Hideaway Strath There was a fire but now its gone

It had been nearly a week since he last returned to the Grove, his vacation that he told no one about might've raised the alarm. Then again there was the chance they all didn't notice. That thought played pitifully in Ryes' mind, he didn't want more heartache. His mind was full, any more and his brain might pop. Recent events had him spiraling down but at least there was one thing, he was over his sickness. He was as hardy as a buck, if only his feelings aligned with that metaphor. That wasn't to say he was devastated but, he was still feeling the sting from the wasp.

For now, he was treking his way back into the Grove. The main bit of land everyone seemed to hang out in, but instead of sticking around in the middle he stayed low, and walked to the cache for refueling. He dug up whatever piece of game he could and began knawing at the bone, wanting that sweet marrow. As he chewed and got some of what he wanted, Rye hoped Towhee would not spot him, he didn't want to see her quite yet. Rather he wanted to get settoed back into things. Although, there was still that part of him that did want to see her. There were still those stubborn feelings sticking around.

Well, here was someone Rue hadn't run into in a minute. 

"Rye," Ruenna chimed in surprise, nodding to her packmate as she approached the cache. "It's nice to see you back on your feet." The Pulsar had noted Rye's recent absence, but she assumed he had tucked himself away to recover from his sickness. 

She nosed through the cache, but nothing seemed particularly appealing. Some of the contents were starting to look a little stale, truth be told. If they didn't do something about this cache soon, the pack would have a whole new wave of sickness on their paws. "How's that tasting?" Rue asked, brow knitting in concern.

Rye had been focused in in the bone, gnawing it down and obtaining the marrow. He was having quite the successful time when Ruenna showed up. She noted it was nice to him on his feet, and then questioned him about the taste of his slab of meat. The male had little concern whether the meat was truly good or not. As long as it didn't smell rancid or look deathly, he was going to eat it. It had been a hot minute since Rye last ate, due to visiting another part of teekon. An old friend had visited which helped bring him out of his downer state. Surely, Ruenna could do the same thing and further lift Ryes' spirits.

He greeted her with a soft, small smile and looked down at his smeal. His head twisted and he gave it some thought, the meat looked okay, not great but in his mind still edible. "I've been mainly chewing on the bone thats sticking out, but the meat looks okay to me. Why? Has this cache not been purged of its spoiled food? He looked back up at her as he said this and began to doubt if his willingness to eat the meat was a wise decision. Then again, he was really hungry.

"Umm, it could use some attention, probably--" Rue was already absently sorting through the contents of the cache, separating out some of its more objectionable contents. 

..But was this how she really wanted to spend her serendipitously-acquired time with one of the Grove's eligible bachelors? Rue lifted her head from the cache, turning her full attention to Rye. "--I mean, you know, just at some point." she amended hastily. 

Rue inhaled. "Feeling up to stretching your legs a little bit?" She was unaware that Rye had only just returned from a trip. "..Maybe we could hunt down something fresh," she suggested. She had no idea how to ask someone on a date. Was she doing it right?

His stomach decided for him, he was no longer keen on devouring the slab of meat. Instead he tossed it away. He nodded at Ruennas' words, silently agreeing with her. The male didn't exactly want to get sick again, he had enough of feeling under the weather. He nosed the particularly bad meats into a pile while leaving the rest where they were. Then Ruenna proposed a hunt, at first Rye stayed in thoughtful silence but broke it with his agreement. "Yeah, I'm up for it. Have a place in mind?" He smiled then stood, stretching his legs and back. Rye waited for her to take lead, she might've had a better hunting spot than him. He was a little warn out from his trip, he was determined to muster up some strength and help feed the pack. It was owed to them after his hiatus.

As for the date, Rye was clueless to Ruennas intentions, he figured the hunt was simply a hunt. As inexperienced as he was it went without saying he didn't catch on. If he did, he wouldn't know what to do with himself but for now he didn't know and was happy to tag along on the hunt. His energy was slowly making its way back into his tired bones anyhow, no going back at this point.

Rye readily agreed, and Rue's eyes lit up with delight. "Sure, we can try some of my usual spots."

Rye pulled himself to his feet, and Rue nodded in the direction they would be headed. She matched her pace to Rye's as they set off. 

"So, you came to the Grove from one of our sister packs, right?" Rue asked conversationally. Truly, it had been a burning question of hers for some time. What had motivated Rye to leave his old pack behind for the newly-budded Asterism Grove?

Rye set the pace at a nice walk, he wasn't ready to rid himself of the energy that was just starting to collect. He opted to save it all for the hunt, he knew just how much he'd need it. For. Ow he delighted in the slow pace and small talk with Ruenna, listening to her question and well as the birds singing their songs. He nodded his head, "Yeah, I came from the, formerly know, Redhawks. What about you? Where'd you come from?" How long ago was his transfer? Months right? Rye had lost track of time chasing Towhees' heart, that he never bothered counting.

A sudden painful lurch in his heart leaked into the rest of his chest. It left a bitterness in his mind, he had joined the Grove for her. Stupid decision that was. As much as he was upset with his rash decisions he wouldn't up and leave, he truly did value their friendship. He would need to set aside the past in order to gain anything from his transfer. However things take time, and that was what he needed the most.

