Silvertip Mountain Maybe you were happy, I was bored

@Chaska or @Reiko maybe, anybody she hasn't met :P

The third unsuccessful hunt in a row. What was she doing wrong? The first time she had knocked over a rock, the second time her target had smelt her coming, this time she had overshot when leaping for the pheasant and it had gotten away. You're a horrible hunter. The thought put her in a glum mood, trudging back to the central pack land while dragging her feet.

Niita padded back to the usual spot where she slept, her rocky corner, silently. She didn't lay down quite yet, instead opting to sit out in the warm June sunshine. The pale waif closed her eyes against the light, a frown still marring her face in frustration.

Once Steady had given her acceptance into the pack, Reiko took the opportunity to take a look around the claimed lands and try to see if she could meet with the other members. Familiarize herself with the boundaries and the faces that now were her home and family. The ghostly woman snaked through the lands with grace, her paws barely touching the ground as she trotted. 

Every now and then she could feel the warmth of the sun reach her and warm the ivory pelt covering the damsel from head to toe. Coming up to a rocky corner, she gazed up from where she stood only to freeze on the spot. Her heart ceased beating in her chest; fear, excitement? Something took her by surprise as she thought the white woman she gazed upon was her own beloved twin sister Hime, the one who had casted her out of the pack she now claimed and one they both shared. 

Shaking off the feeling, she found herself ashamed, ears flattened as her eyes softened on the woman who she stared at so long, which was incredibly rude. I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else - I didn't mean to stare. She averted her eyes finally, apologetically. I'm Reiko, obviously new here. You reminded me of my sister.

Niita's eyes opened upon hearing someone nearby. Blinking in surprise at how much the stranger looked like her, they had different features and conformation but the coat and eyes were similar. The look of horror on the stranger's face made her uncomfortable, Niita glancing around for some explanation as to why she scared the girl so badly. 

The girl-Reiko-offered an explanation a few moments later and Niita's face softened, a friendly smile crossing her features. "That's alright, no harm was done." Niita assured her, understanding that sometimes pasts were hard to leave behind.

"It's nice to meet you Reiko, I'm Niita." Niita moved closer, closing the distance between them so that they could speak easier. "Where are you from?" 

second attempt at this post >C

 

She felt terrible for her initial reaction, although she was shocked to think that Hime had hunted her down so far as to kill her or to bring her home had come and gone. 

Hello Niita! I do apologize for my initial reaction... It was terribly rude.  she couldn't apologize enough for what had happened. Still, it lingered heavily in her heart.

from far north, where snow claim the land in abundance. I thought you were their new queen, my sister, it may be too much information on the first meeting, but she put a bounty on my head if found again. Please understand my initial fear... she explained further, hoping it would help.

I believe you are my higher up, please, if you may, id like to know more of you if you'd be so generous!" she sang, straightening up from her fear and tilting her head in kind curiosity, eyes locking on the frame of the new found woman in white.

Niita blinked at the sudden influx of information, sorting through it silently. Apparently Reiko too was from the north, her sister was a queen, and Reiko had a bounty on her head if anyone from her past pack found her. "Oh, I'm sorry. That sounds dreadful." Niita mused aloud, still a bit confused as to why Niita had been thought to be this evil queen.

"You and I don't seem quite so different, assuming you were banished. I grew up in the north as well, the land of glaciers and it always seems to be winter. My family ran the pack of Asmundr." Niita paused there, wondering if she should elaborate on her past. No one here knew anything about it but something about Reiko, maybe the similarities between them, led her to continue her story.

"There was war, my sister, Lifa, was murdered in this war, and my brother, Finn, had died beforehand. My parents died in the war and I was supposed to lead after it was finished. My best friend, Kainan, was older at the time and we were all little more than adolescents. We turned to him for leadership and truly, he was a great leader." Niita smiled fondly as she remembered Kainan, as he was before Raela.

"After the war, he married a woman named Raela. They had children and though I would never have harmed them, never would have thought of taking the leadership for myself, Raela saw me as a threat. I was banished, never to return. I roamed alone for awhile, eventually I found Silvertip and joined." Niita gave a small shrug as she finished the summary of her life, leaving out some important pieces that she had yet to tell anyone.

