Great Bear Wilderness Venture and Adventure

If any one has any problems that FitzDutiful could counsel, that'd be cool, but everyone's welcome!

It was time. FitzDutiful had spent months at the caldera, never venturing out beyond his pack lands due to one reason or another, but now he had something to work towards. With a deep breath he took the first step outside of the pack borders and into the Wilderness.

That wasn't so scary, he told himself as he meandered from place to place, heading towards the lake but not far enough to actually reach the lake. He wondered what today would bring him. Usually his days were filled with meets and greets, occasionally there was a soul in need that sought him out, once there had been a story involved. Every day was an adventure.

For the first time since stepping foot on the slopes of Redhawk Caldera, Elwood was feeling discontent. It wasn't that he disliked his new home or his packmates; quite the opposite, actually. But he couldn't shake the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that, instead of relaxing and resting up for winter, he should have been searching for Avery.

So it was with a heavy heart and a clouded mind that he descended into neutral territory. He didn't intend to go far; just to do a cursory sweep of the area immediately surrounding the caldera, on the off chance that he could find some sort of clue as to Avery's whereabouts. He knew that it was a long shot, but he decided to dedicate his day to this task anyway.

He had been meandering for a short while, nose to the ground, when he came across a scent that was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He recognized it as belonging to one of his packmates, but he couldn't place the name. Deciding to take a momentary break from his half-hearted search, Elwood began to follow the scent, until he came upon the wolf that he now remembered was called Fitz. "You're Fitz, right?" he called out to the salt-and-pepper male as he approached.

FitzDutiful stopped when he saw a grey wolf approaching him. A sniff of the air confirmed that the wolf was a friendly, a pack mate in fact. Ever since Peregrine had told him that the Plateau wolves were being awkward, Fitz was a bit afraid of meeting one.

"Ah yes." FitzDutiful responded to the question to confirm that, yes, that was indeed his name. Unfortunately the same could not be said in return. He had no idea who the wolf was in front of him. He knew that he was the Delta of his pack (which fortunately wasn't leadership, but still it was pretty darn close!) but his name just would not come to mind. "I'm sorry, I can't remember your name?" More and more FitzDutiful cursed his voluntary confinement that was now leading to embarrassing situations.

"How can I help?"

"That's okay," the silver male said as he closed the gap, coming to a halt a comfortable distance from his packmate. He hadn't expected Fitz to know his name, since Elwood had only heard his in passing at the unofficial pack meeting. "I don't think we've really met, but I'm Elwood. I'm pretty new to the pack," he explained with a genial bob of his head.

As far as how Fitz could help him, Elwood pursed his lips for a moment. He hadn't really intended to seek anything from the male, just to say hello and perhaps become acquainted, but an image of Avery flashed in his mind's eye. For whatever reason, he thought that the Eta seemed trustworthy, so he began to tell his story. "I don't really need help, per se, but I'm out here because I've been looking for my sister. That's how I ended up with the pack; I met Peregrine while I was searching, and he suggested that I stay at the caldera throughout winter." He paused; this was where his feelings got more complicated, but he waited to see Fitz's reaction before forging ahead.

"It's nice to meet you, Elwood" FitzDutiful responded, dutifully, and waited for the rest of the conversation. There was a pause as Elwood considered what he wanted to say and then launched in with a family history. In truth, all FitzDutiful had meant was more of a "what can I do for you" than an actual "you've come to talk to me you must need help!" situation.

"Ahh," Fitz responded with a kind of understanding, "Yes, I guess having a stable pack for the winter makes sense. I take it you'll be moving on after winter then?" In some ways this angered FitzDutiful, though he did his best to not show it. Although Peregrine had asked Elwood to stay, it wasn't the same if a wolf wasn't planning to make a home of it here.

Elwood pursed his lips thoughtfully, considering Fitz's words. Yes, he supposed his plan was to move on as soon as winter passed; after all, his loyalty was to Avery, and he felt he needed to find her and bring her home. But, at the same time, he had been given his parents' approval to leave the pack; they had even encouraged him to pursue his own life, should that be the path that was presented to him. So there wasn't an expectation for him to return...therefore, what was the point if he didn't have Avery?

Choosing his words carefully, he responded, "Possibly. That's what I discussed with Peregrine. But..." Here, he faltered, his mind flooding with the possibilities of his future. What if he left Redhawk Caldera, but never found Avery? "I searched for months before I wound up here. I haven't caught her scent in...a long time. So I almost feel like I should give up. It seems like she doesn't want to be found anyway." The Delta paused, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and kneading it with his teeth before continuing. "But I do like it here. A lot." At this very moment, he was positively torn; and, being in the midst of his emotions, he couldn't see that he would just have to give it some time.

The silver male, confirmed that it was possible he wouldn't remain after the winter but then went a step further to explain why he might go and why he might stay. It was all about family - it always was, wasn't it? It seemed to be the major cause of concern with all wolves.

Fitz's counsellor training, by now quite used, kicked in and he couldn't help but offer advice to his fellow pack mate. "I'm sorry. I've not met any one searching for their brother." Though who knew if she was actively looking for him. "Maybe things will be clearer in the spring - there's a lot of valley around here with a fair few wolf packs nearby. Maybe, instead of giving up your search, you should just search more thoroughly near where you are before deciding to move onwards?"

Fitz hoped this was helpful, the poor Delta looked very torn between wanting to stay with the pack and moving onwards to search for his sister.

Elwood wasn't surprised when Fitz apologized for not having seen anyone that seemed to be searching for a sibling. Truly, when he stopped to think about it, he reckoned that Avery wasn't looking for him at all; he would be willing to bet that she was evading him to the best of her abilities. She was certainly doing a good job, but this cynical thought caused Elwood's heart to twist.

Sometimes, however, it was difficult to see the bigger picture when one was in the middle of the turmoil. Though Fitz's advice was simple, it made sense to Elwood, and it helped to ease his mind a bit. There were a lot of other packs in the area; there was a slim chance that Avery could be running with one of those groups now, or would join them in the future. Either way, he recognized that the best thing to do now was wait; there was no sense in searching within or outside of Teekon Wilds with winter looming.

"Yeah, I'm hoping that I'll have some luck in the spring," he agreed, flashing a thankful smile at the other Redhawk. "Maybe you can even help me then," he added, finding it safe to assume that they would still be loyal members come springtime.

Elwood mentioned FitzDutiful helping during the spring and Fitz nodded, enthusiastically. "Of course I'll help. Say the word and off we go. I think I'm going to head back home now, do you want to come with or are you going to search for a bit longer?"

Fitz waited for Elwood's response before heading back to the Caldera. By time he arrived home, he went to his den and sank into deep thought about what Peregrine had said. Wolves were always going to come and go, it was a fact of life. Not everyone could stay in one spot.

Sleep came upon the male and swept him up away from worldly worries.

OOC: Thanks for the thread!

IC: The Delta smiled, feeling encouraged by his packmate's enthusiasm. Fitz was a nice wolf; he had seemed a bit standoffish at the pumpkin patch, but Elwood was impressed that he was willing to listen and offer welcome advice to a relative stranger. "I'll hold you to it," he said companionably. He fully intended to ask for his help come spring.

When Fitz indicated that he was heading back to the caldera and offered Elwood to join him, the pewter male accepted readily. The two made their way home together, chit-chatting until they separated and retired to their own dens.