Bramblepoint You hold onto me, and I'll hold onto you

@Steady All my threads are crossing – will assume Fitz says it is ok for Mason/Steady to go gallivanting in our respective threads!

Mason has crossed all other thoughts from his mind besides this trip. They were intent on heading to the nearest pack – because Steady had no real knowledge of which ones had a healer (especially a good one) so they were going to test the waters. They met in the morning and wended their way across  territory at Mason’s pace. They stopped for a short break during the middle of the day at the edge of the hot springs, then ploughed on towards the Redhawk Caldera. This was a pack his Dad had talked about before – as it was a pack his Dad had been a part of before he founded Silvertip Mountain.

Mason was intrigued to find out what the wolves were like that his Dad used to know. Also he was interested to see the types of packland wolves could have besides mountains. Mason was in high spirits as they travelled far from his woes and his home, leaving Zaria and Fitz far behind. His Uncle had allowed him surreptitiously-guarded freedom, and Mason loved him for that. He chattered to the adult (who was really only a little over twice Mason’s age) about everything from his ambitions to his feelings, carefully leaving out anything to do with his parent.

When they neared the caldera’s territory, the two sensibly dwindled to a stop a safe distance away. The ghostly white-grey boy with brown and gray patches turned orange eyes on his uncle as he uncertainly gazed out across the terrain. “What do we do now, Uncle Stead?” Mason sought guidance, “do we howl?” it was getting late now and night had set in long ago thanks to the shorter days. They would certainly need to find somewhere nearby to rest if they couldn’t locate a pack member tonight.

Tagging a gew RHC members, in hopes they can pop in or spread the word, maybe? @Peregrine @Pantaleimon

Steady was glad to see that Mason seemed to be recovering well from his heartbreak, and he was more than willing to give him a reason to focus his attention on something other than the relationship his Dad had with his crush. Steady felt it was a good opportunity for Mason to work on his skills and build himself up.

He was hesitant about leaving the pack, but with his brother's permission, they headed out on the journey to find knowledge. Steady allowed Mason to veer the conversation whichever way he liked, while Steady set a path to visit their first pack, a pack Fitz had suggested since he had been apart of it before. He hoped they wouldn't run into any problems, whether it be on their way, or when they knocked on the door of a stranger's pack. He supposed it was a little odd what they were doing, but Mason would not learn what he needed to any other way.

As they approached the borders, still keeping a safe distance, Steady came to a slow stop, his eyes scanning the area. His ear turned towards Mason, letting his nephew know he heard him while he considered their options. The sun had set a while ago, and he feared it was too late tonight to call for someone. If he woke them up, they may not be in such a good mood. Turning to Mason, he said, "I think we should pick a spot to sleep for the night, and howl first thing in the morning. I don't want to disturb them tonight," he said. "What do you think?" he asked, valuing his nephew's opinion.

Mason did take note that Steady – whilst providing a different option for how they would approach the ‘knock at the door’ – still asked for his young nephew’s opinion. He was fast becoming the favourite uncle, and a role model for Mason to look up to. Someone like his Dad in a way, but also youthful and still down with the kids.

Mason nodded enthusiastically, still hyped up from being so far from home. Luckily homesickness didn’t even seem an option at this point. “YeOOoah, that’s a good idea! Then they won’t be grumpy, hopefully.” Mason grinned. He looked around. They were safely far enough from the borders that no wolves should bother venturing out to see what they were up to even if their scent drifted in on the wind. A kilometre or two away as the crow flies. Behind them ranged the first line of guardian trees back into Bramblepoint, straggling on the borders against a backdrop of thick canopies. 

“Look, we’ll go back to one of those big trees, then we get outta the wind!” Mason waited for affirmative before bounding back towards the trees with boundless energy. He had always found nooks and hidey holes at Silvertip and this forest was much more of a wealth of such places than a sparse mountain. He dived in and out of the nearest trees once he reached them, making sure Steady was nearby, until he found a nice cross of two tree trunks and a few bushes – they could nestle snugly between them with little likelihood of wind or rain touching their fur.

He stood by his find and called his Uncle over.

Mason was accepting of Steady's plan, for which he was grateful. He really didn't want to howl for someone this late and take the chance of angering the pack before they even asked for their help. His nephew immediately took to the task of finding a spot to sleep for the night, smartly looking to the forest in the opposite direction of the pack. It wasn't smart to sleep on their borders if they didn't know the pair was here.

Steady trotted along, letting Mason take the lead. He was glad his nephew seemed to be having a good time on their adventure. Steady also wondered if maybe he was recovered from his recent heartbreak, but he wasn't going to bring it up to find out. Mason seemed cheery, and that was enough for Steady.

