Firefly Glen piece of your heart

Leta fur sure has a supervisor or companion with her, I just dunno who that is at this point!!! they heading toward MSP ! @Osiris

 

The world beyond Easthollow was something. It was easier to explore and navigate in the company of her mother, and the more miles they traveled the more confident Leta felt about it all and her decision made to visit Nikai and Alya. @Alya had been so cool and so pretty that Leta felt that some of those things might rub on her if she got to see the place with her own eyes—touch it, maybe. 

When it came into her line of sight well before Firefly Glen, Leta guffawed. That's where Alya lives??? she asked, looking to her travel-buddy. It was magnificent from here, and it just made sense. Easthollow was more humble looking a place, but still wonderful to the native. She looked back, a little breathless, and blinkingly (shaking her head, too) said: well, of course she does... 

And then they were on the way again. 

They went to a lot of cool places, but Leta did not want to linger too long. Any strangers she met she deflected sweetly. She had somewhere to be. And oh, yes, it was Moonspear—ever heard of it? It was only the biggest mountain she had ever seen in her life. Granted, it wasn't very long... but, semantics. 

Okay, so, these were all imaginary interactions she had in her head. She talked with her companion of course, but her excitement and imagination both got the better of her. 

Then they were at the Glen. Leta wasn't sure if she was imagining things or if she could smell Alya from here. But Moonspear now was so huge; she couldn't look back and look at it all, it shot right into the sky and it hurt her neck. Her tail waved as she paused to admire the place from here, a happy little grin on her face.

Writing as if Leta's companion is nearby but not immediately present. Since I have no idea who it is, I'm not comfortable powerplaying their presence! This says AW so hope it's cool if I join.

A faint squeal and the brief sounds of a scuffle pierced the relative quiet of the glen for half a second before Dragomir's heavy grip crushed the hare's spine. It fell limp in his jaws and he straightened, licking his chops and surveying his handiwork. Only one smear of blood on the side of the neck where he'd unwittingly punctured flesh with a canine. He was getting better at this. Soon he'd be able to dispatch small prey this way without leaving a mark.

Gathering the carcass in his jaws, Dragomir spun on his heels and made as though to return to Moonspear, only to find his path intersecting that of an unfamiliar mink-coloured she-wolf. This was where Dragomir differed from the wolves of Moonspear. While many of them considered Firefly Glen to be an extension of their already expansive territory, Dragomir lacked the arrogance to share that opinion. Wolves just passing through were no big deal to him. Through the hare's downy fur he could smell the nearby presence of one other wolf, but no traces of urine to suggest any kind of permanence.

So he approached Leta easily, stance confident but not overbearing or offensive. A genial wolf near to his territory as opposed to a territorial one who believed she was interloping. She had her neck craned back and seemed to be looking up at the mountain looming overhead. He placed the hare gingerly at his paws, cleared his throat, and asked, are you looking for something?

Completely fine!!! <3

 

Said companion was left a little behind. Leta had thought they were with her but in her exictement she had gone full speed ahead. The sound of anothers approach was enough to bring her back to the moment, and that was when she saw that her ears did not deceive her. From afar, they did not look so intimidating, but it being someone she did not know was enough to make her a little nervous. The young girl peered over her shoulder to feel some sort of comfort in speaking with a stranger, and that was when she saw that here and now she was quite alone. She turned around and looked to Dragomir who was closer now... and much more intimidating from this distance. 

Leta was no warrior to know that he was a strong wolf, but if one ever looked that way she figured, this must be it. He was not so large as her own father, who was a literal giant, but he was certainly larger than she... and compared to Greyback, the mauve-nosed male was much more solid (her father had put on some weight that was not muscle when the herds returned). Dragomir was certainly easy on the eyes, too, and didn't seem mean... Her gut told her, he won't hurt you. And she decided she should probably work on trusting it if she wanted to go to Moonspear, since a few seconds ago she had been ready to turn tail and abandon her quest altogether. If she did that, she would just get nowhere. 

Belatedly she noticed the rabbit that he deposited. Leta did not know it but her eyes had shifted from earth to eyes to earth again, because the shade of his reminded her of home. Leta was unaware that her eyes were the same as his own... but from there, she kept them respectfully averted. On the rabbit, now. Also not particularly an expert hunter yet (or anywhere near that, really), though she wanted to be, she scarcely recognized how clean a kill this was. Only that he had successfully caught something. 

He had asked something, and Leta looked back to him, eyes on his strong chin. A meek but friendly creature, her tail stirred behind her as she worked toward building up enough confidence to all but squeak out: Moonspear, her gaze shifted to just over his shoulder, where the mountain stood. It was quick to return to him before she spoke again: I am Leta from Easthollow, and uhm, Moonspear I think is behind you... that's where I was headed. To visit my older brother, Nikai, and Alya too! A cursory sniff then, but Leta could not recall very well the scent Alya had worn when she visited. So she was not absolutely positive Dragomir might be from there. ...are you... from there? She inquired, unable to mask the admiration already there for the mere idea of it. She bet he was. He looked so impressive that, like Alya, it would make sense.

While Leta was busy appraising him, Dragomir was looking her over, as well. Soft mocha fur, a dainty build, a slash of black across the middle of her back. Leta was a comely sort, certainly different from the strong forms of the Moonspear females. Honestly, it was a breath of fresh air. Wolves weren't made to be constantly preparing for battle and threats and he only realized it upon seeing the figure of a wolf whose life didn't revolve around those concepts. They were hunters, not warriors. They were social creatures who defended what was theirs, not conquerors to take and take and take. Leta must've come from a pack that valued what it was to truly be a wolf rather than Moonspear, which seemed to value mostly strength. Not that the sudden dawning of this thought shook his loyalty at all.

