Spring had arrived in a... very wet fashion. One day, the air had been chilly, the ground covered in ice. The next? A mud pit full of threats of flooding, fallen trees, and plenty of rain. It was the rain that drew him away from the sound where the lake level had risen, spilling out onto the trails where he definitely didn't want to be. Moving to higher ground, following the well laid out path to their neighboring territory, Maelstrom felt more comfortable here. His too big paws weren't squelching nearly as much, but he still wasn't avoiding it like he wanted to. Even as he pressed himself against the pines, vibrant gaze soaking in the wet world around him, he began to notice how many dead standing pines had just fallen over in the recent storm that had now quelled to a misting drizzle. Could he potentially use some of the small limbs and trunks to craft himself a shelter to dry out in? The idea interested him and thus, he set to work. First searching for a relatively dry area beside a larger standing pine where no other prey had made itself at home yet. Perfect, Mal thinks to himself, nearly smirking at how brilliant he was. Now to gather what I need, the thought barely concludes in his mind when he turns to start back off into the heavier drizzle in search of long, sturdy branches. MAELSTROM

1/3 explore new land - sparse pines
1/3 crafted a temporary shelter

Wet. Soggy. Wet. Araxina wandered through the sound trying to get away from the cloying mud and soggy feeling between her pads.
She pulled herself up into a place that still smelled like Syndicate, but the ground was a lot more solid. The slender trees carried their needles high in the air instead of close to the ground. She looked up to see if she could find some kind of squirrel but instead got a drippy face full of rain! UGH!! What's the point of rain?

She picked up a new scent she hadn't met yet! Who's this? She pressed her nose against a pine tree, breathing in harshly and rapidly, nearly inhaling the slivers of pine bark into her nose and tiny tufts of light blue and black fur. Don't know this one! She blew through her nose to clear it and looked around, seeing a bunch of fallen debris and a boy picking his way through them. A not-not-brother? WHom?

He seemed to be looking for sticks, she can look too She'd get a bigger one than him! She grabbed a big one and trotted her way toward him.
"HEY, I GOTCH A GOOD STIK" She yelled through her mouthful of branch and tilted the thick branch enough to swing toward him. If he wasn't careful it might hit him!

In the terms of being a wolf, Maelstrom could begin to grasp why they would want to occupy this territory. While it is cold, colder than the sound, it provides ample resources they could utilize for survival. From the scent he nosed at at the border, it was obvious the Syndicate held many wolves. Caring so many, with so many puppies as well, there was a need for meat, for supplies, for everything. He doesn't quite grasp it yet, but it's slowly coming to him. The more he explores the pines, winding through and around the spindly trunks, the bigger picture begins to reveal itself. His eyes are set on a thick, long branch that would make for a sturdy pole to support the smaller branches that would make up the roof of his temporary shelter. Reaching out to grab it off of the ground, the sound of paws squishing against pine and mud covered ground catch his attention. Whirling quickly on his paws, hackles raised and teeth flashing in case its a predator, his eyes are quick to widen. His ears barely catch her words as the stick she holds comes swinging in his direction. A yelp of surprise leaves Maelstrom as he hops backward, feeling the whizz of air brush through his chest fur as the stick barely misses him. Once he's recovered with a couple of breath, he glares daggers in the fiery girl's direction. "Watch where you're swinging that," he snaps, teeth clacking together before he turns back around to continue his quest. Picking up the long branch he had previously set his eyes on, Maelstrom begins to drag it back to the drier patch of earth not far off. One glance is shot in her direction as he passes by, a low grumble in his throat. MAELSTROM

2/3 explore new land - sparse pines
2/3 crafted a temporary shelter

He snaps at her, the branch barely missing him, and she giggles with glee. She drops the branch on the growing pile.
"No." She replies objectively with her nose the air and another drop of rain fell on her making her face scrunch. The branches overhead barely kept the rain from the ground, the branches must be too high in the air!

She walked around one of the trunks, her golden gaze looking up until a drop of rain fell on her eye and she shook her pelt out. If only she had something to sit under... She eyed the not-not-brother, he was building something! Oooh! She can do that too! Xina didn't understand the concept of helping, she just wanted to be part of it. She picked up a feathery branch off the ground and dragged it back to the boy. If the branches were closer to the ground, they could fend off the rain better!

She placed the green prickly pine branch over one side of the structure without asking permission nor his name, or anything of the sort then dashed off and grabbed another prickly branch to pile on that one where it would make the most sense. He had already made the bones of the structure. She was putting the roof on now.

