Bearclaw Valley You cannot live with a paw in each world.

Snowskip was apart of Ursus! She enjoyed the valley, and the meadows that was around, and thought Merrick was a friendly fellow. She spent quite a few of days exploring in awe', and hoping to catch any bear-sightings. Very interested! All the bears she knew, were quite villianous, and wondered if a kind bear was possible.

Today, was another walk as she gently hummed.

Snowskip was unlike anyone Aventus had ever seen.

White wolves were already quite uncommon in the valley, with Averna being the only one he knew of, but Snowskip was even more unique. From his place in the shadows, he traced her grey cowl with curious silver eyes. They climbed down the pale slope of her back and lingered on her tail, dunked in grey as well. So different from Averna’s unmarked pelt. So different from anything he’d seen thus far.

From his hiding place, Aventus went forth at a slinking trot. He reached his neck as far forward as it would go as he closed in on Snowskip, paws a mere whisper over the springy grass. The white tip of her tail danced tantalizing as she walked. The boy reached for it, aiming to grab and pull it.

Someone grabbed her tail, but it didn't hurt enough to cause a menacing turn,  but definitely felt sharp! Snowskip turned in surprise to see a wee' black 'bearberry,' if she remembered correctly. The big man did say thats what they were called, and wasn't there quite a few of them? She was curious!

"Hi there!" The girl greeted with a grand smile, "i'm Snowskip! What's your name?"

Snowskip whirled around and he leaped agilely back, graceful as a little black cat. She had an awfully chipper disposition for a wolf whose tail had just been yanked. Aventus gleaned a lot of information from that one reaction.

She was an oddball here. She didn’t belong.

She asked his name. Once upon a time, when he was even younger and consumed by the anxious fear of his own father, Aventus couldn’t bring himself to speak a single word around any of his pack mates. But that anxiety was gone, seeming to coincide with the arrival of a certain two snivelling shits. Since then, he simply saw little need for speech. He modelled many of his behaviours after his mother, and she had no use for words. But sometimes, like now, it was useful.

Stickums, he told her, mimicking her huge grin and even throwing in a little disarming wag of his tail, thought there was something disingenuous about it all. One day, maybe he would be as good at acting as his sire. He simply had to hope that Snowskip was too optimistic or eager for friends to notice that he was faking it, experimenting with the best way to interact with her so he could study her.

"Wow," her smile widened, "what an odd name!" Snowskip simply said without thinking. She was definitely used to the Clan names, and hearing names like Earp, or Merrick, was definitely strange, and now Stickums? "wonder what kind of warrior name you'd have," she then said out load. He was black was night, and could think a few names; Catpaw, Nightpaw, Batpaw.. 

But the wolves of theses lands don't follow the same culture. She'll miss it dearly. 

But she'll also adapt!

"But it's cute!"

Wait, what the hell?

Snowskip wasn't just the most optimistic wolf to grace Ursus. She might well be the most optimistic wolf who ever lived. Aventus visibly cringed at her outburst, tail faltering, and if she hadn't figured out that the youth of this pack weren't like other kids, then maybe his expression would give that away. Strange. He wondered what sort of pack she came from, to be so unflappably excited about a name like Stickums.

He didn't remember Ico's story very well, but he'd imagined Stickums was some kind of clever infiltrator or unparalleled fighter. Who knows how he came to that conclusion? He was devastated that the fake name he'd chosen was one that inspired squeals of glee rather than squeals of fright or nervousness, and resolved to never, ever use that name again.

Ah, but something she'd said had piqued his interest. There was no way to ask without words, so out they came: Warrior... name?

Her tail gently wagged behind as she spoke to the small wolf that Snowskip now dubbed as Nightpaw. Of course, she would never be as rude to call him that in person, but she found it rather peaceful to start naming others warriors. Merrick would definitely be Beareye, as Earp would be Sparrowpelt.  

Snowskip was also not a leader, she could never have a privilege of personally naming wolves, and simply did upon speculation. It was nice she could give herself an air of familiarity, and a dream to never come.

