Every day's so caffeinated

Open to anyone, though if someone wants to talk nature/healing that'd be awesome :)

7 -> she gets a rabbit if this is 6+

After watching the pack hunt and not being able to participate, Vienna had one thing on her mind; hunting. She was bound and determined to get back in action after her long furlough. So she was in the vale once more (the farthest she wanted to wander right now) eyeing the meadow and the plethora of rabbits that likely were held within. Though the grasses were dying with the winter's touch, she bet they still held some prey.

Slowly and carefully she stretched, the wounded skin feeling tight but giving no pain. Soon the scabs would begin to fall and scars would replace them. She was still somewhat gaunt, refusing to eat more than her fair share until she could provide as well, but her step contained the bounce of health. She could handle this.

Slowly she slunk into the grass, keeping her senses alert for any change. She'd traversed about half the meadow before a flurry of movement caused her head to jerk around and her paws to fly. Claws tearing at the cold ground, she hurtled after the small rabbit, eyes narrowed and elation filling her. The creature had some speed, but she was pretty quick too. With a single growl she sprang, her jaws closing on the rabbit's hindquarters. Latching down, she shook her head, killing the poor creature quickly. A deep satisfaction filled her as she once more tasted prey she had obtained by her own skill, and a heady joy that finally she was back to her old self for the most part.

With a low hum of satisfaction, she settled in, casting watchful glances around periodically as she ate.

Hello hello! :D

From the Heartwood she'd travelled North, across rolling plains and over jagged mountains until she'd found herself in another forest, lush like Neverwinter, but not nearly as oppressive. Andalusia remained a vagrant wanderer, going where her fancies led without much direction otherwise. Meeting Ciervo had invigorated the woman, and now the possibility of finding Chehlia - and maybe even Sumayl, who'd been the first to leave - seemed more a possibility than ever before. The mere prospect made her paws tingle and she picked up an eager pace, for once excited for what she would find in these vast and unfamiliar lands.

She was mildly aware that another stalked the Vale: a distant skirmish had alerted the woman to their presence here, but she hadn't caught wind of them in the forest. Andalusia had assumed the other had left, but as the Ostrega moved through the thinning trees she found her theory proven false. A figure of grey hunched in the meadow beyond the forest, not far from where Andalusia wandered now. The Ostrega considered turning away, for the wind carried the scent of blood, and she was not keen to come between a hunter and their prey again. But the hesitation lasted only a heartbeat, and soon she carried herself into the open valley in full view of the other who shared the Vale.

"Thought I heard someone else up here." came the golden woman's greeting as she approached the other woman with a glimmer in her eye. Andalusia paused a healthy distance away and let her gaze not fall upon the rabbit, but hover instead just off the woman's face.

ooh thanks for joining! And, if you like, Vienna prolly smells like Sumayl since they've been sharing a den :D

Vienna had just about finished when the other woman came upon her, the rabbit having been a rather small, gamey catch. It was still one of the best she had ever eaten based on the sheer joy that she herself had managed to chase it down.

When movement in her peripherals caught her attention, Vienna's head shot up and a cold sliver of fear ran through her. This was quickly quelled when a decidedly lupine form was seen and, furthermore, a friendly one. A rush of embarrassment followed. Seemed it would take more than a few days for the instinctual panic to die out.

"Oh! Hello!" She greeted in return, not rising but keeping her head up and eyes on the other. With swift movements she cleaned the gore off her muzzle, then an involuntary yawn came on. "Ah, sorry. Yep, just me though, far as I can tell. Who're you?" She asked quizzically, then quickly threw out an introduction of her own so as not to seem completely rude. "My name's Vienna."

Despite her clear and unobstructed approach, she'd still managed to startle the woman, Andalusia could tell that much. Yet the response was not long lasting, and as her companion calmed the golden woman dismissed the other's behaviour without a second thought. Likely she'd caught her off-guard, a reasonable assumption if the other woman had expected no company but herself.

