Dragoncrest Cliffs Dark knights - the king has come

Set on the 22st or 23st - whatever works. Trick does not smell like any pack and it is safe to assume he is not sick or wet. @Thuringwethil @Portia and anyone else from SD. trick is a respectable distance away from the group/borders. LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN!

Over the mountains his journey took him - the sea calling for him as it had never done before. It was crazy to be attracted to the sea in the winter, with its harsh winds and frozen sand, but Trick was determined to the bone to get where he wanted to be. He imagined spending spring there, and then summer as he could cool off in the waves without a care in the world. Perhaps packs settled near the sea would take him in, and if not - Trick was a wonderful small game hunter and did not eat so much himself due to his petite frame. He was sure he could last the winter feeding on others' kills too, for where there were wolves, there was carcasses he could pick on like a bird.

Down he went, stumbling but not really tripping or falling - smelling several scents, including the Keep. With a wide circle did he pass it, afraid to be discovered before his journey even really begun, and he settled unto one direction. Ahead of him lay cliffs as dangerous as the deep sea and behind him lay the mountains he had grown accustomed to. At his side he felt the cold winds of the sea as the passed through his ruffled and spiked coat and he smelled the salt of it as well. Not long after descending did he pick up the scent of a rabbit that he immediately chased down and carried along to what seemed like a deserted place.

Little did he know that there lay Sleeping Dragon, yet he had not awoken it just yet as he scented it just in time. This was his chance - a new beginning in a new place, but he knew not to be too optimistic. Perhaps they favored warriors, and he was merely a naturalist and a fairly good hunter. With only a little knowledge on star reading, he was not a scout's best friend, but with digging his own dens did come some knowledge on the ground. He also had to mention that he was good at plant identification and was also fairly talented in using herbs to treat others. Surely they could use someone with his skill set.

A respectable distance away did he place his kill near his front paws as he lifted his head to call for any type of leader the obvious group might have.  

Sorry for the short post but I wanted to get something up.

The howl leaves her cause for concern and she wishes to call upon @Dio or @Tanja, if only to keep her company in light of the unknown. Sleeping Dragon offered a comfort that will take some time to accomplish here but their presence has already become known. The idea, when they are weak, sets her on edge but she moves toward the call anyway. With winter on their doorsteps, she knows there are a lot of reasons for someone curious to come by. There had been no packs within over a hundred miles from her recollection and her time spent further down south and so a nosy neighbor doesn’t seem so likely.

When she approaches, she searches the face of the dark male as she weaves out of the redwoods and makes her presence known. Smaller than she, and slight in frame, her eyes narrow in judgment. Her head squares between her shoulders and she chuffs to make herself known, if she hadn’t been noticed to begin with.

Everything had happened in such a rush, he wondered how long until he could feel like he wasn't scrambling to catch up to something. The second he'd smelled smoke on distinct winter's cold air, he knew it went right for a blur but now they were here and left wondering where to go from here, plus how to make it theirs. He was adaptable enough all things considered, although this timing was bad for many reasons, he still sought to carve out some semblance of a routine to help push them forward into making this a home.

His efforts in enforcing some fresh scent markers was waylaid by the stranger's howl. Unexpected as it was, he was prone to an initial suspicion as he listened and concluded this particular pee with a few scrapes of his feet to compliment. He didn't find he liked wolves finding them here, already, so quartered away from the rest of the wilds as he had known them and only on the very beginning of their settling. Dio let off with a rolling lope, and soon caught himself trailing the commander to arrive after she did; he came weaving from between the trees perhaps only a few beats behind her.

The wocha's posture remained proud, but there grew a very distinct scrutiny in his eyes as he moved up closer beside Thuringwethil to eye the male in full. As always, the lead was hers, and at least the stranger had enough sense to mind their boundaries -- even if he did not know why he had come here, specifically. Still, the situation had yet to truly unfold, and considering the edge recent events kept him on, his patience would only last for so little.

kind of sloppy to get in here too but hey

He knew not to sit - that would trick them into thinking he was not the least bit scared, which might give the wrong impression. He kept standing near the dead rabbit, tail tucked between his hind legs and body lower than normal in a submissive pose. His eyes were focused upon the place he knew was home to at least some, and yet nervousness did not rush through his veins. He felt calm, if a bit cold, and determined. After successfully joining 2 packs before, he thought it'd be just as easy.

