Serpent Lake You smell like pine needles and you have a face like sunshine

Ever since the encounter with the cougar, Wildfire had hesitated to go in that direction (due east) again. Eventually, though, her trepidation abated and her wanderlust flared. She departed from the caldera's borders at dawn and was crossing Shy Deer Steppes at a steady clip by late morning. She smelled traces of the big cat, yet she managed to reach the far side unmolested. She slowed as she approached yet another lake, though it wasn't the calm waters that captured her attention but the stacked waterfall off to its left.

She had seen it from afar that day with Magpie, though they hadn't gotten a chance to really take a look. Wildfire wasn't a big talker, especially when alone, but she couldn't help but drop an awed, "Wow," as she drew up beneath the pretty landmark. The water cascaded down over a series of tiers before spilling into the lake below. Cool mist bathed her face as she moved closer and Wildfire closed her eyes, savoring the respite from the baking August heat.

There were risks involved, especially here. Reek knew that a trip deep below the Sunspire Mountains could carry heavy consequences to his safety. However, his suspicion that the southern wolves were up to no good did not deter him from what he had set out to do. With his claim over the Maplewood finally solidified, Reek bid his mate farewell and set out to find Pantaleimon to spread the news of their relocation.

Knowing that Pantaleimon would one day wander to find the Rise a burnt husk of what it once had been, Reek wished to spare his friend the worry. But, more than the need to spread the news— it was good to travel once again. Ever since ascending to leadership back at the Rise, Reek had become somewhat of a homebody. New sights, new smells. Reek had missed it all.

With every step closer to the Caldera, Reek's worry grew. Perhaps he could howl from a good distance away, thus avoiding a confrontation from the 'red bitch,' whom his mate was not so fond of. But, as Reek passed through the Shy Deer Steppes, a splotch of red caught his attention. For a moment, he wondered if it was Fox, but under closer inspection Reek found that she was still a juvenile. The same one he had helped months ago. "You!" he called out in an attempt to be friendly. "Do you remember me?"

Woo, a Reek!

The exclamation of "You!" caused Wildfire to jump, eyes peeling wide open even as she spun on a heel. Her brow furrowed when her eyes clapped upon an unfamiliar figure coming toward her. Said furrow deepened when he asked, "Do you remember me?" It reminded her of her recent encounter with Saena. There was a slight difference, though: as she studied him, Wildfire realized she did recognize him, albeit vaguely. It was hard to forget a face like that (a thought which made her feel sort of guilty).

"I think so," she said slowly. "You were there that day when I had one of my reactions. You tried to help me, then you and my dad argued." She couldn't recollect specifics, though. "I'm surprised he didn't eat you, in hindsight," she mused, mostly to herself. "I don't remember your name, though. I'm Wildfire," she said, in case he didn't remember hers either.

She remembered, which caused Reek to sport a wide and happy grin. Though it was for all the wrong reasons, he wasn't the forgettable sort— and truthfully, it was something he prided himself for. He inched his way closer to the youth slowly with his tail wagging behind him in the hopes she wouldn't perceive him as a threat like she had last time. Their last encounter, he had left her with quite the fright... even though he was well intentioned.  

When she mentioned her father, Reek's smile twisted into an awkward grimace.  Partially from the pain he had cause his mate as a child... the rest from regret of how he had handled the situation previously, inadvertently sparking the tension between their two packs.  "I'm surprised he didn't either... I, uh— If you see him, tell him I'm sorry.  I don't really think before I speak; no social filter and all that jazz." Reek finished off his statement with an awkward chuckle, however the sentiment behind it was real. "I'm Reek, it's nice to actually meet you."

It took her by surprise when he not only agreed with her but issued an apology to be passed along to her father. The young Outrider would be happy to deliver the message. The humility of it immediately scored him brownie points, as did the openly friendly demeanor. Wildfire was naturally cagey around strangers, yet she felt quite at ease with him already. Of course, their history helped. He had tried to help her once, after all.

"Nice to meet you too," she replied, offering a small but genuine smile, "and thanks for trying to help me out back then. We've since figured out that I'm allergic to pine cones." Her muzzle wrinkled and she laughed at the absurdity of it. "So, why were you there in the first place? Do you live in one of the nearby packs?" Wildfire wondered. It would explain his proximity now as well, though they were definitely a safe distance from the caldera and Peregrine's wrath.

