Bitterroot Valley drifting, drifting, drifting

It was sweet to think that so cold a breeze could be so gentle. The wind came from the North, bone-chilling and dry, and swept up the short grey fur of Lucani, from her elegant paws all the way up her towering form. She stood with her muzzle to the wind, looking regal for a moment though on the inside she was humble. Her sense of smell was on high alert, silently searching the afternoon for the scent of a rare moss that would make an excellent addition to her new cache of medicinal plants.

But there was no such moss to be found. She was unsurprised. It was rare, and the Winter was unrelenting. But the day was beautiful nonetheless, the pale golden sun high and blazing, the cold sky blue above the great ragged landscapes beyond Sleeping Dragon. Lucani had very recently joined the new pack upon the mountain called Sleeping Dragon, but was currently beyond its borders.  Thuringwethil had introduced her to young Snacha, and the pack showed signs of growing further. Lucani was looking forward to that.

After all, socialisation was her lifeblood. She was fine with wandering the land alone, seeking herbs and plants as she was doing now, but most of time she preferred being in the company of others. Drinking in their personalities, admiring their characters, helping where she could and being a part of their stories. Stories were happening all the time. In fact, a new one began at this very moment as a shift in the wind caused a snowdrift in the fir tree above her — and sent a whole barrage of snow landing — flump — right on her head.

I'd love for @Snacha to hop in at some point if available, but the more the merrier!

I'm going to set this after Scarlett's death for timeline sake.

Ukko just keeps walking once he’s left the borders, wandering with no direction in particular. Scarlett’s death hadn’t settled well in his stomach, debating whether or not he should go back and say his final peace or help bury or find Tavi but none of them flash to him as the right thing to do. So, he keeps walking.

He nearly misses the other wolf until a flash of snow catches his eye and he turns to see clumps on the woman’s head as she recovers.  

And he laughs.

It starts off small, a chuckle that only billows smoke in front of his face but it grows and he feels sick to his stomach. He shakes his head and taking a breath helps the feeling for a moment as the laughter fades. Ukko takes a moment to look back over to the tawny woman, his smile turning sheepish: “Sorry.”

The snow was blinding white, but as it temporarily blinded her all she saw was black. Mmph! she gasped as the coldness reached her ears and the weight of it lowered her head, but in seconds Lucani slipped out of her sudden trap and shook her head thoroughly. As she did so, she could've sworn she heard a deep chuckling...

And when she opened her eyes, blinking away excess snowflakes, she was met with a chap who quickly apologised for his laughter. Unfortunately, Lucani didn't really have a sense of humour, so what could've been a comical moment between strangers just turned out to be a bit awkward. But on the other paw, she wasn't a proud sort, so wasn't embarrassed by his laughter.

I don't mind, she forgave him quickly, and then squinted up at the tree branches from which the snowdrift had whomped. Four years of knowing snowy Winters, you'd think I'd have slightly better reflexes...

The other wolf turned out to be okay and his smile brightened, thankful the snow hadn’t caused too many problems. She even goes as far out to forgive him for laughing and he shakes his head, warding it off. “I guess there isn’t much hope for me, then?” he offers, taking a few steps to cross the distance to the stranger. Her scent is unfamiliar to him but there is a mix to hers that makes him think pack but it’s not strong so he keeps his assumption quiet.

“I’m Ukko. From Phoenix Maplewood,” he introduces and points his nose the way he’d come. He looks down the trail of his own footsteps and closes his eyes. He could not return to his home and not deal with what is going on but he shakes the thought and returns his gaze.

Being that they were fairly close to Sleeping Dragon territory, there was a quiet instinct dwelling low in Lucani right now, tempting her into being territorial, but she didn't succumb to it. This male was no threat at the moment, and they were still a fair distance from the borders. Her instinct was subconscious — on the surface of her mind she was feeling nothing but amicable at the moment, albeit still a touched embarrassed about being snowed on.

Lucani, she responded as Ukko introduced himself. She felt a tangible spark of interest in her chest. A new wolf to learn about. And, not only that, but a new pack to learn about. I'm a newcomer to the Wilds — I recently joined the Sleeping Dragon pack, which is young but promising.

She paused to shake a further few specks of snow from her head. They were melting upon her coarse fur. Have you been at Phoenix Maplewood long?

Lucani introduces herself but as she continues to talk, the confusion sets into his features. Ukko isn’t one to leave the safety of his pack too much but lately he’d been venturing out a little more. The north and eastern parts are largely unexplored by the dark male but, as far as he’d been aware, they were the farthest pack out this way that isn’t on the coast. His brows twitch and he doesn’t try to mask his concern.

Young, but promising.

Ukko slowly nods, easing his expression to something neutral again. “A few months now, I suppose. How long has Sleeping Dragon been claimed?” 

