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Ember! 
This was the farthest she had ventured outside of the packlands since the fight. Her injuries really hadn't allowed for travel. But in the last few days she had been feeling much better, both inside and out. After her encounter with Lubomir many of her fears had been eased. It had been frightening at first, but now she couldn't have asked for it to not have happened. He had showed her how to control the beast inside of her. To her, that was a priceless gift. The fey was much indebted to the male. Hopefully one day she would be able to make it up to him.
Savina had been walking steadily west. She hadn't gone over this area much, but to the length of her knowledge no wolves resided out this way. But as she came to a rather unpleasant looking fence that thought was proven wrong. There was a pack here, she was just now standing at its borders. The Crimson Dreams subleader hadn't had any idea a new pack had formed. Well, while she was here she might as well wait to see if she could meet one of their new neighbors.
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She yawned a little, stretching her entire body out. Her arm did still feel a little bit stiff, but it didn't hurt as nearly as bad as it had a few weeks earlier. Her pain was almost completely gone! She'd gone to Nani a few days before to get her cast taken off, and now she was working on strengthening it. It would be a long and hard journey, getting the muscles back into shape, but she was ready for it.
The dark female lept down from the rock that she had been napping on, heading off toward the border again. She had been looking for more newcomers for the last couple of days after meeting the first two, sure that she would find another. So when she saw the dark shape on the horizon, she quickened her pace a little.
"Helloooo?"
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She shifted her paws around uneasily in the snow. Being inside so much, she had forgotten how cold it was outside. Suddenly she wished that she had shifted into her bipedal form, that way she could have worn her scarf to help keep her warm. Savina was learning how to better deal with the cold, but that didn't mean that she still didn't enjoy it. For her, spring couldn't come fast enough. Everything would be more pleasant once the seasons changed.
Ears flicked as a greeting was called out. Emerald eyes took in a form coming towards her, a wolf that look rather similar to herself. Brows scrunched together for a few moments. Something was familiar about this wolfess. As she caught the other's scent, it immediately snapped into place. "Ember! It's me, Savina!" She hadn't seen the Phoenix girl in months!
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Ember hadn't seen Savina for a while, but she knew her scent very well. She had snuck into Crimson Dreams' lands enough times to smell the leader's scent over and over and over again. It was very familiar to her. She didn't know the dark wolf too well, but the scent gave her a nice building block. She could remember that they'd had a nice conversation the last time that she had met her, all those months ago in Crimson Dreams.
The AniWaya wolf hadn't gone to see Naniko for a while, preferring to seek out Bane for her medical needs. She thought that the white mother's habits were a little strange...being mated to another female and raising her pups with her. It didn't make sense to her. Why would Naniko want to be with a female when there were plenty of males around? She didn't want to get involved in that, so she'd kept away.
But she had no problem with Savina. Maybe she could hear about Naniko through her, without actually having to talk to the Commander. "I ran into a little one from your pack a month or so ago...Mati, I think. How have you all been doing?"
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Homophobe! And she should ask about the scars anyway 
Ebony bushy tail swept the snow beneath it, making a little indent in the pristine white powder. It was good to finally see Ember again. They had only met the one time, but she had help Savina learn how to shift. For that, she would always be grateful to the younger female. "Oh, yeah? Mati's a little sweetheart. We've all been doing...pretty well." She paused to look at her legs. The cuts and bites were more or less healed, but her fur had yet to cover the ugly scars. Surely the other girl noticed. But unless she brought it up, the Lt. General was content to not talk about it. "What about you? What's this place?" At least there was one familiar face in this new pack.
Her ears twitched as a thought struck her. Of course! Ember was Kansas', and now her own, sister. Savina wondered if she knew that she had been involved with her lighter sibling. Kansas hadn't mentioned seeing her lately, but she didn't track her mate's every move either. "I don't know if you know or not, but we're kind of sisters now." She could feel the familiar flushing of her cheeks. "Kansas asked me to be his mate not too long ago." Now that she had met Iskata, the only direct family member she hadn't met was his other sister.
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Now there were some young ones in AniWaya; Tayui's pups. Ember had expected that wolves might plan their pregnancies so that their pups were born in the spring, not in such horrible weather, but she supposed that having pups wasn't always something that one could plan. Abstinence, maybe. But if it was two wolves who loved each other a lot...it would be difficult for them to abstain.
