He was realizing he would not last long. Not out here. And he still had a task for himself to complete, to find the one that had wronged him in the past. But Runion needed a place to hang low, perhaps strengthen a bond to a group, a pack in case plans went wrong. So when he came to some borders, he howled out ofr anyone in the pack that wished to greet him, and in hopes he could talk business with them.
Patrolling the border had become a daily habit for Brynn, especially since Valette's pups were born. At this point, walking the borders, looking for danger, and leaving territorial markers had become somewhat of a routine for her.
When she heard the unfamiliar howl at the border, she froze, ears and tail up, and whipped around to face the direction it had come from. It was close, so without a second thought, she headed towards the sound. When she reached the unknown wolf, she stopped a short distance from him and with her tail up, she sniffed the air briefly before asking,
"Can I help you?" It appeared she was the first one here and assumed that
@Valette and
@Stark must have been further away than she had been and had just not made it here yet.
Runion found that someone came and found him. He dipped his head down in a nod to greet her. He held a friendly, passive stance as she approached the border and paused there. "Just happened by this pack, looking in this land of opportunities" he answered back, with a friendly smile.
Valette was usually busy with her children but today she had left them in the care of someone else. The female was confident of her pack mates helping her and helping her well at that. The alpha female heard the howl however, she was quite far away. She did make haste to go to the border. It sounded like a new recruit. The female remembered the family they turned away and hoped it wouldn't be a case like that.
Valette noticed that Brynn was already there. She was glad for it. The female approached with her tail and head lifted. It was clear that the female was in charge with how she carried herself. The female glanced at the male before greeting Brynn. She then focussed on the male once more. "Hello. I'm Valette. Leader here," she introduced.
Brynn's eyes tracked the male's every movement. Nothing about his body language seemed aggressive, but she remained wary of him. He was a stranger at their border and although he appeared to mean no harm, she couldn't be sure of his true intentions.
She was about to inquire further into his motives, but she heard the approach of footsteps and turned just as Valette came walking up. She nodded a quick greeting to her alpha and remained silent and watching as Valette introduced herself to the stranger.
Runion knew even more so, the one before him was not in charge when the one who was definitely in charge came by. He shifted his gaze between the two, then back to the alpha to answer to her greeting. "Runion. A loner looking for a place to set up a life, and willing to repay" the male greeted back. Runion was usually a straight to the point type.
"I can fight if you need a fighter. Hunt if you need a hunter." He had also looked after pups, but he was sure they would not trust someone new around pups.
Valette thought Brynn would vouch for the male but as she stayed silent Valette realized that Brynn might not know this male as well. The female kept her stature and listened to the male. Valette thought about the family she denied. They had a lot of members and she was not sure if a lone male would help. He promoted himself as very versatile.
"Hi Runion. This is Easthollow. We are quite reaching our limits with the number of wolves we can handle," she explained. With 16 normal members, she and Stark leading and three youngsters they had a lot of members. "I would advise you to maybe go to Morningside or Bearclaw Valley if you are in need of a pack," she spoke with a dip of her head. "If you truly want to be in our ranks you will have to prove yourself," Valette explained calmly. She would probably give the male an assignment to do if he was set on joining them.
Has been given permission to skip
Runion thought it over. If they had large numbers he would no doubt be put to the side. Which he could understand, those there longer were priority. And he was a risk taker, joining would be a risk. He would need to earn his place, as Valette, leader of Easthollow explained to him.
"Well, I am all ears. Name a task, I shall see to it" he said, fully contempt with taking on a much needed challenge.
"Unless it's a bear that needs fighting" he added, with a bit of a humorous smile.
Valette dipped her head when the loner was accepting her task. The female shook her head when he told her that he wouldn't want to fight a bear. Valette would not be unreasonable. "You said that you were a hunter, so I'd like you to bring me a caught meal," she explained. She didn't tell him what she expected him to hunt as she wanted to see what the other male would be able to bring in on his own. "Once you return you can call for me and I will assess if you did your task well."
Do you want me to put up a new thread for his return? And I did a roll in tabletop for what he gets, a large hare I don't think will add up for much
Runion heard no laugh, so he assumed now was not the time for any humor. Her task, a simple one; Bring back a meal. It should not be too hard for him to find something. Runion gave a curt, short nod.
"Give me a day, I'll be back then." He had no idea what he would find, but he hoped to himself it would be something good. Something small, like a squirrel would simply not do, no doubt.
Yes! Works for me!
Valette gave one curt nod. "Alright," she agreed. She didn't want to give the other a time limit but the male just gave himself one. The female stood there until the male would leave. Then Valette turned to Brynn and thanked her for watching the borders so closely. She always appreciated it when members would help with the border and talk to loners before she would get there. It usually gave her a second opinion on the wolf's character.
- end -
Brynn watched as the male accepted his task and left. She thought Valette's idea of giving him a task was a good one. Plus, if he proved an able hunter, she would happy to have more hunting partners.
She smiled at Valette's thanks. "Gad to," she said before giving her quick parting nod. She had only patrolled half of her usual route before she was interrupted by the stranger, and she wouldn't be able to rest until she finished it.
It was all in agreement, and so he was off. Off an another venture, to seek a meal he would present to the alpha of the pack. What it would be, he did not know. But soon enough, he would as he wandered off to find the food he was tasked with.
I can get it up tomorrow!