Luka's den was located south of the Womens' Glade in a group of delicious trees. In the middle of these trees Luka had spent the greater part of a day digging a large hole in the ground. Collecting a mixture of leaves and moss the male had put those down as lining for his den. After finishing his den the male was covered in dirt and sweat.
It was nearly nightfall when the male reach the creek. His normally well kept fur was a mess, so to fix this the male wanted to bathe. Stepping in the cold creek water Luka washed most of the dirt away from his pelt. He stood in the gelid running water up to his chest for a few moments before emerging out of the icy water. When he rose out of the final stretch of the water Luka's coal colored pelt wrapped tightly around his lean figure.
Gazing down at his chest the male noticed how white his fur had gotten. During the few months that the swarthy wolf was a loner he had gained a fair amount of silvery fur. The stress of being alone weighted greatly on the kind wolf. The male wore his new colors with little pride. He feared certain wolves would perceive the male as weak now that he was showing signs of getting older.
She was planning on going with Falwasi and Kieran to Duskfire Glacier early next week, though the preparations had taken longer because she had fallen sick after her return from Ankyra Sound. It had just been a seasonal cold, but it had exhausted her enough to keep her confined. Now that she felt better, she was building up her strength for the long journey. Ahead she noticed a dark wolf emerging from the water, his fur clinging to his lean body. Kaskara studied him carefully, wondering if this was the male her brother had mentioned briefly the other day. She couldn't remember his name, so she interrupted his fixation on his chest with a greeting bark.
"Hello," she called softly as she approached him. "I'd shake some of that out before you catch a cold."
A bark interrupted the male's gaze. His stare was quickly adverted to a pure chocolate fur colored female. He inspected the wolf curiously, gazing at her very interesting eyes. Her size was much more bulky than Luka's. She held muscle that bulged in every aspect while Luka kept a more lean fiqure, a lot more feminine. She spoke with sarcasm that made the ebony wolf chuckle "It's hard for a presence as hot as mine to catch a cold." Luka spoke in a ironical tone.
The inky wolf shook off the remaining creek water and turned to his packmate. "Luka, what's your name?" He inquired softly in a friendly tone.
The male had no idea that his closest friend had siblings within the pack he ruled. Luka had kept mostly to himself the past month, wandering outside of the territory for various medicinal purposes. This could explain why he had yet to meet the cinnamon wolf's siblings.
He was lean, thinner and smaller than males she was used to, but he had a confident air to him that made up for his lack of bulk. Kaskara wasn't really attracted to his sort, though in this brief introduction, his personality shone. Shaking her head to rid herself of such weird thoughts, she turned back to Luka. "This is one of the few remaining days warm enough to swim. Soon we'll have to avoid water, unless we're drinking it."
A smirk spread across the inky wolf's face when Kaskara snorted. He found her laugh to be cute. The female's presence was a bit intimidating. She reminded the lean wolf of Scimitar. Her pure muscle mass had enough power to scare even the bravest of souls.
Luka was not in actually so full of himself. When the time came he would interject some egotistical banter. The ebony wolf only did this to bring a smile to other's faces. The feminine wolf enjoyed seeing others laugh due to something he said. It brought a sort of satisfaction with him that was equal to helping another injured wolf.
Kaskara approached the male slowly choosing to stay a decent distance away from him. "That is true. I'll have to find other ways to clean myself besides the creek." Luka spoke softly in his warm voice. " Tell me about yourself, Kaskara." The male inquired placing a brief pause been the question and her name.
She was saved from this feeling when he wanted to know more about her. Though it was no big secret, Kaskara wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell him. He was a packmate after all, but he was also a stranger to her. "I come from a family steeped in the warrior tradition, just like my brothers, in a pack called Dal Riata. I left not because I hated it, but because I wanted to find my place in the world, and bring glory to my father's name." Well, that was a start, anyway. It made her sound cold and harsh, rather than as warm and caring as she truly was. "I traveled for a month, and finally settled here, where I luckily found my brother."
Growing up as a son to a lone wolf has many disadvantages. The overall lack of interaction with other wolves caused Luka to feel lonely in his younger years. His mother taught him how to fend for himself, but she never taught him how to maintain relationships. His mother taught him how to heal simple wounds, what plants not to eat and which ones had positive effects. Luka was never taught the ways of a warrior only the ways of sneaking out unnoticed. His mother ingrained the idea of flight into his head. With this in mind the inky male was never one to start conflict.
The female spoke of her past as a warrior. The more the bulky wolf revealed to Luka about her goals and the manner in which she was raised the more the inky wolf wanted to be on her good side. There was no doubt in Luka's mind that he would get his ass kicked to the other side of mars Kaskara decided she didn't like him.
The male was curious on who her brother was inside their pack. While Luka did not know many wolves in the Creek maybe he had somehow met her brother before. "Who is your brother inside the Creek?" The ebony male inquired with curiosity dripping from his tongue.
Luka seemed happy enough to take her background in stride, and she waited for him to judge her, though he never did. Perhaps he had been raised in a similar fashion: listen, but do not judge. Judgments were meted out only when a wolf showed their true colors. Otherwise, every wolf was treated equal and trustworthy until proven different. "My brother is Scimitar," she said with a smile. "He is the one I found here, though recently Estoc and Saber have joined as well. They are my brothers, too."
Luka and Scimitar went a little ways back. They had been in a pack together that disbanded shortly after they became friends. After surviving a harsh winter they found another pack to join. As fate would have it that pack also failed. Luka and Scimitar had been separated because of it. Now here they were, back together as friends in a pack that was thriving.
Perhaps they had been in a pack together before Scimitar joined the creek, much like Kaskara knew wolves from before she had joined here, too. Perhaps they knew each other before Scim had come to the Teekon Wilds in the first place. Whatever the story, Kaskara turned her ears toward Luka, waiting for the story with an expectant smile.
The pair talked for a few moments longer about their pasts. Kas was glad to have met a friend of her brother's, because it meant he had put down roots here long before Bazi or the creek. Kaskara left the meeting feeling happily satisfied and went to find something to eat.