Moonspear Let me tell you

@Andalusia maybe? :D

Vela had heard of this new female joining them. This was quite curious for the female since they had been with only family members for so long. Well, and Drogon too. But she counted him as part of the family already. This was a stranger. What if she had bad intentions? She didn't feel as social to strangers as she might have been before. Maybe the reasoning that they didn't have others for so long and the ones that did join left. They had been useless while being under their protection and eating their food. Vela was going to make sure that this female wasn't going to be like that. Or at least, she was going to tell this female straight up that this wasn't how things would go around here at Moonspear.

The warrior daughter went to tracking instead. She didn't just want to summon the female, no. She wanted to find this female by herself. Perhaps startle her a bit. Vela had scented her and even seen her while the pack was gathering but they never really formally met. Perhaps she should blame herself, but then again Vela rarely did that. No, the reason she hadn't met this other female yet was definitely the fault of the newbie.

Yes! <3

Andalusia rose through the lower stretches of the mountain's pines just as the sun crested toward its setting. She'd spent most of the day at Big Salmon Lake, making herself useful in the ways she could. Thankfully her catch revealed the extent of her efforts; her warm breath pulsed around the girth of two fish swinging limply from her jaws. Her own hunger mingled as saliva with the gleam of their scales, but these would first go to Amekaze and her growing kids before she considered setting a mark on them other than the death blow.

She found one of the towpaths leading inward and up and followed the route with instinctual movement, while plans for the evening danced freely through her thoughts. Though the extent of her activity would have left her exhausted and dragging herself to bed only a few months before, something had changed through her tenure with Moonspear. Ever since joining them, and even more since encountering Colt, Andalusia found new life to her step, and tonight she knew she wanted to do something different than collapse in a slumber the moment the sun sank down.

Vela didn't take long to catch a fresh trial on the lower parts of the territory. The speckled female followed her trail up the slope of the mountain. It was clear that her scent came from out of the territory. Suspicious. Her dark blue eyes focussed ahead of her. The female made sure to catch up with the female. When she zeroed in on the female, Vela noticed that there were other scents around her. A kill.

Vela stepped closer until she was in hearing distance. She made no effort to hide where she was. She even barked at the female. It wasn't really a greeting but she hoped the female would stop walking so Vela could fully catch up with her. The young female had her tail raised as she was higher in rank compared to this new female. When she gained enough closeness for a conversation Vela noticed she was holding fish in her maw. Something Vela couldn't remember eating ever before. Quite a strange female. Her reaction was quite open with the frown she was showing on her face. Mostly disturbed by the fish and how they looked. "You're the new one. I'm Vela. Charon's daughter."

She caught the sound of a bark from behind, and eased in her ascent to lift her head and raise a glance over her shoulder. The sight she found oozed with every pomp she could imagine, and even from a distance, Andalusia determined, from the lofty rise of her plumy tail and her pale and speckled face, that this must be one Charon's and Amekaze's daughters.

The outrider tried to ignore the disgust in the other's frown, painted as starkly as the freckles on her face, and rather met the girl with a pleasant sort of a smile, as much as she could muster around the fish still in her grip. She would have laughed at the moniker Vela bestowed her, if only the princess hadn't looked so serious, and her face not so drawn with displeasure. In the circumstance, Andalusia decided it best to play civilly along, so she lowered her head to rest the fish on the ground and offered the speckled girl a good-natured nod.

"I've seen you around before, but it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she mused through the curl of a smile, "I'm Andalusia, but if that's too much of a mouthful, feel free to go with whatever sticks. Andi, Lusia, Lu - the new one." Her crystalline eyes gleamed, and she wondered how that would be received. This was always the game, testing for the nature of others. Dangerous at times, but rewarding in most, and whatever Vela gave, Andalusia was sure she could handle. She nudged the fish with her paw. "Thought your mother might like these, if she hasn't eaten already."