"Where i'm from we get warrior names from our leaders! I was born as Snowpaw, but my leader eventually gave the name Snowskip!" Her parents had named her 'Snowpaw,' as she was a winter-wonder wolf. Her whole family were of gray-scale find, her sisters being Doveclaw and Featherheart, and parents being Silverflight and Icefang. They were quite light.

She was given Snowskip for her swiftness and optimism! The best quality of the smaller wolf.

What a delightfully unusual culture Snowskip came from!

Aventus tried to think if Ursus did anything similar. Merrick had named he and his sister, but he wasn’t really aware of that. He recalled the nickname Merrick had referred to them by when they first moved to the meadow, and wondered if that was what Snowskip meant. It didn’t sound quite like her names, but wasn’t it sort of the same thing? He wondered what her actual name was, and felt weirdly slighted that she'd given him an alias, even though he'd done exactly the same thing.

Your name is Brat, he declared, summoning that name Merrick had called him and Avicus once. It went right over his head that only leaders could grant warrior names.

"That's not very nice to nickname someone you just met you know?" She held pride in her name, and definitely didn't like being called brat! Snowskip was only recently named, it was only a few days before SkyClan destroyed her home, and she got her warrior name. It was something definitely dear to her so, because of this factor.

"I'm Snowskip, okay?"

How curious, thought Aventus. She seemed quite pleased with the name Snowskip, which was given to her by another, but was offended by the name he’d granted her. He watched the play of emotions across her face, none the wiser to the significance of her name, and slowly blinked.

No. It was delivered succinctly, with a matter of fact air, as if Aventus had any right to decide what Snowskip’s name was. If the leader of her old pack had given her one, then the prince of her new pack had every right to do the same. Brat, he repeated, quirking his lips up in an eerie double of Merrick’s smug grin.

"Only leaders can ask StarClan to change their name!" She didn't know the concept of 'princes,' nor' knew that Aventus was Merrick's son. How her own home worked, the leaders child was a regular warrior like any other, the only wants truly praised were the General, the leader, and the Deputy, second-in command. The medic was also cherished.

"Also.. you're a brat." Then Snowskip decided to play the reverse card. He wasn't cute anymore.

He learned more and more about Snowskip without needing to say much at all. His eyes sharply picked over her features, reading the indignation there. He felt a thrill of exhilaration at the effect so few words could have on a wolf. He could read her like a book when she reacted that way. It meant a lot to her.

She called him a brat, and he blinked, but didn’t otherwise react. Merrick had called him that, too. He didn’t know it was meant to be offensive, and even if he did, he recognized it for the retaliation it was. She'd called him cute before. Instead, he curled his lips impishly and prompted her with a questioning lilt of, StarClan?

"Its where my ancestors go, and where I will go once I too, die. And there, I will see my family and clanmates." As well as no one from SkyClan, who she believed were damned to the Dark Forest. None of them will be met in those skies, "all those stars in the sky, were once wolves. You too, can be up there."

Though Snowskip doesn't know what Ursus has done, as most likely, half of these wolves would be condemned to hell.

Snowskip certainly had some bizarre beliefs. Lucky for her that Aventus was still too young to be much of a skeptic. He took what she said at face value and resolved to ask someone about it the next time he thought to do so. He’d never heard of wolves becoming stars before. Maybe it was common knowledge.

No, he decided. He didn’t want to ever become a star. Life was too interesting and there was still so much he had left to do. Even if Astara, Merrick, and Avicus all became stars, Aventus was content to remain firmly rooted in the mortal plane for eternity. I will live forever.

"Sure you will." Now they were becoming a bit more cute, and lil' more pup like. Snowskip was almost afraid all the pups were devilish like this one; that would be downright horrible! She wanted someone who was cute and like lil' berries, not one with poison..

"Well, I guess I should hunt huh? You should go play." She should be a good guest, or.. Member, if she was one now. Hunt for the pack! Yes, definitely do that.

Clever Aventus knew that Snowskip didn’t believe him, but she would see. He would outlive her, too. He would outlive everyone, and sneer at them when they all became helpless, useless stars.

He had no words when she excused herself, but watched her go with sharp silver eyes set in a flat expression. She was an interesting one. When she was far enough away that she wouldn’t notice, he tailed after her, following to see where she went, and when it grew boring, he peeled off and went back home.