The coming female proved him a little wrong though. She looked dangerous, draped in dark colors and towering over him without the least bit of effort. The trickster was a pro at reading expressions, and he could see he was being watched - judged as one other, big male joined their little tea party. In contrast to the female, he was draped in light colors and it was obvious he had  complete heterochromia. Trick whined in submission and shoved his rabbit a little closer to the pair.

I am Trick - Trick Likoto. I stand before you to ask for permission to join your group - to walk the lands behind a great leader that I would stay loyal to for the end of my days. He told them, gaze lowered as to not seem challenging - even if his small frame was anything but threatening. My skills include plant identification, especially poisons, and I am a trained healer also. Before you lays my gift to prove I can hunt - provide. Perhaps he was lying - perhaps he was not. His tone and look did not give anything away, as he was also not sure. 

The male displays further submission and flicks the rabbit closer though her eyes don't leave his form. So soon since their destruction, Thuringwethil's trust for others is minimal. He hadn't been invited into their home and instead approached their growing border. It is not something she feels inclined to chase him off but her ratio against recruits do not weigh into his favor. Still, she ignores the kill and does not acknowledge the wocha have from the corner of her eyes while she trains on the straggler.

"Why should I trust a wolf named Trick at my borders?" she says with a low growl. Her tail tightens marginally but otherwise remains still.

He spared very little in looking the stranger over, and found himself a little dismayed to smell so little of note on him. Dio wanted to know why he had come here and perhaps even more importantly, from where. By nature of his title, such a fresh resettling had him exceptionally wary of any and all.

There's no easing up in the sight of such submission, or the offering, but it does keep the wocha from pressuring him further immediately. He keeps a subtle raise to his furs and an otherwise stern countenance. It seemed the wolf, Trick Likoto, knew to lay his strengths out early -- he surely didn't need much prompting from Heda to start listing his details off, so perhaps he came to this awfully prepared. Dio notes these words, his skills particularly, but it is his commander's questions that keeps him sharpened. Good question.

A gentle smile appeared on the man's face. Perhaps he should've chosen a name like "trustworthy" when he left his past behind. Still, to not trust someone based on their name was kind of childish. A name was just that; a name. They could call "grass" "fire", and yet it would not burn. He was questioning the other's logic for a moment, wondering if this was the time to show he was not something to walk over completely. 

Why should you not? He questioned, convincingly innocent. If we were to call the grass "fire", would you avoid it? Would you be afraid it would burn? He questioned, his voice buttery and pleasant.

“Grass by any other name doesn’t change that it is grass,” she tells him with her eyes narrowing. Claiming it means nothing doesn’t make the wolf trustworthy and the kill at her feet just adds to her suspicion. A low growl rumbles in her throat and she glances once toward Dio with a subtle dip of her nose. Thuringwethil draws her gaze back just as quickly as she’d turned away and took one slow, careful step forward. He used his one chance explaining faulty logic as if he is hiding something.

Still, Thuringwethil presses closer with another step and flash of her teeth in warning. “Leave,” she tells him, locking her legs into place should he nod take her advice and turn tail.

Dio's mismatched eyes narrowed further, and swiftly, he doubted that answer would appeal perfectly well to the commander. He was not surprised when it didn't, so he was quick to respond accordingly. While the male seemed to carry a countenance of having it all together here before them, something seemed too hard to trust about him already. Dio's lips curled back and his snarl rumbled low from his chest following a lashed tail. The next seconds to tick by were best used wisely. The wocha let him have that much, but his patience was thin and he expected immediate action.

The heda had moved closer. Dio was prepared to angle from the side, poised and ready to strike the second he dared to resist her order.

Last post from me :p

The dark female did not have to demand twice for Trick to scamper up from the bowing position he was in and turn tail. They did not like his logic - fair enough. To be the better part of this party, he left them his meal, having had enough to eat on his way and enough strength to go hunt if he felt the need to. Pleasure meeting you too!!! He shouted when he was a sort of safe distance away - running faster than most with his lithe form and strong legs. Whenever he would be safe, he would catch his breath and leave Teekon all together. He needed to get his shit together before he could ever come here again - a new name, a new view on life. 

The male did not linger long, turning tail and running off. He decides on a comment in return, once he was far enough away, but Thuringwethil doesn’t waste her time chasing after him. Her fur remains bristled, irritated with the display of the stranger, but eventually she turns back toward Dio. The kill remains on the ground near her feet and she doesn’t give it a second glance before she turns away from it and retreats back into the forest of redwoods with her wocha nearby.