Deepwood Weald Feeling warm 'til the summer was over

Wraen had decided that the best way to tackle her fear of resuming her journey, was to take a step by step approach. Planning after all was just as important as the goal she wished to reach. From, where they resided now, they had two options - heading South right past Moonspear's doorstep, or walking East and reaching the Rising Sun Valley, where both Ibis's mother and Terance had found refuge in their days. Naturally she had no illusions about either of them being there after two years or so, which meant that she was free in her decisions. 

Though the forest she was walking through at the moment had seemed unfamiliar in the beginning, soon dim memories of her time spent in the Great Bear wilderness resurfaced. For some reason, what she recalled, was not very pleasant - she had been trying to outrun somebody, but time had washed away the exact details about the encounter and in broad daylight this place did not seem half as dangerous as it had then. True with little variety in the scenery, it was a little difficult to navigate, but Wraen's inner compass was working well today and she trotted confidently towards the gateway to the valley she planned to cross.

In the interest of stretching his legs, he had gone out today towards the Weald. It was a good place to start at the very least and since the cooler, crisp afternoons had him feeling wily, he would channel that energy into seeing what was around. With the sun still out, and daytime left, he wasn't interested in loitering in the relative open of the valleys or fields. The cover of the forests greeted him where he wasted no time threading into their depths, through the lush ferns (the month of rain did them a lot of good, apparently), and relatively along the edge of the woodlot.

He liked it here most times. There usually was something to find, or follow. It was just far enough from the mountain to see a bit more traffic than their most immediate foothills, but close enough to home to keep him bold. Though, more grown into himself after a fruitful summertime than ever, the yearling was feeling that reach grow now, too. Maybe it encouraged a bit more roaming lately--even if he still cited business when he did.

Nevertheless, experience had taught him to not be surprised about Neverwinter company out here. Hopefully he wouldn't have to find any more of their misplaced kids this time, since that was just awkward in the end, and not worth much else. But, he didn't know what he wanted to find out here yet. Something good, as vague as that sounded, and eventually.. he thought he heard something more than just birdsong. Antares slowed to listen more carefully, and thought it sounded like something coming closer. He liked his odds enough to chance an encounter with whatever it might be.

Broad daylight, even in the woods he could find some shadow as he honed in towards the source. Not too quickly, but clearly out to investigate with the purposeful strides forward. Antares closed in quietly enough, trying to intercept their route with his own as he wove through the trees.

Wraen had not expected to meet anyone here, so the figure that emerged from the shadows, made her stop in her tracks and take a moment to evaluate potential danger. In the beginning she thought that it was Arcturus, who had come to look for her, the dark-furred fellow seemed very much like him, but upon closer inspection she realized that he was still a very young man on his way to maturity. Yet the blue of his eyes and familiar features, smell too told that she had come across a true-born Moonspearan. 

"Good afternoon, adventurer!" Wraen greeted him politely, regarding him with a friendly look and swaying her tail few times. "Looking for company or just happen to cross my path by chance?" she went on.

He was able to get a little closer, but the greeting came from her first. Straightforward and friendly, he observed right away, without any other choice but to not. Steadily, he pulled himself into a smooth halt--letting himself be seen, and looking her over pointedly back. Chance, more likely. Antares selected after a breath to consider it. Did he seek company? Maybe not exactly. He was open to the idea of it, and whatever interest it could bring, but it wasn't the only thing he was out roving for.

I like to scout here, he provided, generously, on his behalf as he offered her a little clipped nod towards the rest of the Weald. He was not as outwardly friendly as her in his bearing, but he had gathered a quiet poise that seemed like he was considering his options--learning, who he was in the face of some unknown stranger. There remained some distance between them and he thought she definitely smelled like someone familiar. Are you traveling somewhere? the dark yearling asked, aiming for a general sort of statement to veer the interest away from himself so soon.

If Wraen had not spent so much time in the company of Arcturus, she would have considered the young Moonspearan's attitude as cold and reserved. Since she was familiar with, what "normal" meant in the context of Ostregas, she considered herself to be very lucky. This guy was inclined to talk. Some of his relatives killed first and asked questions later. Exaggeration, naturally, but you have to admit it was amusing.

"I and two other comrades have settled in a forest nearby," she explained, pondering, whether she should mention that Arcturus was one of them. But he had not left Moonspear on good terms and, who knew, how brainwashed this young fellow was. "But we are in fact intending to travel south through the wilderness. It might be more hospitable than the windy ocean shores during the cold months to come," she went on with the small-talk.

