Morningside Cuesta it's so romantic on the borderline tonight

After swimming across the Qeya River, which was shallow enough for Katya to keep her head and "peace offering" dry, she approached the rise and dip of land that was Morningside Cuesta.

Following Grayday's scent trail, the no-longer-lone wolf trudged up the gradually elevating terrain. Anxiety and confidence mixed into a strange emotional cocktail in the petite woman, but she steeled her resolve and ignored the ache in her jaws from carrying a turkey carcass across the valley. Grayday had instructed her to bring it for his children, and she didn't want to let him down. In the time it took to leave Lost Creek Hollow and cross the river it had become a sort of talisman--reminding her of her purpose and new status as a pack wolf.

So far she hadn't seen any wolves, despite being more than halfway to the pack's gathering place. Katya wasn't sure if that bothered or relieved her. On one hand, she had time to gather her thoughts and plan what to say. On the other, she just wanted to get it over with. Eloquence came naturally to her--she was just agitated by the cold dampness of her fur and the knots in her stomach. She showed no signs of her discomfort, however, and kept a completely neutral expression on her face.

Grayday hadn't left her in charge, per se - but he hadn't left anyone in charge, and without Sylvas there, the huntress thought that someone ought to fill the void that had opened up at her brother's right hand. It seemed odd to her that Khoe did not help him lead, but she wasn't going to complain. As much as their relationship had been patched up, Sunspot didn't like the idea of being beneath the tiny half-wolf - perish the thought!

So Sunspot patrolled, and did her best to be seen doing so by all the adults, at least. She wasn't sure they'd noticed what she was doing, but that could come later. Besides, there were more important things to worry about than status - like that stranger danger smell wafting toward her from the west. Hackles rising, she made her way quickly toward the source of the scent, a stony expression frozen on her face.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice ringing out as she caught sight of the small, cobalt shewolf. Her nose twitched more insistently as she drew near, coming to stand only a dozen feet from the smaller wolf. Sunspot could smell her brother's faint trace upon the stranger.

Katya watched the wolf approach her with faint curiosity. She placed the turkey remains on the ground before quickly assessing them. A she-wolf, and despite the obvious difference in color, she had the same build and handsome facial features as Grayday. A relative, maybe?

From the distance they stood apart, she could meet the wolf's gaze with her own. Katya nodded respectfully before speaking. "My name is Katya Balthazar," she answered calmly. ​"Your leader Grayday has permitted me into Morningside. I'm looking foward to joining you." Nudging the carcass towards the she-wolf, Katya added, "This is from him, and I was told to deliver it to his mate and children."

Sunspot eyed the woman shrewdly, seemed to waver between relief and suspicion. Eventually, her tail swished in acknowledgement, the motion more utilitarian than friendly. "I'll take your word for it, for now, but I'll have to check with him before I can really trust you. Just stick close to me until he gets back, alright?" she explained, not unkindly.

The Huntress swept her eyes critically over the woman once more, and privately, she began to wonder if it was his eyes that were broken, or just his bleeding heart. The last thing they needed was more small, useless wolves - but Sunspot reluctantly noted that Katya looked sturdy enough.

"Well, what can you do?" she asked then, hoping it would be something useful, and not something dumb like making friends or singing songs.

Katya, who felt like she was being appraised by this wolf, answered her question promptly. She shifted on her feet, starting to feel her legs ache from traveling once she had stopped, but ceased when she felt the wolf's intense gaze on her again. "I am a hunter, and I'm improving my skills in this terrain. I can navigate, and I have some rudimentary knowledge of herbs."

She paused, raising her head almost defiantly. "I can assure you that I have the experience and the preparation to service your pack well," she replied, her voice chilly but not defensive. "But I am sorry if my appearance doesn't fulfill your expectations."

Hunting - take was good. And she'd come with the carcass. That had to count for something...

Sunspot took an automatic half-step forward when Katya drew herself up, but her brain caught up to her a moment later, and the Huntress seemed to recede somewhat.