His ears perked when Mason called him over. Steady trotted over to him, and looked over the proposed sleeping spot. The older male nodded quickly, This will do perfectly! Good job, Mason! he exclaimed. Want to go in first? He waited for Mason's reply, then tucked himself into the spot, curling up to go sleep. He didn't sleep deeply that night, however, his ears on alert for anything that might be out of place.

Morning came soon enough, and Steady nudged his nephew awake before crawling out of their sleeping spot, stretching his muscles and shaking out his fur. Alright! he said excitedly. Lets get this party started! Making sure Mason was ready, they headed for the pack's borders, making sure to stop a respectable distance away. He didn't want to get them mistaken for trespassers. Lifting his muzzle, he howled for anyone who might be able to assist them.

Mason dropped close to Steady to sleep. His grey-white fur melded with his Uncle’s black. He took comfort in another being so close, after he had estranged himself so readily. It didn’t feel like long before morning broke, because for all his excitement, the long trip had worn him out.

He woke with bubbles of happiness flooding his soul. He grinned at Steady’s exclamation, made a few excited yips and then they headed to the border. Mason stood next to Steady, small and spritely. He lifted his muzzle and joined his Uncle’s howl, ready for a healer to materialise beside them.

Mason joined him in calling for someone from the pack. Their voices died down and Steady looked around a moment before turning his gaze to his nephew. I guess the only thing to do now is wait... he said. He wasn't sure how long it would take, but he was a patient wolf.

Wanting to help pass the time, he asked, Do you know what kind of information you're looking for? He supposed Mason may have had an idea of the questions he was going to ask. Steady sure didn't know since he had never been a caretaker or healer.

If Mason had expected a healer to materialise before them and begin to spout wisdom (which he did) then he was going to be sorely disappointed from first glance. When a minute had passed, and Mason was shifting around anxiously, his Uncle took pity on him and questioned him. Ah, something to focus on. Fidgetbum turned to Steady and thought about what he needed to know. Everything? 

“I think I’d wanna ask first about blood. Like how many kinds there are, and how much we have. Cos if it leaks out… like when you get cut… do we grow more? Or do we have lots and if we lose it all we die?”

Mason was essentially testing his question out on Steady, but he didn’t expect his Uncle to have any more clue than he did. After all, that was why they were here! He settled the question in his mind and then decided an easy way to while away the time. “What is your idea of a question? What would you want a healer to know if they was healin’ you?”

Steady looked a little confused when he nephew began talking about blood and what he wanted to ask. As he wasn't a healer himself, he never thought about concerning himself with blood loss. He had also never been injured where he bled a lot. Mason explained, though, and he nodded his understanding. That does seem like a good thing to know. I never would have thought about it, he admitted.

Steady thought for a moment about what he would ask, reaching back into his memories. Well, recently, I did have a cut going down my thigh. It wasn't bad, and didn't bleed much, but maybe you can ask what can be used on those to help them heal, and not get infected. He had been lucky that his healed well. He wasn't sure if it was the plant Cho used on it, or if it was just because it wasn't a deep cut.

Steady looked around to see if any pack members were coming, but he didn't see anyone. It confused him, as he had never been in this situation before. If the pack was, in fact, busy, he didn't want to howl again and distract them from what they were doing. He looked to Mason with a frown. Maybe we should try another pack, he suggested gently. He didn't want to dash his nephew's hopes, but they could always try a nearby pack instead.

[size=small][size=small]I can’t view the map at work, is there another pack nearby we can aim for from Bramblepoint, or shall we end this thread and have another based around the same time near a different pack? Sorry I’ve been a bit slow, I should pick up soon when my desktop computer is set up at home <3[/size][/size]
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Steady accepted the game with a bit less gusto than Mason. He focused on an actual injury he had had and advised Mason to ask what had helped to heal it. Whilst this was a good thing to know, and a thing Mason did want to know, it didn’t really explain a new facet of healing. It wasn’t something Steady had thought about that he would really want to know, simply a wondering of how healing working in general.[/size]
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Mason huffed a sigh in response to his Uncle’s frown. After a short breath of silence Steady suggested moving on. Any weariness that had returned after the excitement had dimmed down now evaporated. So what if this pack refused to answer their borders (how did they keep going without fresh blood?) – they would find one that did! “Yeah! Which other packs can we go to? A good one!”[/size]

Gonna archive this here since we have a new thread <3

Steady thought for a moment as they turned to leave the pack lands. I'm not sure yet. Why don't we go back home and ask around to see where we can go next? he suggested. He knew Mason probably didn't want to wait any more than he already had to learn his wanted trade, but Steady didn't want to go visiting pack lands if he knew nothing about them.

He would do his best to gather some better information on the packs so that this hiccup didn't happen again.