Nocturne Summit nosebleed

With news of a handful of packs forming or having formed in the Wilds in the last several weeks vaguely on her mind, she was finding herself more invested in the territories beyond her doorstep. It was not her place to lay claim to them, though, but she would intend to have their presence known among them and aim to notice any suspicious activity from loners before it could escalate into them wanting to create a claim of their own.

She was comfortable with the neighbors she had, and that was it. Donnelaith lined the coast, Redhawk was on the other side of a valley and then a forest, while Silvertip loomed at a distant peak. None were overly close and she liked this just the way it was. Knowing someone planned to make Neverwinter their home did bother her -- first because she liked the place and second that they would do so that close to Silvertip's doorstep (which had been theirs for quite a while now), seemingly with good faith that it would co-exist flawlessly. Amekaze was wary of that notion and didn't want to see it happen to her mountain.

As she concluded her patrol she shifted gears to ranging abroad. On this outing, she scoped south down the range, traveling near the base of the mountains with her nose low and senses sharp. She made no effort to conceal who she was, and carried along with her the scent of a pack well-equipped to succeed here in this stretch of landscape. Namely, she was looking for wolf scents, be they from other packs or loners, just to get a feel of who all else was traveling through here recently.

If she didn't find anyone, that just made her job easier and freed her up to only track prey instead.. but in a way, she almost hoped she might catch a hint of something more interesting than a rabbit's trail here in the shadow of the flattest mountain.

Ness was just returning from her jaunt in the south. Though it seemed quite soon to be exploring past the borders of her new territory, her free spirit was not to be dampened, and her choices were still her own. That being said, she was purposely moving in the direction of home— where she had planted her weed-like roots— and brought with her news she thought Charon might be interested in. The spotted she-wolf felt a little too anxious to hunt, though many enticing scents wafted her way, and her pace did not slow to accommodate any real exploring on her journey back.

She didn't yet realize that she could have a given duty to this pack, so that she might do things like this. Scouting beyond the immediate territories surrounding her birthplace had been a disavowed practice, and the places she had occupied thereafter had not appealed to her enough to return to them after such periods of "scouting". Moonspear was different. She was eager to be home again. A first, as far as she could remember... But this wasn't saying much, given both her age and poorly kept memories. If Ness could forget everything from before a week ago, she would.

The wind was coming down from the north, bringing with it the surprising scent of Moonspear despite it being quite off in the distance still. Her pace slowed to accommodate her confusion at this, but it was only a few more moments before a shadow along the summit manifested into a wolf robed entirely in ink. Distinctly female, her scent was not unfamiliar, and more than she recognized it from the borders of the Spear, she knew it from cloaking the guardhairs of Charon's fur. "Amekaze?" she called when she was near enough to be heard. "Ness— your new recruit." The she-wolf approached slowly, respectful of the other female's rank and whatever business she had here. 

A wild stranger (also) from MSP appears!

Scent, sound, then sight of another wolf got her attention before too long. Ame lifted her muzzle from simply just cruising it along a little ways above the ground and blinked herself into focus, as if she was searching for some better sort of recognition after the female knew her name. The scent said Charon and the pieces aligned perhaps a beat later, all of which was confirmed by the speckled female not long afterward. "Correct," she replied readily now that her curiosity changed gears from just sniffing around the landscapes to understanding her newest recruit better. "Greetings," she chuffed and waved her lifted tail in a few amicable wags.

Considering the directions they'd both come from, Ame may as well ask: "Anything interesting that way?" she arced her neck towards the south, guessing that was Ness had possibly delved deeper into the Wilds than right here.  "Do you scout?" she asked, mainly since it was at least vaguely possible that was what she was doing out here. The possibilities of things to be busied with out here were so vast.. but that gave her someplace to start. 

Ness smiled at the genial greeting, noticing easily how this female could be Charon's partner— his equal. Her tail curved and wagged low as she came close, pulling her ears back as she came at a rest at the alpha's side, forming an acute angle between them. "A wolf is looking to settle in the moosefields down south," she remarked casually, unsure whether or not this was pertinent information to Moonspear, but it was what she had anyway. "I didn't smell many followers, but who knows..." The pale she-wolf shrugged, giving her dusty pelt a shake and observing her superior through a respectfully sidelong gaze. "I just traveled pretty much a straight line, so that's all I found. I didn't want to get too sidetracked trying to see all the sights and smell all the smells."

Amekaze asked then if she scouted, and though Ness had crossed many territories and scoped countless areas, she didn't see herself titled as such. "Nah. I just like to travel— and talk. Gets me places, gets me info. Never considered it a profession exactly. Moonspear has designated scouts?"

The answer was quite to the point. Amekaze may have seemed stone-faced at the notion, but she prickled at the idea of another pack. Knowing the followers were few only helped minutely. "Anything else about this wolf?" she picked, trying to fish for the details of any potential pack and its wannabe rival alpha of these stretches of wilds. "Maybe it is new still," she offered as a guess in return and consulted her mental map of the southernmost territories of the Great Bear Wilderness. If the moosefields were what she thought they were, it was still a decent distance from Moonspear, her main concern above all other things right now. Her further details about the path between here and there did line up with that, too, so that was worth knowing.

