Everything was moving rather quickly since the day they'd decided to shuffle out of their homeland plains and into the bitter north, but Zee found it good to feel needed again. She'd spent too long over the last year lost in recovery and grief, accepting that the pack had managed and could manage just fine without her while she fell deeper and deeper into reclusively. Now with the Col explored and the pack beginning to settle in, the ambitious Armada leadership had set their sights upon yet another conquest. This extra land would allow them not just the space to grow, but open up new options to allow their members a wider variety in choices. Surely there were some who missed the spacious beaches of the south, and should today go right, those who did not enjoy an enclosed mountain den-site or the gnarled woods that bordered it might be placated. The Fatalis matriarch led her navigation team south east, pushing forward around the southern mountain peaks until new sights came into view. The difference in territory was staggering at first sight especially for one who hardly left the mountain's valley. "Basalt." She commented, her voice touched with awe as she surveyed the odd stone pillars that bordered the cove. "There is a volcano on that isle, in the distance. Perhaps it came from there?" Though the landmass itself was well hidden by it's heavy coating of mist, a careful eye could recognize the stone bowl that hid within it. Zee herself might not have noticed, if she had not visited the place itself years prior. She could not recall if the volcano itself was dormant or not, but if it's eruption could reach this cove, it was worth considering before they settled there. Turning her head towards the group, she offered the floor for further observations or questions. "Speech"

Keahi trots out to the soon to be Armada land, following a little the group as the Queen leads the way. Blue eyes scan the landscape as the group leaves the mountain valley and makes their way into the cove. Wind tugs at the red wolf’s white polar bear coat, snapping at exposed legs and face. The chill does not dampen her spirits as the briny scent of the ocean fills her nostrils and reminds her of her home far from here. As Zee looks to the pillars that border the cove, Keahi’s red paws carry her a little closer to the water before stopping. Waves crash against the shore, the winter storms out in the ocean forcing the waves to be higher than normal. She is an island wolf, born and raised by the water and she knows how to listen to what it has to tell her.

Ears flick back to capture the words that the Queen says and Keahi turns to nod in agreement with the older wolf. When Zee looks to the group, the red woman says, “Might be a good idea for us to measure the tides. From what I can see, the waves can get pretty high up into the cove.” A red paw points out some seaweed and salt water marks in the black sand before adding, “If we can track the tides, it will help us with fishing and being ready for when storms hit.” Her paw falls back to the sand as she offers the group a small smile before respectfully listening to what the others have to say.


"Keahi Mogotsi"

Kotori followed along with his mom and Keahi to check out more of the land that would become theirs.  Kotori had plenty of things on his mind that he had limited interest in the beach.  It was cold and the wind just made it worse.  Ikigai was in his mind as his trip that would soon take him back to where the cold would be less intense, to Ashen.  How bitter, going to visit ashen now that Iki wouldn’t be there.

Turning his attention from his own problems he glanced about the beach a the wind ran its icy fingers through his coat. At Zee’s mention of the volcano, he glanced in the mentioned direction, watching there for a moment.  “Well, the tree’s here either grow real fast or its been dormant a long time.”  Whether that was good or not Kotori had no idea.  Dormant today didn’t mean it couldn’t be active tomorrow.  Was there an average time period between dormancy and activity in volcanos?

Kotori made his way to the edge of the beach, jerking his paw back as a wave touched it.  Water was cold as the depths of the abyss.  “The water here lacks the vegetation we had on our beach.  I imagine the fish that prefer this sort of coast will be different also.”  Kotori knew their beach and he’d followed the Rio Grande a few times but this wide-open beach was something he’d spent little time on.  “Do the fish even come up this close to the beach or will we need to go out into deeper water to get them?”

"Kotori"

An island. A volcano. Ash and soot, perhaps, but more than likely basalt. Wren felt her insides shudder. Volcanoes were normal, natural things but the one that destroyed her previous land... A sign from angry gods, if she believed in such things. Nevertheless, it had happened. It had taken everything from her, forcing her to run. Forcing others to flee or die. Was anyone left from that place? She doubted it, but... stranger things have happened.

