Life had changed fast for the grey and white wolf pup.  There was a hollow spot in his gut as he tried coping with the fact his parents were dead.  A lot of tears had been shed, a lot of time trying to flee back into the past but it hadn’t worked.  Lurid had let him mourne for a while but then she had told him he had to grow up.  Pining away at what he couldn’t have was something Lurid would not allow.  They had left his old home, escaped the horrible memory.  Kichi was just glad Lurid hadn’t died to that horrible day, she was all he had now.

They had set up for the time being where some large branches had fallen and were now leaning up against a tree that allowed shelter from the majority of the elements large enough for a grown wolf and pup.  Doing nothing while alone made his mind wander and think of the past.  Since Lurid didn’t want him focusing on the past that must  mean she’d rather him explore and just be careful.

Kichi left his temporary little den to explore.  Maybe he could find something to hunt that would impress Lurid.  Kichi started sniffing around the little area in a circular pattern, but after a few sniffs he spotted an adequate target.  The butterfly was the size of a rabbit! No, a giant rabbit! Rabit-zilla!  Ok, so maybe it wasn’t the size of a rabbit but it was still big.

Kichi lowered his head and tail as he took a few small steps towards his target before running and leaping on the branch of a small tree it had been resting on, “Gotcha!” No, he got a branch popping him in the face and the butterfly taking wing to another tree.  This next time he would get it!

Summer was the best time to do a bit of exploring in the north. Skælingr wasn't sure where he and Ragna would settle down but he thought it was worth doing a quick survey of the north and when he'd seen the giant forest he had to go investigate. The trees were massive, towering far above the earth. He wondered if they offered much shelter from the snow. Either way it was time to take a break. Skælingr had traveled far and it was a bit chilly, even in the summer so he set about starting a fire. Skælingr found a nice flat area in the forest to get a fire built. Finding a good rock he placed his paws on the stone and then flipped it over. He flipped it again until he had it added to the fire ring. The close stones were easy, the far stones… not so much. He took a scrap of deer hide with him and laid it down next to another stone. Using his paws he flipped it onto the deer hide. Grabbing a corner of the hide he dragged the rock back to the fire ring and flipped that rock into place as well until he had a decent fire ring. Now he needed wood. Skælingr worked through the woods gathering sticks when he caught the scent of someone else in the forest. He followed the scent til he saw a pup playing in the forest. He set his sticks down and cleared his throat. "Are you lost, young one? What are you doing out here?" "Speech"

Kichi had thwacked away the stick that had dared to attack him, then turned planning to do a better job this time. He was intently focused, butt and tail both wiggling. A voice spoke and the little grey and white fuzzball jumped in the air straight up, before turning around to look at the wolf.

“I’m not lost. Home is,” Kichi paused wondering if it was ok to tell the stranger where his home was. “Lurid just went hunting, so I’m waiting here, um, close.” Waiting was probably meant to be just in his little den-like area without protection but, he was close! Besides the little pup was sure if he called for it mom’s companion would be nearby.

“I’m Kichi!” Now he saw no reason not to toss out names, his little tail wagged as the secret part was done and over with. “Who are you? Do you live out here?” He hadn’t seen another wolf since well, the bad time. The bad time he wasn’t going to think of anymore. Swallowing back that dark pit of thought he focused on the fun of another wolf about. “and whatcha doin?”

The boy stated that he wasn't lost and Skælingr inferred that he lived nearby. Perhaps Lurid was the boy's mother? He quickly introduced himself as Kichi. "A pleasure. My name is Skælingr but you can call me Skæ." He knew his name could be hard for younger ones. "I don't live out here, I'm just exploring. I'm building a fire just back in that clearing if you want to see." He picked up his bundle of sticks and headed back toward his fire ring which only ended up being about 12 feet away. He set down the bundle and went about preparing the wood for a fire. First he set down two large, log-like pieces with a space left between them. Then he set two more crosswise on top of the first two. Skælingr next took a number of small sticks from his kindling bundle and added them to the middle. He carefully arranged them then added dead leaves and pine needles on top for kindling. "Speech"

Kichi considered the offer, glancing the opposite direction thoughtfully.  How upset would mom be if he went off a short distance with a stranger?  Probably a lot if it was far but, what if it wasn’t that far?  Kichi looked in the direction of the clearing and it didn’t look too far away.  Indecision lingered a few minutes then finally he smiled at the other wolf. “Ok!”   Kichi went to follow after Skae, grabbing a different stick in his mouth as they walked along so that he was also being helpful. Once they reached the spot Kichi gave the rocks a funny look and dropped his smaller limb on top of the ones Skae had carried over.  Kichi sat down watching the process curiously.  “Are you always by yourself, or just while you’re exploring?”  His eyes were still more focused on the future-fire than looking directly at Skae as he asked.  His curiosity split in two ways.  Occasionally glancing warily back where he had been.   Secretly meeting another wolf was bound to get him and this wolf in trouble if they got caught. "Speech"   Think

Skælingr dug about the hide stretched across his travois and pulled out a chunk of flint which he set on the fire ring. He then grabbed a piece of steel. Setting one paw on the flint to hold it steady with his weight he took the steel in his teeth and twisted his head sharply so that the steel struck against the flint. He did this several times, pausing to adjust the steel in his teeth until at last the kindling caught a spark and slowly grew into a small flame which quickly spread to the rest of the fire. He settled down, basking in the warmth before shaking his head. "No, I usually travel with my wife but she wanted a girls day so I'm here waiting on a… an acquaintance of mine. An acquaintance who is quite late." He sighed. He really wouldn't consider Wyndelin a friend per se. They were both intellectual wolves who enjoyed making things but the smaller, weaker man had some tendencies that Skælingr personally didn't care for. He was too… soft, delicate. "Speech"

Wyndelin panted as he maneuvered through the northern terrain. He didn't know what Skælingr wanted to meet so far north. Though, he supposed, it was nice to escape the northern heat. When he finally located the male he was surprised to see a pup there. He looked from Skæ to the pup. "Erm? We have company?" The older man nodded. Wyndelin looked to the pup. "Oh, well, hi there. I'm Wyndelin. Are you here to make stuff?" Wyndelin had a few projects for himself to do. Wyndelin set out all the supplies he'd need for his quill and ink project, pausing to make sure the fire was good before focusing back on the various materials he had to work with. He pulled out a rabbit hide pouch full of dark brown walnuts fully intact. Next he pulled a ceramic bowl out of his travois and trotted over to the nearby stream to scoop some water into it. Trotting back he set the bowl next to the fire and added in the walnuts. It would take awhile for it to boil so he focused on shaping the turkey feathers he had into quills. Settling down near the fire he picked up one of the feathers and began stripping the feather part from the shaft near the base of the feather. He repeated this step with the rest of the feathers. Once that was done he poured some water into another ceramic bowls and added the feather to it tip down so they could soak. "Talk"