Raven's Watch I wish I met you further along

She'd been adamant in her decision not to allow the stranger to help her, and instead struck out again, following the ravine.  She was lost for sure - there was no telling how to get home, and no sign of Bat.  But she had to find her sister and she liked the thing she discovered, so she allowed it to guide her.

She'd eventually rested, but hadn't slept well without the comfort of her mothers and siblings.  She was starting to regret not sticking with the last guy, but not enough to give up - she could definitely find Bat and get home by herself! Even if she was tired... and hungry... and maybe a little bit scared.

The mountains before her definitely weren't home, but they were a landmark, and maybe Bat went there.  By the time she arrived it was fairly late again, but slowly and finally, the gorge had leveled so that the river was passable.  Dangerous for one her size, but passable.  

Woah.  She'd never seen mountains like this.  She'd been staring at them in awe since she first spotted them, but now that she was right there, it was amazing how big they were.  Forgetting her predicament, she started scrambling at the rocks in an attempt to begin climbing.  This was even better than the gorge!

Venturing closer to the mountains and away from the coast, Eva had done well to avoid the territories of packs in her brief travels. She was quickly beginning to dislike being alone. Every night she spent alone, coiled in a pathetic ball of angst and anguish. It was steadily taking a piece of her with every lone hour. Thoughts of home, of love, of being wanted and appreciated, they all plagued her. A dark cloud was on her that day, though helped in part by the patches of clean sunlight.

Eva had followed dark rock here, curious about the ravens circling overhead, hoping they might lead her to her next meal. She followed their calls, nose eager and eyes sharp.

She spotted something move toward the base of the mountain, a brown animal that from a distance looked like a dark groundhog. Eva went into a stalk, but it took hardly a few seconds before she saw the small canine sloppily stumble over the rocks. Eva cocked her head, confused. She looked left and right, searching for some sign of the mother of this pup.

Nothing. Eva curiously trotted toward the youngster. "Hi." She was on alert. The pup didn't seem to be in any kind of distress. "What are you doing?"

With a lot on her mind, Mallaidh once more moves ahead of @Saarthal and @Max, leaving them on the ridge. She’d always been a scout, wanting to explore, but she soon she realizes how close she’s gotten to Drageda. If they get any closer, they may as well move in next door. Still, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep her head low so long as Blixen doesn’t come checking in on her. So she moves carefully down rocky terrain, ears cupped forward while her eyes stare at the ground, careful of each step. When she is on even terrain is when she stares to relax, shaking out her fur to reassess her path.
 
Up ahead along the base of the watch is another and not too far past her is a smaller one. A mother and child pairing, exploring—certain she’s not crossed any boundaries—and she circles around hoping to catch the attention of the adult to show she is no threat.

Woah, why were there so many strangers out here?

"Climbin," she responded, though giving the older woman a look that clearly said 'duh, what else?'  It probably didn't help her out, though, that she was really doin a poor job of it.

"An I don't need help," she declared immediately after, sure she should get ahead of that after the last meeting.  She could climb this thing definitely and see what was up top, and maybe once there, she'd see where Bat was! And how to get home.  This was a super great plan!

The other wolf went unnoticed as she focused back on her task, managing to scrabble her way up onto the first low rocks.

It wasn't long before another young wolf was circling about. Eva flicked her eyes to the creature; she was a limber animal, with curious colouring and a lovely face. Mild social discomfort made Eva shift in her stance for a moment as the pup declared that she definitely did not need help. "Okay," she said, a thin smile curving over her lips. It was unclear if the youngster was lost or not, but the other didn't appear to know her.

Eva turned to the newcomer and smield. "She clearly doesn't need help." The sarcastic remark hung in the air for a moment before she decided abruptly to hop up to the next two large rocks, just ahead of the youngster.

"Why are we climbing, exactly?"

As she gets a bit closer, she can hear the words—the child wants to climb—but the thing that gets her the most is the other female. Mallaidh narrows her eyes and searches her features before she takes a step closer. The stranger speaks to the child and as she lingers, she’s not so certain this woman is her mother.
 
