Moonspear i should live in salt

@Antares bröther pls

There was a break in the rain, and Osiris sought to take advantage of the situation. Scents were hard to discern, as the smell of the prior precipitation magnified everything. It was a challenge, but he did not shy away; their scent-markers needed to be preserved and enhanced.

It was around fore-noon as Osiris prowled the eastern-most reaches of their territory. He paused every-so-often to examine any scents that caught his attention before continuing along; it was an ordinary day.

ty for starting <3

When the rains began to taper off, he started to rove under the cover of the trees.. first, looking to shake some restlessness that the constant downpours had created in forcing him into shelter more often than he preferred. Even just the motion satisfied some, so as the rains paused officially, he was ready to shape it into something more useful if he could. He had come the rest of the way down the mountain to weigh his options there.

Still, even without a presently-active rain shower, everything was damp and he was not excluded. Antares held his head low on his prowl but mostly could only smell rain, mud, and the distinct scent of wet plantlife. Everything else had been essentially washed away.. yet over the din of it, a tickle of wind put him on a fresh trail; he was not so far behind his brother who was likely out to do the same. So, with this bit of interest in mind, he picked up his pace and lightly jogged after him. Soon, with a few more long strides, he joined up beside him and only then formally announced himself with a low rumble of greeting.

Of course. <3

 

Osiris was pleasantly surprised by Antares' unexpected appearance. Without missing a beat, he turned and nipped his brother in greeting, as his tail swung happily behind him. It had been some time since they had seen each other, and he was happy to have some time alone with him. 

"How're things?" Osiris asked vaguely, as he returned his attention to the soggy trail before them. Although his question was mainly about Antares' patrol, he was also curious to know how his brother had been faring.

Greeted, his own tail swung and he showed enough tooth in a quick smirk before he settled back to his route--turned their route, now. It felt good to move, and even better in tandem now. Quiet, he answered to summarize his so far. It was relatively early in his efforts though, the rain having only recently cleared and his focus only recently coming in full. Mostly just wet, he lamented, huffing a sigh to punctuate with his opinions on the endless rains. But I am glad we're on the high ground, the dark Ostrega added before he cast a thoughtful look in the direction of the lowlands, while he wondered about those beyonds and how they held up in this washout.

See anything good lately? he asked back when he turned his glance back to his present, and his brother. Anything besides damp plants and swelling creeks, that is.

Osiris nodded in agreement; the rain had been troublesome. "Yes—we are lucky to have the mountain's protection," he drawled. "I was concerned about landslides," and hopefully, this would not jinx them, "But it seems as though we have been spared." Osiris stole a glance towards their homestead, quickly studying the slippery slopes. 

"Besides the ever-forming swamplands?" he mused with a clack of his teeth, and then reflected on his most-recent observations. "It seems as though we've had more intruders—probably wanting to escape the floodlands." He thought of the bear that he and @Bronco had chased out. "Bronco and I chased out a yearling bear not too long ago," he supplied. "You've met him, right? The yearling from the Firebirds?" Osiris wasn't sure how social their newest guardian had been.

His brow creased, concentrating. Landslides were a real threat, perhaps one of their most sizable ones here on the heights, though he had not come across any signs of them--big or small yet. Best to keep it that way. Spared so far.. at least, if the rain keeps coming, he grumbled a bit. Then: The creeks are bigger than I've ever seen before, he made a mention of, hoping as well that they would not swell to the point of washing away anything they shouldn't. Just more matters to keep an eye out for, however.

Coincidentally, swamplands made him think of Bronco already thanks to him teaching him the strange term swamp donkey for moose. His ears had already been up tall, but to find the earthy yearling tying in deeper did interest him. Would make sense, he supposed, about intruders coming here to seek high ground. It was an obvious choice and difficult to miss. But, so were their marked boundaries, for even with all this washout, he did often find them pretty tended. It was not like they were slaking just because of a little rainshower. I have met him, the dark brother nodded easily. We patrolled a bit. Talked about sparring in the future, and hunts too--though that's not as eventful as chasing out a bear, he smirked over his shoulder, wondering if there were more details to have there, or if the visitor had gone on its way without issue.

