Lost Creek Hollow My Winter Flower

@Misty :)

Siku felt like the meeting with Ancalagon and Mordecai had gone well, he was a member of the pack! After taking a bite to eat from a nearby cache he was shown, Siku felt like his next order of business was to find some shelter and rest. Siku began sniffing about the forest floor searching for a suitable hole that he could claim as his own. Unfortunately the snow was making it difficult to get any definite smells, everything smelled wet and the ground was permeated with a small layer of ice that made it difficult to dig anyplace that felt like could be promising. Despite the snow and the continued burning sensation in his back, Siku was excited, even running around the forest floor and crashing into snow banks and generally acting like a pup, "I found wolves! They even accepted me into a pack!". Siku felt like his day couldn't get any luckier at all, even the snow that lightly began to fall couldn't dampen his spirits there was just too many new and exciting things to explore and be happy about.

While romping through the snow he had picked up several scents of what he assumed were his fellow pack mates, it was getting increasingly easier to identify wolf smell now he knew what to look for. One smell stood out as being fresher and nearer but Siku was having much too good a time to notice, with a few excited yips he dashed straight toward the biggest snow bank yet, braced against his back legs and took a flying leap into the piled snow.

edited to coincide with actual events ;)

Misty had been padding through the snow, practicing her tracking. Snow would make it harder to hunt, especially since she had sensed a rough winter. She didn't know how long the snow would stick around, but she wanted to be prepared. Just in case. As she tracked an old trail of a rabbit, her sensitive ears perked, hearing snow crunch not far from where she stood. She started to lower her body, getting defensive, but stopped herself as the scent reached her nose. It's just a packmate. She thought to herself. She followed the scent and laid on her stomach in the snow, a good couple of meters from her packmate. She watched him play around in the snow, chuckling a little to herself. She didn't really know him that well, he was newer than she was, and they hadn't even been formally acquainted yet, so she didn't know his name and she was sure he didn't know hers. She stood up and walked towards him, stiopping about a meter away. "Having fun?" She asked, a little mockery and teasing showing in her voice.

Siku watched the white wolf approach from the awkward position of lying on his back in the snow but, remembering the exchange he had with Mordecai, immediately rolled onto his haunches and assumed an appropriately submissive stance. Siku was still very happy from being a part of the pack though and especially at meeting someone new so soon after being accepted so he still had a grin on his face and especially after hearing the teasing tone in the female wolf's voice he knew that he was going to like her.

"Absolutely! My name's Siku, I was only just accepted as a part of the pack and I guess some of my excitement got away from me." Siku stood, managing to also keep his head low, and moved toward the female wolf and began smelling her fur and mentally adding her scent to his slowly expanding list of packmates. Once he'd gotten her scent he sat again, a little closer than before, and asked, "I got a chance to eat, but would you happen to know where any good places to stay would be or anyone that wouldn't mind taking me in for a few days? I'll probably be gone a lot scouting so I won't be much of a nuisance." Siku didn't mind sleeping out in the snow until he'd found a place but frankly he was tired of it and secretly he hoped that the wolf would offer to let him stay with her. Siku's logic was that if he had someone to stay with for a couple days he would learn a lot more about wolf "culture" than if he was on his own, but deep beneath all that he was beginning to develop feelings for the beautiful white female that was standing before him.

"I guess you should also know that I'm a coywolf, I've never lived around any wolves before in my life but I'm looking forward to learning and being a contributing factor to this pack." Siku knew it probably wasn't necessary but he felt that he should explain his history for some reason, he didn't want to sour any new friendships by holding any information back.

Misty blushed a little when he got into a submissive stance. She had never had anybody do that in front of her, specifically. "No need for such formalities. I mean we are packmates after all, it's not like I'm a high rank wolf." she said, reverting to her shy self a little bit. She sat down across from him, her pure white tail falling over her small paws. She listened to his story and request intently, blushing even more as he finished. "You could...stay with me....if you want of course. My den is pretty big, and I haven't really made any true friends besides Luke, but he's usually to busy to come and hang out with me." she admitted bashfully. She raised a brow when he mentioned he was a coywolf. She had heard much about them and had even met a few when she was a loner. She wasn't surprised when he said he didn't really know much about wolves. Most coywolves she had met did better on their own and had no use for packs. She admired his bravery to try out living in a pack, as she had done. Maybe, despite their difference in origins, they might have more in common than either of them realized.

Siku couldn't remember the last time that he'd been this happy, he'd just joined a pack and already was making fast friends with the others within it. Siku was grateful that the exquisitely white female wolf had said that he didn't need to be so formal, he would've just about burst with joy and excitement! Siku quickly jumped to his feet and almost ended up back in the snow bank again from how quickly his tail was wagging, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I was afraid that I was going to be out in the snow for a couple days before I found a place to stay! I can't tell you how grateful I am."

Siku smiled, he had seen her blushing a few times and noticed her shyness, he was extremely glad to have met her first as opposed to meeting a more domineering/spar focused wolf. In the few short minutes they'd been talking he already felt more welcome than he had since joining, which maybe wasn't impressive because she was the first wolf that he had met but it was still very important to Siku. It began to snow lightly and Siku had been in the cold a very long time already, "If you wouldn't mind I'd like to get someplace warm, we can talk while I follow you back to your den", Siku smiled charmingly "You can tell me all about life here in the pack and all about you, I enjoy listening to you. I be you've got some really good stories as well." Siku stood and prepared to follow.....Siku looked into her eyes, "What was your name? I don't think I heard it."

Misty's eyes widened as she blushed with embarrassment, realizing she hadn't told the coywolf her name yet. "I'm Misty." she said shyly. The wolf was cute, she had to admit, but she didn't know if he had the same feelings for her. She got to her paws. "Of course, right this way. I'm on the far edge of camp since I'm more used to being a loner than a pack wolf." She led Siku through the territory towards her den, unable to control her blushing as he gave her more compliments. "Well, I would love to tell you stories of my adventures, but I would love to learn more about you, Siku. What's it like being a coywolf?" she asked sweetly.