Deepwood Weald they're wearing steel that's bright and true

The last turn of a moon had been spent in a weird headspace for the sterling Ostrega—he felt overly introspective, bordering on withdrawn for him, but kept terribly busy all at once. There was always something going on, from the everyday drivel to his father's injuries to whatever news his sisters trickled back for them, and everything else brewing out the flatlands and beyond. It seemed like strange times loomed on the horizon, or maybe just out of reach, and certain balances were definitely offset (his dad's rogue enemy, his misplaced little sister).. but really, his day to day? He was remarkably well.

A plentiful summer spent on the move up and down the mountains had helped fill him out in ways yet unseen, and now with winter thickening up his coat too, he was starting to look less adolescent, and instead more whole. He wasn't exactly privy to this type of insight, exactly.. but he did feel more.. wily, and quicker to rile thanks to the special chill on the winds, paired with all the reasons he had—from what he protected alongside his loved ones, to what he sought to see himself.

Riding these momentums well for tonight, he had worked his patrols to a close before the sun set, then ranged out into neutral turf after. When his path started to diverge from Moonspear's claim, he raised his voice to the winds to let them know. Namely, he wondered if @Vela was in earshot; he hadn't forgotten about their intentions to scout together, but with everything going on, it seemed less pertinent most days. Yet, when was the timing ever going to be a perfect fit? Nevertheless, he announced his plans and took off, heading on towards the looming treeline fast with confidence he could find something to entertain his nose there for the eve.

Hope it's ok to drop Phex in :D

@Cry for reference

The girl had diverted from Cry, trusting herself and him to stay out of trouble, plus how hard could it be to find the raven-man again? She'd wandered through the forest filled with the same stuff. Boring, spindly trees and pine-coated floor. There was once a claw marking but the girl was quickly moved on by strange caws were heard from the trees, giving the forest an eerie aura, however, the rest of the time was spent silent; save for her footsteps. 

Her muzzle lifted slightly as a breath of fresh air brushed through the trees and tickled her nose. Oh no, she was gonna mega-sneeze. 
The first sound rang out and cleaved the silence like a dagger.
And again and again and again.

By the fifth sneeze, she'd managed to quieten herself and itch her nose until she was satisfied with her state. The hair rose along her neck. The girl spun around, sea-green eyes searching for the source of the fear that trickled down her spine and chilled her skin.

"Who's there?" she called, voice wavering slightly in trepidation. She knew not who may be watching her here. Or what they could do.

yes of course!

The eventual approach of the treeline became cause enough to slow down—a little, at least, and the yearling perked up his head. Here between the forest's deepening depths, he had to choose his path more carefully with a measured trot. Much of what was ahead came as unknown to him, littered with varying scents, old, new, predator and prey and unidentifiable. He had to find out more and remember to watch his own back all at once.

So, he went on his own whims for a while until he thought he heard something. First time could have easily been overlooked, but by the second and third and after that he stopped counting, he already found his paws drawing closer to go investigate; steadily, he honed in, because curiosity would always lead his footfalls.

His stance was still on alert, given the gentle curve to his tail and sharp stare about him. He slowed down to a walk and thought he could make out a wolf. When she called out, his furs jumped up and he barely contained the small start she gave him. Still, it just told him he was on the right track, so he kept going, and found a groove of his own to fall into on the end of his approach.

She had asked, so he stopped when he was just near enough and sniffed pointedly her way. Just me, he chuffed, and though his posture remained friendly enough despite his rise, there was a hint of an ominous undertone; what if he was worse? Same question, though. Was that you..? he asked back, meaning the noises he had heard earlier and assuming she knew what he was talking about. If not, well, then he had a different search to be on, possibly.

Her head turned to watch the others approach. He was alert, damn, she might’ve scared him with her damn sneezing, “I’m sorry if I scared you.” She called out, an attempt to sooth her own disgruntled nerves at the apperance of the other. She wanted to go to him, to greet him in the way she always did: like family. But...

Something said NO. 
Maybe it was the woods, or the way he’d approached, no, that wasn’t it. His posture was friendly and inviting, yet she felt a horror and coldness run in her veins and stop her heat every second beat and cause her breath to come in ragged heaves. 

Silence. 

