Swiftcurrent Creek and mistress of the snow

One for @Star

Bazi was one of several Arctic wolves that called the Creek home. She hadn't seen much of Dovev since returning, nor Star.. and was looking for company from those most like her. Winter's wolves.

Her body was healing. Serious hunting was out of the question, but she had caught several fish, and her fur was almost back to its glorious self. Not quite as dramatic as Star's puffball look, though.

The sun was fully risen when she started towards the Creek from her adopted den in the south-western corner. It was raining rather than snowing, and the ground looked dead. That was unlikely to stop Star.. she seemed to have a penchant for aimless running (was she training for something?), and the flattest ground was close to the Creek. Bazi made her way there with quick, short strides, plush ears folded back against the cold drizzle.

thanks!

This was true, through weather of most kinds she could be seen having her almost daily run. She was running today. The rain had made her fur wet, and made it look not so puffed out. She looked smaller. Like you really are, idiot. The voice teased in her mind. She narrowed her eyes and sped up.

Soon she saw a white figure. Dovev was her first thought. She had given up on Bazi ever coming back a few weeks ago. But as she neared she could tell the features were not Dovev's. Bazi?! She thought when she was several yards away. She slowed to halt in front of her. She felt the urge to simply say what Bazi had said to her once: You've been hiding. But she knew that you didn't just say that if you hadn't seen each-other for what, two months?

"Bazi?" She asked. Yes it was, but Star wanted to verify that she wasn't imagining things. Some might give a more welcoming greeting, but this was Star, and emotion was not often portrayed.

True to form, Star was running. Bazi marvelled at the strangeness of it - the smaller Arctic wolf was neither hunting nor playing, and it seemed like a frightful waste of energy in such trying times.

"I went to the Glacier, " Bazi responded to Star's incredulity, striding towards her packmate be pausing a few feet away. "I had an accident... but I'm home now."

"Okay." Star had been told that she was visiting Njal and Tuwawi, but she'd also noticed her abscence from the Creek long ago. She thought maybe she'd died. "Hello. Welcome back." She said to the artic. Pausing a moment, she added, "How are they?" Star didn't know them but she didn't know what to talk about with her after she hadn't seen her in a while.

"OK," Star responded flatly. Nothing in her voice or bearing indicated that she cared either way that her packmate had returned safely, but Bazi took no offense - Star was a little disconnected, and always had been.

The tiny wolf was a bit of an enigma, showing nothing of herself apart from the very obvious, burning desire to prove something - to transcend herself, and become something greater. The physical aspect of that struggle wasn't something that Bazi shared, but she had some inkling of what it felt like to be too big for your shoes.

"Not good," she shared with a sorrowful shake of her head, moving past Star and motioning for the smaller wolf to follow. It was cold, and she didn't want her leg to seize up. "There were lynxes where they settled - or bobcats, I can't remember. They made off with one of the pups, Tuwawi followed, two of the other pups followed and disappeared.. there's only Njal, now. And Meara. It's a mess - I nearly invited them back, but they would never come. I can't even imagine how awful it must be for that poor man.. can you?" To Bazi's memory, Star wasn't the kind of wolf that shared unless prompted.

Star followed Bazi as she motioned. As she explained Star couldn't help but think that if the family had stayed here they would've been fine. That was one more reason added to Star's list of why loyalty was important. "That sounds terrible. I hope they don't become depressed. " Star had been in depression once- she'd been pulled out of it recently, too busy trying to sharpen her skills to be depressed. "Will they be okay?" She asked Bazi.

A disbelieved little laugh bubbled out of Bazi's mouth. "I'm pretty sure they're already very depressed," she told Star. "Njal didn't want to talk about it, and I think Maera might just.. not be accepting what's happening. She thinks they're finding a pet for her. That poor, sweet little girl.." Bazi heaved a sigh. "Well.. we'll have our own pups to worry about soon enough."

"Oh.." She said. Although, it had been pretty obvious that they wouldn't be happy, but Star had tried to hope for the best. When Bazi metioned pups, she remembered that Scimitar had said she was pregnant. She had forgotten. "Yes... I got you a healer here, her name's Esperanza. I'm not sure what to think of her yet but she seems pretty experienced with herbs." She said. Esper had explained that she had healed many wolves. It was hard to tell what her personality was like, though.

Esperanza. Bazi had not met her yet, and perhaps never would - by the time Scimitar called the Swiftcurrent wolves to meet, the healer's scent would be thin on the ground.

"Not for me," she clarified, "For Paarthurnax. You saw that she's pregnant - right?" It was rather blooming obvious at this point. Bazi, on the other hand, was nearly concave beneath her thick fur.

"Yes. I heard at the meeting she came back from Shadow's new pack." Star's mind wandered a bit over the whole situation. Shadow was an alpha now. Last time she saw him they had just hunted ducks together. "Why did he leave? Was something wrong?" She asked, not realizing the whole Shadow and Danica thing was an uncomfortable topic for her, nor that it might be rude to ask. She was a long standing member though, and she thought she kind of deserved to know things.

I'll conclude this since Star is now a captive!

"Why did he leave? Was something wrong?"

Bazi frowned, struggling to keep an acrid retort behind closed lips - were you born yesterday? How had Star managed to avoid the juiciest gossip of the season? "I told him to go. He wasn't a good fit for the Creek," she responded, annoyed that the reason wasn't more dramatic than that. "He's better of running his own show."

"Let's.. jog, or something," Bazi requested, putting a clear stop to their stilted conversation. She was no longer Alpha, and did not wish to spend any more time explaining and defending her actions.

Star shrugged. Very well then. She didn't see why someone could be a bad fit for the Creek unless they'd done something wrong. The way Star "avoided" gossip was by keeping to herself and being un-social. She wasn't one of many words. "I like jogging. I jog along the Creek almost every day." She told Bazi as she set off at a steady pace. Star glanced behind her, checking to see if Bazi would agree to follow or if she wanted to lead. The young eta didn't waste breath on asking, but turned back forward and continued.