She revealed to him that she had two others with her, more or less--alluded to a different forest, and probably what he smelled. Then, that they were travelers above all, and three wolves were better off than one. Likely a wise choice depending what he presumed her age to be, and the fact that the upcoming months were bound to get worse. Probably.. he supposed, never having met the ocean up close himself, let alone in wintertime. A force known through the words of others, one that he was not going to casually discredit. Besides just escaping a bit of winter's worst bite, is there a reason for going south? he asked, supposing that birds flew south for the season, maybe it was some deal.

Some of it is still pretty flooded south of the mountains, not sure about past there though... he advised, since he had roamed south of the Spear before, just not to the deep, deep south of the Great Bear, and knew what the mountain scouts had reported too. Still, he wasn't feeling overly generous with the travel fact details yet. The traveler didn't give him a clue to if there was an end destination, or a cause here so far, or what she was really up to out here. South through the wilds could press them close to Moonspear, depending their route. He hoped they knew better than to loiter there--where he wouldn't be so.. amenable, and where their reach was even greater. "Friendly" might be a stretch but he was adapting, but still not as off-putting as he could be at least. Even for an inexperienced scout, practicing a lot on his own, he was learning well what it all meant out here in the neutral spaces.

For very obvious reasons, Wraen did not have the least intention of staying anywhere in the vicinity of Moonspear. All too vividly she remembered, how protective they were not only of their mountain, but lands surrounding it. Mal - an aspiring leader that at the time of their encounter had settled nearby - hadn't had any warm words in regards of their neighbours either. To Hydra she may as well not exist, but in case of Arcturus - with a lot of things left unfinished and burnt bridges - you never knew, what would happen. She could have told all this, but did not. 

"I lived in the valley once. There are forests and vast grassy plains I would like to visit, but we are not intending on trespassing anyone's claim or hunting grounds," she added for a good measure. "Winters tend to be milder here, where the coast is, but the cold wind rarely lets you enjoy it. We'll have to see, where it's best to settle for the barren months. I would like to survive and see another spring," she smiled.

She did tell him more soon enough, starting with a note he held onto--that she had lived in the valleys before. That had made him suspect that she would want to pass through wherever that might be, like maybe there would be some nostalgia in it. But she amended that notion soon after, somewhat, saying after that they didn't want to intrude.

Well, it probably didn't need said that Moonspear would be watching. He wasn't blind to their swell in numbers recently, and they all hunted more frequently further off the slopes. Only time would tell what exactly this would turn into as winter approached.

Where in the valley did you know? he asked, first as a wolf interested in ranging the 'scapes of the wilds. Have you been traveling long? From where? He considered his next direction and silently wondered how old she was, with this all in mind--maybe she'd seen some miles. The bearing of her presence seemed to suggest.. something. Maybe it was experience he was cuing into, but it wasn't in the same sense that he received it from his parents, and even his aunts and uncles. She baited a few opportunities, however, though he lingered on her thought of seeing another spring. He had always intended to do the same, but was too young to even do anything but take its certainty for granted.

He didn't know what she was looking for exactly. He had what he would need to survive the winter, or so he trusted in his packmates and home to maintain--that much was a simple answer for him. Again, it was simply something that just was.

"I have walked and sniffed out every corner of the wilderness in my day," Wraen replied cryptically. Maybe "every corner" was a bit of an exaggeration, but during that first very difficult summer in Sunspire she had been out frequently to source for food, and been to a lot of places. At that time it had not felt like tourism, now - two years later - the sharp edges of hardships had softened considerably and she could look back at the good things that she had seen and experienced. 

"Long? Not particularly, though the measure of time is a very relative thing," she mused, giving in to that annoying habit of hers to add some philosophical things, when she could have just as well left them out. "Few weeks - maybe more, maybe less. I don't really keep track of time," she shrugged. "So - the floods? I have been either very blessed or the most ignorant person in the world to miss it. Update me, please, on what happened," she asked, curious to find out, what new maladies had this land suffered from again.

Every corner? he questioned, naturally enough, with a bare hint of a smirk and small, gruff laugh. What could he even begin to ask about if that were true? He hadn't even pictured it to have ends, or corners even--not exactly. Though, he hadn't thought like that before. Point being, it was a lofty claim indeed, but with that, and all that detailed her afterward, she basically did well to confirm some of his suspicions. Create new ones too. Least he wasn't wrong to guess she was a lot more experienced (read: older) than him. He didn't know exactly what he was up against with this.

