Iktome Plains an ode to silence

After days of a northern trek, the hinterlands gave way to the expanse of the coast. Sea salt had grown on the air steadily, though the inflow of cooler winds had only helped to pull it through the last of weathered trees. The openness had greeted Dirge bleakly; it had snowed in the morning and now the afternoon was tainted with persistant curtains of grey but were notably warmer. The plains had been easy enough to navigate, the breadth of such terrain put behind him as the sun had crested past noon. He could see the ocean from here, the whitecaps breaking over the littered pieces of the bay ahead.

But the pathway there had become much more difficult to manage. He hadn't noticed at first, intent on making enough headway to satisfy himself. There hadn't been a fair exploration of what lied along such a picturesque location when he had his siblings in tow and now he desired it. Sand was becoming a bit of annoyance, not at all like the packed earth and grit of his native home... and the chill that now came with the whip worthy winds began their subtle dissuation from the idea.

The water was probably cold anyway, he had reasoned.

So it was along a place where the ground buckled and hardened that he ventured, a place where the scrub and brush of the plain still showed resolve against the eroding shore. It was a natural walkway no doubt used by many, even if Dirge didn't give pause to entertain such things. He opted to go parallel with the shore, eyes intent to seek out a better path so that he could eventually make the long strides he had hoped for.

Silas and Qilaq had dispersed, as far as Tytonidae could tell. She counted the number of wolves that she had seen recently enough to consider still loyal to the cause: Domi? Clock? Earthsea? What had happened to the others, she would likely never know. It would be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed, but she understood that sticking to a leader who had been sick for the past several weeks was a difficult choice to make, so Ty blamed it on that.

A sigh slipped through her teeth, whooshing out and causing her upper lips to flap gently against her gums. It made an odd noise that made her grin stupidly to herself. She had known this would be hard, but she hadn't expected it to be this difficult. There was a definite chill in the air today; fall was upon them.

She was near the plateau she hoped to make her home (correction: had made her home) when she spotted a single figure winding down a well-worn path. She immediately began to move toward him, pushing herself to catch up to him. In a matter of perhaps five minutes she managed to catch a closer glimpse of him, and she let out a friendly woof in his direction, stopping and hoping that he would be receptive to the socialization.

Minutes passed by without so much as another wayward soul to cross him, which left him plenty of time to kick at stones in the pathway. He didn't expect much in the way of resistance out here to begin with, seeing how the weather was less than favorable and far more interesting things no doubt lied further inland. In what short time Dirge had spent on the coast he had come to the conclusion that the coast did not seem the most likely place to find other wolves. It simply lacked the usual environment and amenities that smarter creatures would call home. Or alternatively, creature comforts. Still, it was definitely worth the venture there, a landscape most unusual to log in memory. Plus, there was always the draw of hidden gems to be found as well, and even he could not resist that allure.

As it were, such a potential gem arose from a nearby rise. The last few of his previous encountered both writ and not were the same—a call out to him intenting to pull his attention. This time it wasn't some she-wolf cloaked in ivory, but rather the opposite, and this time they weren't entirely in shouting distance. So his steps came to a progressive halt to regard her, an inky blot against a pale sky, and there was not much more he could tell from that. He barked back; whether they were friend or foe mattered not to him. He'd soon find out.

He responded with a bark back in her direction, and Ty's tail waved from side to side. Her eyes lit up, and she trotted toward him, her stance neutral and welcoming. "Heya, I'm Tytonidae. I'm recruiting for a pack up on that plateau," she explained, muzzle and attention briefly pointing back toward her home. She wanted to be upfront about her intentions, hoping that it might interest him, but she would understand if it didn't. There were a million and one reasons why he might not welcome the idea, but she hoped that wasn't the case.

"You out here by yourself?" she asked, her own eyes, ears, and nose not picking anything up right off the bat. But perhaps she just hadn't noticed the other (or others) he was with. Unfortunately, he didn't seem too interested in talking, since he quickly departed. Ty shrugged, noting that this seemed to be a common occurrence among the lone wolves of the Teekon Wilds. There would be other chances to recruit for Bhediyon.