Sun Mote Copse A Lucky Start

Nyssa is looking to familiarize herself with the Sun Mote Copse gang! All tagged are optional to join in! <3 @Meerkat @Njord @Reki @Stingray.

Time had drifted by since that snowy, windy night when Nyssa and Meerkat had sheltered together. Their first meeting. Nyssa's introduction a true local of this brand new wilderness. 

The woman had been kind in offering her to stay at the Copse, to see if it suited her liking. And so far, the forest was quite pleasant. The solitary young female stuck around, largely familiarizing herself with the land on which Meerkat and her husband laid claim.

Be it timing or luck, she had not run into any of the other wolves making up their small group. Which, to her, was understandable. She suspected Meerkat may be expecting, which meant both she and her mate would be kept busy. She gave them a respectable berth, not wishing to accidentally infringe at an improper time.

She did her part to make an impression. Sprinkling the borders with her own dash of scent. Catching game, for a steady supply of food. Making sites for newly created caches. The later of which she was in the middle of doing now. A half section of severed deer ribs from a recent meal, were the leftovers in her jaws. The snow and winter hardened soil churned slowly beneath her scraping paws. She was the picture of a busy body, while she worked to widen the shallow dent she had created.

A winter storm had delayed @Meerkat’s return from Moontide. The man waited at the Copse’s borders, but eventually even he was forced to seek shelter alone in the taigh. Worried, Njord set off the moment the weather weakened. Thankfully, when they were finally reunited, Meerkat explained how she had found shelter with a lone woman at the crag.

His wife, a master ambassador, had an exceptional skill when it came to recruiting wolves. The stranger, without any ties in the area, had followed Meerkat back to Sunmote Copse as their newest pledge.

Njord caught sight of her sooty silhouette against the snow that day, hunched as she worked to bury meat and approached with an easy lope.

“Nyssa?” he called with a wag of his red tail, testing the name Meerkat had provided.

With her front end splayed down low and her rear hiked in the air, she was clearly concentrating on her task. Chunks of snow and muddied soil flew back from her paws, further darkened by her efforts. Her toes and pads were a little chilly. She'd need a good soaking after her work was done.

A voice behind her, calling out her name.

She stopped in the middle of what she was doing, glancing over a dark shoulder to peek with yellow eyes. 

This must be Njord. A handsome and rather recognizable fellow, with his blue eyes and stand out red tail. Not to mention a voice richly accented. Dropping what she was doing, she turned around fully. "Oh, yes, that is me!" Slowly, she ambled closer, tail moving loosely to show her friendliness. 

"You must be Njord, Meerkat's mate, correct?"

Njord immediately liked Nyssa. She was affable and a hard worker. Njord was sure she would become the beating heart of the Copse in no time.

“Aye, the one an’ only,” he replied with a crooked, genuine smile. “Ah must thank ye for huntin’ and cachin’ so soon after joinin’ us. ‘Tis appreciated… It’s been just Meerkat an’ Ah for a long while.” Well, a young wolf named Reki had joined… but he hadn’t suck around very long, either.

“She’s due end of tha month, Ah believe,” he added happily. It alluded to the fact that a second set of fangs was greatly appreciated as Meerkat began her maternity leave.

“Ah, let me help ye with that,” Njord suggested. “Many paws make light work,” he added with a grin.

Njord began to excate the earth with his broad toes. “Meerkat told me what happened to your family,” he said in a low voice. Two legs. Destruction. Death. Driven from her homeland. “Ah’m verrae sorry.”

She afforded him a quick sniff and then moved on, so as not to get too personal. Still considering herself as an outsider in the whole of these wilds, Nyssa was cautious around new faces. But Njord radiated a warm, welcoming feeling.

"It is no trouble at all! It was how I was raised!" Her family had instilled in her a strong work ethic. Put in a good, honest effort, and you would be recognized. 

Meerkat... She was due soon, that much was plenty obvious. "You both must be excited. Is it your first litter together?" She asked, her eyes curious. "Oh, thanks. Go ahead and help yourself if you like. There's still plenty of meat left." She motioned to the deposited rack of ribs, already settled in the groove of the earth. She wasn't hungry, having ate earlier in the day.

At his side, she churned away at the soil, kicking it out in clumps behind her. Still attentive to his conversation. Glancing over, her features softened some. "Thank you. It was tough... I just still hope my siblings are out there, somewhere... But I am so grateful for that night Meerkat came into my life and offered me a place, here."

“It’ll be our third together,” Njord laughed a little in disbelief. Time stopped for no wolf! In classic dad fashion, the red-tailed man jumped at the chance to talk about his kids. “Our first was a litter of three: Stingray, Swordfish, an’ Mercy. Then, last year, Meerkat gave birth tae two daughters, Orca an’ Seal, when we lived with village Moonspear nearby.”

“We’ve lived all over,” he added. “Especially Meerkat. She became an ambassador at a verrae young age.”

Njord politely declined the offer of food with a small gesture of his muzzle. “Better save it for when it's needed most,” he remarked with a sincere smile.

Then, Nyssa elaborated on the topic of family. “Ah’m sure you’ll be reunited again,” Njord said optimistically. After all, every day he hoped his dispersed children would find the Copse.

“An’ we are pleased you’ve chosen tae stay,” Njord commended. “We’ve been tendin’ this land since the fall, but seen only a handful of wolves pass by.”

She listened. Her gold eyes deep with fascination. Their third litter! "Oh wow..." And then there were the names he listed off. One by one, she filed them away. She chuckled. "I think I hear a theme with those names. Cute!" 

His family had been all over in the wilderness beyond the Copse. "Quite an accomplishment. It must mean you and your family have plenty of connections, huh?" 

Hardly offended by his decline of the remains, she shoved them down with the rest, to be covered and buried. "Maybe one day we will be. It is kind of impossible to predict the future. At least, I think it is." 

"Our numbers will have grown before you know it. You and Meerkat...you really have created a warm, loving atmosphere in this place." Scooping the last of the dirt over in place, she switched gears slightly. "Is that what you were going for here? What is your vision, for Sun Mote?" 

She was finding Njord so easy to talk to, just as she felt with Meerkat. And she was enjoying every minute of it.

Njord gave a kindly nod and a warm smile as Nyssa praised their effort. He agreed that it was a true blessing Sun Mote Copse had finally become theirs.

“We ken tha Sunshine people of tha Moon Villages: Moonspear, Moonglow, an’ Moontide. Brecheliant, too. Ah wish tae keep them as allies,” Njord explained.

“Ah thank ye for your kind words,” Njord said genuinely. “Sun Mote Copse… is tae be a family place where our members can thrive. Set down their own roots. Build their future,” he explained.

“So Ah hope ye feel at home here,” he added. “If there’s anythin’ ye wish, ye need only ask.”