Neverwinter Forest Would you accept someone like me?

Sort of. She is just checking out the pack! @Scimitar

Kendra felt brave enough to continue in the light. The young female was used to darkness and she had spend a lot of time in Firefly Glen before she felt like she could continue. She wanted to learn the way of the light, or the morally right. What the girl also knew what that she needed to join a pack. She couldn't really live of pity gifts from others or scavenge from some rotten carcass. She needed a pack for her food. Kendra knew she could offer them things in return, but she was not sure if those things were welcome.

Hence why she wanted to try her luck at this border. She didn't knew anything about them. Not their name or where they stood for. She had sniffed out their borders and was willing to investigate. Willing to test the waters of how another pack would respond to her. The dark colored girl howled for authority. She knew how the brotherhood responded to loners on their borders so she sat a bit away from these scented borders just in case.

Cypress is working on his Guardian Apprenticeship, so I hope this is okay. ♥

Preoccupied with his breakfast — one of two stringy weasels that Scimitar had brought by earlier — Cypress hesitated for the briefest of moments before he turned automatically toward the sound of the howl. He imagined that he was a busy king like his father, and loath to leave his current task, but because he was so benevolent — his new favorite word — he must grace the caller with his presence. Being a good leader meant having good manners, after all. Heaving a heavy, put upon sigh, he spurred his long legs into a trot. In all actuality, it was curiosity that quickened his pace, but pretending to be annoyed when he truly wasn’t was rather amusing to the growing boy. Perhaps due to spending the majority of his time alone these days, he was at risk for becoming carried away with his fancies; and to that end, he probably owed the darkling girl his gratitude for anchoring him to his responsibilities.

He approached the borders with a distinct lack of caution — he was a sheltered youth and he had no reason yet to fear the unknown. The female he spotted sat a good distance away from the forest proper, and Cypress, for all his pluck and precociousness, knew he wasn’t allowed to leave the territory without permission. Clambering atop a fallen log and hopping from that log to a boulder, he rose to his full height — not very impressive when he was on the ground, but quite substantial now that he was standing on something else — and looked down at the pretty, dark girl with winter blue eyes and striking pale dots set symmetrically upon her brow. Still playing at being the burdened king, “I am Cypress Benvolio Frostfur,” he proclaimed in a low tenor, his voice still smooth and androgynous in his youth, “guardian of this wood.” It was how he’d always imagined greeting strangers, and he felt accomplished that this was his first time trying it and he hadn’t botched it up.

“Are you friend or foe to Neverwinter Forest?” he asked her, striving for the coolness of tone that his father used when speaking to strangers or scolding his occasionally wayward sons.

More than okay! <3

Kendra did not need to wait long before she spotted some movement from the other side of the border. She lifted her muzzle a bit, trying to see better what or who was approaching. The almost yearling did not have a lot of social skills with other packs, none really. She knew how her old pack treated wolves that were disrespectful, so she figured that it couldn't hurt to show at least some respect.

With whom she met was quite a surprise to her, a dark colored pup, not unlike her own fur color stood upon a boulder. Kendra pushed herself onto her fours, elegantly so. She gotten the long legs from her mother, most of her body type too. Perhaps even a bit taller, alas she did not know this herself seeing she could not remember her own mother.

The sight amused her, but also reminded her for her deceased brother Pietro. He had the same confidence, carrying himself like this pup. She figured that this was one of the alpha pups. She was pretty sure her twin had done exactly the same once. He could do this no more however. She wished he was here.

She cleared her throat a bit. "The Great Guardian Cypress Benvolio Frostfur must ask himself. If a foe was truly a foe would the wolf in question admit to being a foe?," she returned to him. Her pale eyes looking at the youngster. Her lips quirked up a bit into hint of a smirk. Because perhaps it would give the pup something to think about.

The female moved with sinuous grace, rising to her full height to regard the small boy upon his throne of granite and shale. His tail flagged the air with eager anticipation when she cleared her throat, though he tried to still it and maintain a façade of regal nonchalance. The mask of stoicism shattered at her first words — “The Great Guardian Cypress Benvolio Frostfur,” — and was swiftly replaced with a sunny smile that Cypress could not suppress. He puffed out his thin chest, holding his breath to sustain the illusion of being a barrel-chested, broad-shouldered beast like his brother, but was stripped of his confident posture at her question. All the oxygen in his lungs huffed out in a perplexed rush. “If a foe…is truly a foe…” he repeated to himself, brow furrowing as he worked to untangle her meaning.

