Bearclaw Valley when i was young, i'd feed on it

backdated to before indra loses her tail @Phocion

indra had never been a natural born killer -- but to scout and to range, that came naturally to her. she avoided the general area that xan had implied a bear lived, electing instead to ride out along the gentle slopes that announced bearclaw valley's end. here and there along the borders she would roll over bracken and fern, pressing her soft fur against the snow and leaving ample evidence of her passing. day by day the bearclaw valley pack's settlement grew stronger -- but for now, indra traveled the rim of their territory as a one-man reinforcer of borders.

He was slowly adjusting to life in the valley, glad for some company, at least. There were a few others here, most of them friendly. When he wasn't stargazing, he was hunting, helping to fill the growing pack's caches.

Sometimes, he wandered back down the border, from whence he'd came. Oftentimes he'd see Alexander nearby, looking out for his home. Today, though, the ivory male was not present; instead, a ruddy brown female he hadn't seen before patrolled, pacing along the border.

With a low chuff, Phocion approached slowly, a smile melting over his muzzle. This must be a member of the Valley pack he hadn't met before. She was beautiful, with dark amber eyes lined in a crisp black that accentuated her lovely, long face.

"Hello," he said softly. "I don't believe we've met."

indra was not aware of another's presence until a chuff sounded: abruptly she pulled her head from the ground with her ears splayed in surprise. a cursory look around her and she spotted phocion -- a wolf of surprisingly small stature given his gender. he was still taller than her, but indra was conforted by the conformity in their heights. she inhaled deeply of his scent, confirming he was of the valley's kith -- a fact she was grateful for as she had no energy to chase interlopers out today.

his smile assured her and her defensiveness melted away, replaced by a soft smile of her own. he looked kind, and while very little of indra's life had been blissful happenstance, she had enough experience to identify his expressions as genuine. her tail waved warmly around her hocks and she spoke timidly: "hi. i'm indra."

Her voice was sweet, if shy. He kept a respectful distance, not wanting to disconcert her. So many males--himself included, once upon a time--were bold and brash, with no regard for personal space. The tribe had taught him differently. Everyone should be treated gently at first, as if holding a robin's egg on your nose. Gently, with finesse.

"Hi, Indra," Phocion responded, the smile not leaving his face. "I'm Phocion." He dipped his muzzle to her in greeting. "I believe you're the first Valley wolf I've met formally. Besides Alexander, of course."

As with all not-yet official bands, the wolves of the Valley were scattered, a little disorganized. But Phocion knew that when the time was right, Alexander would throw up the howl, and they would unite. They would grow strong. Then, maybe, they would hear him out. About Fengari, about the stars.

indra would have liked the concept of treating each soul like a robin's egg. she returned the smile, though it took her a moment to register who alexander was. she had not realized xan was not his full name -- but in retrospect, it made sense.

"you too." she rejoined, a wave of her tail given as she stepped tentatively closer. "i'm with laurel, my sister. she looks like me but tawny. she met xan first." she hoped phocion had met the sister she adored so dearly, but from his words it was unlikely he had met laurel at all. casting him a somewhat shrewd look, she lowered her head and whispered: "did you meet.. arthur?"

True to her thoughts on the matter, he had not met Laurel yet, but hoped for the opportunity soon, if she were as lovely as this girl. Phocion didn't mean that in a lascivious way, either--she seemed kind and sweet, with a good disposition. If nothing else, she would make a great packmate.

He shook his head, grinning. "I've not had the pleasure," he said gravely, his tone at odds with his sunny expression. "I hear he's quite the grouch, particularly in this season."

Phocion tilted his nose, looking at her keenly. "What about you? Have you happened to make Arthur's acquaintance? If so, give him my regards." His voice was playful, dancing from one word to the next with levity.

indra laughed quietly as the male shook his head - it was better off for all, perhaps, that few wolves encountered arthur. she knew if she was a bear sleeping that she would have been very disgruntled to find wolves visiting her bed. what if she was snoring! or drooling?

she did not miss his tone, which seemed oddly grave given the circumstance -- quickly she connected that he was speaking playfully. her tail bobbed and she shook her own head at his question, averting her gaze. "no... i.. was scared." she admitted, hoping phocion would not find fault in her lack of courage. "xan showed laurel though. i dunno if i can do that for you -- only 'cause i'm sure arthur is nice and all but i don't intend to find out." her statement may have come across as inordinately snobby, but it was simply out of self-protection. not so long ago she had been at the receiving end of a bear's wrath, and had no intentions of reliving the experience.

