@Dacio or really, any of the Stegeda party.
To say that Josiah was starving would be an understatement. All that he'd managed to catch as a lone, half-trained hunter was a pair of squirrels and an unlucky vole, none of which had been substantial enough to fill him. It was becoming more and more clear that he'd jumped the gun on leaving home and that maybe (
maybe) his parents had been right. Nonetheless, what was done was done, and he'd learned enough to know that he needed a pack.
Since his encounter with the girl in the field, Josie had managed to wander across a mountain range, through a valley, and up into a sort of tundra. It didn't seem likely that there were other wolves this far north, but the scent of others persuaded him to keep going. After having reluctantly and sloppily scaled the mountain's edge, Josiah collapsed (extra dramatically) and waited to regain some of his energy.
The pale gona had been busy working on her patrols and mapping this strange little grotto, so when she got wind of something unfamiliar nearby, she came quickly to investigate. Marking up the rest of the forest's edge could wait, she decided, and followed her nose roughly enough until she could find him--a collapsed heap of wolf.
Narrowing her eyes, she pinged him as cause of this all, and came trotting over purposefully. Hei!
the Drakru barked out towards the stranger's prone form with her tail swung up tall over her back. Before she got too close, she slowed up to eyeball him warily. She didn't willingly meet a lot of strangers usuall, and he was too unfamiliar to let her guards down about. These lands were far from mastered for her--and what if he was hurt, or ill, or Rusalkan? Thankfully a good sniff at him mostly ruled out that last issue, but there was still a lot she didn't know.
Remembering to mind her common tongue, she had zeroed in on him and hoped he intended to get up soon so she could scope him out better. What are you doing here?
She didn't know him, and that was the problem.
Very quickly did Josiah realize that joining a pack wasn't as easy as he'd thought. A young (yet frightful) voice pulled him up from his reclined state, rather forcing him into a submissive stance without having a chance to even see who he was submitting to. Instincts warned against raising his gaze, though Josie was awfully tempted to. I thought someone might live here
, he stammered, still managing to keep his focus on the ground, Isn't this a border?
, then raising his gaze an inch to motion a few feet off, I mean, I thought that maybe, but I don't know...
You're blabbering, Josiah. Get to the point.
He paused for a moment to draw in a deep breath and collect his thoughts. Who knew who he was talking to? Say that this was this alleged group's leader; did he really want that to be her first impression? I, um...I thought that there might be someone here. I wanted to see about, y'know, joining.
Smooth.
He'd been trailing his sister when the shrill of her voice alerted him, and Dacio quickened his stride toward the sound. He weaved through the dense trees of their grotto as though he'd known them his whole life, loping with ease across their exposed roots - a surefootedness earned from growing up on Drageda's rugged cliffs. As such, he was swift to arrive on the scene to find Opalia's tail arched dominantly over the raised guard hairs that trailed the length of her spine as she stood tall over a stranger.
The ashen yearling studied the scene with a low rumble as he approached, and fixed a firm stare to the wolf who appeared to have lowered himself into submission before the golden Gona. Dacio moved in alongside his littermate from behind, raising his own feathered tail as he continued on to pad around the duo where he could position himself in a better place to attack should the need arise. He let his sister take charge for the time being, eager to see if she might see this lone wanderer worthy of recruiting to their cause.
Opalia was instantly grateful that he was reactive, and it didn't take much prompting other than what she had already offered to get him into talking. That much kept her fairly rooted to her spot, though the yearling didn't soften the narrowed eyes. Yet. You thought right,
she replied with a nod, still a little clipped about it because she didn't deal in hospitality towards strangers--not often, anyway, and not poised to protect the small piece of land she was beginning to call home. It is a border. A new one still, but...
she pointed her nose around, mostly back towards where the forests had become the base of operations for her and her littermate while on the inside, she was just a touch proud to have it recognized as such--which practically officiated the thing entirely.
The red-eyed stranger might have earned a few tiny points because of that one and maybe their work was already looking to pay off sooner than she had realized. Small steps, still, but a new interest in what he could be for them started to seep into that skepticism she was bringing.
Anyway, before she said any more about what they were working on here, Dacio arrived and her knowing glance his way was minuscule at best. But in his company, it didn't need to be said that she knew that her odds at anything effectively doubled with him there to be beside her.
We are definitely here,
she swayed her tail, and looked to her brother again. Stegeda,
she said, hazarding that much when it was still cryptic at best. Few knew yet of what they hoped to foster here as the last few trickles of Teekon-born Drakru still worthy of the name and the title held little weight.. so far, but they would change that. Then, nodding her snout right back towards the newcomer, she was surprised to hear him say he looked to join. Who are you? Do you fight? Guard? Hunt?
Opalia asked, drilling right for what she hoped for most of all first, of course.
At least some of the tension seemed to alleviate. Josiah momentarily lifted his gaze to get a look at who had approached before settling back into his (very uncomfortable) recline. My name is Josie
, he said, voice cracking and realigning halfway through. It began to creep into his mind that this encounter might not be going as well as he'd hoped, but he was determined to turn that around. I don't really have a trade
, he continued, but I can learn anything. I'm a fast learner, I swear.
Again, this was not the most comfortable position to be in. Keeping his voice low, Josiah asked, Can I stand up now?
Opalia was sharp with her tongue, as always, and Dacio observed in quiet amusement. She made demands of the stranger, requesting his name and seeking to know what sort of experience he carried, but the response that came roused little but disappointment.
He exhaled a soft huff, content at least to hear that he was willing to prove himself capable of learning. Dacio stepped aside once more, grey-green eyes trailing over the crouched ashen figure before them, studying his form with a careful gaze. This one was young, ages with he and his sister perhaps, but rife with inexperience. Still, he could be of use to their cause - if they could trust him.
His plea to rise was met with a low rumble and fleeting flash of fangs to remind him of his place among those who sought to claim the grotto, before he dipped his dark muzzle in silent permission. "Where did you come from?" Dacio asked, reaching out to test the other yearling's pelt with a quick sniff; the last thing they needed was to have a Rusalka spy in their ranks, or someone who might be swayed by Blackhead and her dogs. All he really wanted to know was that this potential recruit was unspoiled by his enemies.
Josie, a fast learner.. and she really hoped so as she stared hard at him. They could use someone open to their interpretation, or at least someone adaptable enough, but was he a good chance? After all, they didn't know what they were doing exactly, even if they were pretty good at acting like it and figuring it out along the way--in her opinion.
She had softened her stance just a bit, and nodded slowly. Instinctively, she wanted to slip right into Trigedasleng, so her spoken start came a little stilted when she forced otherwise. A fast learner is good. We have.. a lot to do, still, and we need those who are capable that we can trust too..
she said, though with her eyes bright--she was hopeful, eager to prove to herself that they could flourish. So what she was trying to say was that they had a lot of niches left to fill, and really, he had a lot of ways to prove himself if he did want to run with them here in the Grotto.
Agreeing too that he could stand a little taller, she echoed her brother's sentiment with a quiet approval too. I'm Opalia,
she returned since she had his name now and some details were beginning to piece together, bit by bit. Dacio's question went for more, of course, and she would let him decide if he would introduce himself yet or not while she'd wait to see what else Josie had to say so far.