Ravensblood Forest grateful our cold memories bide

For @Esperanza, hope this location works for you. :)

Tonravik had disappeared, she was sure of it. Since their departure from the north, from Siku's pack, they had rarely been separate for any length of time. All the things that her aokkatti had spoken of lingered within her. The wolves that had followed in Tonravik's stead were also suspiciously absent… a notion that left Echelon wondering if she had been left behind for purposes she did not understand. Another notion that occurred to her as she made her way through the thick forest was that something had become of them, but she couldn't have been sure. If something had, a certain cacophony would have risen and broke the ambient silence she heard now.

Her steps were precise, but not for stealthy purposes as she made her way towards the sandy towpath leading to the shore. With miles ahead of her to go, she only hoped that she would find traces of the Tartok wolves there. And if she didn't, then she simply didn't. Tonravik would not have taken any with her that could not follow without being found. They would have been left behind. Huffing to herself as she pressed past a fern in the narrow trail, Echelon had her doubts about being left behind as well. It was simply not possible. Such a thing would not happen to her, though she was quite capable of fending for herself in the wilderness that lied in all directions.

purity ring — amenamy

Esperanza had walked through the sandy landscape, her head up in the air as she was sniffing for any potential threats or meals. She was kind of hungry since she had not eaten for a couple days. Her emerald optics were focused on the road ahead of her. Her ears were erect, trying to catch any other sounds. It seemed as if only yesterday when she had left her home after an illness that ravaged her pack, leaving no one alive, except for her. She missed her mother, father, and her other pack mates. But, the past cannot be rewritten, so with a half-hearted sigh, she lied down and closed her eyes.

Further up the path in her travels, she caught the glimpse of a dark mass that stood out against the autumnal foliage. Echelon's pace slowed as she tested the air curiously. At the first notice that she could tell it was another canine, she thought them to be Tonravik. But further examinations disproved that thought quickly. Tonravik would have never slept somewhere she would have been easily found, and this creature smelled nothing of her, and nothing of the others in their strewn band.

So she continued on quietly, drawing ever closer to the canine. Her precise steps became almost scientific in her attempt to skirt past. Instinct warned her to turn back and find another route, but Echelon felt certain she could sneak past. Her youth lended her the arrogance easily, and her pace slowed more as she reached the dark wolf. One foot ahead of the other, she began her pass of the resting female, silent and tense for any notion of their encountering being less than pleasant.

Esperanza would watch the clouds, her emerald eyes shimmering as the warm, gold sun rose to the top and hit her face. She didn't mind the sun, she was only focused on the clouds that surrounded the sky. The colder temperatures were beginning to show as she soon could hear something. Her ears perked forward as the sound of grass could be heard, but someone would be stepping on the green blades of grass. She smiled and would turn her head when the footsteps would be closer. "No need to be weary of me. I am only a traveler, I promise no harm to you, ma'am," She reassured the woman, soon turning to watch the clouds as she stood and moved over so the woman could sit if she wished to.

As it would be, barely a step or two into her pass of the resting female Echelon was made aware that she was not asleep. A swivel of a dark head gave her pause, and the flighty Tartok wolf pulled her ears flush with her head, hackles bristling uncomfortable. In light of being told she had no reason to be leery, she was. The ghost of a scowl settled into her gaze and threatened to spread to her facial expression, but instead she held her statuesque position for a moment more as the wolf moved from where she rested. That was perhaps when her unpleasant head reared best, and Echelon gave her a very pointed look of disdain.

“What kind of a traveler is foolish enough to lie in the way?” she queried hotly. Even if she hadn't meant harm, Echelon couldn't help but scan their surroundings to see if they were alone. She hadn't considered it with all that rested on her mind, but what if she had walked easily into an ambush. Still, her confidence remained intact, so come what may, she held tightly to the assertiveness that ran through her veins. If it had been an ambush, it surely would have happened by then, right?

"I am nothing but a lone wolf that lost everything she had. My entire pack was killed by an epidemic and I have traveled many years and have not yet found my home. I may only be four but as of yet I have no one right now to love. I am just passing through, and will be on my way once my legs have rested." Esperanza's tone was calm and kind, she would not be rude to a stranger even if their greeting wasn't a very kind one. But, she did not see harm from the ebony woman that came over, she was only being cautious as what every lone wolf should.

"Can we at least tell each other's names?" Esperanza asked with a tilt of her cranium as her emerald orbs looked into the other woman's, ""That way we can start over and just in case if you do want to hurt me you know my name, even though there is nothing and no one here except for me, you, and this land we're standing in right now." She didn't mean for her tone to sound harsh, she just did not wish for the woman to feel uneasy.

Lmao, I apologize for Echelon... it is really fun playing a character that's a lot more aggressive and rude than I am. >_>;;

She hadn't expected story time, but that's exactly what she ended up with. What maybe perturbed her more was the fact that the dark-haired female kept calm through the whole thing and still had the audacity to keep her gaze even with Echelon's. But what she offered beyond that was the very thing that Echelon did embrace and run with; the flighty Tartok wolf rarely missed and opportunity she felt would twist things into her favor.

“No,” she said, hackles bristling with irritation. She wouldn't be giving her name. “And if you don't lower your gaze, I will give you something else to be hurting about.” To punctuate this, she pulled her lips back to display her teeth. For as brazen as she was, she had no real idea of just how sideways things could go if she suddenly found herself locked into a fight.

She looked to the dame and stood up, she was not a fighter and would not show disrespect to someone who had shown disrespect to her. Her emerald orbs shown kindness and sincerity to the wolf who stood before her. Her eyes blazon as if they were on fire, but Esperanza stayed focused on her face, but she only spoke as if she were a sage, "Someone who was just relaxing would show no harm to someone who clearly has no ambush. I understand you're staying safe, but I am not here to hurt you or anyone else. Now, if it would make you happy, I will leave now." Esperanza walked away, if the woman wished to hurt her, she can for Esperanza didn't care. She was not one to fight and if she must fight, she would if she had to.

She backed off a few steps as the sagely female rose. Fully expecting a fight on her hands, Echelon let loose the growl that had been bridled earlier. But what met her was the same insistence that there would be no quarreling between them, a point that was driven home by the refusal of the other to take her gaze away from the flightly Tartok youth. She scoffed at the older wolf's words, not caring that she wasn't there to hurt anyone. And it seemed to be truth and worked in Echelon's favor, as the older canine turned to leave her.

“That's a smart move,” she sneered arrogantly after her, but did not pursue her. Instead she would let her go, and just as the equally dark-haired wolf had turned away from her, Echelon turned back to her path and continued onward at a steady lope. She didn't want to be followed, not that she considered it a necessary problem at that point. But her angry, if not erratic actions remained justified in her mind, and the inky creature resumed her search and pursuit of Tonravik promptly.