Blacktail Deer Plateau Hold Fast to the Break of Daylight

[size=x-small]Ooc:// I accidentally deleted this post when I went to change the title, but now that I have done that once I will hopefully never do it again ^^; I hope this is alright for an intro post, I've not roleplayed in about a year so I am a bit rusty.[/size]

She had spent the day alone, much on her own volition. The scent of her new pack mates clung faintly to every inch of the territory and swam in her nostrils as one. Kaihra would seek them out eventually once she knew her surroundings and felt more at ease with the land that stretched before her, but for now she skirted the areas where the scent of wolf swelled too strongly. She would soon learn each wolf's scent by heart, but that would be the easy part of acquainting herself with the wolves of the plateau. Kaihra knew that the steps that followed would be much harder.

A part of her still questioned her choice to join the pack that called these lands their home. While as a lone wolf she had missed the structured life that came from living in community, there was something in the autonomy of a loner’s life that had thrilled her. It had been a new sensation, and one not easily abandoned. But emotions were tricky and unreliable, and though this one had tempted her to listen more than any other, Kaihra had reminded herself that though it was summer now, the warm temperatures would not last forever, and neither would the prey. By the time winter hit, the last thing Kaihra wanted was to be starving and cold because she had acted on some foolish impulse that, in the end, would likely cost her her life.

Light rain began to fall against her dark frame as she neared the edge of the plateau, and Kaihra slowed from her brisk trot to a gentle walk as the world stretched out before her. She stopped, drawn in by the scene, and scanned the sweeping land with a steady gaze. The gentle wind pulled at her fur and she felt her spine prickle with unease at the uncanny silence, yet there was something in the way that these parts carried themselves that radiated a sense of security she had not felt for a very long time, one that smelled of permafrost and a mother's milk. Kaihra pawed at the ground, unsettled at the sudden memory, but she could not pull her eyes away from the distant horizon.

Hi hi!

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This by far had to be one of her most favorite places she had ever lived. Fin was not much one to stop and smell the roses, or to admire dramatic skylines or suns rising and falling. It wasn't that she didn't find these things beautiful, she did. She just felt there were better ways to appreciate a full moon or a mountain rising through the mists than sitting and staring. She wanted to sing to that moon, climb through the mists with the peaks, roll in the roses and chase the sun to that dramatic skyline.

But, today, and in this place, she often found herself making exceptions to that rule. Just one, and that was the view from the edge of the plateau. Her heart trilled with excitement when she looked out from the ledge. Fin loved to sit and imagine all of the adventures that were out there, waiting for her. The idea was thrilling.

What she also enjoyed about it was being able to look out, pick a spot out in the wilderness, and then head out to explore it. That was the Blackthorn's intention that day as she walked the path she was growing more and more used to taking. Something stopped her this day though, and that something came in the form of an ebony-pelted stranger.

"Gorgeous, eh?" Fin said as she approached. She headed towards the ledge to the side of the stranger to make her feel comfortable. She kept her eyes pointed out towards the horizon, again avoiding any eye contact with her packmate out of respect. That and the view was just so purdy.

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Hello (: Thanks for joining! Also, I hope it is alright I assumed that since Finley is new to the pack, she doesn't carry their scent as strongly as the other members yet. If it's not, just let me know and I'll fix my post!

The other wolf’s arrival was quick and unexpected and certainly not something Kaihra was used to and so her muscles locked until she stood rigid and her paw no longer kneaded the grassy ground. She flicked her ear to the side and darted her gaze toward the she-wolf so she could scrutinize just who had approached her - gray fur, delicate build, tattered ear, stance non-aggressive, eye contact diverted - Calm yourself. Kaihra flicked her eyes away from the wolf, who clearly carried the scent of the pack, amongst other things. She’s a packmate.

Kaihra pulled her ears back and kept her tail steady and low. She had been doing well avoiding her packmates. She had kept herself so vigilant, had skirted every scent and had made scarce whenever she had gotten too close to one just like she had learned to do through all her moons alone - She’s a packmate. The thought echoed in her mind and reminded Kaihra that these wolves she had been avoiding were her packmates and that made them her allies. Allies. She hadn’t heard that word in a long time. Kaihra allowed her muscles to relax as she made note that this wolf was showing signs of only friendliness and respect. Packmates. Right. This would take some time to get used to.