“Is every—” she pauses, nose twitching as the wind shifts, close enough to note the scent the girl carries upon her pelt. “Who are you?” she directs to the stranger, certain she doesn’t carry the same scent—at least not as strongly—and anxiety beings to swell in her chest. Regardless of the answer, she turns next to the determined puppy. “Do you know Blixen?” she goes with, hoping to garner her attention.

It was hard going... Kiwi was growing, but not yet near grown, and small anyway.  But she struggled gamely on, making it a bit higher before answering.  "Because," she stated, and didn't give much more than that because there was really no reason.  If she saw rocks, they were meant to be climbed, with every ounce of childish intensity she could muster.

Then the other stranger spoke, and Kiwi whirled, backing up so her butt bumped the rocks behind her.  She was just getting ready to yell at yet another stranger to go away, but then she said a familiar name.

"She's my sister!" Some of Kiwi's unfriendliness fell away, but not quite all of it.  "You aren't kru."

"Who are you?"
Eva felt a nasty shockwave bolt through her spine. She turned her head to the stranger, noting the distrust in her expression. "I, uh.." The truth was she was nobody. An outcast, a liar, a teenager in an young adult body. "Eva."

The name meant nothing to anybody for hundreds of miles, unlike "Blixen" and "Kru." Eva wasn't sure if she should keep climbing, run, or try to state her case. Worry bled into her. She struggled to make eye contact with either the pup or the other. A younger wolf had never made her feel this nervous before. So, she decided to use the pup's words as a jump off point to turn this thing around. "So who are you?"

The phrase is “Blixen is my friend.” Didn’t hover since Kiwi is a mobile user!

Mallaidh squints a bit, watching the other act as if she’s been accused. Her own nervousness is hard to hold back, too, as a flurry of possibilities arrive. At any moment, the kid’s mother could be around the corner and if she is Wildfire’s child instead of Portia, she’s sure she’ll be in trouble. The Fearghal licks her lips and nods, introducing herself a beat later: “Mallaidh.”

Her attention falls back on the other as she responds, excited and announcing Blixen is her mother. Wildfire crosses her mind and she fights off a tremble. Though the mother is significantly smaller than her, she’s certain she’d take her out if given the chance. Especially over her children. 

“I was,” she answers in common. “Blixen es ai lukot,” she tries in Drageda’s language to prove she’s familiar to give her a bite to trust.

She continued to try to climb, ignoring the adults behind her, until one of them spoke in familiar words.  Her ears perked with interest and a little enthusiasm, and she turned, hopping down off the rocks.  "I've never seen you," she responded in the same vein, her voice slightly accusing but some of the mistrust falling away.  She had a heavy preference for their own language, mainly because it was what her family spoke, so therefore better.  

She gave the other woman another glance.. it didn't seem like these two were together, but she definitely wasn't Kru.  She was outnumbered by strangers now, but at least this one seemed to know her sister.

Skipping Eva. We can wrap this up if you want? <3

The other woman doesn’t seem to have interest sticking around, especially with some link between the child and herself. She gives her a single glance as she turns to leave before her attention falls upon the kid as she jumps off the rocks.
 
“Well, you were just a baby when I left. You probably couldn’t even say two works,” she tells her, slipping back into the common tongue. She hadn’t been all that proficient at the Drageda wolves’ language by the time she left, and finding it primarily unused. What little she knows is surely rusty. “Is anyone with you? Are you alone?” she asks about a beat, hoping to get an idea and secretly hoping (and also not) that Wildfire wasn’t around.

She started talking wrong and Kiwi frowned, but rolled with it.  She didn't really like the common tongue - it was for outsiders, wolves like Ephraim and others who didn't actually belong to their family, even if they were kru.  "Got here all by myself!"

She was vastly proud of that fact, but also hadn't forgotten her terrifying night alone.  So when Mallaidh eventually offers to take her back, Kiwi leaps (not too eagerly of course) at the chance.  She trusts their shared language and that this woman knows her big sister.  It's enough to allow her to follow where previously she hadn't.