“No?” Cypress answered finally, though his voice tipped timorously upward at the end of that trailing syllable. He wasn’t sure. “Y’mean — do you mean…lying?” he asked in a hushed undertone, as though speaking of the act was just as bad as committing it. He was a blessed innocent with no inclination toward subterfuge, and the idea that a wolf might be dishonest for no discernible reason was utterly foreign to him. The thought flummoxed him so, he dropped to his haunches, looking for all the world like a raven with ruffled feathers. “You didn’t answer me,” he pointed out to her, feeling vaguely irritated at his question being answered with a more confusing question, “but if you were a foe you would’ve tried to eat me already, right?” He felt a little uneasy after all, but scrambled back to his feet, arching his tail high above his head and fixing her with his sternest gaze. “You look like my sister and my — Lucy.” His tone implied that because she had the same fur color as Allure and Lucy, she couldn’t possibly be a foe, but there was a note of confusion in his voice that said he wasn’t sure.

I hope y'all don't mind me hopping in-- if you do please let me know! <3

Rannoch had been late to breakfast. Though his stomach longed for the weasel that Cypress had abandoned, much preferring quantity to quality when it came to food, the call from the borders had compelled him. He was just making his way back to the family’s den as a call lifted above the canopy of the woods and to this he quickly re-routed and headed towards the call. He traveled with a lofty gallop until he made it to the borders, quickly catching onto the darker duo.

Nuding Cypress as he came to his side, his gaze lingering in question to his brother before seeking the stranger. He did not offer the other wolf a greeting and instead merely looked upon the wolf with a gaze that seemed to inquire, Who are you?

Whoop! Shadowposted!

Kendra was internally amused by how the confusion she had caused. She watched how his chest puffed out and deflated and how the gears inside of his mind were rattling. The way he spoke about lying was refreshing. She was raised very differently and she recently lied to someone to poison them and even torture the female that stole her meal. Even though she staged being weak so the female would take her meal. She was really on the other end of the spectrum compared to this pup. This pup was light, she was dark. She wanted to experience the light. Would this pack accept her? Maybe she would contaminate this pup with her darkness.

"Usually a foe has bad intentions, so perhaps you should consider that a possible foe would lie to you by being a friend," she explained to him, perhaps that would make him realize a bit more that wolves wouldn't be true all of the time. Kendra was instantly put in place about the fact that she had not answered his question. The female flickered her tail. "I have not answered, no. But I do have a reason. I would not know if I am a friend or a foe to your pack. Hence why I did not reply seeing I would not like lying to you," she returned, her tone almost invitingly warm. How easy she could trick this pup if she wanted to. However today she did not want to play tricks. She was honestly interested if this pack would take her in.

Kendra stood before the pup, who had commented she looked like his sister and another female. She was not like them. No one was as broken as her. "I don't have a home. Do you think I would be allowed to live here?,' she asked the pup, sounding very curious. "I doubt you have a say who lives in this pack and who doesn't? What is this pack like? I don't know anything about it," she explained. Perhaps this youngster would call his parents. She was not certain what to think of the idea of pups guarding the borders without adult supervision.

However, instead of being joined by an adult another pup came upon the rock next to the other. Kendra's pale eyes fell on the other youngster male, grey like her brother, though his build was different. Kendra was reminded of Pietro once more. This grey male did not speak, only looked at her. She had the idea that the darker pup might want to do her introduction. Then she could also find out what they thought of her so far.

Quick posts to get all of my threadlogs up to date. ♥ I am sorry for the lack of quality and length.

Comforted by the appearance of his brother, Cypress waited patiently for the barrel-chested, bulkier cub to clamber atop the boulder, nibbling affectionately at Rannoch’s broader shoulder once the grayscale boy was suitably situated. All the while, he listened to Kendra’s explanation, his ears fanning to nestle against his skull before springing forward in vague indecision. “Then…how can I know?” he asked rather desperately. “How can I know at all?” It distressed him to think that he might have friends who were actually foes in disguise — but he comforted himself with the fact that most of his “friends” were actually family members. Surely, that meant they were foolproof and trustworthy. “Mama says lies’re like dandelions when you blow on ‘em,” he ventured. “Once you tell one you can’t pick all the lie pieces back up, and even if nobody can see ‘em at first, they grow big later and everyone can see.” He reassured himself that even if he was in such a horrendous situation, eventually he’d see the foe for what it was, though there was yet an untouched, innocent part of him that believed that sort of betrayal happened only in stories.

