Redhawk Caldera Wandering the Winds(Ic Joining )

OOC: Hello *waves*. Been a while since I've played a wolf so excuse any derps.

There was something on the wind. Skull rose to meet it and the man breathed deeply. Samples of scent wafted deep into his nasal cavity, but two stood out clear to him. One was the scent belonging to a group of wolves.. a pack. The other was oddly familiar in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on. It seemed to belong to one of the pack members. Interesting.

He blinked, dropping his skull to a relaxed position. Before him, soaring from the plains, was a rise. A base of a cone, it was sheered off near its bottom to form a bowl within. There a lake sheltered among jagged rocks. For a long moment he just studied the caldera, taking in the rugged beauty. Then godfrey took about seven sure steps until he hovered near the invisible line between wilds and a home. His lips pursed in an o and his head raised so his muzzle pointed to the heavens. A howl, politely summoning the alphas, rang out.

It had been quick decision but the man had chosen to join this place. Well, if he could. It seemed interesting and perhaps he could figure out why one of the members felt familiar.

Hi! I'm not an Alpha, but one of them will pop in after a few rounds. :)

Normally, Elwood wouldn't have answered a howl that wasn't intended for him, but he happened to be nearby when the stranger's call went up. Knowing that Fox and Peregrine could be busy with a number of things (including each other!), he took a detour from his planned course and made a beeline for the unfamiliar wolf.

He assessed his companion upon approach, noting his stocky build. The male appeared to be able bodied, with a healthy coat comprised of mostly brown hues. He seemed to be waiting patiently for a response, so there was no need for Elwood to demonstrate any aggression. Instead, the Gamma -- the highest ranking wolf below the leaders -- kept his head and tail at a moderately high level and regarded the loner with a relatively friendly countenance. All the while, however, he kept Fox's instructions in the back of his mind and remained wary. "Can I help you?" he asked, pausing a few feet within the pack's boundaries.

OOC: Nifty. Nice to meet ya :D

The wind played softly over his ruff, but it did not cut through his thick coat. Today was certainly brisk and the rain had been unpleasant. Right now though, there was a brief break in the weather. It allowed him to shake off the moisture that clung to him. Now only slightly damp, the male could wait for as long as it took for his call to be answered.

Thankfully though he hardly had to wait at all.

A stranger appeared, the scent of the local pack wrapped tight around the gray wolfs bodice. The man inhaled, memorizing the man's particular scent. It also helped settle his nerves which stiffened his movements. His head dipped and his tail tucked. As a loner all and any wolf that approached him was his superior. He would not grovel if he did not have to(it left him too exposed) but he was sure to show proper respect. His ears pinned back jerkily, an afterthought. It had been far too long since he had been part of any sort of social structure aside from that of his mother and sister. They had been part of a pack when he was young but they had left once he and his sibling were able to help hunt.

Then he struck out on his own. Which led him to this situation now. A sheepish smile painted his lips and he blinked to acknowledge the question. It took him a moment to find his voice. "I uh was hoping to join." he said, his voice wavering before becoming solid at the end. Curse his tongue which whimpered at strangers.

*lurks*

Peregrine heard the howl and began to make his way toward his territory's periphery, climbing down from the caldera's rugged lip. En route, he glanced out over the sprawling view and watched as Elwood appeared to intercept the stranger. Rather than feel annoyed by the Gamma's interference, the Alpha male appreciated his initiative. He really might make a good Beta male someday. Certainly, he was already well on his way to earning his Guardian title.

The swarthy leader melted down the slope like a shadow, then perched on a small outcropping perhaps a dozen feet above the caldera's foot. Screened by brush, he leaned forward. He could hear snippets of the conversation from here but, much more importantly, he could read both males' body language. He could tell a lot from that. Peregrine watched and waited, observing Elwood as he handled the interloper.

Unaware of Peregrine's presence above and behind them, Elwood focused all of his attention on the stranger. He noted the brief hesitation, but also was appreciative of the deference that the wolf showed. His ears pricked forward, listening as the soft-spoken male expressed an interest in joining the pack.

