Moonstone Quarry if i could fly, i'd be coming right back home to you

stop 1 on aria's scouting mission! this will be mainly exploration than social. AW tho (: slight pp for aria's departure. 

The girl returned from her unintentional meeting with Pearl to rest and recuperate. She hunted, ate, and did a quick border patrol before she left. Aria sent a loud howl to the pack, mainly to @Lasher and @Dante, announcing her departure on her adventure. She hoped the pair wouldn't care, and trusted her to return unlike some others.

She was now somewhere new, not too far off but nowhere she recognized. She was in some sort of... cave? she couldn't tell. It was beautiful, she decided, and there were clear pools littered all over the place that only added to the beauty. Aria sat in front of one, dipping her nose into the water to feel it's cool embrace. She raised her head and looked around -- where was she?

Like Aria, Pallas had no earthly idea where she was. Unlike Aria, Pallas was not enjoying this sense of disorientation. The pools and their beauty were lost on the she-wolf as she paced from one jutting stone to the other, ravenous and wild. It was during one such lap that she came upon Aria, who had yet to notice her. Pallas was still hungry, and still thin, and she had not found a single morsel of food in this strange grotto. With a grunt she clambered up the face of an upward-oriented boulder and sat down upon it, her thick paws trailing over the brim as she stared hungrily at the young wolf.

It was true, Aria had not yet spotted the stranger. She was, however, quite in tune with her surroundings, and heard the grunt of the other as she clambered atop a boulder. The snowy princess turned to see what had made the noise, her ears perking. She stared at the stranger in return -- of course not meeting her gaze -- and waited for some sort of greeting... or something. Aria stood, preferring not to be sitting for any sort of meeting with a stranger, and tensed. Her white eyes remained unmoving from the other, hardly blinking as she waited.

Aria was kinder than Pallas, or perhaps, more vested in cordial etiquette. While Aria did not make eye contact, Pallas unashamedly did. Pallas had spent her entire life in control and in charge, and made that known with a hike of her tail over her hips. The pearl-plumed wolf was given a once-over, though Pallas never once rose from her perch. In some ways, she had managed to perfect the 'crouching threat' impression, though no other indication through her body language suggested in-action aggression.

While Aria did not flinch at the eye contact, the fur along her shoulders spiked instantly. She stood stiffly and uneasily, not wishing to instigate a fight but not taking lightly to this wolf's unnecessary display of dominance. They were on neutral territory, there was nothing here worth fighting over, and yet everything about this woman's posture suggested she felt she was better than the snow princess herself. Aria's posture was straight and proud, but it was simply her natural pose. She let out a heavy breath, lowering her head in submission, but was obviously not pleased with it. She was Beta of Donnelaith, this wolf held no true power over her. Her tail remained straight out behind her, but was not higher than the others. 

"Do you claim this place?" she asked, her gaze avoiding the others as it stared to the white fur on the strangers chest. There was no guarantee she'd respond, but she was out exploring-- might as well try.

The moment Aria's posture relented, Pallas' not-so-subtle display receded. She had learned early in life the importance of hierarchy, and establishing it immediately to strangers. Never again would the pale she-wolf let her guard down among strangers.

Some wolves would have left, recognizing quickly Pallas was poor company. But Aria took her chances and spoke, perhaps hoping for some sort of recompense from the grizzled she-wolf. Pallas' nipped ears cupped forward and she shifted onto her elbows and regarded the wolfess below her. "No." She breathed, a succinct and likely unsatisfactory answer.

Unsatisfactory indeed, but the woman had at least relaxed her dominant posture, and therefore Aria felt somewhat better about the situation. She grinned a little, watching the other as her head raised again. "I assume you know nothing about it then," she said, but it was not phrased as a question and therefore she did not expect a response. The pale princess looked away, her nose twitching as she studied the area with interest. Her attention turned back to the other, unable to allow herself to completely abandon her attention to the other-- after her skirmish with Ferahgo she was not completely trusting with strangers as she used to be. 

"I am Aria," she told the other, but was not sure she would receive a name from the woman.

The Stormthorn made no bid to move. She was content on the jutting boulder, spanning the length of it the way a cat might smugly occupy a windowsill. Aria had not posed a threat to her yet, and despite her poor run-in with Cicero, Pallas remained the same as always: dangerously and confidently aloof. She recognized the question was rhetorical and issued only a diffident shrug in return.

When the wolf supplied her name Pallas felt no real obligation to return the favor, yet it occurred to her she had spent a long time in the Wilds now without companionship. It may have been time to curry favor with the locals, or at least with the scant few individuals unlucky enough to come across her. "Pallas." She provided, albeit reluctantly. "Why are you here?"