Phocion nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with her sentiment. "You don't want to get on a bear's bad side," he mused. "Quite frankly, I've never met a bear with a good side." Quite frankly, I've never met a bear at all, Phocion thought wryly, but where was the fun in telling her that? Might as well keep up the repartee while he could.

"Where do you come from, originally?" he asked, leaving behind the conversation of bears. This young woman in front of him was far more interesting. Packs in general intrigued him. Wolves from all walks of life, from all sorts of terrain, coming together to create a family group. The tribe had wolves as different as could be, yet it functioned well. . .because they were bonded by land and by allegiance, a bond that could sometimes be stronger than blood.

He was happy he had come here; his thoughts of Silvertip, once filled with such regret, had receded, as he had vowed to give this pack his all for as long as he stayed here--or as long as they stayed together. Grayday had alluded to Silvertip disbanding soon after his departure, and while they had reemerged as Easthollow. . .it wasn't quite the same, now. Not without Krypton, without Steady.

Bearclaw Valley was a chance, of sorts, to make amends. If he couldn't apologize to Steady until the grave, he could at least live a loyal life on earth, while he still had the opportunity. While he still breathed, though his friend did not.

indra shook her head in earnest: if there was a single redeeming quality in bears, she didn't see it -- she agreed wholeheartedly with the man's softspoken words. nevermind that a bear, like her, was an individual. in the small redleaf's eyes, all bears were subject to utmost avoidance.

her gaze flickered as he asked where she was from, and something speared across her vision - it was an inscrutiable expression, gone the moment it hit reality like the flames of a shooting star. she held phocion steady in her gaze a minute. where was she truly from? she had lived in so many parts of the teekon and none felt like home.  "here. phoenix maplewood." it was likely she would never set foot in phoenix maplewood again. "you?" she hoped for his sake his answer was one clearly defined, and not wrought with so much turmoil or trouble.

Phoenix Maplewood. He recognized the name, though not the location--it must be nearby, surely? So the young woman hadn't traveled so far, or, at least, so he thought. His answer was a little more complicated than that.

"Well, my tribe is from the southeast," he said, smiling. "So I've come here from there. But I used to live atop Silvertip Mountain, just over the Sunspire range--have you heard of it?" Perhaps not; he hadn't really had a grasp of the pack's prestige in Teekon when they were up and running, and now that they were gone and the crag remained unsettled, it might be an unknown blip on the horizon.

Phocion turned his head to look that way, with a small sigh. "I hope one day to return," he mused. His blue gaze flashed back to Indra. "But this place caught my eye," he continued with a grin. "And everyone has been so friendly."

while talking about their homelands dredged a certain semblance of anxiety in indra, she liked conversing about their natal histories -- sunspire she had only the briefest acquaintence with, and while silvertip mountain was only a mountain to indra, she imagined it housed a trove of memories and fondness for phocion.

she followed his gaze and interpreted it as wistful -- whatever it was, she hoped if he missed his home that he would someday get to return to it. she hoped it would be exactly how he remembered it, and not fractured and gone like her own home. she wanted to say something encouraging to him, like maybe 'i bet they really miss you there', but something caused her to choke and no words came out until he mentioned how kind the wolves in the valley were. she agreed -- except maybe laurel. indra thought the world of her, but knew the world did not share her fondness.

"everyone has been so friendly." she chirped in agreement, looking back to him with a wag of her tail. "i've only met a few of you though. laurel likes it, so that's as good an endorsement as any."

She mentioned her sister once more, merely a faceless name to Phocion but seemingly everything to her. For a minute, he felt bereft. He had been the sole survivor of a litter born in midwinter, with his mother dying shortly afterward. He had never had a family to call his own. To see Indra so attached to this Laurel was both comforting and depressing, to him, at this moment.

"I've not met many others, either," he admitted, feeling slightly ashamed as he said so. He had always considered himself an ebullient wolf, someone everyone wanted to be friends with. Being alone in this Valley constantly weighed on him. "My tribe was very close-knit. We lived close together and rarely wandered, even when times were good. It's not like that, here."