“You should be a friend,” he advised her then, looking to Noch for confirmation of his words. “If you were a foe we’d hafta chase you away.” Cypress was utterly serious, his brow smooth and calm as he resumed his role as the Benevolent King. Automatically he swept Rannoch up in his play — he was the Gray King, just as benevolent, but with a more commanding air. When she mentioned she didn’t have a home, supposing that the boys had little say in who was permitted to live in the forest, Cypress immediately interjected. “Yes, we do!” he staunchly said, nudging his brother shoulder to shoulder. “Right, Noch?” Surely they had some say in who joined the Neverwinter wolves. He answered her questions with the blithe ingenuousness befitting his age. “This pack is nice,” he said simply, “but if you want to live here, you hafta ask our paw. And — and — ” At a loss for words, he whispered to Noch in a hasty aside, “What else?” He hadn’t asked for her name or trades; it had totally slipped his mind.

Settling into place, Rannoch mirrored his brother’s affection. He reached over quickly to nudge at his brother’s raven-colored shoulder before bringing his attention to the stranger before him. Unlike the lesson that Cypress gave, Rannoch had learned many sparring tactics that he would bring to this meeting. Though he had no intentions of fighting, he figured such lessons would be of some value to him when dealing with stranger. As Cypress taught the stranger one of their mother’s lessons, Rannoch nodded sharply in agreement as if he were confirming the validity of what his brother was saying in regards to lies.

The next idea, the one about having to chase the older wolf, excited Rannoch. Though his expression did not give away his feeling, a gentle tremble of his heart expressed his feelings in the matter. To this, he stood a little taller and exhaled sharply in tandem to his brother’s words. If provoked, he was sure that they could easily chase her out. Of course, such thoughts came from a more protected and naive mind than that of the stranger’s.

With the words that came next, Rannoch did not speak until he needed to, cooly coming to his brother’s aid when he was asked what else. “What can you do?” He asked vaguely, his tone offering little comfort to the newcomer.

Kendra noticed that she had given the darker pup quite a mental quest to work over. The young female actually liked the idea that she could give a pup so much to think about, even if it might question his opinion of her. Either way would be find for the girl, after all she didn't even know herself that she was a friend or foe. If they did know about her mother, or what pack she came from they might not be so nice to her. But she was questioned by two pups, one very confident he had a say who would be accepted in the pack and who did not. A bold statement. She ignored the metaphor about the dandelion and she also didn't comment on the mental struggles the darker pup had. He could find that out himself.

Kendra was so tempted to have them test that the statement of them chasing her away. She almost let out a scoff regarding the comment, but she did not. Her pale eyes focussed on the two youngsters. However her ears perked up when the darker male spoke about this pack being nice. She wanted to be nice, and light. Kendra wanted to try being light, so this pack was light? She also met this Spectre wolf but she was not sure if she would go to that pack of his. "How nice is your pack?," she asked curiously. Kendra was pretty sure that these youngsters couldn't really accept her in this this pack. It had to be harder than this? The grey one now spoke, and asked her about what she could do. "I am a Naturalist with a specialization in Botany, which means plants. I am good with plants. I know how to make them grow and I am currently trying to figure out which ones are bad for wolves. Then I can know what plants are very dangerous to a pack or young puppies to eat," she explained to the grey one. That was another way of saying she could use plants to kill, but she little doubt these pups would figure that out with their innocence. "Shouldn't your parents be here or something?," she lightly frowned.

Life had not calmed down much for the wolves of Neverwinter Forest – Goldhawk had yet to return and the Frostfur patriarch worried each day for the man – he could only hope Bazi had not taken the terrible news through the messenger in whom delivered it. Scimitar could still not grasp a world without Whittier in it – and yet somehow the days dragged forward.

Lucy was also staying with them still, and the agouti wolf worried her family was seeking he rout. She had spoken no desire to return to them, and the wolf felt torn at that – if it were one of his own, he would hope that they would want to return to him. So why would she not possibly want to go back where she allegedly had beloved family?

Unless, of course, they were not beloved..

His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of voices. He recognized his boys within seconds – but the female’s voice was unfamiliar to him, and lifting himself higher, the regal made to inspect the visitor at their borders. He came upon them, but spoke nothing – instead, his bright eyes fell squarely upon the girl, after noting nothing of trouble seemed to have occurred. It would seem his little guardians were still aspiring to fulfill their potential.

So sorry for the wait, @Kendra! Did not realize it was my turn again.
Last post from Cypress.