Pallas. The other had obliged-- surprisingly enough anyway. Aria turned to view the walls again as the white female spoke, a question for her this time. The walls were made of something Aria had seen before, but as she studied it she couldn't quite decide what. "I live nearby," she informed the other. "I am exploring territories and returning home with information on the uncharted lands." This was stop one, and so far had proved to be unsuccessful on what exactly this was. At least she could share it's existence with Lasher, perhaps he'd never been. 

Readily enough, Aria supplied the reason for her presence in the quarry. It made sense to Pallas, for no pack was strong that which did not know of the enemies bordering it. In an unusual shade of generosity, Pallas elected to inform Aria of the things she had witnessed during her travels. While she didn't know the names, she knew the landscapes. "South of us is a pack, I picked up the trail once the foothills rose. There is a valley, flat and lush to the east. From there south the landscape is mostly mountainous. If you head east, the terrain levels to various meadows." She figured that would be enough kindness for one day. "What pack?"

The girl's ears perked, and she listened intently as Pallas spoke. After mentioning a pack, Aria slipped in it's name-- "Moonspear," she nodded, then listening as the woman continued. Floki was part of Moonspear, she'd met him on her search for Casmir, which had been abandoned. She wondered if she'd see him on her adventure, and her heart raced as she thought about meeting with another acquaintance. She'd missed her friends that had left Donnelaith. 

She nodded when the woman finished. "Thank you..." she replied, tail waving behind her. "I come from Donnelaith. A pack north of here, on the coast," she informed Pallas. "It is led by Lasher Mayfair," she added, feeling it was useful information to a loner, and surely wasn't classified information. Her cheeks warmed at the mention of her lover.

True to form, Aria's gratitude slipped from Pallas' hide like water from a duck's back. The grizzled old queen regarded the wolf as she mentioned the name: a familiar name that another white wolf Pallas had encountered also uttered. She couldn't promise she would commit that to memory - she was not the type to exert effort remembering something she didn't really care about (Pallas u dick). She would, however, remember Aria. And she did begrudgingly appreciate the wolf's attempt to converse with someone as stiff and unlikeable as herself. "You can do something for me." She started, cutting her tail around her hocks like an annoyed panther: "What packs around here have use for a fighter? Or, if you know of any, what packs have the good grub and doormat-wolves?" Obviously, Pallas was not the type you'd want to invite into your house for an idyllic family dinner. Unless you wanted said house pillaged, razed, and burned.

The girl nodded slowly, and as soon as she heard the question answered. "Saltwinter." 

Her response was quick and not at all uncertain. From her knowledge of the sea witch and her subordinates, Saltwinter was in need of every fighter ever-- they seemed to revolve around a more hands on approach. Besides, even if this wolf wasn't exactly her cup of tea, Saltwinter was an ally, and Pallas seemed like she could -- emphasis on could -- be a strong ally. 

"I've also heard of a pack east of here that specializes with darker ideals, but I do not know of they exact locations or needs. Saltwinter is a coastal pack, they're far northeast though, if you don't mind a walk,"

this may be my last post in our little 'spree' - I got to go to work! But thank you very much, I loved writing with you - if you go further south and need someone to thread w/ just tag me!

The female's response was near immediate: another pack the wolf knew nothing of. The name was intriguing, but more so was the wolf's lack of hesitance in providing it. The shrewd side of Pallas wondered then if the wolf was intimate with this 'Saltwinter' pack in some capacity. Pallas didn't mind a walk, but she had never cared much for water. Nor had she since her introduction into the Wilds ever found brine on the breeze. This lead her to conclude it was quite a jaunt indeed. The 'darker ideals' thing - this seemed like more her style, though Pallas lacked the patience to be a good disciple. "Good to know, I'll keep both in mind." Now she knew of not one, but four packs from this interchange: it was useful having 'friends', wasn't it?

thanks so much! it was a lot of fun! Pallas is quite the character ;)

The girl nodded. "I am headed south," she told the other, her paws flexing in a cat-like manner as she made to move out. "I appreciate your intel, I wish you luck in your travels, Pallas," she told her, and glanced to the side again. She studied the rock with interest for a moment before glancing back to the white wolf. Without another word, she left, making note to come back and revisit this area after her journey. She would move on, no reason to wait for lightening to strike when there were no storm clouds ahead. 

She left, making her way out of the strange, pooled territory and into the green world again. 

Sneaking one last post in before 5.. Thank you! Aria is too - I felt bad she had to stick up with such a stuffy/insufferable character haha

With that, their meeting concluded. Pallas was not the type to issue fond farewells, so Aria's pleasantry fell short the way a rock might sink into a pool. Alas, not the poor girl's fault -- Pallas was simply as prickly as brierwood. She would stay a little longer, enjoying the sun's encouraging rays. Eventually she would move, but for now she enjoyed the warmth that seeped into her old and haggard bones.