"Well, good. You'll hunt with us, then. I know size isn't everything, but I could really have used some more bulk," she admitted. "It's just us girls, right now. Damascus and I are pretty big, and Day is a great help when he comes - but it's been a bit of a strain getting good meals, and Day isn't going to be huntin' forever."

She looked a moment longer at the smaller woman, a small, tired smile on her face. "It'll be better with the three of us, though. And Grayday will hunt again when he the pups are born."

With a heavy sigh, Sunspot jerked her head toward the turkey carcass. "I'll carry that. There's a nice place further in where you can rest. C'mon."

Picking up the turkey, she turned and led the way toward a small close of trees. The grass grew tall and cool around the trees, where they got water from a small stream and regular shade, and there were several small, circular divots where various Morningsiders had decided to make their beds. Sunspot laid the carcass nearby the one she thought was @Dawn's and turned to smile more warmly at Katya.

Katya nodded slowly. ​"Thank you," she barked gratefully, trotting behind the she-wolf as she was led into the heart of the territory. She payed attention to the route they took--the strong scent of other wolves permeated along the path, though she could recognize none by name. Not yet.

Katya looked around the copse with interest. The cool, springy grass was soft under her paws. "It's lovely," she remarked, turning to the light-colored wolf and regarding her seriously. "You never told me your name."

"Oh," said Sunspot, her mouth popping open as she tried to remember whether or not this was true. Huh. How rude of her. "I'm Sunspot - Grayday's sister," she revealed, thinking it was just like her brother to send a girl over without giving any of the important details. "How did you two meet, anyway?" she wondered aloud. He hadn't been gone very long - this was the second day, and he'd told them to expect him to be gone for three at the very most.

She turned twice in a circle to trample the grass around her before lying down, reclining on an elbow and enjoying the pillow-like effect of the tall grasses.

"I thought you were related. Family resemblance." Katya lowered herself onto the ground a couple yards from Sunspot, tucking her hind legs in. Her forelegs were crossed in a businesslike manner.

"Grayday interrupted my hunt in Lost Creek Hollow. We talked, hunted, and he said he needed more members in his pack." She half-shrugged, her gaze shifting downwards. "I accepted because he offered."

 That wasn't true, a voice nagged in the back of her head. She wanted to join a pack because she missed it. Because she needed order and duty in the unpredictable wilderness. Because she wouldn't learn to adapt if she had no examples to follow. Because she needed to disappear. Whoever could be following her would be looking for a lone wolf, not a pack wolf, because they wouldn't be able to fathom the possibility she would be accepted into any respectable territory.

Morningside didn't have to know where she's been, only what she could provide. Katya was happy to give it her all to them, if no questions were asked.

"Hm," said Sunspot, feeling a bit awkward talking to such a serious woman. Don't you ever smile? she wondered, leaning back in the grass so that Katya might not feel so... watched. Maybe if Sunspot wasn't looking at her, she'd start to loosen up.

"It's true that we're low on numbers. Our friend just went missing - Sylvas. He was Day's buddy, I guess. Nice guy. His son's still here - Kieran is his name. And Day's little daughter is named Dawn, and his wife's called Khoe. And we've got Heartha - sweet woman - and Masky, my hunting partner. She's a hoot. And that's pretty much it. There used to be more, but..."

Sunspot didn't really know where Liri had gone, or what had happened to Kieran's friend, Hawthorn. Some things just happened, and there wasn't any explaining it.

"So you are Dawn's aunt and Khoe is your sister-in-law. Khoe's pups are Grayday's second litter, if Dawn is old enough to hunt--you said 'us girls'," Katya observed. She licked her lower lip, thinking. "Morningside is thriving, if small. There are children, plenty of prey to eat and herbs growing in the warm season. There is peace along your borders."

The she-wolf looked upwards, watching the sun crawl towards the westward horizon. The sky could no longer be considered blue; it was a hazy lavender color. The first stars started to appear. Katya rose, stretched, and blinked at her companion. "I would like to hunt, while it is cooling off. You can join me, or I will find your other packmates and introduce myself. Our," she corrected herself. "Our packmates."

