Somewhere long the way Cochise had taken it upon herself to go looking for their supposed Me'ko. The first place that she figured would be worth checking was the mountain that they crawled in and out from underneath of, and sooner or later she found herself standing there at the base of the mountain, idling in the burnt patch of land that was there. Cochise couldn't help but wonder why it had burned, and while she was quite literally standing on the border, the dark-haired wolf moved a paw and rolled a singed hunk of wood back and forth for a moment.

It was cold out, and frosty. The said cold and frost clung to her dark coat and with each little movement that she made it was quite possible that she was shining and shimmering from a distance. But the snow that was underneath her feet that hadn't been melted completely by the afternoon sun in places made the pads on the underside of her feet ache with familiarity — winter was here again.

Aw, he wasn't ready for winter to come back in. The cold, though not as biting because of his much more developed winter coat, still annoyed him and brought back memories of freezing mornings when his light, feathery puppy coat couldn't do him any good. Walking around, watching his breath freeze and float up before his face and the small patches of light snow on the ground, Arsenio found himself wishing to keep winter from ever coming — just to skip to his birthday and then spring all together.

He walked down the Mountain, trying to find a place that wasn't so cold. He eventually found himself skimming the borders like an adult would, looking out over the Valley. It wasn't long before he found the stranger. She was a black wolf with golden eyes similar to his own, but the scent of the Tribe that lived behind the Mountain was heavy upon her fur. Arsenio had already met three Tribe members — Seot'a, Kuruk, and Anasazi — and none had really tried to rip his arms off for trespassing. But the tables were turned now, for this one was caught almost trespassing on Mountain territory!

"Hiya, there," the Plebeian said with a smile, "Welcome t' Nova Mountain." He'd be a pleasant host, for now.

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Something in Cochise's mind told her that she should have planned out what she was going to do before she came there. Walking around and saying, hey I'm looking for my leader, didn't sound like a very good thing to say. Instead of being greeted by an adult, she noticed the figure of a youth (who was closer to an adult than a child) and stiffened a bit, her dark foot leaving the singed piece of wood alone and focusing on him with a tight-lipped smile. Her strain at being nice.

Hello, she said pleasantly (also a bit of a strain), yes, I was just admiring the view here. Seems like this part's a bit burned up, though. she commented idly on the lands that they were standing on, and a small frown crossed the medic's dark face. Any particular reason why nothing grows here? Perhaps a local would know why it seemed like everything was burnt up. Lightning make fire? Who knew. It was all idle talk, and perhaps in her own little way she'd wheedle information from him all the same.

Noting the rather stretched smile and words that the black Tribe member played out for the Plebeian, Arsenio almost immidiately recognized that she was at least trying to seem somewhat nice. She better, seeing as though she's almost trespassing on Nova Mountain territory, the youth thought, continuing his golden gaze upon her as she spoke.

The burns on the sides of the Mountain he had long since become accustomed to — they were as familiar as the creek in Silver Creek. Looking to them idly and remembering the story that was told to him about them, he replied to the stranger, "There was a wildfire here a long while back, and things never grew back as well as they should, from what I 'eard," he said, nodding. "Not sure why, though."

His simple thought to supply her with the simple knowledge faded, and he became curious and, though slightly, cautious, which was something new for him. Arsenio was growing up after all. "I don't b'lieve you're only here for the view, however."

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She had to smile a bit more at his careful observation, finding that while he may have seemed young, he was also very observant. Right you are, Cochise said, not denying that she hadn't come there to simply gawk at some burned ground. I was feeling a bit in the neighbourly mood and thought I'd see if I couldn't get a tour, she said, seemingly innocent enough. It was partly true — she was rather curious about what the mountain's view looked like.

After all, it wasn't going to be everyday in her life that she got to see a good view of the Valley that they lived rather adjacent too. Is it a bit too much to ask of someone so observant as you? Her words were as sweet as sugar, but she did applaud his ability to see through her smokescreen of just standing there. This time around, Cochise smiled sincerely; truthfully.

He hadn't really seen any of the Tribe members be "neighbourly" at all, actually. Anasazi, well, tried to eat him as he almost passed over the border to Hó’nehe-htso’e, but Seot'a and Kuruk were more understanding of his curiousity, and allowed him some information. Anyway, still looking upon the Tribe wolf with a cross between intrigued and looking-out glance, he wondered a minute, twitching at her thick words (such things said to him were completely alien), and then replying.

"Eh, sure, if'n you want. You'll have to keep up, though." He wasn't sure if a wolf, so accustomed to living down in the Hó’nehe-htso’e lands, would be able to keep up with an experienced Mountaineer on his own turf, but he wouldn't slow down at all for the visitor. Though he seemed to be more... strict upon the girl, he wasn't sure what more to do. A stranger — a nameless stranger — asking for a tour was a bit unsettling.

"But first you'll have t'give me your name. Mine's Arsenio."

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Her words didn't seem to phase him any, and in fact he seemed rather bored with them. Somewhere on the inside Cochise scoffed at the idea that perhaps trying to be nice was the stupid thing. Maybe she should have just stomped and charged across the mountain terrain and see what he did then. But, while her anger was vented quietly and inwardly, she kept a cool exterior and nodded politely.

Cochise, she said, going no further into her given surname or the translation of her rank for him. Had she, perhaps they would have found out that they were both medics. Both healers. Uneasily, but figuring that his word was her okay to enter, Cochise took a rather uneven step a bit further over that border, wagging her tail just a bit. That strain again, it was nagging her and the tie back to her own packland was tugging her backward, screaming how she was being foolish.

