The Sunspire Oscillate yourself tonight

The snowy cap of the tall mountain could be seen even from the lake and every day, it had beckoned her to come and explore. The last few days, Taki had slept later into the morning than she was accustomed to and then spent the rest of the day battling the constant feeling of being worn out. So she was surprised to wake up early this morning, but only briefly as nausea quickly made itself known, causing saliva to build in her mouth as she fought the urge to empty her stomach in the snow. She sighed and rose to her feet, irritated that she seemed to just feel shitty every day. The top of the tallest mountain caught her attention then, and she decided she needed a distraction. 

As she passed through the canyon, she noted the scent of multiple wolves, and she committed the detail to memory so she could mention it to Stigmata or Mahler later. That was the last thing on her mind as she made her way up the mountain. At first it was easy, barely taking any of her energy to navigate up through the snow. It was a peaceful climb, and even still feeling sick, she was able to enjoy herself a little. But eventually, the easy path became more uneven, made even harder to traverse by the heavy amounts of snow covering the dips and boulders lining the path. She found herself slowing down a little and taking cautious steps as she continued farther up. But it didn't stop her--she steadily made her way higher and higher until it became clear it would be too much of a risk to continue any farther. If it was just herself she was worrying about, she would have most certainly pushed herself to the top, but she wasn't only worrying about Taki anymore. 

Her panting breaths came out in large, white puffs as she turned to look out over the canyon below. Even if she wasn't able to go as high as she wanted, she still found it nice up here. She could look out over a good part of the mountains from here, and so she took a seat, content to stay there for a while and just watch.

Ruenna had found the gentle slopes on the eastern side of the Sunspire to be the perfect place to watch the sun come up. On mornings when she woke well before the first hints of light were peeking over the horzion, she would quietly steal away from Diaspora's sleeping commons and make her way here, to this oasis of beauty and solitude. 

It was always a peaceful, contemplative walk. Rue enjoyed the feeling of the cool sand between her toes as she crossed the canyon in the dark. Although Rue had not yet come across another wolf in the canyon, the overall scent of wolves seemed to be growing stronger. Perhaps that meant that-- what was his name? @Amsu, right?-- was meeting with some success in recruiting for his Sanctuary. Rue knew that eventually, she ought to seek permission from the canyon's custodian to continue making her morning trips to the Sunspire. Rue looked forward to the meeting the visionary; any wolf who wished to lend a paw to the needy was sure to be a kindred spirit. 

For now though, Rue simply relaxed on the mountainside, reveling in the feeling of the morning sunshine warming her pelt. Sometimes when she came here, she took the inititiatve to explore a little, and when she did she would occasionally find evidence of a previous pack: an empty cache here, an abandoned den there. Rue knew that the Lost Creek Hollow wolves had previously called themselves Sunspire; perhaps they this mountainside had been their home once. It was a lovely place to settle down, certainly. 

Tldr: Rue's just chilling on the mountainside. It looks like Taki is a good ways further up the mountain (correct me if I'm wrong Hela). So newcomers please feel free to interact with just one or the other for now, since they're in different positions on the mountain.

I almost forgot about this. This is mandatory right?

The idea that the whole of the mountains belonged to Diaspora intrigued her, it also delighted her. The notion that all of it, every single territory was theirs to rule over and claim was exciting and it kept Kazimir on her toes as she made it her goal to get to know every area. She had left the lake to explore some more and was glad to find the trails of Ruenna and a female she knew of and had seen in passing but not interacted with. She followed them both and decided to bypass Ruenna's and instead make the slow climb upwards to find Takiyok. 

Panting she sat down and caught her breath before speaking "Quite a view. You can almost see it all" she said with a small smile, her firey eyes focused on the ground below in a somewhat nervous way. The height, it made her feel weird in her stomach in a sickly way. She found that she didn't like this area much and made note to not look down when trying to head back down the mountain.

She was in her chosen spot for a while, completely lost in her own thoughts about her past and future, content with the solitude and quiet that came with being so high up. Soon she heard the approach of another and tensed. She relaxed some when she realized it was a packmate and offered her a dip of her head in greeting. Her gaze moved to the scene below them as the other woman started to talk, and Taki nodded again in agreement. Yes, you can, she answered first, unsure what else to say. Small talk was not really her thing, but she usually gave more effort than normal to talk find things to talk about when in the presence of a packmate, especially one she hadn't had many conversations with. Sure they shared the claim and saw each other every day, but the northerner was naturally quiet and now that pregnancy was making her feel so bad, she found herself less inclined to chat up her fellow wolves. Still, she was curious about the other woman. What brings you to Diaspora? she asked, fiery eyes still trained to the mountains and valleys below them. 

