the day had dawned softly, softer than a pup's first breath and sunrise had broken across the sky like oh so many fireflies burning like supernovas. if that hadn't been a sight to shake loose the darkness of the night- well, Sonder would never find anything else.
she'd been on the borders of a pack territory for several hours, knowing well enough not to press her boundaries and venture within- alpha's could be terrifying if newcomers were too intrepid. but she waited, till the sun was higher in the sky and the birds were no longer muted by hush, to let out a howl. it was not threatening, nor was it affectionate- it simply was. just a way to get a message across. and so she waited, with the scents of summer and the scent of burnt wood and ash spread across the land.
Scarlett looked up at the howl sounding through the valley, it as a perfect echo because of the high walls that surrounded the valley. They only had one entrance. Scarlett wasn't sure if Raziel was going to the borders or if she had to go. It would be a good opportunity to practice her not being so nice and worried about strangers. Scarlett decided she would go herself. It couldn't take long and her pups would be fine a moment alone, their parklands were very safe.
Scarlett moved her way to the boulder path, the only entrance into the valley. She climbed it and appeared on their heavily scented border, since it was only a small part that was the actual border. Her blood red eyes fell into the other, surprised this wolf had the same hue in color as her. "You called?," she questioned.
it was not long before the scent of another wolf blew on the breeze, the same scent that was intertwined along the rocky border where she stood. moments later, the ghostly silhouette of a she-wolf appeared from the seemingly treacherous depths of the territory's entrance.
Sonder grinned in a little shock and amusement as she found herself facing a very similar figure to herself- with the fur of a ghost and the eyes of a wildfire. "I am sure you have already assumed I am here to join but- now you know, I am here to join. I wish to evoke no offense or aggression- I'm just trying to find a pack. I'm Sonder, from the Northern Reaches." Sonder fidgeted nervously from paw to paw, as she hoped the fae deliberated on a decision. she hadn't done this yet- requested access into a pack and it was nerve wracking, though she tried to hide it as best she could.
Scarlett nodded slowly, usually when a wolf howled, a stranger, they would want to join. She would normally straightly accept someone but then she thought about Shiba and the drama with her. "That is very nice you want to live in our home, but what can you offer our pack. We are not a hotel," she explained. Her ears on top of her head turned towards the other female. She wasn't sure what to feel about having another female like her. But she wasn't going to deny someone that would be an asset to their pack.
They could always have new members with hunting and with the babies. Yet, having the babies also made her more protective, she shouldn't accept every stranger in their family. She wanted to know for sure if it was okay.
while the other albino seemed cautious, she hadn't outright told her bugger off yet so... that was a plus? Sonder didn't know- so she promptly forgot about it and moved onto the question being posed towards her. she hummed for a moment, a soft sound of thoughtfulness as she perused what skills she actually could bring. she'd hardly ever thought of it before now but she had skills... didn't she?
"i'm a wolf- so i can hunt and it's always to have another set of paws for food. I've got some healing experience but only enough for little things. Colds and scrapes and such... aside from that, i really don't have much to offer unless you really love stories and legends? i've got a treasure trove of those, usually pretty entertaining but they won't feed anyone. used to use them to calm the litters back home." she whuffled a soft laugh, remembering the antics of her family back home. "so i can hunt for you, cure a few colds but i can't work any miracles. yet. i'm working real hard on miracles right now."
Scarlett sat down on her side of the border so she could listen to the wolf, and show that she was comfortable on her side of the lands. She listens to the other, so this female was a chronicler? They didn't have one, and it might raise the moral of the pack? She could hunt, of course she could, how would she otherwise survive as a lone wolf. "Can you defend? Would you defend these lands if needed?," she asked curiously.
"I'm Scarlett, the Beta of this pack. Former Alpha but when I was pregnant I stepped down," she explained and nodded shortly. "We do have a spot for a new member but we want loyal ones." Her red eyes glanced over the other. She wasn't sure yet what to make of her, and she really tried to reflect critically. "We are a family here at Bearclaw, You will become part of that family if you are accepted. We wouldn't want you to leave after you have recovered from your travels."
defend?
she'd never really defended anything before... her mother had never let her litters stretch their wings too much with the pack, just as hunters or babysitters- and they were to leave the 'important' stuff to the 'real wolves'. suffice to say, Sonder could fight... but she'd never really had anything worth fighting for before this.
"i can fight just as well as the next wolf, i don't think i would've made it this far if i couldn't. but defending a home? i have no experience in that. i've never defended anything i loved from danger. " 'because there wasn't anything to love.' she tagged on silently at the end.
"but i understand that i would need to be loyal. a pack is a family afterall. or, it should be." she rolled her shoulders quickly, eyes quickly scoping around the area. "i'm not going to avail myself of your home and then scamper off. that's not the way any wolf should operate afterall."
Scarlett wasn't big on defending either but she would if needed, she was not a fighter, she just fulfilled other roles in the pack, easy. She wasn't sure if others were fighters. Well they had Raziel, Cry and Adlartok, and Kove. She looked at the other. "You will be surprised how many come knocking on our door saying they are loyal and they leave after a week or a month," she pointed out, almost casually. Her red eyes falling into the other red eyes.
Scarlett was a bit at loss what to ask now. Her red eyes scanned over the female. She normally left these intakes to Raziel. The light hearted female looked over the female. "Well I guess you could join,' she spoke slowly then. "But you will start at the bottom of the pack and you will need to prove yourself.
if anything, that casual remark sounded like prior experience. sometimes, Sonder mused, it must be terrible to be an alpha- to put your trust in wolves you sometimes barely knew- only to have them throw it back in your face. it was despicable and while Sonder was not the friendliest of wolves -right now aside, because who was going to be sarcastic during the closest equivalent to a 'job interview'? even she knew doing that was a big no-no in the wolf world.
she left that statement untouched and she could have danced on the spot when the hestitant 'yes vote' was delivered by the albino beta. "of couse. no one gets anywhere without hard work after all. it'd be foolish of me to just expect something to be given to me."
Last post from me! Welcome to the pack! Feel free to round it up on your side! I can archive it after your reply! :)
Scarlett smiled more kindly. "I'm happy that you are joining don't get me wrong. I would be even more happier when you would stay," she spoke. The female stepped aside to let the other pass. "I shall show you around. This way is the only known path in and out of the valley," she explained, expecting the other to follow her.
Scarlett showed her around Bearclaw and explained about Arthur the bear, that he was kind if treated with respect. The girl was happy to show the other around and talk about the good spots.
-fade end!-
Sonder grinned as she listened to the beta chat away about her home... No, HER new home. She had a home! It was almost enough to make her giddy- but she had an image to maintain.
She smiled softly and replied to the other, thanking her for her kindness and they made their way down into the valley, two spectres in the summer haze.