It had taken her long enough to finally set out and see about this strange new pack that had cropped up along the same time that Phoenix Valley had announced itself to the world. Her own daughter had taken up a place in their lack of ranks wth her mate and thought Iskata had dropped in once to deliver a letter she hadn't stayed long enough to even see what the life in Esper Hollow was even about.
Well, she'd taken the time now and she'd found herself at the border to the strange new territories. Iskata had stood at the border wandering along it's length just to get a feel for the packlands. She didn't want to go beyond the reaches, not knowing who she was going to run into or what they would think of the leader of another pack just dropping in and showing up. She didn't mind the trek along the perimeter of their lands though, she hadn't spent much time leaning the other territories and exploring too much since Phoenix Valley had formed. She figured now and here was a fine enough time and place.
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_____There it was again, that headache. It was almost too persistent to tie in with excessive drinking, almost not persistent enough to call withdrawl or part of a hangover. He wondered absently if he was finally starting to get sick as he leisurely moved through both fog and wood. It would have surprised him if he were, it seemed like between Ahren and Nikita he had been around them enough to catch something. Even with those who moved in and out of the shack, they were probably spreading it around amongst themselves.
_____But at least there was something around that was making them all feel better. He had faith in whatever was being administered around, but whether or not it was a solid cure was beyond him. It wasn't really what Corona had said and he hadn't really gotten the chance to speak to Khaden or Endymion about anything (though more his own fault than anyone else), but if the symptoms were going away… then the sickness was going away, at least in his logic. Yet all of that was shoved aside when he noticed someone through the greenery ahead.
_____“You folks sure like to nose around the borders,” he called out to her with a bit of a laugh. It was all good-natured in tone, nothing ill-will about it. “I don't know why anyone pays attention to it, they're not really that well kept. Not even sure why we bothered with ‘em in the first place.” Why he was telling all of this to a perfect stranger, who knew. “Can I help you, though?”
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Iskata had almost decided to move along and find something else to do with her day but out of nowhere it seemed that a stranger had appeared. He carried the same scent as Khaden had that day she'd met him and discovered that her daughter had taken a mate. She wasn't sure how she felt about it all but it wasn't like she had any say in it all. She just wasn't certain how she felt about her children growing up so quickly.
The approaching male's words rang out and the woman could do nothing more than smile at the stranger. She chuckled as she replied, "Tradition holds strong.." she admitted, remembering a long time ago when that was atleast the way it had been. "Perhaps things have changed, but I'd like to think it's just a sign of respect to others." She stretched out her legs before settling in and sitting back on her haunches. Wrapping her tail across her paws she thought it was rather odd the male announcing in such a laidback manner that they held no real care for their borders.
Raising her eyes to meet those of the other she gave answer to his question. "I'm Iskata Sadira, one of the counsil members from Phoenix Valley.. I just came to see how everything was here.." she knew it sounded weak but there was little she could do but answer truthfully. She had no real reason for showing up except to see this strange new pack.
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_____Ah, Phoenix Valley. Laurel had never been to the place, but he had gotten the pleasure of meeting someone from there on a whim. The coyote tipped his hat back a little bit to regard Iskata clearly, nodding at her words. “I'm Laurel and I guess you could say I'm one of the leaders here. I've had the fortune of meeting Anu from your pack though, so I've heard a little bit about it.” Barns and cattle, nice little spot by the seashore and the city. They were close enough to loot it however and whenever they wanted it and far enough away from it to have a good scenery.
_____“Had a bit of a sickness going on around here with a couple of folks, but it's starting to clear up, dunno if you heard about that. Seems like it was kind of random now.” He didn't know how well word had gotten around about it, though it seemed like sometimes other knew about it and then sometimes they didn't. Part of him wanted to believe that they couldn't have been the only ones who had been faced with the illness, but given that it seemed like Zephyr and Asanotohl had disappeared, maybe they were out there somewhere and sick.
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She smiled sadly at his words and gazed off into the distance where Phoenix Valley resided before she shook her head and spoke. "Yes, Anu once resided in Phoenix Valley, she's taken up with my daughter now in her pack.." she tried not to sound bitter or sorrowful but it was a bit sad to lose a friend you considered family, and yet in a different way they were family members now. Her eyes flitted back to the male as she pushed the thoughts away and asked. "What is it like here?"
Iskata hated to admit how pathedic and foolish it sounded asking what life in their pack was like, but she was curious, she liked to see how other lives could be. She wasn't about to abandon the life she had now but she like to see what made other's happy, where they belonged and what they did there. She was a nosy being but normally not for the worst. Her daughter lived here and she figured that she may come to visit from time to time if her daughter wished it.
Laurel had spoken of disease and sickness in the lands and she flicked her ears back, unsure of it all as she questioned him, "I hadn't heard, are you sure it hasn't spread..." she worried. She shook her head and asked again, "How can you tell when one has it?" She wasn't for certain how grand of an idea it was to visit these lands now.. but she wasn't going to turn about and leave now.