"Well, you've come to the right place," Elwood quipped with a wave of his tail. Perhaps he had a different approach than Fox or Peregrine would; it could have been attributed to his personality or to his inexperience in guardianship. As long as this lone wolf wasn't posing a threat, he saw no reason to make him feel more nervous than he obviously already was. "This is Redhawk Caldera. I'm Elwood," he continued, using his snout to gesture at the mountain behind him, then asked, "What could you contribute to our pack? And what's your name?"

The dark wraith of a leader above went unnoticed by the newcomer. Instead his entire focus was on the man before him. There was no other path of action for him, particularly when he had to focus to keep from making a fool of himself.

As it was this one was friendly. The smile on his lips became a little less self conscious when the Gamma returned his friendly manner. He nodded, acknowledging the words. His ears pricked when the name of both the territory and the stranger before him came up. They quickly fell respectfully down again. However it allowed him to catch the words far more clearly and make it a lot easier to commit them to memory. There was a pause before the man spoke again. Damned nerves.

"I'm Godfrey Savoy." he said quietly but without the waver this time. Go him. There was a pause again, though this one was so he could consider what he would say instead of nerves. "I'm strong and able bodied. Can hunt and fight. Nothing particularly spectacular but I'm willing to work at it so I can be better. " he said, his voice growing marginally louder the longer they talked. Nothing bad had happened. Nothing to give him a reason to spiral back into nervousness so his confidence was growing. "Might take a while to warm up but I don't make trouble." he finished, his voice now at a proper conversational level. Wahoo.

Peregrine silently approved of Elwood's line of questioning, then settled in and held his breath to better hear the answers. The last name immediately triggered recognition; was he related to Siv, then? The Alpha male almost popped out of the brush to ask, yet held still. Strong, able-bodied, hunt, fight, work... these were words he liked to hear. And the only words he really caught.

Godfrey said something about warming up but Peregrine didn't quite catch it. He shifted quietly, waiting to see what else the Gamma might think to ask the newcomer. Surely he was expecting Peregrine (or Fox) to show up any minute now and the swarthy leader was preparing to show himself soon. He wanted to give Elwood the fullest opportunity to flex his Warden muscles, though.

Elwood was pleased to see that his efforts were paying off. The other wolf visibly relaxed, reassured by the Gamma's pleasant demeanor. He introduced himself with first and last name, but Elwood wasn't acquainted enough with Siv to make the connection between the two -- he had only met and hunted with her once. So he simply nodded, and listened as Godfrey elaborated on his skills.

The chocolate male reminded Elwood a lot of himself upon his arrival -- there was nothing exceptional about him, but he had strengths to offer to the pack and was willing to continue to learn and improve. He knew that Peregrine was a fan of hunters and guardians, in particular, so Godfrey quickly earned himself some points. Elwood noticed that Godfrey seemed to be gaining confidence as he spoke, which he attributed to his statement about "warming up."

"Well, hunters are always welcome here," he said, "especially with the cold season coming. Our Alphas are Fox and Peregrine -- I'm sure one or both of them are on their way. They may have a few additional questions for you." Elwood tipped his head back and gave a short, muted howl, much lower than Godfrey's original call; just a reinforcement that a leader was needed. Little did he know that Peregrine was nearby, just waiting to make his entrance.

Sorry to skip you, Saph, but I thought this would make more sense and give you more material for your reply. :)

They exchanged a few more words, then it seemed it was finally time for Peregrine to reveal himself. Moving like a black panther, he hopped down from his ledge and trotted down the last few yards to the caldera's base. He loped toward the pair, head held high and tail waving in the air. Unless Godfrey was a numbskull—which he already doubted, from observing him—he would recognize the Alpha male when he saw him.

"Hello, fellas," he drawled. "I was spying on you," he said with a small smirk and a lash of his tail. "Thanks for coming so promptly and getting the interview out of the way, Elwood," he said to his Gamma, giving the gray yearling a nudge to the shoulder. Turning to Godfrey, he added, "I heard enough to feel comfortable accepting you into our ranks. Prove yourself and you will rise; fail to do so and you will find yourself without a home." His dusky eyes flashed, driving his point home.

A bit more conversationally, Peregrine asked, "Now, tell me, are you a relative of Siv's...?"

OOC: No worries. And Godfrey doesn't know he's related to siv- just thought she smelled somewhat familiar XD

His grin faded a touch as the Gamma spoke. Not because the words were too many for his nervous ears but because he was focusing on them. Nothing particularly ground breaking but he didn't want to mess everything up. It would not do well for him to miss advice or orders. No sir, he was going to get this pack thing right.

