She left the mountain before dawn and this time, sent her search northward. There was no true destination in her purpose, no end-goal to find. There was not even a real trail for her to follow, hence why she had gone in several directions all to turn up nothing.
Whispers of cougar scents had flitted to her ears in recent days, inspiring both a new uneasiness and protectiveness. She thought of the colorless beast she had ran off and wondered if it was connected. Her wild furs rose into a razor's edge of prickles at the notion. Accordingly, her pace quickened despite there being nothing physical to spur her forward.
Her progress continued until the mountain range she had been bordering ended, turning towards the sea, and a forest rose up in its place -- she had never been here before she realized now. There she slowed and breathed deep the crisp scent. It was not a bad place.. judging by what little of it she had seen so far.
However, the afternoon was beginning to wane already. She picked up a trot to weave through the trees. Yet there was nothing to guide her path and still no trace of the one she sought.
![[Image: 5ifpFkc.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/5ifpFkc.png?1)
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Like her similar colored counterpart, Echelon too was searching for something. Just what she hadn't decided, but it was easy to weave and work her way into the valleys beyond the coast. Tonravik had rallied some behind her, and while Echelon stayed close to her aokkatti, she also ventured off quite a bit too. Her slight frame lended her the ability to scout well. Curiosity did not drive her like it would others, though to say she wasn't a little curious about what the valleys had to offer would have been a lie. Many voices raised during the night that were not there own. If they decided to settle there, then the wolves of Tartok would certainly have an interesting life.
Echelon had entered the forest without fanfare and also, without direction. She paused here and there to test the crisp autumn air, now that her nares had been freed of the salty waters. So far, there were very few scents that stood out to her as concerning. They were stale, though how long ago she could not tell. It was enough to give her pause, but not enough for her to continue her wayward path towards the mountains that she had spied in the days prior. She knew she would not reach them by nightfall and thought it better that way. If anything, the young Tartok scout would have rather happened on the foothills of the chain come the pre-dawn hours.
While there was a touch of novelty in the idea of meandering without due cause, she was quickly growing wary of it. Without a purpose and an actual trail to give her something to zero in on, she couldn't help but wonder if this would all be for nothing. All there had been so far was an unclear set of tracks, cougar prints, and a touch of Ferdie to suggest his involvement somehow. It hadn't even gone this way for sure yet she was running out of directions to go and places to look that were even remotely in reasonable traveling distance from the Sunspire. And as their newly fledged Alpha through no one's choice but her own, how far could she afford to roam?
Her ears were slicked back although eyes sharp as her footfalls kept going through the wooded glen. She moved a little faster when she began to scent another. Unfamiliar, but there was something about it that she almost recognized -- just enough to give curiosity a place to start. It certainly wasn't Ferdie or any cougar, but she could do well to think about something else. She guided her path closer, tracking the scarce scents, until she spotted a fellow dark wolf.
It did not yet dawn on her the smaller wolf's ties to Tartok. Ame's last brief interaction with them was so far removed from her focus that the notion did not occur. She chuffed softly and slid closer with long strides, all while silently trying to discern her fellow's doings here. Perhaps they were not so different from her own.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
But that was quickly washed away; the tide had gone out for the time being and she took stock of the dark female coming towards her. A light chuff was issued, one that she returned, albeit neutrally. Her hackles, though unsettled prickled once more the closer their distance became, but she did not growl. Nor did she run. Other than being intercepted and found in the woodland had there really been anything to give her reason to take off. And besides, she reasoned, maybe she could learn something out of the other.
She took care to move steadily closer, bit by bit. Amekaze found she tended less towards wariness in the company of merely one (seemingly well-matched) other -- one that she was quick to observe and just as eager to understand. And, so far from her mountain's slopes, she had less at stake so that the spirit of inquiry may prosper more.
Nothing particular about the other female indicated a clear purpose or cause for being here, yet the possibilities were numerous. What Amekaze found most curious was her scent -- yet she remained unable to place why. Questioning this with a lingering stare, she eventually spoke up. Passing through?
she asked simply. Even despite still not being sure if perhaps this wolf was the sort to be more inclined towards violence over information.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
The approaching female was not an aggressor, at least not the kind that Echelon would have normally encountered. But for passive as she was, there was a certain air of assertiveness. It was that which made her glad that they kept their distance from one another, though the lingering gaze of her similarly colored greeter was unnerving in itself. Never one for spotlight, she felt scrutinized beneath that stare, but made no show of it. Echelon was already at a disadvantage when things failed to go her way, and her size boasted such. As to why she felt that scrutiny was anyone's guess.
“Always,” she replied, a small smirk pressing onto her lips. No doubt about her appearance, she knew she bore the brunt of travel in her frame. Even so, it was rare that she was all that focused on appearance to the point of seeming completely prim and proper. “And what of you?”
She nodded with a soft grunt of agreement. There was a familiarity about the other female's look. It was one she had worn for months herself, and proudly at that at times. For a long time, wandering had suited her needs. Yet when the question turned back to her, she was silent for a beat. Scouting,
she answered first. Which, while not untrue, was not the whole of it -- it just seemed like a logical matter for a new leader to partake in, especially with winter looming. If a paradise of prey awaited here in a place where few other wolves went, perhaps the Sunspire could utilize it somehow. Even if it was exactly an adjacent territory to theirs.
And searching,
she added after seeming to weight whether or not she should mention this. She only decided to after concluding it could be of worth to say. While unlikely, perhaps this female knew something. For a tall, gold-eyed, agouti male -- encounter any smelling like my mountain?
she asked. Which, was a bit of an assumption. He may not wear any Sunspire scent any longer. Maybe he had left them purposefully...?
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Scouting and searching… now that sounded like something Echelon was familiar with. Albeit they were scouting and searching for different things. The dark-haired Phase drew in a breath through her nose, and with it ascertained the scent of the mountain. It registered as unfamiliar, and she discarded it noisily. Whoever was being looked for, Echelon hadn't come across them.
“Can't say I have. Never smelled your mountain before.” And given that she was being asked this by a pack wolf told her a lot about how they had disappeared, too. It must have been some time ago, or the wolf she was looking for had simply become very good at hiding away somewhere else. “What'd they do? Eat your food and run?” She felt cheeky asking the question, and her tone reflected very much the same.
Her fellow dark wolf's words came as little surprise. Amekaze's expression remained neutral, despite a hidden flick of disappointment. However, she had come to expect this, and she was a bit further north. Not that she was familiar with the scents on the other wolf's coat, either. But it had been worth a mention.
Not exactly,
she quipped with a fleetingly small look of amusement. If only it had been that simple. A comrade. One who we believe unwisely went against a cougar. So, my search may very well be for nothing,
she explained as she began to turn to continue on. But it continues for now.
And with this, she decided it a good enough farewell. She moved on through the colorful forest, nose low and ears pricked. Eventually, when these trails all grew uninteresting, she would head back towards the Sunspire, most likely empty-handed.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」