Swiftcurrent Creek I could be a morning sunrise

Mornings had never been a time that Solène treasured, for they meant rising before the sun to join Theomund in his circuit of their little nest of thorns and dead trees - round and round, over and over - to build character, ma petit, to invigorate the mind and, ah, body... And she knew she hadn't imagined how his beady eyes roamed over her form, even when she was so young. He'd trained her to be elite, the Queen of Spies, and yet she'd foolishly never seen him for the snake he was.

So, as we were discussing, Solène could barely abide by mornings in general, and detested freezing ones in specific, and so had no good reason to feel as contented and light-hearted as the birds who nestled next to each other in the leafless trees, warbling their good mornings. And yet that is where we find her, wandering beside Swiftcurrent Creek in the morning mists that the February sunlight had yet to evaporate. Recently gone from Lethe's presence, Solène as of yet knew only her rank of Kappa, and little else of what role she might fill in this pack

Having never been expected to work for her rightful place among wolves, and yet simultaneously having been trained for many skills that Theomund had deemed necessary for her success as a leader - well, as the seductress of a prince, for he'd never meant her to live long enough to rule - Solène was blissfully free from any obligations on this single day. Perhaps for this single morning - in the afternoon she might occupy herself as pack wolves do, however that was. For now, she was simply free from the anxieties that plague the lone wolf in the wilderness, and free from the past that weighed heavy at times on her shoulders, with all of those might-have-beens and what-if-I's. Liberty was a glorious thing.

Fox, having somehow weaseled her way into the top ranks as the pack's new Delta, was feeling quite proud of herself. The only two wolves who were superior to her were Lethe, whom she had respect for, and Njal, who she could not quite figure out. It was fine by her. At least that death-smelling wolf was now below her (as he should be). As for the other wolves who resided in the creek's ranks, Fox didn't really care. They were all but strangers to her, and she did not give them a second thought.

Unlike her future acquaintance, Fox loved the crisp cold mornings. They reminded her of how good it was to be alive. The fact that she was feeling anything at all was a miracle (in the grand scheme of things). Of course, Fox did not understand the big bang theory or any of the science that went into how she was able to sense touch or cold or sound. Trotting out of her den, Fox made her way to the creek (as she did every morning). However, this morning would be a tad different than the past two.

As Fox neared the creek, she spotted somebody she had not seen before. The small red female raised her tail and fluffed the fur along her spine as she came closer to the new silver creek wolf, making sure the other girl knew her place. "New here?" she asked, looking her over. She was slender and small, with a build much like Fox. But she was less rough around the edges. Fox, on the other hand, was only planning on adding to her collection of scars.

Solène had never before had cause to consider her future. It had always been laid before her in no uncertain terms. She would snare Dover as her mate, and rise to Alpha Female alongside him, then depose the male and restore her Uncle Theomund to his rightful place as her advisor. Of course, it hadn't turned out that way, but even after all those plans went badly askew, Solène had been unable to consider the rest of her life as anything more than an abstract way -- eating, breathing, sleeping. But beyond that, she'd been unable to coagulate these necessities of life into an actual plan for her continued existence, and the concept of finding happiness had never occured to the girl. She was satisfied with contendness, as the highest form of happiness that she had ever yet experienced and therefore the only one she could aspire to.

Yet as they say, if you have no expectations, you will never be disappointed, and may, in fact, be surprised. So it was on this morning, when the presence of a small dark female went undetected by the fairer she-wolf until the other rerouted to approach Solène promptly and directly. The two-year-old paused in midstride to observe with emerald eyes the course of the other through the underbrush that clung to the creek's banks, dusted still with snow. The other female's posture was one of calm assertiveness, and instinct found Solène crouching slightly to lower herself, deflecting her gaze off to one side, and governing her tail's previously unrestrained swaying. She was surprised to find that her upbringing in Theomund's gaunt woodland home had not diminished her social instincts entirely.

"New here?" Solène stifled a small smile at the sheer understatement that this was, and replied, "Oui, citoyenne," the pale female said respectfully, her native French spilling easily from her tongue, before she lowered her head in a small show of sheepishness, "I am new to the pack and I 'ave not spoken anglais in some time. You will please forgive me, yes?" The lilt and cadence of her English was still decidedly French and might be seen as charming or obtuse, depending on the listener. "I am Solène de Joie," she introduced herself with a wolfish curtsy, and privately she wondered if she should continue using her surname in this new land. It was a mark of her illegitimacy, and yet she was inordinately fond of it. She glanced at this pack wolf who was still a stranger, curious to know if her reaction might give her some aid to decide if she should simply be Solène.

Pleased that the newcomer was respectful of her authority, Fox relaxed her posture. That was not to say that she allowed her posture to become the same as her new acquaintance. Instead, she lowered her tail a little bit, allowed her scruff to go smooth along her back. The words that her newfound pack-mate spoke were not ones she understood. It was a language she had never encountered before, having heard only English in her lifetime. Just as Fox was about to comment on that, the silvery female switched to something she could understand.

