Felltree Marsh She can wait if she wants

preferably a spree! This'll be for her scouting trade :)

The marsh had become a beacon to her. A place where danger could lurk- but she felt it unlikely that the white wolf would return for vengeance here. If anything, that wolf was on the run- but in her wake, there might be others, tracking her through this area. She decided, then, that she would include the marsh in the territories she patrolled, trying to see if she recognized the scents of any wolves lingering about in the area. 

Maybe she would be the one to traipse across the wolves who belonged to the white wolf's family; she would know their scent. 

So she scouted- roaming the area in the light snow, sniffing as she went with always a cautious eye on the horizon.

Dasher wasn't too close to the scouter but he was probably in her vision, though several yards from where she stood. He wasn't threatening the border by any means as far as he knew, and he was aware of the pack that lived there, though he was new to these grounds. He let out a neutral bark, nothing threatening, just to announce his presence. If she responded in a similar manner he may approach, or make his next friendly. He had no intention to stir trouble.

Amid the grey and white of winter, the stranger blended in fairly well. The hint of scent on the breeze caused her to stiffen and scan the terrain for any sign of a wolf- and picked him out well enough. The verdant green of his gaze was accented by the green of pine in the distance, contrasting against the pale fur of his face. Only the jagged line of skin on one side of his face marked him as anything other than ordinary. Quite a scar- right over his eye. 

But his invitation was friendly enough. Lilia approached with a haughty step, her hackles lifted but no sparkle of malintent in her icy eyes. She gazed at him levelly, brow arched slightly, as though she expected a certain level of dignity from him. "What buh-rings you thith way?" She asked, her voice lilting with curiosity, though her features remained somewhat skeptical.

Dasher dipped his head in a friendly greeting. He kept his head tilted slightly to the right, trying to cover up his bad-eye a bit. "nothing in particular, just trying to get my whereabouts and learn the areas in these parts. I just traveled over here." He explained. "My name is Dasher." He added. The girl was younger than him, with eyes like ice. But she too seemed non-threatening with the way she held herself. And she too had scars. Some marks down her side that were from claws seemed fresh enough. Unlike the one on his eye, that had been done a while ago.

She noticed the way he turned his face away, but she did not think it was necessary. It did make her wonder if perhaps he had earned the scar doing something he was now ashamed of. Her epaulettes were a mark of her bravery, she did not shy away from facing someone squarely. She sniffed the air, and scented no disease, saw no madness in his eyes. No hint of wolf's blood lingered on him. He wasn't a suspect yet- but she'd find out anything she could. 

If nothing else, he might make a decent recruit. 

"Dashuh. It'th nithe to meet you. I'm Lilia; I'm from a pack not faw from he-uh." She gave him a smile, and allowed her tail to wave slightly; she would glean what she could from him by being sweet. "It'th called uhRedtail Rise," She said. "I'm juth-t out here thcoutin'. Ca-uh to join me?" She asked, tilting her head slightly, invitingly.

Dasher nodded. "Nice to meet you Lilia. I would be honored to join you with scouting.." He said, pausing. He pondered whether to tell her about his blind side. It would be a weakness whilst scouting so he decided too. "The scar on my right side has caused my eye to be blind, so uh, you gotta cover that side, if thats alright." He said, showing her his eye. There was a faded patch around it where the scar cut through his eyeball.

He was willing, and willing subjects were always the best. He seemed to take some pride form having been asked, which would make him all the more simple to bring along. She didn't even really have to try, to manipulate him- it seemed that she simply had to be nice. This was a lot less exhausting than having to be very nice and play on the emotions of others. 

He brought her attention to the side of his face which he had sought to turn away from her. So she prowled around to that side without hesitation. From here, she could see the faint marring of what should have been bright and glittering, and she admired it. Being half blind must've sucked, though. "Got ya." She said. "We awh gonna be thcoutin' thuh-rough the marsh. Thee if there awh any new thent-th that have come in the latht night." She said. "Thound good?" She asked.

Dasher nodded. "I'm just gonna follow your lead since I barely know these areas." He said. "But I do have a good eye, literally only one, for catching things that may be suspicious or out of the ordinary." He asked. "Though I may catch things you already know about, like if there was a fight or something that you know about and I spot blood, I may point it out but you may already know about it." He said.