Akela decided to venture further south of the pack.  He wanted to explore and maybe find new game to hunt.  But more and foremost, he was out to see if there was anything interesting to find out or know upon meeting other wolves or wild fauna. He had told Burke he would be away, maybe for longer than a day or two, and so had set paw to travel to the Serpent's stairway.  He had saw the area when climbing the Misa with Cicero. To gain time, he had chosen to climb it again and was making his way down when he spotted two wolves not far away. Still hidden from view and invisible due to the sound of the cascade, he decided to get closer without being noticed.  He picked up on the conversation which did not reveal much but a pine cone allergy, but did decide to let them go on with their conversation for a little more.  It was rude after all to interrupt , especially when one of them asked a vital question, which pack was the other involved with.

Unaware that another had arrived and was actively listening in, Reek continued on in his conversation with the youngster uninhibited. She went on to thank Reek for his actions, which in-turn surprised him due to the choice words he had to say to her father. On the other hand, Reek was already over it— perhaps the Redhawks were too. If it hadn't been for Junior, maybe the tension between the two packs would have faded away.

"Pine cones?" questioned Reek with an air of bemusement. Food allergies were one thing— easy to avoid once they were identified. But, pine cones were unavoidable no matter how hard one tried. Poor little Wildfire was in for a hard life with something like that following her around.  At least she was staying positive about it. "That's— Sorry to hear that," he sputtered in the hopes conversation wouldn't turn too negative.

Thankfully, their little chat took a much needed shift when she asked about the nature of his initial visit. "Oh no, I don't live near here at all," he began with as warm of a smile his homely face could muster. "I'm from way up north. I used to lead the pack living on Redtail Rise."  His brief stint as alpha of the rise before the storm may have been short, but it still totally counted in Reek's mind. "Well, until it burnt down," he finished after a long pause.

"Now we live in the Phoenix Maplewood. It's a couple days travel north of here. If you ever travel that way, stop by and say hello."  A youngster like her wouldn't be making any trips like that alone anytime soon... but the offer still stood, and perhaps it would be an effective avenue to quell the tension between both sides of the Sunspire Mountains. "But, I guess that doesn't explain why I made that trip down... and now, included. You know Pantaleimon? Of course you do. We used to be pack-mates a while back, before he started living with you— I had come to visit him before I was chased out, which is also why I'm here now."

She was already listening closely but when Reek mentioned the north, her focus sharpened. He mentioned Redtail Rise and something about that name was so familiar, though she couldn't put her finger on it right away. Wildfire didn't have a chance to concentrate on it, as she continued giving Reek her full attention as he described the fire that had burnt down his home, his reestablishment in a place called Phoenix Maplewood and then a connection to someone very, very familiar to the youngster.

"Before you were chased out?" she echoed dumbly, not understanding that part, then said, "Yes, I know Pan." She smiled. Her father's lover was a dear friend of hers, more an uncle these days than anything else. "And I'm an Outrider, so I'd be happy to pass a message to him, even if you just want me to tell him to meet you somewhere in person," Wildfire offered, happy for an opportunity to develop her skills in that particular field.

"Wait," she was blurting in the next second, before giving Reek any kind of chance to reply. "Redtail? Like Saena Redtail?"

Akela remained dead silent in his hiding spot. That conversation was interesting him. Not that he was a voyeur of some sort, but information about packs was always handy to know. The to wolves seemed to know each other or have acquaintances in common. For now, the black wolf decided to not interrupt the conversation, he too wanted to know what this Reek had meant by being chased out, especially if he was leading the pack.  He'd have to advise Burke about this, Phoenix Maplewood was further north, but close to the problematic Bearclaw Valley. He wondered what Reek was doing that far south, what was his purpose here?

Chased out. Reek nodded in with confirmation, but decided not to press the subject any further. There was no use opening old wounds at the sake of damaged pride.  However, the subject of their initial awkward encounter was swept under the rug with Wildfire's offer to pass on a message to Pants... or to bring him there in person. While Reek could clearly see that the south may not have been as warmongering as previously thought, he still refused to spend any extra time below the mountains.  

"Thanks, but just tell him I swung by— and where I've ended up," he said, offering the youth a warm and grateful smile.  "I'd rather not stir anything up by sticking around too long."

Prepared to leave it at that, Reek was surprised when he heard his mate's name dropped in conversation. "I do know her," chimed Reek with a knowing grin. "In fact, I know her very well. She's my mate!" Reek hadn't the faintest idea how much Wildfire knew about his coleader and mate, but could only assume the information she was fed was biased at best. Especially coming from Saena's estranged parents.

Wildfire would be happy to pass along the message and would make sure to mention that to Reek at some point, though for now she was caught up in this revelation. Not only did he know Saena, they were evidently a mated pair! The youngster's brows nearly lifted off her face. Reek was older and homelier, but with a fantastic personality as far as she could tell. Meanwhile, Saena was young, pretty and sort of a bitch (not that Wildfire would every say that out loud). To be fair, she had only met her once and seen one of what was likely many of her half-sister's facets.