Her speech was... disjointed, in a way. It was understandable, though, which was really all Fox needed. The stranger introduced herself as Solene de Joie. With that simple action, the silvery female was a stranger no more. "I’m Fox," she replied, "And don’t worry about it." The Delta wagged her tail, assuring Solene that her words were true.

"I was about to grab some grub. You wanna help?" she asked. Early mornings were the best time for finding food. There was nothing quite like a fresh kill for breakfast.

We could make this into a pack hunt, if you wanted!

Solène flicked her ears towards the tawny female to catch her name. Fox was an unusual name and not at all feminine, she thought, but perhaps it was only a fitting nickname, due to the younger wolf's coloring. Yet the smattering of scars and scratches bespoke a rough-and-tumble lifestyle; perhaps Fox was a tomboy after all. Either way, Solène was delighted to have met a friend so soon. "Bonjour," she said. "It is nice to meet you, Fox. Are all pack wolfs such early risers? And now you say we shall find grubs?" Solène was blissfully unaware of her poor pluralization, and perplexed by Fox's idiom. Tilting her head thoughtfully as she tried to recall her uncle's dull and frustrating language lessons, she queried, "The early bird gets the worm, no?"

Quite seriously, she contemplated this prospect, for though Theomund had been a poor hunter and her younger self had subsisted on squirrels, rabbits, and rats, she had never sunk to the level of upturning the dirt in search of invertibrates, and wasn't about to start doing so with half-frozen winter ground. "Perhaps," Solène suggested delicately, her eyes downcast to avoid the suggestion that she was discarding her new packmate and superior's idea, "we could look for something a bit more substantial." The still of the morning meant that their every noise was audible, so stalking larger prey might be difficult, but the fog would provide the element of surprise. Solène knew how to plan such a hunt, but was woefully inexperienced in its execution, so she hoped that the much more senior pack wolf might take the lead.

mayhaps! i know njal was trying to get one together soon.

Well, this one certainly was a little chatter box. Full of questions, too. Fox was usually much too impatient for such creatures, but she felt pity for the poor illiterate thing. Putting on her "oh, honey," face, Fox began to explain her words a bit more clearly. "I don’t mean actual grubs," she replied, "Just food in general. It’s a phrase. Kinda like that bird one." Fox paused, trying to think of the best way to form her own words. Explaining that specific concept was much harder for Fox than it may have been for some others. She was quite simple-minded and relied on her physical rather than her mental strengths more often than not.

"‘The early bird gets the worm,’ is just a phrase that means, ‘If you jump on an opportunity before somebody else does, you’re more likely to reap the rewards.’" The Delta hoped that was a clear enough explanation. "I wouldn’t eat worms unless I was about to die," she added without a tone of sarcasm. "I think rabbit might do the trick this morning… unless you want to try and help me round up some of our other lazy bones pack-mates."

Solène suspected that perhaps Fox found her abysmal knowledge of English idioms amusing, but the Frenchwoman was undaunted. At least the small wolf's explanation was not too patronizing, though it was hard still for the de Joie female to read some of the nuances of emotion in the foreign tongue. Nevertheless, she brightened when Fox announced they would hunt rabbit this morning, unless Solène wanted to rally the pack for larger game. Not yet nearly ready to face the entire group of wolves that comprised her newly-chosen family, the silver wolf shook her head once to refuse the suggestion.

"I do not know the land, I do not know any others in the pack, it is quite early in the morning." The pallid female shrugged gently, delicately. "Non, rabbit will make a fine breakfast, Citoyenne Fox." Rabbit, at least, she knew how to hunt; the best chance was to corner them in their burrow, but second best was to lead the lapine into an ambush. Solène eyed the tawny female's svelte form and said, "You look fast. You chase, I catch?" It had been the opposite way back home, for Theomund was too lazy to expend the energy required to herd panicking rabbits into her waiting jaws. Solène would enjoy the literal change of pace.

Fox was fine enough with that answer, especially considering she was not always all that great with a bunch of others around. She tended to get a big head (when didn't she have a big head) and make an ass of herself. The Delta did not think that the time of day would make much of a difference to their adopted family, but she was not about to deal with a bunch of cranky wolves. Fox was always ready for adventure, but she knew that not everybody was like her. Hearing that Sol was a stranger to everybody else in the pack confirmed Fox's notion that she was newer than some of the others. It was all well and good; it just mean Fox could make a quick friend.

“Sounds like a plan,” she replied when Sol laid out the ground rules for who would do what. “What does that word mean?” she asked, “Citoyenne?” It must have been one of those not-English words, but Fox wanted to make sure it was not some insult. Not that she expected Sol to do such a thing. Maybe it was some kind of pet name. While she waited for the answer, she gestured for Sol to follow her toward the rabbit warren she had sniffed out a few days ago.

The two ventured toward the rabbit warren, but it seemed to have been found out by somebody else by the time they had gotten there. Disappointed, Fox bid farewell to Sol before trotting off in another direction.

Hey Sophie, I'm going to go ahead and archive this since it's pretty old now. If/when you bring Solene back, we should have another!