Almost, her breathing could be seen on the cold air and heard from her lips. She was yet to speak again. “Ah, um. Yes, it was me, sorry...again” She was stumbling, and she knew it.

The girl slumped onto her haunches, watching the man from heavy eyelids. She wished she’d stuck with Cry, or for him to even follow her. But he wasn’t around, he would’ve shown himself by now at the apperance of a stranger. But she’d be ok, as long as she didn’t make a wrong move; that was a likely outcome, however.

When she spoke on, apologizing, his ears tilted greedily towards her and slowly, he chanced a few shorter steps closer. Not exactly, but it sounded pretty rough.. from over there, so I guess I'm just checking it out... and maybe honestly, some old instinct had made him wonder what was struggling over here in case of easy prey pickings. But, not the case, and he stared unabashedly wide-eyed at this stranger while she seemed to sort through this.. maybe?

After apology number two, he couldn't help but shake his head. No it's all good.. are you okay out here, though? Do you live around here or traveling through? he had to ask outright. Hard to tell with wolves in what he perceived as neutral turf, and scent of her said nothing in particular to him (who was pretty inexperienced since he generally stayed close to home). She could easily belong to some family somewhere, or just some traveling band. Jarilo just doubted a pack had cropped up right near here without his sisters warning him about it already... but maybe.

Anyway, he did hope she'd answer him. He tried to look as nonthreatening as possible, without outright letting his whole guard down. He was minding himself and everything all at once—well, he tried to.

She sighed softly, letting her gaze wander before again perking up. She stood straighter and opened her eyes to reveal the sea glittering within them. It was not what he said, no, but how he looked. Unafraid and...handsome. Not in the way Cry was handsome, different somehow. 
Were there other kinds of handsome? 

Whatever, she was young still and had a duty, a duty to Cry and Shadewood. And whoever Gwen was. Her ears tilted forwards and her tail brushed up the leaves,  "We're traveling. I don't know where to, somewhere far away. But it will be exciting!"  She stood then, stepping towards him and extending her muzzle to smell him. He smelt like coldness and darkness, but also of others; a family perhaps. "Come with us,"  she blurted, excitement blanketing her senses. She looked up to him, giving him a please-come-on face, "It's an exciting adventure and you can come back here when we find her." 

The poor boy probably didn't know what Phex was babbling on about -- he most likely thought she was crazy-- she often leaves details out. They would be going to find Gwen and then they'd return to the Shadewood; at least that was the plan.

Since she was proving to be a little bit odd so far, he was keeping a close eye on her while she answered. Travelers, then, and he didn't overlook that she implied others. Subtly, he worked his nose to try to decipher any hints of them from her own scents, but luck on that was marginal at best.

When she extended her muzzle towards him, he watched first, wide-eyed, and sniffed back blatantly on his own. What? he asked when she said come with them, and caught himself standing a little taller. You just met me! Her? How do you not know where you're going, anyway? he asked first, of all the many, many questions he suddenly found that he had. She was seeming odd. This was swiftly confirming it to him as he tried to put together the pieces. Obviously this wasn't the whole story. He just stared back at her, unsure if he was ready to find out more or dart from the situation entirely before it got any weirder on him.

And plus, I have a home. he said, making it clear he was not in the market for upheaval anyway.

Half of her knew he’d decline, but the other half held hope. Nether less, she sat back unfazed and unharmed by his rejection and started to put the pieces together for him. 

“Cry wanted to go and find his friend to take back to the Shadewood,” she pointed in the wrong direction, more south than west, with her muzzle, “and we’re meeting lots of people. I just thought you’d like an adventure.” 

Her tail brushed the leaves, a harmless child. “Cry didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know anyways. But it’s somewhere Northeast because that’s the way we’re going.” She grinned, happy with her re-description. She then tilted her head up to look at the sky through skeletal branches. 

When she looked back to the wolf, her eyes were soft, “What’s your name anyways?”

He was far too comfortable with the lifestyle he had to be convinced into changing it by some pleading eyes, but thankfully she did go on to elaborate and answer—which all was a lot to grasp at. Jarilo had to listen carefully. She introduced someone named Cry along with it all, too, and his ears swung outwards in a splay. 

