Calm, quiet, serene - but lonely. (Tagged)

[Deleted]

( Cascade )

I mean, how hard could it be? Leave family, find pack, join pack, not be hungry anymore. Seemed like a straightforward enough plan. Except, you know, for the fact that the only surviving pack in her alignment was full up. So, what, should she create her own pack? Because that wasn't complicated or involving entirely too much responsibility or anything. But Keavey definitely couldn't go crawling back to her family, no sir. She could only imagine the lecture she'd get from Mother.

"Keavey, what did I say? You don't need a pack to survive. You've got me, and Pop! And the rest of the family for big game hunts! Now come on, honey, let's go try and catch a mouse and probably fail like always," Keavey snarked to herself, stepping out of the bushes, curling her lip and rolling her eyes. Even as a fully grown three year old, in this moment she looked all the world like a typical frustrated adolescent. Pausing at the edge of the creek, she sighed, dropping her muzzle to the water and drinking. No, she wouldn't go and find wherever Mother and Pop were camping out this week. She was going to make her way until she found a pack to join. It's what she said she would do, and she was going to stick to that.

She plopped down on the shore, rolling onto her back and looking at the sun filtering through the leaves. What did loners do all day, anyway? She was hungry, but didn't smell any prey around at the moment. Keavey had been exploring the area for the last few days, and was pretty tired of wandering aimlessly. Huffing through her nose, she rolled onto her side, stretching. Might as well relax for a bit. It was a lovely fall day, after all - cool, but not cold. The air crisp and clean, and the sound of migrating birds lilting through the trees above her head. Calm, quiet, serene. But lonely.

[Cascade]

As far as the death of one's parents go, Celeste had lucked out. She was sad to see them go of course, but it was not something she was unprepared for. They had been traveling together for quite some time, and she could see their old age catching up to them. It was just their time...luckily, their time was right before summer, the easiest season for a newly orphaned wolf to survive on her own. Did she count as an orphan when she was an adult? She sure felt like one. The blue and brown-coated wolf had blundered several times those first few months without her mother and father's guidance. How was she to know what a pack border smelled like, having lived amongst loners all her life? She had narrowly avoided getting herself into deep trouble in that particular incident. But she had made it through the summer, and now the air was beginning to grow cooler and crisper. This new life of freedom, of being beholden to no one...it wasn't for her. Celeste grudgingly admitted to herself that the structured, secure life of a pack wolf was more appealing to her than the "adventure" that was not even knowing when you were going to eat next.

Unfortunately, the brief reconnaissance mission she had made to Secluded Sunrise hadn't left her very optimistic. Their current situation could not have been made more clear if a huge, blinking "NO VACANCY" sign hung at their border. And the Honovi...well, they were long gone, and she didn't know the first thing about rounding them back up, not that that was even a task that she wanted to undertake.

So, for now, it was just Celeste on her own. She wouldn't die—of that much she was certain, even with winter looming precariously in the clouds. But she would much prefer not to be by herself.

As luck would have it, Celeste stumbled upon another wolf just as she was contemplating her situation and—thank the Power—it looked like someone relatively normal. In this valley you could never know, but as far as she was concerned any first impression that was not "wolf floating ten feet off the ground with bright red glowing eyes, trees screaming, all living things enveloped in shadow," was a point in a stranger's column.

"Greetings," she called out to the female on the riverbank, hoping to get off on the right foot for once, "Not out for world domination, I hope?" Well, that was idiotic. Why the hell did she say that?

[Deleted]

One of Keavey's ears twitched as she thought she detected incoming pawsteps. They grew louder, and her other ear twitched as well. Lifting her head as she rolled over to face the approaching stranger, her sage green eyes appraised this newcomer. Her heart lept a little - someone new! Maybe someone from a pack she could join? Now wouldn't that just be a jackpot! Keavey sniffed, hoping desperately to detect the scent of other wolves on this one. That's what a pack wolf would smell like, right? Twenty wolf scents on one body. Surely. Okay, Keavey had no idea what a pack wolf would smell like. She could only guess.

