Bramblepoint 'Cause I'd say I was wrong just to make it fill all the spaces

She had wandered much farther from home than she had intended. The scents of the season had her on edge, and she found being at the hollow practically unbearable. The longer she walked away from the mountains, the easier she could breath, and she just hadn't stopped this time. Only now it was night; the sun had set not too long ago and snow fell hard and fast from the sky. She took cover in the forest, its trees branches hanging heavy with snow and protecting the ground from the majority of the snowfall. The cold didn't bother her much and neither did the night, but she did regret not returning home to her son. She would head back that way in the morning but for now, she just needed a break. 

She moved quietly through the dark forest, occasionally searching for the scents of her missing children out of habit. As always, she found nothing. She continued on, though. Eventually she would find somewhere secluded to rest for the night and in the morning, she would return home to her duties and the smothering feeling that was her unwanted companion while she remained there. For now, she pushed the thoughts away and concentrated only on the sounds of the forest and the feeling of the icy breeze moving through her thick coat. It was easy to convince herself that she had no worries while she wandered, and she would enjoy the fleeting feeling.

Two women's heats had ended; Hydra felt relief for this. The rest had not had the opportunity to start yet; Hydra harried them and kept each in line, all but for Alya who she would permit when the time came once asked. Hydra knew she would be and that it was only a matter of time before the day came. The thought excited her, but for a brief time Hydra felt a pull again toward Bramblepoint. She had investigated all but one part of its perimeter, and though it seemed as though none were settling there now at least she wanted to be certain. Threats to her own present and future children and family both caused her to gravitate toward the place. The matriarch did not intend to be very long in any case, and would return by daybreak. 

The snows had never bothered her, even when they fell as they did now. They cast a veil of muffled silence and brought a certain feeling of peace with them, which Hydra embraced. The past few days had not been so; she felt no guilt for doing what she must, but it was a task that was joyless in its delivery. So for a short time she wandered, and knew it would likely be the last time this season that she would be able to. Her own heat would come, and then children to rear and raise and stay alongside for many days. The matriarch did not mind it; Moonspear was her pride, her joy, and she preferred to be there than anywhere else. 

Alya's words rung in her ears, too. Hydra had long forgotten how to make friends; she did not know if such a thing was even possible any longer. How to even try? A truly difficult task when she simply yearned to chase all within the Wilderness far away for her families sake. Arriving then to Bramblepoint, Hydra sniffed at the perimeter and found more or less nothing of note. No concentration of scents staking a claim... perhaps deeper, then. And so the matriarch moved inward, a dusting of snow cast over her shoulders from her brief pause that fell away as she went. 

Though her posture was neutral, her proud bearing was one that was impossible to remove as she moved along; her blue eyes searched for any sign of life, food or otherwise. One she could bring home with her, and the other she hoped could provide her with more clarity should they reside here. An ear twitched as she thought she heard something, and again the matriarch paused, ear swiveling in the direction the winterwhite wolf was coming from. Pausing to look in that direction for more information, Hydra licked her chops and sought more with the remainder of her senses, sniffing at the wind in hopes that it would give her more clues. 

takiyok is a favorite of mine and i couldn't resist and so was thrilLLLED to see this open upon my return from vacation ehhaehaheahe

yes! i've wanted them to meet forever

For a while, she thought she might be alone, something she didn't mind at all. There was no one around that she was obligated to talk to, no Mahler making her insides burn with anger and humiliation; there were just the sounds of the forest and the wind moving through the leaves above. Constantly she wondered what she could do about the situation in Diaspora, but as the days passed and her misery increased, the idea of leaving the General in his mess became more appealing. The thought of leaving tore at her soul, but she wondered how much longer she could remain in a pack where the leader who was supposed to be her partner seemed to have so little respect for her. He had taken the home she was proud of and turned it into a place that felt the furthest thing from her home. She only felt lost and miserable there, and she would never forgive him for that. Her jaw tightened and she shook her head, willing her mind to stop spiraling down that dark path. She had come here to forget about all of that shit.

She managed to clear her mind again as she continued on through the trees but as she moved around a large thicket, she saw a stranger moving towards her. Taki paused, lifting her nose to inspect the unknown wolf's scent. She smelled of pack but not one she recognized, at least not by scent. She took a few more steps forward to be sure the other woman would see her, then she paused and watched. The stranger gave off an air of power and pride, something the Kapitän could easily relate to. But she was never one to just give respect freely, no matter how intrigued she was by the stranger. 

