Katja was not one to pace and to wring her hands - in fact she didn't have hands to wring at all - so when a problem presented herself she chose not to pace anxiously and worry, but to sit quietly, alone, and let the thoughts present themselves as they would in answer to the problem. Currently her problem ran thusly: with the former members of Ebony choosing to abandon their pack when Kassander turned it over to her, she found herself with entirely too few wolves to survive as a pack. She did not have the warriors she would need to hunt or raid. They had no mates and would not bear the next generation of warriors come spring. They had only a single healer to keep them healthy. The lands they laid claim to were crowded and boxed in by other packs. Too many wolves she did not know on all sides. The first problems would need to be resolved delicately, through the effort of recruitment and training and, simply, time. The secondary issue - the issue of location - she had already been prompted by the gods to the solution. North! To follow the lode-star, the north-star, and to bring her wolves to the region traditional to her people. To that end she had moved to explore possible places to settle them. This, the mountain with its waterfall tumbling down from a rocky peak to a forested base, stood as a guardian at the edge of the northern lands looming broodingly over the soft central lands. It was, she decided, rather fitting and symbolic, but whether it would suit her pack in other ways remained to be seen as she slipped in closer to scout it. " ""

OOC: This thread takes place in Waterfall Peak in case that's not abundantly obvious. XDD Hoping to use this for navigation points so please don't post if you're going to hold it up.

The north, Hyder had taken it upon himself for some reason to come here and explore. He had no reason to live here, but it was best be familiar with the area rather than just blindly not know the terrain and area. His thick mane of white fur kept him warm, as did his lucky coloration keep him hidden in case he needed that. However he would find the scent of a woman wolf filling his nostrils, making them flare slightly. From a distance, his pink eyes would look over her. She was alone, but also the scent of a so called pack as Safir had called it was over her. For a moment he debated approaching her or not. Hyder would approach her from the front, the creature himself knew from the front meant he was not looking to sneak attack. His size was much larger than hers, and his gruffed slightly at his approach. "Good evening." he would greet simply. Standing in front of her as the beast flicked his tail slightly. He slightly wanted some company while he explored, and perhaps to learn more about these wolf packs that lingered around. speech

Katja made note of the tracks in the snow - though it was winter prey was not so scarce that a pack would starve here. There were snowshoe hares and squirrels abundantly enough, and ptarmigan and grouse besides. She caught faint traces of many larger prey species who likely came to the scent of water from the falls. This low, the footing was not treacherous but far above her she could see the naked stone sides of the mountain, the perfect environment for dall sheep. As she crept through the underbrush surrounding the base of the mountain a strange scent was carried to her - similar to, and yet unlike the scent of Skaelingr, the tiger she had once allied with. She paused, one paw raised still, on the verge of a clearing, and then there it was. He was definitely feline, larger than the tiger had been but not beautifully marked as the other cat had been. It was pale, pink skin showing around the mouth and eyes that spoke of albinism even before one looked into its rosy eyes. Most of its - his - fur was short like Skaelingr's, but there was a profusion of long silky hair around his neck, nearly like a horse's but more encompassing. He greeted her in the common language, and she tilted her head cautiously. "Good evening," she returned gravely. "I am Katja Finnvi, of Yfir." She wondered why he was so far north - unlike the tiger this cat seemed to lack a certain profuseness of undercoat that would make it comfortable in this environment, despite the camouflaging effect his albinism granted him. Whatever his species, she did not imagine it to be a northern one so it seemed unlikely that his presence here indicated they were prevalent in the area and so was irrelevant to the suitability for a pack land. " ""

Katja, it was definitely a strange name on his tongue. Though it couldn't be any worse than his to the different creature. Somehow he felt like she would be indeed a lot different from Safir. She had a pack, therefore belonged to a group. Hyder didn't entirely have an interest in her anyhow, other than perhaps getting to know her and trying to get the information he needed. Soon Alacritis would have a pride to deal with, his lioness was waiting for him and already he had one female wolf slave on his side and who knew who else would willingly join him along the way. "My name is Hyder, I'm the king of a newly created pride." he didn't know what else to say after all. As he looked around he would turn not to block her path out of respect. "I'm here exploring the land, not my ideal living place but I'd like to become familiar with most of alacritis." Hyder gave a simple explanation as his tail curled up behind him. He was indeed used to hot terrain, but luckily his fur kept him warm enough in this northern area. speech

Even as her eyes roved the land around her she was keeping her attention on the dangerous big cat who stood before her. He spoke of being king of a... pride, perhaps the cat equivalent of a pack. "I myself am exploring this land as well. Perhaps you would care to accompany me?" She wished to continue her exploration, yet at the same time she was curious about the creature before her. It was an interesting quandary. Her nose caught the scent of water before her, the termination point of the waterfall she could hear no doubt, and she gestured toward it. "Perhaps a drink to slake the thirst of a traveler?"

Something about her definitely caught his interest. The scent of what these wolves called packs still clung to her pelt. He assumed it was the Yfir that she spoke of. Her position there was still unclear however he would not press upon another culture. They had their own thoughts, but something about her made Hyder want to know more. "It would be a pleasure Katja." the cat would begin to follow, gray eyes surveying the land. As water came into view, she would inquire getting a drink. His answer would come in a calm nod moving his body over to the waterfall. Listening to it closely, something like this he had never witnessed in his life at all. "Do you know the name of this landmark? We do not have them in my homeland." Hyder said for a moment as he lowered his massive head. Taking a drink from the pool of water that sat after the falling water. Pink eyes looking at his rippling reflection in the water. speech

The big cat followed her, his massive, oddly soft looking paws heavy with his greater weight as they trekked through the thinning brush to the side of the waterfall. Her eyes took in the land as the cat bent to drink from the water. "It is called a waterfall," she murmured in reply as she observed. The pool where the waterfall collected could easily keep a pack hydrated even if a drought were to unexpectedly strike the north which was unlikely. Still, all eventualities must be taken into account. "It is not a very original word for it but rather descriptive. In Norwegian we call it 'foss'. You do not have them where you hail?"

The young female wolf was indeed better company than some women back at home. The lion's tail would continue to flick behind him, a sign of his content but still curiosity for the creature. As his big woolly head raised, she would explain that it was a waterfall. Made sense though, as the water collected at the top it would fall down the rocks into the pool. Never had he seen so much water in one place, but was expected of new lands. "Foss, interesting." he would let out a shifted smile. "Where I hail from water is a blessing, I was born in a hot desert where many Lions reside. I hear here you wolves live in packs your leaders tend to differ. Where I live we live in prides where males are the leaders our broods are our prides when the males grow to two years old their fathers run them out of the pride." He didn't know if she was interested in this information. Yet honestly he was hoping for some information about her packs in return. His pink eyes gliding over her.