Heron Lake Plateau is meatball an fruit

They arrived at their destination soaked to the skin from a cold, driving rain. It had tapered away to a gentle drizzle now, though Bat's teeth chattered hard enough that it made her huge ears wobble. She pressed closer to @Tegan as they drew up near an impressive mesa. The wetness heightened her sense of smell and she found herself swamped with scents of a dozen or more wolves. Despite her chill, her heart beat faster with excitement. After a long, adventurous road, they had finally made it to the Redhawks.

Tegan probably wished he could drop her off here and go deliver his message to @Caiaphas. Bat wondered if he might still do that. She hoped he stayed, though. They were attached at the hip now, after all. He had told her about her Aunt @Raven and Uncle @Quixote and she combed the nearby incline for any signs of the two black wolves. She knew there was also another leader (or maybe even two) but Bat really hoped she would get to meet the Alphas firsthand today.

It didn't immediately occur to the youngster that they wouldn't simply appear as if by magic, that instead she or Tegan should send up a summons. Bat simply stood there, dripping and shivering with both cold and excitement, eyes wide as she continued to admire the plateau's breadth.

OOC: mobile! Wanted to get a post in. I'll edit formatting later.

-------------

There was no summoning howl, but Ceara arrived all the same.  She had been on a patrol (as she usually was) when Tegan and Bat had arrived, and as soon as she saw two forms approaching on the horizon she set out to meet them.

She was surprised to see Tegan, as she hadn't even noticed he'd left, but even more surprised was she to see the child at his side.

She raised a brow and said nothing as they approached, and she hoped they had an explanation; preferably one that meant this child wasn't a poor sad orphan.

against logic, a small part of the siren queen hoped tegan would return with her family; so that they might be magically reunited, and all the sorrow and hardships they endured erased clean. 

fate held no such folly in its heart, and stared back; the form of two young silhouettes etched against the skyline. 

caiaphas’ heart fluttered, for her mind leapt at once to the thought of one of her lost babes being returned to her — yet as she strode forward their figures became more visible, and hope withered in the siren’s eyes. 

the child was not Rhakios or Ephraim or Illidan, though she was of similar age — but an adolescent charcoal girl with outrageously disproportionate ears. the sylph halted alongside fire abruptly, her lips pursed in a thin line as she looked around for explaination. where had this whelp sprung from — and more importantly what had Tegan learned of the Sound?

"i'll do the talking-- at first, then you gotta hold your own ground, and i can't help you out," tegan had warned bat, remembering his experience with easy. no way no how was he gonna let that happen again, even though every ounce of his fuckass body was ready to interject any conversation-- especially if it benefitted him. 

when they arrived at the borders, tegan would've summoned everyone but i didn't have enough time to post before others did :L so tegan too just stood there like a doofus, probably hyping bat up for what was to come. 

first, his cousin arrived, and then his old-bat-like queen herself. "hey, ceara," he said, dipping his head in acknowledgement, "this is rory-- raven's niece, i met her on the way to the sound." he gave bat a quick glance, a quick reminder to mind her own manners... even though no one here was leadership. and also to explain why she was here. 

meanwhile, he looked again to caiaphas, ears flicking. "i'm-- sorry, caiaphas, i didn't find your family," he said, gaze dimming, "but i did find another wolf, she claimed to know you-- her name was rosalyn." 

Bat's full-grown, just for reference! :)

If Tegan hadn't already described Raven to her, Bat might've thought the she-wolf who appeared must be her aunt; her coat looked quite a lot like Wildfire's. For this very reason, the youngster shifted uncertainly. Another wolf appeared before Bat could dwell on the uncanny resemblance too much, her coat so striking that Bat stared openly for a beat before remembering to avert and lower her gaze appropriately.

They were Ceara and Caiaphas, according to the way Tegan addressed them in turn. Bat's ears pricked at the latter name, recognizing it, of course, from the mission. As her companion relayed the information he had learned from Rosalyn, Bat kept shooting quick glances at the two new (to her) Redhawks. The uneasiness caused by Ceara's pelt quickly gave way to curiosity and interest in what would hopefully be future comrades.