She looked on confidently. If their gazes should meet, she would not avert hers. Instead, she would stand neutral and assertive but also open to conversation or company should this woman also be interested.

Eventually (sooner rather than later, fortunately) her nose—then eyes—found the source. In the distance stood a proud white she-wolf, who looked strong and hale. For all the tumult many faced this season, it seemed the two of them were survivors amongst it. Hydra had thrived, and it did not look as though Takiyok had struggled much herself from this distance. More than that, Takiyok did not look to be a wolf green to this world; lately, Hydra had come across so many yearlings that this simple observation maintained her interest. 

With a shake of her furs to dislodge errant debris and flakes, the matriarch strode forward. Hydra behaved Queen of this Wilderness, but acted only as its protector as necessary. Hunting within her Glen, though, was another matter entirely. As it was, Hydra was unrelenting in her own way; she did not expect, nor desire, the other to change their own disposition upon her approach. Hydra certainly would not have. 

She kept to her silence for the interim, taking another step nearer with a cursory sniff so as to better get to know the stranger should they permit. Despite her own confident demeanor, the Ostrega's tail swayed behind her to reveal she meant no harm then and there. Rather her intent was to get to know the stranger who thought to stare her down from afar. If there was a negative reason for it, Hydra would scent the threat in their ire, their fear, or perhaps who they had come across on their journeys. 

UGH SRY FOR POOP QUALITY I HAD A WHOLE PRETTY POST AND I LOST IT UGHHHHH

it's not poop quality!

There was no disrespect or aggression from the woman, just confidence and interest. When the she moved closer and inspected her scent, Taki watched silently, eventually offering a curt nod in greeting. I am Takiyok, Kapitän of Diaspora, she offered. She wasn't sure if the stranger would recognize the scent of Diaspora; they were close enough to her mountains that maybe the other woman had met someone else from her pack. 

I am looking for my missing sons and daughter, she explained. She had lost track of how many times she had explained this to a stranger. But she would have this conversation as many times as it took to find them. Mesa and Monarch are twins; they look a lot like me. Ego has more black in his fur. They are only a few months shy of a year old but have been missing for a while. Hope filled her chest at she finished, like it did every time she said this to someone new. The feeling never lessened, no matter how many times she had heard that they hadn't been seen. Eventually, one day, someone will have seen them; she believed it with all of her heart and soul.

Diaspora. Hydra's eyes were bright with her interest. She recognized more than the scent when it registered, but also the name. Perhaps this woman would be the mother of the cubs Mahler would be bringing to her; the matriarch hoped so. Takiyok looked to be of stolid stock...

Missing children. Hydra's heart ached at the thought. A mother herself now, she no longer believed this an impossible thing even for the most diligent among those that could be called such. What it was that caused her own children to never stray she did not know. Atlas had always skirted the edges of the territory and it was pure circumstance alone that he did not go beyond them... children understood respect, but only to a degree in their young ages. They always wanted to adventure; mothers rules hardly seemed like an adventure. But for three of the others brood to be missing...? Had they all elected to run away together? Had Caiaphas found them, along with Merrick and Astara? 

I have not seen them, Hydra admitted regretfully, but should I, I will go to Diaspora to inform you. I am Hydra Ostrega, Queen of Moonspear, she drawled. And by proxy this Wilderness, but she presumed if the other woman had heard of her she would know that much. By now there were no missing wolves in Hydra's own life but for her own sister. Her heart ached to think it, but Vela had disappeared the time of the quakes—Hydra presumed her dead. How fares Diaspora otherwise? she inquired with genuine interest; in knowing of who Takiyok was, Hydra did not think of her as some common stranger but an ally.

It was the answer she had come to expect. Anyone she had asked about her missing children had not seen them. Thank you, she offered, glad to have at least have another wolf keeping an eye out for them. One day, she hoped her persistence would pay off. 

She recognized the name Moonspear from conversations with Mahler but, to her knowledge, she had never met anyone from there. She titled her head some at the question. Things could be better, she started. But they could also be worse. it sounded cryptic but it was the truth. The quakes have not made it easy to call the mountains home, she added. But Hydra probably knew that from her own experience. And Moonspear? she asked. Maybe they had suffered less in the shadow's mountain range.