Moonspear Whenever you're stuck, tell me what you need

I dont mind opening this up to more if you like, but this is for @Hydra - No rush!!!!

The Glen was founded and Fennec was finding her groove within the territory.  She still needed time to truly acclimate, but she could move fairly freely, barring the occasional interruption by unexpected terrain shift.  Her return to the Firebirds had only served to drive home just how far she had to go to get that comfortable here.

But she would, because (spoiler alert) this was home now.

Normally, Fennec would have snagged Meerkat or Bronco for this... but with the pack forming, everyone seemed busy with hunting and preparing for winter.  She was putting in quite a bit of time collecting herbs before the first frost killed much of the plant life, but hunting was the one thing Fennec had never been able to get a handle on without her sight.  Every so often she'd try it alone, but unless someone or some lucky break drove the prey into her jaws, it never worked out.  She preferred to avoid it, privately self-conscious, though not so bad now as it used to be.  At least now she had a role to fill.

Instead, she chose today to make her slow way up into the Moonspear.  The mountain was an intimidating and dangerous climb, but by feeling, she could take the careful paths that at least took her to the lower reaches.  Fennec still wondered if she should hesitate to cross freely, but today she'd decided to take a chance and see what happened.  If she was rebuffed she'd know.

About three quarters in she paused to rest on a ledge, stepping towards the edge as she felt the wind on her face.  She could almost sense where the edge was, and it was an odd sensation.  She took a deep breath in, then let it out with a sigh.  Something about this place... suited her, for some reason.

Hydra navigated Moonspear with an experts ease, though was no less careful for it. Pride surely came before the fall, and Hydra knew even those born to the place were not exempt from natures wrath. She had a mind to check in on the Glen, and perhaps catch up with the niece she had, thus far, interacted with the least. It thrilled her to know she remained near and aided in their families efforts of expansion... but Hydra had elected upon giving her the space she was due while she acclimated to the many new scents and voices that made up both Moonspear and the Glen. 

It seemed she was in luck; Hydra caught wind of Fennec long before she saw her. And, realizing the girl could not see at all, Hydra paused in her stride before closing her own eyes and determining to meet the girl this way. Hydra had the benefit of knowing the place like the back of her paws... but it was still a challenge. In her heart, Hydra felt admiration bloom for the bold Fennec. 

She used her nose the rest of the way, glad for the wind being in her favor. It was slow going for one not used to moving with their eyes closed, though perhaps quicker than most if only because she did know the place and had the benefit of recognizing the feel of their own well-worn trails. Hydra chuffed upon nearing the girl, lowering her head to sniff at the earth and testing the ground with ginger footing. Hydra felt that same innate sense as Fennec did, and drew to a halt as she lifted her head, another gale sweeping against her furs. For now she said nothing, eyes still closed as she imagined her own proximity from the edge they both lingered near.

The wind was for Hydra but against Fennec, so she had very little idea of who it was approaching her.  One of the more tiring aspects that she'd learned to take for granted at home was the constant need to confirm who it was she was meeting.

She had no idea that Hydra was trying to mimic her and just assumed that she had come across her on her way down the mountain.  Hey.  The chuff hadn't sounded annoyed, so she didn't get the sense that she needed to apologize for being here.

Pretty neat up here.  Y'know, for a rock.  She smirked.  The climb wasn't a bad one, but it was a lot of walking on stone.  She was glad that the glen was more similar to the Firebirds forest.  As she finished, her ears rotated, hoping the newcomer would offer some clue with their voice as to their identity.

WC: 151

Eyes still closed, Hydra could not see the expression the other wore for indication of feeling; she had to instead rely on the tone of her nieces voice. That was something she had never considered; the lack of true knowing. Voices could lie, could they not? And so how did Fennec divine the truth, beyond smelling and feeling? Expressions told a lot, eyes even more—but she did not doubt that Fennec knew how to rely upon her ears, listen with greater attention. Heed the hidden waver, the hesitations, the imperceptible trembles...

Her tactical mind was at work. Hydra could due to sharpen these skills. 

Fennec's tone, fortunately, had not been too difficult to discern. A playful sarcasm; she was not in a foul mood, and not unwelcome to company herself... and had a sense of humor. Hydra was not a humorless woman, though her jokes could be crueler and darker than most. I thought my niece might know the difference between a rock and a mountain, she teased in turn, voice light. It was clear enough Hydra understood the joke and the sentiment both, and was not bothered by it. Her own lips had upturned in a smirk to boot, and Hydra drew in a deep breath. Is this the first you have ever climbed? She inquired with true interest.