She listened as the grey woman spoke, a slight smile pulled over her face. The other woman was a bright one, to say the least. Yet Andalusia's mind worked in junction with her nose, and despite the polite tilt of her lips, her thoughts churned with questions that made her wish to draw to a blank stare again. Over the sweetness of the meadow grass, three scents ruled the air: rabbit blood, Vienna's own, and one that made her both excited and uneasy all the same: Sumayl. To catch wind of him alone was not what disturbed the woman, but rather its source, for while it could have come from any swatch of meadow grass, Andalusia was certain the grey woman - Vienna - was carrying his scent herself.

Andalusia had not been blind to her brother's habits with women, and she felt her judgements rise as she stood in the presence of perhaps another he was keen to drop as quickly as he'd picked her up. "Well, it's good to see a friendly face around here. Pleased to meet you, Vienna." She nodded her head and considered sinking to the ground. She could always ask if the name Sumayl meant anything to her. She settled on easing to her haunches instead. "The name's Andalusia," and, after a second thought, added, "Andalusia Ostrega."

I don't think Sumayl's told her his last name in posts, so gonna go with the fact that she doesn't know it yet :)

If Andalusia showed her unease in any way, Vienna didn't pick up on it. Nor did she see the judgement being passed. Instead, she accepted her greeting easily, ears forward and eyes alight. "Agreed! It is wonderful to meet you Andalusia. What brings you to the area?"

The name did bring a prickle of recognition, and her mind itched to know where she had heard it before. Vienna was a bit of a connoisseur when it came to remembering faces and names, but she knew she had met none with the name Andalusia, and definitely not this woman. So where had she heard it?

With the feeling niggling her subconsciousness, she observed Andalusia keenly. She was lovely, looked to be a bit older than Vienna's age, but with a sort of worldly feel that made Vienna feel much younger than she likely was in comparison. She didn't mind the sensation, it was one she felt often (even with her brother, though she teased him to the opposite).

Cool cool! (: Sumayl go share your heritage with your lover >:|

Vienna made no comment on her surname, if the smoky woman recognized it at all. So either Vienna was a wicked good actress, or Sumayl had simply forgotten to share the title of his heritage. Andalusia found it easier to assume the latter (though if the former proved true, the golden woman would have to give Vienna props). She made no habit of giving out her full name, so to expect her brothers to do differently would be unfair. Yet still she wished in that moment Sumayl had done differently, if only so her curiousity could be sated without needing to blatantly state his name and risk Vienna not knowing even that.

For now Andalusia let the wonder slide, the occassional whiff of Sumayl a reminder enough to inquire Vienna straight up if she hadn't weaselled out an answer before the time came for them to part. "Searching, exploring. Seeing the world while I'm at it." she replied, before sweeping a generous gaze around the vale. "It's quite a curious little nook you have here. I only expected rocks and pebbles when I started my climb over the mountain, so you can imagine my surprise when I found a meadow instead." Her lips curled into a grin, and she turned her sight upon Vienna again. "What about you? Same reason, or different?"

"All wonderful reasons!" She replied happily. "I've been by this way quite a few times, since we live just up on that mountain there. I love the valley, and there's always something running around down here, so figured I'd try my luck. I didn't want to wander too far." It had been a rough month.

"Those meadows will surprise you. Sneaky little things sometimes." She grinned, then cocked her head curiously. "So, Andalusia, where are you from?" The question was purposefully open ended, designed so the answer could be as detailed or nondescript as the answered desired. She had no right to drill the loner, but she did love hearing tales of faraway places. This wolf had the look of a traveler, and Vienna bet she had some good ones to tell.

Andalusia turned her eyes upon the mountains encasing them, squinting against the sun's rays while she settled her gaze upon the range's most prominent peak. "I can see why you come here so often." She remarked. She would, too, if she lived up there. The jagged slopes looked like a killer to climb, though the golden Ostrega imagined the pack would have to have made a settlement on one of the peak's more level plains. Unless, of course, they wanted to roll of a cliff in their sleep.