"You haven't been here before? This is AniWaya. I live here with Tayui and Pilot"She answered simply. "You can come in, if you want. I don't think they mind." She didn't have the most keen eye for detail, and couldn't remember if the scars were something that the dark wolf had already had before or if they were more recent. She did take track of her own wounds, and whether they healed correctly...but this was another wolf. She did know and like Savina, but Ember was the kind of wolf who would not delve into others' personal lives without first being invited.
The news about the mateship made her tail wag. She motioned for Savina to follow her into the lands, turning to speak with her while they walked. "That's wonderful news! I hadn't heard yet. I haven't talked to Kansas in a while...I'll have to congratulate him soon. You too! Do people bring...gifts for that kind of thing? A mateship? I read somewhere that humans do it when they become mates-they have a big celebration"
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The femme's ears folded back at the mention of her ghostly hued friend. She hadn't seen him or heard anything about him since that one day. The day she had gained those scars. "P-Pilot's here?" She didn't know how to feel about it. She had hoped that he might return to Crimson Dreams. After all he had helped Naniko and her found it. Maybe it just wasn't to be. "How, uh, how is he?" Was he still the broken shell that she had seen that day or was he healing? She hoped that he was. Not that her brash actions had done anything to help him or anyone else. Savina just hadn't been able to help it. The thought of her friend being abused in that way had sent her off the deep end.
But her mood was improved as Ember seemed happy about the news of the mateship. Getting to her feet she began to follow her into these new packlands. She couldn't help but laugh a little at the idea of people getting them gifts for becoming mates. That seemed a little silly to her. Why would anyone give them gifts for that? Sometimes human practices seemed so bizarre. "Yes! Thank you! And no, no one gave us any gifts. Not sure why they would. Kansas gave me this necklace a while ago, and he's been teaching me to read and write. I got him a book and a scarf. That's it for gifts though." Her eyes scanned over the territory as they walked. "You'll have to come visit us at the mansion sometime! Or we can come here to see you!" It would be nice for the three of them to spend some time together.
"So what's AniWaya like? It's an interesting name for a pack." She'd never heard any words that sounded even remotely similar to that. Savina had to admit, she was a little embarrassed that she hadn't noticed a new pack spring up so close to her own.
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So far, she liked Tayui's pups. They were too small to really be much of a burden to her personally...but she was sure that they would grow up soon enough. And Ember would teach them how to be good wolves--good hunters and warriors. She didn't mind letting the others teach them the more fluffy side of life, about licking and cuddling and such...she would take care of their more primal sides.
"Ah...yes, he is. He came to the meeting right before the pack was formed. Me and Tay' were glad to see im'; I hadn't heard anything from him in a while." She wasn't sure what to make of Savina's expression, if she was happy about Pilot being there or not. Oh well. "He's doing fine. Looks healthy to me, if that's what ya mean."
She grinned at the other when she talked about the gifts. Savina looked really happy, and that meant that Kansas had to be pretty happy too. Which, in turn, made Ember happy. She liked to know that her littermate was getting along alright in Crimson Dreams. "I'll definitely come by! I'll bring a present, too. Something...useful. " She nodded. "Oh...and AniWaya? It's a great place to live. No one really cares where I go, and I can prowl around the borders as much as I want. I'm also looking for a weapon...they really encourage bettering yourself here in weapons, or medicine, or something."
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From what Ember said, Savina assumed that she didn't know what had happened to their friend. That was probably the best. In a way she wished that she could forget what she had learned. That information had set off a powder keg in her and she was still trying to fix everything. She tried not to dwell on such thoughts for long though. What was done was done. Thinking about how things might have been different didn't help anybody. "Well, that's good. I'm glad to hear that. You'll have to tell him hello for me." She thought about mentioning how he had helped Naniko and herself form Crimson Dreams, but decided against it. That might bring up the question of why he left and that wasn't the Marino's information to share.