Thanks for joining! I believe only the monthly pack hunt is mandatory, at least that's what I gathered from reading this thread in the MO forum <3

A faint, familiar scent wafted toward Ruenna where she reposed, and her nose twitched along with her curiosity. Was it Kazimir? She waited a few long moments, wondering if her packmate would approach and the scent would grow stronger.

But no; the familiar scent faded from the breeze until it disappeared entirely. Figuring she would take the opportunity to see what her packmate was up to, Rue stretched and pulled herself to her feet. She wandered toward the the scent of her packmate, tasting the air occasionally and adjusting her bearing until she discovered the trail in the snow leading up toward the Sunspire's peaks. 

Interestingly, the trail smelled of both Kazimir and Takiyok. Rue began to pick her way upwards along the trail her packmates had laid, eyes sweeping the landscape for signs of their position.

After a few deep breaths her stomach settled and she snuck a peak at all that lay below them, eyes widening. This was their claim, the whole expanse of pride surged through her chest, proud that she was a part of a pack that owned a whole region and was confident enough to be ready to defend it. Takiyok's question was met with silence for a few long moments before she sighed "I wanted to prove im not my blood. That i am a wolf. Nothing else" she said quietly "Plus Stigmata is a interesting man" she added though truthfully she hadn't seen much of the man lately and it was Mahler who had caught her interest now.

She listened silently as the other woman answered, eyebrows coming together in confusion when she spoke of being a wolf and nothing else. You're more than just a wolf? she asked, not caring that her question might be too personal or too intrusive. She felt she had the right to know the wolves in her pack, and it wasn't like she was pushing her for her whole life story anyway. 

She nodded in response to her comment on Stigmata, not at all surprised that he had drawn another female to Diaspora. Yes, he is very interesting, Taki said, repeating the phrasing Kazimir had used. He is a good leader; one you will be proud to follow, she added next, fiery gaze fixed on the snowy cliffs below. It was a genuine statement from the northerner, and it was one of the main reasons she had decided to stay and rear his young.

She was a bit taken aback when her packmate seemed to wanr clarification on what she had meant. Normally others were able to tell she wasn't pure blooded by the shape of her ears and the slight curl of her tail, some with more keen noses even noticed the difference in scent. While she was internally cursing herself for saying anything she did appreciate the woman's forward nature "My mother was a mixed wolfdog, my father a pure wolf" she responded warily as she continued to stare over the terrain below. 

The next bit of conversation set her on edge. She couldn't tell if it was just the same forward nature that caused Takiyok to phrase her statement in such a way but to Kazimir it had come across as her being told to remember her place. To be happy to follow. She fought against the wave of heated annoyance and instead laughed softly "I'm sure all of us are happy to follow him" she said smoothly not a trace of the nastiness intended showing in tone. "I do hope one day I can be more than just a follower. I hope to prove more useful" she continued, testing the woman. She was aware of who she was speaking to but in Diaspora where everyone worked in such close quarters she figured being honest about intentions would be the best way to prevent most problems. She didn't mean any real challenge to the woman it was just honesty and open communication, pure and simple. She wanted to rise in the ranks and the woman was one of the wolves in her way, that was just fact. 

We have permission to skip Ruenna until she can get one more post in!

Exiting Rue with this post.

As she walked, the trail to the summit became more narrow and rugged, and the sun rose ever higher. Soon, the sunlight would spill out over the walls of the canyon down below, scortching the red sands and the paws of any wolf forced to travel across them. 

With a sigh, Rue abandoned her mission to locate Takiyok and Kazimir, and she turned back the way she came. The pair must have climbed up awfully high; Rue hoped they would be safe in their decent. If something did happen, at least they had each other. 

As Rue decended, she did her best to clear the trail for her pack-sisters coming behind her.

Ahh, a wolfdog. Taki had no opinion on the matter; she rarely paid much attention to such things, feeling like actions spoke louder than almost anything else in life. She was more interested in what the woman would do for the pack than whether or not she was pure wolf. She hadn't met many mixes in her life, so she had no idea if it hindered them in anyway, but she had made it here seemingly unscathed, so Taki assumed her dog genes hadn't burdened her too much. Plus, she trusted Stigmata's judgement. She also took comfort in the fact that if she went to him with a concern, that he would take her opinion seriously. 

Yes well, isn't that everyone's goal here? she replied to Kazimir's proclamation. We all want to prove useful to the pack, and we are all strong and driven, she added, her gaze resting on the other woman's face confidently. Why else join a pack with such an ambitious way of life? Taki finished with a raised eyebrow.