Vela noticed that the female was older. Older but polite. She seemed quite well balanced and not a youngster making rash decisions. That was good, at least in Vela's opinion. Old ladies wouldn't really leave a pack, this old lady would probably die on her own. Vela did squint her eyes lightly when she introduced herself. Andalusia, it was plus a bunch of nicknames. She even seemed to offer the one she used for her previously. "Andalusia is fine for me," she returned. She wouldn't want her name being nicknamed. She liked her full name, though it wasn't really a mouth full like Andalusia was. Vela had not bothered yet to return the smile the female was showing her.

"I don't know if my mother ate," she pointed out. Her expression softened a bit. Vela approved of the fact that Andalusia was trying to take care of the pack, aka her mother and new siblings. Now some curiosity got to her as she was watching the weird prey at her feet. She knew about fish but she had never seen a wolf catch them. She then cleared her throat. Vela deemed her to be a strange wolf. "The reason I sought you out is that I wanted to say that my family deserves loyal pack members. If you aren't then I will make sure to chase after you and make sure you pay for abusing my parents' trust," she huffed. If that wasn't the case she had no trouble with this female, perhaps she was even friend material.

Tough egg, this one. Vela's face didn't shift from the slight frown she'd approached with, but that didn't get under Andalusia's fur. Every wolf was different. Some took longer to warm up than others, and some never seemed to warm up at all. They all had their reasons, but Andalusia hoped she'd steal a smile from this one yet. And from the way the freckled girl softened at the mention of her mother, that didn't seem like such a far-fetched aim.

She felt her curiosity spark at the way Vela stared at the fish, and the Ostrega was about to offer a teasing quip - but her thoughts shut-up when the younger woman spoke again, and Vela's threat dripped in the air between them, too blunt to be perceived as anything but.

What a way to change the mood, and Andalusia could understand the reason for the look of business on the young girl's face. Her objective wasn't just a friendly meet-and-greet, but an interrogation. "Your parents have done much for me, and it's my intention to honour their trust, and their willingness to welcome an old dog like me." Yet she thought of Sebastian and of her honesty with Hydra about the length of her tenure, and considered. Surely it was only fair to offer this to Vela as well. Yet for the moment, she kept these thoughts close and instead carefully mused, "Though it sounds like you've had members break your parent's trust before." The vengeance Vela threatened went beyond a sore thumb, because no one muttered threats to maim or kill unless the crime was deserving.

Vela was satisfied with the female instantly being honest and telling her that she intended to not break her parents' trust. It was something that everyone could say. The female did sound genuine, for now. At least, she would now that Vela would chase after her if she would leave without a goodbye. "Well good. They did have trouble yes," she spoke. "You know my parents then?," she questioned. It sounded like she was more familiar with them compared to other new wolves.

"Why aren't you with your previous pack though?,' she then questioned curiously. What reason would have her be displaced to their pack, as she said, she was an old dog. She probably had a lot of experience then. Maybe stories about other packs. That interested the young female. She wanted to know how life was in other packs as she only lived in Moonspear.

Andalusia had hoped Vela might elaborate on what had been done to her parents, but the girl simply confirmed and left the details to silence. Perhaps it was for the best - or perhaps she'd just have to find out another day, another way.

The Ostrega grinned. "Know them? Not so much. But when you share a relative somewhere down the line, it's hard not to feel some kind of connection." Who could say how thick or thin their familial ties ran, but an Ostrega was an Ostrega, and that was that.

"As for my pack, the simplest answer is war. I was injured and separated in the aftermath," there had been the whole complication of the memory loss, of course, and how she would have been with the Caldera if she had only remembered - but she opted out of elaborating on those details today. Instead, a question found her tongue. "But I'd like to know, from your own perspective, what you would consider a right, or a wrong, reason for leaving one place for another." She asked, with open curiosity and want for conversation. Of course, Andalusia knew how she would answer, but Vela seemed to hold a different focus and a different mind than her own, and this deeply intrigued her.

