Hushed Willows stuck on a chain
one black eye; busted teeth
4 Posts
Ooc — Siro
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#1
Joining 
this might be a bit awkward at first because I need to hammer down her personality a bit more, but hello!

Necessity, above everything else, was what led the spindly she-wolf to approach the unfamiliar forest nestled against the protective rim of the jagged mountains behind it. She had initially thought to wait out the winter in the lowlands, where the weather was far milder, but the nights were becoming bitterly cold and most of the excess fat she'd built up back home was used up on her long trek to the Teekons. An aching hunger had begun to take root in her belly, and her bones ached from weeks spent on the move. 

Zara crept up to the very fringes of the territory, ears slicked back against her head, and tail curled in a delicate 's' shape between her ankles. In truth, she feared the wolves lurking in the woodlands, though the innate desire to mingle with them was too powerful an instinct to overcome. Her tongue, stark pink against the charcoal of her muzzle, whisked across her lips and she twitched one ear forward where it stood quivering atop her skull as her eyes raked the treeline.

She shivered as a chill raced down her spine. There was no way of telling how the pack would react to her presence, but she had little option. Zara lifted her head and called out to the Marauder's with a wavering howl.
i'd raise the sea in your name
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Ooc — torvi
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#2
*scoots an awkward buchanan in here*

Since Banner had told him weeks ago about Warbone Buchanan had taken to patrolling the borders. This left a smaller window of time for him to add to her feather collection but in the long run the ex-assassin rationalized to himself that running patrols to ensure that the mysterious male that had propositioned his (Buchanan's) girl did not return took precedence. He moved with purpose, eyes and ears alert. His hyper-vigilance worked in his advantage on patrol as it did when he was hunting prey for the Keep's caches. As far as Buchanan was aware at any rate, Warbone had not made a return trip and if he had then Banner had kept it from him, but as he doubted his mate would keep something like that from him for too long he felt certain in his assumption that for now Warbone had vanished. Inherently, Buchanan was suspicious of the proverbial radio silence. He did not trust that the other male had given up so easily.

Then again, Buchanan drew from how he would react and knew that he, personally, wouldn't have given up. Failure was not an option. It had been one of The Officer's rules and ...threats. Even now, months later, even around Banner who was the only being on the earth that made him feel remotely normal (as well as being the only thing he cherished and loved in the world) The Officer haunted him. He was a broken thing that could not be fixed. Still, he strove for normalcy as much as was possible for him. He had Banner and he had Marauder's Keep and it was more than he had ever thought he'd ever have. The transition into civilian life after spending his entire life being manipulated and controlled was ...far from easy. He knew that he would always bear the struggle.

A call had risen upon the borders, not too far from his position at the time it had sounded. His pace quickened and soon he saw her through the long tangles of willow trees. The leaves had begun to fall from the long, spindly branches which worked at both an advantage and disadvantage. He shrugged through them, silvern gaze locked upon the charcoal coated young woman. His docked tail rose though the affect of dominance was likely lost in that gesture. He was subservient by fabricated nature but she was an outsider and for the moment he was the only Marauder here. In this singular moment he was the highest ranking Marauder present. Never before had he had to confront a stranger at the border and realized he had no idea what he was supposed to say. Talking had never been his strong suit anyway.

“Your name and purpose here.” He demanded simply, cutting straight to the point, figuring he could hold the line until Stark or Banner arrived.
you are my sun and i am your moon
helplessly, irrevocably drawn to you
there is nothing i wouldn't do for you
A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner
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Ooc — Sonia
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It wasn't often that they got calls to the borders. The last time he'd encountered someone on them was Warbone, and it was enough to make Stark's hackles lift a bit as he loped through his trees. He expected since he was fairly far off in the territory that someone would find the stranger first and maybe get through some of the more mundane aspects of the process. What might they want? Hopefully no more missing children, hopefully no more vagabonds needing a refuge for their growing families. As fond as he was of Harlyn and Silas he'd taken on more than he had anticipated out of having Amara and her brood in the pack but things there at least seemed settled. The children were growing, at any rate, and that had to mean something good. 

