Redsand Canyon Searching for the antidote but

@Leigh You can decide the setting <3

He hadn't seen the gentlewoman Kynareth had brought in.
Awenfen didn't last long so...he doubted she would.
Especially not with a looming war.

Anyways, he sought her out, following her most recent trail. It weaved and dithered a lot. Too much to be some sort of purposeful task. Unless she was a herbalist of some sort.
He hummed softly to himself, remembering the festival he attended with Wintersbane and Keen.
Seeing Illidan...he wondered where the poor soul is now.

Today was rather ordinary. Leigh still hadn't quite found her place in the pack, despite being apart of it for a while now. Although Donovan had filled her in on the recent news, and she gladly added her input, she continued to wander and search for a purpose. She hunted here and there, but never did she feel as if she had a special role to fill. It didn't help that she knew so little about the Saints.

The woman had seen a few faces during the introduction meeting, but the she-wolf was sure that the pack had more wolves than the couple she saw. The unseen faces were still a mystery, and if she was going to be apart of this family, she'd need to meet them.

Leigh swayed aimlessly, wasting time trotting along a path and thinking to herself. Surely she wouldn't bump into anyone today.

Ah. There.
The dark-cloaked woman with dragon-fire held in her eyes meandered up ahead.
Why did she look so pitiful?

He chuffed and trotted to catch her up, wanting to talk to her obviously.
He slid alongside her with his good side to her. If you could call it a good side.
Derg wasn't much of a looker.

"You just passin' through or still part of this pack?" He jested with a wide grin, hoping she wouldn't take it personally. He knew there wasn't much to do in a canyon with no young. Especially if your skills didn't lie in border patrol.

At first the woman was too concentrated on her own thoughts to notice the wolf from behind. But as he approached and his footsteps became louder, it was a nice warning that someone was nearby, for the she-wolf would have been spooked otherwise. Craning her neck to the side, she was greeted with a friendly and familiar face.

It was Derg.

Leigh hadn't spoken with her pack member often. She was usually alone or tagging along with Donovan. But it was nice to know that others took interest in her presence. It was also nice to find a wolf as small as she was. Everytime she returned from spending time with the alpha, her neck would ache from constantly looking up at the much taller wolf. But now she could stand face to face.

A smile spreading across her lips, her ears tilted towards wolf's question. Although she could tell it was simply a small joke, she unfortunately couldn't come up with an equally comical reply.

"I'm actually not really sure. I love it here, but, the only thing I really do is hunt once in a while."

Her face twisted into a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know if I'm really considered a part of the pack if I don't contribute much."

She seemed troubled.
Especially with her reply, it brought his brows together in gentle concern.
Had something been said to her? He knew Valour had a lip on him, but he wouldn't be so cruel - not to a packmate at least. Aries would be unlikely to take jabs at others, he was a 'straight for the kill' sort of guy.
That only would leave Nyra that Derg thinks would be capable of causing Leigh to have second thoughts about a pack life, but he wasn't the sort to take actions of conclusions he'd jumped to.

"Hunting here and there is what keeps the caches full," he grinned. In truth, he'd only done a few spots of hunting while on patrols, and that was rather than delving into the caches.

"Has someone been saying something?" Better be good to check first.

The woman continued to walk aimlessly. Although her orange gaze was set upon the friendly face, every once in a while she'd break eye contact to glance over at the trail. Better to check than walk off a cliff.

Leigh was grateful for the kind wolf's words. They were reassuring, and despite being able to pick up on subtle signs here and there, the she-wolf still prefered that wolves would keep straightforward with her. It was easier to understand blunt signs of expression, rather than vague clues. Having Derg around was nice. The way he spoke was inexplainably comforting.

But upon hearing his second comment her face appeared a tad more alert, the woman slightly surprised by the sudden question. She blinked at Derg, wondering how he came to such a conclusion. It was nice to know he cared enough to ask, but she was nonetheless shocked that he saw his packmates as such wolves who would say such things.