Although it seemed a little awkward to interrupt Tegan's tale, Bat took advantage of a brief pause to chime in, "It's nice to meet you," and then elaborated a bit on her friend's introduction by adding, "Wildfire is my mother—well, one of them. Um." Her mind blanked suddenly and Bat mentally fumbled for a moment before remembering the introduction she'd rehearsed. "She gave me her blessing to move here to be Tegan's apprentice. He," she continued, giving Tegan a playful jab with her elbow, "says there's room for me, if my Aunt Raven and Uncle Quixote could use another scout."

The brief contact with her friend's warmth went a long way to settle her unexpected nerves. Bat said nothing more, yet offered a winsome smile. She felt confident in her debut, although she knew she would probably have to repeat herself for the Alphas. That was absolutely fine; this was good practice.

Oh, sorry!  She's five months old so I figure she would still have at least some recognizable "youth" features even if she is full-grown since she is still five months old, so I'm going to operate on that unless it's an issue.  :)

The youth's uneasiness was almost palpable, but it seemed as if she was able to push it down.  Ceara admired this trait, especially since it reminded her a bit of herself.  It seemed as if some of Tegan's mannerisms were rubbing off on her, though, and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes and groan.  Another Tegan was the last thing that they needed running around, even if she found his antics amusing... imagine what trouble the two of them could get into?

No matter.  The name Wildfire cause Ceara's ears to prick forward, given the resemblance to her own name, and she smiles easily.  Hey, Teg.  Hey, Rory.  People already joke about how many scouts we get here, but I don't see any reason we couldn't use another.

At the news of Caiaphas' family her gaze drops, and she offers a respectable moment of silence.

caiaphas had hoped for news of her family -- instead, she got news of her --- what was rosalyn? nemesis? enemy? frenemy?

tegan had finished speaking, yet the slate she-wolf alongside him spoke in his absence. she watched the girl hawkishly, wondering whence she had come; was she a wolf of the coast, stolen from ironsea? or perhaps stolen from the cliffs above where her family had made her home? the girl didn't say, and caiaphas could not place the name wildfire -- little did she know she had encountered bat's dam years before.

bat was not excluded from caiaphas' hungry stare, which prowled right over her with a strange, near-malevolent will as she digested the news tegan shared. why had rosalyn been at the sound? the idea of it caused caiaphas great discomfiture, but she smoothly hid it and welcomed the distraction of fire's speech.

for a while caiaphas was silent, but there was a palpable unhappiness brewing about her, and her facade was beginning to slip. "that is too bad. why was rosalyn there?" masterfully, the urgency caiaphas felt was hidden, but all the same she leaned forward for tegan's response, her hawkish yellow gaze now resting upon him fully.

tegan snorted playfully at fire. "it's not that many-- and i'm the only good one anyway," he teased, blissfully unaware that caiaphas was a scout and comparatively her wisdom and age would probably fuck his brains out in a scouting competition. "but-- lemme call the crew," he said anyhow, sending up a call for @Niamh , @Quixote , and/or @Raven . 

humming thoughtfully, tegan shrugged. "she didn't say, but it sounded like she'd been staying there for a bit," he told her, feeling comfortably hot and bothered beneath her gorgeous, gleaming yellow gaze. he was so intimidated, he might've fallen in love.

Quixote wasn't too horribly far away, so he showed up on the scene not too long after the howl.  There was quite a gathering here.  Huh.  Was this about that young stranger?  But if so, how the heck did everyone else get such a head start on him?   Had he missed a howl?  His gaze skimmed across everyone's expressions as he asked, So what did I miss and who's this?

If this was Tegan bringing in another potential joiner, maybe this one would actually stick around.  Or not.  Eh.  There'd been a few people who had joined and left fairly shortly after so he didn't think too highly of anyone -- until they actually stuck around for a few months, why would he count on them for anything?

Ceara's first comment caused Bat to glance over at Tegan. He playfully rebuffed it and Bat's attention returned to the fiery woman. Despite her resemblance to Wildfire (or perhaps because of it), the youngster found herself warming to the woman. She felt welcomed.

