Corbie sighed and stretched as she slipped out from beneath the travois harness to make camp for the night. Her tinder kit, waterproof leather ground cloth, bedroll, pot, and the bag of preserved lamb she took off the top of it, but otherwise left the bundled blankets, brightly colored and woven finely, and other trade goods packed up in their own waterproof pack, tied to the poles as she leaned them against a tree. Dull claws and tired paws made a bare patch in the snow and dead grass for a fire, and cleared away the snow even further to allow her room for a camp. Gathering dried, dead wood from along the beach, she brought it back to stack within the cleared circle. Breaking off twigs and small branches, she brought them closer to the fire area where she'd left the tinder kit. Stretching again she yawned widely. It would be nice to have a warm camp and some tea once she got the fire going.

It was turning into a cold evening when Raka made her way into the fjord. She had followed the river down, curious where it would lead. Now, she was starting to think of somewhere to curl up for the night. The ground was littered with snow, and the idea of curling against the damp was not terribly appealing. So perhaps it was rather auspicious when she caught the scent of a fire, and saw tendrils of smoke drifting into the dark sky. She followed the sights and scents, assuming that the cold winter night wouldn’t be the right elements for a forest fire. She knew she was right when she saw the pretty alpine-like wolf in her cute little campsite. “Hello, would you mind if I join you? If you share your campfire with me I can trade you a rabbit pelt” She offered with a bright smile, wondering how the wolf would respond to her imposing. "Speech"

Building a nest of dry mosses, she carefully tipped the coal from the safety of its horn into the tinder. Gently, she blew on it to bring its heat to the surface, until the mosses smoked and then, suddenly, burst into flame. Carefully she fed it shredded birch bark, then twigs, then larger sticks, until finally she built a tent of thick branches for the new fire. As it crackled cheerfully, slowly working on building itself a coal base, she busied herself setting up the little metal tripod for the kettle. She'd just picked up the kettle itself, and turned towards the clean snow to scoop some into it to melt for the tea, when she was startled by a brightly colored young wolf approaching her, asking to join her. Corbie set the kettle down to free her mouth, which curved into a welcoming smile. "Of course you are welcome, no trade necessary - I will be glad of the company. Would you like some tea?" She quickly filled the kettle and returned to the fire to hang it over the flames.

Raka was a wolf that trusted easily, and her expression lit up in a warm smile as the stranger spoke. "I'd love that, thank you" she said, moving to sit by the fire. She placed the rabbit to the side, having a thought to offer a share freely to this stranger - without the trade - in thanks for her sharing the fire with Raka. 


She didn't drink tea very often, and was curious what the other was brewing. She would ask what it was when an opportunity presented itself. She always had so much to ask. "I'm Karaka - Raka to my friends" She said in a way that invited the other to call her so. "This is a very sophisticated camp. Do you do a lot of travelling?" She asked. Travelling was still new to her, but it was immediately clear that this wolf travelled in style.

The younger woman accepted her offer gracefully and moved to sit by the fire. Corbie pulled the waterproof bag of tea from where it traveled in the packet of preserved lamb before joining the stranger there. "Corbie," she offered her name in return to Raka. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled at the brightly colored female. "I don't travel much anymore, but I grew up with a nomadic lifestyle - a camp was all the home I ever knew, and my guardian was elderly so a comfortable camp was needed. Then I settled with my pack, and got used to always having a hearth and hot tea ready at the end of a long day with the herds. I find I'm not as well hardened to travel without it these days, I'm afraid." She chuckled. "And you? Do you travel often?"

Rakas eyes lit up with interest as her campfire companion - Corbie - explained a little about her past. She had grown up with a nomadic lifestyle. She likely had a lot of stories to tell, and Rakas questions for her grew. She was polite, however, and didn't bombard the other wolf all at once. Instead, she considered what to ask first.


"What took you away from the nomadic lifestyle?" She settled on, wondering what events had led to her settling down. "I haven't travelled much before now, so I'm still learning" She easily explained, settling a little closer to the fire. It did much to chase away the coolness of the approaching night. Already she could see stars peeking through the sky above.

The youth was clearly intrigued by her answer, but held back, asking only a single question. A good question, though. "I decided to use my knowledge, and my particular ideals, to raise a pack. There was a pack that had fallen apart, and a man that I knew was known to be very war-oriented wanted to claim it and I was determined to keep that legacy from his paws, so it pushed me into action. I don't know if I would have ever ended up making the pack on my own without that impetus. I suppose," she added, with an ironic chuckle, "that I actually owe my pack to him and his family's reputation." She shrugged, then nudged the now-hot kettle to the side and dropped in the herbs. She then tilted her own head back to look up at the same stars. "I miss the traveling, sometimes, so I am grateful that my pack members look after the herds for me so I can make these rounds. It's nice to spend time in my old life, sometimes."