This is open to anyone who wants to jump in, though I do prefer someone whom Atraiyu hasn't met yet, and a Tribal member if they have the time to jump into this one.

One thing was for certain. There was an awful lot of chit-chat going around the Valley that talked about this certain place south of Nova Mountain that was an area that was just “full of surprisement and wonders”. It was one of those topics that came out of nowhere, heard along whispering wolves and tasty little bits heard upon the breeze. Well, wasn’t every territory stupendous in its own glory? The beta had been to nearly all areas of Salvaje Valley, and had found that each one had a certain characteristic about it that distinguished it from its neighboring territory. Wild Fire had a brilliant array of fiery colored trees, White Rose had a sparkling lake under the moonlight, Illusion Hill had that sense of danger and fear along its sloping hills, and Sterling Waters had that fresh water scent with a crisp aquatic atmosphere, just to name a few. So, what was so special about this particular place then? A wolf couldn’t put down their instinctual curiosity, and before the female knew it, her paws were off to embark on a day’s journey to this mysterious place, only going by word of mouth and what she had heard was the location of this so called new claim of land.

"Is... this it?" She muttered to herself, stopping at a point where there was an army of maple trees standing guard to the rest of the forest ahead. Decadence found it odd that she had to take a pathway that led to here, and actually found that pretty cool to say the least. It heightened her sense of adventure just a bit, but then again… there was this feeling that wasn’t shaking from her nerves. A feeling that was hesitant, foreign. It didn’t tell her to turn tail or any of the such, but it did tell her that something was up about this place, and she couldn’t place a paw on it. The thin fleshy flaps of her ears strained to stand on their very ends, listening for any such sudden movement or noise of something close by. What the arctic found about this place was that it was nearly tomb silent, and that in itself was strange for a place that looked so normal, yet so… off-key about something. Perhaps it was just her nerves playing tricks on her in unknown situations. Taking a glance from side to side, her paws began to shuffle forward, rather slowly, as she bypassed the soldiers of maple trees and entered the maple forest. This wasn’t too bad after all, and this place was actually a little bit interesting. Her cold and wet snout remained at her feet, sniffing at anything that managed to come in her path, collecting the tiniest particles of dirt to stick on the leathery surface of her nose. So far nothing smelled out of the ordinary, so Atraiyu went on her way, sniffing the ground the whole time, to see just what was so special about this place, unknowing of what lurked beyond the maple’s shadows.

And hopefully sometime soon we will get around to that thread, but i'm not complaining about this one. This is going be fun. (:

Poking around, the arctic wolfess lingered in a certain spot for a moment, concentrating on a particular area of ground which did hold some sort of pungent scent, but nothing that her mind can distinguish. It smelled of what she thought had to have been a decaying animal at one point, but she wasn’t entirely sure. Not holding great interest in the area, her nose continued its inspections of the grounds, picking up all the dead matter and whatever earthly objects were laying out in the open. So far, nothing was found that was to be questioned, but what happened next nearly tore her bones and flesh right out of her ivory coat.

Feeling the sensation of what appeared to be teeth grazing lightly upon her tender flank, white hackles along the curve of her spine instantly rose at that sensation like enraged daggers, as a rather unexpected tawny figure brushed right against her. What the? Where did this come from!? Her whole skin instantly crawled, as a surprise gasp happened to fly from her throat as she stumbled back a few feet, nearly losing her footing and breaking the short contact of the two. The arctic stumbled over a fallen branch, but was lucky enough to catch her balance before making an idiot of herself. Wide, deep eyes rimmed with mahogany rested upon a figure that was quite animated with earthly colors adorning his coat. What was even more intriguing was the fact of his two eyes; one golden, and one a clear crystal blue.

For a figure as lively in hue as the opposite canine before her, Atraiyu thought she would have caught sight of him before he came upon her unrepentantly. A confused mask adorned her china doll visage, as her head slightly tilted to the side at his words. Ears lowered, slightly pressing themselves against the fur of her head. A swallow before she spoke. “You..?” She simply inquired, trying to find any recognition in him by scent and smell, but nothing came up. Especially the scent part, which was highly strange. He didn’t smell of any pack in Salvaje. “Do… do I know you from somewhere?” She couldn’t even answer this question herself. Hackles were still raised in caution, and her muscles tensed under her skin. There was something about this scenario that wasn’t right. Not right at all.