Then, he did have to wonder where she had been. He just barely packed away the little scoff. Maybe it hadn't rained as much wherever she had been, in that place where time evidently didn't matter that much to her (which had begged all sorts of questions of its own). Maybe after so long, it just didn't. Anyway. The month of near-constant rain not that long ago.. Antares informed like it was his job, a flick of his tone getting in. It gets better by the dry day now. Still, a lot of the rivers south are swollen. Again, in so many words: best to avoid.. unless there was something there she needed. He looked at her like what else? Did that sum it up alright?

More importantly, he trusted his nose better by the moment.

"You wouldn't believe," Wraen said with a knowing smile. Let the boy figure this one out - she had picked up a hint of disbelief in his voice and was not going to be looked down (figuratively speaking; literally - he was taller than her, but she ignored this conveniently) by a yearling. Again it was too tempting to add "even the corner you call your home", but it would be a tad bit too daring, tad bit too much and the fun would be over sooner that way. 

It seemed that Wraen had been very fortunate to leave the copse, when she had. Before the constant rainfall and floods. She wondered, how her former packmates had been doing and how they had weathered all this, but with a tough trio at the helm - they had no other choice but to survive. Hinterlands were a large place, they had safe and dry places to stay at. "Mhmm," she nodded in response. "At least there weren't any earthquakes - last year was pretty brutal," she remarked. 

"You gave me a valuable piece of information - thank you! In return - may I help you with anything?" she asked. "It seems like a fair trade."

A reply of that nature, harmless, with a disarming smile--he kept the little tilt to his head, and the quirk of a brow. Subtle, but not the most expressive of beasts, certainly something on his features seemed to suggest that he was thinking on it. Would he believe it? Given the details, perhaps, but he would pass his judgement then.. if so. He wasn't going to discredit it entirely regardless, though ultimately left it alone for now.

She reminded him about the earthquakes that by now, felt like eons away. It hadn't been long, honestly, but he had grown a lot in the time since then; his family kept him busy, too. True, he replied. The rains they could cope with up on their home, and the rivers would eventually recede back to their normal, floods would dry up, so on--leaving their wreckage behind, sure, but nature would mend, right? The damage of the very earth shaking and shifting was.. a bit more considerable in his eyes. As for what she could help him with? He was quiet a beat, weighing his options. If she had nosed around in every place here, then surely she could be bothered to tell him about those he had not met? He would even narrow it down to region, and honestly, didn't know what to expect back for it. Hm, of the places here, I'd like to know more about the coast if you might have anything to share? Past and present.. packs there, or anything of major interest, he drawled as he decided to see if she might make for a good informant there before he made it to see for himself.. one day. I have never been, but will. seemed a fair detail to add so she didn't feel like she was wasting her breath on him.

Often he ranged to scout for prey (as he liked the hunt, the fellow hunters, and Moonspear's interest), but increasingly so as he aged onward, there was just a little more to his wandering that he wanted to explore one day.

The coasts - a long stretch of territory that was frequented by wolves and had a long history of packs appearing out of nowhere and then disappearing just as quickly. Wraen had often wondered, whether it had something to do with the ever changing nature of the place itself, or was there a bit of divine at work. But she decided not to dwell much on the latter, because Moonspearans in general stood firmly on the ground called strict reality. 

"Well, at present... if you walk west from here, the plains have been claimed by a former nomad pack. I don't know much about them, because they came and settled there shortly before my departure," Wraen explained, knowing that this might not be particularly helpful to the scout. "East from here - you will see an island in the waters and there is a pack of wolves having settled on the coast presently. They inhabit the island, but the bridge that connects it to the mainland is inaccessable currently."

"They seem like a friendly folk to me," Wraen added, though that courtesy might just be addressed to her only. "And - of course - the Sentinels. It's a burnt down forest that connects with this stretch of woods. Currently I and two others take residence there, but I met a couple of young wolves that plan on claiming the place, but we'll have to see, how it turns out," she explained. "As for the rest - coasts are a good place to scavenge for food, if you are not against some saltiness, and it is probably the shortest way to travel between the three valleys. Easy passage too. Compared to climbing mountains."