Caiaphas didn't seem particularly interested in the potential recruit, though Bat didn't take it personally. There were two orders of business at hand here. Speaking of which, another figure glided onto the scene and Bat could only guess this was Quixote. She bowed her head and lowered her eyes, similar to how she might've done for Heda. That passing thought caused a pang in her chest, though Bat quickly quashed it.

For a beat, Bat wondered if Tegan would jump to introduce her. But his words—"then you gotta hold your own ground and I can't help you out"—echoed in her head and she quickly replied, "My name's niece. I'm your Rory." Wait, what the fuck? "I mean," she said, cheeks warming a little as she blundered not only in front of her uncle but her possible Alpha, not to mention the others, "my name is Rory and I'm your niece. Tegan picked me up at Drageda—with my mothers' blessing, obviously—and brought me back here to be his apprentice, if you and Aunt Raven have room for me." That came out much more smoothly and she punctuated it with a sheepish smile. At least she had given the correct name.

And then a final, closing thought occurred to her and the youth added, "I know Tegan's been working on being an ambassador. We—my moms, Tegan and me, I mean—thought that maybe this would be good to keep pack relations strong." Bat wasn't quite sure where that had come from it it sounded good to her overly large ears.

Are you?  She raises a brow, and her query comes out sharper than her playful body language implies.  Certainly he knows that she's a ranger, too?

Well, she does a little bit of everything.  She wouldn't blame him if he didn't.  More serious conversation goes by before Quixote arrives, and Rory rambles off.  She does pretty well (as far as Ceara is concerned), and if the girl looks back in Ceara's direction, she'll catch an inquisitive gleam in her eye.

maybe he did, maybe he didn't. either way, tegan was way better than ceara at scouting. are you kidding me? he stuck his tongue out at his cousin playfully, and then looked as quixote arrived and bat began explaining. tegan's nose scrunched as bat threw him WAY under the bus. the fuck-- he told her not to get him involved in a lie. he said he would cover for her as long as it looked like he had no idea. whatever, if quixote didn't accept her because of this-- he couldn't say it didn't warn her. "the ankyra sound," tegan corrected, looking towards his alpha as he approached, "i picked bat up at the ankyra sound, she was going to try to navigate to the plateau by herself to find me, so it's kind of sheer coincidence that i found her-- but good luck." he gave bat a little nudge and turned to give her a genuine smile. 

"she had a whole route planned out though-- it was impressive, if it's good with you and raven i told her i'd take her under my wing as an apprentice," he said, returning his attention to quixote, "and, like we'd talked about, definitely a good way to keep our packs close."

phas out <3 skip me in next round

the siren was darkly troubled by this news; she hid it well, and was glad when bat spoke and took the attention off of her.

she needed time to think. to digest this news of rosalyn - why was she at the sound? who was with her? the questions churned and roiled unanswered in her mind, like the surging snarl of a tide -- she needed to be alone.

bat and ceara and quixote and tegan wouldn't notice if an old crone slipped off, right? this was technically out of her jurisdiction anyway, and the longer she lingered the more of her carefully maintained facade would slip. she took the opportunity then, while ceara had wrly questioned the girl's abilities, to make her leave -- a dip of her muzzle in tegan's direction in thanks as she did so.

she would approach him later, to learn more -- but for now there were too many... and she needed to be alone.

There were things where Quixote was kind of strict and there were others where he was just kinda like, "Yeah whatever."  If he'd known the actual distance that she had started to cross or the fact that he was probably accidentally adding a month or two to her age, perhaps he'd be a bit more suspicious, but as far as Bat was concerned, she'd probably struck gold for finding the leader who was most willing to take the story at face value.  The location slip up was comparatively minor to the word-swappage that had been at the beginning of Rory's introduction, so he'd pretty much glossed over it as nerves.

He could sort of see the value of whatever the wolf equivalent of an exchange student program would be, nodding slightly at the thought before his brain tripped a bit and he asked, Wait, is she expecting one of our kids back in return when they're older or something or is this like an one-way trade or what?  That did give him a little bit of anxiety -- the thought of one of his still-small children heading off into the unknown, and he was none to keen if that was a thing that was going to happen any time soon.