"Pretty much," Sunspot replied, torn between being amused and put off by Katya's stern, humorless demeanor. They lapsed into silence - something the Huntress had just found a new appreciation for - and each fell into their own thoughts. Maybe she's just been a loner all this time, she thought, feeling a bit guilty for her impatience with the younger woman, if this was the case. She'd have to be a bit more understanding, in the future.

"Huh?" she said dumbly, startled out of her musings by Katya's voice. Something about the way she said it brought a smile - a confused one, albeit - to Sunspot's face. "Oh - yeah, okay. I'm always up for a hunt. We can try calling Masky, too," she offered. She'd've mentioned Dawn, but Sunspot was pretty sure her niece had snuck off to see her friend again. She thinks she's so sublte, the woman thought fondly.

"All right," Katya agreed. "I haven't had a group hunt in a long time."

A crease formed between her brows as she thought of places to hunt. She needed to get to know the valley, and she had tried to memorize where pockets of woodland and sources of water might attract prey. She had just come from the Hollow, and from where she entered the Wilds, she could see a ridge of stone in the distance and the wetlands she had used to mask her scent. Neither sounded promising. It will be too dark to fish once they reach the river.

"You know the valley far better than I do. Where could we hunt at this hour?"

With Katya's approval, Sunspot tipped back her head and called for @Damascus and @Gwen, and anyone else who might've been around. After all, Heartha had seemed pretty gung-ho with the rabbit chase, and she wasn't certain Dawn was away from the territory.

"There's this mountain pass to the north we can try out," she suggested, hopping a bit in her excitement. "I saw some bighorn sheep on some of the lower, gentler slopes, but the the horns on those guys, I didn't want to try it on my own."

Tail wagging, she looked hopefully at Katya. "Does that sound okay?"

Apologies for short post!

When she heard the summon, Gwen wasted no time in making her way over there. She had been resting, and it would do her good to get up and about again. Upon arrival, her eyes trailed over first the wolfess who had called her and then on the other. They were talking, it seemed about hunting, and her ears perked curiously. "Hello," she greeted with a small smile and a little wag of her tail.

"That sounds perfect." Katya offered a faint but genuine smile in return. "It's still early for their rut, but they might get restless on the moor. There were some herds where I was born, and they were the best to hunt in the winter. Though, things might be different here."

As one of Sunspot's friends drew near, the wolf's expression reverted to its usual deadpan. The view of her that she'd given away so briefly slammed shut like an iron door. She acknowledged the new face with a flick of her tail and a soft whuff that was more like a cough than a bark. Katya settled her piercing gaze on the pale stranger's face, relieved to finally be able to speak to someone at eye level.

"My name is Katya," she greeted formally. "We were just deciding on where to hunt: the bighorn herds to the north. Are you joining us?"

Finally, Sunspot decided that she did like Katya's strange and serious demeanor. It was... cute, though Sunspot didn't think she'd be telling the other woman anytime soon. Probably, she would not take kindly to being thought of as such, especially when she seemed to be doing her best to project an aura of strength and confidence.

The Huntress turned to the newest addition to their group with a small, bemused smile on her face. She was surprised to see the pale wolf instead of Masky, but wagged her tail and stepped gamely forward.

"We haven't yet met," she declared. "I'm Sunspot."

Katya, of course, got straight to the point. Sunspot let out a giggle, a bit giddy at the prospect of a nice group hunt.

Eck! So sorry for the holdup, I keep getting caught up in things >.>

Glancing between both wolves, Gwen gave a smile and a wag of her tail, trying to shake off the thoughts that had been swirling around her mind for the last few days. It doesn't matter anymore. But it did, didn't it? It did matter that the man she had been running from for years had found her again, and was in the Teekon. Or maybe he left, though it was doubtful.

She coughed slightly, banishing the hidden fear yet again. Not now. "Nice to meet you, Katya, and you too, Sunspot. I'm Gwen." She had almost added 'Alphess of Ganador Bypass' (Although the title was Empress), but stopped herself in time. Ganador is gone. She reminded herself silently, refocusing onto the two females. 

"I'd love to join you!" Perhaps a hunt would help her clear her mind.