One good eye- well, he certainly wasn't wrong. He was observant, though not many would have missed the clues. Most of the fur pulled or shed had blown away or been picked up birds, but the blood settled in. Perhaps he had taken note of it earlier, but he brought it up. She eyed him with mild skepticism. He didn't smell anything like the other wolf, who had had a pack scent. She doubted that he was a spy- but not completely. 

"There wath. Jutht ovuh that w-uh, to yoah right." She said. She was on his blind side, after all. Simply saying "That way" or "Over there" wouldn't be helpful. Nor would gesturing. It was kind of an ego boost, getting to be the pair of eyes that saw where his could not- though she thought him naive to have allowed her a place in his own blindspot. "I wanna thee if anyone elth hath come through heah, thinth the fight." She said. She roved about, never straying too far from him, but keeping him in the corner of her eye.

Dasher nodded knowingly. "I had just come to these areas, this whole land, not just this forest in specific around when it happened. I'd heard the commotion but smelled the pack scents so I kept out of it, especially since I didn't know anyone or what was going on. But I hope everything is alright in the aftermath and that no one was too badly hurt." He said, offering his sympathies. 

He turned to be able to see the area she told him the fight happened in with his good eye and nodded. There was still the faint tinge of blood in the snowy soil and the dead bushes around had been ripped and broken a bit, from fleeing or pursuing wolves, Dasher assumed.

She told him what he assumed to be the reason for this scouting trip. To see if anyone was still around. So he nodded and made sure to keep his eye peeled in search for any wolf that may be around hoping to finish things

It seemed like he was being truthful enough. And he was both observant and empathetic which made him seem even further from a spy. Lilia wasn't one to be paranoid easily, so she decided firmly that this wasn't someone who was sent this way, trying to find the white wolf. 

"Theah'th a big white wolf, she'th a killa. She came here, too close to ow borduhs, an' killed one of my packmate'th. We wat-th now, to thee if any come lookin' fer her or if she cometh back." She wandered this way and that- but found that there were fairly few new scents. Everything seemed to have decided to steer clear of the area for the time being. 

"You juth-t wanderin' through, though, yeah? Or you lookin' fer a pack to join?"

Dasher nodded as she said anything. He dipped his head in respect as she stated a packmate had died. Then her question. Was he just wandering or looking for a pack? To be honest with himself, he didn't know. "I'm not sure. I mean, I'm so new here and you're the first wolf I've encountered, let alone pack, that I'm not sure. I think I might explore around a bit more before deciding to settle down." He told her.

He looked more sorry than anything, when she mentioned a packmate had been killed. She sensed he might not have a vengeful spirit, and might not fit in very well with the wolves of the Rise. If she brought back a wolf who would eventually run and cower in fear, it would tarnish her reputation. 

Given that she didn't find him fit for their standards, she quickly found herself wanting to be rid of him so she could perhaps go searching for another. "Mmm. Well, keep your eyeth peeled. Thea'th a white wolf, with yellow eyeth. She'th mean, an' hath attacked a whole bunch of wolvth in the patht." She was exaggerating a bit- but as far as she knew, the white wolf had killed twice, so she had likely a worse history than that. "Anyhow. I told my Fatha I'd be back about thith time, tho I gotta get movin'. But thankth for thcoutin' with me, Dashuh," She said, with a wave of her tail.

Dasher dipped his head. "Pleased to meet you Lilia. Perhaps our paths will cross again." he said, though he could sense the way she felt about him not being a good fit for her pack. And he was fine with that. He would find a place that was. He too flicked his tail in parting, and started off towards the mountain range he'd passed on his way to this taiga

"Perhapth," She said, with a slight shrug of her shoulder. There was no way to tell if she'd misjudged him- but she wasn't willing to take the chance. Perhaps the pack could've benefitted from having him simply because he was another body, and perhaps simply a show of numbers would work enough...But it wasn't worth the risk. 

He went one way, and she went the other- content to work her way back toward her pack, making sure that there weren't too many other, suspicious scents in the area.