Shaking her head, she replied with a smile.

"Not at all." There was a pause in her words as she attempted to explain.

"I suppose it just seems... less busy here. Which isn't a bad thing, but back home my pack was much larger. There was never a boring moment. I guess I'm just not used to the calmness of this place."

Her face fell into confusion. Ah, so he was wrong, and her words confirmed so.
"Good," he replied easily with a soft smile.
God help those who disobey the roots of this pack.

But he listened to her with a nod.
He felt the same way.
"Our numbers grow small, but with winter coming I'm sure we will get busier. I'll teach you how to hunt if you'd like?" He used to specialise in bird hunting and teaching Keen had kept him sharp in his skills.
"But this place isn't calm. Stick with me or Ky- Donovan for a few days and you'll see," he gave her a cheery smile to make the grave look his eyes held. The constant threats from Ursus. The pressure of being so close to them in a canyon which...the food source is thinning in.

"If it's fun you're looking for, I'll try and make border patrol something to look forward to," he chuckled softly as ideas ran into his mind. Not realising he sounded like a total creep. His thoughts were of scavenger hunts.

Leigh listened intently. Her pace was smooth and consistent, something easy and natural that she didn't need to devote any focus to. Luckily the two wolves were similar in height, so neither would fall behind as they walked.

Winter was indeed coming soon. Autumn had been nice, and it still was. But Leigh much prefered the cold air and soft snow. Besides, she'd be turning four this year after all.

"That would be very nice! I used to hunt regularly back home, but some of the prey here is unfamiliar."

She replied with a smile, cheeks raised as her eyes closed and held a cheerful roundness in their shape. The she-wolf continued to absorb her packmate's words, and although she didn't express it out loud, mentally, she let out a small laugh. She hadn't meant it that way. She was well aware that this place wasn't calm. Perhaps she should have used a different word.

But upon hearing the mention of border patrol, her face lit up even more than it had previously.

"That'd be nice too. Thank you, Derg!"

It'd give her something to do. It'd give her a job, a purpose. She couldn't be more grateful.

He nodded slowly.
Yeah, he'd been a bit stuck at some of the things here.
Too many creatures with scales and stuff. Not his vibe.
"I struggled with hunting here when we first moved in. Dunno what will try to kill me or not yet," he grinned with a chuckle. In his experience, unless it was underwater, scaled meant death. Snakes and lizards were scary.

He liked the way she held herself.
Reminded him of an apple - sweet, round, but sometimes sour too.

"Of course," he replied with a matching smile of his own.
She was infectious, he had to admit. The sunshine in the Dying Light.
"When would you like to go?"

With a growing smile and a faint nod, Leigh agreed with the wolf's first statement as they trotted along side by side. It was indeed true that it had been difficult to judge which animals were good to hunt and which were good to avoid. Even though she hadn't seen a goat before arriving, they did hold some similarities when she compared them to the deer back home. Odd animals they were.

Derg on the other hand had been nothing but pleasent to speak with. He was kind, gentle. Less reckless than Donovan, a nice change of pace.

"Honestly, I'll be ready whenever you have time. Unless something major comes up, I'll probably be free whenever suits your schedule."

We can continue this thread if you want to fade it idm <3

"Let's go now," he announced.
He should be on patrol now anyway.
He raised a brow, wondering if she had any objections.

He decided in his head quickly that if she agreed, they should go to the Scar. Check that out a bit and make sure nothing was amiss there.
He'd feel safest with Leigh or Kynareth.

The sudden announcement caught the woman off guard, Leigh a bit surprised by how soon their outing would be. But despite the she-wolf's moment of shock, she didn't have any objections to the offer. A soft smile upon her face, she silently agreed with a nod in response.

She wondered where exactly they'd be headed towards. Although Leigh had become familiar with the area over time through her mindless wandering, it seemed Derg had more knowledge than she. For now she'd look to him for advice. Slowing her pace, she looked to her packmate.

"Lead the way."