Whitefish River heavy snow fall wakes the neighbors

For @Bindi.

He ventured further along the river, once more headed in some aimless direction. Though it wasn't a true venture of an aimless wander; the river served as a guide to keep him on course. There were still many tracks along that very riverbank, at least where the mud would allow them. Even in spite of the late winter thaw, there were patches and places along the way where the ground remained too frozen still to retain any sort of visual marker.

His interests had shifted from tracking fully to just seeing what there was to see. It was another morning, pockmarked by a colder front rolling through. The branches were decked out in frost, yet everything that the sun seemed to capture suggested a chilly coating across things. It would pass soon, as the earth steadily warmed beneath the sun's gaze. Mordecai came to a stop just where the thick forests of the wilderness began, not entirely certain if he wanted to leave the sight of the flatlands behind him. The Plateau was well out of view now, and though he had tried to stay in close to it, the urge to venture farther and farther was a hard one to break.

So he lingered alongside the river, letting his thoughts gather into a decision as he investigated a set of muddy tracks.

low roar — patience

Once again Bindi found the mountian boring, and wanted to explore once again. The midnight wolfess decided she would try and find Runt's White Water Gorge. However there was a familiar scent in the air, and she remembered the strange male on the boarders. Bindi was also reminded how she promised herself to track him down, and try to prove that Silvertip was a nice place. Now that she could sense he was in the area, Bindi was debating to go after him, or continue looking for Runt's home.

Not being able to decide, the frustrated female plopped herself along the river's bank and watched the water flow past her. It was peaceful, and the obsidian wolfess would have rested, but knowing the strange male was in the area she kept her eyes open.

Ultimately, the deliberation between heading back towards the flatlands or venturing further into the start of the thick woodland was a short one. Mordecai pressed forward no more than half a minute later, deciding he could simply double the pace back to the plateau later. Perhaps if he found something of particular interest, his travels would be all for naught. If anything, Dante would appreciate what he picked up out there, or so he felt.

As the river curved around through a sloping patch, Mordecai became aware that here, he was not alone. Losing the ability to spot someone at a great length away almost gave him enough pause to retreat to the flatlands. Again, he refrained, if only knowing that in the timber, he gained a bit of cover himself. This wasn't needed, as the natural bend of the earth revealed to him what his awareness had pointed out seconds ago. And this wolf, he recognized from just a few days ago. The dark female, from Silvertip. Bindi.

"Hard work climbing that mountain all the time, isn't it?" he queried, gently.

As time past Bindi's eyes became heavier and slowly they started to close. Just as she was about to pass out her eyes shot open at the sound of a voice. Knowing who it was the midnight wolfess rose, and turned around to face the male. Looks like she won't have to decide after all. It disappointed the female that she wouldn't find Runt's hide out today, but at least she could get talking to this male out of the way.

"Hard work, but the view is rewarding" she said calmly but continued to focus on the male incase he tried to attack, even though she was sure he wouldn't. It didn't seem like he wanted to cause any trouble at the mountian, so she just assumed he was a nice guy, but still would rather be safe than sorry.

"Indeed it is," he said, recalling the almost-painted vista from memory alone. There had been many viewpoints on Silvertip that Mordecai had fancied. "I used to live there, a long time ago." And if anything, he hoped that statement would be enough to withdraw the leeriness she carried. But to further that, he kept his distance and his body language somewhere neutral. His attention settled on the river ever so slightly, though he kept her in view.

"So what brings you out here? Fancy a bit of exploration?" Perhaps if she could be persuaded, she may have found that he made a better exploring partner than anything. And sure, he made a good rival as well, being from a neighboring pack. But on neutral territories, Mordecai saw little reason to be aggressive. Perhaps if the wintry circumstances were different, they would have already been at one another's throats.

She listened as the male agreed with her statement about the view, and she was unsure on how he could know such a beauty. That was until his next statement, and Bindi learned that he used to live at Silvertip. That was definitely something that caught her interest, and she wonder why the wolves that previously lived there left. "Why did you leave, it seems so nice there" she said, and made sure to add in the nice part.

The male didn't show any signs of attacking, so Bindi let her tail drop to a relaxed postion. When he spoke of traveling, the female once again interested in the male. "I love to tavel around. That's the very reason I'm here and not on the mountain, to do a little exploring." Unlike Mordecai, Bindi was not looking for a traveling partner and she certainly did not trust the strange male, she only met once prior to this meeting, with her life when traveling.

It wouldn't have surprised him if she were the sort who would aspire after a scout-oriented job. Mordecai had himself at one point, and in a sense, was reclaiming the very task at the moment. To what extent she was exploring though, he didn't bother finding out. It had seemed she was more at rest than anything, at the moment.

"We left because of the other packs encroaching," he said at first. "The game can be very thin around those parts with the other packs nearby. So we went where the herds were," and truthfully, that was only part of the story. Jinx had desired something more than just a mountain. He had never learned the reasons why she had chose the Spine in depth, though he had originally preferred it to the mountain. Mordecai cared little for living on them when it all boiled down to it, though the vistas were nice. He liked the forests and valleys.

"Judging by how your pack-mate greeted me, I take it your pack hasn't had an easy time settling," became the next thing that he said, and one particular thing he was most curious of. Already these wolves of Silvertip were leery of others, but why? Had they all come from somewhere that gave them reason to doubt the intentions of others? They hadn't tried to recruit him, but then again, once the pair had started bickering Mordecai was ready to leave them alone.

When the male spoke of how the food was limited in the mountain, Bindi could agree. She had found a herd of caribou and some foxes, but that was not enough to keep the pack going. She still needed to find another source of food, and practice her hunting and leading skills, even if her hunt with the pack did go well. "I've located a herd for the pack, and lead them in the first pack hunt which was successful, so I think we are doing good for now" she said proudly.

