Moonspear we were always so damn insecure

howling for leadership... @Hydra @Charon @Amekaze

how she'd ended up where she was now was... quite frankly, a mystery. corinna had wandered for days with no social interaction. in fact, she hadn't run into a single wolf since that harley lady a while back. but that was fine, truthfully, since the less she stopped to chat with others the closer she got to her goal. her goal of what, exactly? still that same darned vague thing-- find something, find anything.

and, well, would you know it. corinna found something. she'd spotted this bad boy a while back, and it was simply one of the most breathtaking things she'd ever seen. corinna was a forest wolf-- she came from a forest. the cover was nice and she enjoyed the smell of the leaves-- especially the pine needles. but a mountain? why, she'd never lived on a mountain before... and more importantly, she'd never lived on a mountain this gorgeous before. 

perhaps, corinna thought wishfully, this was what she was looking for. and so, a ways back from the borders (because her mother taught her right, thank you), she tilted her head back and let out a lovely howl, ready to wow this establishment with all that she had to offer, which was, of course, herself.

She had never seen large flying shapes like the ones from just a few days prior. Whatever they had been, one top of all else, they had bothered her and put her guards up. This had her placed nearby the mountain's base when the pleasant voice rose up, but Ame's nerves still gave a wary rankle at the thought of strangers in wintertime, and right now when she could hardly trust some of her own, let alone the random passerbys.

Still, she was around and had nothing better to do at the moment, so she would go answer the call for the leadership. While there, she'd have to find out more before she would make up her mind--but this was without knowing what the stranger really wanted yet. Ame found the lightly-coated wolfess in good time and descended the mountain toward her, swift and sure-footed.

When spotted, she arced her tail and looked expectantly upon her, a pretty flaxen yearling. "You called?" she clipped once closer.

the lady who greeted her was a kind of beautiful corinna had trouble placing. she was strong but elegant, and carried herself in way that simply demanded respect-- corinna respected her for that alone, for it was hard to master that look. she was stark and stoic, steady voiced and standing tall. corinna did not crumble beneath her-- that would be cowardly-- though she would be on the ground in seconds if the woman asked her too. and so but the young yearling dropped to a respectful postition with a deep bow of her crown, avoiding eye contact as that was the most respectful thing to do. 

"your home is lovely," corinna said, and as was she, "i am a naturalist, and a healer-- my skills lie with the earth and sky, and if you'll let me i would love a place among your ranks." she raised slightly so the lady could get a better look at her. "my name is corinna," she added-- for that was important as anything else.

The alpha watched her react, adjust, and from the start, at least she had the courtesy to begin with something that Ame could agree on: a compliment towards her home, and proof enough that she had the better sense to notice, as well as appreciate it. She didn't ease off the rigidity of her expression just yet, but did not suggest anything more intense than such right here right now. A start. A small one. Instead she nodded her silent thanks, happy to at least be in the company of someone of good taste.

Another plus followed. A naturalist, of the sky and earth, all delivered neatly and spearheading into an unexpected point that kept this short and sweet. They had just bled out a notable chunk of their membership, leaving a lot of niches opened these days, and she liked being able to nurture (and learn alongside) naturalists here..  plus a healer may have something Lyra could gain from.

But, suspicions were at a height here. New blood had the potential to work well for them.. almost as much as they had the chance to abandon at a moment's notice as well. Despite this, Ame's ears softened their tilt, phasing very gently towards less demand, more curiosity. She glanced her over again, savoring a blink and quickly back to consideration. Without much prompting, it seemed she already had much of the information she would need; all of her typical questions were already answered.

"This is Moonspear." As always, it was first, but clearly hers. "I am Amekaze. Where did you come from before here?" she asked, looking to suss out any baggage that could be on her heels, or distractions to lure her away one day. The fewer, the better.

corinna dipped her head. "it's a pleasure, ma'am," she said softly, and it truly was, for corinna still firmly believed that this woman-- amekaze-- was among the most elegant faes she'd ever laid her eyes upon. 

"south," she then said, nose twitching as she thought about the relevance of exact location-- surely the alphess had never heard of it. "far south," she tacked on, raising a paw, "i was a litter of one-- and my mother was strict with me, had something to do with my elder sisters, but when she passed there was nothing left for me in the pack." was that oversharing? possibly, but corinna lacked boundaries when it came to topics like this. she was an open book, refusing to carry herself with any kind of shame or regret. and besides, corinna had never joined a pack before... merely watched others try to join into their ranks previously, and so she didn't know the exact guidelines to pack joining. she just, well, assumed that it'd be good to be honest and open-- right?

