Raven's Watch You need to strut.

He'd escorted @Tavi to the area they'd first met at, higher up on the river and closer to the Keep than he had found @Banner in previously. True to his word, he left Banner to her own for a bit to discuss things with Octavia and give the brown woman time to collect her thoughts. While he didn't think his sister was so badly off she needed to much help, but, Banner seemed to be far more cautious. He couldn't exactly blame her, considering that she was the one who got so angry sometimes she lost time itself, but, Stark would keep her as safe as possible. 

Stark had made his way back along the Watch until he found Banner again. He greeted her with several nuzzles and a few warm kisses before he gave a playful tug to her ear. "C'mon, Octavia is waiting. She's excited about meeting you." Stark promised before he guided the brown woman over towards the grey Alpha.

The sun had moved a bit along its daily path in the time Stark left her to her own thoughts.  Banner was glad for the time to herself.  Not that she didn't enjoy his company, but this was a big step she was about to take.  Attempting to re-enter pack life after spending several long weeks on her own was daunting enough.  Add in that Octavia was clearly very important to her beloved brother and the chocolate female's nerves were more frayed than ever.  As long as she didn't say anything stupid or lose her goddamned mind she'd probably do alright.  Hopefully.

Stark's enthusiastic greeting caused her to forget those anxious feelings for a fleeting moment.  She woofed in response to the tug on her ear and then followed along, her green eyes narrowed and staring at the back of his head.  "Excited?" she repeated blandly.  How could an Alpha be excited to meet a potential new mouth to feed in the midst of a famine?  "I'll take your word for it." Banner shrugged and quietly kept a few measured paces behind her brother.  Her head was lowered and her dark ears folded back on her skull in a clear show of submission.  Might as well get set to make a good impression ahead of time.

He led her away from the central portion of the territory, to the somewhat foreign place where Octavia had found him to begin with, then further still. When finally they came to a halt, Stark departed and left her waiting; but it wasn't for long. As he returned to her, another wolf followed behind him, and Octavia watched. She tried not to scrutinize the woman as she was drawn closer, though it was hard. It was like any other new recruit - except it wasn't, because this was Stark's sister. Someone who Tavi might've accepted on the spot just because of her connections. She licked her lips nervously, although the feeling evaporated when she witnessed the girl's submission.

Hey now, we don't need that. You're practically family, Tavi jested, batting a paw. She looked at Stark then, passing him a little smile, a hopeful look maybe, and then focused again on Banner. So you're the sister I've heard... I want to say a lot about, but, okay, so she might've been more apprehensive than she thought, and the rambling proved it. Clearing her throat, she ended her mini-rant by cutting to another topic: I'm Octavia.

Stark pressed a little nudge to Banner's shoulder, hoping to soothe out her worries. If they had been human, Banner would probably have the hunched shoulders of a person trying to make themselves smaller - trying to look less imposing. For Stark, there was the sort of confident walk of a man who was comfortable in their own skin innately. "It's gonna be great. Trust me." He murmured before they found Octavia, her offering a quick sort of out for Banner to comfort her some. Stark smiled as he took a seat a couple steps between the two women, making them as comfortable as possible. 

"I...sort of filled her in on some of the things that have been going on." He explained. "Probably missed some stuff, but, y'know." He grinned at Octavia before he looked over at her green eyed sister. He hoped she would relax some, trying to calm down the nerves that might have been been welling up in Banner. He could only imagine how this felt - he'd been lucky, in many ways, that how Octavia had found him was something utterly different. The stroke of luck was just that he'd found that hare and found the new mother - it seemed the right thing to do to feed her first.

Stark's gaze softened then, a little stirring deep in him that was...well. Still unexpected. But good. Overall good. He just hoped the whole feeling continued and he might be able to help Banner settle that evening.

Okay.  This wasn't that bad.  So far.

Banner's ear flicked as she listened to the two pack wolves begin with introductions.  She was quite surprised that Octavia referred to her as practically family and let her bright green eyes meet Stark's for a minute, a small grin and overall "oh, really?" look passing over her features.  When her brother sat back, she followed suit and lifted her neck a bit for comfort's sake.  The dark brown woman still kept her ears back, but she did feel at ease.  At least, more than before.

"It's nice to meet you, Octavia.  I'm Banner," she replied politely in her low voice.  Was hearing a lot about her a good or a bad thing?  Generally, she'd take it as a bad thing, but this was Stark talking about his closest sister.  He'd probably glossed over her more unfavorable characteristics and given her some kind of glowing review.  Her green gaze moved to the cream and gray female and she offered a small smile.  "I've heard some of your pack members.."  She faltered.  Were ungrateful, disloyal asses?  Ah, no.  That wasn't the best way to go about this.