Speaking of pack things a male was headed towards him. Godfrey watched a moment, gauging things. Then his head dipped lower and averted his gaze. This confident soul had to be the Alpha no? It seemed like a sound theory to him. The dark creature's tail was held high and the head was proud. Far higher than the man beside him. Not that, as far as Godfrey could tell, Elwood wasn't high ranked. Just not the boss man.

A blink answered the spying comment, a swallow chasing it down. He wasn't entirely sure he was fond of the spying but didn't voice that opinion. Wasn't appropriate. Still, he supposed as the Alpha congratulated the other wolf, the directness was nice. He hated when someone beat around the bush. Get it out or say it to him straight but never ever let it fester. Ugh grudges.. grudges were no.
The smile returned when the Alpha accepted him, though it was a little more tentative than the one offered to the gamma. The whole new folks thing was per wolf. "Yes sir." he confirmed softly, but clearly. No wavering here.

He blinked and his head turned to his side. Lips pursed softly a moment before relaxing into a sort of aha expression. Perhaps this Siv was who he smelled? "Uh no... but my father got around a lot. " he explained. There was a quick glance towards the dark male, asking if he could relax. He had a bit of a crick in his neck at this point.

Almost as soon as Elwood had finished calling for an Alpha, Peregrine arrived on the scene. He came from behind them, having descended from the peak, and Elwood took a step back, bobbing his head by way of nonverbal greeting as Peregrine pushed his snout against his shoulder. He wasn't necessarily surprised to hear that the swarthy leader had been observing the interaction between his subordinate and the newcomer, and the thought brought a smile to his face.

He was pleased, of course, to hear that Peregrine approved of the conversation he had initiated with Godfrey. It was another step towards earning his title as warden. For now, the Gamma sank into the background, allowing Peregrine to take over. Godfrey seemed a bit more nervous in the presence of the Alpha, though he answered Peregrine's questions readily.

Godfrey's answer made Peregrine want to laugh, yet he pressed his lips together tightly. "Ah," he said after swallowing the urge, "well, I can see a bit of a resemblance, so you may want to seek her out." That was entirely up to the new Kappa, though, and the Alpha male didn't deign to force an encounter.

"Well, I'll let Elwood show you around. Make a point of meeting everyone, particularly my mate and Alpha female, Fox, and our Beta, Finley. I'm sure I'll seek you out soon to get to know you a bit better. 'Til then." The swarthy male dipped his snout, exchanged a nod with Elwood, then actually trotted away from the caldera, intent on doing some tracking and hunting in the surrounding territories.

OOC: Would you prefer the showing around to happen ICLY(if so in this thread or elsewhere) or OCCLY?

The new member of the Crater nodded, a weak sardonic smile on his lips. "I will." he confirmed. The man was curious about his new family member. He had known his father slept around- his mother had said as much. Had he actually encountered one of said progeny? Nope. It would be neat to have a new sister to perhaps help fill the hole left by leaving the other behind.

Another bob of his head and another confirmation "Yes sir." His gaze watched the swarthy alpha disappear outside the crater. Then it fell on the young Gamma. "If you would?"

I'll start us a separate thread and tag you! :)

Elwood was curious about the potential relationship between Godfrey and Siv; Peregrine had made the connection so quickly, and though Godfrey was unable to confirm that Siv was actually his kin, the Alpha urged him to meet her sooner rather than later. What a coincidence it would be if he had come to a pack where a member of his family already lived! If only they could all be so lucky...Avery's face swam briefly across Elwood's mind, but he shook his head and refocused on the present.

Peregrine encouraged him to give Godfrey a tour of the territory, and the Gamma readily agreed. "Thanks, Peregrine," he called after the leader, watching as he departed and headed for neutral territory. Elwood would have been concerned, had he not known Peregrine a bit better; the Alpha wasn't one to leave his own land very often, and when he did, it was usually for hunting purposes.

Turning to Godfrey, Elwood said, "You can follow me. I'll show you a bit of the territory. Welcome to the pack, by the way." He smiled, then pivoted and led the way into the trees, trusting that Godfrey would follow him.