Swiftcurrent Creek the absence ceases

@Raziel

The ranks were filling. Although Falwasi often strayed away from Swiftcurrent Creek, the smells of new members filled her nostrils, one unfamiliarity building upon another and another. Her scent was still etched into the air, though, even if only slightly — she was always around, but it was time to move closer.

However that was not the reason the slender wolfess chose to wander away from her home. It was the events that were currently unravelling. Shadow coming to beg to see his children, of whom had just been born of Paarthurnax. Falwasi hadn't even stopped by to say hello to the pups, but she knew they were there. Their presence was undeniable.

But, as few of the times when things were starting to fall apart, Falwasi ran away from her problems... literally. It wasn't like her to be chased; she was the hunter. If she couldn't catch a fish, she would undoubtedly catch the next one. If there was a wolf she wanted to like her, she would go out of her way to make it true. But if she slipped, she would never fall, and the action would repeat itself until... well, she always caught herself.

So today, like every other day, she strode along the creek that carried so many memories in its waters, in hope to engage in conversation with one of the new wolves.

The ashen male blinked, the sun streaming through the branches of the trees. He rolled over, not wanting to wake up but found he couldn't get back to sleep either. Grunting in dissatisfaction, the boy rose to his paws, shook the debris out of his fur and yawned. Hungry, Raziel made his way to the creek, fish were small and would not satisfy his hunger immediately but it was a start and it would have to fill his belly before he went on patrol or filled the caches for the pack.

It felt weird to be part of a group of wolves again, his father's lessons on leading were stuck on his mind and too often he found himself in a dominant position instead of a submissive one. And Raz doubted he could stop that habit anytime soon, not that he wanted to anyways. Pausing at the edge of the creek, he lowered his head towards the water and lapped up some of the liquid, teal eyes scanning the depths.

The timid sound of water splashing sounded behind Falwasi. She craned her neck to see the wolf that lapped up water from the creek's clear and rumbling waters. He was male, robust and greyscale, and for a moment Falwasi thought it was Shadow. She was too quick for her hackles to rise, though. A wave of relief washed over her as her almond eyes trailed over the wolf. It wasn't Shadow. This male was darker, and had a deep scar running across his shoulder.

"Hello," she greeted, dripping her golden crown as she advanced closer to him, keeping a polite distance away. "You must be one of the Creek's new members." Maybe he wasn't new; Falwasi hadn't met any new wolves in a while, but it depended on how long a wolf saw 'new' as. She was trying to reach out, and making conversation felt slightly awkward in her mouth, but she didn't think the other wolves noticed. She was good at acting when she wanted to.

"Hello," came a voice, he lifted his head and saw a female, her pelt made of creams, browns and golds. His tail hung by his ankles and ears flattened slightly as a gesture of submission to the probably higher ranked female. "Hey," he replied, nodding politely at her. "Yeah, I'm quite new here.". Raziel was already suspecting this conversation would end really badly and awkwardly because neither of them seemed to know what to do.

"I'm Raziel, and who might you be?" obviously when he didn't know what to do, he would revert back to the old fashioned really formal polite greeting way. They probably would not be able to engage in a casual friendly conversation, maybe they could fight instead. Fighting usually helped, helped the silver agouti at least. Actions speak a lot more than words do after all.

The ashen male greeted Falwasi in return, showing signs of submission by plastering his ears to his face, and letting his tail droop slightly. Falwasi furrowed her brows very subtly towards him; she hadn't payed much attention to ranking lately, mainly because her former pack had been more-or-less evenhanded about the caste system, but also because very few wolves showed any sign of subordination within the Creek.

"Falwasi," she responded, eyes trailing over his body again with a concentrated expression. Again, with Shadow. Perhaps he was related to him, but she could be mistaken like she had been with Saena. The mountain wolf lacked an explanation over her staring, but she didn't really care. If he wanted to ask her, he could, but otherwise Falwasi would not speak up.

She returned to look at Raziel, noticing his boldly glittering eyes as she did so: "Your name is interesting; of what origin does it come from?," Falwasi decided on, matching formalities with the teal-eyed male before her.

"Nice to meet you, Falwasi." Raziel said politely with a dip of his head, noticing how she seemed to be examining him very carefully, did she realize he was related to Shadow? Hopefully not, he'd said and done nothing that indicated that with her, so even if she suspected it, she could never confirm it. "Your name is interesting; of what origin does it come from?," His name was not Roman, so she couldn't track it down either, if she wanted see if he was related to Shadow, that is.

"I think it was way on my father's side, my great ancestor or something married this woman. She believed in angels, angels and fallen angels. My name, Raziel, is the name of an angel. It means Keeper of Secrets or Angel of Mysteries. Usually we're named after angels, but occasionally, depending on the pup's early personality, some are named after fallen ones, those who turned bad." Raz smiled at her. "What about your name?"

"That's beautiful," Falwasi murmured subsequently the Shadow look-alike's explanation. He did not fully answer her question, which would have given her an answer to the possibility of the Bypass leader and Raziel's relation, but that did not matter to her. The meaning of his name was just as good, and if the two males were related, she would learn soon enough. A secret could not lie hidden forever.

The now independent wolf mused where her name might have derived from, but in all honesty, she did not know. "The fallow deer," she replied. How her parents knew she would have the sure-footedness of the creature, she did not know. However, their coloration was likened and could be the reasoning of her naming.

"How are you adjusting to the Creek?," Falwasi asked, making customary newcomer talk. "Have you met any wolves to your liking?" She knew there were many other wolves that required introductions, but for the time being she would commence with Raziel.

Raziel dipped his head politely and uttered a soft "Thanks," and listened as Falwasi spoke. She said it came from the fallow deer but did not choose to elaborate. Not that it really mattered, the greyscale male could do with less useless information in his head and more survival techniques. "How are you adjusting to the Creek?," Raz shrugged, a small smile touching his features. "Its fine, could do with more dangerous icy mountains though." he said jokingly.

"Haven't really met anyone yet, so I can't really say...."

A ghost of a smile touched Falwasi's lips as he expressed his preference of snowy peaks. The thought of the glacier stirred in her mind, the frozen wasteland tugging at her memory. She knit her brows together at the greyscale; he didn't seem the mountain type. More of a tall grass stalker, actually.

With a quiet sigh, Falwasi softened her expression again and said: "Well, I best leave it to you then." And with a fake but welcoming smile, she added, "It was nice meeting you, Raziel." It was indeed, and now they both had to move on with their introductions to the other wolves.

So Falwasi continued her walk past him, flicking her feathery tail as she did so. One down, however many more to go.