The way that her sister-in-law talked, it seemed that she really liked this place. That was good, it was important to find a pack where you thought you fit in and felt at home. That's what Twilight Vale, and now Crimson Dreams were to Savina. Her birth pack had never given her that. They had accepted her, let her mother and siblings stay there. But they had never truly been accepted or thought much of. Now that she had it, she valued the feeling of belonging highly. "That's great! It sounds like a nice place. Never heard of a pack like this before, but that's very interesting. What kind of weapon do you think you want?" Though even if Ember had one in mind, Savina wasn't sure if she would even know what the thing was. She was still ignorant when it came to a lot of human artifacts. "So it just formed recently then, yes?" Since Pilot had been there when it formed, she could only assume that was the case.
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"Yes! Just a few weeks ago. And...oh! We've been talking all this time, and I didn't invite you in. The leaders won't care, I don't think." She started walking motioning for Savina to follow. She was hoping that AniWaya would be her last home. Ember was tired of moving from pack to pack to pack. If AniWaya did ever close down, she would probably become a lone wolf and stay that way for a while. Packs were important to her, and she wanted this pack to make it...but she was a realist. If it didn't, then she would be prepared for that too.
"I'm thinking about a sword...but I'm not sure where to look for one. I read about swords in a book from the library--they sound really useful. In the book, the girl had a sword named Lightning." She nodded, thinking as she walked. "If you could pick one, what would you pick?"
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As long as she was with Ember, Savina doubted that the leaders would care. Being a leader herself, as long as an outsider was with a packmember she generally didn't mind them being there. They just had to be careful to make sure the pups were kept safe. Though everyone in Crimson Dreams seemed to be a good judge of character and she doubted they would let someone in who meant any ill. Even if they did, they were a large pack and the offender would most likely be walking into more than they bargained for.
Her ears perked at her friend's mention of wanting a sword. "A sword, huh? I think I know where you could find one! There's a castle to the south of here. Near the ocean in the Trenches. It's a huge black stone building, impossible to miss. My brother and I explored it not too long ago." That had been a very fun day. The two of them had acted like when they were pups. It had been a nice escape. When asked what she would pick for a weapon, she chuckled. "Well, I did end up using an axe while we were there. My doofus brother got himself stuck in a wardrobe playing a trick on me. I had to use it to cut him out of it." That had been quite the "hands on" experience.
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She was interested in learning about the tools that the humans once used. If they'd been able to help them back then, then they would probably be able to help the wolves now. Ember would use the weapon for fighting and practicing, to gain more muscle mass. While her injuries had been healing she had been unable to hunt for herself, and she'd lost a lot of fat and muscle. She'd have to gain it back.
"That's a good idea. I've never been there before, so I'm not sure what all is there. Maybe I'll be able to find something interesting, even if I can't find a sword. But if I do, then it'll be great!" Ember had never used an axe before. She had heard that the humans had once used axes to cut down trees...but she didn't like that idea. Why cut one down when there was sticks and branches all over the ground to use? She didn't need a really big fire most of the time anyway."I didn't know that you had a brother here--I've never seen him around"
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Her interest in the humans and what they left behind had been minimal before ending up here. She had been interested in the ancient Romans, but that had been about the extent of it. The wolfess just hadn't ever been exposed to anything else. She had had her life in the wilderness living as a normal wolf and that had been that. When she first came to 'Souls she didn't think that she would take much interest in the human things, but she had been quite wrong about that. She now lived in a human house, was learning to read and write, at times wore their clothes to help keep warm, and the list kept growing.
Savina's head nodded. "Yes, I'm certain you'll find something. That place is filled with all sorts of things. Rugs, suits of armor, weapons, wall hangings. I didn't even get to explore much of it. I'm sure that there are all sorts of treasures inside those walls." The femme really did want to go back and explore more of the castle sometime. Perhaps she and Kansas could go together. She had no doubt that he would find that place fascinating as well. There might even be some books for him to take home and add to his collection.
Now that she thought about it, Ehno hadn't shown up until after she and Ember had met. "Oh, yes! He is now anyway. A few months ago when the pack was still Twilight Vale I found him walking along the coast. He had gotten stranded here. I was so happy, I had worried that I would never see him again after I accidentally left Italy." A day didn't go by where she didn't thank the heavens for their reunion. "We don't really look much alike. His fur his chocolate and cream colored and he has amber eyes. He lives in Crimson Dreams with me, but he likes to travel around. I think he goes to Halifax often. I'm sure you'll bump into him sometime." Luckily Ehno was a warm soul and made a good impression on most people.
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