He blows past the details about himself to learn about this other pack. The wolves back at his home would need to know, not realizing Reek had been out here the day before making an agreement. He stores the information away, hoping Lucani can offer something good he can bring back to present to the alphas that will help ease his path to end his retribution.

Ukko answered her question obligingly enough, but then proceeded to change the subject back to Sleeping Dragon. But while Lucani did like to speak of her new pack — she was proud to be a part of it, after all — she had plenty of opportunity in her new life to do so. Conversely, this was perhaps the only time she'd be able to learn about this swarthy wolf with the charred orange eyes. Learning about him would be a challenge...

And she accepted it.

Sleeping Dragon is in the early stages of being inhabited by a pack, she replied. Once we've marked the territory sufficiently, my Alphas will howl their claim. You may even hear it, she added. Lucani didn't know where Phoenix Maplewood was, but even if it were far away Ukko might hear the Queens howl, such would be the sound's distinctness.

From here, Lucani left Ukko room to ask more questions if he desired. She planned to turn the subject back to him, but she knew patience and she knew it well.

She explains the pack is new, forming their borders as they speak and recruit wolves. There weren’t a lot of wolves that came through this area, but they’d had an influx of members lately that it doesn’t surprise him there is one forming. They’d be their closest neighbors and the concern for how they’d hunt and share the neutral territories. He tucks it away; the woman in front of him isn’t one of the alphas making their claim.

“I see,” he murmurs to himself, trailing off his attention to process what he’d been told. He’d have to tell Reek, but showing up empty handed might not be the way to go. “What else can you tell me?” he asks with a slight tilt of his head, returning his attention to Lucani. 

Lucani wasn't a naturally cynical wolf, but she was intelligent, and that was enough for her to realise that Ukko — pleasant though he was — likely wasn't just a passerby curious of his new neighbours. He was specifically asking for information about the pack. So far, Lucani had only told him what he would be able to tell himself by scent and howl, but she preferred not to relay any details about the pack without the permission of her Alphas.

It depends what else you'd like to know, neighbour, she settled on. Though you should probably be aware that I won't be sharing any pack information that my Alphas haven't already given me leave to share.

She doesn’t give him much information he can use—she didn’t give him anything at all—and he rolls his shoulder in irritation. He could feel himself going through the motions of an emotion that rarely came to him but he’d been overwhelmed the last few weeks. Ukko takes a long breath and holds it, nodding his head as he tries to settle his voice before trying something else.

“Who are the alphas?” he asks though he doubts he’d know them. He didn’t get out too much and the only one he can think of is Capri but she had her pack on the mountains to their east. He opens his jaw to ask another question but he’s uncertain, throwing darts at balloons when he tries to find a question he thinks he can ask. “Are you a leader?”

The male's irritation was fairly clear to the perceptive Lucani, but she didn't mind really — she was a patient wolf, and could understand his frustration anyway. She was being quite steady and fair with her stream of knowledge, not pouring it upon him like a convenient fountain.

Two healthy young females lead this pack; neither of them are me. Again, Ukko would probably be able to figure this out for himself when he eventually heard their strong howls of claim. But this all seems a bit one-sided to me, she observed. What can you tell me of Phoenix Maplewood?

The wolf doesn’t give him any information in her answers, vague and beating around the bush. His frustration only increases, trying to figure out a way around her system of answers to get the most out of it. Ukko wants to ignore the question she gives him, mimicking his own a few minutes before, and for a moment he does, leaving a silence between them. If he had to pick and choose through topics, so would she have to.

“It is led by two alphas,” he counters, though it seems strange to him Lucani emphasized they were both women. He’d never heard of such a thing but his time with other packs had been limited. Ukko supposes it isn’t too radical an idea. “I am their beta,” he says, though hesitating in his words, doesn’t exactly feel confident anymore introducing himself as such.

Had Lucani — like Ukko — been on a quest for information, she would not have been very interested in what he was telling her. Two Alphas was not a special thing, though she supposed his rank was somewhat curious. The pack's second surely should have been leading hunts and analysing the potential of loners, not trailing around for information. But all packs worked in different ways, and Lucani could respect that without judging it.

Ah. And you're keen to come back to them with some useful intel, she concluded sympathetically.

He remains quiet even when she speaks, addressing the goal he had in mind. Her tone didn’t sit well with him and he rolls one shoulder back, pivoting away as if he were going to leave her behind. He didn’t have much information other than what she’d managed to give and he doesn’t know if Reek or Saena would be pleased enough with that information. Either way, he would need to return what he could.

“I should go,” he finally manages, and quickly shuffles into a brisk trot away.

sorry he is a grump :0

Hehe. <3

Lucani gave a nod of farewell and moved to depart in turn. It had been a hard, awkward meeting, but not uninteresting — albeit not quite as interesting as Ukko had perhaps hoped.