Vela listened to the other and then frowned. Wait a second... Was this female related to her as well? How strange! Why didn't she say that sooner! To be honest, she hadn't felt any relative connection with her. "Wait, so you are family?," she asked. Her gaze softened slightly as she glanced over the female another time. Then to make herself even more interesting the female spoke of a war. Vela's eyes lit up. A war? Did that mean this female was a fighter as well? Perhaps she could learn a few tricks from her.

"So you can fight as well?," Vela sounded baffled, after all, the female didn't really look or act like a fighter. At least, not the fighters she was used to. Vela was bursting with questions now, instead, she got a question in return from Andalusia. "Oh well, that is simple. There isn't really a right a wrong. They can have any reason they want as long as they tell us. They shouldn't just leave without saying anything," Vela explained. She would judge them for stupid reasons but as long as they would be honest about it, Vela would be more understanding. At least, she liked to think that.

She nodded, with the dance of a smile in her eyes. "An Ostrega, through and through." There really wasn't any particular reason she hadn't told Vela before, except that it had made things more interesting for a little while. Family sometimes acted one way toward each other, and another toward outsiders, and Andalusia had simply been curious to see if the same was true of Vela.

"I can fight, but not as well as a warrior by trade. I know enough for self-protection, and that's about where my experience ends." Knowing self-defence was a skill she had needed to use on more than one occasion, but her tactics were better for solo spars than group manoeuvres and were only really suited to protect herself against the average predator or hostile wolf. Blackfeather had been a different battle - yet she still wished she had been in the fray. They might have won the war, but none of them had been very prepared for what they had faced.

Needless to say, Vela's answer both surprised and pleased Andalusia. "I'd hope any respectable wolf would say something before they leave." She wasn't blind to how much her words bit a hole at herself; she had once been the one who'd run without saying a word, after all - but Andalusia had long left that wolf behind. "I want to be frank with you, Vela, like I was with Hydra when she took me in. I was separated from a very dear friend of mine after the war, and have been looking for him ever since. I don't know what that means for me here, and Hydra knows this already. But let me make a promise to you - if and when I find him, I won't leave your family in the dark. Finding him might mean I have to leave, but I will tell your family before I do. Your parents have done so much for me, and I don't take the kindness you have shown me lightly. Even if I wind up on the road again, there will always be loyalty in my heart toward you."

Vela nodded when the female confirmed that she was family. A good thing in Vela's eyes. She mostly trusted family as they did have a moral code to let others know where they were headed. Instead of these disloyal wolves that had no ties to Moonspear. It seemed the female was not a fighter, disappointing but then again, not the toughest thing to swallow for Vela. She had enough sparring partners in the pack. If Andalusia would help with other things, Vela was satisfied.

Vela curiously listened as the female started to explain. She lost a dear friend. Wait, that sounded familiar. "I lost a dear friend as well!," Vela spoke, sounding more to her age instead of being so serious. "But why would you leave your family for him? I wouldn't leave my family. He left, maybe you can look forever but you might not even find him. And if you do, why would he be worth more than family?," she questioned back to her serious tone. Then again, her relationship with her lost friend was far different than Andalusia's.

Vela's youth came across in her questions, despite the maturity of her control, and Andalusia met the girl with a careful smile, though her brows remained pinched in the fragment of a frown. "We've been through so much together, he's pretty much family by now." But Sebastian was more than that, wasn't he? The words wouldn't cross her tongue, but they did fill her mind and pressed up with the other things unsaid. "There are some friendships that run deeper than blood. And I know that he'd do the same for me."

But she had said enough of herself, and what Vela had blurted before her questions stole her concern. "But what of your friend? Are they lost? Or..." did they leave - though Andalusia allowed that conclusion to linger unspoken between them - implied, but expressed, only if Vela finished the thought herself.

