Stone Circle for lost time

Selkie was shielded from the full brunt of the wind by one of the great stone pillars after which the territory was named, but still she could feel the blistering cold all around. Her ears were nestled against her head as if they could avoid the bite of the air. It was tempting to hunker down here and wait out the freezing temperatures – but Selkie was a stubborn creature. When she was presented with a problem, even one as seemingly insurmountable as a polar vortex gripping the lands, she met it head on.

The copper she wolf rose from a crouch, moving with purpose and determination. The aspen trees of Pando Clone Forest were unlikely to provide much cover with their slim trunks, but Selkie couldn’t huddle behind the stones forever. She shook out her fur, hoping it might fluff up and protect her from the cold a little, but the strands of copper, chocolate and cream were too fine to offer much relief.

Huffing softly, she picked up her paws and lowered her head against the wind. She needed to hunt, to eat for herself, but Steady’s words also echoed in her mind: she would have to prove her loyalty. Contributing to the pack caches seemed an appropriate thing to do. Leaf green eyes narrowed, trying to pick out specks of brown or grey against a world of white.

Mara had grown used to the seemingly neverending cold of this blasted winter. Well, as comfortable as she can be in the gelid weather. The harsh winds pushed her fur back agaisnt her skin, showing even more so of her feminine silhouette, that often hid beneath her coat. The breath of nature carried with it an aroma of a stranger, though the scentless nose the female had never picked up on it. It wasn't until a copper form stalked about the frozen wonderland that had become of Easthollow. Though this was a stranger, and her imaginary brow furrowed, she could have sworn she'd met all the adults of this pack - was this a new recruit?

The agouti wolfess moved closer to the foriegn wolf, and even with the chance of this being an intruder she placed a faint smile on her maw. "Hello," She said with a silvery tone. Her amber gaze didn't shift from the other, as she began to observe the newcomer.

Selkie’s nose was telling her that there was game nearby, but she guessed whatever critter she was scenting was concealed beneath thick snow. Perhaps she’d have better luck finding larger game in another area. She sucked in another breath, tasting the scents on the back of her tongue – and with the scent of small prey came the aroma of another wolf. A pack mate, she realised with something of a jolt. Selkie would have to get used to having pack mates again.

Her head turned, silken fur whipping in the chilly breeze. Wide green eyes took in the shape of another female, and Selkie’s ears turned back and out, her head lifting from the snow but remaining level with her shoulders. “Hi there,” she chirped in response, her tail giving a modest wave. Friendliness didn’t cost Selkie anything – and since this pack mate hadn’t incurred any ire from her, that was what she would be treated with.

“Name’s Selkie.” She introduced herself in a bright, clear voice which carried above the sigh of the wind. “Just thinkin’ ‘bout doin’ some huntin’.”

"You must be new to the Hollow," Mara inferred, she'd never seen the wolfess before and was the only rational explination for a stranger to be within their borders. Her comment sparked the Delta's interest, she hadn't hunted in awhile with the sudden abundance of dead game lying about the territory. Hunting was a passtime of hers, and unfortunately no fish were around during the harsh winter, at least not one as serious as this one. "Would you like to hunt?" She offered, tilting her head to the side with an interested grin. 

The stranger seemed friendly enough, she would easily fit in with the family then. "I'm Mara by the way, nice to meet you." Her tail swished slightly back and forth, excited with the potential of chasing a meal. It was always harder for her to find a deer, relying on only four of the five senses, but she managed well.

“New – and old – just recently came back,” Selkie admitted with a tilt of her head, her gaze falling to her dainty paws. It was embarrassing, to say the least, to be admitting to the fact that she had left Easthollow, but she would rather be making that confession than covering it with lies. They were a family, after all, and keeping secrets from family was unacceptable. Besides, any of the upper ranked members could have told the copper flecked female that Selkie had been a member in the past. She wasn’t proud of her misadventure, but she was glad to have found her way back.

The smile had faded from the coppery female’s narrow muzzle, but it returned in full force when her pack mate asked her if she’d like to hunt. Selkie had seen game large and small strewn across the wilderness, but there was nothing quite like the thrill of the chase itself. With two of them they could take down something larger than the critters she had been living on for the past several weeks.

“Yeah!” Selkie agreed with zeal, her head lifting again and tail swaying. “Nice t’meet ya too, Mara.” Grinning, the petite she wolf lowered her torso, stretching out her limbs. “Reckon we can take down something bigger than vole – help the pack stores?”

A strange sense of relief washed over Mara, there were now two things her and Selkie could relate to; hunting and abandonment. No, she'd hadn't left Easthollow and would never plan on doing so, but she had left Silvertip, what the Hollow once was, twice. She would always feel guilty over that, though knowing someone else made similar mistakes was comforting to say the least. "I know what that's like." The silvery wolfes admitted, if the other question her comment she would openly answer, but to spread her desertion without much reasoning was not in her best interest. 

She nodded with agreement to Selkie's comment, it was true the two had the strength to take down more than just a rodent of some sort. "Anything you have in mind?" The femme asked, tilting her head subconsciously. The newcomer's attitude was matched with hers, she began to wag her tail and her friendly smile grew even more.

“Ah well,” Selkie murmured, the tip of her tail twitching. “No time like the present to make up for things, right?” Selkie wasn’t naive enough to believe that one hunt would make up for her abandoning Easthollow – but she had always tried to put a positive spin on things where she could. It felt more difficult than usual in these times of freezing temperatures and carcasses littering the lands, but Selkie knew she had to push through the gloom of the grey skies and find the good in things. She had always been this way, much to the annoyance of some, but in Easthollow she had found acceptance.

A grin brightened her features as she considered what the pair of them might be able to bring down. A large deer, perhaps, would be a good addition to the pack’s cache. Of course, that relied on them finding one alive. Selkie gave a brief shake of her pelt, her tail swaying as she returned her attention to drawing in the scents around them.

“Reckon I can smell somethin’ - might be elk.” With bright eyes she shot Mara a playfully challenging look. “Shall I lead the way?”