When the male spoke of Copper, she frowned a bit. There was some tension between the two, but the midnight wolfess saw their friendship getting better. "We had our disagreements like everyone does, but were working them out" she said and finished with a smile. She didn't need Silvertip getting a bad reputation, so hopefully this male won't go telling the story of her and Copper to everyone he meets.

My bad on the quality of this post... I have been so distracted for the last little bit. @__@

And if their recent success meant anything, it was a sign that perhaps the herds were beginning to make their way back to the Wilds. A fair sign that winter was in fact departing for another year. Before too long, spring would be upon them all and with it would once again come the work towards the future. Whether that culminated in a new generation or better bonds within packs, he couldn't have guessed. Spring had always been a marked time in which he used to move on, to travel out until something else caught his eye.

"He seemed rather bold to disobey you in front of company," Mordecai mused, believing her to be the superior one. She was more composed to her yearling counterpart. To him, there was little doubt that she may have put him in his place once he had left their earshot and view.

When the stranger spoke of how Copper was bold in front of her, she agreed with him. Copper was bold, but Bindi respected that. She was glad he didn't lower himself down like he was some servant of hers. However she still expected some respect, and Copper was a bit rude at the boarder in Bindi's mind. "It's ok that he does not lower himself to me, but I still require some respect" she said calmly.

The midnight wolfess never bowed down to anyone, so in return she didn't expect to recive a bow from anyone. Silvertip needs bold wolves, however what they don't need is overly confident wolves, and Bindi fears that's what Copper is becoming. Nevertheless, she was glad to be apart of Silvertip, and was happy to have kind wolves surrounding her.

He didn't understand quite what she meant, but decided not to inquire into it any further. Already Mordecai was being somewhat nosy; the business of the Silvertip wolves was no business of his truthfully. Her statement lent a certain interest to the mountainside pack that hadn't been there before. He wondered just what kind of a pack their alpha was most definitely running, and whether or not it would last through the test of time.

Furthermore, he felt as though they had come to some sort of impasse in their conversation. He found himself returning to what she had said earlier, about traveling. "So, were there any particular sights you were looking for around here? I know of a couple of vistas that might give you a decent lay of the land around here." It seemed like a fair offer, if she'd want it. But so far, she had retained the wariness of him that had been prevalent at their initial meeting. So, perhaps not.

Bindi was very interested when the male offered to possibly tell her were a few locations are located at. There was no way she was about to bring up Runt's Whitewater Gorge, because only she will hold that powerful information. Bindi wouldn't want some other soul to obtain such information, and then trade with the Spine for there own pack. No, Bindi would not tell a soul about Runt's place exept the Spine leader, the midnight wolfess was actually deciding whether or not to tell Fitz.

"Perhaps you can point me toward the Spine" she asked kindly, having no idea that the stranger once lived there also. The midnight wolfess was unsure what else she could ask him, so she waited to see if he would actually help her at all.

Of all the places he could have suggested she go, the Spine was not really one of them. Though as the closest neighbor — relatively speaking — to Silvertip Mountain, he found that he wasn't surprised either. Perhaps they had more awareness to them than he thought, even though the reasons Bindi wanted to there were far different than Mordecai could have imagined. At that point, he was unaware of the conflict that had risen within the Spine following his leaving, or the end result that was yet to reach a head.

Turning about to orient himself, he surmised where the Spine was in location to them. "It'll be a bit of a travel from here, but it should be towards the south," he said, squinting as though he could have discerned the location through the forestry. "It sits low, almost in a valley of its own. Kind of mountainous, without the height of your own pack." A thread of silence followed his words, and he wondered if it would be worthy to tell her how territorial they were. In the end, he relented; she was a territorial creature herself, no doubt keen enough to sense when she was coming up on them. Perhaps she had seen the location from the mountain itself.

Finding the Spine would be a start, then the next step would be finding Runt's Whitewater Gorge. When Mordecai said that the Spine was down south, and then gave a description of what it looks like, it was more than Bindi asked for and she was grateful. "Thanks" she said with a small smile, but realized that the male would probably want a reason why she wanted to know where the Spine is.

"You know, got to have a good reputation with the neighbors" she said, but this time with a sarcastic tone. Bindi assumed the best start to a good relationship with neighbors, is to probably tell them about their enemies hiding spot. However the midnight wolfess was still unsure if she was going to tell Fitz about this plan, or if she was just going to do it herself.

Her sarcasm wasn't lost on him, though he didn't think it was really something to be sarcastic over. Perhaps she was being sent there as a courtesy, and maybe that was something she didn't want to do. "Doesn't hurt to have that," he commented, somewhat curtly. Though he was certain by now, the Spine was more than aware of the wolves living on the mountain once more. It was apart of their history, after all.

"But I suppose I should be on my way again, wouldn't want to hold you up," he went on to say. It was a late notion, but he had begun to feel as though he had worn out his proverbial welcome. Though she was kind, it was clear to him that she was also looking for information rather than conversation. And as it were, from one traveler to another, information had long been a hot commodity.

"It was nice to see you again," Mordecai offered, lingering a moment for a reply, before continuing on his way.

Bindi listened as the male seemed serious about the whole getting along with your neighbors. She nodded to the male's next statement as she wanted to be on her way as well. She had received the information she needed and didn't see a reason to stay and talk anymore. Perhaps one day Bindi and this male could hunt, but for now, she had a secret hideout to discover.

"Nice to see you too" she said, as he seemed like a respectful gentleman. It was not him Bindi was mad at that day near the boarders. No, that was Copper and his stupid suggestion to give a tour to a complete stranger. With the male out of sight, Bindi returned to hunting down Runt's hideout, which hopefully she would find soon.