Sun Mote Copse anything i wanted to know,

Before he could become too engrossed in trying to scout out a different stretch of the coastline, their travels had needed to point southward. Per directions from more experienced (re: older) wolves, the big lake had served as a good guidepost and from there, their mom had said following waterways was wise—so that was what he tried to do, when he could, and together, he and @Vela made good progress onward, deeper into the Tuktu, the unexplored territory for the pair of Ostregas.

When further west was apparently a frozen swamp.. which he didn't really need to see that badly right now, they aimed south further until treetops rose on the horizon. It was a welcome beacon, so he followed the riverways towards it, assuming nothing waylaid the route first and that at least some kind of woodlot awaited them there. And where there were trees, there could be prey trying to shelter from the cold, or maybe even wolf traffic. Who knows. He wanted to find out.

Everything was new to him out here, and his nose rarely stopped quivering. There was much to see, even before they reached their next stop to rest. He thought maybe this forest could be a good landmark to memorize, too, but was it even going to be worth it to loiter here? They would have to find out. He looked for any visual confirmation on his sister's whereabouts, then delved on into the cover of the sunlit trees without hesitation.

Wildfire had shown her the place, but Kiwi wasn't satisfied.  If they were going to be moving somewhere new, maybe, then she wanted to know it.  And the only way to do that best was to explore as much of it as she could. 

She should have asked someone to come with, likely, but she hadn't bothered.  She could take care of herself and it wasn't too far a trip to get to the... what was it called?  Sun Mote something.  It was a pretty name if a little wordy.  Kiwi walked among the trees, gazing up as she went.  She still didn't really see much that set this forest apart from any other, but if it made her mom happy, then she was cool with it.  Especially because she doubted that Bat would come with;  she was too far up the ass of her new family, after all.  (wow kiwi, wow).

With that lovely little thought high on her mind, she sniffed about, searching for what prey might be about.  It would be good to track movements, see what kind of herds made it home or at least passed through.  Fighting practice with Niamh had been fun, but hunting would likely always be her first love.

It was all news to him, and he eventually started to find some groove to this forest which was much more open and sunlit than the ones he typically stalked. Even off the mountain, usually, there was more denseness to it—although he did wonder if maybe he just had not reached the thick of it yet. Who knew how many miles this woodlot stretched, or if he was even aimed at the heart at all.

He did know he was still heading roughly south, maybe a little towards the west sometimes. More than anything, he was starting to follow what he perceived as thoroughfares here. He smelled scattered traces of prey, maybe some old vague wolf traffic too, and a slew of other odds and ends. Without knowing what was normal for a place like this, he just went on, guessing he'd know if it was looking amiss before it happened, somehow.

Occasionally he stopped to sniff at the ground, and prints pressed into the earth, but the winds seemed more telling. With the breeze soft enough to carry, he got more out a nose up tall, following it that way.

He had smelled a wolf, then heard a wolf, and worked around the trees enough to close in to see what she was up to here as well. What he found was a lonesome wolf, but way smaller than expected. Maybe she knew something about this place, though, so not to be bothered by this in the long run, he kept striding closer. Hey, hi, he chimed once near enough to slow down, and potentially interrupt her doings if he timed it right. First he had to gauge if she was even personable enough to talk to, so he held his tongue for now, and watched her keenly.

She'd just caught on to something interesting when Jarlio interrupted, so her glance at him held more than a little annoyance.  She cooled it pretty quick when she saw that she didn't know whoever it was that said hi, though.  Kiwi wasn't the most diplomatic of wolves but even she knew better than to snap at a stranger for nothing in unfamiliar territory.

Hi, she replied, taking a small step back but getting a pretty good look at him.  Who're you?

With his ears pressed as far forward towards her as he could, he saw her step back, but exhibit nothing else that looked like outright distaste yet. Jarilo stayed his ground, then, and tried to decide if anything about her seemed familiar. Right off, it didn't really seem so. He was still eager enough to find out more and maybe being friendly enough could work in his favor.

The yearling didn't want to be overly forthcoming with the details if she was a lost cause for even a solid chat, but he would answer with a happy nod—to this much at least. I'm Jarilo, he replied, leaving a pause there for her to hopefully see if she might return with her own then or not. From over the mountains, the yearling jerked his nose that way, somewhat. It was more north-aimed than was truly proper. You from near? he went right out with next.

He seemed alright, friendly enough, though she couldn't read much about him aside from tone.  Slightly older than her maybe? Most were.

Close by.  I'm Kiwi. She didn't exactly smile, but was polite enough.  She didn't mind talking a bit because there was a bit of things she wanted to know too.  Does your pack come this way a lot?

He seemed to get back about what he put into this. She, now known to him as Kiwi, met him somewhere in the middle. Close by could pack with it a broader meaning, but he hadn't specified his homelands either. Not usually, not that I know about, he did answer as well as he was able to. I've never been through until now, he added, since it could be some clarification, but she didn't know that he was more of a homebody most days. He didn't need to go far.

