Noctisardor Bypass i hope it's ben and socrates poop all up in your kitchen

terance was on the hunt for his mate this morning, who wasn't at their designated sleeping spot. they hadn't quite found a den, which was something arbiter was set on for the upcoming breeding season, but terance was pretty sure neither of them minded sleeping out in the open otherwise. he just wanted some company, though, and so he took a lead on @Arbiter's scent and began after it.

the day was pretty unremarkable; cold, cloudy, dark. but terance imagined the scenery would pick up in warmer months... the mountains around them certainly made for good looks. he was just too cold to enjoy it. he passed by the little lake in the center of the territory, not realizing he was so close to the center. damn, he figured he'd be at the borders by now... ugh, he was definitely still getting used to this place. 

terance shook out his fur and kept walking.

Part of the other reason she wanted a den was she wanted a secure spot to stash the helicopter part -- yeah, of course that thing got dragged along!  It was weird and she still hadn't found anything else like it, so she brought it along because why not.  Not to mention, giving it to one of the kids to carry meant one less being annoying during the trip because their mouth was full.  Of course, she'd made it abundantly clear that it was not to be destroyed (not that it would have been easy to do so anyway, the edges were sharp enough that chomping on it was going to be very uncomfortable).

Right now, though, she was sniffing around and investigating some older scents that were here.  She was sure there had been deer here not too long ago.. But maybe her nose was tricking her. Hm.  Whatever.  She turned and looped back towards the middle of the territory, figuring maybe there would be more clues there.  At least there were more small prey here overall, but she wanted something bigger.

She didn't find clues, though, she found Terance on her old trail she'd cut through the snow. Her ears tipped forward a moment before she whuffed and trotted over to greet him, nipping at him toothily, Did I miss the trail? I feel like we're so close to having ample prey again-- I keep finding clues like we missed them by a week... She was full of a broiling sort of energy, wanting the hunt and the chase, victory, and whatever else would come their way.

as he came upon arbiter, he slowed to nudge her cheek as she began to vent frustrations. frustrations terance felt... for sure, but it was a good sign according to him. even if we missed them, it's more than we found at the hollow. maybe they'll return -- or another herd will come through here, he said with optimism, though he knew arbiter was more of a realist than anything. 

maybe we can send brou out to do some more scouting, he suggested with a shrug, get some of her energy out, and maybe she'll find another lead. well, that wouldn't help pike... but whatever. honestly, having him do some border patrol was helpful enough. he seemed to enjoy it plenty, too.

A slight shrug, and reached out to nose at some of the snow on his fur, not able to just stand there and only chat at the moment. Still, better than before.  Nobody's picked things clean yet.  But maybe the north side would be better -- even farther from the rest of the wolves we know of.  Made sense at least, she hadn't spent as much time up there herself either. 

She smirked, I'm still not sold on her scouting actually being much beyond an opportunity to goof off and try to find someone to heckle, even though I'm sure of her skills.  But if she finds something, maybe she's growing into her paws.  As big as their children were, they could do with a little bit of maturity -- the harder times hadn't taken as much edge off as she would have expected, but then maybe it was because they didn't know better?  I assume that if something is found, we call everyone.  Or at least those who haven't gone off scouting. Not really a question.  Give them a reason to feast and celebrate -- once it was caught, of course.

terance nodded as arbiter picked off places they could scout. yeah, i haven't heard of any movements that way. that might our best bet, he agreed as she began to preen at his fur -- well, as long as she liked the smell of wet dog, he wouldn't stop her.

then she moved into talk about brou (and honestly the rest of the kids in the subtext). he gave a playful scoff of more agreement, followed by a chuckle. they'll all grow into something soon enough, he replied, turning to give her cheek a light nudge. the mention of a feast was mouth watering to terance, who was a big dude, and hadn't had much of a feast in a few months. it sounded too good to be true, but he agreed (again). the pack could definitely use that, he added with a wave of his tail.

then, after a brief pause, terance said, you seem restless.

2:30am letsgo post

Let's be real, they all smelled like wet dog out here.  It was probably a near-permanent condition with how foul the weather had been at times.  Other than some of the copses of trees, they hadn't located any big shelters, let alone dens.  Perhaps it would be wise to put that higher on the list... 

His concern paused Arbiter for a second, but no more.  I don't like the uncertainty.  I need to know if they're there, if this will be our home or if we need to go elsewhere.  I need to know our children can hunt with the rest of the pack, it goes on.  The long chain of concerns, multi-dependent problems to solve in the end all boiled down to one thing, and she stopped to give him a level stare, I don't want to worry about spring.  The problems now spiraled into the problems then -- as her own figure had slimmed, it made her wonder how any woman would be able to carry pups, if this continued through to warmer months, even one so willing to be cutthroat and selfish as herself.  She didn't ask this year, of course, maybe it was the lack of having that to worry about that had let her mind lock on something else well worth worrying about.