Lost Creek Hollow Unchanging

@Gannet!

Just when she thought things maybe would get a bit warmer, it looked like the snow was going to make another comeback, or at least that had been her thoughts as she looked up to the greying sky.  It'd be a while before it arrived, but she still had to wonder why it was that winter seemed to last forever.  Wasn't it spring yet?  Shouldn't it be?  More likely, she just hadn't paid attention before, as her first spring she was a tiny furball and the last one she just didn't have any reason to pay attention.

Still, Treason felt obligated to stay in the territory, which seemed to be giving her a case of cabin fever, not that the territory was a particularly small or that anyone would really be able to stop her if she did.  The fact that now there were perfectly reasonable limitations expected of her just made her want to rebelliously go on some jaunt.  She wasn't sure where -- she was usually kind of a homebody, so it wasn't like she totally had more adventures to go on.  Besides, Terance would probably spontaneously combust if she did.  Limitations just made her restless, but her pacing across and around the territory probably did her some good in that she was distracting herself from any minor annoyances associated with her pregnancy.  All things considered, she'd had an easy time of things so far, aside from that initial bout of morning sickness that made her hide at her den.  But hey, there were still plenty of weeks left for her to feel completely awful again.  For now, though, she'd maybe make a lap between all the caches and see if there was anything that struck her fancy.

Gannet had been continuing to wander, learning what sort of things were available in winter and tasting some to see if he could determine what they might be good for. It was a cautious business, and mostly he was sticking to trees - willow, pine, etc. no leaves, but the bark and needles. He didn't think the needles would be good for much.

It was difficult, and he was starting to wonder if he'd be able to manage it. An idea had come to him, but he had yet to ask about it, because he wasn't sure if it was a good one.

He spotted Treason on her way somewhere and fell in beside her, not waiting for an invitation or bothering to introduce himself, as was his usual pattern. Instead he glanced at her and smiled. You have pups, he said, obviously pleased.

Gannet joined her on her walk, and Treason assumed he was maybe out for a snack as well. She dipped her head politely, continuing to walk.  Treason did wonder how many times she'd end up having a conversation like this, but it was likely to happen a fair bit due to how low-key everything had been. Unless Rannoch had gone and blabbed to everyone, there hadn't been any announcements or anything about Terance or herself at all -- nothing about the pups, their relationship, anything. Not that the fact that they spent a fair amount of time together was a big secret, though, having a working nose could suss out that and then it wasn't a huge leap to put puzzle pieces together. So what was the point of telling everyone, then?

Either way, she couldn't really be angry or anything. It was just something to deal with until their new pack members actually appeared. Still more future-tense I think. At least it didn't seem like any pups were ready to exist yet, everything still felt like it was just her body, not anyone else's. How has your quest gone?

His quest? Oh. It's okay. He started, then shook his head. I don't know a teacher here. It was a pretty massive stumbling block, but one he was weathering ok.

Tarot didn't want to. Is there anyone else? She'd given one name, maybe she had others to offer. If not he would bring up his idea, though he didn't know how it would go over. To him it seemed like a fine plan but packs could get funny about coming and going, and Gannet wasn't sure where Treason and Terance stood.

Treason didn't seem particularly pleased by this bit of information.  What made Tarot so special that he didn't want to share his knowledge when he knew that there wasn't really a backup healer any more?  What happened if some other predator crunched him next, did he just want to die?

I don't like that, she said flatly.  But that would be something to take up with Tarot whenever she ran into him, not a failing of Gannet.  I don't think there's anyone else here unless they've kept it secret from me.  Our other healer died not long after Rannoch was attacked -- she seemed the type who would have been happy to teach.  Or at least Hyacinth always seemed far too cheery, but Treason associated the two aspects as one and the same -- they overlapped often enough.  And if she realized that Tarot was now possibly gone unless he gets retroactively PPCed soonish, she'd be considerably more concerned about it, but at the moment the assumption is she hasn't been paying attention to him anyway.  I'm not sure who else would be nearby.  The only Easthollow wolf she'd had a conversation with was Aerasha and she was definitely not one to learn anything from no matter what subject.  She probably ate other people's brain cells for dinner.  Everyone else was significantly farther.

He didn't have as much of an opinion as her, mostly because he didn't often have opinions on much. If Tarot didn't wish to help, then he didn't need to, though Gannet wished someone here could.

Treason shot that down as well with a confirmation that she didn't know of any either, and he nodded, disappointed. My sister can, he said, with a slight frown. But she's not here. He would have to travel and stay with the Redhawks to learn from her, and while naively he didn't see why they would refuse, he could see why Treason and Terance would want him to stay. It was a long time for a packmate to be gone.

Still, though, pregnancies were happening and if they needed a healer, he had no idea what to do for them. I could go and learn. But I'd be gone.