Not to have his decline be misconstrued into a dislike for adventure, he worsened his serious face for a moment. I can adventure plenty from my mountain, thank you, he clipped, almost adding that he knew where it was. He was still confused that she would just agree to go to wherever this was that some Cry wanted, but so be it, it wasn't his life. And without following some wolf I don't even know.. to places I don't know either? Nah, he countered, though his tail waved a slow, steady beat. But whatever works for you, he flashed a hint of a smirk then.

Jarilo. What's yours? he asked back immediately before she could find another topic. While a hunch on his behalf, she didn't seem like the type to have a lengthy attention span when it came to conversation. Is the Shadewood some place? he had picked about her answer enough to wonder that much. Maybe it was a pack, even. He couldn't tell and he had never heard of it from Moonspear..

He seemed very adamant about his mountain; it must be his home. The short girl didn’t like mountains, she was scared of the rock crumbling and giving way to her death. 

Oh well, it wasn’t like he was about to invite her over, anyway. 

He was also smart, quite unlike the girl in mind; “How dull..” she murmured, disappointed to not have a friend to show off to Cry. But he continued on: 

Jarlio. Had she heard that name before? Probably not...but something close to the like. 
“I’m Phex..” she paused before deciding to big herself up and seem like a more enticing traveler, “Phex, Listener of the Shadewood.” Then the girl grinned, completely unaware of the existence of Blackfeather and their ranks — hopefully, the man wouldn’t mistake her for one of them. 

“The Shadewood is my home, it’s a beautiful forest full of massive trees and delicate flowers and there’s a waterfall and a bear!” the girl rambled, in truth, she hadn’t seen the forest is spring or summer, but it’d be even more radiant — she knew that.  Tilting her head quizzically, she asked another question ( provided she had the chance to ) “Tell me about your mountain, please.” Her eyes were bight and expecting since his mountain was so great.

He scoffed, albeit playfully enough, to her remark about the mountain being dull and decided to just believe she was wrong because she didn't know. Just like he didn't know the benefits to whatever little thing she had going on, with her adventures and all.

But, when his ears pricked to her full title, he could understand more. So Shadewood was a place, and a place with a system too, within which she was a Listener. He had no idea what it meant, but all worth noting, and careful little facts that would go back to the Spear with him soon as well.

For Moonspear, he could be vague enough to answer her question since she had shared plenty of her own. We have thick pine forests, cliffs, meadows... plenty of creeks. Oh, and caves of all sorts, he listed, his tail flicking thoughtfully. Her answer had been much the same only in a different way. Plus heights higher than anything, and the best view of the stars, of course. Coming from a family like his, this note made sense.

Considering that a good start on his own return of territory facts, he had to ask more about something of hers before he got any further ahead of himself: Why do you just have a bear? We used to have a bear but we killed one because it killed one of our own. he informed, and also half warned. As a warrior for the sake of his pack, he'd always been taught by the older wolves to beware those creatures. His own littermate had been taken by them, and Moonspear wolves had died fighting them before. Bears weren't anything to be too casual about to him exactly.. unless they housed some strange, oddly sedate beast that was probably ill.. Jarilo realized.. if so.

He dared to scoff at her?! How dare he?
The youth, in all her angst, let her lips curl. Defensive, but also playful, for her tail wagged and the rest of her body screamed that she thought this was a game.  They seemed to have so much in their territory! She admired it of course but what really caught her attention was the best view of the stars. 
Maybe his mountain was greater than she anticipated.

Her eyes widened slightly, mouth opening as she recalled every moment she'd spent watching the stars through forests and from grasslands. Never from a mountain. She could dream and wonder. Caves, too. Phex had never been in a cave, she wondered what it was like. But he launched into question, so she had to reply to that first:

"Our bear wouldn't hurt us. Cry made sure he was friendly and he is the sweetest. I'm going to try and talk to him and see what he knows..." an afterthought,  "Do bears speak in the common tongue?"

Phex knew bears could be dangerous, her Uncle had said about her Grandfather's pack being attacked by one. They lived on a mountain, would Kovertol be happier to live on a mountain?
No, she hoped he was happy enough in her land, and would stay long enough for her to study him.

He didn't want to be overly presumptuous, but he liked to think he hit some kind of note when he mentioned the view of the stars from up high in the elevations. When her expression changed, he gave her back a look with a dash of well-intentioned smugness. It might only be one place, and not quite so thrilling-sounding as adventuring, but he was happy where he was and that was one of his many reasons.