Nevertheless, the tribal medic looked around a bit more as though the scenery had changed completely. Where to? she asked in that same pleasant tone, careful to show that she was willing to keep up and follow him. Walking on hilly and rocky terrain was nothing new to her, of course.

"Well, nice to meet you, Cochise," Arsenio said simply, feeling much better knowing they both knew each other's names now. Somehow that comforted him — he wasn't running around with a total stranger. He just hoped that no one would catch them on their jaunt around the Mountains. That would be the last thing Arsenio wanted on his plate right now, being in trouble for showing a Tribe wolf around.

Setting off for a few steps and looking around the sloping landscape around him, he replied, "Um, there aren't too many actual spots to go, really. How 'bout I take you on a route that goes along the two Mountains — the route that has the most views." Giving a smile to her, growing steadily less suspecting (that was short-lived), he bounded up a few paces, not looking back to make sure the Hó’nehe wolf was following.

He didn't talk much (or at all) as they steadily rose up the Lower Nova Mountain until he reached a ledge quite near the top. It was too procarious to go up to the very top at this time of the year (the snow was trecherous), so this was the safest spot. Plopping down his timber-ish butt for a rest, he looked out over the Valley contentedly, smiling. The sun was fleeing from them, and Arsenio didn't plan to stick around for long up here. Simply saying, "Here's the view from the top of the Lower Nova Mountain. I favor the higher one, though, so let's keep movin'."

He once again started off down the slope, being more careful while going down. Soon enough they were at the place where the two peaks converged into a small valley. He paused there, looking back to his company. "Doin' all right back there?" he asked, trying not to be a complete slave driver.

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Cochise had little problem keeping up with the youngster and even from the view of the lower Novian mountain, she could spy out just a thin sliver of the Hó’nehe lands. However from the upper ridges of the higher peak, she couldn't even see it for the haze. Afterward, she had fallen behind to formulate up questions and so on to give him, because otherwise her trip would have been wasted. There was a chance that he could have been the Me'ko, despite being so young.

His voice however, withdrew her from her reverie, and the black wolf looked up from the ground and for a moment locked her gold eyes with his. Yes, quite fine. Thank you for asking, she said, slightly impressed that he was considerate enough to have noticed her lagging speed. With that notion in mind, Cochise sped up and trailed him closer. Close enough that they could converse without being overheard. How long have you lived here, Arsenio? she asked, truthfully curious about the young boy.

Though she seemed tired, Cochise wasn't willing to stop or give up. Arsenio liked her perserverance. It must've been hard traversing such different lands in such a short period of time.

Pausing for only a second as he continued to walk up the taller Nova Mountain, he replied with set words, having answered this much-asked question many times before, "For most of my life. I when I was born, my mom lived in the Gold Moon Forest pack," he paused walking for a moment, craning his neck over the lands and finding the green blob that was the forest. He indicated it to Cochise. "That was over there. Eventually, after a month or two, my mom moved here to be with my dad and I've lived here ever since."

He resumed walking, scaling the Mountain with extrodinary speed. When he reached as high as he dared to go on the wintery peak, which was a good bit higher than where they were on the Lower mountain, he paused again. "And this would be the extrodinary view from the higher peak," he said with a smile. Giving her plenty of enough time to look out, he then said, "We best be getting going if we hope to get back down before it gets dark." The trek would become much more dangerous for her if it got dark, and the sunlight was draining from the sky...

Moving at a greater pace than before, he led her down where they had come, going around the Lower Nova Mountain instead of over it. When he arrived near where they had started, but deeper into the territory, he said, "Well, that's Nova Mountain in a nutshell for you."

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And your parents? Do they live here as well? Cochise asked, wondering if for some reason he could have been the son of the Saqui. Highly possible, she figured because there weren't many puppies. Or perhaps that said Me'ko wasn't a child at all. Then again, Arsenio wasn't really a child, was he? She figured that he was closer to a yearling which could have made him easily her own, and very easily a Saqui.

But, she could have been wrong. And yes, the view. Rather beautiful, she commented despite being partly breathless from that lack of oxygen that was there. The entire valley seems to also be rather beautiful as well. It made Cochise very curious, as really this may as well have been the first time that she had chosen to go out beyond the tunnel, away from the tribe's lands.

"They live here too, as our Beta — er, Proconsul — pair. My dad's name is Tobin Phase and my mom's name is Siaqi. My brother lives here too, Tantamount." He supplied the rather personal information without hesitation, to the point that he caught himself and then warned himself to be more careful. Though not acting any different, he eventually settled down for rest a whiles away from the borders, knowing that the perilous parts of the journey were done for, and sure that Cochise could make her way back in the dark.

"The Valley is really beautiful — I like to explore it most've every day," the puppy said simply, smiling at all the sights he had seen and people he had met on his journeys that had started when he was at the tender age of four months. "I've been in the Tribe's lands, too. They're very pretty." He paused, catching himself and quickly adding, "Someone let me see them! Her name was... Seot'a, I b'lieve.."

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Phase? Cochise blinked dumbly for a moment and realised that he wasn't the one that she wanted. Drat, the medic thought bitterly and closely came to a stop aside the youth. It was getting late anyway, and she sought to head back to the tribelands eventually. Yes, they fit right in with the rest of the Valley, I suppose. she said with a smile. Pride of course told her that they were the best lands for a pack around.

She looked skyward for a moment, and then rolled her shoulders back in a tired momentum. Well, I suppose I should head back to the tribe, Cochise said as though she almost didn't want to go. She wanted to continue her search but it could wait. Everything was about waiting, and she was often tired of waiting. I'm sure that they've wondered where their medic has gone to, so. Hopefully we'll meet again on good graces, she said as she went on her way, although over her shoulder she threw in a Naase, Arsenio!