Sun Mote Copse Time to make one last appeal for the life I live

The smell of fresh game led her due east, amber eyes squinted against the glare of the early morning sun as she trailed across the winter landscape. She bypassed an offshoot of Grouse Thicket and came upon a frozen stream threading toward the south. Her prey's scent faded at the water's icy edge. Wildfire crossed, keeping her nose close to the snowy ground as she wove to and fro across the opposite bank. She did not pick it up again and drew up with a snort, wondering what to do now.

She took in her surroundings, spinning in a slow circle, eyes sweeping the frozen swamp to the north and the frostbitten bog to the south. Neither appealed, particularly this time of year, so she decided to venture ahead into the woods. The trees offered some relief from the relentless December sunlight as Wildfire felt an old, familiar itch in her feet. She smiled wanly and moved slowly through the wintry woodland.

Soon the mountain at its far edge blocked the sun entirely and Wildfire paused to study it through the bare treetops. Her ears bent forward toward the faint sound of running water, which was a little unexpected given the temperature. Perhaps there were runoffs in the foothills. Better yet... as she continued deeper and deeper into the forest, she found herself arriving at the edge of a partially frozen river winding along the foot of the mountain.

She dropped her head to take a drink, which hit her like a punch to the gut. Swiveling, Wildfire began to backtrack, though she didn't head home just yet. Somewhere near the heart of the forest, she found a log and hopped atop it. Although she nearly slipped, she managed to maintain her balance and settle on her belly. From her vantage point, she scanned the copse with her senses, though they eventually dulled as the she-wolf became lost in her thoughts.

The girl had returned to her land, making her way into the territory and headed for home with a joyful leap in her passage. She hadn't visited the forest before but now seemed like a good time. 

The light filtered down in cold rays, illuminating the forest floor slick with autumn leaves and snow. She relished it. Making b i g leaps into drifts, she always pulled out with a mouthful of snow and a grin. Now, she was racing through the forest, darting between the parted trees with their spindly tops, and letting barks of joy course through the forest.
An incarnation of joy.

Gradually, she zig-zagged enough across the forest to trace her own tracks and happen across another. Atop a log, the youth thought the woman draped in red looked regal but almost foxy. Like a wolf and fox combined to make something powerful, cunning and yet above all. Phex plopped onto her butt, staring at the stranger in awe and panting. After a few heartbeats Phex initiated some conversation:  "Who are you? Do you live around here?" She grinned, tail wagging with happiness. 

Thanks for joining!

Her mind drifted. Wildfire thought of many things: her past, her present, her future. When she'd decided to leave Drageda, she'd immediately known that she would find sanctuary with the Redhawks. But even on the trek to rejoin them—partially because of the journey—an old fire had been stoked inside her. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed traveling. She'd pledged her allegiance to her sister (well, her sister's mate) and planned to earn her keep, as long as she stayed. But she'd already made plans to revisit the caldera... and maybe she wouldn't stop there. Perhaps she'd keep moving, become the free spirit she'd always been meant to be. Maybe her daughters (she lumped Sequoia in there) would even come with her. It'd be safer if they all went away...

Caught up in musings of that, Wildfire more or less decided that's what she would do, in the spring, when Redhawks' ranks swelled with those coming of age and all the mated pairs filled up the new vacancies with a brand new generation of puppies. She was smiling dreamily to herself when she heard footfalls in the snow, dragging her up and out of her reverie with a slow blink. Her head turned to regard a wolf with a unique coat of coffee and cream. The stranger's friendly overtures were quickly met with an amiable smile and tap of her dark tail, despite the interruption to her daydreams. Her penchant for diplomacy had come alive again too.

"Hello there. I'm Wildfire and I live with the Redhawks," the she-wolf replied, gesturing with her smudged muzzle toward the plateau rising up in the west. "How about you?"

West. That would be the direction of the pack that the man had come from. Redhawks. 
"Cool!" she replied with enthusiasm, happy to finally be talking to someone new again,  "I'm Phex and I come from the Shadewood, over that-a-ways." Another youthful grin cracked her muzzle as she tilted her head to point north-west, the thick tree line heavy with snow stood dark but proud. Soon, she could relish in the cover and be at one with the nature it hosted. She still had her feathers, stored safely under a tree so she could pick them up again; she decided on gifting them to Kovertol, awake or asleep.

"I was going to start talking to your pack; Cry said it would be good to sort out hunting before winter makes it harder for everyone."  A casual seriousness overcame the girl, talking about packs often ignited this in her for she knew how important to everyone it was. And she would do her best to perform her greatest. 

The stranger's enthusiasm broadened Wildfire's smile. Only she wasn't a stranger for much longer; she quickly introduced herself, mentioning a pack called Shadewood. She pointed slightly north of the plateau and Wildfire's head tilted. Intrigued, she listened as Phex mentioned discussing hunting grounds between the two packs. Cry? she caught herself thinking. It was sort of a strange name but weren't they all? She couldn't help thinking it might even suit her better than her own name.

It had been a long time since she'd served as Bandrona in Drageda, yet Wildfire took to ambassadorship like a fish to water. "I haven't been with the Redhawks long, although I have a long history with them. Maybe you and I could help organize a meeting between the leadership. Are you a leader?"

