistful sigh. "There's pools of warm water - warm like the den first thing in the morning." This, too, would be new to them. They'd been taught from a early age that getting water on their pelts could be the death of them. And that was true, in the wintertime, but not so in the warmer months.

Heartha had split off from the group momentarily, looking for a source of water, feeling rather thirsty. She suspected the others would also be thirsty, and if she found anything then she would lead the rest of the group to the source of water. She moved quickly, thirst driving her. And soon, she found a flowing river.

She went right over, not bothering to check her surroundings, and lapped up water to satiate her thirst. It wasn't until she lifted her head to take a gulp of fresh air did she catch a scent of another nearby. She started looking around, not catching sight of them at first. And she finally did, catching sight of some other wolves, one of them an adult. Heartha looked around, but saw no adult female, and wondered where the mother of this group was. Although she said not a word.

Kieran had decided to follow Heartha, whether she knew it or not. He too was thirsty and did not hesitate to approach the woman's side. He nodded a greeting before lowering his head to drink up the cool water. He continued to lap it up for a good 2 minutes before finally lifting up his head again with a satisfied hmph.

The boy noticed that Heartha was glancing around, and he turned his own head to catch the same sight that she did. "Who... who's that?" he asked, though he doubted even she knew. Kieran, despite not showing it, was nervous. The only wolves he'd met that weren't from his own pack were the wolves that took over their old territory, leaving them homeless. Although the Republic of Auros had now disbanded, the former prince felt scared. He believed these wolves would be aggressive too.

"H-Heartha?" he looked up at her, his pelt slightly bristling.

Though he was sure this information would have been very exciting, the small family was soon distracted by the appearance of two very thirsty strangers. Dawn pushed forward to stare in wonder at the woman and the cub who seemed to be of a similar age to herself.

"Remember the rules," he said firmly, not really worried about being attacked but knowing that shewolves could get a bit dicey where their young were concerned. Thankfully, Dawn fell back at his words, though she continued to stare intently at the pair of strangers.

For his part, Grayday held his ground and remained where he'd been before they arrived - lying on the riverbank, dipping his paws forepaws into the water. When a moment had passed and the woman still had not spoken, he beat his tail once, and then twice upon the ground, displaying his disinterest in starting any fights. As far as he knew, these lands were yet unclaimed, and he and his brood had (after all) been there first. They weren't going to just leave because the woman had come along, but neither did Grayday intend to try and make her leave.

Heartha nearly jumped when a small figure appeared beside her when she began drinking. But she calmed herself as seeing it was only Kieran. However when she had noticed the other nearby, she was only afraid for his safety now. Heartha moved herself best she could to be in front of the younger wolf with her, staring across as she tried to keep her composure. "I don't know. Stay behind me" she spoke softly to him. 

Then her gaze went back to the adult male. And he was looking back at them. He didn't seem interested in fighting, and had young with him. So, by how she assumed, they had the same intentions. That settled her down a bit. She still kept her eyes locked on him, however. The male said nothing, so she decided to say something that she was most curious about. "Where's the mother?" Children were of priority to her, and she still wasn't too sure about him.

He was scouting the areas, nearby, aware that Heartha had gone in search of water and Sylvas hadn't been far from were she roamed. He'd quietly observed as he approached the trees, watching his son appeared up beside the woman, practically startling her. With a slight smile, the mercenary remained still within the shadows of the trees for a moment, until he finally noticed the presence of other wolves near the riverbank. Gold eyes looked to both groups and instantly his ears arched forward as Heartha called out to the unknown male, large paws slowly guiding the male out from the trees and into the clearing.

Sylvas positioned himself beside the woman and his son, tail swaying behind him some as he glanced over to the other male and children. The brute decided to remain silent, allowing the silver male to respond to Heartha's question.

Skipping Kieran with Belle's permission

Grayday's head cocked in confusion at the woman's question. Did she know Amber? Did she know Sunny and Dawn? The male was sure he'd never met her before, but the shewolf seemed to think she had business with his family. Before he could inquire futher, however, he caught the scent of another stranger nearby. His eyes quickly landed on the tan-and-buff form of another male.

Feeling uneasy, now, Grayday lumbered to his paws, not wanting to remain in his vulnerable position any longer.

"I don't see why you need to know," he answered the woman, speaking honestly and without hostile intent. Still, there was a suspicious edge to his voice as he wondered whether she was in league with his estranged wife - whether they both were. He'd not allow her to take the children back after all this time, and he doubted they would consent to it, either.

He turned his attention back to the male, the greater of the two possible adversaries. To him, he gave what he would not to the woman: "We can leave, do it please ya. I'm not looking for trouble."

Heartha's glanced to Sylvas as he appeared next to her, then turned back to the other adult to answer. "Just curious, as a mother myself." She was a mother herself, and didn't feel a child should ever be without one. But it was obvious she would get no further with that point of conversation, and dropped it.

"We want no trouble either..." She paused for a moment, then quickly added, "Although we are looking for a new home. We lost our last one." As well as many other things along the way. Could this male know of a nearby pack willing ot take others in? It was worth a shot, a shot she was willing to take.

feel free to skip Haw :) he's just watching

Unknown to Kieran, Hawthorn had been following him, following Heartha and was silently snickering to himself, thinking himself to be mightily amusing. But soon, scents swarmed by, scents that he did not recognise, and the figures ahead stopped. Distantly, he heard voices and conversation, and after a moment of consideration, he stalked forward silently. Though Hawthorn was naturally big, he still managed to be relatively quiet, only snapping a twig or two.

