Little Goat Mountain gänseblümchen

mahler had left paleo beneath the guise of a hunt, but truly it was to make the realization that he had grown too old for a proper chase.
the goats were too fleet, the rabbits too spry. fishing was not something he had ever done well, and small game alone could not feed their pack.
he looked toward tikal, but knew that both his pride and that of wylla would not allow the asking of help.
and so mahler climbed on, ignoring the stitch in his side.

The smells were familiar, though he had spent precious little time in the mountains before he had moved on. He had preferred it to the sea, even though he'd met more wolves at the lower altitude. He couldn't remember her name - he honestly remembered no one by name from this place - but she had been nice and pretty. He'd liked her and he'd liked their time together.

That wasn't enough to keep him here. Not then.

He was hopeful this time. He had new direction and a cultivated interest. He had ideas and goals that he wanted to meet. He looked into the distance, knowing there were packs out there - would he join one this time? Maybe. Anything was possible, or so he had been encouraged to believe.

He pushed deeper into Teekon, no specific destination in mind, when he spotted a large, dark wolf making his own way along the mountain. The first but likely not the last. Diaval shifted his course to come closer, keeping a healthy distance between the two. "Hey...uh...sir. Where am I?" Might as well get some bearings. 

thanks for joining!

the man was younger, and therefore roused the usual instinctual aggression in mahler. but he combatted it easily, batting away the sensation as he saw how the stranger regarded him: with respect and wariness.
"these mountains are called the sunspire range, known for the largest vone." and here he motioned with a wide paw to the peak for which the place was named. "and this place, vhere ve stand, is called the mountain of little goats."
he looked the other over assessingly. another hunter was never in danger of being turned away, and another man around might see the value of taking a mate as the season ended.

ooc; no problem at all! :DD

Ignorant to the potential anger of his company, Diaval looked openly to where the male gestured, a small frown of contemplation on his face. It took a moment for him to calibrate his mind to accept the accent and understand it - he had never been good with strange ways of talking. Likely, the people he thought of this way would not appreciate the sentiment of being called "strange" but it was an internal and so mostly harmless assessment. 

Was this where he was before? He was sure he had exited Teekon around this place.

He looked around the two of them, noting the name and hoping it meant an abundance of goats. They should be something he could catch, even by himself. Did he overestimate his own abilities again? Perhaps, but he would know soon. Every success was a surprise, every failure an inevitability and it never mattered which occurred more frequently, his anxiety and doubt were his constant friends. 

He inhaled the scent of the stranger quietly through his nose, his amber gaze returning to the larger male for a second before flicking away to look at the mountain once again. "Are you from a pack? What - or who, I guess - are they...uh...around here?" his voice was steady and quiet as he worked out the next steps in his head. It was only a few moments later that he realized he might have been annoying and ducked his head a bit, a nervous smile on his feature. "Ah, sorry for all the questions..."

a young man, and quite new. mahler's expression grew bemused. "ja. i know who lives here. four days north is epoch. three days north is tikal. and my own pack, paleo, is just below us in the hollow."
there was a pause before the gargoyle spoke again. "i am mahler. vhat is your name, traveller?"
paleo was tucked away and peaceful; that stillness was one of its richest offerings, if a youth was ready to settle.
and now, the amethyst eyes watched, ears waiting for the other to speak again. mahler thought now of wylla's recent season, and wondered if it would bring new life. it always had before, and so paleo would not be without its young. hunters and guardians were welcomed first among the traders.

Diaval was startled to realize how close he was to the borders of a pack. They were dense in the Wilds, he remembered that, but had he been alone so long he'd gone noseblind? He offered an embarrassed laugh, turning away slightly. "Oh." he said quietly. Then, "Your pack so you...run it? You're the leader...?" Or whatever those were called. He'd heard it varied from place to place.

"Diaval. I've been around here before but I left. I'm back now, I've got...things I want to learn. Things I want to do." he wasn't sure why he was compelled to say more than his name. The big male - Mahler - didn't seem bothered by him and his loneliness was, maybe, starting to catch up. Some conversation might actually be nice now that he was a bit warmed up. "There was someone who sort of offered to teach me herbs -" and other things but he was smart enough not to mention that "but I don't know if she's still here. Or where, exactly, she would be, anyway."

diaval. he went on to speak of such accomplishments as he wished to make, showing his youth and general inexpertise with the area. mahler's eyes twinkled. "vell," he said gruffly, "you have made the acquaintance of a skilled herbalist and midvife."
that the younger man sought a mentor was of great interest to mahler.
"your skills vould be appreciated in my pack," he said, confirming with a heavy nod that he was indeed leadership. "vhat do you intend to learn, exactly? your area of expertise, as it vere."

ooc; lol! I genuinely had no idea Mahler had those skills.

Diaval was surprised and he stared back at Mahler with a dumb, blank expression. He had been imagining a witchy woman with red fur and an apparent affinity for ravens. This was coincidence and luck of the highest degree. If Diaval were religious, he would consider it divine intervention.

Coming back to himself, a spark of interest lit his amber eyes and an excited smile split his face. He could not help his enthusiasm as he said, a little loudly, "Really?!" his reservations about joining a pack were momentarily forgotten as they were replaced with an image of getting to work with his plants under direct mentorship. Someone to tell him what were the wrong and right answers without muddy trial and error. He would learn so much faster!

"I really love plants. All things about them really." he paused for a moment, "Botany is definitely my area of interest but...I don't know how useful that would be. I'm sure I would enjoy learning medicine, too. I know plants can heal and I don't really mind blood." 

He hesitates now. He's not sure if this is okay to admit and his expression grows sharp as he mulls over the pros and cons in his mind. Here is a teacher, potentially. Diaval didn't want to ruin his chances but at the same time, this was the first wolf he'd met. That meant there could be others. If it didn't go over well, he would know for the future to keep quiet.

It was a risk, but...

"Honestly...well...I suppose what I really want to know is poison. Toxicology." he looks at Mahler with a bit of caution and anticipation. "I met someone who said plants could have...bad...effects as well as good. I've wanted to know about that more than anything ever since."

yeah! im trying to get his midwife mastery this year :D

young diaval proved to be a prosperous potential at once. mahler listened as the youthful creature detailed his affinity for green things, for botany, his willingness to learn medicine. and the last was not so surprising, thus he gave a nod.
"i am familiar vith poisons. it is something you learn vhen you have been studying for so long. it requires an experimental process that can be fatal," the chieftain cautioned. "paleo also has the acquaintance of other packs and a netvork through vich professional toxicologists might be reached, i am sure."
"botany is very useful, diaval. it sounds as though you have done much learning on your own. that is commendable."