"She's my half-sister," Wildfire said, "although I don't know her well. I actually just met her maybe a week ago. She's not a fan of my parents... and she made that pretty clear. So I can't even say I got to know her or anything," the youth said truthfully, biting at her lower lip. Realizing the opportunity here, she asked, "Can you tell me more about her?" They were mates, so he not only knew her but presumably loved her, so hopefully Reek could tell her something positive about the indigo-eyed bobtail.

A wolf that was not liked among the redhead's pack and another being that wolf's mate. Of course it got Akela's attention. What he would do with such information  he did not know yet, but sometimes enemies of enemies could become allies. Burke had told him after all that they did not want to be friendly with other packs, but play with those was not out of the picture entirely. Everything could be useful at one point.  He was still debating to make his presence known or not. He was in great cover, listening to their conversation that would be dropped if he revealed himself now.  So he continued in spying on them, waiting patiently for the male's answer about the said Saena to then decide to step forward or leave like he came.

Wildfire's comment on being Saena's half-sister came as no surprise seeing as Reek had already been filled in on all the juicy bits of family drama by his wife herself. But, the fact that Saena had traveled so far south in the past week came as quite the opposite. She had explicitly stated she was going to the Plateau instead, but that was days travel in the other direction. Coming this far south was dangerous, especially for her. Reek scrunched his brow as he tried to wrap his mind around how his wife could be in two places at once. Obviously, the only logical answer was: she lied.

Reek wanted to sigh, but he hid his disappointment behind his trademark grin. He was no stranger to distortions of the truth, but when it came to his significant other, he tried to keep no secrets. Still, it wasn't the end of the world and Reek didn't wish to spoil the pups perception of her with his disappointment.

"She's great," he said happily, despite the hurt he felt. "She's uh, so driven, you know? I love that about her." The more he talked, the more he grinned. Obviously, he was still as smitten as he was in the beginning. "She knows what she wants and she's a great leader; a natural. Plus, she's got a smile that could light up a room. I wish you could get to know her. The real her."

Reek obliged her. It was clear from the way he talked, not to mention the look on his face, that he was rather taken with Saena. Are we related? Wildfire caught herself wondering, though she gently nudged that thought aside and paid close attention to his answer. Her tongue traced thoughtfully over her upper lip as he described a Saena so unlike the one she had met.

"I'd like to," she admitted. Wildfire rolled a red shoulder. Was Saena interested in getting to know her? She hadn't seemed to care about anything but Wildfire's parents the last time they'd met. "Maybe someday," she added vaguely, her amber eyes moving to a spot beyond the homely Reek's shoulder.

She stared vaguely for a moment, then her gaze sharpened. "Do you feel that?" she asked suddenly, ears falling back a bit as she scanned the immediate area. Wildfire's lips pursed, then she found herself gazing up at the nearby aquatic staircase. "I came here to explore. But now I have this funny feeling like I'm being watched. What about you?"

Time to move.  The wolf couldn't help but feel amused.  He knew the feeling of being watched. It could get you paranoid . That Wildfire was an observant one.  He knew his timing needed to be perfect. Appearing too soon and it would be suspicious, too late and he might not get the attention he wanted.  He liked dances like these, and maybe it was playing with fire, but it was just how he amused himself.  Taking advantage of the younger looking in the opposite direction, he swiftly turned back from where he came , to then make half of a loop and walk casually as if nothing had happened.  He stopped as he spotted the two wolves and lifted his head up.  "Euh ....Hi" he tilted his head.  "Is this a secret reunion spot I just stepped in ? Please don't tell me you two are going to play stick in tree with each other , I'll feel awkward for the rest of my life. " he spoke with humor, remaining at a safe distance.

He had gathered enough information for a day, now was time to see how the two would interact with him. Burke did advice him to not connect with other wolves, but he thought slightly different. Having a net of connexions he could pick from and use at times could be useful.

Despite Reek's usual situational awareness and typical genre savvy, he was completely oblivious to the fact that the duo were being watched in silence. Akela's scent had yet to cross Reek's nasal threshold. However, Wildfire seemed to pick up on something that Reek had overlooked. Whatever it was, intuition or whatever, Reek paid little attention to it. That isn't to say he didn't humor the youth in her discomfort. Reek replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders before turning around to see nothing.

See, nothing there, he almost consoled— that is, until he heard the voice of a stranger a good distance behind him. With eyes like saucers, Reek spun to face the new arrival in surprise. With all wolves he had yet to meet, Reek was generally war, but this was the South, meaning Reek was on extra alert. His hackles raised slightly as he assumed a more confident position, but after hearing his somewhat friendly (albeit awkward) introduction, Reek dropped his posturing.