"We could bait some traps with food to attract the fish..." she murmured, more to herself than Kotori and Keahi. She didn't want to step on anyone's toes here, she was totally new. This whole thing was foreign to her. Expanding land was not something she had done before, especially for a pack "uh, I know how - if nobody else does" her face burned as she glanced at the ground, aware that some may look her way "I don't know how to look for an active volcano though." Wren added.

She kept to herself the misgivings she had about the Cove. "The water hasn't frozen here in winter, so fishing is a good source of food and trade... And the ocean itself seems clean, so I doubt we'd have to worry about getting sick."

"Speech"

Zee's gaze was directed into the cove and the sea beyond while the other wolves spoke, reminiscing over the beach-side den they'd left behind. Glancing out over the water it was almost enough to fool you that you'd returned to the south - and then a cold mountain wind would blow, reminding her swiftly that this was not anywhere near a tropical setting. A contemplative frown pulled at her lips, her attention returning to the group as the water received mention. "A good thought, Keahi. How would you do it?" Zee began to consider the work load, imagining some multi-day process of driving sticks into the ground and using them to reference the variation in water level. She would have spoken as much aloud, but Keahi was still a somewhat new addition to the Armada. Zee had not had much time to get to know the red-toned woman, it was possible that they had different, more efficient ways of doing things where she came from. The conversation moved to the water itself and the fish that likely made it it's home. Their newest recruit spoke up somewhat sheepishly, and Zee offered her an encouraging smile in reply. "I'm sure many of us have gotten used to the ease of fishing back at the plains, your expertise will be very much appreciated, Wren." She trotted up to the water's edge, touching her toes tentatively to it's surface. Another stark contrast to their tropical shores made itself very, very clear, and Zee recoiled backwards away from the cold bite. "I don't know what I was expecting." She laughed, mostly at herself. "I suppose we're Northern wolves now, and will have to get used to the cold. I sure hope it's more tolerable in the summer heat." Fishing would be a very uncomfortable task, if they were unsuccessful in baiting them closer to shore. Just the thought of submerging herself made Zee's thin frame shudder beneath her pelt.   "Speech"

The Queen questions her about how she would measure the tide and Keahi looks to Zee with a small smile. Over the years her family had learned that there is only one tried and true method to measure the ebb and flow of the ocean and the red woman explains, “It will take time and effort. For one week we will need wolves to come and lay stakes of where the tide is each hour. We mark the wooden pieces with the hour and, after the week is done, we go out to look at them all. Now the water is ever changing, so the marks for each hour will be different. We take the highest one for each hour and that is the tide marker. At that point it would be in our interest to make the markers a more permanent fixture by etching stones with the hour. We will also need to mark the season as that has effect on the levels. Which, of course, means that we need to measure the tide for every season.”

Her voice falls off as she looks to Kotori as the Prince places his paw in the water and jerks back quickly. Keahi chuckles as she looks to Zee and the new wolf Wren. Listening intently, the red woman nods her head, saying, “Kotori is correct about being different fish here. Because of the temperature of the water, they will have to be heartier and dwell deeper in the ocean. We will need to adapt fishing for them with longer lines. A boat will help too.” She looks out over the black beach, humming in thought before adding, “You know, there are some caves along this stretch. Instead of making buildings, it might be easier to stow gear in those.” A red paw lifts to point out a nearby cave sunken into the rock wall. An old palm tree waves at her in the breeze and her paw falls back to the sand as she watches the leaves sway in the bitterly cold breeze.


"Keahi Mogotsi"

Kotori gave the cold water a narrowed eye as he had no interest in ever fishing from this water.  What competent hunter needed to bring home fish anyway?  There was much tastier game to be had in the woods or forest around them.  Let the wolves who preferred fish or freezing cold water find their food here.  

His glance followed where Keahli pointing at the rock wall, scenting the air as he moves in that direction.  “I bet if any other species of prey or predator ended up in this forsaken stretch of beach, it’d be in that cave.”  Finally, something interesting in this bit of navigation would be hoping there would be predators they’d have to clear out or a form of real meat to hunt.