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_____Though it may have been a slight surprise to know that word of their thorny situation hadn't really gotten around, he was ready to try and explain it in the best way that he understood it. Knowledge was power, wasn't it? “Well, for starters, they act sick. Coughing, runny nose, might complain about a sore throat. But it seems like it depends on how old they are too, seems like the younger they are the harder it hits… packs seizures in and pretty much keep them out of their head most of the time. The older ones do most of the hallucinating once the obvious cold-like parts go away, though.” They got hostile too, but he figured any one of them that had hallucinated had gotten that way unless they were immobile.
_____“We've had a couple of healers on hand here to help and a girl from Inferni has been helping them get better, so I think it's mostly gone.” That he figured would be of most interest to her, just in case it spread in their direction. He didn't say anything about it spreading though, mostly because he didn't know. If it did, no surprise. If it didn't, it was just plain weird but its isolation may have been useful in its own way. “But we pretty much live and are like any other place,” he shrugged, not really sure how to describe the experience that was their collective lives. “I could give you a tour, if you want?” It wasn't like he had anything to do and if the ill were getting better, then it was easier to extend a friendly invitation to wander around in their foggy piece of the forest. [/html]
She nodded as the male spoke, a small knot of worry building in her mind as she began to wonder if anyone in the pack had had any contact with the sick wolves. She shook her head sadly after a moment of silence when she asked. "The sickness hasn't claimed any lives has it?" She knew it was a touchy question but she wanted to know how dangerous this disease was. She didn't want to see those of her pack coming down with the sickness and not knowing what to do.
The idea of the lurking disease made chill cascade down her spine as she gazed at the male before her. She should have found it odd that the leader was a coyote but it really ddin't affect her that much. She'd never thought that a coyote shouldn't be able to lead and she was actually relaxed with the man before her. He hadn't attempted to take her life just yet, actually warning her of the dangers that were present.
She liked him the more he spoke, laid back and yet just the way she figured a leader should be. He obviously cared about the pack he.. well, didn't lead? Atleast in his eyes he didn't really see himself as leading the rag tag band of gyspies. She grinned as he offered a tour and she nodded. "I guess I should get to know the lands my daughter has claimed as home.." The silver and gold lady hadn't mentioned Ember yet, but atleast he could know to expect visits from the co-leader of Phoenix Valley from time to time, with her daughter having a mate and a pack where she resided now.. she knew with time that there would be puppies coming into this world.
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_____“No, it hasn't,” he answered without hesitation, hoping that it would quell any sort of fear that she could have been processing. “I'm not really sure that's what it wants to do or does, it just seems to like leaving folks out of their mind a bit. If we weren't taking care of the sick ones it'd be a different story most likely.” Given Jasper was pretty much comatose and didn't really do a whole lot of rolling around, if they didn't take care of him, he'd die in way of either dehydration or starvation. But lucky for him that he wasn't alone and was cared for.
_____So once that had been said, he shuffled that topic to the back of his mind and shifted his weight between his feet. Once again, the whole familial connection of the region seemed to rise up as a very prominent thing and interest crawled across his face to replace most of the seriousness there. “Oh yeah? Who's that?” He didn't know the exact specifics of all of the inhabitants of Esper Hollow from the back of his hand, but they weren't exactly crawling with residents of the female gender so he could have very easily assumed who she was taking about; but it was easier just to ask.
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She was relieved to hear that there hadn't been any deaths from the sickness, atleast now she knew that if it had spread outside their lands as long as those infected were tended to and cared for they wouldn't have to worry so much about losing friends or family. She nodded as Laurel spoke of the symptoms that the disease did leave the victims with, more information she could store away and discuss with Deuce. She'd rather have the Shaman of their pack informed of any threat rather than keep the information to herself until the last minute. She hoped it wouldn't come down to needing to know, but she knew sometimes hope wasn't enough.
While the conversation was moved from the horrid to a lighter and more family friendly tone she smiled at Laurel and with a soft smile she answered. "Ember Phoenix. She takes after her father more than me I'd guess." she really wasn't sure if her daughter took after her or Phoenix, the girl hasn't been seen since they'd left the Glen but she figured that she was doing ok if she'd found herself in a pack and with a mate by her side. She was young and there was a lot out there for her still.
She smiled up at the male with a quirked brow as she jokingly asked, "Well, how about that tour?" She was in no hurry, but she figured that they could talk and walk at the same time, unless for some strange reason there was something that prevented the coyote lad from being able to multitask.
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_____He supposed he could make the appearance reference between Ember and Iskata, even though they were drastically different colours. There was something rooted in the personality of the two that he thought he could find too, perhaps in the demeanour. So as he nodded and turned back towards the thick of fog and forest, he couldn't help but comment further on things as they walked along. “I've heard a few times that a lot of people here are related to one another. I used to think it was pretty sporadic but I can see more and more that they weren't kidding.” It was somewhat true for most places he had been, but on the other hand, the people who inhabited the area they were wandering around in were pretty isolated.