The loner answered her neatly enough and didn't give her anything to argue with. Not even with a fuse so short, Amekaze couldn't earnestly fault her, details and all. She just nodded slowly as south meant little, and it did not sound like a shady situation to her. "Here, loyalty to is me and my family." A hard expression left no doubts that they would enforce this if needed, but neither did she think it was particularly strict--she enjoyed letting her wolves have their freedoms, their selves.. so long as her and hers were fed and safe, she was happy to nurture like-minded sorts who could handle the mountain.. and the Ostregas that inhabited it. "If yours is, you may have a home with us." She kept it simple, and should she mind herself, she may do alright among them.

"I like naturalists here," she said a little lighter, assuming she might accept the opportunity. They were short two now, after all, and as a pack not afraid of a fight, she didn't doubt a medic could have something to do among them. "And we have room for now." thanks to their recent purge and them soon to be in particular need of decent sorts as she receded to rear her pups.

"my allegiance would be to you and yours only," came corinna's warm reply. it was true-- though corinna was typically a free bird, she was searching for a home, and if this was truly it well.. she was happy to stay! happy to do whatever she needed to do to stay. suddenly intrigued at this amekaze's next comment, corinna perked up a bit. "are you a naturalist?" she asked with a petite tilt of her head. that would be exciting! corinna loved to study the natural world, she learned plenty from her sister back home, but perhaps corinna could learn more from this woman. 

"well," corinna said softly with another modest dip of her head, "i'd be honored to be a part of your pack."

Over all the years she had overseen by now, she knew wolves came and went as part of the natural flow of things. She even encouraged freedoms as a pack wolf, so long as they were able. She'd never fault that, or the urge to move on entirely, by basis of it alone. That was one thing, while circumstance was another. She no longer knew to expect undying loyalty until the end—not that Corinna made her doubt her in any way, but it was in her overall sentiment towards this all that so long as they were still here, she wanted them to run true to her. The whole debacle with the mess of them that had left only hardened her heart on this, further confirming what she believed in for Moonspear. Especially right now, she'd tolerate less and less.

"Good," she said, and swayed her tail more now, although gentle was still not any of her adjectives yet. Corinna was only a half-step up from stranger. This was all very fresh still.. and much of her true impression would come in handling the pack and its lands. But her ears did twitch to the question, and she was quick to a nod. "I am.. and so is my mate Charon. Some of our offspring have an interest too. Another is a healer, as well.." she opted to mention. Earlier in the week, this had been an even longer list before it was whittled down to just her family now. As for the real weighty matter, however: "Then welcome. I think you may like it here. Wait until it greens up, too." Finally, a little less icy.. she hoped another naturalist would agree as she gestured her muzzle up towards the rest of the peak. While winter had its beauties, Amekaze was done with it and especially so if she had puppies to be had. She had been doing all of her best to put the energy of spring soon into everything. 

ah! and so this was home, finally. corinna's head bowed thankfully as amekaze officially welcomed her, her ringed tail sweeping low at her hocks with joy. "i will have to meet your children, then, i'm sure we have plenty to learn from one another," corinna replied sweetly, happy to be a part of something. and something so gorgeous! oh she was thrilled. she stepped over cautiously to exchange scents with the alphess-- as she'd always been told to do-- head low and nose twitching curiously. she could already tell, she'd love it here.

Easily enough, Corinna took to it well and made her job simple. She nudged against the younger wolf's shoulder, then stepped forward past her towards the territory to invite her in with her. Ame could give her a little start, but she still had patrol to finish, so she wasn't getting a guided tour all the way up here and now. "I am sure," she agreed. They had niches to fill, certainly, and with her daughters and son in mind first and foremost, Amekaze was feeling a little picky about who they would even welcome.. but she saw the definite worth in it after what had happened. Fresh blood to help them move past all that funk, too.

"Charon is my mate. Another daughter, Hydra, is our beta," she briefed simply enough as she stepped along, urging her towards a well-worn route aiming past the worst of the thick woods and up to where the mountain eased itself. Amekaze never felt overly inclined to be too generous with the information to new-newcomers, but these were important basics to skim over as she introduced the foot of the mountain to her.

Unless prompted otherwise, she would offer up a few other vague Moonspear principles afterwards, and besides a howl to tell the pack about their newest recruit officially, all was essentially said and done here for right now.