"Stick in tree?" questioned Reek in confusion. "Fuck is that?" The distinct lack of context clues left Reek in the dark. But, whatever it was... it must have been awkward.

He didn't seem to share her concern, though before either one of them could say another word about it, a third wolf wandered onto the scene. Wildfire briefly wondered if he had been the one watching them, though the way he approached with such casual surprise made her brush away that possibility. Even as he strode nearer, her amber eyes flitted around, searching for whatever (or whoever) was watching them. Strangely, the feeling had disappeared and Wildfire's amber eyes slowly found their way to the stranger's face.

His comment made no sense to her. Wildfire's lips pursed and she glanced at Reek, who spat out a few choice words. Her eyes cut back to the scarred black stranger. Her red fur prickled. There was something about his scent that reminded her of something, though she couldn't put her finger on it. Moreover, she suspected he had just said something filthy, even though he hadn't used any coarse language at all. Her father had recently explained what an innuendo was to her; was that was this was?

Akela watched at both of them and pinched himself mentally really hard to NOT laugh more.  Their confusion was hilarious.  "Sorry, I'm Canadian, we say weird stuff. " he apologized. Even if he did not really mean it at all. Making others uncomfortable or go wtf was a way for him to assess what kind of personality he had in front of him. If one could take a joke or not.   "What I meant was , copulate together. " he spoke , leaving the metaphors aside.  "Secret lovers reunion , that kind of deal.  Not many come over here you know"  he explained and looked at both wolves.  "But obviously you're not doing that. " he finished with a smile.  

"My name is Akela.  I swear I'm only as weird as it gets now " he introduced himself.

Obviously, the stranger was either a terrible spy, or he possessed a horribly skewed sense of humor.  Reek quickly noted that it was the latter as Akela scrambled to explain his foreign phrasing.  Reek's initial suspicions had been confirmed; tree and stick was, in fact, a sexual innuendo. Face crinkling in disgust, Reek shot Akela a sinister glare.  In no way was Reek a stranger to offensive humor, but a fine line had been crossed by the stranger's comments.

"I don't care where you're from or what you call it," he snapped harshly before barring a set of menacing and crooked teeth. "She's a child."  Reek stepped forward and placed his body between the youth and the stranger like a skeletal wall. His hackles bristled sharply as he prepared his wiry frame for the worst.

"Fuck outa here, pervert," he spat with self righteous fury. There was nothing left to say. The stranger would get nothing more from Reek unless he left as fast as he had arrived.

Although his euphemism was ambiguous, Wildfire knew words like copulation and lovers. She felt an unpleasant heat crawl across her skin. Even as Reek reacted unfavorably toward the stranger, stepping in between them and urging him to get away, the juvenile felt slightly ill. The worst part was that the creep's comment made her feel suddenly weird about Reek, even though she knew he was her half-sister's mate (therefore her half-brother-in-law?) and there were absolutely no grounds for the comment. She just felt incredibly uneasy about the whole scenario.

"I'm out too," Wildfire mumbled in a breathy voice, trying not to look directly at either one of them. She paused, then eked out, "Uh, you can tell Saena I said hi, I guess. Bye, Reek." Quite awkwardly, the young Outrider then shuffled away, moving closer to the nearby waterfall in the hopes that it would look like she was just moving off to continue her explorations.

Thank you for having me as stalker *kisses and love*

Akela would have expected such a reaction. The male did not like his commentary, and he could gather why.  Not wanting to get into a fight or push matter further, he backed away.  " Fair enough"  he spoke and gave a nod. " I will leave...and wish you both a nice day" he spoke and turned away. He was such a little shit at times, he was too amused by what he had caused, both the awkwardness in the young one and the disgust in the Reek wolf , that it put him in a rather good mood.

He had successfully pissed someone to avoid them getting suspicous about what he was doing while both were talking, and had made the other uncomfortable enough for her to leave. That was quite impressive, even for him. His mouth would get him one day into deep troubles, he knew as much.

Akela's words obviously had quite the effect on little Wildfire, who slunk away at the earliest possible moment. Reek turned his head to watch the youth as she walked away and back toward the caldera before calling back, "I will. Goodbye Wildfire."  His little meeting would certainly be something to talk to Saena about anyways. After Wildfire had left the scene, Reek's attention snapped back to the stranger— who had also opted to leave.

"That's uh, that's probably best," Reek mumbled awkwardly before he himself turned tail to leave the Shy Deer Steppes and head northward.