The girl almost scoffed at being called a leader, yet it did bloom something of pride within her. It made her happy. "Oh no, Cry and Gwen are leaders. Me leading would be the crazy leading the crazy, because who would follow me?" She laughed at herself in good humour -- but, to be fair, when was it never good humour with Phex? --  "I'm going to be the Ambassador though!" 

A mighty fine one too, she thought. She was sympathetic and ever so rarely did her temper rise. She was honest and loyal, she had her heart in the right place. She could even be the best scout in all of the Teekon Wilds!
With a sudden realisation, the girl asked another question: "Are you an Ambassador, too?"
If so, Phex hoped she could learn a thing or two from the woman, she did seem very intelligent.

Phex seemed amused at the notion, jovially scoffing at it. Before Wildfire could counter, she declared that she was going to be the pack's ambassador. This prompted the four-year-old's tail to sweep to and fro, brushing against the log with a faint whisk whisk whisk sound.

Pushing herself so that she was seated upright, she nodded. But before embellishing, she leaped down from the log, putting herself on her new acquaintance's level. She sat again, folding her black tail around herself, and nodded for Phex to make herself comfy too. She'd love to sit here and have a conversation about their packs and ambassadorship.

"I am," she confirmed verbally. "And for what it's worth, ambassadors can make great leaders. You seem very charismatic, which is also an important trait for a leader. But you know yourself better than I do." Wildfire winked. "I'm a scout by trade, specializing in ranging as well. I put that all aside to focus more on my hunting mastery but I think I'm ready to jump back in again. I'd be happy to help out with the hunting grounds issue. I can start by passing a message onto my leaders, if that sounds good to you?"

Wildfire seemed to be good hearted and her movements were fluent. She knew how to conduct her self well and for good reason, she was a master hunter. Phez slouched a bit, her tail brushing over the snow softly. ”You are very kind, maybe one day I could be a leader.” She grinned, encouraged by the woman.

A scout by trade too, ranger and ambassador. Phex recognised the well-achieved woman and said as much: ”You must be very intelligent then, because you must’ve travelled a lot. I would be greatful if you told your leaders, that way there shouldn’t be too much bother when I come to meet them.” She smiled, happy to be making relations with the neighbors. 

”Do you think you could teach me about being an Ambassador?” Hope shone in Phex’s eyes, hopefully the woman would have time to share some tricks if the trade with her.

Wildfire wasn't quite sure what to do with all the flattery, though she appreciated it. She knew they weren't just platitudes. She'd only known Phex for a few minutes but she seemed very bubbly and genuine. She was a perfect candidate for ambassadorship, really.

"I'll tell them," she confirmed with a dip of her head. "And sure, I'm happy to help. Maybe we can even do one better than making agreements over hunting grounds: maybe we could work to develop an alliance between our packs." Wildfire didn't have the first clue how the Redhawks' current monarch felt about such matters, though she was happy to find out.

In the next moment, Wildfire felt the need to say to the aspiring ambassador, "By the way, don't sell yourself short: it's totally within your reach to be a leader, if that's something you want. When I was younger, I always considered myself totally unsuitable for leadership. But then I became a Bandrona—sort of like a lead diplomat—of my pack. I was good at it and I like to think I made a difference for my pack too."

The prospect of governing an alliance with the Redhawks seemed too good to be true. It was her dream to do important and great things that helped her pack and this was her chance. She would try anything and everything to make ends meet; for her pack.

The words Wildfire praised made the heat rise in the youth's cheeks, happy to be told she could do anything. Maybe she would take the pack when Cry and Gwen got too tired to do so; she wouldn't hesitate, not if she had their guidance.
"That sounds so cool! We should totally go on an adventure some time." Her smile beamed wide whilst her tail brushed up the snow in a powdery swirl, her butt wiggling in place with the force of her excitement.

Wildfire didn't know what Phex meant when she mentioned adventures—and while she was willing to help out, she couldn't just drop all her responsibilities and go cavorting off places—but she decided to propose, "How about a small one, right now? Would you like to explore this place with me? I've had a look around but there's still so much to see."

An adventure now? Phex wouldn't miss the opportunity. She lept up with bright eyes and puffed fur to fend off the weather, "I'd love to!" She grinned from ear to ear, her tail waving in excitement.  "Where should we start?" She queried, not knowing the full extent of the forest. Perhaps before they departed ways she'd show Wildfire the feathers she caught. The promise of lots to see set her dancing on her paws, but she'd keep beside Wildfire for fear she'd miss something totally wicked.

Fade here unless you wanna continue?

Chuckling at her companion's enthusiasm, Wildfire motioned to the west. "Since we both live this way, let's go in this direction. There's a stream that forks there. I was hunting earlier and lost a trail near there. Anyway, the water's frozen, so if you're feeling particularly adventurous, we could try some ice skating. Well, you can and I'll stand by and spot you. I'm a klutz myself and I don't want to tempt fate."

With a grin, she broke into a trot. She paused for just an instant when she reached the edge of the small clearing, casting a final glance back at the log. When Phex bounded to her flank, she resumed her walk, leading the way toward the pair of frozen streams forming the territory's furthest edge.

Thanks for the thread!