Gorgeous, eh? The words of the she-wolf still rang in her ears, and it took a moment before Kaihra fully registered what she had said. It took another yet to determine whether this wolf was trying to make small talk in hopes of further conversation or if her question was more rhetorical than anything else. Kaihra looked again to the distant horizon and searched it, but the memories it had conjured had since vanished like the misting rain. The land was but land, the sky but sky, and the scent carried on the breeze was but that of fresh rain. Kaihra felt her gaze grow wary as a part of her wished to feel those memories again. ”I suppose one could call it that.” Another burst of wind washed over the wolves and the scent of the she-wolf rose to her again. Kaihra kept her eyes fixed on the skyline, but squared the remainder of her senses fully on the she-wolf who sat beside her, ruffling her fur to shake herself back into the present. ”The pack’s scent is not very strong on you. How long have you been in these lands?”

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Finley was one who rarely hesitated to make herself familiar with another wolf. She typically had decided within seconds of first seeing a stranger whether or not she liked them. Normally she decided they would be friends. Even more normally she decided they were going to be best friends.

Upon spotting Kaihra, her rainbows-and-sunshine-filled mind decided on Best Friends. She took a moment to note the other female's body language and came to the conclusion that she was not ready to reciprocate the friendship. That was alright. Fin enjoyed the game of wheedling her way in. It was not one she often lost.

"Only a few suns have set since I joined," Finley admitted, "You're still one of the first wolves I've met here, and you seem to be pretty new yourself?"

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Kaihra took the few moments that the grey wolf spoke to shoot another scanning glance her way, just to quiet her persistent mind and remind it that there was nothing in the she-wolf's posture that would remotely hint at hostility. Indeed, the she-wolf held herself in what appeared to be genuine friendliness, and this held the same for her scent. And Kaihra knew she could not be betrayed by both her sense of sight and smell at the same time… right? You’re being ridiculous. Kaihra bit her tongue and stopped her ears from pressing further against her head at the thought.

It was true, after all, that she was being ridiculous. There was no immediate evidence supporting her fears, and based on her unbiased observation alone, Kaihra could only assume that this she-wolf had approached her with only good intentions in mind.

But even the logic of unbiased observations wouldn't stop her from being careful.

”A few suns is not very long.” Kaihra chose her words with care, just like she had learned back home in the unforgiving North. ”I have been here one.” She paused. Should she say more? Her mother’s chide to just be quiet, pup resonated in her mind and it frustrated her that she couldn't shake it. Back home, those strangers had been dangerous. But this wolf did not appear dangerous at all. Kaihra stopped her paw from kneading the ground before it could begin again and willed her ears to lift from their flattened position. If she had joined a pack just to live like a lone wolf among them, why did she join them at all? ”I would like to know your name, if you are comfortable in giving it.”

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It made the silver woman happy to know that she was not the only one who was new to the pack. Her personality was such that she seemed to just fall right into place wherever she went, regardless of whether she had been there for five minutes or five months. But still, it was nice to get to know others when someone else was getting to know them as well.

At the request to give her name, Finley didn't hesitate. "Finley Blackthorn," she replied with a smile, "But please, call me Fin." Her goal was always for everyone to know her name, everywhere she went. If they knew it before she got there, that was all the better in her opinion. "What can I call you?"

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Kaihra blinked at the quickness of Finley’s response. Every word dripped with eagerness. The same could not be said about her own reply as she dipped her head for formalities sake. ”Kaihra.” She had no surname she could remember, and had considered taking her future pack’s name as her own. But “Kaihra of the Blacktail Deer Plateau” was too much of a mouthful even for her and so she had simply left her name as “Kaihra”.

Knowing Finley’s name made her wariness ease and Kaihra let her shoulders relax. She thought for a moment of returning her packmate’s smile, but was certain anything she pulled would look more like a grimace than a grin. So, she settled for the neutrality that had plagued her face since the day she’d left her brothers in the East many moons ago.

Now that introductions were over, Kaihra turned her attention to a more pressing matter. An inkling of suspicion still lingered in the dark she-wolf against her grey-furred packmate and she knew she couldn’t shake it herself. ”The view is captivating, but surely you didn’t come here just to stare at the sky.”

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Kaihra. Finley took her name and placed it safely in her memory, her tail wagging all the while. "That's a pretty name," she responded happily. Now that she knew her name, they were officially friends! It didn't go unnoticed to Finley as the other female relaxed a bit. She did a little fist pump in her mind at the small successes she was having at getting this wolf to love her.

The female's next inquiry caused her silver head to cock slightly on her shoulders. She was no stranger to thinking land was land and there was no point in staring and admiring, but there was a hint of suspicion in the female's tone that she wondered at. Deciding she was just being paranoid, Fin dismissed it entirely and gave a cheery response, "I like to come out here just to find something to do. I like to pick a spot out there to visit and then take off for a couple days to explore. What about you?"