My niece... Hydra.  Hydra's sisters could have counted for Fennec's aunts as well, but as far as Fennec knew none of them had met her or her mother.  At least, Towhee never spoke of them.  It would only make sense for one wolf here to call Fennec that term and the familiarity of the voice only confirmed it.

Is there a difference?  Feels like a big rock to me.  She returned.  She wasn't aware that Hydra wasn't watching her features, so the joke was near indistinguishable from her normal spoken tone.  Fennec's brand of sarcasm could be hard to read when another wolf didn't know her well enough to read context (or weren't of a similar make, where sarcasm was almost a primary language).  

I've climbed a few.  The second I've done alone.  Most of her experience in the mountains had been trailing after Rosalyn or following Penn.  The only mountain she'd attempted solo previously was in her trips up to Arrow Lake, but when she'd gone there, she'd generally stopped before truly reaching the craggier portions.  What is it like?  She knew what she could feel below her paws, and what she'd felt so far on her trip up.  but outside of that the mountain was an unmapped mystery, and she had no concept of it's scale or it's layout.  She didn't even have an idea of how high they were now, outside of feeling where the drop was and that the open air waited below.  She could guess from the path she'd ascended, but it would never be accurate with the winding path she needed to climb.

WC: 269

Was she kidding? Hydra had to believe that she was, regardless of tone. But then, maybe she was not. The girl could not see, and maybe no one had laid out the differences for her. There was the real chance that Fennec simply did not know. And refusing to open her eyes to level herself to experience at the very least the entirety of the day in Fennec's "eyes", Hydra wondered if she should elaborate—but decided instead to have faith that Fennec must know by now there was a difference. 

What was it like? How to explain to someone that could not see to know colors? The way it felt, she supposed, beyond what was literally felt. It depends on where you are standing, she answered. Standing here is not so different than standing atop a rock, I suppose, she started, voice rich with amusement as she referred to Fennec's own words, we are not so terribly high, and from here, the tall, stretching trees leave plenty of mystery to what lies beyond. But, she continued, thinking fondly of her domain, the higher you climb... she paused for a moment, thinking. Eyes closed, Hydra searched her mind, reaching for the things she knew she had always felt but had never really acknowledged. Things that those without eyes to see would know, and understand. 

In the day, you feel as though the sun is not above you, but only just ahead. It is not that you can feel the heat, but you can feel the brightness, the light, against and all around you. The wind, too—it is never still, restless and whistling. And at night, it is the same with the moon. It does not feel as bright, though it casts the same light in the upper reaches. It is strange, for it feels like... freedom. You can sense the world all around you. The wind will carry hints of it—oceansalt, pine... she explained, But always, too, is that feeling of danger. Not from others, but from nature herself—one misstep can be the end of it all. Though despite that... and perhaps because of it, she hums, I have never felt quite so alive as I do where the air grows thin, and the world feels so vast.

Different wolves always described things in different ways when she asked, to varying degrees of success.  It was hard to imagine much of what they said without any comparison, but she liked to try anyway, to listen and paint a strange image in her mind of what the landscape might feel like to traverse.  Hydra, however, only spoke in things Fennec already knew, because they were things she could feel herself.  The sun, the moon, the wind.... she didn't care as much about that.  She didn't need that.

Are you blind also?  Fennec asked, her head titling slightly sideways with confusion.  Mom never said.  That would have been a very strange thing for Towhee to leave off, so she doubted it.  I can feel all that just fine.

Her tail twitched impatiently.  If Hydra couldn't see, that would change... well, everything.  She'd never met another wolf like herself but always wondered if there were others out there, examples of ones who lived the way she did and still achieved great things.  A vain part of her hoped not, because then she would be the first; she could say, in honesty, she was unique.  But a bigger part of her hoped so because then she would have someone to talk to, learn from, and who would honestly understand.

If Hydra spilled that she could see, Fennec would poke her a bit for her perspective, and risk poking some fun at her for assuming Fennec needed otherwise.  However that turned out, she enjoyed the time with her aunt.  Hydra had fascinated her for a long time, ever since Towhee first mentioned her.

WC: 217