Jade Fern Grove cause i'm selfish, i'm obscene

takes place right after the pack meeting <3

With all of the wolves of Tortuga accounted for, Sriracha finally had all of their talents in mind. They had the makings of a solid task, and Sriracha intended on putting them all to work as soon as he could. The first of them would be @Xan, who was probably in need of a confidence boost.

The rocky start with Easthollow weighed on his mind greatly. He wanted to smooth things over, and could think of no better way than to send a gift. He couldn't go himself, he didn't trust that he wouldn't mess things up again. In fact, there were very few wolves he could send. Akirea was still injured and Cotillita was... herself. Vihaan was out of the question, the very first time Sriracha had met him the guy had sneezed right in his face. Kessa was deaf, and thus not the best emmisary to send. That left Ocra and Xan, and though Ocra was a friendlier wolf, Sriracha thought that he needed to show Xan that he, Sriracha, was confident in him.

So Xan it would be.

Once the meeting was concluded and his wolves were filing off, Sriracha pulled up next to Alexander. Xan, can I talk to you for a second? Nothing serious, I just want to ask for a favor, he said.

Throughout the meeting he’d sat and listened. For the most part, he’d kept away from the others, and so the moment everyone had been dismissed he’d been eager to leave. Despite that, he’d not just run off, but had lingered a bit and watched the others. Even when he’d been ready to depart, he hadn’t, for a voice had stopped him from doing so. He’d turned his head, and then his body, to better face the other male. Sriracha, having been one of the first that he’d met, had slowly started to work his way onto the Inuit’s list of trusted individuals. It was no longer that he felt uneasy or anxious around him, such feelings having been abandoned and replaced, somewhat, but more positive ones. Still, often were his intentions not easily seen, and so confused was the boy when a favour was asked of him.

The uncertainty was cast aside, but traces of it could still be found in his eyes if one looked hard enough. He doubted that the favour would be anything major, which made nodding a hell of a lot easier. “What’s the favour?” he’d asked, wanting to hear more. The reason for why he was chosen over the others was another thing that he wondered about, but it’d been decided already that he’d wait to ask about that.

Sriracha wasn't sure if he'd be asking to much, and shifted nervously as Xan approached. It was hard to miss Xan's less-than-social disposition. He was prickly, Sriracha could get that. But the bandit was just as confident that he could pull Xan out of his shell, if only a little bit. This mission of sorts could be a beginning to a whole new Xan.

Though technically the conversation required no privacy, Sriracha waited until most of the members had dispersed. Even though things ended well with that pack south of us, they didn't exactly go great, he said, shrugging guiltily. I can get a little hot-headed sometimes. I said some shit that they didn't exactly like. But I want to make that better, for you guys. I want to give them a gift and an apology, but I probably shouldn't go myself. We're not exactly great friends. But I thought you could go. Here he paused, giving Xan a chance to deny the task.

As the others left, he’d kept quiet, awaiting the answer to come—and when it had, he’d been fairly surprised. It was no secret that Xan was a bit rough around the edges, and not exactly the easiest to get along with at first. Which begged the question: why him? Out of all of those that had been gathered, he was, more than likely, the worse candidate. “Why me?” he’d blurted, having been unable to stop himself. He wanted to know why someone else hadn’t been chosen over him, especially when Sriracha had witnessed firsthand exactly how he was around strangers.

In spite of his uncertainty, however, he’d quickly added, “I’ll do it.” It’d come no more than a millisecond after his question, since he hadn’t wanted to make it seem as if he was turning the task down. “What sort of gift am I supposed to take them?” he’d asked. “And what if they want you?” He wanted as many details as he could be given beforehand, just in case.

Sriracha, having expected the question, was quick to answer. Why not you? I trust you. I have been lucky enough to have you by my side since the beginning of this. Besides Ocra, you're the next best wolf to represent us, he said. Sriracha helpfully omitted the fact that he also didn't have a lot of options. And besides, I believe in you. There's more to you than meets the eye, Xan. And that was true. He had grown quite fond of Xan, mystery though he was.

A great grin broke across the Spaniard's face when Xan accepted the task. You will? Excellent! I know that you can do it. Remember what I told you a few weeks ago. Trying is all that I'm ever going to ask from you. Now came the details, which Sriracha gave happily. Whatever you see fit, he said. I was going to find a rabbit or something. Nothing too tiny, it's an apology gift. And if they want me, you can tell them that you are my equal. If they really insist, though, tell them I'll come.

Alexander didn’t quite know what to make of the answer, but he’d accepted it anyways. A part of him wanted to know why Ocra hadn’t been chosen instead, but he’d kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to mess up, or cause any tension between them and their neighbours. He knew that he needed to at least try to be sociable, at least to a point where he’d be capable of getting through a meeting with a group of strangers. How well it might go, he didn’t want to think about.

