This glancing life is like a morning star

Shilah stirred as sunlight streamed into his temporary den. He planned to dig a more permanent one up by the falls but until then he rested in an unused den near the hot springs. Those would be a nice feature come winter. For now though the weather was cool but not unpleasant. The sun was shining brightly and it warmed his body as he stretched and eventually left his den to begin getting a feeling for his new home as well as to start patrolling the borders.

Curiosity pulled him first to the hot springs. Stream rose gently above the shimmering pools, some more so than others and so he assumed some were hotter. That was good to know. He peered down in the nearest one, the steam gently tickling his nose and he could see how this would help with congestion.

Doing what you are told is a hard thing.  Rudyard was being good though and not jumping into any more pools of water.  That wasn’t too say he hadn’t tapped at water pool or kicked out water from the springs for games of splash.  Testing the boundaries of what he could do and finding some attraction that would draw him to water.  However, that is not what he was up to now. The pup had found a spot where a bit of rock had a more shadowy area to it thanks to another rock that jutted out above it and even a bit of some plant trying to squeeze its way threw the rock.  His coat of dark and light grays would surely help him become the greatest spy there ever was.  The pup had taken an extra load of curiosity at birth and wanted to know what everyone did or said.  So it was he spotted Shilah.  He preferred the idea of two wolves where they might talk and say fun things.  This would do though.   Rudy was still young and learning though so in his excitement of not being noticed the first second the wolf approach had him wiggle a bit.  Staying still was a hard thing that would need practice, and the shadows and a bit of brush wasn’t exactly a full proof hiding spot. "Rudyard"

This glancing life is like a morning star

Shilah worked his way upward, starting at the lowest pool and moving higher. The pools were surrounded by a rich forest, dense with underbrush. Birds were still singing happily in the trees, relishing in the good weather. A light scratching sound caught his attention and Shilah looked to the source. Not far from him was a pup, nestled down in the rocks. Shilah wasn't sure which brood this pup belonged to and he debated about pretending like he didn't see the pup but by now it was probably too late as he was looking right at the boy.

Shilah smiled. "Hello? Is someone there?" He'd give the pup the choice as to whether or not to announce himself. In the mean time Shilah would focus on taking in the land around him and getting more and more familiar with the territory. As winter moved in he'd need to have a good idea of the lay of the land and which areas were more at risk for drifting. He hadn't been to the falls yet but he intended to survey the higher elevations for avalanche risk.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Rudy was proud of his abilities whenever he succeeded in spying, but this wasn’t one of those times.  The grey pup could tell he’d been noticed.  No point in deluding himself, but it did stop the torture of telling his tail not to move.  The thing always wanted to wag at the worst opportunities.  

Rudy spared only a moment of indecision after Shilah called out before he stood up and walked away from his hiding spot as innocently as he could.  “Hi mister,” he strode up to the wolf he didn’t recall meeting before but since he was in their pack was surely safe.  “I was just making sure who was near me before I came to say hi!” The boy was a natural with an upbeat innocent tone.  

“I’m Rudyard, most call me Rudy.  My moms are the leaders here.”  Always good to let others know when you are clearly someone of importance.  Rudy was confident he would be the leader someday, but for now, being the son of the leaders would have to do. “So, it's important I know who everyone is, so you are?” Mostly it was important to know who everyone was because the pup was just nosy and wanted to know everything however, this sure had a nicer sound to it.

This glancing life is like a morning star

Shilah smiled gently as the pup stepped out into full view and introduced himself as Rudyard. Ah, so this was one of Resin's pups. "Nice to meet you, I'm Shilah. One of your mother's warriors." Ok course, he was also an explorer to but that wasn't his primary roll. The wind picked up a little bit, stirring the trees and causing a few leaves to blow loose and be carried away in the breeze. He gazed down at the pools then back at the pup. "It's a pretty territory here. Are you out exploring?" He bent his head and sniffed lightly at the nearest pool of water, taking in the unusual smell of the water that made him question how safe it was to drink. It had a like volcanic smell and in the end he decided that the springs would be best just to lay in. He dipped a paw in to test the water. "Oh, this water will be nice in the winter when it gets snowy and cold." Shilah wondered how Rudy would react to his first experience with snow.