Sunset Valley when you were mine, the world seemed to burn

With Gyda home again, things were falling into place. She was settling in once again and her scent around the territory was becoming more prominent and mixed in with the others. It is much more comforting than she'd thought it would be but it only propels them forward in their claim. With minimal trouble along their borders, adding an additional dominant wolf will only keep them safer.

Thuringwethil moves easily through the territory until she reaches the peak of their smell, locating one of the males kept at bay to inform them of her plans. With her companion home, she doesn't stress about leaving the territory for too long. Snacha and Lucani have done well maintaining in her absence but she'd only take a few hours at a time. She's able to get a few miles under her feet to explore her surroundings and really learn what she's up against. The valley she finds look promising. The slopes are not tiresome and there are sources of water available that, while frozen now, would benefit them later as a potential hunting ground. Should the lands not be fruitful for Thuringwethil when the spring comes, they'd need to leave, but thus far she sees great things happening in their future.

She moves, easily, until she stops upon a slope that gives her a good view. The sky is clear and the wind is mild, with only a slight chill coursing her. She hesitates in her travel then, resting her feet and drinking in the scenery.

@Indigo

Thanks again for starting!

Indigo did not tire easily. She'd wandered and explored these lands for two new moons, a third one---she could sense in her bones--would soon be making it's debut in a star flecked sky. Sometimes, when she hunkered down alone at night in some hollow or abandoned cave, the she wolf would look up at the heavens and wonder if her family was somewhere staring up at the same night sky, whether they still thought of her, or if they had continued to search for each other as well. Nothing here was familiar, but she consumed the scents and sounds as if it were life bringing sustenance itself.  Indigo would have to make a home here eventually, or at least find a place where she could stake her own claim. A den of sorts really, one that she could return to after her paws took her far and wide or that she could defend if need be. Winter was harsh of course, but her coat was thick and her skills as a huntress and tracker kept her belly full, and her hide out of trouble.

So far, she'd counted nine packs in the mountain lined valley, but the loner couldn't be too sure.  The musks of others had begun to build in areas that had, had no claim a few weeks ago. Indigo found that curious, though she'd kept mostly to the shadows and trails mapped in the back of her mind to avoid unnecessary run ins. Occassionally, she thought about joining the random wolves she'd spotted chasing down smaller game in the area--finally making her presence known--but something had held the she wolf back. All her life she'd known the structure of her small family unit and the few wolves who came and went. The idea of getting close to others and letting them in, appealed to Indigo and yet put a sense of panic in her. She was a wolf of few words, or had been thus far, body language being the main means of her communication, but many of the wolves she'd observed here chose to speak.

These thoughts clamored in Indigo's head as she traipsed the outer perimeter of the valley where hunting had proven successful in the past. She almost didn't notice the other wolf until her strong scent hooked inside Indigo's nares, drawing her pumpkin eyes upwards to the stranger standing atop a small rise. Her heavy paws came to a full stop in the snow, a curl of steam from her exhalation, weaving around her snout.

no problem. i oddly enough like to start them, lol. also pls excuse this i am a little impaired writing this and idk what i was doing

With the wind against her, she sees the wolf before she smells her. The stranger doesn’t go out of her way in greeting. She has spent her time alone but it is not enough to shake away her expectations and way of living. Being attacked by the male over a week ago had been proof enough of that; they do not bow for her. She is only a straggler to them that has nothing but a weak claim on the mountain behind her. They do not see god in her.

Thuringwethil remains silent as she watches from a distance, smoke billowing from the other woman’s snout. The wind does not bring her scent near and her affiliation stays unknown. Her tail twitches behind her, even with her body, though her head remains above her shoulders. The same risk had been taken before with the unfamiliar male, but he did not understand the depth in which her soul has lived, through generations of warrior women at the helm that thrives through her body.

The unknown female, standing on the copse, was the first wolf Indigo had accidentally shown herself to.  Strangely, no feelings of frustration passed through the lone she wolf, she'd been scouting these wolves for some time now and knew that she was bound to come across someone's path at some point.  Better now than never. However, the other female made no movement from her vantage point to greet, attack, or chase Indigo. For the time being it seemed, they both remained neutral. Fair enough.  Indigo simply scented the other as the winds shifted and blew her musk more strongly to into flaring nares.  She didn't smell like some of the claimed territories Indigo had scoped out, but their was something oddly familiar about the other's musk.  Indigo could've sworn she had smelt it before. Perhaps this was one of the wolves attempting to claim new lands?

Indigo tried her luck and slowly began to approach the other she wolf, her posture remained neutral, tail aligned with her tall back and ears perked forward at attention. Her outward appearance seemed curious if cautious, but her movements were slow, fluid, and without aggression. She chuffed a 'hello' only slowing once the wind had shifted again and there were only a few yards between herself and the other's vantage point.

The other approaches and with each step, Thuringwethil is able to admire the traits the other wolf has despite the lonely winter clinging to her scent. A little thin, but large, and her strength is obvious in the way she holds herself. Her shoulders pull tight, tensing with the close proximity the loner dared to create. The dark leader’s ears cup forward with the sound of the greeting chuff once she’s come to a stop several yards away. Her features define and sharpen this close and her own dark eyes soften.

She’s left lingering in their silence without returning the same gesture as she curves her body to the side. Her fur bristles over her tense shoulders but a playful grin teases the corners of her lips. Thuringwethil ducks, a few snow-crunching steps and she’s trotting off into the valley, heading further north. Once she’s put a little distance between them, the yearling tosses her head over her shoulder and encourages the stranger along with a bark.

The female doesn't play along, continuing about her own way, and Thuringwethil takes it in stride to wherever she heads to next.