However he wasn't buying it on the bear and listened on with a skeptical look on. No thanks, although he wished them some sort of luck in it. Either they really had a special case there, or they were just very lucky, he couldn't tell. I think some can.. kind of, he said, trying to remember if his older sisters had ever mentioned bears to that kind of detail. They were not something this yearling had a lot of experience with face to face. Can't say I sit down and have a chat with bears all that often, though. So good luck with that. Let me know if you find out anything super profound, he said, tail waving a bit more too. He was fine to be curious about that one from far away, just in case her and all her packmates were going to be become that bear's meals or hostages one day.

"Hm.." She mulled over his words, wondering what secrets Kovertol could share with her. "I promise I'll come back to share," she grinned, happy to feel like she had a friend. It was a profound concept, really. Returning to a mountain just to tell some stranger about a bear. Jarlio. His name was Jarlio.
Her ears flickered in a puppyish way; she had forgotten her question.

A pause, her face scrunching in thought before her eyes opening wise; she'd remembered!
"Do you think when I return I could watch the stars?" Her eyes and tone held the hope of youth, "I love stars, they're so shiny." she grinned.
One may start to realise she was touched after speaking to the girl for this long, but she was not affected enough to show it too explicitly; smart inside, but not outside.

That seemed to give her something to think about, but soon enough, the same could be said for him. He hadn't exactly thought she'd want to go see the stars there. On the mountain range, anything was possible. On Moonspear, that was only for their select few of course and him, homegrown bias and all, was not about to roll out the generosity to their slopes. He was quite happy to be stingy with those covetous best views.

I mean, yeah, nothing's stopping you so long as the stars are out and you've got a clear field somewhere, he nodded his head, smirking softly as the thought occurred. I guess a really cloudy night might do that, though, he supposed then, still watching her despite how strange her fondness for the stars presented to him. There are lots of spots to stargaze all over the range. Even the valleys below do pretty good.. Does Shadewood have good views? he detailed, then asked, having no idea what a Shadewood looked like exactly.

This was interesting. She'd stargazed often before but there was always something obscuring. A tree, a piece of grass. All were problems for the short girl; she could barely climb the easiest of mountain paths before getting tired from having to leap.
Perhaps the valley would be better like he suggested.

"It's pretty hard to see the sky in the Shadewood. There are hugeee trees and lots of plants. I'm going to find the names for all of them," she grinned with a wagging tail, more than happy to give the information to her friend. Her ears waggled in her happiness.

Her description of the Shadewood earned itself a mixed response from him. While he didn't like the lack of an upward view, the plentiful plants notion definitely sparked his interests about as equally as he thought he might miss the skies if it were his place. Well that's good, he said, still waving a slow rhythm with his tail. He supposed there were trade-offs to all things. Come spring, I bet it'll be really amazing with all the plants coming into full bloom and getting their new green on, he said, wishing her luck on the matter of naming them all too since he was kind of excited about the prospect of spring's return already too. He aspired to know whatever he could about the sorts of plants around the mountain, too, but it was a difficult hobby to pursue in the wintertime months. His interests were not as sharp when most things were dormant, or covered in snow.

My sister is pretty good at plant names. So is my mom... if you find any weird ones, they might even know them, the yearling mentioned, since those two were his go-to resources when it came to plantlife. Which.. I should probably get going soon. And you probably have a good trek back to.. wherever, too..? he edged on, a little uncertain but hopeful that his sentiment would get across. He didn't want to just up and ditch her, but they both probably had other places to be basically.

She nodded enthusiastically before herself realising she had to keep up with Cry -- or was it Cry keeping up with her? She stood with a small spring to her step and carried herself to him for a soft, parting breath. Se drifted from him again, understanding he probably had somewhere to be, with a pack and all. 

"I hope I see you soon, Jarlio, I'll be sure to visit in the spring!" She invited herself to his borders, not caring much for his thoughts on it. Even if he wanted no more to do with her, she sure as hell would find someone else who'd shower her with affection. She grinned over a shoulder to him before taking off into the forest to find something to gift Cry or Gwen; whoever she came across first.