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Shaking her fur free of the water that had managed to gather there during her close-encounters with the ocean, Sokanon continued on her way south. She didn't really have a particular destination in mind, but she'd been told there were a fair number of established packs here that she should check out if she was trying to find somewhere to settle down. Being on all fours wasn't her favorite way to go, but it certainly did bode well for speed, something she quite enjoyed.
She continued down the coast, idly watching the scenery go by, but not making any attempt to memorize it or look for anything in particular. A small nose (attached to an equally small silver body) sniffed the air, but nothing of interest caught her attention, and her feet kept moving her forward.
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The sky was gray and overcast, extending as far as the horizon. And maybe it extended beyond that, she mused. For what was a horizon, but the limit of her sight? She found that she did not mind the winter so much anymore. It still was not at all pleasant to feel the chill deep within her bones, but her gray coat had thickened for the winter and so she had better protection and coverage against the cold. And at least the overcast clouds kept the heat in, to combat the chill carried on the wind. Whenever Geneva wandered freely, she usually ended up by the shore. Sometimes her errant steps and scattered thoughts would carry her to the lighthouse, a place where she had had so many different experiences. Overall, the gray femme loved the beach. There was something about the atmosphere of the coast, even in the winter, that intrigued her. Geneva was a thin, lithe woman. She had reached maturity, but her size did not at all hint at that. She was completely proportional, but had never grown much after hitting adolesence. Even in her lupus form, on four legs, other towered over her. She was delicate, but no longer frail.
"Hello," her soft voice sounded, somewhat surprised and bemused as she rose out of her thoughts. The woman before her bore a striking resemblance to herself. They were both smaller, and had grayish coats, although the stranger's bore much more shine. "I don't believe we've met before.
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A white left front foot paused in mid-air and her nose twitched when the scent of another reached her. It wasn't so terribly uncommon to run into others, and Soka certainly didn't mind it. In fact, she quite enjoyed the company of others. In the past few months, she had felt her life of a wayward traveler coming to an end, although that could have just been a feeling. She was nearing three years of age, so it would be no surprise that her internal clock was telling her to settle down, "find a good man", and all that mumbo-jumbo.
When she turned to face somebody with a resemblance to herself, that didn't surprise her in the least. She wasn't a remarkable or unique creature by any means, although that didn't get her spirits down. She considered herself average, but not dull. "It would be quite a coincidence if we had," she replied, her stance and tone neutral. "I've never been here before. At least not that I recall. My name is Sokanon."
Greeting strangers had gotten easier and easier as she'd traveled, and she had found that a majority of them were not so very hostile as she had once believed. In fact, most of them turned out to be quite affable and even likable to a degree. When she'd been younger, as a pup, she'd always thought that everybody in the outside world would be terrible, mean and downright heartless. Her travels had proven her wrong, and she was quite grateful for that.
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There was obvious intelligence and wit in the other's response; however, Geneva did not feel that it was salted with sarcasm. And she would know, since her mate emitted sarcasm more than he breathed, it seemed. There was a neutrality to the other femme's words and stance, and Geneva took her cues from her. Geneva was comfortable enough to be informal, and so this suited her. "Indeed it would," the soft-voiced woman responded. I'm Geneva; it is nice to meet you, Sokanon."The femme's words were sincere. She enjoyed encountering others, even strangers. She lived for knowledge, to absorb and to dissect everything she came across. And while her morals and inhibitions dictated that she never looked too closely at those she did not know well - the one exception in her lifetime being Jefferson - that did not dissuade her from being interested in others and all their stories. Plus, she had learned that the best way to learn anything was to experience it first hand.
"What brings you here?" She posed the question without intense scrutiny, a light conversation topic. Geneva remembered being here for the first time. And since she did not have a working sense of smell, it had been hard for her to get around. "If you are looking for a certain place, or someone in particular, I could try to point you in the right direction."
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Geneva. Sokanon repeated the name in her head. "It's nice to meet you as well, Geneva. It's been quite some time since I've come across anybody else." Soka had already picked up on the pack smell that Geneva emitted, but that didn't worry her. For the most part, packs were civilized and wouldn't go attacking her on clearly neutral grounds such as this coast. Even if Geneva had, for whatever reason, Soka was fairly confident that she would have been able to defend herself. One didn't travel for so long and make it out alive without a few fights under their belt.
The question of what had brought her here was one that Sokanon hadn't really thought about too much. Really, she had only come this way because it seemed like a good way to go. More on a whim than anything else. There wasn't anything in particular drawing her to this coast or these lands, just the simple need to keep moving because she'd gotten bored of where she'd been before. It seemed to happen less and less as time went on, and her last home she'd kept for longer than any of the others she'd had (aside from her birth home, of course).
"I don't believe I'm looking for anything in particular," she replied, though not to discourage her new acquaintance. "I am looking for something in general, though," she continued, "A more permanent home." With that reply, surely Geneva could point her in the right direction. From what Soka inferred, Geneva had a home of herself here with a pack. She smelled of it, so unless she had just decided to leave, there was no denying that the other girl had somewhere to call home.
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Sokanon's response was simple, but it told Geneva everything she needed to know for now. She remembered when she too, had been fresh off of the road. But she had never truly been a wanderer at heart. She had traveled out of necessity and desperation. When she tried to think back to her times of travel, all she could recall was a deep sense of hopelessness. She had been injured at the time, at the edge of despair, and she had not really known where she was going. All she had known was that she had been seeking a good place to start over, and she had found that place here. "There are several packs, and a clan of coyotes, in the area," Geneva said. Her eyes wrinkled around the edges as she thought up the specifics of each group. Although they shared the same lands, the groups that lived here did have different lifestyles and values. "There is currently a war going on between two of the groups in the area, not at all far from here actually. Dahlia de Mai, a pack of wolves and hybrids, to the west of here, and Inferni, the coyote clan, just south and east of here." She warned the newcomer. She did not want her to fall into one of the battles. "Thus far, the war has been contained between those two groups, but I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire; be careful." Geneva's tone was worried. She did not know much about the war, to be honest. All she knew was that she wanted to keep her own safe, and that she hoped that both groups involved would try to come to a different way of solving things.