When the Alpha finally made his approach it was with a confident stride, assessing the wolf before him as he noted Buchanan had found them first. His brother in law was doing his part and it was pleasing, he felt more assured having him roaming around and he'd never seen Banner so happy. All in all, the Keep had been good to his little family. His blue eyes raked across the female's form and could not find any obvious wounds and he couldn't smell any evident illnesses. He'd just heard the tale end of his Gamma's question, and rather than giving another, waited for the response. 
i grew a human and unfortunately as a horrible side effect lost an organ - as such will be slow from time to time.
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one black eye; busted teeth
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Ooc — Siro
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#4
Hi guys! 8)

She shivered involuntarily as a shadow drifted towards her through the undergrowth. It was a tall, robust wolf with a curiously docked tail and eyes that spoke volumes of a deeply rooted suspicion towards strangers. Any other day—any other world, she might've found something a kinship in such things. But instead she cowed at the sight of him. Zara crouched so low that her belly kissed the damp earth, and her tail curled up between her legs. Her ears flattened and she whined softly to placate any ire that could be potentially lingering in those mercurial eyes. Her body trembled again, and she cursed herself for being so fragile.

Before she could answer the first male, another strode forth from the woodland and, if it weren't for the proximity of the other male, she might have turned and fled right there. But she stuck fast, stomach growling to remind her that she would certainly face death if she could not sway the sympathies of a pack. The other male—Stark, appeared a bit more confident, and his tail waved high. She was reminded, painfully, of her father. Her paws flexed and claws dug grooves into the dirt while her eyes flickered towards the other male's legs, knowing he was sizing her up. She had no hope of winning if they decided on violence to drive her off. She whined, again.

"A-a home. I'm alone," she stuttered. Zara, of course, had now way of knowing that the Marauders had recently dealt with refugees, but perhaps the knowledge there were no others with her would give her a better argument. She licked her lips nervously. "Di-dispersed."
i'd raise the sea in your name
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Ooc — torvi
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#5
The stranger at the Keep's borders lowered herself until her belly touched the ground. Her body took one of submission before him, a soft whine given towards him. The ex-assassin's nostrils flared but he his cold expression did not change. Though appeased, his stiff posture did not relent. At least, not until the sound of approach and a sniff of the air told him that Stark approached. Only then did Buchanan's take that of the subservient he was. Making grand gestures of dominance was not a comfortable thing for him but holding the line until either his brother in law or wife appeared was ...well it was his duty. He took a few steps back to allow Stark the floor as his superior but he remained. Not that Stark wasn't capable of handling this on his own but because the dark wraith intended to play sentinel. Buchanan doubted that Banner would ever forgive him if something happened to Stark and Buchanan had been in a possible position to ward it off. Not that he saw the woman on her belly as a threat.

Her stuttering response to his question reminded him briefly of another he'd met once. She replied with honesty, Buchanan was willing to bet, but as this was no longer his mission he was content to remain muzzled. He noted that she did not give her name but as it was not his place he did not point it out or ask for it again.
you are my sun and i am your moon
helplessly, irrevocably drawn to you
there is nothing i wouldn't do for you
A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner
707 Posts
Ooc — Sonia
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#6
She was all but sinking into the ground by the time that she stammered anything out. Stark glanced over at Buchanan before returning his gaze towards her. Of course she wanted a home. Winter was fast approaching and they were working to handle the influx of children - Stark was vaguely aware of the fact that his bleeding heart taking in Amara and her young made it even harder on them. Had it not been for the trio of puppies they'd only have Tambourine and he was big enough he wouldn't need fussing after much longer. Stark swallowed thickly at the thought, a ripple running down his spine of some emotion he couldn't place. 

"What happened to your pack?" Stark asked curiously. "And what did you do in the pack?" He was going to assume that she hadn't lead, he'd expect a bit more confidence out of a wolf who'd proven themselves previously. 
i grew a human and unfortunately as a horrible side effect lost an organ - as such will be slow from time to time.
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one black eye; busted teeth
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Ooc — Siro
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#7
It was evident that the first wolf—though his show of solidarity was impressive, was ultimately subserviant to the darker male. She could respect this but couldn't trust that he wouldn't be the one to sink his teeth into her hide should the dominant male decide to discard her. In truth, she was likely not at all a threat to either of them, so untrained and fearful as she was. Still, she kept one ear half turned towards him while her eyes remained firmly downcast. 

The dark male deigned to do the talking now, and lobbed a question that pierced right to the heart of her. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes but did not spill over. She swallowed thickly and considered, briefly, lying to them about the circumstances of her presence here. "They're s-still there, just," she grimaced and flattened herself further, if that was even possible. She hoped the earth might swallow her whole. "um, my uh, parents had another litter and I was just another m-mouth to feed, so my dad kicked me out. I was just a scout and extra h-help where they needed." 