Honestly, Quixote kind of wished Raven had shown up here instead.  He didn't know her extended family at all, and though from the sound of it the Drageda wolves were good people, he was mostly operating on the fact that he was pretty sure none of them were axe murderers and were thus probably ok, if not actually obligated to let them in to the ranks.  Maybe next time they needed to do some scouting, it should be him taking a trip he didn't really want to do.

The impromptu fib backfired almost instantly. Tegan jumped in to correct her and Bat looked at him, expression inscrutable, though she seemed to come back to herself when he nudged her. She frowned apologetically, then shot him a grateful look before facing Quixote again. Once more, she blanked, not sure what to say. How had she dug a hole so quickly? She either needed to stop lying... or get much better at it.

"No, nothing like that," Bat managed after a moment, shooting him an earnest smile. "In exchange for letting me live here and train with Tegan, I'm expected to contribute in other ways to earn my keep. That's what they told me," the youth lied quickly. "And, uh, what I plan to do, of course." She paused. "Drageda—my moms—don't expect anything in return." Well, that was true enough.

As Bat lapsed into silence, awaiting Quixote's judgment, she wondered what'd happen if Wildfire and eventually Thuringwethil discovered this little foray. Although it was difficult thinking about either of them, she couldn't help but muse that it would probably take them both so much by surprise that she might not even get into trouble. And if she ran with this same story—that it benefited the relationship between the packs—Bat might get away with it all, in the end...

But she didn't want to (and couldn't) dwell on that distant possibility. Right now, Bat needed to focus on her imminent future as a Redhawk. She shot Tegan a sideways grin as if to ask how she'd done, then literally crossed the toes on both forepaws as her attention drifted back to the Alpha. Ceara and Caiaphas had faded into the background, the latter's quiet departure totally unnoticed.

bat explained, tegan simply nodded. no need to beat a dead with more explaining. he gave bat a quick nod and a smile, glad she recovered from him recovering from her original fuck up. but, whatever, water under the bridge, it all looked good from here-- in tegan's opinion. 

"she's got real promise," tegan said with a wave of his tail, vouching for bat a final time even though every time he'd found bat she'd been lost. haha, hmpf... whatever, he'd teach her how to not get lost.

Okay, so there weren't any strings.  Phew.  Fair enough.  And if you do that I'm sure there will be ample opportunities for you here.  So that was that.   If you want to come say hi to your aunt, I can take you to where we've got the kids wrangled, otherwise I'm sure Tegan can show you the rest of the sights.  A swift glance his way.  Yep, if Tegan was gonna keep recruiting, he had to be at least a little responsible past getting them in the door.  Bonus points if the person actually stayed for a reasonable amount of time, but Quixote knew that sometimes things just didn't work out, for one reason or another.  At least they weren't crazy here.  Too crazy?

Quixote was sure there was something he was missing -- something not quite absolutely right, but he couldn't put a paw on it.  And since Tegan also agreed with what Rory was saying, it wasn't like there was some big obvious evidence that was screaming its lungs out.  Or maybe there was and he was just stupid.  Could be an option.  But she was family and at least here she'd be safe rather than crossing the void all the way back to Drageda when who knew what would happen.

Time would tell if it would come back to bite him or not.

Tegan offered a few last words before Quixote's final decision. Bat went rigid, toes crossed, breath held. Not only did he accept her, he welcomed her to come meet her aunt and cousins right away. Her breath whooshed out of her but, strangely, she felt like she was full of nothing but air. Her insides felt buoyant, her bones spongy. She sort of wanted to ooze to the ground in a puddle of relief, though she checked herself. Bat couldn't be a slug here. She needed to contribute. This was a totally fresh start—nobody here even knew about her lazy sloth days of yore, even Tegan—and, besides, she was genuinely interested in earning a living as a scout.

After a long pause where Bat absorbed her acceptance as well as processed a few other thoughts (see immediately previous paragraph), she finally opened her mouth to say, "Thanks, Uncle Quixote. Can I call you that?" After awaiting that answer, Bat—Rory, now, really—bobbed her head so eagerly than her ears flip-flopped. "Yeah, I'd love to meet Aunt Raven and my cousins!" She would just never mind the image of Dacio's face that popped briefly into her head.

Figured one of ya could fade for us? :)