He made himself known quickly, sidling protectively beside Kieran, the tips of his guard hairs bristling nervously as Haw narrowed his eyes and eyed the tall strangers in front of them. Though he knew that most likely, nothing big would happen, he couldn't help but imagine the worst case scenario - so far, after all, everything that had happened had been a worst case scenario - and so, the pup bit his lip anxiously and waited, listening ever so attentively.

The mercenary's ears instantly arched forward as he caught sound of the male's protective response to Heartha's question and slowly, Sylvas' golden eyes gradually peered over to the silver female as her voice soon rang out in reply, the conversation continuing between the pair as the brown male stood quietly watching the other. It was only until the loss of their home was mention that the bulky brute stepped forward, allowing his gruff voice to escape his lips after Heartha had spoken, ”What my companion here says is true and we're definitely not looking for any trouble..” He said before stopping briefly to turn around and look at their small group, ”We're just looking for a place to call home is all.” Sylvas sighed as he turned his attention back to the male across the waters, ”I'm Sylvas and this is my - family.” The brute said offering the silver male a friendly smile as his ears flicked back against his head.

Grayday looked between the two a moment longer, still mistrustful, before something in him began to relax. There was something about the brown male that soothed Grayday's nerves - he felt as though he could trust the man's word. It would be some time before he'd trust any of them alone with his kids, but he was sure they felt the same about him.

"I'm Grayday," he offered, wagging his tail in a futher display of friendliness. "These two are Sunny and Dawn, and @Adeline is around here somewhere." He pointed to each child in turn, and then gestured vaguely when he mentioned Adeline. She was nearby, no doubt, and had probably just wandered off to take a drink somewhere the kids hadn't stirred the water up into mud. Maybe she'd just gotten tired of them altogether - he knew the pair could be a handful, sometimes.

"We're just out on a trip, but if you can stick around with us, if you're looking for safety in numbers," he said agreeably, thinking that it would be good for his own family, as well. "That way the kids could have someone to play with, and we can all get a turn at sleeping, for once."

Heartha nodded toward Grayday at his introduction. Then he introduced his pups. Staying on the spot, she lowered her head a bit to the ground to get a better look at them closer to their level. "Hello there. I'm Heartha." They reminded her of her own. And it brought a smile to her face, and her heart. They looked about the same age her own would have been. She soon found herself distracted by them from the conversation, her eyes on the little ones. She wished her pups were still here. "They would have had so much fun playing with them" she murmured without thinking, as she thought the words were said in her head, and not aloud.

Sylvas offered the male a nod of his head as he introduced himself in return, along with his family, pointing to each child as they were named and explaining that there was another member, a female named Adeline, lingering around, somewhere nearby. The brown brute gave his own tail a gentle wag and dipped his head politely, ”It's a pleasure.” He said as he peered to the children and gave them a friendly smile, though his ears twitched as he caught sound of Heartha's voice, Sylvas' amber eyes peered over to the woman as her focus was now upon Grayday's children. Silently, his heart broke for the woman as she mentioned her own, his eyes closing some as he inhaled deeply, pushing back the creeping thought of his own, lost daughter.

His thoughts were broken by Grayday's voice and Sylvas lifted his head slightly at the male's suggestion. It made sense and the brown male stood with his head bobbing up and down for a moment as he considered the offer, ”I'm okay with that..” Sylvas replied as he glanced over to Kieran and Hawthorn for a second, ”If everyone else is okay with that, of course?” He asked the group, peering to the two boys and then back to Heartha, ”It would definitely be safer in numbers.”

He had mixed feelings about the union of their two groups, to be honest. He wouldn't trust Sylvas until he'd spent some more time with him, for one thing. But they could always split up later, if the two families did not mesh well, and he would - admittedly - sleep much better knowing that there was another male willing to defend their charges with him. Adeline had been more and more subdued, lately, and Grayday guessed that she would be more of a hinderance than a help in a fight, if it came down to it.

"We were going to push on later today, but we can stick around here for a bit if your family needs the rest," he said to Sylvas, much more comfortable conversing with the other male than with Heartha, who made him inexplicably anxious.

Forgot it was my turn, oops

Heartha paid no attention to the adults, paying atten to the male. Not until Sylvas addresed her. She moved her head back closer to his level and nodded, it would be saver. Exactly what they were looking for, in fact. "We could use some rest. Right, Sylvas?" she asked to her travel companion. She turned back to Day. "Thank you."

The mercenary peered over his group for a moment, his ear swivelling a top his head as he listened to the sound of the wind passing through the terrain. Sylvas slowly looked back to Grayday and gave the other male a small nod, his muzzle parting as he replied tiredly, ”Honestly, we could do with the rest.” The brown male said as he let out a deep sigh, his gaze falling on Heartha as she spoke up and he simply offered her a reassuring smile.

”If it really is okay with you that is?” His golden gaze looked to Grayday, ”I'm sorry for the trouble, but I know my paws could do with a break.” He said gruffly, tail swaying idly behind him as he slowly turned his attention back to his group.

Grayday didn't mind giving up a day of travel. "We're not in any hurry - we've got nowhere we need to be," he explained, tail waving idly behind him. Besides, it would give him more time to get to know his new companions - and whether or not they were the right kind of wolves to have around his kids.