Feeling like she did make somewhat of an embarrassment of herself, Atraiyu maintained her regular composure, and shifted her weight around her paws. Taking a quick glance around at the ground, she skimmed for any other foreign objects that were nearby, and when she did not find anything noticeable besides that damned branch, the arctic was confident that no more slips would be made. With ears twitching and moving to their sides, she caught the words of the different eyed male, and a single wolven brow raised on its own accord. Smartass… “Hah, hah, hah. Funny pun.” The female spoke with a voice that was cool and collected, but obviously hinted a grim tone of sarcasm along with. Her throat rumbled, clearing her throat before she answered his inquiry of her status. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll live.” She said, with a small smirk forming at the corner of her muzzle. Still keeping her distance, however, Atraiyu’s frizzy nerves were beginning to calm down. The male didn’t seem like he was that much of a potential threat to her, but then again one couldn’t be sure, so she didn’t lower her guard for a second. He didn’t smell of any particular packs, so that was something Decadence had to keep in mind. Hackles were still raised, but muscle contractions lessened.

Earth toned eyes kept a wary glance upon this wolf, trying to think of where she saw a coat such as his that was so lively in design and hue. Nothing was turning up in her mind. There were residents of Salvaje who didn’t even come close to rivaling his coat. What particular species was he, then? Atraiyu figured she would find out soon enough, once the two had gotten past the formal conversation, if that was to happen. The wolfess wasn’t making any sudden conclusions about anything at the moment. His flattering words that were to follow did make a very small amused smirk appear at the corner of her maw. What was he trying to do with that statement of admiration? “So I don’t know you from anywhere then. Name’s Atraiyu.” She said simply, not giving out her territory just yet. Referring to the lush maple atmosphere around them, there were several glances made from side to side before responding to the strange eyed male. “I guess you can say that. What is this place, then? Everyone’s talking about something here..” Her question was pretty simple and to the point, not interested in fluffy details unless he happened to provide some along with the answer, if he chose to answer that is.

Thump. Thump. Thump. For a second, Atraiyu actually thought it was a noise from somewhere in this mess of maple and oak trees, which caused her eyes to briefly shift from side to side yet once again. Little did she know, it was her very heart enslaved within the bones of her ribcage that was knocking on her chest to show a sign of… nervousness? Soon discovering this, her wolven lashes fluttered as she blinked rapidly to herself. Why are you so uptight? Calm down… he might hear it and think you’re guilty of something… Too late perhaps, for if her keen hearing for a canine could pick up the sounds of her own body, then so could the male, which wasn’t that far away. With her pink serpent of a tongue flickering out briefly, she wet her leathery wolven lips, trying to soothe her nerves, though it was clear that licking her lips was an outward sign of slight tension. It did started to work to a certain degree, for her conscious was calmly coaxing any traces of running adrenaline down in her veins. Yet, still…

She couldn’t help but transfix her auburn hued eyes upon his rather unique pair of gold and blue. Atraiyu had witnessed blue and green before, and recalled that Mount Shadow’s ex-puppy sitter, the quiet jovial Looks West had a blue eye and a green eye to suit her. Not blue and gold; they would be the last she could imagine to be coupled together. It was a rare occurrence in the wild for one to have opposite eye colors, and Decadence couldn’t remember if she knew anyone from the Arctic Circle who had mismatching eyes. Out of the both of them, the male’s blue one was the most piercing. It was a blue that was brighter than any surface of water she had seen, truly a color that could rival the sky’s own brilliant blue any day. Hearing his somewhat cryptic words to her ears, the phantom wolfess couldn’t help but give a slight tilt of her head. Far away from home? This place? But wasn’t it only a couple miles or so from Nova Mountain? The Arctic was puzzled, and it was clearly written upon her pale visage.

