Sleepy Fox Hollow I wish you could be honest

She was feeling suffocated again. She wanted to leave and explore somewhere far from Diaspora where she could breath and try to distract herself, but she refused. She had let herself to run away from her problems for long enough; it was not the way she handled things, and she would no longer allow it. So she directed all of her negative thoughts and feelings into patrolling. She been doing it for hours at this point, finishing one of her normal routes some time ago and immediately going straight into another one. She would continue until she was simply too tired to feel, and then she would sleep. She would repeat the cycle every day if that's what it took to erase her stifling anxiety. She tried not to let her mind wander too long on the possibility that nothing would change how she felt; it was too upsetting, and she was trying to calm her mind, not make it more troubled.

She kept her nose to the ground as she moved along the borders, stopping briefly to scan the area before lowering her head once more. She drew in the scents with every inhale, inspecting them for anything out of the ordinary. So far, she found nothing concerning, just the different scents of packmates and prey all varying in strength. She stopped again and looked around, then dropped her nose back to the ground and moved on. Soon she was focused on her work, in some sort of a hyper-focused trance that finally allowed her mind some peace.

Elfie had met Takiyok upon him, Maegi and Mou joining the group, and had seen her often from afar, but never approached to start a conversation. He was self-sufficient, when he was alone, and for the remaining time he had either his caretaker's or her mute friend's company. The two of them were nice people, he liked them a lot and did not feel need to go and explore much from this little circle of friends he had.

Today was different, because Mahler's concoction of herbs had actually helped to keep his headaches at bay, and he was in a good and cheerful mood. Therefore, when he caught sight of Takiyok, he did not go around to avoid her, but came to join her in the patrol. "Good morning, miss," he told her, stopping at a safe distance from her.

She was not alone for long. A voice made her pause, and she turned to look at him. He was the one that was with Maegi and her companion that day on the borders. He was about the same age as her own children. Her heart ached at the memory of her missing sons and daughter. She wondered how they looked now that they were almost yearlings. Stag was already so handsome even in his lanky stage, and she wondered if the others looked similar to him. It was too painful to dwell on for too long. She pushed the sad thought away and dipped her head to the young man. Good morning, she offered. I was patrolling, the Kapitän said next. Would you like to join me? Or did you need something? Maybe he had sought her out because he had a problem. If not, she wondered if he had been taught anything about patrolling or guarding the borders at his old home. Regardless, she was happy to teach him or help him with a problem should he have one.

Takiyok was kind to Elfie, surprising him, because in his memory the first impression of the lady was her being tall, distant and many other things with friendly not among them. "Umm... yeah, okay," he agreed, furrowed his brow, wondering, if he had specified, what he had agreed to. "I would like to join your patrol, that is," he wagged his tail expectantly and was sure to express all the readiness to watch and learn.

"I want to see, how big Diaspora is and walk the mountains," he explained, withholding the true reason for his curiousity. He wanted to impress Arlette on the "never day" in the future.

Taki nodded. Diaspora is very large, too large to cover in one patrol, she explained. But I patrol a different section every day; you're welcome to join me whenever you'd like. It would be a good way for him to learn the territory and and learn how to properly patrol if he didn't already know. She began to walk, looking to the child as she moved. I am Takiyok, Diaspora's Kapitän, she offered first. What should I call you? she asked.

Assuming introductions were now out of the way, she asked: Have you ever patrolled before? It was important to know where he already was in his learning process; it would be a waste of time to repeat instructions he already knew.

Elfie found it peculiar that Takiyok would introduce herself and ask for his name again, when they had met once previously. Maybe he was not the only one, who was suffering from head issues. This thought was comforting, and he let it rest, where it had come to life first, not wishing to insult a leader. 

"I am Elfie, mis," he replied and dipped his muzzle politely. "No, not really," he shook his head. "I have been outside Diaspora and I know, how to get back, but other than that - I am a blank case," he smiled.