His dark ears turned up, his focus firm. For all her vague, half-answers, he was glad for something with a little bit of meat on its bones finally. Evidently the  had been a worthwhile enough topic and he of course came with this age-old interest sparked up by sea-myths and a faraway view. She told him about peaceful island folks, a burnt forest, and a subtle in towards her hints of who he might be sniffing out with her. Then, a sampling of what the cuisine was like. He was undaunted, and nodded. Thanks, sincerely. I will be fine then.. he grinned a bit, switching his tail as he further alluded his to own home. If easier than mountains? Absolutely.

So, your company? he began, subject shifting himself. Maybe one smells familiar to me? Do you know Arcturus? he asked, innocently enough while looking like he did--all like that dusky, roguish mark Amekaze's old clan left on these Teekon Ostregas that if she knew his uncle intimately enough to wear him, it would be awfully familiar. Still, it had been a long time and he had been a lot younger when his uncle left them. His nose was sharp but.. who knew anymore in these days. The yearling was just curious, after all, wondering what she'd say about Arcturus, if anything, to the likes of him. If somehow she didn't know him, oh well, he'd name-dropped already for whatever it was worth.

Wraen should have realized that, while she could avoid talking about her past and what she knew of Moonspear, scents she could neither cover, nor lie about. She made a mental note of neutralizing her smell, when she ventured away from the Sentinels next, but now she had to find out a tactical move of how to get out of the sticky situation without causing any suspicions. 

I am not at liberty to tell my comrades' names. Was that grand answer that would silence anyone in the perfect world. Now - it would just as plainly tell that - yes - she knew, who Arthur was. Yes - he travelled with them. Naturally that would lead to the next logical question - who are you? "Can't say I have," Wraen replied with a straight face and honest look in her eyes. Her voice did not quiver once as the lie was spoken out loud. 

"Has this person gone missing?" she asked, keeping her expression neutral, giving a little, and sympathetic smile even.

Ah, no? A hint of disbelief on him then as his nod was a slow show of acceptance. He watched her carefully even so, and veiled his suspicion very, very neatly--or tried to. So, the next would either have to flow freely.. or be painfully careful.

Antares gave a gentle shake to his head before answering. No, not missing, but I don't know where he'd be.. Although he did not know exactly where he was, it didn't feel like his right to anymore really since they had nothing to do with each other thanks to his leave. The last word had been the Firebirds, but that meant little to him actually as anything more than a concept. Did it matter much? Not really, obviously.. but some part of him did miss his uncle around, and would've liked to know him better as he got older. He left on his own. I never got to say goodbye, he offered plainly enough, as that was that.

Regardless, tell your fellows to mind the mountains this winter, he didn't want to deal with them when the coast got harsh and the loners went desperate. I should be on my way soon then, you probably have ground to cover too? Antares said, still watching her, but feeling like moving his legs once more. He could surely keep picking, but, he felt like that was probably good enough for now.

"That is very unfortunate. You must have been close," Wraen said levelly and to add more sincerity to her demeanour she thought about Maia and, how every time her sister left to go on solo adventures, a bit of her heart went with her. It made her wonder now, whether Arcturus missed Moonspear, now that time had passed and heightened emotions had calmed down somewhat. Whether among the Ostrega folk there were still those - like this young fellow - who had not quite given up on him, disowned him entirely. Because, if that was the case, then it was gravely unfair to a wolf, who had given his better part of life to the mountain and their dwellers. Even after he had made a mistake according to them. 

"We will respect any claimed territories - that I promise you," she replied, knowing well that she and the rest would keep their distance from the mountain pack and would do their best not to have their paths cross. "That I have," she nodded in agreement. "Thank you for keeping me company and may the luck follow you, wherever your path leads next," she said her farewells.

There was not a lot else he was willing to say about his uncle, so the nod he replied in was a little dismissive. It was already plenty and it was unfortunate. They hadn't been overly close, no, but he had been too young for more--seemingly--and had not got the chance to really reach anything more meaningful given the timing of things. Anyway, she said they'd mind the claims, and that was worth a nod from him to say he would hold her to that. From their perch, they would catch wind fast if groups of stragglers were loitering around anyway.

You are welcome, he replied after a breath in which he contemplated outright silence. No, he knew it wiser to play nice, and better for appearances for the time being. Good luck to you too, the dark yearling added back as he started to step away, trying not to sound ominous, but his note didn't have the same lightness that hers could boast. Something in him wanted to believe she would need it more than him in the coming months. But, after now, it probably wasn't his thought to think.

He left the scene entirely after one last chuff of goodbye, intending to note the direction of her path at the bare minimum. Besides that, he simply tried to move on from here after--on to the next thing.