Dragoncrest Cliffs There's a rock in my paw..?

[outside of borders, south side]

Staying beside the stream made the walk easy. There was food, fresh water, and Pepper even managed to find a few berries in the thicker parts of the woods. No more leech scares, either. 

They hadn't known where they were going, but the river continued to yield when the wind grew thick with the scent of many unfamiliar wolves, which could only be assumed to be a pack. It wasn't west, like he told Phobos, but if things worked out, Pepper intended to find him again. 

"Think we're close," the tawny wolf said after they'd walked for a while. The scent was strong enough--probably meant they were close enough to get attention. 

"You wanna call 'em?" 

He looked to the younger wolf, fully hoping she'd want to take the reigns. Pepper wasn't good at first impressions.

She looked to Pepper, the return of her usual wide smile suggesting that she was quite excited by the possibility of meeting new wolves.

"I mean I would - I'm just not sure how. Do we just.. howl, or something?"

She asked, looking out onto the unfamiliar territory with her tail high and ears perked.

"No, I think ya just yell."

He stared at her a moment. 

"Of course ya howl."

He was a little surprised she didn't know this. Wolves did like, four things. Eat, sleep, piss, and howl.

She looked to him, blinking for a moment before looking back to the territory and following his instructions.

Tilting her had up, she let out a howl. It was surprisingly deep considering it was coming from Leto, and she managed to drag it out for a good while. If anyone was nearby it should definitely grab their attention.

"Think that'll do it?"

Pepper raised his brow, watching her do her thing. When she finished, he flicked his right ear. 

"Think so. Just gotta hope they aren't aggressive."

He took a seat, pulling his front paw up to give it a break.

@Mireille
@Chacal
@Val

a long howl pulls him away from the roja den where he’d been watching @Lucette and @Lafayette — sharing a glance with those nearby, val made for the borders.

he was greeted by a pair of wolves. one was the color of snowdrift, the other a rich agouti that almost seemed diluted by coyote blood. were they not perched outside the border, his bearing might be different.

he swept them both with a neutral glance, green eyes curious. can i help you two?

The she-wolf gave Pepper a careful glance. She had been waiting for him to take the lead, but that quickly faded when she remembered how their own first meeting went.

"Possibly. We were passing through and caught wind of your pack's scent - we thought it would be best to introduce ourselves."

Her words were cautious and her usual confidence had been carefully tucked away. She understood well that pack wolves were different from the lone wolves she was used to; she couldn't keep her usual demeanor in front of them if she didn't want to appear as a threat to them and their young.

They were greeted by a young male. He wasn’t expecting tail wagging, a friendly hello, or really much at all, and that’s what the pair received. He was only thankful there was no aggression. He couldn’t trust himself to hold up well in conflict. 

He agreed with what Leto said and was thankful she decided to lead. Had he tried himself, he worried his intentions wouldn’t be as clear.

Silently, Chacal moved in alongside her brother and regarded the two travellers with a calm, cool gaze. She had much on her mind lately, but it gave her some peace to fulfill her duties at the borders, especially when her brother was there to speak for her.

She caught the tail end of the pale wolf’s speech, and wondered if they had truly just come for an introduction, or if they sought a home. She was inclined to hear them out, and gave a silent nod.

bolstered by chacal’s presence, val nudged her gently with one shoulder while his focus remained ahead.

it would please the women of sapphique to see the female of the pair spoke on both party’s behalf. val spared the silent man only a passing glance before he focused on the she-wolf.

everything about their bearing was polite, reserved — respectful even. yet the caution held in the woman’s voice snagged at val’s senses.

he looked to chacal to see if she would speak first, but in sharing a gaze understood he had her blessing. they’d given their reason for coming, but had yet to give their names. val found this bemusing enough to comment on it. well, do you plan to introduce yourselves then? val’s tone was mirthful and gaze soft, but his muscles ready if this was some ploy to get their guard down.

She offered a polite nod to greet the female wolf as she approached, refocusing her attention on the male a moment later and continuing to speak with his blessing.

"You can call me Leto, and my companion is Pepper." She responded, glancing to Pepper as she did. "I recently left my birth pack in search of something new, he joined me along the way. We're getting an idea of what kind of packs are in the area."

She knew it was common for young wolves to enter and soon leave packs, finding the one that best suited them. The behaviour would be expected from her, she just had to hope it wouldn't be different for Pepper.

Pepper offered a quick glance to the new listener, though he was careful not to stare. 

He looked at Leto as she spoke, and found no reason to further elaborate on what she had  provided, and would’ve offered his name himself had she not already taken care of it. When she’d finished, he returned his gaze to the pair, first the lady, then the male who’d been speaking. 

The feeling had returned to his front left paw by now, so he added weight to it, alleviating some of the strain on his right. 

The two that greeted them didn’t appear terrible, but neither did his father. And he was now realizing that he might have some internalized distrust of higher pack ranks, which, he’d probably need to sort through eventually.

It bode well for the pair that the woman spoke. Chacal’s gaze only slid over to the large male momentarily, to see if he might have anything to add, but it seemed the pale, violet-eyed woman spoke for both of them.

Sight-seers, it seemed. Wanderers looking for information; Sapphique had some traditions and stories only meant for the ears of family, but she saw no harm in their curiosity.

She pined for the ability to sing of Sapphique to them- but she could not risk blowing their mystique with her stuttering. Instead, she nodded quietly, and arched a brow to prompt her brother to offer whatever information he felt was fair to share.

tourists. the moment val learned they had little to offer, he turned unusually cold. in years past he might warmly greet strangers — but now, he had seen enough revolutions of this planet to know better than to put too much hope in those who showed up unannounced.

he looked to chacal, reading from her expression she wished to speak but didn’t. it hurt his heart to witness this — how she was gradually losing her voice day by day. the light, he sometimes thought, was dimming.

val turned back to the strangers, his tone perfectly perfunctory. while it’d be hard for them to explain exactly how, he seemed less welcoming. this is sapphique. i am val, and this is chacal — sapphique’s leader. we are a family pack that prides keeping to ourselves. if you are looking for a pack, i suggest going inland.

a glimmer of raleska in him then. he kept conversation short thereafter, relieved when the two picked up on his various hints and quit sapphique’s doorstep.