The small female's eyes went wide while an awkward second or two ticked by.  "Ah.. that they don't agree.. with.. leadership changes.."

Her breath left her in a loud huff.  Well, good job, girl.

Don't agree? They're a bunch of ungrateful twats. She said it before she could stop herself; it came out with an unrestrained level of sass, something that she hadn't heard fall from her mouth for some time. Not since the Maplewood, at least. All the stress from her many adventures had lessened the strength of her spirit. But now, perhaps because of her general frustration, or her unease, or something deeply sinister and wrong with her — Tavi couldn't contain herself.

Stark is about the only wolf I trust right now. Him and his sister - the other one I mean - the quiet one. Ramble, ramble, it just never ended. Some of them are pretty obviously against me. Others... There's unrest, I won't lie about that. Dunno what to do about it. But maybe with more friends on my side, things would change. She peeked at Stark, her brow raising, and then back to Banner. Are you a friend? Can I trust you?

While Octavia spoke Stark couldn't help himself. He laughed at the quick description of their pack mates, giving a quick nod at the choice of words. It fit. It was accurate. They were ungrateful, they were deceptive - had they any spines they would have left if they had so many issues. There was a hint of pride to the dark male when he was announced as the sole beneficiary of Octavia's trust, offering a smile at that. 

"If nothing else, Cap is honorable."  he had to give his blonde, perfect sister that. He looked over at Banner, reaching out to brush his nose along her shoulder and smiled. He'd trust her with his life. He knew Banner would always be there to catch him when he fell. Even as close as he had become with Octavia there was no one who he trusted like he did Banner and so he eagerly awaited her response. 

The short brown female couldn't stop an amused snort at Octavia's choice of words.  Instantly she felt entirely relaxed, thankful that her companions hadn't mentioned her awkward self-introduction.  The Alpha continued on, giving personal context to the situation she'd been dealing with.  Banner shifted and tilted her head to the side when her own loyalty to this female - to the pack - was questioned.

Her bright green gaze slid over to Stark as he gave Cap his endorsement.  Honorable she was.  Hearing it out of her brother's mouth was a rarity.  Banner nodded, silently agreeing with him and let out an affectionate growl when he reached for her shoulder.  Her own description of Captain was much more detailed, but her relationship with the golden female wasn't as .. strained.  She cleared her throat and gave her attention back to Octavia, not wanting to keep anyone waiting on her response.  "Family and loyalty are the two most important things to me," she stated, her voice solid and clear.

"I may not be a fan of those ungrateful twats, but they're still pack until you say otherwise,"  she added with raised brow and a small smile.

"My sentiments exactly." She responded. If things did not shape up then she would make them, and if that did not work, well... Maybe leaving was the best option after all. She could take Stark's family with her, and anyone else loyal to herself and Tambourine. But the woman hoped (naively perhaps) it would not come to that.

Then, rather abruptly, Tavi turned to the dark man beside them. "I like her. She's in."

"Welcome home, Banner." The woman smiled as her eyes flit back to the other girl, and with her tail wagging she motioned for them all to start walking. "Lets show you the lay of the land, hm? You are going to be protecting my son and I, so may as well get started asap."

Stark didn't realize he was holding his breath, counting the moments even as Banner felt out her own emotions. She wasn't completely incapable of holding her own, he knew that. Still - he worried. She was fine though, calming herself and letting a brief tendril of anger out without completely losing it. Stark smiled, looking from Banner to Octavia. "Pretty awesome, hm?" He said with a grin when Octavia said she liked Banner - he adored her, probably too much. Not everyone could handle him though, so, it made sense that he liked Banner so much. 

His tail wagged behind him when Octavia said Banner was in, nodding. "We can show you around - we all sleep in the Crook. You can set up camp with me, I've got a little space near them." He nodded towards Octavia, because he didn't want to be that forward and just settle down with her and Tambourine, but he wanted to be close enough if there was any issues. 

Banner blinked a few times, surprised at how suddenly Octavia decided to accept her into the fold.  She stood and nodded her head, a smile slowly spreading across her maw.  That was.. easy?  No, maybe just a lot more simple than she'd anticipated.  But with someone like Stark to vouch for her, the dark brown female supposed the whole process was streamlined in this situation.

"Thank you," she said quietly.  Her words didn't seem adequate to convey the true depth of gratitude she felt, but Banner knew that attempting to further explain would end in some kind of awkward mess.  Someday she'd find the right words for her brother and Octavia, but for now she just radiated a subdued sort of contentment.  "I'm looking forward to it," she offered, not specifying if she meant getting to know the Keep, protecting Octavia and her son, or sleeping in the Crook with a pack again.  It all sounded good to her!