Zara quivered, "I'm so sorry I've never had to do any of this before and, and I don't know... what I'm doing. I'm sorry."
A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner
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#8
Skipping Buchanan w/permission!
 

Stark listened as the woman made her little plea, explaining that she'd been kicked out for the newer generation. It made sense, if someone wasn't pulling their weight they had to move on. For Stark, it made him turn a critical eye towards the wolves of his own pack. Harlyn was going to take Larkspur back to her birth pack for some sort of mystic healing and he couldn't truly support that. Science and logic - that was what ruled his heart. He could believe what he could touch and see and taste and he didn't understand how she'd leave that for the sake of some unknown variable. 

"We can use scouts, but what he need are healers and hunters. I'm not interested in just having a placeholder - so before I'd give you a real place in the Keep I'd like to see you give back in return." Stark spared a glance at Buchanan before he returned his attention to the female. "What's your name, anyways?" 
i grew a human and unfortunately as a horrible side effect lost an organ - as such will be slow from time to time.
[Image: gamekeeper.gif] 3/5
one black eye; busted teeth
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#9
Unbeknownst to Stark, Zara was cut from a similar cloth. She couldn't see the merit in putting faith in the world beyond their limited understanding. Be it devoting oneself to the Divine, or subjecting the consequences of life to the hand of Fate—the only thing that was truly concrete was the world as it was, not how it could be, or how it had been.

It was because of this she honed in on his words, and the fact he was even considering giving her a place among them. The little dark she-wolf did not possess the greater knowledge that Stark had undergone some great struggles as of late and, indeed, the pack on a whole had as well. But he gave her hope, and that was enough to ignite a fire in her bones. 

"Zara Dra'Raeoan, sir," she breathed, thumping her tail a few times against the dirt. "and I'll d-do anything you ask of me. I can hunt, I can c-collect, and I can learn."
A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner
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Ooc — Sonia
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Zara. Stark committed the name to memory, giving a brief nod before he glanced at his Gamma and then back to the stranger on his borders. "You have a fortnight to prove your worth then....I'd like to see you maintain a cache and then meet some the wolves of our pack."  Stark wouldn't want her to try and stay only to run off if she wasn't settled and he wouldn't allow her to stay if she wasn't a good fit. 

"Call it a trial run, see if it's agreeable to both of us. We don't tolerate abandonment."  Stark wouldn't allow any who had walked away from them to come waltzing back. "Do you accept those terms?"  
i grew a human and unfortunately as a horrible side effect lost an organ - as such will be slow from time to time.
[Image: gamekeeper.gif] 3/5
i'd raise the sea in your name
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Ooc — torvi
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#11
gonna have buch make his exit here. :-)
It had become obvious to Buchanan some time ago that Stark was not in any sort of danger from the girl before them. She was submissive and her words were stuttering. Stark had given her the conditions of her tentative acceptance into the Keep and it was then that Buchanan thought it safe to take his leave. Stark didn't need him there as physical back-up and the subservient Gamma wasn't truly needed. Buchanan approached Stark to offer him a submissive nudge beneath his chin to silently communicate that he was departing the scene before his silver gaze slid to the girl. She had yet to decide if she accepted Stark's conditions or not and as to if she did Buchanan would not know for he turned, as silent as his given name by The Officer and shrugged past the flowing boughs of the willows and headed deeper towards the heart of the Keep.
you are my sun and i am your moon
helplessly, irrevocably drawn to you
there is nothing i wouldn't do for you
A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner
707 Posts
Ooc — Sonia
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#12
Gonna write an exit out here just for completion's sake!

While Buchanan was acting more as his guard than anything and if there was one thing that Stark knew he knew Buchanan was more comfortable in that role. He'd apparently done it most of his life and it so far had served him well - Stark wasn't going to try and make him uncomfortable pushing back. Stark gave Buchanan a nod as the Gamma parted from them, his blue eyes turning back to stare at Zara. 

If the woman found the terms agreeable or if instead her nerves got the best of her, Stark would never know. Rather than give an answer she turned and bolted, Stark frowning at her figure as it retreated. He turned instead and caught up with Buchanan, bumping his shoulder with the male. "Well. That was a bust. Wanna go on a hunt?" He asked before they set off - maybe they'd find something to keep Banner pleased for awhile too. 
i grew a human and unfortunately as a horrible side effect lost an organ - as such will be slow from time to time.
[Image: gamekeeper.gif] 3/5