Xan was omnipresent, but as a white shadow; Phocion caught glimpses of him here and there. And others, unknown to him, were nearby. But the wolves of the Valley were scattered, and until they made a conscious effort to unite, they would remain so.

"I'm glad I've met you, today, Indra," Phocion said with a warm smile, meaning it entirely.

had indra been aware of phocion's internal conflict, she surely would have attempted to resolve it. it would have saddened her greatly to hear he had no soul-tie to this earth, no blood-bound other in which he was tethered. in many ways inconceivable to indra, perhaps it was better to be bereft of kin -- for surely, family only dragged you down.

since her meeting with skwol she knew better than to ask why phocion's tribe was past-tense; the question burned on her tongue, but she dare not utter it. it was not her place -- perhaps someday he would enlighten her of his story, but for now, she assumed like skwol's it was a page on a sorrowful chapter best left unturned. she offered a sweet smile and shook her head in agreement - it was certainly not like that in the wilds.

phocion's genuine inflection in his next words evinced a happy beat of indra's tail -- she rejoined cheerily: "i feel the same way! maybe tomorrow i can introduce you to laurel." she didn't mention that laurel happened to be the less sunny of the two redleaf siblings -- indra found no fault in laurel, but it did not mean no one else could.

He nodded in enthusiastic agreement. Well, as enthusiastic as this new persona allowed, anyway. Once upon a time, as the boy who had entered Teekon so many seasons ago, he would have given a bound that reached to the moon. Life, and ritual, had tempered his reactions to be more moderate, more nuanced.

"Maybe we can find her now?" Phocion offered, a bit tentatively. He didn't know whether Indra had plans for the rest of the day, but he would have loved to segue this interaction into a general meet-and-greet. There were other scents in the valley he wasn't familiar with; perhaps they'd come across those wolves, too.

In truth, a warm feeling of happiness was beginning to radiate throughout his body as the conversation progressed. He had felt comfortable in Bearclaw Valley, and the sense of purpose he had brought on this newest journey had not yet diminished, but for the first time, he felt at home. He finally felt as though he belonged here.

And that was a very good thing, indeed.

gonna fade here xoxox <3

sure! tagging @Laurel for visibility in case - WE ARE COMING 2 FIND U

indra was delighted as phocion suggested moving their proposed plans to the present; her tail wagged and she turned back to him with a wide grin on her muzzle. "yeah! sure!" she replied merrily, turning her auburn face back to the forest as she visually scanned the area. she had last seen laurel that morning, not so far from where they bedded at night. with a newfound chipper bounce to her step she bid towards the forest. she was glad for phocion's company - he was genial and complaisant to interact with and she found herself uninhibited in his presence. brightly she launched into casual conversation with the male - their figures walking in tandem as they delved deeper into the valley's foothills.

So far Bearclaw Valley wasn't anything magical or great. It was a lot like other places that they had visited, other packs that she and Indra had stayed in along the way before winding back here again. She didn't particularly care for it, because it didn't particularly care for her. Xan seemed like just another prick and she almost regretted landing here because she feared Indra'd get attached to these wolves by the time Laurel thought it was time to leave (probably somewhere 'round spring, when they would no longer be so reliant on a pack to survive).

Ears perked up as she heard voices nearby, though Laurel didn't instantly realise that it was Indra that was nearing. She was digging at the base of a rabbit hole, sending snow flying everywhere, but the ground itself was too frozen to budge. With a sigh Laurel gave up and when she turned 'round, she saw Indra approach. In her view she was nothing like Indra, and Indra nothing like her — Indra was more dainty and her fur stood out, her appearance striking and colourful, while Laurel was short and stocky and her colours weren't anything special. "Oh, hey In," she called out towards her sister while eyeing the dude she had brought along.

archiving - sorry iris, i confused everyone by tagging you to pop in. yo' wolf-sis b dumb. PP phocion with permission :)

the pair came upon laurel as a burst of frozen sod and snow clattered to the earth - indra looked to phocion encouragingly and then pulled alongside her sister with a casual wiggle of her tail (RIP - miss u). a few excited licks were given to laurel's muzzle, and she stepped back and assessed the two fondly. "laur - this is phocion. phocion, laurel."

her gaze slid to the chiseled dirt and back to laurel and she propositioned with a grin: "care for dinner?" with that she struck off towards the last site that she had seen deer resting - with laurel and phocion besides her, their stomachs were sure to be full tonight.