Does it have a name? he asked and gestured up and around towards the airy treetops, presuming she knew if she was from here, or prone to spending any time lurking these parts. Is it your pack's hunting grounds or something? I didn't think I smelled a whole  lot of business here but I did just show up, he supposed, but maybe he had overlooked it somehow, or been distracted, which was possible too. She wasn't being too prickly at him so he didn't think boundaries had been overstepped necessarily since he wasn't that air-headed most of the time, but maybe he was creeping close.

Oh.  Good. She'd been feeling a bit defensive of her mother's liking of this place, but hearing that they didn't frequent it made her happy.

Sun Mote Copse.  It isn't, but I'm gonna claim it. she saw no real problem with telling their plans, and held a good amount of pride as she put that little gem forth.  Of course it was actually her mom who would be claiming it. But she was rightful inheritor and the only real second option so of course she would lead too.  Of course.

The sterling Ostrega couldn't help but tilt his head a bit, and almost arched a brow. Good? Which was supposed to mean what, exactly, he was quick to wonder. Before he could formulate this question, and while he looked like there was one on the tip of his tongue, she went on to clear it up just a little bit.

While he liked the name of the place, fancying the reference to any celestial bodies, she dropped something else far more interesting after. You are? Is that happening soon then? he asked back, keeping to himself about how she looked awfully young for all of the upkeep involved with a claim, but maybe she didn't know about all of that yet or maybe the pack he vaguely smelled was what she referenced then. He leveled her with a new type of curious look, but kept his expression light. You have some help with that somewhere then, I hope? Because one young girl wasn't about to defend a whole forest, he thought, and even without knowing how big these woods were, he could only imagine it wouldn't be too simple.

What was that supposed to mean? She was going to have help, of course, but did he think she couldn't live here by herself?  She got righteously annoyed by the implication.  I am.  And yeah, but I could do it myself.  I'm really good at stuff. She gave him a bit of a stink eye, but didn't do much more.  It wasn't his fault he didn't know how good she was, but he shouldn't assume just because she was little she couldn't kick his butt.  

Have you ever found a place? She asked then, because maybe if he had experience he would have pointers.  And if he didn't well... she didn't have to care much about what he thought, right?

Judging by the stink eye he got back, he had probably struck a bit of a nerve. But, pretty used to being a low-grade annoyance himself and how his younger siblings could be sometimes (because he pinned her at near their age, just for simplicity's sake--or she was just puny, who knew), he grinned benignly back at it, especially since she was so good at stuff evidently.

Oh, right. Well okay then. Glad you've got it, he said through a nod, despite his doubts for what she might be able to actually achieve. I would think a whole forest out here in the valley would be a hard perimeter to patrol all by yourself, though, but hey, you know your strengths, he added. Although very new to this place, he didn't anticipate any remarkable natural barriers like elevations working to her favor, but maybe there were riverways he had not seen to make borderwork easier. But yeah. he answered, although he hadn't really found any place, he'd just been born there and found himself surprisingly content so far, so he didn't really elaborate on that one without more prompting as to what she wanted out of that.

Now she was dubious.  He sounded semi sincere, but definitely could also be making fun of her.  Well, she didn't have anything to prove to him anyway, since he obviously wasn't looking to claim this place so didnt really matter.  Right.

Well that part you don't do alone, duh. She responded, now going into lecture mode.  She'd taken this tone of 'here I'm going to teach you a thing' often with her siblings, so often they'd likely known to ignore it.  First you claim a place, then you find wolves who wanna listen to you to defend it.  I mean, everyone couldn't claim a place.  Otherwise who was the Heda?  Sure her mom was gonna lead, but she was helping claim, and that meant she probably had more say than anyone who didn't help.

He upheld his good humor.. well, good enough, even as she laid the facts out for him. Her approach sounded so cut and dry--and really, immediate response of his was to wonder who was going to follow some probably-juvenile who up and decided this place was hers, and expected work like that to reinforce her claim's safety, and for what? Just because some young girl said so? Hmmm.. he withheld the squinty look he was feeling like mustering in favor of something more friendly.

Mhm.. you definitely make it sound so easy! he chuffed, tail waving thoughtfully--and maybe for her it would be that easy, but at the root of it all, his family had raised a skeptic, and he needed to see loyalty to believe it, unless it was written in their very blood. He wasn't sure too many would just materialize into listening to her, but again, what did he know about how things went out here? On the mountain, though, something like that would never fly. Good luck finding those that'll do your bidding because you say, and all. A good place is a good start at least... but I won't bug you anymore, though, so I'll get back on the road, he said, starting to turn to make for his leave.

He'd be more careful to swing wide of this place on his inevitable trip back. For now, he had more places to see and if she didn't have more to say, he'd see himself on out.

She couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, but she chose to take his words as him acknowledging that she didn't seem incapable of doing it, and that was enough for her.  She wasn't looking to recruit him anyway, otherwise she'd have called her mom, because Wildfire was the actual driving force here.  The fact that he thought it was her (because she straight up lied yo) made her extremely pleased, and hopefully it was something he'd mention if anyone else came around here.

Alright, bye.  She didn't need good luck, so didn't return on that.  She just watched him leave, then gave a little grin and continued on her patrol.