Although the two never knew each other, it seemed there was a mutual conifer they had between themselves. Reiko at first thought she elaborated too much on why she feared the white wolf at first, but was comforted as she too told a somewhat similar story. 

What a heart breaking tale... I must admit that my parents and sibling still live - but Hime, despite my love her for her, is cruel. I held no interest in the throne, but she too saw me as a threat for some reason. her words were choked near the end, still it was a hard pill to swallow.

I don't suppose you'd be willing to go on an adventure with me, would you Niita? I don't know these lands well and is like to hear more about home. Your tale fills me with a sence of glee. she offered a sincere smile to the white wolf. Hoping they would become friends despite how rude Reiko was just moments prior.

wasn't sure if they were fading here or not :P

Niita was glad that the story didn't seem to upset Reiko too much, it was the shortened version after all. For a moment, she had worried she was revealing too much but it didn't seem that way now given Reiko's words.

"I'd like that." Niita told Reiko as she got to her feet, smiling at the other woman warmly. They would become good friends Niita hoped, despite having  met Krypton; Reiko could relate.

did you want to continue here or have a new thread? I can start the new one some time later tomorrow when I'm off my leave

Glad that Niita had hotten up on her feet, accepting Reiko's invitation for an adventure around their lands - Reiko bounced to her feet, slender legs carrying her elegantly on the spot. 

"I'll be going in a random direction, unless you have some place magnificent in mind? We can race there!" 

She was playful, yearnin deeply to feel the air rush under her pelt in a race. Win or lose the adrenaline would feel nice. She bounced readying herself to start running in the random direction she chose. waiting to see what Nikta chose, she was excited to see what the female chose as their course of action.

Niita smiled as she thought of the perfect place to show Reiko, hopefully she hadn't seen it yet. "Actually, I do have a place in mind." Gesturing in the direction of the crystal cave, Niita began to run though it wasn't very fast given her low reserves of energy. The famine took a lot out of her, making it harder to run for long periods of time without being exhausted sooner.

The cave was some ways away, and Niita wasn't surprised when Reiko passed her given she had more body fat since she had joined later. The crystals in the cave twinkled in the mid afternoon light, casting rainbows on the quartz encrusted walls and floor. Niita stepped in, feeling awe over take her once more at the sight though she had seen it before. 

"I don't know if this place has a name, I call it the Rainbow Cave. Kinda silly I suppose but in certain lighting there are many rainbows that come from the rocks." Niita glanced around the cave, an entranced expression on her features.

slight pp that I can edit out

thats alright! I'm fine with slight pp unless it's truly unfair!

 

She ran and at first she felt the odds were even, Reiko quickly learned that the famine had struck the local wolves much harder than she had been since her joining. 

Although her bones were palpable, hips and spine visible through her skin, it was only obvious through touch as her pelt hid anything under weight.

She ran past Niita and slowed down to allow her to keep up. Feeling terrible for showing off. She followed the woman to their destination, eyes lighting up to match the beauty of the caves. 

"It's beautiful" she commented upon entering. "I haven't seen such colors! They remind me of the painted fox back at home." She referred to the northern lights and how her mom called them back in the day. "The northern lights, how beautiful"

Quickly she waltz in, trotting into the cave and allowing the rainbow of the crystals to reflect off her clear blues. "How far do they go? Shall we adventure?"

Niita nodded, confused for a moment until Reiko clarified. "We called them the Sky Lights. I remember the blue ones were my favorite." Niita smiled, eyes glazed with a memory from her childhood. 

Padding into the darker reaches of the cave, Niita squinted in an effort to see how far back the cave went. "I'm not sure how far back it goes, I've never gone much past the entrance."

Niita smiled at the other woman, though she was certain they couldn't go too far without getting lost. "Let's go!"

So everyone had different names for the lights, did they also have different myths about them? Maybe Niita would share hers later on and Reiko would share her story about the lights, the ones that her pack once told about how they were made and what they did. The green ones were my favorite. She said in mid reminisce.

