Moonspear ghost lit

She couldn't--or wouldn't--find rest tonight. Well into the late hours of the night she kept in motion; just a meandering walk over the territory, seemingly harmless, but she stewed upon a very fine line with her jaw set tight. Her mood was stormy (and worsening), although a bit mournful too after being tangled up by everything lately. There also was a temptation to range she stubbornly denied for now, but this was a very fine grasp she held since she wanted to see it for herself. Everything out there was a wretched mess, anyway, so although it was not getting any easier, she waited until more was done

Amekaze slowed her footfalls considerably and peered skyward before she reached the forests. Clouds were moving in. The bitter, biting cold might abate, but by the looks of the low, thick clouds, she also suspected snow to follow--maybe by morning.. which didn't please her any.

Wintertime and its lasting influence on all things had her simultaneously tense and energized. She, a seasoned wolf with her opinions well set, would never be overly fond of it, either.

The dark alpha grew sour about that frosty idea soon enough, so scowled and moved on towards the woods faster. Heading downward with a little more momentum now, she sorely missed when all of this was green and lovely, and all had been well. 

Talion, too, was feeling restless. Tossing, turning and pacing in his den, he felt plagued by the weight of his anxiety. He'd retreated there when his thoughts had begun to turn dark, but he was quick to realise this had been a sore mistake. There, he worried that his mother might have sent her scouts out to source him and rid him of the world as she threatened once before, and it would be so much easier to find him now that he'd found a place to settle. He was a member of Moonspear now, the "newbie", and while he hoped to establish himself better in the coming months, he was genuinely terrified that should the Nereides come to strike him sooner rather than later, he might not be worth the protection of his new pack.

The fear gripped him, and he felt trapped. Desperate for air, the peppered yearling promptly left his hollow on the mountainside and loped quickly toward the forest on the lower slopes, eager to distract himself from his cold thoughts. He focused on his ragged breaths, inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply, as he weaved between the foliage and through the endless darkness with no destination in mind.

Movement just ahead caused him to pause in her tracks, however, and he sucked in a breath which he held as he focused his stare and the familiar raven form of the pack's Alpha female who he'd hunted alongside some days before. He released the air in a breathy whine, breaking the silence and likely attracting the attention of the obsidian wolfess if his abrupt halt had not already, and he dipped his ink-tipped muzzle as he made to lower his form submissively.

To the sound of a whine, her head lifted and she tried to pinpoint the source. In the seconds to follow, she zeroed in on the nearing figure. When it was one able to ping as familiar, even just vaguely, she was instantly a much more hospitable creature. It was the young male Hydra had intercepted, and in turn, deemed fit enough to join their midst. So far, and from the glimpses she stole from her preoccupation with everything else and the fact he had shown up to hunt alongside her, he seemed to be fitting in.

But the dark alpha certainly could not claim to know him well.. not yet, and evidently, he was enough of a night owl to be out here as well as one of the first other wolves she had seen in a good while. Ame gave him deep nod and swayed her arced tail, appeased enough although her own posture defaulted casually to her pride. "Out late too, hm?" she asked as she wiggled her nose in his direction, attempting to discern the routes he'd seen, and the individuals he had encountered.

Strangely enough, he was not as afraid of the dark Alphess as he'd initially thought he would be. She was a woman of power, after all, and it was surely her duty as a leader to intimidate the subordinates enough to remind them who was in charge. Talion, in a new environment, was naturally terrified of rejection from almost everyone, but Amekaze carried a certain quiet that was so unlike the electric energy that clung to her daughter, Hydra.

His heart still thrummed hard within his chest though did more so when the she-wolf turned her emerald eyes upon him, reminding him of his anxiety, and the young Roux-Abrhen folded his velvet ears back against his nape. Carefully he observed her from the corner of a periwinkle eye, curious to gauge her reaction to his presence, and exhaled shakily through his nostrils when she dipped her muzzle in a deep nod.

Confident then that she wasn't going to run him off, Talion gathered himself though maintained submission in the tucking of his peppered tail and clear uncertainty in his eyes. He inched closer to her as she piped up in question. "Yes, I, uh," he flicked his tongue nervously over his upper lip, "I can't sleep." Failing to go into detail, he was content to leave his reasons swarming in the hurricane of his thoughts.

She was not opposed to the company for now and maybe he seemed a little nervous to her, which she hoped may settle. Moods may grow fickle so long as nights stayed this long, but she was curious about him and to have him alone (she had been alone for now) would be an easy opportunity to find out more. It could be a fulfilling distraction from all else, so she had no qualms. "Same here," she replied simply enough in lieu of outright sympathy. She was having a mixed feeling over nights like these lately, all spurred into a quiet fury since her unlucky daughter's death.

"It has been a little bumpy here these days, but.." she murmured, as understanding as she could be for him trying to find his place here now--in winter, with interests in so many places at once. Too, their ranks held great potential for flux as so many younger wolves really began to find their place here. She wondered how he would fare. So far, he appeared fit enough to contend among her family. "How are you settling in? I know so little about you," she chuffed, having moved a few paces closer to him beneath the cover of the words. As she liked to ask, since there was no telling how else they'd be as their lives changed on the mountain.. she looked him over coolly from her new, slightly adjusted angle.