She couldn't help but smirk and swallow a giggle at the greeting she receieved. Standing up, she stepped forward and dipped her muzzle. "I mean, I wasn't planning on any world dominating, but I could be persuaded," she replied, punctuating her response with an overdramatic evil grin. "Actually, no, world domination seems like a lot of work and responsibility. I think I would rather be like, the conqueror's lackey or something," she added, shrugging. This was good. Banter was good. Banter meant seeds of friendship. Seeds of friendship meant making connections with wolves who weren't her family.

Making connections with wolves who weren't her family meant maybe joining a pack. Although as she stepped closer to her new friend (?) she definitely did not detect the scent of anyone else on her. Well, boo. That was slightly disappointing. But still... a friend, even a loner friend, would be nice. Keavey had never really had a friend before - the closest she got were her distant cousins, and they totally didn't count because they were family. It was expected of them to be friends, and being friends with family took exactly no effort. Making friends with a total stranger, now, this was where she got to test her social skills. Did she have social skills? Had she already made herself seem weird and awkward and ruined her chances with this wolf? Oh dear.

She tilted her ears forward a bit, anxiously (hopefully not obviously) awaiting a response, hoping she hadn't tripped before she even began this social dance of friend-making.

[Cascade]

Celeste breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't blown it—whether it was because the other wolf was gracious enough to overlook her social stumble or because she herself had gotten rusty from the life of a loner, Celeste wasn't sure. But she took the opportunity to regroup.

"I can agree with that," the blue wolf said, taking a moment to imagine the comfortable life she would lead as some alpha's underling. It wasn't in her nature to be hungry for power, only for her next meal. "I've traveled more or less on my own since my parents passed on. Although I have met some...unusual folks in this valley. I was looking to join a pack, to be honest, but it seems like inopportune timing."

It was almost strange to hear the sound of her own voice. After being alone for a whole season, there hadn't been much use for talking. Her voice was more nasally than she remembered—how annoying.

"The Honovi are no more, and Secluded Sunrise are already at the limits of what their territory can hold. Even one more mouth to feed would be impossible for them to accommodate. I am certainly not evil, but I can't in all honesty say I am good—I don't carry some banner of morality, so Eternal Snowfall wouldn't suit me either."

Was she talking too much? Was this wolf utterly bored by her endless monologueing? She should probably shut up.

"My name is Celeste, by the way." Ok, she should shut up now.

"It's a nice day, I have to admit. I love the autumn."

[Deleted]

Oh, goodness. Here Keavey was, complaining endlessly about Mother this, and Pop that in her head and this wolf had lost her parents. If that didn't make you feel shallow, what would? "I'm sorry about your loss," she said, stepping forward to be a bit closer to Celeste. "Unusual doesn't cover some of the wolves wandering these parts," she agreed, chuckling. Having lived temporarily in almost every part of the land around the Mountain, she had run into her fair share of absolute weirdos. Wolves on power trips, with brand new powers granted by the White Wolves. Wolves who were convinced, convinced!, that they would unite the three alignments and become some kind of prophetic leader of all wolves. The list could go on.

Luckily, this one didn't seem like one of those weirdos. In fact, she seemed just like Keavey. Someone who just wanted to settle down in a pack for a comfortable life and a guaranteed meal. "I see you've been looking in all the same places I have. Seems like bad timing to decide the loner life isn't for us, huh?" she sighed. Any other wolf would have looked at the lack of an available pack and took it upon themself to make one, but goodness. Like she had said jokingly, that was a lot of work and responsibility and Keavey was just not up for that. But maybe she and Celeste could be the beginning, even if they themselves didn't take the leadership role. Organization was half the battle for forming a pack after all...