Maelstrom chooses to ignore the fiery-coated girl. Maybe if he was good enough at it, she would just go away. Instead, he focuses on his task. With the rain continuing to drizzle around him, leaving his downy puppy fur vulnerable to the elements, he was eager to get dry sooner than later. As the droplets dampen his body, it dampens the world around him. Birds and rodents alike cower in the thicker branches and brush, attempting their own best at keeping dry. Larger animals huddle in groups, sticking to the shadows, away from predator’s eyes.

Right now though, it is just him, his fort, and… her. He turns to begin gathering branches for the roof when he’s nearly poked in the eye with a feathery thick branch. Reeling backward, ears falling flat, Maelstrom watches the girl lay branches over his structure to start forming the roof. His mouth opens, the start of an angry protest, when he realizes that if she does some of the work, it will be less for him. Two heads were better than one, right?

Letting out a defeated sigh, he doesn’t say a word to her as he too gathers the feathery pine branches and lays them over the roof. Once the structure is complete and his fur is thoroughly doused, Maelstrom is quick to scuttle inside with a big shake of his body. With fur sticking up in every which way, he plops down on one side of the fort to get comfy and warm. Looking to the girl who has surely followed him in, he gives her another sneer.

“Just stay over there, will ya?” He hisses, eyes narrowing at her with distaste.

She placed another thin branch over the structure and watched as the blue boy scurried inside and shook his fur. She did the same, a little copycat, and shook her own rain-soaked fur a little too close to him. She plopped her rump down, regarding him like he was one of her siblings with their fur touching. She scowled at his request to stay somewhere else.

"No." She replied and stuck her tongue out at him. She plopped her body right up close to his black and blue furred hip to keep warm. She was used to a crowded room and being squished between two different litters. She even liked it when a sibling was squishing her from above. Being squished under the pile of sleeping pups was her favorite place. He was just gonna hafta deal.

"Who the fuck are you anyway not-not-brother?" She asked bluntly. The makeshift shelter was doing a fine job of keeping the rain off. She liked the job they did, She picked some good branches for the roof.

Much to his disdain, the girl follows him in, quickly spraying him in a wash of rain droplets from her pelt. Out of frustration and annoyance, Maelstrom snaps his teeth in her direction, a warning, as he lets out a growl. Her quick refusal to stay away earns another growl as his ears flatten against his skull, bright eyes narrowing in her direction as she comes over and plops herself down right next to him. Practically sitting on him!

He tries to scoot away, but the shelter isn't terribly large. And if he were being honest, her body warmth did feel nice as it made the shivers dissipate. Giving up trying to keep her away from him, Maelstrom grumbles under his breath as he slides his body down into a cramped laying position, ears still flattened and eyes narrowed, looking out at the rainy weather.

"Maelstrom. One of Ely's pups. Who the fuck are you?" His violet and mauve eyes glance at her, at her red coat, wondering if they're related or not.

"Maelstrom"

She scrunched her face at his snapping teeth, not concerned or taking him seriously, at all. She could take him on in a fight easily, he didn't look that strong. He could do with some pushing around. She pins her ears back too as they settle in together, away from the rain.

He gives her his name and who's kid he was, ohhhh!
"You're not even a brother at all!" She remarks, not entirely sure what to do with the information. She's only had siblings and grown-ups to talk to.

"Well, I am Araxina Praetor-Inferos, Absinth's and Aresenn's daughter." Her nose was raised with pride and emphasized with a snap of her jaws, just like her not-brother Zagan would do when he was pushing his name around. "It'll do you well to remember it!" She huffed. She might be mimicking a Saxe somewhere.

Maelstrom had no idea of the predicament of the whole brother and not-brother situation so her statement brought an eye roll from him. "Obviously I'm not your brother," he grumbles, confused and thinking that she's possibly dumber than he originally thought. Not like she really gives him time to process it either. Next thing he knew, she was puffing up her chest and acting as if she was the best thing after mom's milk.

Another eye roll in her direction before he places his chin upon his paws and intentionally stares outside instead of at her. "Yeah, I'll get right on that," Mael mutters under his breath. Sure, they could have a pissing contest to see who was the better pup, but he didn't really care. Fighting never seemed to interest him like it did his siblings. He'd rather spend his time exploring. Too bad it wouldn't stop fucking raining.

"Maelstrom"