He mentioned wanting to do a mountain goat hunt, since I brought them up. After the rains hopefully, of course, but before the snows come, he decided was a good place to hint at this forming plan. Of course, he still had to make sure the idea had any merit with those who knew where the goats could be hunted best in the first place. It was one of their trickier finds, after all.

"Yeah..." Osiris drawled, glancing up at the sky. "Yeah, they are," he agreed then, concerned. "I've noticed the current picking up, too," Osiris added; it was unlike anything he'd seen before. 

When Antares acknowledged his familiarity with Bronco, Osiris grinned. "It was easier than I thought," he revealed, unable conceal his delight. "We spooked it pretty bad... hollered a lot—I'm not sure if you heard us or not, but we were pretty loud," he recalled with a laugh. Osiris picked up his pace then, pulling up alongside Antares' again. "I'll make sure you're there next time," he promised, nipping the base of his brother's ear. 

Antares then hinted at a potential hunt, and Osiris grinned. "I'd join in for sure," he replied. "It's been a while since I last had goat," he added, drawing his tongue over his lips as he thought of the delicacy; Osiris couldn't remember the last time he had eaten mountain goat.

The insight into the bear encounter was an easy listen, of course. He nodded along--because naturally, he had a lucky way of being out or elsewhere when the interesting things went down on the slopes lately. At least the ones like that, and the wildcat a while ago too. Good to know, he said. He appreciated the sentiment for a maybe next time with a low rumble back and a shoulder-to-shoulder bump, perhaps. Not to say that he wanted there to be more invading bears, but he wanted a chance at an opportunity like that to haze a bear.. just a bit.

Anyway, as suspected, his brother was keen to join the goat hunt. Right? It's overdue, he chuffed a low laugh. So this rain needs to go soon, he huffed, and slowed enough to give his coat a shake. He intended to tell others in the family, but Osiris was the first to know so far besides Bronco. I want to find a good place to hunt them soon, and to do so, he needed to go up into some of their higher valleys possibly, and he didn't need soaking sheets of rain or misty haze constantly if he was scouring around in places he didn't normally go.

"Very," Osiris agreed; he couldn't remember they'd all hunted together. "And, yeah, it does—" Osiris stilled as Antares did, watching as his brother attempted to shake the rain from his pelt. "—I don't think I've felt dry in weeks," he quipped, as they began to walk once more; he felt the need to shake, too, but he ignored it for now. 

Osiris thought about where he'd last seen a mountain goat—recalling an instance where he had been in one of Moonspear's loftier plateau. "I can help, if you want," he offered. "I remember about a month or so ago finding one pretty high up—but I haven't kept track since the rains started," he offered.

Thanks to these current times, dry felt like a distant memory. He wondered how much longer this would go on, and what else it might do. It was starting to become just a feature of the day, something to count on whether you liked it or not. Seemed like a strange note to end summer on.

Anyway, despite the perpetual gray skies, planning for something felt like an alright distraction from that--something to look forward to, especially if they could manage good luck on the hunt. Osiris had a hint of a lead on the matter, too, and this early in the plan stages meant anything could be useful. If you want to, he nodded, in no place to turn away another willing nose on the situation. Better yet if he didn't have to ask outright for it. They all stood to benefit from this idea's success, though. You, and Bronco, are all I've mentioned it to so far, the yearling detailed so his brother knew right where they stood. It was a fledgling endeavor still but quickly gaining traction already. Most likely, their other siblings would be an easy addition as well.

A month ago isn't too bad. Wonder what they do about all this rain..? he supposed aloud, looking ahead as they went. He knew they were out there, tucked in some swatch of lofty mountainside. I was thinking of going to see if Dad or Jarilo knew a good place to scout them out at to start in, he added, since he intended to put a lot of thought into this while he had the time. Of course, it hadn't actually come that far yet, not with the weather, and if that failed, he'd find out what his mother and aunts knew. But he had a decent idea that he could get the information before needing to tell them just yet--he wanted to do a bit more footwork before word made it that far, honestly.