Elfie. She committed the name to memory, dipping her head in response to his answer. He explained that he had left Diaspora and knew how to get back. That's a good place to start, she said. It's important to know how to get home. She continued to walk slowly along the borders, stopping once there was a tree to inspect. She lowered her head and drew in the scents. The strongest scent was Mahler, and her chest tightened painfully at the reminder of him. She pushed the thoughts from her mind, not wanting to go to that place right now. She quickly drew in the scents again, her own scent almost as strong as the General's. She picked up the scents of a few other packmates there as well. She lifted her head and looked back at Elfie. Any tree, bush, or boulder along the borders should be inspected for two reasons. The first is to make sure no strangers have intruded, and the second is to make sure the area doesn't need to be freshened with more scent, she explained. She motioned for him to approach the tree. Go ahead and inspect the tree and tell me what you find there, she instructed.

All of them? Elfie's face well, when he, following Takiyok's gaze, realized, how many rocks and trees (well, whichever sort preferred to grow in the mountains) were around. And every one of them mattered? So, in that case, how did the lady manage to walk the whole length of the borders without going crazy from all the details? But, since he was unable to word his concerns in a way that sounded neither insulting, nor clear enough, he stayed silent on the matter. 

Takiyok helped in giving him a more narrow spectrum of objects to focus on. He got to his feet readily and trotted over to the tree and spent a good deal of time smelling along the bark and base of it. Someone certainly had peed on it at some point and there were scrathmarks above his head, left by somebody, who definitely was not a wolf. "Uh... somebody has relieved themselves here," he told Takiyok. "That's about it. Oh - and there is some bark damage, but it's not recent," he finished his explanation.

sorry for the wait

Taki nodded. Yes, that's how we leave our scent on things, she explained patiently. This was what she enjoyed most about children: teaching them about the world. Can you tell who left their scent there? she asked. There were only a few wolves able to mark the borders in such a way, and she knew that Elfie had encountered the General before. So, he should be able to place his scent here at the very least. As for the scratches: Some of us like to leave more lasting, physical markers that this is claimed territory, she explained. To demonstrate, she stood up and placed her paws on the trunk of the closest tree and dug at the bark until there was a permanent slash there. She lowered herself and looked back to Elfie. It leaves a visual and a scent marking.

Well, that was a very embarrassing question. Elfie's face fell and slight nervousness was written clearly across his features. There was very little difference to him, where one had scent-marked or where one had peed an ocean after a bar-binge (or wolf equivalent of it). He had no idea, who it was, but even if it was someone important, imagining them peeing and accusing them of it... that did not feel right. It was weird even.

"Uhm... I don't know," he shook his head in denial. He was not lying, but it felt like it, because he knew he would not have said a word, even if he knew.

Her question seemed to make him nervous, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe he was just afraid of giving her the wrong answer? When he did answer, it was to finally tell her what she had already assumed: that he didn't know. That's okay, she assured him. It takes time and practice to learn all of this, and sometimes the scents can be overwhelming. She lowered her own nose and inspected the area once more. Mahler and myself are the two strongest scents here, Taki explained. There were also the faint scents of a few other packmates, likely left by leaving or entering the territory, but she didn't want to overwhelm him anymore by pointing that out.; he would figure stuff like that out on his own eventually as long as he practiced.

"I will remember that," Elfie promised and he would as long as Diaspora continued to live here. After the move the boy would no longer keep track of the scent marks, because his interest in guarding would be short-lived. 

He would have wanted to continue the lesson, but a howl, demanding his presence, raised up in the air. The boy shot an apologetic glance at Takiyok and seemed to be indecisive for a moment. After all he was in the presence of a co-leader and he did not know, how the authority thing worked here exactly.

Could he go without her permission, even if he was called by someone else, who too was his superior? "I will see, what they want," he murmured, smiled at her and was off. 

Wrapping up all threads with Elfie. Thanks!