"Nice to meet you, Celeste. I'm Keavey," she replied, smiling. "And it is an absolute gorgeous day!" Of course as she said this, her stomach let out a loud growl, and her smile faltered for a second. Embarrassing! "Ah... sorry, haven't eaten much in a while. My family hasn't had the best hunting luck lately... figured a pack might be a little more efficient than a band of nomads," she explained. It seemed only fair to share her own backstory, after Celeste had given hers.

[Cascade]

Celeste shifted nervously on her feet, it was always slightly uncomfortable to have the "sorry your parents are dead" conversation, however mercifully brief it usually was. "Thanks..." she didn't want to make it awkward for the other wolf, but she was honestly doing alright. Her mourning had been done, and her grief had been set aside. She was ready to move on to another topic because—yikes—what a dour thing to reflect on with a near-stranger.

Thankfully, Keavey seemed more than happy to take matters into her own hands. Celeste was a little disappointed at the confirmation that the other female was not part of a pack—if she had been, Celeste may have at least had an "in" to Secluded Sunrise. But the second best thing was someone who could understand her situation. Misery, in Celeste's case more like discontent, loved company.

"It's nice to meet you too, always happy to see a friendly face!" She smiled genuinely at Keavey, secretly happy to have some real social interaction for the first time all season. "If you're hungry, I'd be happy to help you take down some prey. I managed to fend for myself during the summer, so I can't be a terrible huntress."

[Deleted]

A hunt with another wolf was awfully tempting. It could help Keavey guage how good (or bad) of a hunter she actually was. Perhaps it wasn't actually bad luck befalling her and her family, but in fact the prey finally getting smart to their potentially awful tactics. Yikes, wouldn't that be embarassing? But what if she was, in fact, a good hunter? This could be her chance to show that.

"A hunt sounds like an excellent idea!" Keavey replied, her tail lifting a bit in excitement. "Besides, what better way to get to know each other than over some fresh food?" Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she momentarily mentally drifted away, thinking about the taste of deer. Not that two wolves would be enough to take down a full-grown deer, but a girl could dream.

If they could successfully bring down some prey, just the two of them, that could be a great selling point to get them into a pack, too. Good hunters are important, any alpha could see that. Although of course, it only helped to have selling points when you had someone to sell to. There wasn't a pack for them, not yet. That was the most frustrating thing.

"What do you have a hankerin' for? I could eat just about anything," Keavey asked, lifting her nose to the wind to sniff, seeing what was around.

[Cascade]

Celeste nodded in earnest, inwardly feeling as though she were shaking off the cobwebs in the part of her brain that was used for interpersonal interaction. Who knows? She might even end up with a friend here. She liked Keavey—she liked any good-natured wolf, but her easygoing manner was especially appealing to Celeste, who had spent a lot of time around wolves who took themselves far too seriously.

"Hm...I don't know if I'm craving anything in particular," she said, switching her focus to the matter at hand, "Usually I'm just happy to not starve. I've been eating a lot of beaver lately...if you're feeling brave we could go for a deer. Or we could have a little fishing trip! I know it doesn't exactly require two to catch a fish, but we could make a competition out of it if you're in a gaming mood." Celeste grinned widely for the first time in...crap, how long had it been since she'd had something to do other than "survive"?

[Deleted]

A grin found its way onto Keavey's muzzle. She couldn't help it - it had been so long since she had had a game proposed to her. Her family hadn't really been in the gaming mood for a while, and of course being a full grown adult made it slightly less acceptable for her to go proposing some herself. It seemed in bad taste when her family was, you know, starving, anyway.

"A competition, you say? Sounds fun to me," she replied, her tail wagging slowly. "What's the wager?" Keavey stepped towards the creek, her ears tilted forward as she watched the water, trying to discern what was swimming through it. Unfortunately, with it being late autumn, the fish weren't necessarily the most active. Despite that, she could still see several large shapes sliding through the currents, and she fixed her attention on them. This was probably perfect, considering Keavey wasn't sure she would actually have been much use in a hunt for a larger animal. You know, starving and all. That had been no small contribution to her dwindling luck with the whole catching food thing. Fish seemed like an absolutely excellent idea at this moment.