Antares' ideas were only beginning to come to fruition; Bronco was the only other involved so far. "Ah," he replied, acknowledging the information. "Well, let me know how I can help, and I will." He'd defer to his brother's lead, as he recognized that this wasn't his situation to manage. 

"Yeah, I don't know," Osiris answered, his gaze briefly touching Moonspear's incline. "I thought that they'd climb up higher to avoid the rain, but I'm not sure about how far they could go." At what point did it become too treacherous? He wasn't sure. "They're probably your best resources, honestly. Mom, too." Osiris had hunted with Hydra before and knew that she was both a formidable hunter and tracker. "Hopefully, the rain will clear up soon," he added with a sigh. "It's been pretty hard to track things—all the scents just seem to blend into one big mess."

He had taken well to the idea of a place to put thought into, and considered Osiris' current best use? For now, he felt like he had time--they had to wait out the rain in the first place. Then, they could begin to scout it out in earnest. He would decide, and pass it on when it was ready. For now, it was just a matter of collecting interested parties.. then finding a place to hunt what they sought.

On the goats, hard to say. Maybe it's something like that, he supposed, and it was no surprise when he mentioned their mother's likely fountain of knowledge on the situation. He didn't know how to say so, but he wanted to build more of this himself before bringing her into it. It wasn't like he felt he needed his mother's approvals, but he wanted to put what he had learned so far to good use--hopefully. Again, maybe he was getting ahead of himself. Or thinking on it too much. All was likely, but this rain was making him feel oddly cooped up for someone with free range. He hadn't known to appreciate the drier times as much until now.

Anyway, he set that aside with a firm nod. Tracking was messy right now, and not easy. Once the rains finally let up, I feel like we can scout them out properly. the yearling sighed, once again filing it for later. And for a good hunting ground, he added.. which assumed the rains didn't wash away everything solid before they got there. Something to look forward to, I guess. If the rains stop, he grumbled, trying to look upward. Until then I'll bait the interest around, see who else might be keen.. he flashed a hint of teeth in that.

"Yeah," Osiris agreed with a sigh. "If is the real question—doesn't seem like it'll let up anytime soon." he added, glancing skyward and blinking against the spitting rain. The weather had put a literal and figurative damper on things; he could only hope that it'd clear up soon. 

"I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding help," he replied, pausing briefly to shake off the water that had gathered in his coat. "It's been a while since we've all come together," Osiris couldn't remember the last time that Moonspear had come together as a pack—they were long overdue.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he hoped an end would come soon. The reminder that it showed no signs of letting up warranted a little pinch to his expression, but he kept it short-lived, internalizing it. Each new day that came was one more behind them, at least.. and hopefully a step towards that eventual end. That was what he tried to bank on, otherwise he'd have to get a lot better at fishing if the world was turning to nothing but rain. Really. Isn't it tired of raining on us every single day yet? he grumbled. Even when it's not raining.. I swear I hear it in my head anyway, like that's just the normal now, he clicked his teeth and exaggerated an eyeroll. This weather? Done with it--said the little huff he finished with.

Anyway, on a slightly lighter note: But oh yeah, I'm sure interest won't be hard to find, he reasoned with a breath. He had an inclination towards those he knew their strengths of best, but like Osiris said, they all needed to come together and who would turn down the chance at a big warm meal? Before long, the pups were going to be old enough to watch--if any of them were that interested, too, and their parents allowed. A good hunt before winter, but after the rains stopped, sounded nice for morale. It should be good for everyone, too.. he mentioned quietly, and lapsed into a thoughtful silence afterward--cozy to simply match stride with Osiris for a few beats unless his brother had more to say about it on their round. Antares was comfortable, regardless.

"It should," Osiris agreed, feeling comfortable enough slipping into silence as well; there was no need to force a conversation between them. They continued their patrol, stopping every so often to either investigate a wayward scent or mark the borders. Their watch was quiet, and once they were sure that they had done a thorough job, the brothers decided to part ways. 

Osiris would be mindful of bringing up the potential hunt to Antares in passing, as he was curious to see the progression of the arrangements.