Whilst a grin took over Sriracha’s lips, the Inuk kept a straight face. He was relieved to hear that, even for something as important as this, it was his effort that would count for more than anything else. Realizing that gave him a slight boost in his confidence, but it’d not managed to eliminate his nerves entirely. Still, he paid attention to the details of his task, nodding when it was necessary and waiting for his turn to speak. And once his turn had arrived, the first word to leave his mouth was, “Okay.” He could catch a rabbit, as well as tell them what it was for. Doing so wasn’t too difficult, either. “Can I wait a day or two before going?” the boy asked, not ready to leave at that exact moment. He wanted a few days to prepare, that way he’d be less likely to do something stupid.

Sending Xan was a monumental risk. Of course Sriracha knew that. But he'd seen some improvement in Xan's prickly personality since that first meeting, and took Xan's acceptance of the task as a good sign. Perhaps if Sriracha had more options, he'd have picked a different wolf. Yet, perhaps not, for even he could not predict what may come. In the end, it was a remarkably simple task, so long as the Easthollow wolves played nice.

Of course, said Sriracha. It wasn't so long a trip, but he was asking Xan to catch food for this, too, and that took some effort. Still, Xan was an able wolf and doubted that he would have trouble finding an appropriate gift. Their leaders, or at least the wolves that I met, are called Steady and Valette, if that helps at all.

The request put in for some extra time was accepted, which he’d appreciated. Xan had to prepare himself, after all, to ensure that he did not mess anything up. Though the task itself seemed to be a simple one, he’d still been weary, for past experiences had revealed to him that not everyone was capable of understanding the motives behind his actions. His personality was not the type that everyone could get along with, and so, due to this realization, he’d felt it to be of great importance that he have a few days to himself in order to get everything in order. To eliminate whatever nerves he might have, and then go on to smooth things over with their neighbours.

Two names were given to him, Steady and Valette. The leaders, it seemed—or, in the very least, members of the pack. “Steady and Valette,” he’d repeated, making an attempt at committing them to memory. “I won’t let you down,” Xan stated, though his words were not nearly as confident as they could have been. It was more like he didn’t want to let Sriracha down, and would definitely try not to, but could make no promises.

Sriracha grinned. Xan was showing a new side, or an old side that had been long hidden. Either way, Sriracha attributed at least part of this emerging facet to his own efforts. He'd done what he could to instill new confidence in the yearling, and in his eyes, it was working out wonderfully. Xan was still a work in progress, but that was part of his charm.

I know you won't, Sriracha said kindly. You can't do much worse than I did, trust me. Is there anything else you'll need before you go? Even if Xan's departure was a few days off, Sriracha wanted to be as helpful as possible.

There were days where Xan missed feeling as if he could rule the world, but it helped him get passed that knowing that it was okay if he couldn’t. Even if he failed at the simplest of tasks, he wouldn’t be branded as useless and broken, but would be thanked for the effort that had gone into the task and then encouraged to keep trying. Perhaps that was why he’d chosen to stay with Sriracha and everyone else, rather than ditching them for some other pack. It seemed like the most likely reason, and the one that he felt comfortable settling on; even if it turned out that he stayed with them for a different reason entirely, he’d still believe that the overall attitude of the group played a huge part in his daily decision to remain there.

He thought about the question, and then shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said, pretty sure that he had all of the information that he needed already. If he was missing something, he couldn't figure out what it was.

HEY BABY

If there was one thing Sriracha loved, it was a fixer-upper. And boy, did Xan need a lot of work. Vaguely, Sriracha was aware of some trauma, in the same way one recognizes the footsteps of a familiar entity. He had seen war, and thus he had seen trauma, and though he was not yet willing to broach that subject with the yearling.

No, he merely smiled, wide and comforting and trusting. Thanks so much for doing this, Xan, he said. I won't hold you here, if you want to go prepare to leave or something.

HEY HEY HEY
Didn’t know if you wanted this archived or not, so I’m just gonna leave that part to you, lmao

Whilst he was still somewhat uncertain about whether or not he’d be able to complete the task without a single issue arising, he trusted Sriracha’s judgment—or at least he wanted to. He would try and he would do his best, and then he’d hope that everything might go well. If doing so meant adjusting his own behavior, or possibly even swallowing his pride, then he’d have to act accordingly. It would likely take practice, however, given how… opinionated he’d been known to be in the past. It’d come as a relief when an opportunity to leave was presented to him, and so he’d gladly taken it.

“I think I’ll do that,” he said, then clarified what he’d meant by adding, “Prepare, I mean.” Xan took a step or two away before stopping and looking back at the male, trying to figure out what he should say next. And even though he’d thought about it, he had come up short in the end, resulting in him saying, “Bye,” and nothing else. Rather than waiting for a response, he’d proceeded to put distance between Srir and himself as he headed off to begin preparing.