Sadly, at the moment no predators were scented that he knew of but following a trail of smoothed-out sand towards the ocean, he stopped before touching the water.  “The sand has been flattened and it's too straight of marks to have been an accident.  Some larger form of animal came up from the water."  Whether that was an alligator or some species he had no name for Kotori wasn’t sure but it was likely either food or predator, a thing to watch for judging by the size of the markings.

"Kotori"

"Maybe a walrus?"

Wren spoke up again, surprising herself. She squinted at the trail of flattened sand before looking at Keahi, turning her attention away from Kotori's words. "I-If we store things in the caves, we should make a wall around it - or halfway around it - there. Kotori's discovered we have company and it could destroy or eat whatever we store. Especially food." Walruses especially were destructive when not lazy. Their tusks would make fine additions to armor too.

"During the end of spring and winter, a walrus is very active... Cause of mating season. I'm surprised we haven't seen more activity from them right now - if that is indeed a walrus" Or... it could be a polar bear. Oh no, it could very well be one. Kotori raised an excellent point about predators "we should clear the caves if we store stuff there, and mark our scents strongly." A bear could just shrug off wolf scent markings though.

We need to be very careful.

"We should proceed with caution..."

"Speech"

Keahi gave her explanation, the tide-measuring process falling in line with what Zee had imagined with just enough added detail and complexity to make it clear to her that this was not the reddish-womans first time thinking through it. "I will leave the task to you, then. I'm sure it will take more time than we have today, so feel free to recruit whatever wolves you'd like to assist you in the coming days." Zee knew Sirius trusted in her decisions even after she stepped down from the title of alpha. The aging Warlord would not argue her verdict in giving the younger generation extra opportunities to prove their capabilities to lead. The conversation moved into the fish, a topic on which Zee knew very little. Zee was born with a desire to explore, raised as a slave and later, given a crown. None of these things required a heavy hand in hunting, especially when more than half her life had been spent alongside Sirius. Fishing lines, a boat? The suggestions seemed reasonable, though without a working background in their prey, Zee could not comment further. As the prey was mentioned, as was the predator that likely would consume them. Kotori was correct - if fish did survive here in this cove, surely some form of predator would have made it their hunting grounds. He directed their attention towards a trail of smoothed sand and Zee felt her fur stand on end. Walrus?? The discomfort of the winter winds was easy to forget, when a predator so dangerous might be lurking beneath the waves. If Walrus' frequented the area, how could they ever make it safe to fish and enjoy? The Armada was not a stranger to sharing a border with water, but aside from the rare alligator from the east, did not have to worry about a danger that could swim the sea and walk the land. Her lack of knowledge on the predator itself was frustrating - she was here as a navigator, not a huntress. Though the mental image of a walrus lumbering it's way onto the shore was enough to bring her pause. It seemed Wren was particularly experienced in the north and had an understanding of the creatures who they now lived alongside, and so the queen turned her head to address her once more. "I've never seen one up close, though I'm told they're much larger than we are and incapable of leaping." It occurred to her that with the height of the lava rock pillars, they could try to tunnel out a storage cavern higher up... but basalt was strong and durable, likely too tough for even their strongest wolves to chip through. They could commission out the work, but that would keep the coves (and fish) off-limits for longer. "I wonder if there might be a way to build a permanent sort of trap - a pitfall, or something - at the base of the caves. So long as the path through it is thin enough for a wolf, but not a walrus." If they could protect their resources from thievery and occasionally score the pack a skewered walrus meal.. Zee wished she'd taken an interest in the field of hunting, if only to be able to imagine such a contraption better. She paused to allow Kotori and Wren a chance to speak from the hunter's point of view.   "Speech"

Keahi bows her head in respect as the Queen tasks her with measuring the tides and says, “It will be my pleasure.” A small, warm smile is given to Zee before the red wolf carefully listens to what the others have to say. Red eyebrows raise as Kotori points out the smoothed area of sand that Wren suggested as a walrus. Red head bobs in understanding, trusting the experienced hunter’s knowledge in this matter. The tropical girl has traveled the oceans, the first two years of her life were spent finding and mapping islands with her family. But they usually stayed in warmer waters and a walrus was a rare sight for her. She offers the masterful hunter a polite bow of her head while suggesting, “You are correct, Wren. A wall will help to keep them out. May I suggest, stacking stones high enough to keep the predators out but easy enough for us cross. A removable ramp might also be useful.”

