Herbalists' Cache There is a house built out of stone

Bronco paused as he came to the borders where his own markings were still fresh. Those would fade and be covered in time, he thought…But it had been nice, for a time, to think he’d had both a family and a home. 

He traded that in, now, for solitude. He decided he would rove North, rather than trying to make a pass through the mountains when the snow was still melting. He’d reach the ocean in a matter of days, and could journey south along the shores, inland once he was past the mountain range. 

Tracking his way back to a place he’d once known as home before.

It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was warm on his back; it was the only thing that cheered him up a bit at all. Otherwise, as he continued to prank away from the Emberwood, he travelled with his ears relaxed, and head slung low.

tags are for reference!

Calida was not certain what path to take to get to Atautsikut's new home; the scent trails of her packmates had long faded, and for now, she was on her own with @Iota travelling a short way behind her. As the mountains loomed nearer, Calida paused. Snow was still melting, and that would make for horrible travelling conditions - she didn't even know what lay beyond them, as she'd not travelled from the glacier before.

Calida found herself in a small wooded area, with the way north clear and flat. She was about to let Iota know she was taking the route north, when she smelled another wolf. Pausing curiously, Calida gave a quick call to let the stranger know she was approaching. She found him also travelling north, and she gave a swift call of, "Hail, stranger. It's good to see another face." Before, she would have avoided company, but now, with Spring swiftly warming the land, things had changed. She had changed.

He’d been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t been terribly aware of his surroundings. His instincts begged him to go back, apologize and make things better, but the part of him that felt finally free and relieved had waited so long to feel good again, and he couldn’t turn his back on that. He looked up when the wolf called out. 

Imposing in stature, but with a welcome tone to her voice. Bronco offered her a respectful nod of his head. ”The pleasure’s mine,” He answered, softly.

The male nodded to her, and she offered a dip of her head in return. He was heavily scarred, not that it made any difference to Calida. She fell into step beside him a comfortable distance away, then inquired, "Are you travelling north too? My pack has moved - I'm one of the last ones to pass through here." She hoped he wouldn't mind her company, at least for a short time.

He assumed that her question was meant not simply as a bid for information, but asking permission to travel with him as well. He wasn’t really feeling up to having company, but perhaps she wouldn’t need much of him, and they could part ways come nightfall. He supposed he could put his heartbreak aside, and hide it long enough to escort her to the North, where her pack lived. 

”North for a bit, yes. I need to get South of the mountain range, but the easiest way to do that is to go clear out to the ocean and around.” He said. A braver wolf might’ve chosen to attempt to pass through the barrier mountains, but he wasn’t aware of any safe passages, and had had enough of landslides and crumbling mountains. He tasted the air on his next inhale, but didn’t find much recognizable about her scent. ”What pack do you belong to?” He asked.

tag is for reference <3

Calida nodded at Bronco's words. She had been through the sunspire mountains with @Veteran, back when they'd scouted for Atautsikut's new home. Calida hadn't travelled the entire way - there simply hadn't been enough time, but she'd observed the flantlands, and had seen the mountains even further west, that hid away her new home. She told Bronco, "Atautsikut - we used to be Duskfire Glacier." She nodded northeast, where the glacier protruded into the heavens. "A famine wiped out our food sources, so we decided to travel far to the west, in the hinterlands, on a mountain called Nimbus Summit." She still had a long, long ways to travel. Realizing she'd not yet introduced herself, she chuckled, "Oh, sorry - I'm Calida."

Bronco had seen floods, landslides, avalanches, and now, apparently, famine was something that had threatened the packs in the area. He frowned and hummed thoughtfully, his brow furrowed. As hard as it was, just trying to find a family and a home, it seemed inevitable that nature would try to make things even harder.

”I’m sorry you and your pack went through that.” He said. ”I know the mountain you speak of, though; my family harboured there when their pack lands were flooded…A couple years back, now,” He said. He shook his head. ”If it isn’t one thing trying to kill us, it’s something else, I suppose.”

I'm hoping we could end here? <3 Thank you for the thread!

Calida found it interesting that Bronco had once lived there, and travelled so far from it. It was funny, that she was now doing the opposite, travelling hundreds of miles to get to the summit. "I know Atautsikut will persevere... we are a strong people." She gave a small smile, then said, "I should pick up the pace — I'm supposed to be travelling ahead of a friend to scout." She would offer a dip of her head then say, "It was nice meeting you. I hope your travels go well."

She seemed optimistic about her pack thriving, and he gave her a faint smile of encouragement, but elected to stay silent. Experience had taught him that packs were a temporary thing; something lovely, but not quite evergreen. 

She would need to travel at a different pace than him, which was acceptable enough. Bronco never really went anywhere with a great amount of haste, especially with the injuries he’d suffered over the course of his life. He was content to allow her to wander on, and gave her a nod.

”Same to you. Safe travels,” He said quietly, before he watched her rove on. The silence grew, and he sighed softly. Loneliness was a companion he would have to learn to tolerate.