Moonspear Changing me

Wildfire did not make decisions impulsively, particularly life-changing ones. So it went with her trades. She went back and forth in her head quite often, just like she had with moving here to Moonspear. But this time, she wasn't going to let someone else force her hand. She was going to make a decisive choice, then own it. In fact, she was pretty sure she had arrived at a final decision with where she wanted to take her trades. Having just stepped up as the pack's Eta, there was no time like the present to formally declare her occupations.

The newly minted adult chose an outcropping just above the sparse treetops of the forest, one small red paw resting on two large, lean rabbits she had killed earlier this morning. Wildfire tipped her head back into the air, tentatively requesting @Charon or @Amekaze to come see her if they could spare the time. She wanted to announce her intentions to her leadership directly if possible. Sucking in a quiet breath, she sat back and waited.

Sky bombing in! :P

The weather seemed a little clam today, as if it was peaceful here. Maybe it was for now, He questioned himself on a dream he half remembered. There was a battle that he just couldn't stop no matter how hard he tried. That's how it appeared, The situation in the dream was a bit unusual but there had to be a better way to resolve the problem. But having been awake for a while now he managed to forget most details. Maybe he would get a second chance just so he could find a better plan to stop a battle. Then again maybe he had the same dream before, but he couldn't remember those.

At least it was just a dream. It's not like something of the sort would happen. Even if it did, he should be able to prevent it. His thoughts were interrupted by a call. It was for sure that it didn't concern him but he just felt like going to see what was going on. With Rain not able to do much it left Nishu spending a little too much time without any duties besides protecting. Could easily say that he's been getting bored lately.

He showed up almost causally, not really knowing what to expect besides meeting someone. It was Wildfire, She seemed a little nervous which left Nishu a little curious. Remembering their last encounter she did seem a bit strange. Was she going to finally say what was bugging her from the start? He wasn't going to hide and just listen and watch. So spoke to signal her attention. "Greetings, Wildfire. I just happen to be nearby." And that was all he had in mind, what else could he say really. He sat down basically stating that he wanted to stay a while and listen or just talk before the others she wanted to actually see came. He was bored, anything seemed a little interesting.

The wolf that strolled into view was neither Charon nor Amekaze. It was the pack's Kappa, Nishu. Wildfire's lips pursed, wondering what he wanted even as she dropped her eyes and lowered her head. He explained that he he had been nearby. Perhaps he was just curious. The young Eta looked down at the paw still resting on the dead rabbits and her clutch tightened slightly.

"Hi, Nishu," she replied, tone friendly despite her inner misgivings about this particular wolf. "Have you seen Charon or Ame around? I was hoping to talk to one or both of them." Wildfire hadn't thought about the possibility but she didn't necessarily want any other witnesses. Her trades were not a private matter but when it came to discussing them with the leadership, it was nobody else's business. And as for the rabbits, well... they were reserved for the Alphas for a very particular reason.

She could have hinted that she would prefer her privacy, though Wildfire supposed she didn't mind talking to him in the meantime. Surely the Alphas themselves would request he leave them alone once they arrived. For now, she asked him conversationally, "How're you today?"

Nishu just recently noticed the rabbit wildfire caught. He quickly assumed that it was a gift for someone. Obviously it wasn't for him. Instead it was for the leaders which is understandable. But only thing that would really bother him is if Charon was the one to receive it. Nishu continued to believe that Charon should not be in the Alpha position. He is far too young and inexperienced. The chances of him making a bad decision is quite high. All Nishu wanted was to prevent Charon from failure due to the inexperience. The Alpha position has huge responsibilities, failure could cost the lives a several wolves. With bears roaming free nearby that moment may come soon. At least Amekaze was also a leader. One that Nishu can trust. He wondered what she was planning. There was one question he would ask her and that would be about Charon.

He started looking around. Wondering which one show up first. He was hoping for Amekaze to appear instead of Charon. "I haven't seen them today but if Amekaze showed up I would want to speak with her." He said calmly. For now just having a chat seemed like fun. It should kill a bit of boredom. "I'm a bit bored. Haven't had anything interesting to do besides trying to find where the bears are. At least they aren't somewhere nearby." He paused for a moment and then returned the question. "What about you? Planning on giving a gift?" He asked. Then he thought of another possibility. "Or are you going to try to bribe them?" He said chuckling a little at the end. Then he realized that maybe it wasn't a bad idea. "Well, that could actually help buy a little extra audience  time, Maybe I should go hunt a rabbit as well."

It wasn't often that someone rubbed Wildfire the wrong way, though his declaration about wanting to speak with Ame did just that. Couldn't he seek out the Alpha female on his own time instead of horning in on her meeting...? Of course, she didn't say this out loud, though her brow furrowed. Said furrow deepened when he reminded her of the bears, which made her recollect his behavior at the recent confrontation. It slowly dawned on her that she didn't particularly like this wolf. She had never actively disliked anyone and the feelings he bred in her were as foreign as they were unpleasant.

Nishu kidded her about her gifts, or her bribes as he made them out to be. Whatever dislike she felt, she was not one to anger easily, nor say rude things, especially to a superior. "I'm going to take up hunting, so I want to show them that I've already started to sharpen my skills," Wildfire replied, somehow smoothing the stiffness out of her voice before the words sprang from her tongue. "That's a good idea, though," she added, secretly hoping Nishu would go off to hunt, giving the Alphas enough time to show up and chat so that by the time he returned, she had completed her business with the leading pair.

