Moonspear First Impressions

She'd settled in upon the Moonspear's slopes much easier than she had in the Phantom Hollow. The spooky factor here was mild compared to that forest, and not once as she'd drifted off to sleep did Mitanni consider herself being watched or sensed any unseen presences around her just out of visual range. She liked it, liked the quiet, the peace. It made her consider, if only for a moment, that maybe coming here from the start would have been the better choice than the path she'd taken.

It's all fixed now, the little brown wolf mused to herself as she strolled the mountainside during the quiet midmorning. She was here, at long last, and she'd work toward proving herself valuable to these wolves that had been kind enough to allow her and Judas in their midst.

She wondered briefly where it was he'd ended up. They hadn't planned to stick close to each other after their arrival, but she worried about him nonetheless. With his demon lurking inside, he was a little unpredictable, and Mitanni hoped above all else that these new living arrangement would tame that beast as well as the coywolf seemed to believe they would.

First things first, though. If she was to make herself useful here, then she needed to get to know the mountain. With that goal on her mind for the day, the mottled black and brown female continued to pad purposefully down the mountainside, intent upon starting her examination of the mountain closer to its base. She supposed the woods there would be the first spot prey would return to--if they returned at all--so it felt appropriate that she begin there.

Harley had cleaned his wounds, having vanished higher up Moonspear to seclude himself for the night. Now he wandered lazily about the terrain as if nothing had happened, though the pink and exposed flesh on not one but both shoulders and the stiffness of his gait hinted otherwise. 
The scent of a newcomer, a female he didn't know the name of, came to him on the breeze. Amber eyes raking the land, they finally fell upon her moving mottled form. The wolfdog let out a friendly chuff of greeting, heading towards her with a grin and a wagging tail.

She didn't exactly jump when she heard someone make a noise nearby, but it did startle her. Mitanni instantly froze and turned her head to look over her shoulder at the individual who'd gotten her attention, and absently settled into a respectful posture in the process. Being new, being unknown by most of the pack, she fell back into her old habit of trying to seem as unsuspecting as possible.

But the wolf--or maybe wolf mix?--appeared friendly, smiling and wagging his tail as he strode in her direction. The little wolf smiled back, and even offered a little tail wag of her own, letting it sway a few times against the backs of her legs. "Hey," she greeted the Moonspear wolf as he approached, turning to more properly acknowledge him.

The hybrid left some distance between them, but only a couple feet, and his orange eyes scanned her over curiously while he talked. She was pretty, and so far seemed nice, perhaps they would be friends? If not, they were packmates, and he didn't want the aggression around him that was now between himself and Lazarus. 
        "I'm Harley. You're new here, right?"

He gave her a bit of space when he stopped, for which Mitanni was grateful; she rather liked her space, even among wolves that she knew and trusted. His name was logged away--his peculiar appearance would undoubtedly help her keep it matched with its owner--and his inquiry drew out a quick nod of her head. "I am. I'm Mitanni Anath," the little wolf introduced, widening her smile just a little. As much as Moonlit Hills had disheartened her, she still tried to be optimistic. The wolves here would hopefully surprise her in the best way.

"I was on my way to explore the forests. I want to be familiar with the area if and when some hungry animal comes looking for food." The region couldn't stay empty of greens forever, right? The spring weather was still perfect for growth, and nothing else had changed to jeopardize the earth's revival. She looked at Harley anew, tilting her head a little. "I'm told hunting is still scarce here too. It seems that way everywhere right now."

She withheld nothing from the wolfdog, giving out a name and her purpose out here. Obviously his respect had gotten him somewhere then, and a smile graced his shephard features. 
          "If you like, I could come with you. I haven't been here long myself, but perhaps we could learn the land better together?"
Of course he mostly only wanted to bond with someone and make friends he felt he lacked, for Harley had spent all his time here exploring the lands. It wasn't all memorized yet, but he had gained a good sense of most of the land.

It didn't come as a complete surprise when the wolf mix offered to accompany her in her exploration, but she was happy to note that the wolves of the pack were as friendly as the Beta who'd accepted her into their ranks. "Yeah, sure," Mitanni answered, wagging her tail again, "thanks." Exploring with someone else would make the task more enjoyable.

And informative. Her mind rounded back on what Harley had said about him being relatively new to the pack as she turned and began to lead the way toward the lower section of the mountain where the trees were more numerous. She thought it over for a moment as she walked before asking conversationally, glancing sidelong from the corner of her amber eyes, "So how long have you been here?"

He followed her with silent steps, eyes scanning the surroundings as to watch for danger, but ears perked and listening to Mitanni's words.
    "A couple weeks, not too long."
Harley hadn't been paying attention to time, since there was really no bother. It was still the same season, if that made it any better, but the look of the terrain made it feel like Winter was approaching. A warm wind blew away that thought, though, and again he realized it really had been somewhere around a month, right?
            "What're you gonna do for trades?"