The Ostrega turned her gaze back upon Vienna with a puff of agreement, and blinked the sunspots from her eyes. "I'm from a place far from here, though I can't say how long ago I left. The days all start to blur into each other when you're travelling, if you know what I mean." She'd made her attempts to calculate the days until she'd happened upon these lands, but in the end Andalusia had found her tracking in vain. Between the moons and seasons, she knew the rough estimate, and determined that was knowledge enough. "You much of a traveller yourself?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I love the mountain. But yeah, this place has its own different sort of beauty." She agreed. The rocks and rivers of their home were great but she loved the soft feel of grass beneath her paws. Meadows higher up were there, but much smaller things, without the space and variety of plant life. Even in winter the difference could be seen.

Vienna was interested in what sorts of places, but it seemed Andalusia didn't share her love of gushing over wonders experienced and sights seen. She accepted it without argument... not many did. "I have. Mostly local, though, now. I come from a place far from here, though. On the coast." One of these days she needed to plan a visit to their own coast, though it was a far trip. Perhaps seeing some of the coastal flora would jog her memory as to their healing applications. That and she missed the ocean.

"There's a lot to see around here, but I've only explored parts. This past month or two I've had to stick to home." In the end it hadn't been the worst thing, being homebound. She'd gotten to catch up with packmates, something that sometimes got lost in her priorities when she was jetsetting around.

Andalusia found herself a little more alert when Vienna admitted to being a traveller herself. The hobby was far from unique, as Andalusia had found in her many journeys, but the Ostrega couldn't help but find pleasure in this connection they shared. Whether her grey companion had taken the hobby to the point of a profession, as Andalusia had done in her home pack, was a question left unspoken, but one that didn't matter as much as the simple fact that Vienna found it a part of life to explore. "The coast!" Andalusia raised her brows. "You sure chose to shake things up when you settled here," she quipped, and a good natured grin slipped over her slender face. "I travelled along the shores when I happened upon these wilds. Quite the experience, and one I wouldn't trade." The winds had stung her with bitter cold, but the woman had never let discomfort dissuade her before. Her life did not mix with comfort, and quite frankly, it never had.

Vienna didn't seem terribly upset for being housebound so long, and still Andalusia let her head tilt slightly to the right. "That's a shame. What grounded you for so long?" Though Andalusia loved her family, the draw of the unknown always kept her on her toes. She'd chosen to pursue the trade of Outrider the moment she'd heard you could make a name for yourself exploring all day, and though she'd soon learned there was more to the task than meaningless wandering, she'd found pleasure in learning the steps of a diplomat, and the proper way to relay information to the outer reaches of the world. She couldn't imagine being cooped up for longer than a day. Though she loved her kin, she loved the world with equal fervour, and had quickly discovered she would take neither without the other by her side.

vienna has a little girl crush :D

"That I did. But my brother helped to found the pack, and when I found him again, I could hardly pass up the chance to be a part of what he created. I've walked the shores here as well, they are beautiful." Nothing quite beat home, but a beach was a beach, and she loved any variety. "There is an isle off the coast as well, a beautiful spot. If you make it that way again, you should see it!" Her first real exploration with Sumayl.

When asked why she had stayed close, she hesitated only slightly to tell. She had come out the worse for her encounter with the cougar and it didn't shine too well on her adventurer's cred. Andalusia was the last soul, for some reason, that she wanted to think her inept. She couldn't very well lie, though, and Vienna was a friendly enough soul that she could get past the embarrassment.

"I had a run in with a mountain lion. It surprised me from above. I was stuck in for a long while." That month or so had been the longest she'd ever experienced, but it could have been so much worse. Her pack had really come through for her and she loved them dearly for it.

Andalusia is Sumayl's sister, after all!