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She accepted the compliment as a passing remark and did not dwell on it long. Instead she lingered on the ever-so-tiny head tilt her packmate gave in response to her next inquiry. Kaihra kept her face straight. Had the grey wolf noticed her suspicion? A heartbeat passed, but in a moment Finley had leapt back to her bubbly self as if all had gone unnoticed. Kaihra sighed inwardly, relieved at both the female’s unassuming tone and her satisfying response. She didn’t doubt the honesty of Finley’s answer: that the girl was the restless type didn’t surprise her in the least, though she did wonder why one would be so keen on exploring foreign territories so soon after coming to a new pack.

A trickle of guilt ran down her neck for approaching this girl with such unwarranted suspicion, but she had no time to dwell on the thought. Finley’s return of her inquiry came as little surprise, but that didn’t stop Kaihra from inwardly cursing herself for not having an answer to give. She knew very well why she had come to the ledge, and it wasn’t because of adventure or beauty. All her mind saw were the memories, or at least those she hadn’t had the courage to forget. And since she felt those thoughts trite and unnecessary to share, Kaihra realized she hadn’t a solid reason to be here at all. So Kaihra bit her tongue and stayed silent, not because she was planning her words, but because she had nothing to say.

But she had to say something or risk careening them both into a session of uncomfortable silence, so she ruffled her fur and said the next thing that came to mind. ”It is a good place to keep watch.” And it was true, a part of her was watching, just as she had done with her brothers back home day after day after day. She flicked the thought aside and, not waiting to see if her reply would satisfy, turned the focus back on her cheery packmate. ”Exploring sounds much more exciting. Tell me, where have you set your eyes today?”

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Since she had mentioned it, Finley found her attention drifting out towards the view. As her eyes danced across the landscape, she amused herself by picking out the different spots she had been to already and briefly reminiscing about what had happened at each. That was where she had been attacked by that badger... that was where she had tricked that wolf into thinking he was dying... oh, and over there was where she had convinced some fox kits that the forest they lived in was haunted! Oh, the good times.

When Kaihra spoke again, it hadn't even occurred to her that the silence had been a slightly long one. Her tail wagged gently as she listened, pleased with the question that had been posed.

"I haven't really decided yet. There are a few spots I haven't been to before, but part of me feels like today might be a day for an old favorite," Fin replied with a thoughtful little tilt of her head. Turning back to her new best friend, she grinned as an idea popped into her head. "What do you think? Where would you want to go if you were in my paws?"

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Kaihra felt a prickle of relief. The silence hadn't fazed Finley at all. The dark wolf refocused her thoughts on Finley's reply and found herself wondering at how the girl could have explored so much land after having been on the Plateau for such a short amount of time. Yet before her curiosity could surface, a smile crept across her ally's face and Kaihra found her thoughts redirected at the question the grey wolf posed in return.

At first Kaihra found her thoughts blank. The Plateau rose first in her mind, but Finley had explored their lands already, or had simply considered the lands beyond more pressing to explore than her own pack's territory. Deciding the Plateau would be the last place her packmate would want to adventure (even Kaihra admitted the land posed little in terms of excitement), Kaihra drew her eyes to the flatlands below their perch. She wondered where Finley had already been and where she'd yet to go, and decided the flatlands would have been one of the first places she'd have run through. So Kaihra turned her eyes to seek a place further up the horizon. She settled first on a towering mountain whose face stood obscured by the misting rain. Clouds swirled around its pinnacle and hid half its peak from her sight. She fancied it for a moment, but soon shook herself of the idea and dropped her gaze to survey a dense forest growing just beside it. After short consideration she turned her eyes away, flicking her gaze back and forth over the landscape and finding everywhere and nowhere she would go.

So Kaihra turned around, half out of frustration and half because of a deep want to give up and say I'd just explore the Plateau. But as she opened her mouth to speak, she flicked her eyes higher and as her gaze met the mountainous shield that hugged their Plateau in a giant embrace, a sudden satisfaction grew in her chest. "I'd go over the mountain." She said with a nod to the range that formed their back wall. A prickle of fear nipped at her stomach as she wondered what lay on the other side, and if there were wolves back there posing a suggestion much like her own, but she quieted both worries with a twitch of her ear and stopped her mind from wandering further.

Finley amused herself by watching her companion's gaze as it drifted across the landscape. She wondered where it was her new friend's mind was traveling. Was it somewhere she had been? Somewhere she hadn't been? Where was it? She wanted to go! Why wouldn't Kaihra tell her where she wanted to go??

It was tough having no patience.

The silver lady released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding once the ebony wolf made her choice. Finley turned her gaze at the mountain at their backs, her eyes full of wonder. "What do you think is over there?" she asked, turning back to her companion. Somehow she had gotten sucked into the conversation as though Kaihra had started telling a grand story of adventure and peril. Finley was an imaginative girl, and also one who was very unaware of their own actions.