Niita leaped into the cave, calling out for them to go and Reiko was quick to follow. With grace she caught up to the snowy dame, circling her a bit playfully remembering how she had a hard time keeping up with Reiko just moments ago - this time Reiko would stay near by. Leaving Niita behind could be dangerous for the both of them since neither knew the cave well. 

I imagine an underground ecosystem, a lake and some beautiful old tree in the middle. Fish in the bountiful in the clear waters. She pondered a scene as to what they might find. What do you think we will find? Should we tell everyone if it is a haven, or keep it to ourselves? A fun little secret.

Niita glanced over in surprise, wondering how a tree would even live down here without sunlight. It wasn't plausible but Reiko had a vivid imagination. Niita couldn't imagine that they would find anything more than darkness and cobwebs in the recesses of the cave.

"You should become a Chronicler. You would be good at telling stories." Niita told Reiko sincerely, believing soundly that she would excel at it.

left it open for you to figure out what they find :P

The shimmering of the cave's entrance didn't fail to continue as they dove deeper into it, the lighting of the sun from outside had faded the deeper they walked, but soon light was found once more. The glimmering of glow worms that cling from the ceiling, the walls and the ground were enough to keep the cavern illuminated ( a little display ). 

You'd think so? That could be fun, keep morals up too until the prey come back in full bloom. Their voices echoed softly in the cave, the azure eyes of the snowy damsel illuminated by the glow worm's iridescence reflecting in her irises. May I ask what your duty is? She wanted to know more about her pack mates, to know who to come to for what if needed or how she could help them. 

Opening up from their path, Reiko gasped as she laid eyes on what they had discovered. The worms kept their glow to illuminate the dark cave, and water spread as far as the eye could see. A beach with still waters, from the scent of it it was fresh. Blues and greens the waters reflected the rocks on the shore across from them ( here ).

Niita had been wrong. There was so much more to the internal areas of the Glass Cave than darkness and cobwebs. It was a fresh water pool, taking up most of the huge cavern and the ceiling was lit by glow worms that flickered in time to Reiko's voice. Niita found she couldn't even remember to answer Reiko's question due to her open-mouthed wonder at the place.

"Wow.." Niita breathed in awe, moving to the pool and dipping a single paw in hesitantly. She shivered at the cool temperature of the water, only then remembering that Reiko had asked her something.

"Oh, me? I'm gonna become a Hunter and a Scout, or try anyways." 

we could end it here if ya want? idk what else we could do unless you have an idea |D

She joined as Niita went to check out the waters, the welcoming sensation of the cool liquid touching her flesh through the coat was enough to bring back memories of home. She shivered as well, shaking out her ghostly pale pellage as it fluffed out with the motion. It's so refreshing! she cried out before jumping in completely. The waters pushing down her coat the point of showing how the famine had touched her too. Although bones were not completely prominent, she was definitely thinner than she normally would be despite her naturally small frame. 

Those are really important trades to have in a pack. I envy hunters. She admitted. She wasn't the greatest hunter ever, and so they seemed almost heroic as they would come back to feed the bellies of the hungry. She always had to rely on others to keep her frame as full as it could, which seemed pathetic as far as she knew. Reiko was creative in her hunting ways, she had to be due to her diminutive stature and lack in combat. She proved such things in her hunt with Ezekiel and Anita - but nothing more fruitful than an owl and a couple rabbits came of it. And that was as good as it could get with her sadly. 

Should we keep this place to ourselves? Our little secret get away. She turned in the water, eyeing her mirrored version of herself and winked playfully. It would be fun to have a little secret between them, no harm would come to anyone and even if their secret did spill to another - Reiko wouldn't be upset.

Niita slipped into the water a little more quietly, still feeling it inappropriate to disturb such a beautiful place. Paddling about, she nodded at Reiko in agreement as she was still struck in awe of the place. 

"Chroniclers are just as important. I remember as a child I use to have fits of panic after my brother died, my mother would often distract me with made up stories or by telling the legends of Asmundr. You're just as crucial as a Hunter." Niita assured her friend with a smile.

"Most definetly, not many wolves make frequent trips here anyways." Niita had taken to sleeping there at night, not wanting to wake the others with her outbursts.

The two swam about, happy to have found a new friend in each other.

lame but I tried to end it on a good note :P