There was something quaint in Vienna's tale that struck a chord with the Ostrega. She had left Ciervo in the lower forests to venture here, only to find Sumayl's scent intertwined with that of a pack's. She hadn't given much thought toward settling permanently in these wilds before she'd found her siblings, but now the question lay bare on her mind. Would they would her to live alongside them, as Vienna and her brother did now? That was a question only answered by them, and if she even wanted to risk finding out was another altogether. It was easier to keep these sentiments to herself, and Andalusia turned her focus to the simpler conversation to divulge in. "I don't think I travelled far enough to reach the isle, but I'll bet it's something great. I'll have to head back that way to find it."

She sensed a beat of hesitation from the smoky woman, but Vienna did not take long to share the reason for her break from adventure. At her words Andalusia found her eyes drawn to the patchy fur along the woman's side, a sign she'd first passed off as a case of bed head, but which she now realized were healing wounds well concealed, permanent reminders of Vienna's narrow escape. "A risk you take with the territory. You're lucky to have gotten out in one piece. I've heard of a few souls who had encounters the same. They didn't have quite your fortune." An uncomfortable grin flicked across her mouth for a moment before she straightened her face, keen to encourage the woman despite her misfortune. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Surviving lets you be wiser next time round."

this is true!!! Perhaps she can sense it XD

"It's pretty hard to miss if you are looking for it, though a bit of a swim to get to!" She was happy to discuss locales with someone who showed genuine interest. Normally she got a noncommittal response and, as a result, dropped the subject completely. Pleasantries were more fun with truly pleasant people.

"Yeah. Really I should have been more alert, we knew at least one had been hanging around. Not a mistake I'll make again, I assure you!" She still have overhangs and cliff faces a wide berth, almost without a thought. "Luck had everything to do with it. Apparently I have some after all, though hopefully that didn't use the extent of it!" Did she have a limited amount? It was an interesting thought, that perhaps every individual had a finite store and, once it was gone, they were forced to live without. Would make a good story!

"A warning though, definitely keep an eye out if you decide to go around the mountains. We still haven't tracked the thing down and there've been a few attacks." None recently, but if she could give warning, she would. Didn't hurt to be prepared.

Vienna's all: "My Suma senses are tingling."

"A reason to dip in the ocean? Even better," she said with a widening grin. Andalusia was no stranger to swimming, having braved more lakes and rivers in her life than she imagined some wolves ever would. But there had always been purpose to her endeavours, and though she had found her thoughts drawn to the ocean many times, she had never managed to find a reason to swim into the vast expanse of the sea, unless she wanted to add death by drowning to her bucket list. But this mention of an Isle - that was something, and Andalusia tucked the trip away for another day, though she tingled already with the prospect of what she would discover there..

The golden woman couldn't restrain a quivering laugh at the woman's quip, and Andalusia shook her head. "Believe me, if luck comes in finite amounts, I'm in trouble." She counted herself a seasoned explorer, but could list off times even her own skills would have been nothing if fate hadn't dealt her well. Her attention drew serious again at Vienna's advice, and the Ostrega dipped her head. "Thanks for the tip. Don't know if I have any luck left, so I'll stay on high alert." Though her words came with a joking lilt, she understood the weight of the situation in full. The mountains proved dangerous at the best of times, and given her intention to return to Ciervo in one piece, she would not let her guard fall.

A lull entered their conversation and the Ostrega let silence come over them. She simply basked in the comfort of the meadow, but soon her gaze drew toward the mountains again, and her curiosity lingered there. Somehow she couldn't picture what would have led her brother there, though her time with Vienna clued her into what likely made him stay. "Your pack," she tilted her head and nodded toward the towering peak, "What's it like? In all honesty."

Oooh yeah, she liked this girl! Her tail waved approvingly at the comment about the ocean, for the trip through the waves had been a pleasure to her as well. Swimming was something she did not often get to do on the mountain and though a small thing in the scale, she did miss it.