Looking to Kotori, Keahi says, “The caves would be a good place for tired predators to hide so it is a good idea to periodically check the caves in the coming weeks and chase off any creatures that try to return to them.” Another small smile before the red woman addresses Zee, “I would like to suggest wooden stakes near the water’s edge. Maybe Wren can track when the creatures are the most active and, based at where the tide is at, we drive the stakes in at that spot. It might deter them from coming to the beach. After they learn not to come here, we can remove them and just have patrols keep an eye out.” Blue eyes move to the water, watching the endless, pushing and pulling that makes the waves so beautiful. The black sand glistens from where the water has crashed against before receding, making it appear as if they are millions of tiny black diamonds ready to be scooped up.

A thought occurs and Keahi looks out over the beach toward the rocky walls that shelter the cove as she says, “Once we are certain that there are no predators here, one of the caves might be a good place to keep food cool.” She looks to the group to see if they approve of this idea.


"Keahi Mogotsi"

Kotori had never seen a walrus and certainly therefore never seen tracks of one.  His gaze considered the smooth patch of sand again, more interested in talk of predators and problems.  Kotori was out here to help on a necessary task but his heart wasn’t in exploring near as much as it was hunting and fighting.  What did this imagined creature even look like?  What sort of body created a path like this?  He imagined crocodiles and their long bodies and tails pulling against the ground but it didn’t match up.

For that matter, no one could conclusively say this was from a walrus.  This was all hypothetical so far that was filled with ‘if’s.  “I would suggest we make sure of what it came from before we come up with the plan of how to keep them away.  Unless you are positive it’s a walrus marking?”  Kotori glanced between the group before adding, “I say we just work on doing all that’s been planned on.  Measuring water, checking out caves and such.” Kotori waved a paw at all the exact details they had gone over not feeling a need to rehash the conversation that just happened.  “We are aware a potential threat comes here.  As we will also be coming here to prepare we are bound to see more signs or hints if not the creature itself.  When we have a better idea we can come up with a more solid answer of what to do about it.  Let that be a latter activity once others are started.  I want to see this thing for myself.”  There was a predator out there Kotori hadn't killed yet.  He wanted to change that.

"Kotori"

"It could have been a polar bear" she did admit to the group but frowned down at the markings "though I know what they smell like. This isn't it. This is more fish, salt and kelp combined into one thing" she spoke more confidently as she continued to them "the tracks part in the middle, and they're indented at the sides. Flippers dragging the body over the sand, see?"

Wren approached and crouched down to the side of them. "It's a straight line, unlike a polar bear's paws breaking into a run or even walking" There was no space, only a solid dragging mark. Broken only by the flipper indents "a walrus doesn't typically become aggressive unless provoked. They are gluttons though; I'd advise against storing food here. They'd break down whatever we put up to get to it. And if there is one walrus, there'll be more come spring for mating."

Especially females and bachelor males. "We shouldn't add fuel to the fire with food" she added with a frown "but if we store gear and other things here, like Keahi said... a wall could keep them out" Kotori made the impression he wanted to hunt the damn thing "old, fat and content male walruses have a harem of females. If they think their pod is in danger, they will take down even a Dire wolf - or die trying" She frowned "though if we took down an old one, a new one will take his place pretty quick to claim the females."

She glanced at Keahi. "Spikes along the beach will stop them from coming ashore. They're fat but they won't risk harm during their heat season" And they were pretty damn stupid sometimes, not using equipment and tools like wolves did "But we could hunt one alone. There are bachelor males, and the tusks are a sight to behold. Perfect for armor." In the end, they came to do what they had planned. With Zeitgeist, Kotori and Keahi, Wren made her way back to the territory. She had said her piece, warned them against the harem and the master.

Whether Armada would listen... Was not known.

"Speech"