Treason wasn't exactly aware of who was related to who or how things were spread across the area.  Really, her traipsing about had been limited to her brief passage through the Taiga to as far as Great Bear Wilderness during the Sunspire era.  Had she even met a Redhawk wolf when they were at the caldera?  Honestly, the player doesn't think so offhand.

Where is she?  There were some packs nearby, after all, so if she happened to be located reasonably nearby, that might not be awful.  But "elsewhere" could be also halfway across the damn planet.  Was this even a good time to do so?  Winter didn't exactly make travel easy, and with a boatload of pups on the way... Eh.  Treason figured she'd have no problems because she was totes of such a superior genetic line, but didn't know about the others.

Where Liffey's mom is. Southwest, a lot of days. He didn't think it was a good idea, but it was the only one he had that was sure. He tried to remember how he'd left them - Towhee had been mad right?

It's been a long time. Maybe he should try Elesium again, for real this time. Not like the festival where he hadn't talked to anyone. If he could meet one, then they could point him to someone in a way that wouldn't overwhelm him. That might be better - it was definitely closer.

Yeah, that was far.  Liffey and Rannoch had been gone a couple of weeks, hadn't they?  And that was just hanging out visiting family, not getting an education -- certainly that would take much longer.  So, probably best as a fall-back plan, she concluded.  That was certainly not convenient for anyone -- he'd be gone from their pack and using the resources of another.  Perhaps because he was a family member, that other pack wouldn't have any issues, but just... it didn't sound ideal.

Perhaps it would be worth checking with Easthollow first.  I don't know their members particularly well, but they're our allies and you couldn't get more convenient other than by being in our pack.  If there are few healers in all the neighboring packs, that's especially concerning.  A slight frown at that thought.  I can always go ask them in an official capacity.  It would give her something to do, and she wasn't exactly concerned that a brief trip to their neighbor would somehow cause her great harm.  But a drought of healers might actually make Gannet going off to learn more important in the long run.

Yeah, probably. It was too bad he didn't know of more, but there weren't really a lot of packs around he'd spoken with. Most of the wolves he'd met over the year were outside Teekon and well away from here. He somehow seriously doubted Lyra would teach him. Especially after his talk with Charon.

That would be good. He agreed to her suggestion, especially if she would ask. He didn't know who that pack was or where they were, but he'd travel if they were willing. I didn't ask, but Lily said her pack, maybe. He shrugged - it had been too much to ask during the festival, but he could go back now. See if any after would talk and show him some things.

She nodded.  That would be easy enough for her to do.  And Elysium was closer than wherever his sister was, as far as she understood, so that was at least a step up.  We'll start with the closest and see what's around.  Hopefully the thaw will be right around the corner, so if there is longer travel involved, it won't be as annoying.  Solid ground, more plentiful prey... It would be a much more logical time to do something like that, in her eyes.  She wasn't even thinking that then plants would be able to grow and things too.

Are you the type to travel to see your sister, regardless?  It didn't seem like she was necessarily acting like that was an awful thing or something, mostly Treason just wanted to know for her own information.  She imagined that if there was enough familial overlap between the two packs, having a couple of willing go-betweens to keep up on news might be desired by some folks.  It wasn't like Rannoch or Liffey was probably going to haul a newborn brood that far.  So who would be if not them?

He agreed that starting closer definitely made sense, as did waiting for better weather (and puppies to be done) before traveling far.

No. Unless I'm that way. He might wander there, but he wasn't the type to visit someone just for the sake of visiting. Knowing they were there was enough, he didn't feel a strong enough tie to any of them to miss them at this point.

But maybe when it's warmer, he agreed. Even a short visit he could learn something, and if they could spare him, it might be neat to say hello.

Gannet was an odd one.  She couldn't quite pin him down because at times he seemed detached but at other times he seemed to care a lot about people, and those two things seemed counter in her mind.  I'll let you know what Easthollow says.  I'll head over there when I have the chance.  Hopefully it'd be the solution.  Otherwise... Who was next?  Hm.  Someone get her the game map.

She wasn't sure if there was much else to cover, honestly.  Despite practice, she was still not exactly the greatest at finding something else to talk about once the initial idea was done.  Either way, they were probably at the cache at this point, since I don't think they ever stopped walking.  Maybe she'd just take something from this one instead of doing the full circuit.  So, she started to sniff around, debating what to unearth. Anything else on your mind? You know, before she gorged herself.

Ok. He'd try the hollow again soon, and see who was there. He'd also travel around a bit close and see what he could find himself, as sometimes even lone wolves could be helpful.

No, he answered, after thinking a moment. Aside from that all was well with him, and it seemed she was the same. If you need anything, he added, though he didn't finish and left the rest for assumption. He was there, and even if he didn't know a lot, he knew some. Then, with a nod of shared understanding, he left her to her own devices.