Assuming that this did pan out for whoever was at the head of it, that meant this would be the fourth new pack in her general region. None were very close, and she didn't even know where the one on the coast was exactly, but they were stacking up awfully fast suddenly. How long until they were too close too?

Then, on scouts. "Just a few," she answered. Rain (her first main outrider), Floki, and Wildfire came to mind, along with her own halfway developed interest in the duty sometimes. They all usually started out as wolves who liked to travel, though.

When asked, Ness immediately delved into what she knew, reminding herself that she should have done this without prompting. "His name's Sebastian. Hunky guy— pretty toned for a loner. All gray with those puppyblue eyes meant to make a girl swoon. You know the type," Ness shrugged. She had certainly seen enough of his brand in her own short lifetime, surely a wolf in the prime of adulthood had seen a model or two of the wolf she had described. Assuming she didn't know him specifically. "It's informal yet," she affirmed to Amekaze. "He was just deciding on that territory when I came across him. No established borders yet." Ness intentionally left out the part where she might have encouraged him to get started on his claim.

On the subject of scouting, Ness' interest became piqued. "I might dig the scouting business..." she mused thoughtfully. "I'm itching to carve my name into Moonspear like your current crew. Did you have anything in mind you'd like to dole out to me? I have a lot to prove, Amekaze, and I'm down for the task."

Ness painted a reasonably distinct picture of the aspiring leader in question and Amekaze enjoyed the details, name and all. And indeed, she wasn't all too surprised. He sounded like he fit the bill of healthy wolf, one probably emboldened by his strength who yearned for more for himself in the way of securing alphaship. She was no stranger to how ambition worked and how potent a motivator it could be.

Since a whole menagerie of wolves had given their go at leadership over all the moons she'd seen in the Teekon, she guessed he was probably some dispersal from somewhere -- something hinted at by his decent condition even in wintertime, but, she wouldn't know for sure unless that came up. "I see," she murmured, considering this at length and wondering if he would ever drive his pack and its name to become more relevant to her in any way, good or bad. He was just on the edge of being close enough for her to be aware of, but so far, that was about it.

The pale yearling went on favorably about scouting, and Amekaze couldn't help but nod. "It sounds like you may have some skill at it," she encouraged judging by the detailed briefing she'd just received. As for anything in mind to help her establish herself, Ame would need a little better feel on her first. "Ah, well, what else are you good at? What do you like to do? I am sure you have this same sort of talk with Charon.." she smirked, and while they had spent more time together lately, the details of all the newest members didn't always come up in full. "I personally like those who are clever and cunning about their strengths.. and the Spear itself has many niches yet to be touched, so there are a lot of ways to carve yourself in."

Young and smart-mouthed, Ness secretly aspired to have the same cool esteem that was worn weightlessly on the back of her new chieftain. Her own demeanor was one of either practical overconfidence or genuine strive. She chose the latter to present Amekaze with, as the dark sovereignty asked things that she and Charon had not exactly talked about. The other alpha had been too impressed by her promising attitude to ask her about her exact potential himself. But though he had assumed, Ness would not prove him wrong. "I'm good at just about anything," she smirked, shrugging her lean shoulders in a carefree action. "But I can be great, with just a bit of practice."


"I'm a... challenge-oriented wolf. If I have something to do, it'll get done. Once I found out that I could survive on my own, I began believing that there isn't anything I can't do. I'm not shy about it— And I'll try anything twice," she stated smartly. And because then she felt as if her mother's saying hadn't traveled this far south, she added: "have to do things twice just to make sure the first time wasn't fluke." Ness smiled, separately colored eyes sending separate kinds of impish twinkling in Amekaze's direction. "As for what I like to do, well that's easy. I like to run. We did a lot of it where I'm from. I mean, I basically had to find out through traveling that it wasn't a normal thing for a pups first steps to be a sprint," she chuckled, exaggerating.

"What do you like to do, Amekaze?" she unabashedly asked.

More and more of the pale female revealed itself, and Amekaze's understanding of her only continued to take a greater shape. She was satisfied to find out that she pegged herself as challenge-oriented, which did add an element of dynamism to her that was not quite so often seen in others -- and neither was it expected, frankly, in this time of steady turnover among the newest recruits to the pack. Usually she just started on what already interested someone when she attempted to gauge where they might fit in with her pack because it was most doable for any wolf in a time of many changes (as a new pack often was) but she was quickly getting the sense that it was way more than just that where Ness was involved.

