Like the last one, this pack smelled small. Still, she gave the borders a wide berth, though she slowed and eventually paused as she regarded the fortress-like landscape. Made curious, she tentatively crept closer, realizing with a jolt that she recognized the dominant scent. Junior couldn't place it for a moment, though eventually she dragged up a memory of a black-furred, green-eyed she-wolf. She had trespassed when Junior had been living in the bay.
Her ears splayed and she bared her teeth briefly, then swung and began to trot parallel to the spine, dimly aware that Stavanger Bay and the sea lay in the distance ahead. For the moment, she couldn't make out that potential destination or anything else of the landscape in that direction, as the setting sun cast a harsh glare over the wilds, casting everything in white gold.
Running was a therapy.
One that not only kept her brain juices flowing but also pumped every gram of anxiety out of her system. After having lost and won, Cara was growing used to the rollercoaster ride that was life; and despite the hatred she had once held towards the uncertain, she was beginning to learn that what life brough to her unexpectedly had equal chance of being a curse or a gift.
Ptarmigan for example had been the biggest curse that had fallen upon her, and the Spine as a whole in her opinion. It almost felt like the dark coated ursurper had been dropped intentionally into her life, to fill again that void that had been left when she had finally parted ways with her abusive sisters.
In a sense it was safe to say that what the yearling had deposited her faith on was the balance of good and bad --or in other words Karma. Though the chance of the legitimacy of this belief (like any other) was slim, it was the only thing dogma that was able to tie the loose ends in the female's mind.
So if Ptarmigan had been their poison, there was a chance that soon the Spine wolves would find a antidote.
As Junior turned, Cara's body spun simultaneously as the shiny ripples of light dancing over the juvenile's coat reached the female's eyes. As it was natural for the female, she tensed and bristled at the sight of a stranger near the Spine. With a swift motion Cara whipped her tail over her back and approached the younger girl with cautious and measured steps.
In better days she would've chased the teenager off, thinking that she was looking for scraps or something; but with their numbers falling so quickly, she figured every body was worth a shot.
"I won't hurt you unless you give me a reason to" she barked, with a sweet tone that contrasted against her sharp words. The whole 'being friendly and recruiting members' was a hard task for the pale girl, whose default response to strangers was to snarl and growl.
The youth's eyes narrowed at the threat. "And I won't hurt you unless you give me reason to," Junior responded sarcastically. She was now the size of an adult, so age did not give the stranger any particular advantage. And she wasn't just some aimless youth; she was a trained Warrior and Outrider and could definitely stand her own should it come to blows.
Though the charcoal teen wasn't yet in the Spine's lands, she was lingering around their doorstep which gave Cara every right to go and question her. Though she had not expected her warning to be answered she had to admit the girl had guts by doing so; while this might've caused the yearling discomfort in previous times, after her therapeutic run, she found it amusing more than anything.
She flicked the tip of her tail, which still hovered dominantly over her back, and softened her eyes to signal that she was not actually trying to pick a fight. "Very well, " she stated with a crooked smile beginning to form on the corner of her lips. Though a rebellious youth might give the pack just the liveness that they needed it could become a problem if she turned out to be a rebellious snob. (there was only room for one if the Spine[size=x-small] and it was taken[/size])
Whichever Junior was, Cara was determined to find out through the very conventional method of interrogation. "It's beautiful isn't it? "she barked, motioning to the enormous mountains that gave the Spine its name, it was a little comment that hoped to break the ice. Something particularly hard for the overly-territorial female.
"What's your name..?"she asked them, noticing the peculiar and quite unique contrast of her eyes.
"No," she opined flatly, shrugging. It was simply the truth; she did not find the view particularly striking, especially with the sun's glare halfway blinding her.
It seemed the female wanted to make conversation. Despite feeling defensive about the stranger's choice of opening line, Junior faced her more squarely and took a step toward her. "My name's Lucky," she replied, making up the name on the spot. "What's yours?"
POP.
That was the sound Cara's heart made as the dark juvenile deflated her gentle attempt to start a conversation with her mono-syllabic response. The pale yearling head turned to face Junior again, an unreadable expression flooding the soft yellow of her orbs. There was no arguing that Cara was a complete ignorant when it came to nature and healing (among other things) but she was at least able to recognize the beauty of a landscape when she saw it.
Despite the subtle indifference the youth showed towards the Spine, Cara continued to look at her directly; when a name was finally given, the Frost Queen allowed her lips to curl into a smile --now they were getting somewhere (or so she thought)
"Any reason for it?" she asked while twitching the tip of her tail. The fact that the girl had given her a fake identity was still unknown to her. "My name is Cara" she barked the, her chin rising as if to lift the imaginary crown that rested on her head.
![[Image: tumblr_inline_mzohzd0SOt1sscyqe.gif]](http://media.tumblr.com/38623a043010cf4f8a89616aba7d5fb3/tumblr_inline_mzohzd0SOt1sscyqe.gif)
During the brief pause between her question and the girl's answer, Cara had just enough time to admire more closely the mismatched jewels on the juvenile's face. Though Cara prided herself with her beauty she could not help but to feel a pang of envy filling her belly -- even if Lucky's (Junior's haha) coat wasn't particularly stunning her eyes really hit it out of the park.
As the youth began her story, the pale Alphess' lips twitched unvoluntarily into an pityful half-smile that really looked as if the yearling were simply constipated. What she had expected to be a cheesy miracle story that ended up giving her the little nickname turned out to be a distasteful tale was too ridiculous to be true.
"Ohh.."you got to be kididng, she thought quietly while, trying to erase the image of a kid named Fucky off her mind. Then with a loud rumble to clear off her throat and a quick scoff she brought her eyes to meet the girl again.
"Yeah, so umm, do you belong to a pack.. Lucky..?" she asked, trying to keep a snarky remark off the tip of her tongue, just for the sake of saving the chance of recruiting the girl --something that was never destined to happen either way.
"Yep. I'd better be heading back there too. Smell ya' later," the juvenile said, clicking her tongue at Cara and winking before turning and swiftly loping away, eventually curving away from the distant sea and navigating on a southwestern-bound course.
As soon as she appeared the young female was off again. Cara had hoped to lure Lucky into the pack, as long as she didn't mention her poor brother Fucky ever again. But before she could ask anythig else the girl excused herself and began to walk away.
Cara stood still, watching her trot away from the Spine. "bye." she barked when the female was too far to hear. Their whole encounter seemed to have been taken from a cartoon show. With a last shake of her head and a chuckle (the one she repressed when Fucky was announced) she spun around and disappeared into the Spine's arms.