Blacktail Deer Plateau i'm so glad to finally meet you, i mean

Someone who she hasn't met yet? Help spread the ick!

There was something that felt off. Sorrel had come to the conclusion a while back that her joints would never stop aching so that pain was in the back of her mind. None of the wounds she had acquired while by herself stirred up any pain; most of them were already healed or near healed by now, with only a few exceptions here and there. Had she been able to leave them alone, they might have scabbed over already, but Sorrel had a bad habit of picking where she shouldn't.

Still, something wasn't quite right. Sorrel had risen that evening and made her way away from the rest of the group. There was a certain pressure on her chest that she couldn't quite put a cause to and a thick phlegm at the back of her throat which was more annoying than anything else. She was sore all over, but figuring this was nothing too out of the usual, Sorrel didn't think much of it. Rather, she went to visit one of the caches and gather herself whatever pickings she could.

dauntless draws in a deep breath of the frigid air that sweeps through the forest of the plateau, ruffling through the longer, wispier tendrils of chocolate fur at the nape of his neck. he steels his shoulders in an effort to buffer the wind as it kicks up and causes the branches to rustle as he tightens his grip upon the hare he’d caught — it’s flesh still warm despite the distinct stiffness in it’s once pliable muscles. dauntless isn’t particularly hungry but had sought to work on his hunting skills under the belief that practice makes perfect. he makes a beeline for the nearest food cache to both replace the hare he’d taken the other morning and for the sake of contribution in general. dauntless’ steps slow as he nears the cache, lighter footfalls indicating that he’s not alone. he offers a soft chuff around the flesh of the hare to announce his presence when the dove brown and cream female comes into his view. the prize betwixt his jaws muffles his greeting and he eventually sets the hare down at his paws, drawing his salmon pink tongue across his jowls. “you hungry? it’s still warm.” dauntless offers with a gentle nudge of the corpse in her direction.

Unlike the other males in the pack, this one didn't frighten Sorrel at all. In fact, watching him approach, she didn't feel the need to brace herself the same way she had with everyone else. Maybe it was due to the age difference (he was clearly a few months younger, though not by too much), but Sorrel didn't give it much thought; she was just glad to be at ease for once. No, thank you, she told him with a nod of her head. Her belly was empty and growling, something that the hare certainly could have helped with, but she didn't think she had gotten to a point where she could keep it down yet.

“you sure?” dauntless gives her a second chance to change her mind and take the fresh hare for herself or alternatively to not change her mind. he does not press, though. if she is sure that she does not want it he will take it to the cache and bury it for someone else. hazel eyes that err more towards the green color spectrum today give her a more studious once over. they haven’t met on any official terms but he vaguely recalls seeing her at the meeting a few days ago, recognizing her by sight more than anything else. “i saw you at the meeting the other day,” dauntless begins in an effort to be conversational. “i’m dauntless, by the way.” he offers his name in introduction offering her a slow, amiable wag of his tail.

Sorrel's eyes darted from here to there as she took in the new information. Finally, after a moment's thought, she decided that there was no harm to be had here. Sorrel, she said, contemplating on even offering up a smile, Kieran's sister. It was more than she'd offered anyone else up until then (without prompting) and she was rightfully proud; Morningside was growing on her more and more with each passing day.

sorrel is who she introduces herself as and name drops kieran as her brother shortly following her introduction. dauntless’ chocolate brown ears twitch to attention atop his skull in recognition. he knows him, he thinks, but in the way that he knows the name and is able to put it to a face. he never actually hung out or really spoke all that much to kieran. “ah,” the noise pushes itself past dauntless’ lips in vague acknowledgement. “how do you like morningside so far?” he asks though small talk is not dauntless’ métier, remembering that she was relatively new to the pack.

Sorrel sighed and glanced away from Dauntless for a moment. It wasn't that she disliked Morningside or anyone residing within, but she didn't feel like she fit. It was like she was being kept around because of an obligation; her packmates only tolerated her presence because they had the duty of courtesy. If not for the Streiter name, she doubted anyone would show her as much patience or tolerance. Dunno, good. That seemed like an answer more within the limits of her mind, at least.

dauntless gives a soft clear of his throat, glimpsing down from sorrel to the hare corpse at his paws. the conversation had started out relatively ok but it went downhill to awkward as fuck fairly quickly. dauntless isn’t sure if it’s him or if it’s her but regardless it seems like a good idea to him to maybe stop trying to make small talk which seemed to be evidently making it worse. “that’s ..er, good. i guess,” he laughs softly because it’s funny how absurdly awkward the conversation suddenly is to him. it’s like one of those times where you realize two minutes into dinner that you have nothing in common with one another or it becomes apparent that one isn’t really feeling the date and dauntless can read the cues well enough. it's time to bail. “right,” dauntless sighs as he offers her a soft smile, regardless. “well, i should probably get this to the cache then.” he grabs the corpse by the scruff and pulls it closer before releasing it. “see you around.” he grabs it once more and lifts it from the ground and moves in the direction of the cache ready to bury his kill and head back to the den where he’s confident arushi is wondering if he could coerce his sister into visiting firestone hot springs with him.