She appeared to be studying him. Well, he couldn't blame her with his rugged appearance. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she cut to the chase and asked if he'd help her with hunting. She even made a fair deal with him. Corvus liked her already. It's as if you read my mind. You have a deal,
He said, a faint grin forming on his face. I am Corvus,
He decidedly introduced.
Then, he brought his own nose to the ground to begin sifting through the scents there. He found nothing of interest, so he continued to search, branching out from Grezig to cover more ground.
I rolled from a list of mammals in Glacier National Park and got a vole. Then I rolled a 1d4 to see if she would catch it (evens is yes) and got a 4. You don't have to roll for anything. I just do it cos it makes it more interesting.
Grezig nodded once at Corvus’ words. She had hoped that making a fair trade with him would make him more likely to help her, and she had been right. “I’m Grezig,” she said, exchanging names. Then she went back to sniffing the ground. A little while later, she caught the scent of something. She tried to find it in her brain’s catalog of scents, but couldn’t remember what it was. Shrugging, she followed it to its source and scared the daylights out of a vole who had been hiding out under a bush. It took off from its hiding place, but inadvertently ran closer to Grezig, rather than farther away. She lunged for it and caught the tiny thing in her mouth. It took effort not to crunch down and swallow it whole because it was so tiny, but she had made a deal with Corvus. She set down the dead vole and gave a low howl, calling out, “I caught something.”
He'd just caught the fresh trail of a rabbit when the sound of Grezig's howl caught his attention, and he regrouped with her. She said she caught something, but it took him a moment to see it. Ah... a vole. Well, it was better than nothing, and he appreciated her honesty. She could've easily gobbled it up, and he'd have been none the wiser. Instead, he was the one to take the morsel into his jaws, crushing its body with a few chews before gulping it down. Corvus wasn't one to hand out "thank you"s, but he did give a dip of his head. Holding up his end of the deal would mean more, anyway.
There's a rabbit with your name on it this way,
He said with a smirk before turning back the way he came, nose lowering to the ground once more. Corvus found the trail again, and the rabbit soon came into view. Silently, he slowed to a stalk, fiery eyes wide and focused on his quarry. Once he got as close as he felt possible, he broke into a sprint. Its small, quick body was difficult to keep track of but he managed, locking his deadly jaws around its spine to break it. Then, he carried the prize to Grezig and dropped it at her feet, looking pleased with himself.
A rabbit was merely a snack for a wolf, and a vole was even less. Corvus expected them to keep searching, but he didn't mind having a shoulder to lean on out here. Shall we keep searching?
He asked after she presumably began to dig in or do whatever she intended to with it.
She didn't want to go through with the hunt... pity. Corvus had no qualms with putting himself in danger for the sake of food; he'd do the same if in a group, and as long as the buck was distracted, the fawn should've been an easy snag. Ah well. Grezig did have a point that there was more prey elsewhere, so he respected her decision.
His interest was piqued when she mentioned a pack in the making and invited him to join. It made him ponder for a moment, ember-like eyes downcast as he thought. He'd wanted to remain a loner just a while longer or perhaps find another group of nomads. Corvus had been a traveler all his life, so settling down was foreign and thus somewhat... unwelcome. But perhaps it was time for a new chapter in his life. It felt unwise to deny this opportunity being presented to him, as spending the lean season alone would leave him worse for wear, if not dead. Besides—Grezig was the first face he had any trust in out here.
It was decided, then. I accept your offer,
Corvus answered finally. Where is your group located?
Editing out the section with Thorleif. We're backdating this so that Corvus was invited to NSV before Thorleif.
It took time for the male to come to a decision, but Grezig was patient, and waited. Her face betrayed no emotion. This decision would be his and his alone. No look or twitch would help to sway him here. She hoped to be as impartial as possible when asking others to join. Eventually, he agreed, and asked where they were located.
“Not far from here, in a thicker forest than this one. Eventually, we will head to the mountains.” She stood. “My name is Grezig. The alphas are Liri and Kavik. There is a pup, Illidan. You will be friendly towards him or leave him alone. He is not your concern.” There was a slight warning in her voice as she spoke of the boy, but it was not an outright threat. She did not think this male would harm Illidan, or she would not have invited him to join the group. “There is one other. Elixir. She is a half-breed, part dog, but I would not judge her too harshly. She means well.” She thought about it for a moment, making sure she had counted everyone (she had not met Kenkou yet and didn’t know about him) and nodded to herself. “If that sounds all right, then follow me and I will take you to them.” She stood and waited.