"Good. I like it," she nodding knowingly with a thoughtful flicker of her tail. Ambition in its many shapes and forms was a trait she did want to see nurtured in others within reason.. so the gears were turning. Ness did give her a lot to listen to, and she drank all of this up, inferring what she could from the past spanning behind the lean female until the question turned onto her. "Hm, I like sparring, fishing.. all the mountainside life provides me," Vague was all but her middle name, but a playful smirk accompanied it nevertheless. She could probably list on down to the minor details, but she'd spare her. "And, well, I suppose I can summarize it best as simply learning. Of all things -- histories, cycles, weather, philosophies.. does not matter, I am still curious," she said, for it was exactly part of why she valued scouts like she did. She could only cover so much ground as one wolf with one set of paws and maintaining alphaship (another important "like" of hers) at the same time took a certain balance that good scouts just made easier for her.

Ness figured that if she aspired to be like this wolf, then she would need to take up similar hobbies as well. Sparring piqued her interest— she'd never been much of a fighter, but had always considered herself incredibly capable of it. Back on the vigorous terrain of her birthplace, there'd been little time or energy to spare fighting one another (even in practice), when tiring out their prey by sheer dogged perseverance had been more pertinent to their survival. At least Ness could be counted on for stamina, if nothing else.

"Learning..." she repeated thoughtfully, ears twitching as the breeze quietly rustled their stark surroundings. "What about teaching? I've never tried fishing— water's too cold where I'm from— and I'd like to learn. I could use some fighting techniques too. Can't ever be too safe if I'm gonna be scoutin' around for The 'Spear."

She mulled it over for a beat, but her answers came readily. "Teaching.. less so, but I do still see the satisfaction in it," she replied. She had amassed a share knowledge on a handful of topics and to some, it was worth passing it along. Ame wondered if maybe her interest in teaching may settle in more the older she became, or just if she had properly eager students at her disposal -- not that she was particularly in the market for them right now anyway with enough else to keep her occupied with.

"Fishing is a summer hobby, mostly. It has been a while since I have had a good go at it and I still need to learn the best spots for it on the Spear," she shrugged, making note. It was about to be that time though and the Moonspear's creeks were going to be tested by her thoroughly. If they didn't satisfy, she knew good spots in the flatlands. She'd have her aquatic meals one way or another.

But to step back, if there was anything she was most interest in teaching, it was sparring -- although mainly by way of letting them get their experiences with an eager opponent. She was never going to be one to verbally impart that kind of knowledge. "I am always open to new sparring partners," she suggested in way of agreeing with Ness. Truly, any scouts should be well-equipped for anything.

Fishing seemed to be another activity she would have to wait to partake in— along with beach vacationing hosted by Floki— but sparring was apparently a more immediately achievable feat. Judging by Amekaze's tone, she could go a round right then and there, but Ness was not in any fighting condition. She supposed this was a lesson in itself of scouting. If she traveled too far too long at any given time, she would be too exhausted to be prepared to defend itself. Adrenaline could certainly help in a pinch, and she had always been a grand escape artist, but that was when she was a traveler. These were her homelands now. Her pack resided in these Wilds; and she needed to exist in this place entirely, instead of spending the rest of her life running, though she loved it.

The best thing she could do for herself now was learn how to always be prepared, considering how ill-prepared for anything she felt at that moment. "I learn fastest through situational application," she said, wanting to explain the idea that had occurred to her. "You'd be doing me a great service if you surprise-attack me whenever you see me— if the mood strikes you, of course."

"Understood," she replied lightly, since she did agree -- to immerse was simply the best way to learn. "I will remember that," the dark alpha smirked mischievously and would embrace the opportunity. A free for all go-ahead of friendly-fire stealth attacks was a pleasant little gift to her, honestly. Now, or later, she'd only know when the moment struck just right. She couldn't yet know how easy it would be to catch Ness in a suitable opportunity, but, she would be patient.

"Are you heading back? I have a few more miles I want to cover first myself," she said, glancing towards the path she'd set down upon before. Ness had probably covered the ground she'd planned to, so Amekaze would not keep her much longer for the moment.. not when her own paws were getting itchy.

Ness grinned, further interested in Amekaze because not only was she regal and a shining example of alphaship, she was not above the games of subordinates. She was vaguely surprised by the agreement, not actually expecting such, but the prospect of having to keep her guard up for such a situation got her tail wagging. "Deal," the spotted minx gave an affirming nod.

Tilting her head slightly, she looked past the dark wolf towards Moonspear. "Yeah. I'd come with, but I'm slow-draggin' as is— I don't want to slow you down." Ness stepped forward, touching Amekaze's shoulder briefly with her nose— a formal goodbye on the Tundra— and then she made to pass her Alpha. "I'll see you back home."

She lingered thoughtfully beneath the touch, and swayed her tail in tune with it. "See you," she breathed in return. Ness agreed that she ought to head home so Amekaze eventually wrapped up her own farewells and was on her way. She cast am occasional lingering look over her shoulder until the speckled Spear wolf was out of range, and only after then did she turn her sights fully to the trail ahead. Soon, she picked up a greater pace and got to business.