Blacktail Deer Plateau so long and thanks for all the fish

It was strange to be back at the plateau that she and @Syrma had explored when they were a lot smaller. Now, at the time, Spica of course thought they were super grown up and mature, but now she realised just how much they were still children then. Now, though, they were totally grown up and mature. Spica was stung by the fact that her mother had decided that she would have baby siblings without even consulting Spica at all. Ugh. It was so annoying. She felt overlooked and she didn't want no stupid siblings. And what if mom was using them to replace her?

So she went out to set aside her worries and do some exploring instead. She hadn't done nearly enough of that lately and it felt good to get out. She decided to go to the pack where she and her sister had met the stranger such a long time ago. Now however, as she climbed the plateau and reached its frays, Spica came to the conclusion that the pack no longer existed. Had they gone away, just like Kaistleoki had moved a few times? Ooo, I gotta tell Swym about this! Spica told herself out loud and she continued to climb the Plateau so that she could see what it was like to stand on top of it, see the view.

He knew he was on neutral ground, but it felt strange to be so close to a pack he was not affiliated with. The slight scent on the breeze that screamed foreign wolves put him on edge, even as he was desperate to explore the plateau that jutted out from the sides of the mountains. Still, he knew that no one claimed the plateau proper, and he was free to climb up to its summit.

He was not alone, for there was another climbing the plateau. He heard the woman long before he saw her, her voice loud and clear on the rock-face. He approached her, his body neutral, Swym? he repeated curiously, the word unfamiliar to him.

Almost at the top, she thought to herself just as she heard the word repeated back at her. She startled visibly, but soon after recomposed herself and looked at the stranger who had spoken her sister's name back to her. It sounded kinda childish and silly when she heard it from another's lips, but it was still the name she used to call her sister by. Yeah, that's right, Spica said with a friendly wave of her tail and a sassy tone in her voice. What's it to you? She playfully smirked at him and assessed the guy quickly. She thought to ask him if he was here to enjoy the view from the top of the plateau too, but waited to see how he would respond to her sass first. She knew not everyone appreciated it. And what if he was from Moonspear?

It struck him, as she spoke, how similar she was to Lenny, in a way. Despite her terse tones, her body language was friendly and inviting. He smiled up at her, his own tail swishing through the air. It is an odd word, he admitted. He wondered if it was another language.

Your face is odd! she pretty much immediately retorted when he said that Swim was an odd word. Her sister wasn't even there but somehow her childish nickname for her twin was dear to her heart. Her words didn't carry malice though; there was a grin on her face that hid a small portion of genuine hurt. And after she had said it, Spica looked a little taken aback, as if she herself couldn't believe she'd just told a stranger that. Woops.

Woops, sorry, she said, sounding only a very tiny bit remorseful and mostly still playful, I've got a rudeness defect. It's very serious, actually. The medics don't know how to treat it. She grinned, hoping that her comments wouldn't fall poorly, or rather, hoping that this guy wasn't a total boring weirdo who would take her comments personally.

He was taken aback at her retort, his eyes widening. He didn't think it was that serious. It sounded strange on his tongue, so used to speaking Kiswahili — the combination of consonants and vowels was odd.

He rebounded, smiling at her words, though they made little sense to him. She reminded him of Lenny — though the two have their notable differences. It's fine, he said. There are worse acts of rudeness, defect, he said the word hesitantly, or not.

The guy seemed to show some response, but then soon settled down again and his response wasn't negative at all. Cool. Spica had mostly run into wolves who were eager to tone down her spunk a notch or two, so this was a welcome change. She couldn't help but chuckle under her breath when he so seriously responded to what she had said. You're pretty alright, she decided, though it was -- and sounded like -- more of a thought spoken out loud than a fact that she wanted to let him know.

So where are you from? she asked, curious to know more about this mysterious stranger. Did he live in a pack nearby? And what're you doing here? Because she was ever-curious.

I try to be, he chuckled. I was born far from here, but I live in Neverwinter Forest now. I'm exploring. he looked around, absorbing every Rocky crevice that he saw. The mountains were not so high back home, and even though he was not that high up he was in awe. A flat mountain, like a cut down tree of stone.

Someone who was born far from there seemed like some sort of dream, and Spica instantly found herself interested in what stories he might have to tell. Far from here, huh, she said casually, because nobody wanted to have a child complaining they wanted to hear stories. She wanted to appear as worldly and cool as this guy, too, suave and eloquent and not an impatient child. Do you explore a lot? I love exploring. Some day we're gonna travel. She didn't know when she and Syrma would get to travel, but some day for sure.

Well, I better go fish. Catch ya later! And as quickly as she'd arrived, Spica left; though not in the direction of Whitefish river, but in the direction of the plateau, eager to explore it further.