Blinking slowly, the boy cast a look over his shoulder at the granite peaks of Moonspear and nodded once. Yes, that's Moonspear, he confirmed. Before he could ask what business Leta of Easthollow had with the Spear, she was already supplying the answer. To the point. Dragomir approved of her readiness in this regard and relaxed completely. If she was any sort of threat, he believed she'd be more guarded about her intentions. My name's Dragomir. From Moonspear, yup. I haven't met Nikai or Alya myself, he shared, but I've heard of them. They definitely live here. Would you like an escort?

Gentle and well meaning though she appeared, even though Dragomir saw no reason to deny her entry, he knew better than to think Hydra would approve of Leta showing up without a pack wolf at her side. He was happy to play the part. I was gonna take this back for the caches anyway, he revealed, toeing the rabbit's corpse momentarily. The desire to be a gentleman nearly had him offering it to her, but his loyalty ran deep, and she had her own pack to provide for her. Plus, he was sure they could spare something a bit less fresh from their caches if she was who she claimed to be.

He confirmed what she was not really 100% positive about (because there would always be a niggling feeling of self-doubt present in her, as she was now). Although he hadn't met Alya (arguably one of the coolest wolves she had ever met, if only for the mystery of her... Ira was cool too, but Ira was her sister, and a different sort of role-model), or Nikai, it didn't change her impossibly (premature) high opinion of him. He was so nice, and he could hunt well, and was a gentleman too! What, with offering to escort her...

Belatedly, she remembered her two companions @Siarut and @Nanook who she had left behind. No doubt they would be coming to find her soon. Her tail waved as she shared, could we wait a few minutes, if that's okay? I... I kind of left my aunt and uncle behind, she felt a little lame for admitting it, but went on, when I was really little, I uhm, I got attacked and... my mom doesn't like me going out on my own, she revealed, averting her gaze. Leta didn't remember the event at all, but speaking of it did bring a little tremor to her; she grounded herself the best she could by pressing her paws into the earth and remembering where she was now. Here and now. Not then, not there. More a subconscious thing than anything else, Leta hardly knew what she did there when she looked back to him. 

And now she felt bad for leaving them behind. They must be worried, but Leta had left a terribly easy trail to follow. Swallowing her guilt (she was supposed to be an adult now!), the Easthollowian shared with a little smile, I got too excited. It's my first trip away from home, hold on, wait, that made her sound super lame. Like she was some sort of shut-in, or something. She was a voluntary shut-in; home was just fine with her! Was there a way to redeem herself from this? From being 1000000% the lamest wolf that ever was? A supervised adult, who had never left home before? 

Remembering he had plans to cache the rabbit brought her to the present, and she hoped to recover in this avenue. Oh, uhm, that's a great catch. I still sometimes have trouble nabbing those guys. They almost always manage to get the slip on me, but now that she had grown into her legs, things were becoming a bit easier. Someday she hoped she would be as adept a hunter as her mother. Leta did not mind or even think anything of him not offering any; she had recently eaten more than her fill of bison, and hunger was not a thing that occupied the space of her mind anymore.

Her scent had been easy to follow, he was curious to know what she thought of Moonspear as it loomed in the distance. He had never travelled this way, but he had heard of the pack before. The long standing pack held a firm hold within the wilds, and Siarut often gave them a wide berth. Respecting their sovereignty.

Sia wasn’t overly surprised to find Leta in the middle of a conversation with a stranger. The young woman was very talkative, and cheerful. Siarut smile softly as he approached. “Leta?” He called softly. He wasn’t sure where Nanook had wandered to, although he was sure she would catch up with them soon. Siarut’s deep olive gaze traveled between his niece and the ebony pelted yearling, waiting for an introduction.

I'm going to play on the assumption Nanook isn't in the area, e.g. is scouting ahead or somewhere else, since only 1 companion was initially mentioned and I'm very uncomfortable with powerplay. Unless she joins, I would reaaally prefer to avoid mentioning her being present when she isn't!

Leta was very forthcoming with the reason she was being supervised—by two wolves, apparently, which took Dragomir by surprise. He'd only smelled one other wolf in the vicinity before, but there was a second? He couldn't say why that unnerved him; either her second companion was exceptionally good at hiding their scent or they weren't actually nearby. Regardless, he couldn't shake the sudden feeling that he was going to be surrounded, even though Leta gave him no reason to be wary of her or her companions.

I get it, he said, swallowing down a tremor in his own voice. Unlike Leta, he wasn't open to discussing his own unfortunate childhood with strangers. She was lovely to look at and her personality seemed lovely, as well, but he still didn't know her. Even the closest wolves back home didn't know that much about his past. Sorry you had that experience. We can wait, he granted, not without some trepidation. It could be a trap. But somehow he didn't think so. It definitely struck him as strange that a wolf her age still needed to be supervised, but better that than hurt again. Perhaps her pack didn't teach their yearlings how to defend themselves. Perhaps they didn't need to.

A nice thought, that. Oh, thanks, he said, dropping a bashful gaze to the rabbit. I've been hunting pretty much all my life. Or, well, since I was old enough to. He'd have had a lot more practice by now if not for Merrick and Astara, but... oh well. You'll get there. It's all in how close you can get before they notice you. Have you tried approaching them downwind?