She laughed when Andalusia mentioned she was in trouble should luck run out, wondering if it was a curse of all wanderers. "Must come with the traveling. Luck must really get sick of bailing out intrepid explorers like ourselves." Despite the jests, she was glad to be able to help with some caution. It would be awful if anyone else ran into one of the creatures unsuspecting. Maybe the cat had already been taken care of and she needn't worry. Wouldn't that be ideal?

"The spire's great!! We are small, but pretty tight. Our leader Amekaze is amazing, great to talk naturalist stuff with and super amazing at keeping everything running smoothly. Jace, my brother, is her second. I love him to death, for obvious reasons. I have a lot of good friendships with everyone," she wrapped, not wanting to throw a bunch of names that she'd no doubt forget immediately anyway, "though there are a few I need to get to know more." Rain came to mind in that category. "Are you looking to join a pack in these parts, or just passing through?"

Sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth! Hope it's alright if I dig this up so we can wrap it up and send it off into the archives (:

Andalusia gave a crooked grin when Vienna bantered in return, and her eyes sparked with mirth. It was good to share such pleasant company after having journeyed alone for so long, and the Ostrega let her tail freely sway across the grass.

Vienna did not shy from answering her inquiry into the Sunspire. Andalusia trained her attention on the smoky woman, taking note of each name she listed in turn, and every word thereafter. Though she knew the bias that Vienna likely held toward her pack, Andalusia was willing to give her words the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps the Ostrega was more inclined to believe Vienna's good words because Andalusia's own brother had settled there - or so she assumed. She tried not to let that cloud her judgment, like she knew it inevitably would.

Regardless, Andalusia found a keen interest in how Vienna had chosen to describe the leader of the Sunspire. Amekaze, a naturalist. At that moment, the Ostrega made a decision to meet this Amerkaze, perhaps when she ventured this way again. But not now. Andalusia let her smile linger when Vienna asked the question she'd anticipated and dipped her head, a silent thanks for the information, but at the same time a quiet dismissal of interest in joining up with the mountain wolves. "For now, just passing through." But who knew? She couldn't wander alone forever, and she liked the sound of the Sunspire. Andalusia knew too little of the lands to make a sound judgment, and her mind was too fixed on finding Chehlia to settle now, but in short time, perhaps she would find in these lands a suitable home, like her brothers had and were doing now. "But I'm sure you'll see me again" She winked and let a tremor of a laugh light her throat. The Sunspire had not seen the last of her, and she would make certain she hadn't seen the last of them.

Perfectly fine!  I'm gonna do a vague wrap-up here and assume she doesn't tell Vienna XD let me know if that's wrong!

She was a bit disappointed that Andalusia was only looking to pass through, but heartened by her telling that they'd likely run into one another again.  She always said she hoped it would be so when she met another, but rarely did they ever respond with anything beyond the offhand 'perhaps' or its equivalent.  The almost definitive tone in her voice was unheard of.

"Awesome!"  was the only thing she could think of, and she beamed at the prospect.  She had enjoyed this meeting immensely and would have been thrilled to find out that she had a solid connection to Andalusia.  That news would need to wait though.  And after a bit more small talk, they would part ways, though Vienna would look out for her idly in the time to come.

Sounds good to me! (: I'll go ahead and get this archived <3

Andalusia laughed at Vienna's warm enthusiasm, the likes of which made her resolve to return even stronger.  not only to see her younger brother, but also to catch up with the friend she had found in Vienna. The road would be hers again soon, but the Ostrega was in little rush. The sun edged lazily across the sky, and so the woman would enjoy these last few moments before departing with simple talk, and would save the topic of Sumayl for upon her return. She was not yet ready to settle, not yet ready to make a commitment either to Ciervo or Sumayl, and at the base of things, she was merely content to live another moment as simply Andalusia, her own wolf, and not just the sister of another.