Lost Creek Hollow The way you see the world, it got you this far

Pretty much immediately after her trip with Wraen, Maia snagged @Coelho to see if the smaller wolf would be willing to go out again with her.  She was feeling a little self-conscious of late about not really having a role in the pack - seemed everyone else had a go-to role with Rannoch, from the meeting at least, while she was just kinda there?  I mean, she was definitely good at things.  She just... didn't really know what those things were for sure yet.

Luckily Coelho was game, and they set off east, but not so far north as she and Wraen went.  There ended up bein a pack or two up there already, big ones.  

"Bet we find someplace amazing!" She called over to her friend, picking up her pace a little to travel closer.  She'd been drifting away a little, checking out the scenery.

like Maia, Coelho had her own self-doubts about her role in Sunspire. As the pack meeting ended and each wolf gradually drifted away, Coelho had been left feeling detached and unassociated; she knew each member by name and that was it — yet they all seemed so close to one another, often related by blood — and it made the little wolf wonder if she would ever get her foot in the door and be part of Sunspire’s family as well as ranks. 

It was no ones fault but her own she felt alienated; the last few weeks she had been scouting,and had spent more time afoot than within Sunspire’s borders. Even then she was eager to set out with Maia - she envisioned them going on grand adventures and coming back to a chorus of eager faces interested in hearing all that the pair had seen. 

Maia had briefly slipped away, inspecting something out of Coelho’s line of sight. She drifted closer but kept her guard up, looking around them quietly. ”or we find something or something not happy to see us. I didn’t realize there were so many packs.” Coelho spoke in a hushed whisper, as if expecting a pack wolf to come out of the brushes in any moment.

"Ugh, right?!"  Maia shook her head.  "It wasn't this crowded back where I used to live.  Least, I don't think it was."  Mom and dad had never mentioned it, and she'd not seen many other packs, though she hadn't gotten out a whole lot until she left.

She wasn't really sure what they were looking for anyway.  She didn't have any real expectations, aside from more food?  "If you could live anywhere, where would you want to go?" She asked Coelho, wondering if her friend had a better idea of what she had in mind for a target.

like her comrade, coelho wasn't too sure what to expect, or even what they were looking for. she supposed the bare minimum was a place that was relatively secluded, decently stocked with game, and, of course, full of potable water. but other than that, the girl wasn't sure what rannoch and liffey would want: did they like tall deciduous forests? did they prefer flatlands, or gentle rolling hills? did they love the mountain they lived in now?

she supposed not, since while its peaks had housed them generously enough, it had been a hardship to live there.

as maia asked for coelho's preference, the she-wolf gave a small smile; she needn't think at all about the answer. "oh! i love the ocean.. it's where i lived for a long time, and my family, they were mostly coastal by habit. we even had a few members named after coastal features.." there wasn't much nostalgia in her expression, though she did afford another small smile as she thought of the swell of the sea. "but anywhere with water is okay with me - river, glen, lake.. what about you?"

she was exploring as she spoke, but she paused at the rocky lip of what appeared to be a wooded basin -- in the distance, she could hear the rush of a river.

The ocean?  That brought her up short.  Why was she on a mountain then, if she liked the shore?  Maia wasn't a huge fan - she'd seen it, and even before it was kinda ruined by illness, she hadn't been super impressed.  "That's cool!" She replied brightly enough, though, still enjoying how much she seemed to like talking about it.  Some wolves got so dodgy when you brought up family!

"Definitely forest.  My dad and mom have always lived in one, with my old pack, and something about havin trees around you makes it seem less lonely and more safe."  She said it, then realized what she said and quickly added, "not that I'm super scared or anything without them!"

She definitely did feel like something was missing on the mountain though, another part of why she enjoyed the thought of a move.

"What made you pick a mountain if you like the ocean so much?"  Ok She was seriously curious.  Exploring was fun and all, but once Maia caught a conversation bug, she tended to have a hard time keeping her attention outward.  The sound of the water barely registered.

coelho's ears followed the sound of water, though one long ear was still fixed on maia as she spoke of her family. the coywolf nodded understandingly -- she knew the meaning of security that a family encompassed, and would not ridicule - not that she was capable of ridiculing in the first place.

she could have sworn the sound was getting louder; lifting her muzzle to the air it was hard to miss the scent of water that permeated the quiet pine forest. she only absentmindedly answered maia's question: "oh? um. well, just a series of events, i guess. it wasn't where i meant to go, but it's where i am. the people are more important to me than the landscape." she paused, roving back and forth along the pinestraw. "i smell a river, i think it's close."

***

the river was indeed close; the pair found it soon enough. it was a beautiful place, haunted by bright swaths of sunbeams and instilled with a peaceful, almost tranquil ambience. coelho loved it immediately -- after the two inspected what they could, they made cheerily for home -- neither could wait to tell rannoch the good news, and both had their hearts full of eagerness to see old friends and familiar faces again.