Nova Peak thought you'd never ask

@Bazi and/or @Scimitar, maybe? She's on the side where SFT6 is (on rough map).

After her meeting with Njal, Fox couldn't help herself. She'd gone north along the shore, breaking off until she was directed toward Nova Peak by a loner named something that started with an O. Orlabean? That didn't sound right. In any case, he'd given her the directions after she'd asked about Scimitar and Bazi. He said he'd met the former and Kaskara, a wolf that Fox barely remembered. There was a good chance Bazi was with them, considering her history with Scimitar. What was it he had dubbed Fox? Nimble Paws? She smiled at the thought.

Lingering outside their borders, she wondered what kind of life they had here. Fox had never been the nostalgic sort, but perhaps another year had added that to her list of traits after all. Before, she'd had nothing to be nostalgic about. Her early life had been simple, plain, and even boring. Ever since she'd come to the Teekon Wilds, however, it had been nothing but highs and lows. And so she sat, watching the sun set to the left of the great slopes of the mountain her old rival(s?) called home.

Bazi seemed distant to him, as of late. It was no wonder, given Danica's death, and while he would try to soothe her mind and heart as best he could, at times, it would seem he only seemed to push her away even more. Having planted a kiss upon her cheek and leaving her for the day, mostly to offer her some space, the cinnamon wolf found himself brushing past his borders, the mountains descent a welcome change for a stolen moment.

Their numbers were not terrible -- but they could do better. It seemed the Peak was less central to what the Creek had been, and they attracted far less attention because of it.. for which he was grateful. Still, his bright eyes would drift to the distance, noting the neighboring mountain with mild apprehension. Kaskara had informed him the leader of whatever pack had settled there requested an alliance of sorts.. but he had yet to seek them out and determine what their angle truly was. And.. he was not entirely sure he was interested.

HIs paws led him further from his home, and when his gaze would drift away from the scenery in the distance, he would then spy a rather petite and fiery form -- one that was completely familiar, and yet changed in so many ways. He had always enjoyed Fox's company -- much to Bazi's dismay, and for a brief moment, recalled the time she had led them at the Creek. Lingering, he hesitantly began to move closer, uncertain if she would welcome the company or not. Fox had never been a creature he had been able to read.

Scimitar approached her, albeit apprehensively. And why should he be anything but? She could scarcely remember anything of their last meeting, except that she'd been living at the plateau at the time. Had it gone well? Terrible? Somewhere in between the two? She could not say. Her memory had never been excellent, especially when it came to matters that held no impact on her current state of being. If anything, she had expected either Scimitar or Bazi to come out with jaws agape, chasing her away from their precious mountain. Nothing of the sort happened.

Fox made no move from her spot, and only observed Scimitar as he drew closer. Her tail remained wrapped around her front paws, grey eyes steady on an old comrade. Even when he was close, she said nothing, opting for a raised brow in place of words.

Fox had made it clear at their last meeting that the presence of her old pack mates was not a welcome one – and he hadn’t blamed her, given she had been dethroned and chased from lands she had once called hers. Still, the bit of friendship they might have held prior had dwindled to nothing – she remained a stranger to him now, and as his gaze swept over her, he noted that the old comradery he felt for the spitfire was long dissipated.
 
“What do you want, Fox?” Straight to the point – something both had always been with one another during their short time together. He wondered briefly what life would have been like if he had pursued her instead of her Beta – likely, he would have had his ass handed to him by her mate. Or.. if not, would have had his paws equally as full as he did with Bazi.
 
His features remained distant – aloof, in any manner, and he regarded her like he did any other stranger that lingered close to their borders.

To his unspoken pondering, he could have had her. If he'd had the balls to take her. Peregrine had been the only (living) prospect to demand her attention, and it was why she was with him now. The others had courted her, in their own way, but theirs was not the way that had won her over in the end. Maybe Peregrine was just in the right place at the right time.