Paws shuffled underneath her, shifting around her weight, and her tail gave an absent flicker behind her. He had also interrogated her last statement. Feeling a little small at the moment, that certain blue eye of his was just piercing to her. “Away from home? But… home is only a cave passage away. What do you mean exactly?” She spoke, as if he would know what she was talking about all along, but then again wondering if he meant of a home that was far from Salvaje Valley. In regards to that something, a light snort blew through her nostrils. “I want to say paranormal activity, but… I don’t know if that’s the right definition.” A pause as she light shook her head from side to side. “I think we have enough paranormal things going on already through the Valley. It seems like this whole place could just be one big graveyard for spirits.” Two bony points rose in her snowy pelt, giving a shrug. As far as she heard, there were sounds and sightings here that were unexplainable and had no body to them, so it only must have been some strange spirit activity, right?

A ghost? Him? No, that would be preposterous. All seemed to be alive and ticking with him, he was fully in flesh and blood before her. Ghosts could be seen, even spoken to, but rarely interacted with for a long period of time, and this especially applied to the duration of the current conversation these two wolves were holding. So said the elders of her pack in the Arctic, or were they just out of their senile minds? Before Atraiyu could even begin to comprehend anymore to this conversation of the unknown, the sudden contact of his figure of ashy and silver caught her immensely off guard. Too close for comfort, to say the least, even if it was mere placing of his snout right into the bushy area of fur upon one of the many bones that made her chest finely structured. Feeling the sensation of the leathery surface, the cold touch… it made her fur bristle at the contact.

Deep set of auburn eyes slightly widened, glistened, staring into the other pair that was nearly void of any telling emotion. Her head couldn’t help but pull itself back, and she abruptly backed a few feet away from the male. “Alright, I think you’ve proven your point there...” Laced with a bite of warning, her tone of voice dropped to a few low notches just to hint that his sudden gesture wasn't too appreciated. Though he got what he might of thought he deserved with coming in subtle contact with the northerner, she gave him a very wary eye as he sat next to her, calm as he could be. He might have not seemed like he was no hazardous threat, but a stranger he still was to her, no more and no less. If anything, her heart was still thumping considerably quick.

Falling back into what was her main concern of this meet, Decadence came back to reality and listened to what this foreign male had to say. What he said was basically something that was along the line of figuring out the blanks. It led her sharp mind to the conclusions that he definitely wasn’t a wolf of any of the four packs, wasn’t even a part of Salvaje, and this was obviously his dwelling with a couple others of his kind. A dawning look came upon her visage. One thing did stand out. Hó’nehe. There was no doubt she heard of that foreign name before, but from where? Going through a quick stroll down her memory lane, Atraiyu heard this word when she first came to this Valley. It was the name of a wolf, of a historical wolf, something like that. Right? Damn. She wasn’t sure. She shook her head to herself. “Hó’nehe. I’ve definitely heard of that name when I first came here.” Her brown eyes seemed to search his own for an answer that he didn’t have for her. “I want to say it was in relation to one of the packs in Salvaje, or to somebody, but I don’t know which one… or just who to be exact.” The Arctic for sure knew it was linked to a pack, or a wolf in one of the packs from seasons ago, but there was a block in her memory. Perhaps the Expedition was the majority of what she remembered from that time ago.

Whoahhh. Apologies for the long wait on this one. xx;

Even the Arctic herself could feel that the situation flipped to a more serious tone, which was an enigma to her mind, for that she would have never figured this male would want any sort of business to conduct. Atraiyu could feel her figure slightly relaxing -- but only just enough to where her muscles weren’t hurting herself in bottled tension, yet there was a part of her that still kept her guard on semi-alert. Giving a snort, then a light sneeze, the wolfess shook her head from side to side before hearing a word uttered from the male’s creamy muzzle that made her remember the time before the Valley was struck with the curse of the coyotes and the Expedition.