He was from the Redhawks. "I gotcha. Raven's pack." Rue spoke with a nod, more or less just reciting the information aloud. It was going to be tricky keeping all of Towhee and Phox's family straight. 

Where was she from? Did she even know anymore? "Umm.. Diaspora, I guess. That's the most recent at least. It's up in the Sunspire Mountains. I stayed with different packs in those mountains for all of last year." Diaspora, and before that Swiftcurrent Creek, and before that Blacktail Deer Plateau. It had been a tumultuous year, to say the least.

Everything the female listed went past the males head, he had barely ventured past his packs territory. He didn't want to leave then have something drastic happen to the pack. It was a fear strong enough to keep him nearby. Ryes' train of thought was simplistic enough, better safe than sorry. Enough of that, back to Ruenna. He gave a minute of silence, trying to pin down the names but it was like trying to catch a slippery eel. 

"I've no idea where any of that is," He admitted, laughing a little along the way. "Only really ventured up north and west. Is that where your pack was?" He glanced in her direction, gauging her reaction to see if he was stepping on a sore spot.

"Oh.." He hadn't heard of the Sunspires? Now that surprised Ruenna. She had assumed that someone who had been in the Teekons for a while would have spent some time in the northern mountain chain at some point. 

Was her pack up north and west? "Yeah, pretty much. I guess you didn't make it far enough north, but eventually you would have gotten to the Sunspires." Rue's nose twitched as she caught the scent of a deer. She altered their path slightly, directing them toward the source. 

"The Redhawks.. so you know Raven then." As much as she had heard about their sister pack's leader, Rue was looking forward to meeting her. "And I guess you were there when Phox and Towhee were living there?" Perhaps it was a longstanding friendship that had attracted Rye here.

Rye hadn't familiarized himself with all the names of places that surrounded him. He should've by now but he was caught up with someone and got tangled in a web. Now he was just trying to squirm his way out of it. "I tend to stick close to home so yeah, but maybe I'll check it out some time." As Ruenna changed directions Rye finally caught the scent and without thinking, his foot steps landed a little lighter.

"Yeah, Towhee was the one who let me into Redhawks. I was there when she left too and then a little after she left so did I.." Was it a mistake to join? He followed his heart and it lead to a dead end. Friendship was all that was left, that was worth staying for right?

"It's worth the trip," Rue replied, speaking of the Sunspire Mountains. "Just watch out for Diaspora. They think they own the whole mountain chain.." Rue shook her head, still in disbelief over Stigmata's delusion. How could one pack expect to control all of the mountains by themselves? 

"Oh," Rue emitted in reaction to Rye's answer. Her brow furrowed in suprise-- she hadn't realized they had so much in common. "When I lived in the Sunspires, I had an alpha that I followed from pack to pack as well. When you find a leader you click with, it's hard to give that up." Rue smiled understandingly. 

A shift in the breeze brought the strong scent of deer washing over the pair, and Rue slowed her pace. They had a nearby prey opportunity, if they wanted to take it. Rue caught Rye's eye and raised a brow in wordless question.

Thinking they own land no wolf, bird or bear truly owns? Rye scoffed, arrogant of them to assume so. Shaking his head in disbelief, Rye spoke up with a slight laugh in his tone. "They own the whole mountain huh? Funny." His amusement was brief, Rues words about clicking with someone resonated with him. Painful reminders. His foolishness for following an unsure thing qas felt everyday since realizing it was all for naught. What was to be learned from any of it? He questioned that hourly. Rye didn't say anything in reply, only a quiet nod of his head. Thankfully distraction was nearby.

He glaced back at her and nodded, he would follow her lead. Where ever she wanted to place him he would go, her orders would be followed accordingly.

Rye reacted to Diaspora's claim the way any sane wolf would; with disbelief and dismissiveness. "Not just one mountain-- all of them. Diaspora believes they control the entire Sunspire mountain chain." Rue shook her head along with Rye.

Truly, when Stigmata had first mentioned this outlandish claim to Rue, she had thought that his vision was metaphorical. She had thought he meant to "claim the mountains" by siring offshoot packs and developing strong alliances in the area, similar to the way the Redhawk clan had claimed these parts. Once Stigmata's delusion had become apparent, Rue parted ways from him and the rest of Diaspora. 

The pair lapsed into silence as the hunt commensed. Rye defered to her for instruction. Glancing around, Rue noted a deer trail cutting through the forest's undergrowth. She nodded toward the trail, wordlessly suggesting to Rye that it would be a good place to lay in wait. Any deer that were startled during the hunt would likely flee down the deer trail, right into Rye's jaws. 

Rue continued forward, halting when the deer became visible. There were four in total-- three does and one young buck. One of the does appeared to be older; perhaps she was the mother of the other young adult animals. Rue sprang forward, targetting one of the younger does that was closest to her in proximity. The other deer scattered. Hopefully at least one would flee down Rye's deer trail and fall into their trap.