Vela looked curiously at Andalusia. She never had a friend that she had a stronger bond with than her family. Curious. She wondered if she would ever have that with someone. Until now it was clear that most 'friends' she couldn't trust. "Well, that is admirable." Now she was curious about meeting this friend of her. The speckled female wondered how they met, instead of asking Andalusia asked her about her own friend.

"He left me,' she finished that for him. 'He was absent for a while, he came back. He apologized for leaving without a goodbye and spoke of his difficulties, however, once he joined it only took a short while for him to repeat his previous behavior and left without saying a word," Vela explained, she didn't sound bitter, rather monotone. She had been sad about it, but then again, once he returned she had been distrustful. It wouldn't have worked. "Not a good friend after all."

Ah. So there it came. Andalusia wondered if this friend of Vela's was one of the ones who had betrayed her family's trust. In leaving without word or reason, he certainly didn't make a good case to convince her otherwise - but still, she felt an empathy for the man, a feeling that extended from her mutual mistake and the deep understanding of what he had lost. Though she spurned his actions, Andalusia found herself on no ground to condemn him. She didn't know this other wolf, his situation, or what caused him to leave, but difficulties aside, she wondered if he would come to regret his choices later, just as she had come to regret hers, for many years after.

"Perhaps not," she mused. Whatever his motives had been, his response harboured no good feelings in the Ostrega. She imagined his behaviour had affected this pack, if even only with a ripple. "Friends can disappoint us sometimes, but sometimes, their sense of love and loyalty can be quite the surprise. It takes time and trust, and it's certainly not easy, but it's worth it," and she smiled at Vela, empathetic, yet with warm encouragement in her voice, "I pray you can find friends like that. They're out there. They just take some time and effort to root out."

Vela slowly nodded. Andalusia was right that friends could disappoint but then why would they even try to be a friend if they knew they were going to leave? Or at least tell her so she could prepare. "But if they were honest from the start such things are tough for them then I might be more reasonable," she spoke. Vela was more understanding after Drogon explained and when he left after that she was not as angry as she knew that it was just not in his nature.

'I don't leave Moonspear that often so when I do I often don't see them again." She admitted. So what would that mean for her and having friends in other packs? Perhaps she didn't feel the need to know other wolves in other packs. "Maybe you can be a good friend then," Vela decided and offered a rare smile.

And Vela was so right. Life could be painless if everyone just learned to communicate, yet for every wolf of integrity, there were just as many cowards. And ooh boy, did she know that. She'd once been their star player - but she'd long switched sides, and Andalusia nodded with a slow and thoughtful hum.

Never said friends had to be outside the pack, she offered a crooked grin, which only widened and brightened when Vela's mouth quirked up in what the Ostrega had vied for from the start: a smile. The expression brought a warm beauty to the youth's speckled face, and Andalusia laughed as she moved up to bump her shoulder against the girl's in a natural show of camaraderie. Kinda decided on that already, she teased, and sprung away, feeling light as she stepped around the salmon, still listless on the ground.

Alrighty then, first order of friendship, let's say we get these fish to your mother before they bake out here any longer. Then, if you don't have any particular plans, how about we do something you like to do? Patrolling, sparring, hunting - and she bent down as spoke and grabbed a fish between her still smiling jaws, muffling her final words - I'm game.

Fade with your next post? <3 We need another with these two <3

I shall <3 Love Andalusia <3

Vela snorted and followed with a fond roll of her eyes when the female spoke of already decided that they would be friends. Vela had never met a female like Andalusia but she decided that she might be a good asset to have as a friend. She would give her other perspectives on life. Vela dipped her head in agreement when the female spoke of bringing the fish to her mother.

"I like sparring and patrolling!," she spoke. But the serious female also liked to listen to stories or be taught something new, like this fishing. "But you can also tell me more of your life before Moonspear and how life is outside of this pack," she offered. She was interested. She never thought she would be interested in travel but hearing the stories where her father lived made her wonder about the world. "Deal".

- END -