As if she was born again by just a single word, the exquisite brown hue of her eyes lit up to an intense, lively color and glint. Immediately behind her, her tail began to sway at the familiar word, until it was lightly wagging. Sure, Atraiyu knew what he was talking about, and the wolf associated with what he asked. Saqui. Rayen… Saqui. Ah-hah! She was an ex leader that would not be forgotten by any of those who knew her from the time before, but it had been a considerate while since her name had been muttered upon the wind. In a somewhat excited tone with her tolerant voice, Decadence nodded her head up and down, confirming her answer to him. “Saqui, huh? Sure, i've heard of the name. A female by Rayen Saqui..” She trailed off, pausing and observing his facial features for a minute, looking to see if the first name struck any reorganization in him. “Actually, I’ve only met her once, but for a very brief moment.” She added in, distinctly remembering playing a game of racing with Rayen back in Wild Fire Forest with one of the Nova Mountain pups. It was such a short meet, but enough to where Atraiyu felt honored to finally meet Rayen in the flesh.

With this new found discovery of the answer, however, all hopeful spirits along with the male would suddenly come to an end. The corners of her muzzle turned down into a slight frown, and she shook her head. In a way she didn‘t want to give the other half of the news to him, for it seemed like he was desperate to find some answers he had been searching for, but Atraiyu didn‘t want him wasting his time on a wolf who didn‘t exist here anymore. “…You won’t be finding her here, though.” The excitedness that laced her tone previously suddenly turned back into its empty, mellow melody. Atraiyu didn’t know the exact time Rayen left, but she had left on a very abrupt note, and also one of confusion for Gold Moon Forest.

Rayen Saqui. A leader of a discreet pack? Who would have ever known.

News of this was surprising, to say the least. Salvaje had so much history behind the name, and not only just the name of the valley, but the packs that resided within the valley, the territories, namely everything had a story behind it. Atraiyu could just imagine all of the untold secrets of Salvaje; all of the juicy tales that would forever be a whisper on the leathery lips of those who were there to witness them, and unfortunately not present anymore to pass them along. Briefly the arctic began to wonder if anyone else from the valley, during the time of Rayen’s reign, had suspected anything. Atraiyu was not a mind reader, nor did she even know Rayen that well, but if she was to be a leader in the ranks of a second pack, wouldn’t it be known to the rest of Gold Moon? Suddenly her interest rose greatly upon this subject, though there had been no relations to her and Gold Moon Forest at all. It was just so intriguing to know that a wolf of Salvaje was actually the chosen leader, or Me’ko as he put it, for an entirely different pack. And they were searching for their lost leader.

It was all too expectant that she would see the rush of hope drained from the young male’s colorful visage. This caused her to lower her ears a bit, feeling a bit sympathetic that the one he was searching for was no longer here. Atraiyu knew what it felt like to seek another countless days and nights. After her family was swallowed up by the Arctic Sea, Atraiyu did some searching a little bit, but to no avail was a pack member or family member witnessed alive. Giving a small flick, one ear rose up to its normal attention, followed by the other. Hearing him inquiry as to why she wasn’t around, the female took a quick inhale through her nose and a lick of her leathery maw before answering. “Well, I don’t know the exact reason why…” A pause was given, refreshing her memory of the past before she continued. "But this is what I can tell you as far as I know. Rayen left a couple months before a flood struck Gold Moon Forest and destroyed it. She had left with her mate…” For a second her voice trailed off, keeping her chocolate eyes upon him, looking for any signs of reaction to her telling him of Rayen’s mate. She then continued on. “They were both Alpha wolves of Gold Moon, and they left on a whim. I doubt anyone else knows where they went. There might be some luck asking those who were from Gold Moon. Some of them are around I believe, but not many.“ A simple nod was given, accompanying her explanation.

Vocal chords ceased their vibrations, as her pleasant voice then fell silent so the young male could take a few moments to process what she told him. There were a couple more things Atraiyu remembered, such as their puppies they left behind, but the arctic female figured she would not stray off from the main point. Giving a soft sway of her tail, she let out a puff of air from her snout, awaiting what the gold and blue eyed wolf had to say about all this. At least her heartbeat wasn’t palpitating at a rapid pace anymore.