Hunting? Sharpening her skills? Now he understood. Wildfire planned on being a hunter and wanted to make that official to the Alpha. In his opinion that was a good place to start for someone young. He would easily approve. She would surely become useful to the pack if she worked hard. Nishu was good at taking creatures down but his tracking wasn't good.

"You wish to be a hunter? So the rabbit you have there is to show your potential, right?" then he nodded. "I'm sure you'll turn out to be a great hunter." He believed that it was fully possible for her to do so and would encourage it.

Maybe he shouldn't have joked on bribing. The strange habit of of seeing every gift as a bribe seemed like it would never fade. Even though out of all that it wasn't something a Knight would ever do. But still there was a thought that maybe it could be useful to bribe. The only problem is that it wasn't reliable no matter what was given but that's what made it funny. It's a gamble on trust which is something just to risky to use.

"Even if it was a good idea, It's not something I would depend on. What if they had already eaten something? Anyway, What you have is much more reliable. It's proof of your potential. Tell me, why would you like to be a hunter? I'm just curious. If you want you can just save the answer for later." He wondered about why just out of curiosity. Just to see what drives her to be a hunter. It would determine how far she would go.

She had said as much, though Wildfire nodded patiently when Nishu pressed her about her potential as a hunter. She gave him a small smile when he spoke optimistically of her skills. She was pretty confident she would do well too. She was showing an aptitude for capturing small game like these rabbits here in particular, though she had dabbled in all the prey types and aspired to be a well-rounded huntress.

Despite being the one to mention it, it didn't seem like Nishu actually intended to go hunt. Instead, he fired more queries her way, wanting to know why she hoped to become a hunter. Although she wished her Alphas would show up already, she humored him by taking his question seriously. She shook her head lightly when he said she could tell him later, holding up a single toe as if to say, Give me a minute.

After a beat of contemplative silence, she answered, "I get a feeling of satisfaction when I make a kill, then put that kill in the stockpile, knowing I'm feeding somebody. I don't really know where it came from. My dad's a hunter but I never really showed interest when I was in his pack. It was only when I came here that I began to get interested in it. I'm pretty good at it and I enjoy it, which makes it feel less like a job and more like fun. Plus, it's fun to monitor my own progress."

Nishu didn't really expect a full answer. As he listened to her he was glad to hear a worthy reason, or at least an understand one. Any sort of thrill should be embraced if there is some good use out of it. Thrill of the hunt, not exactly as common as one would expect. Wolves were all hunters but only because it's necessary. So Wildfire would have the true potential to become a great hunter. As long as she continues to walk on the bridge of motivation she shouldn't have any trouble.

"Understandable, you know most great wolves begin as you do. They follow their hearts and make use of it. From the sounds of it, it seems like you carry the hunter's thrill." He paused for a moment. "My thrill comes from battle. Nothing beats having to go all out in a fight. But there is one downside, over time you get better and need greater challenges. There is a risk of being unsatisfied or bored."

The ones Wildfire has been waiting for has yet to show up. Maybe they were busy or simply not close by. It felt like he shouldn't leave until someone else showed up. He didn't really have anything else to do, well nothing interesting.

He threw out the term hunter's thrill, then mentioned he got the same thing from battling. That might explain his behavior when confronted by the bears. It made Wildfire think about her own Warrior trade, which she would be dropping. Once upon a time, it had been very important to her, just like Naturalist. But as she had changed and grown—and made the move here—her priorities had shifted too. The call of battle wasn't hers to answer any longer. She would serve her new pack in other ways.

"Do you think I'll get bored as I get better at hunting, until I'm satisfied with nothing less than killing a bull moose all by myself?" Wildfire joked good-naturedly. She shrugged her shoulders lightly, then added, "It seems like Charon and Ame must be out of earshot. If they're not going to come to me, I'm going to go to them." This was too important to put off for another day. She would track down at least one of the Alphas by day's end, no matter what it took. "Thanks for the chat, Nishu, and the feedback. I'm sure I'll see you later."

Before he could invite himself along on her search, Wildfire swiftly plucked up the pair of rabbits and began traipsing down toward the forest, where she would start her search near the borders. Nothing would stop Nishu if he tried to follow her, though she hoped he wouldn't. She just wanted to speak to her leaders privately, make sure she let them know what was going on with her trades and that she just wanted to figure out her niche in order to give back the most to Moonspear.

"Yes." He answered to her joke. Usually when one pushes themselves the same challenge won't be enough for improvement if repeated. Wildfire still had plenty of time before she reaches that point. It wasn't something to worry about for now. It also shouldn't be his problem but he always felt the need to 'guide' those that's younger than him. A Knight did have to keep order and make sure the risk of chaos is avoided.

Nishu did believe Charon carries one of those risk of bringing chaos. There would be no intentions of causing trouble but accidents are more likely to happen if preparations haven't been met. Maybe he could take advantage of the bear situation and put Charon to the test. He'd prefer not to do this and just try to take care of the bears himself but this would be for a greater good.

Wildfire had gone off faster than he realised that he didn't really get a chance to say good bye. Nishu had a goal now. Right now he should focus on finding the bears and then try to have Charon encounter just one of them. He would need to pull in other members as well. The risk seemed worth it, He could test Charon abilities as an Alpha and if things were to turn for the worst he would be able to prove that Charon is not worthy of his position. This plan would deal with both problems so it was time to put it to work.