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Soka had never really thought wolves and coyotes much different. Sure, they looked a little bit different, but aside from that, she’d found them to be much the same. Being of mixed blood herself, Soka never took sides with either of them. Then again, she’d never really needed to take sides with either of them. The news of a war was good to know, though not entirely interesting to the young girl. Fighting was not on her list of things to do, although she would if she were forced to. Being alone for so long had granted her the privilege of having to fend for herself, and that included fighting off the crazy and cruel.
“Are you alliances with either of the warring packs you speak of?” questioned Soka out of curiosity. Not that being aligned with either of them was necessarily bad, but Sokanon wondered what side Geneva took when it came to this war she spoke of. If Geneva wasn’t a member of either of those packs, it would leave another question to continue the conversation further.
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Geneva shook her head at Sokanon's question, indicating her negative answer. Geneva had never taken part in any war and did not have very much experience with violence. She had been lucky, when she had been a loner on the road, to make it to Nova Scotia from New York without much outside interference, especially when considering her past physical state. She pondered that for a moment in silence, and silently hoped that Sokanon would also have similar luck. She would never wish that kind of ill on anyone. "I run with Phoenix Valley," Geneva answered finally, smiling slightly at the mention of her home. She had truly grown to love it there, and had finally set down roots, so to speak. She had been so removed from her childhood home. And turbulent events after she had arrived her had thrown her for a loop, but she could say without hesitation now that she truly knew where she belonged. Geneva went on to further explain what she could about Inferni and Dahlia de Mai, in terms of her association with each. "There was a dispute between my pack and Inferni some months back, which caused tensions, although nothing ever really came of it." Truth be told, the sub-leader wasn't actually clear on all the details surrounding that part of her pack's semi-recent history. At the time of this, she had only just become sub-leader and had been struggling to fit into that role. "I bear them no ill will," Geneva added. "I prefer peace and diplomacy in my dealings, and I do not wish to demonize them with my words and the information I give you, as I do not know many of the members of the clan. I am cautious of the clan, given their history with my pack, but otherwise I would not speak against them." The gray hued women then spoke of the other half of the groups involved in the war. "When I first arrived here, my first real friend was part of Dahlia." The woman's tone was wistful as she thought of Sankor. He had disappeared many months ago, but he was still alive in her memories and in her heart. She would always be grateful for his simple gift of uncomplicated friendship and acceptance, especially at a time when she had felt worthless and beneath everyone and everything. How times had changed, and how things had progressed, never ceased to amaze the gray femme. "This may be hearsay," Geneva said with a rueful smile. "I have heard that recently there was an upset within the power structure of Dahlia de Mai. I know now that my mate's half-brother leads there." Geneva dimly recalled Haku, having seen him only once and under the strangest and most dire of circumstances. The information was still vague. "I guess that my pack tends to keep to itself, although we do number Aniwaya, another group, among our friends. We do our best to steer clear of trouble, and to help when we are able to." Geneva shrugged. To tell the truth, she did not have very much deep information to give, and could only give Sokanon a cursory overview of the surrounding groups, but she hoped that that was adequate enough for the woman to begin making decisions.
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Sokanon wasn't sure whether or not she would choose sides, given the opportunity to do so. She was a rather laid-back soul, and rarely gave a damn about most things. The girl quirked a brow when Geneva went on to spout a bit of gossip about one of the packs she had mentioned. Politics were not something that Soka was terribly interested in. It just didn't matter to her so far in her life, and she saw no reason to change the way she thought (or didn't think) about power and hierarchy and all of that.
While she didn't like violence, Soka also wasn't the type to go looking out for others, either. She was very much an independent, and perhaps that was what kept her moving all this time.
The girl simply nodded thoughtfully at Geneva's words, taking them into consideration, but not thinking on them too terribly hard. She would keep the information and use it if necessary, but somehow she didn't think it would really be all that necessary for her purposes. She had no need to involve herself in pack wars.
"Thank you for all the information, Geneva. I'll keep all of that in mind," she replied with a sincere smile. It was nice to arrive in a new place and basically be given the local paper on what had been going on recently. "Think there's anything else I should know before I continue exploring?" she inquired.
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Other than the war, Geneva could not think of any other pitfalls that Soka would run into. Although there was some turmoil between the groups that lived here, this land was more or less safe. And since spring was fast on the heels of winter, securing resources wouldn't be that much of a challenge. She remembered that it was harder procuring food as a loner, but Sokanon seemed confident and capable. Those were two things that Geneva had been lacking when she had been on her own. All in all, she did not think that she had much to worry about regarding this stranger. She seemed savvy and like she could take care of herself. Geneva's ears twitched and she turned her lime colored eyes back upon the gray stranger. "I think that about covers it," the Phoenix Valley wolfess said with a slight smile. "There are plenty of neutral territories. The city, which is close by, is particularly interesting if you're of the mind to explore, and there are plenty of places to find game and water." Geneva did not know what Sokanon's purposes were here, but she hoped that she could find whatever it was she needed, if she was looking for something in specific. "I should probably find my way back home," she said somewhat wryly, giving her a smile before she began to turn. "If you are ever in need of a guide, or have questions, you can always look me up," she added as an afterthought.
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