_____He had to remember, as he ducked underneath a low hanging branch, that before he and Nikita had made it all the way out there to that little limb of land that it had been quiet as far as folks went. “So I guess you're also apart of the folks I've met who came from the other side of the mountain?” he asked after a small pause, casting a curious glance back towards the honey-toned woman. Supposedly there had been quite a few who had come from there; a few of them already made up the collective group that was Esper Hollow.
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Iskata couldn't help but laugh when the male she was strolling along with decided to comment on the family connections in the lands. She nodded and gave him an apologetic look as she jokingly teased. "You take a mate around here and the next thing you know you're related to the whole of the lands.." The tease was the truth and in some way it was a little sad but those who always longed for a large family could and would easily find one here in these territories.
Following Laurel as she copied his motion and lowered her head to slide under the tree limbs she shook her head and grinned. Looking over to her guide she confirmed his thoughts. "Yes, I was born across the mountain in a pack called Clouded Tears. My mother was once the alpha there, and my aunt.. and cousin.." She knew she was beginning to ramble but she missed the old lands and speaking of them every now and then eased a bit of the pain.
If you want, you can powerplay them coming up on that camp site. 
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_____He chuckled at the notion, though relationships had never really been his strong suit. It played hand in hand with the fact that when one was used to wandering, they didn't settle very quickly. It always took time and for that reason, Laurel had never thought long on the idea of mateships and the like. That went without saying of course, that he hadn't had someone special before. “Sounds like these places are pretty close knit. But it makes sense and all, seeing how it isn't teeming with loads of wolves or coyotes.” It wasn't like the places he had come from, though in strict comparison there weren't large differences.
_____“Must be nice though, to always have all of that family and friends and friends that become family around,” he went on to say, trying to imagine what that was like. He had been around some long enough that they had become more than just travelling companions, like in the case with Nikita. He imagined the day when one of them moved on out of the company of the other, it was be just as awkward as it had been when he had left friends behind before. Kind of empty, in a sense. But they were bonds that weren't easily broken.
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The two matched step for step as Iskata followed the leader of Esper Hollow towards what seemed like a camp. She paused a moment as he spoke of the families and packs of the lands. Shaking her head at the idea she chuckled and gave fair waring. "Well, like all families there is a bit of bad blood as well, we all don't get along." She was thinking of a few inparticular that she never could seem to get along with, even if she tried at this late age and state she had a funny feeling that there could be no bit of peace between them.
The woman knew that she infact had been the start of the bad blood between herself and the father/son de le Poer family and herself but with reason, atleast in her eyes there was reason, reason enough to endure the wrath she'd bred. The silver and gold matriarch gazed around the camp as she smiled back to the male as he spoke of the family and friends among the pack and lands. She sighed softly and admitted. "In time though the best of both fade away.. though there always seems to be another to try and fill the pawprints of the late.." The words were sad but truthful. She knew that no one could fill the prints of another but you could always gain new friends and even family.
Her gold flecked sky eyes turned back to the male as she stopped and settled down, her eyes that had so curiously been gazing about the camp twinkled with a bit of mischief as she asked. "And who calls this place home?" It was obvious that someone had made the site a home of sorts, if it was a camp for keeps or one that may well up and disappear tomorrow she wasn't sure, but it had been settled for a bit, that much she could tell.
[html] “The folks who live here,” he responded with the obvious answer and with a laugh. “Actually, we called this little part of the forest Esper Hollow. Which is pretty much what everyone else calls us now,” and it didn't really bother him any more what they called them or what they thought of them. The way that they all lived seemed funny to him. Looking around at the quaint area with its strewn tents, the occasional den, and the one well-built shack, Laurel was not surprised at the silence that greeted them for the time being. “That shack over there is where we've been keeping the sick. It keeps them out of the weather and from wandering around. The rest of us are pretty much spread out in tents or dens, but I wouldn't be surprised if more shacks like that one don't show up eventually. Some folks don't share the travelling lifestyle that some of us have had since forever.” Which was fine by him, because if he ever went, they could start their own pack. They'd have more than half of the tools and possibly bodies to do so. [/html]
She smiled at how silly her question must have seemed but she chuckled as he admitted to how the small band seemed to have become the lands they claimed. She nodded as her eyes scanned the makeshift campsite as she admitted. "I think it's the easiest way.. We didn't exactly call ourselves Phoenix Valley.. but somehow we've become one with the lands it seems." Her eyes caught on the shack that stood so out of sorts with the dens and tents, a few scents she recognized lingered in the area outside of her daughters. Turning her eyes back to the male she asked. "Who.. is it that's sick?" She thought for certain she could partly answer the question herself but she'd let him confirm.
The words he'd pressed on about with travelling aires made her a bit curious as she tilted her head to the side and questioned him. "You'd just up and leave.. just like that?" She wasn't for sure if she'd understood him right but she believed that he had indeed been speaking of himself. She couldn't really blame him, most of her younger years she'd spent roaming and enjoying a carefree life, even when she'd been tied to a pack no one could really say that they'd find her inside the packlands more than outside of them. Now though, as a leader it just felt different to leave..
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