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Kaihra felt her satisfaction swell as the girl drank her every word. Yet a wariness tugged at her fur as she caught sight of the wonder that stretched wide across Finley's face. Kaihra felt her shoulders stiffen. She knew that wonder, its siren song, its call to recklessness, and it seemed Finley knew its song by heart and sang along without a second thought.

Kaihra felt her brows knit as she turned back to face the mountainous peaks. The mystery they held in their rugged exterior was quickly replaced by the reality of their more probable danger. She did not know what dwelt on the mountainside as much as she found herself ignorant to what lived in the lands beyond. And if Finley attempted to scale the face alone? Kaihra pulled her mind from the thought and turned back toward the girl. The same look of reckless wonder still laced her face.

"Water, trees, more mountains." Kaihra gave a casual shrug as she forced her brows to neutrality again. She couldn't entice her packmate further, not until they had assessed the mountain and had made proper plans and preparations. Kaihra suppressed a groan. They? What was she getting herself into? "You wouldn't see much through this mist." That would stop her, right? Or was she being ridiculous again? Kaihra swept her gaze toward Finley to see if her words had any effect on her at all, or if she had already lost the grey girl to the fantasies of her own invention.

If Kaihra hoped to keep Finley from losing herself in a reckless idea, she shouldn't have ever said a word. Well, that wasn't fair to say probably. Fin lost herself in a reckless idea on a daily basis. If Kaihra had never suggested it, the Blackthorn would have come up with it on her own eventually. One day there would have been a bird that flew East and disappeared over the mountain and Finley would have been overcome with jealousy at its ability to do so.

"Hmmm," she mused excitedly, her gaze drifting up towards the distant peaks, "I've always loved the look of water in the mist..." Fin turned back to Kaihra, grinning with ambition.

"We should do it."

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Oh, she'd talked her way into a rut this time. Kaihra wished she had just stuck with uncomfortable small talk. The only consequence to that was uncomfortable silence. Why had she seen it wise to ask the girl about exploring at all? Her mother's voice repeated in her mind again to just stay quiet, pup and she wished that she had just listened for once.

For a different wolf, perhaps it would have been easy to simply turn heel and say "you're on your own for this one". But Kaihra counted herself responsible for her packmate the moment Finley took fancy to her suggestion. Now, if the girl wound up dead on the mountainside (which Kaihra considered probable), she would consider herself to blame, and that was a guilt she was not ready to live with.

So that ruled out saying no. Finley would find her way up the mountain one way or another, with or without her help, and Kaihra would still be to blame for placing the idea in her head in the first place. But she didn't want to say yes, either. Kaihra groaned inwardly again. Maybe she'd been better off a loner.

"Tell you what." She spoke painfully slow. "You finish exploring all the flatlands - " with this she pointed her muzzle toward the stretches of land below the Plateau, " - and, once you're done - " she paused momentarily, and not for dramatic effect, " - then we'll go over the mountains." Her words fell flat and she couldn't hide the slight furrow that creased her brow again.

Sudden ending! Two weeks :D :D :D

Finley listened very closely to Kaihra's terms. Her heart felt like it was in her throat as she waited to see what their fate would be. In her head, the silver female was already making their plans. They would quickly hunt down something to eat to make sure they had enough energy to sustain them the entire journey. Then, they'd head East. Finley hadn't done too much poking around the Eastern edge of the Plateau, but she had run along it a couple of times on her morning jogs. She thought she remembered seeing a path that lead up into the mountains. That would be a good place to start. She could probably find it again. Maybe Kaihra could go hunting while Fin searched for the path, then she could howl for her friend to join, they could eat a quick meal, and then up up up the mountain!

Then. Fin froze. She had to explore the entire Flatlands before they could have their adventure over the mountain. For a moment she felt deeply, deeply disappointed. But then she was over it. "Challenge accepted!" she yipped happily. "Give me two weeks, I've totally got this. Make sure you're ready because it'll be quite the endeavor!" Finley bounced to her paws and began prancing backwards towards the forest. "Two weeks, don't you forget, alright? I'll howl for you! I'M SO EXCITED!"

With that, Finley turned and dashed off into the woods. If she had to explore the entire flatlands before she could go on an adventure with her new best friend, then by God she had better get started!

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Words cannot describe how much I am looking forward to this :D

Kaihra said nothing as Finley tore into the forest, leaving the dark wolf alone on the ledge. The air fell heavy around her and the mist weighed down her fur. She kept watch for a moment longer, but the grey girl was gone. Kaihra turned her gaze back to the horizon. Finley's words played on repeat in her mind. Two weeks. The flatlands below were a ticking bomb, and the mountains behind a monument of her promise. Kaihra felt the weight in her stomach lodge deeper in her gut. Suddenly the land didn't feel so secure anymore.