“Very nice,” Cypress staunchly replied, furrowing his brow as he listened hard to what she had to say regarding her skills. He certainly couldn’t see how plants would be bad for wolves — unless, that is, one fell into a blackberry bush and got scored by the thorns. The intricacies of botany and toxicology were lost on the young guardian, whose feathers were ruffled by her final question. His mouth opened to spring a saucy retort at her, but before he could even fully prepare to launch Scimitar himself arrived on the scene. “We will conifer with our king,” he loftily announced, using the wrong word entirely and creating quite the pun for the arrival of the forest’s lord. With that, he jumped down from his boulder to rear up on his hind legs and clasp his father’s jaw lovingly in his puppy teeth out of respect. Then, with his nose still pointed skyward to reach the ears of the towering king, he turned to Scimitar and repeated all Kendra had said.

Rannoch did not offer anything verbally to what had been said. But, as Cypress made his announcement, the cub offered a look to the stranger that seemed to agree smugly with what his brother had said. He quickly jumped from the bolder and galloped to his father to bring his nose to his father’s chest in way of a greeting.

Kendra watched at the pups' father seemed to have arrived. She took another step back and plopped her but down. She was young herself but she did knew the etiquettes around the border. She also knew that only high ranked wolves would have babies, so she assumed that he was the one in charge here. The dark pup told the male everything that she had told him and she hoped that it would be enough to get accepted. They knew her skills but she realized that they didn't know her name yet. Would that be of matter? She could give a fake name if she wanted to.

She kept her mouth shut, thinking that the male would give his verdict very soon and she wasn't a wolf that would ruin that by babbling. She was rather quiet at times. Only when something plant-related got her excited, but with strangers she was more careful. She realized she was going to be living with strangers if she was accepted. How exciting and nerve-wrecking. She wasn't skilled as a hunter so she needed a pack to feed her.

Cypress – unknowing to his rather intriguing greeting – strutted over to his father, and the cinnamon wolf was informed of their visitor and her intentions. Facts were gleaned over – the innocent eyes of a pup would not necessarily have picked up the potential slyness of the she-wolf, and for the moment, he saw no reason to suspect her words had meant to be anything but truthful. He studied her carefully before giving a nod to both of his sons, and soon stepped closer to inspect the girl more carefully. “You deal with plants, then,” he murmured, allowing room for her to reply with any correction she felt necessary.
 
“Does that mean you have healing abilities? What’s your name?”

Kendra turned towards the male and let her ears fall back, followed by dipping her head a bit. "Yes," she confirmed to him. "I can grow a garden with plants, though that is linked on the season and I can identify many plants," she explained. "I can also identify poisonous plants from the good ones." Kendra was working on that though, she did not have a specialty in that but she did have a specialty in botanics. "I could grow medical plants for the healer but I am not a healer myself. I do not know how to mend bones or treat wounds. I can work closely with a healer," she explained to the male, perhaps she was repeating herself so she shut up.

She then remembered that he wanted to know her name. "It's Kendra," she added quickly but in her eyes it was only a name, she could have given a fake name. But she decided to go with her real one, after all she wanted to be better at being light and nice. Lying wasn't part of being nice.

Her talents, while impressive, weren’t necessarily useful to the forest wolves, only in the sense that they did not have a healer. His eyebrows arched upward as he considered this, studying careful the dark girl with frosted eyes.
 
“We do not have a healer,” he clarified to her, but gave a nod toward the direction of the forest. “But I see no reason that we would turn away youthful potential from our pack, as long as you remain useful.” He paused then, before offering a light nod. “I’m Scimitar, Alpha of these forests.”

Kendra slowly looked into those frosty eyes of the male. Her glance was not disrespectful it was infact very ambitious and motivated. She wanted him to see that she was in fact willing to work, expect hunting because that wasn't her forte, but she had other skills. Before she was a one year old she already had her specialty. She had worked hard for it, and she could work hard for this pack too, especially because she wanted to be nicer.

The dark girl nodded to him. "You can kick me out of you don't find me useful, Mr Scimitar," she spoke him without any hesitation. She grew up in the brotherhood so she knew about hard work and being ambitious. She knew that was also the way to gain loyalty.

Last from me -- @Rannoch -- I'm sorry! I had thought I read there was a last post from you, so I hope it's okay that we skipped poor Rannoch during the last few rounds.
He did not appreciate the stare upon stare – his own pelt would bristle for only a moment, the nature of his dominance being stirred. But it was her words that soothed that rising thought, and he would offer a gentle nod in return, his eyes drifting between either of his boys as he considered their own youthful eagerness to gain roles as guardians. “Let’s give Kendra a tour then, shall we?”

With that, the large wolf moved forward, his shoulder brushing gently against the newcomer’s to present his scent upon her – to notify the pack that she did indeed belong among their tall pines. With a nod toward the territory, the Frostfur began to lead the way, offering bits of insight to their land as they went.

he came and stole the wild
a crime so old as the sky and bone

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