A couple weeks? "I see," she answered, nodding her head with understanding as they walked. That was still much longer than Mitanni had been here, and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from jumping right in to further questions. There were plenty more that she could ask, many more curiosities about her new home that she was keen on learning, but bombarding this kind pack member right off the bat with them might come off as too nosy.

But maybe one or two wouldn't be too bad. "And you're liking it well?" Mitanni asked, raising a brow inquisitively. She guessed the assumption to be true, if only because of his apparent high spirits.

Harley was inquisitive, too, it seemed. He asked about trades, and Mitanni had trouble answering with anything direct. "Scouting and hunting so far," she stated, "though nothing specific yet." After losing her place in Moonlit Hills, she wasn't sure where or how she wanted to apply herself yet. She felt like she needed to relearn her skills and determine again what it was she wanted to do with herself. Maybe I can talk to Judas about it.

Trying not to let it get to her, the little wolf let her amber eyes stare ahead at the approaching forest, empty and quiet but still visibly alive. It'll grow back, she told herself, and tried to picture it with all its greenery returned to it. It was a nice thought. With her mind being drawn back to the positive, Mitanni turned the question back around on Harley, "How 'bout you?"

Harley wouldn't have minded the questions, but was unaware that she even had any until she voiced one. She also answered his own, though as she turned it on him he found he was no longer sure of himself.  What DID he want to do? Upon coming to the mountain, he'd wanted to be a storyteller and a medic, but since his fight with Lazarus he'd been unsure of his path. 
         "I love it here, but I do get pretty lonely. Not sure what I want to do about trades, but storytelling, warrior and caregiver are definitely options."
The wolfdog padded along beside Mitanni, his own autumn eyes scouring the landscape in search of anything: others, prey, growth.... Surely it would be soon that the greenery regrew, right?

Lonely. That was somewhat concerning, and Mitanni's brow furrowed as she wondered what would cause it. She'd never been the most social of creatures, but she'd gotten by in Moonlit Hills and had felt somewhat connected with her packmates. She made a mental note as she walked with Harley to be mindful of it, her interactions with others, and to put an effort into getting to know the rest of the pack. Fresh start here, I got to do it right.

Harley's interests struck a chord of amusement with the little brown wolf, and her eyes lit up with it as she glanced sidelong at the wolfdog. "Telling tales about your brave battles and acts of kindness?" she commented wryly, connecting each of his interests in a comical manner. She was sure he didn't mean it that way, but each of his interests were so different she was caught in the surprise of it. "Sounds like a fun career."

With her amusement still evident on her face, Mitanni took up surveying the barren forest as they began to walk among the first of the trees. Bare branches reached like skeletal hands toward the sky, and twisting brambles, what remained of bushes, looked desolute and hunched in on themselves. Feeling a somber sense of loss for the forest, she asked quietly, her amusement gone, "Did you get to see this place before the swarm hit?"

Harley couldn't help the blush that spread across his skin, looking down at his creamy paws. His interests did conflict with each other, that he knew, but it didn't really click just how odd it was. The wolfdog chuckled shyly, looking out over the land.
          "I suppose so, but it'll keep me pretty busy right? Ill always have something to talk about."
She asked about before the locusts, and he gave a smile. Sure he'd been here before, but not very long. The mountain had beckoned to him and called him home.
                     "Yeah, it was beautiful.  The entire reason I chose here to be."

Mitanni nodded her head with certainty, in agreement with the thought that Harley's interests were guaranteed to keep him busy. "Plenty of stories either way," she agreed, walking alongside the wolfdog with her pace matched to his. Occasionally she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, absently noting how his features differed from most other wolves she'd met, but it was a trivial thing that didn't seem worth mentioning. He was here, he was part of the pack, and that was what mattered.

It wasn't altogether surprising to hear that the mountain had been beautiful before the locusts arrived, though the little brown wolf did feel disappointed she'd arrived too late to see it. "Hopefully the land recovers," she commented as she walked, fearing just a little the apparent stall in regrowth. The damage was fairly extensive, worse than she'd thought originally, but it wasn't enough to last much longer, was it?

It was hard not to take note of the lack in prey scents across the mountainside. She'd maybe come across one soft trail, but it hadn't struck her as promising--though little did given the situation. "This forest will attract quite a bit once it's green again," Mitanni mused aloud, trying for optimism. Her amber eyes roved from tree to tree, searching the barren paths and making mental notes. I'll be ready once it's regrown.

The pair walked on, and Harley did of course notice her glances. As usual, he ignored them, keeping his amber eyes ahead and unsure if she felt one way or the other about the half of his blood that was domestic. Never before had he come into contact with humans, but his family had mixed opinions on them. Harley himself didn't judge what he didn't know, and didn't find humans of much importance. 
Mitanni sounded a bit worried for the regrowth, but the wolfdog worried little. If months of cold and death every year could be recovered from, surely so would this? Time was needed for regrowth, and unfortunatley that wasn't something the wolves of the wilds had. Harley, too, kept his nose open for prey, but didn't find any worth following. 
                "If it recovers every year from Winter, I would believe that it will recover from this: even if it takes a little longer. Once things start to regrow, the prey will come back and beautiful again it will be."