"Is that really the best way to greet an old friend?" she smirked, knowing well and good that she was far from a friend at this point. Hell, how long had it been since she'd even spoken a single word to him? "I ran into Njal," she answered, more seriously this time. "Made me wonder how you and Bazi were doing. Heard something about Nova Peak, so I thought I'd come pester you for a bit." Was that so bad? She was a terrible liar, so she made no effort to spread falsehoods. She didn't have the creative muscle for it. Fox had always been the literal sort.

“Is that what we are?” He didn’t expect a response —their last meeting, she had remained suspicious of him.. distant. It had solidified the wall that now stood between them, and given their distance, he seen no true reason to break it down. She continued, however, speaking of Njal.
 
The last he had seen of the silver wolf, the male had turned tail and sped away from him – back to his Glacier, without word. Of course, Scimitar had lost respect for the Sveijarn before then.. the moment he and Tuwawi had announced their departure within seconds of Bazi announcing Alpha-ship. It had been a spit in the face to the wolves of the Creek – and even more interesting, hypocrisy at best. Scimitar had desired to move forward and chase The Sunspire away.. Tuwai had determined it a foolish idea.. and instead, turned tail elsewhere.
 
“Strange,” he offered then, not commenting either way on her run in with their other ‘old friend.’ “Not many have found our paradise.” Not because it was well hidden – simply because it seemed rare that wolves seemed to come north of the Wilds.

"Once," Fox thought, "but probably not any more." She let the matter fall to the wayside, focusing on the matters of the present rather than the past. "Did Bazi finally manage to tame you, then? Or was it the other way around?" she asked, even though she knew the answer wouldn't be of any relevance to her own life. She was merely here to verbally pester whoever happened to show up. Scimitar was just unlucky enough to be that wolf. If it had been Bazi, Fox would have done much the same.

For a fleeting moment, Fox wondered what would have happened if she had stayed with Swiftcurrent Creek—if she had bested Bazi. Fox had any number of suitors back at the creek then... or perhaps she could have convinced Peregrine to come live with her then and there. They could have skipped over the mess that was Blacktail Deer Plateau. Perhaps Bazi would have stayed, and she and Scimitar would have been their loyal Betas. Then again, Finley and Elwood were two of the best wolves Fox had ever met... so perhaps things had turned out exactly the way they were meant to.

It was becoming irritating -- the way she eluded his questions in a certain way and attempted to gauge more information of his own personal life. he did not respond to her question -- the answer could only be determined as complicated, as he often wondered if he and Bazi's relationship was always meant to detonate. A ticking time bomb that was only fueled now by a beautiful litter of four children.

"Who told you about Nova Peak, Fox?" Since she wanted to beat around his veiled question from before, the cinnamon wolf took a step closer, his eyes staring directly upon her -- straight to the point, he desired to know just what information was floating around Teekon Wilds now. And why it had traveled down to the southern parts of the regions.

Feel free to continue if you'd like! I don't mind either way. :)

"A loner," Fox replied truthfully. She'd never been a liar, even if she did withhold information from her peers in her own interest. "Nobody important, I assure you." Fox had attempted to feel him out, see if he was looking for a place, but he'd seemed noncommittal, so she'd moved on. That was the way of things. Scimitar had taken a step toward her, which she took as her queue to leave. She had children to think of now, and no reason to go getting into fights with an old friend.

"I can take the hint, though, ol' friend. I'll skidaddle." She gave him a wink, then turned to make her way back to the caldera.

A loner. He found the information unsettling – what loner had the knowledge to know the Swiftcurrent Creek pack had moved to Nova Peak.. and then bothered to spout out the news to anyone? Nobody important. He was not assured by the words, and the scowl that darkened his features like a storm must have been point enough for his fiery companion. If Fox had heard all the way from the Plateau, then no doubt Blackfeather Woods had heard – and he felt his lips curl back in a quiet snarl.
 
But with a quick goodbye and a wink, the crimson she-wolf decided to make an exit. He debated going after her right then – sour that the previous two encounters they had, she had felt only the need to attempt to gain information from him, and skirted around any return of such. He watched her go, making no attempt to stop her.
 
And he would make sure to tell his pack mates to keep a tighter lip around the fiery redhead – their lives were none of her business now.