The Ostrega's entrance to the Teekon Wilds had been nothing but coincidental. While the cold rug of white that stretched across the land made the male's footsteps light and soundless, he had yet to see if the spectacular entrance of Winter would bring him as much luck as the previous season. Where, despite being a loner that fed mostly of carcasses, he had found a better use for his earthen coat than simply keeping fleas.
Now that he was surrounded by a layer of white and his fleas had died off, he feared he could no longer blend in with the dead leaves that laid scattered on the forest's floor a few weeks ago. If there was anything the young Ciervo knew better than the extent of damage a fire could bring, was that Winter equalled hunger. And Ciervo was not good at being hungry.
Despite his lithe structure, he was a voracious eater with an unsatiable craving for meat and good company.
With his tail flagging behind him, the rust colored man trotted around the edges of the lake, his nose hovering lazily over the snow in searchs of an abandoned cache or a buried treat he might claim as his own.
It was the grey female's second trip to the lake. The first had been a week or two ago, where Somnia had found food and a new ebony-colored friend. Maybe it was the amount of prey that survived off the frozen lake's water that brought her back. Or maybe, and more likely, she just hoped to encounter Sen again, even though the chances were slim. Either way, Somnia found herself back at the frozen lake.
She found herself scanning the area, looking for a black figure. Instead, Somnia's eyes landed upon a rust-colored wolf moving around the lake's edge. It was a male by the scent she could pick up. With a short bark to get his attention, Somnia trotted over. She didn't close all the distance, but the majority of it. It was always a good idea to see how others reacted before invading their personal space.
Without luck, the Ostrega continued to scout along the edges of the lake, often lingering above the ice covered stones that guarded the lake's contour and staring into the mirror-like layer that had begun to form at the very edges of it, indication that soon the freezing water of the lake would be sealed away underneath a layer of thin ice.
It was then that the voice of a stranger pulled him away from his thoughts, his lip curling back slightly as he positioned himself to face whatever or whoever it was that was coming at him. The cautious or rather vigilant attitude with which he greeted the world was the residue of his past experiences. As a loner himself, he knew that not every wolf he came across would have good intentions -- because certaintly he didn't.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that rather than a monstrous rogue or vagabond (such as himself) all there was was a doe-eyed female with no indications of hostility. Ciervo, being the gallant man he was, dipped his nose in greeting,"Hello to you" he barked whilst dedicating one of his best smiles in her direction.
The earth-colored male gave her a greeting, verbal and physical, and also included a smile. "Hello to you too," Somnia echoed back, her tail starting to wave slowly behind her in a friendly manner as she began an introduction. "My name is Somnia. I come from a pack a bit away known as Redhawk Caldera." A small, polite smile was offered to the male along with the information.
Somnia was curious as to where the male had come from, as well as his name, but those should come up any moment now as he took his turn in the dance of polite conversation. Everyone knew the beginning steps, greetings and introductions. A wrong step here and most people would assume that you were either weird or up to something. But with the following turns with no set moves, it was up to the individual to interpret whether it worked with the dance or not.
Ciervo listened half-heartedly to the female's introduction, paying attention to only her name and the name of the pack she claimed to make a part of. Though he was in no position to be picky over the pack he decided to join, he wanted to explore at least more than one option before comitting his body and abilities to said packs. Even if the ragged looking male tended to drop things once they lost their charm, he was a meticulous worker that viewed the act of joining a pack like a modern version of selling a soul.
In spite of his chaotic beginning and the various changes he had to endure after the loss of his parents, Ciervo was a man that valued stability -- at least in the most part. Even if he strived to get his life as a loner to be a temporary stage in his life, the Ostrega could not help but think that in the same way the flames had consumed away his ideal of a happy family, his own wanderlust and audacity was unwittingly getting in the way between him and his goals.
With his own tail flagging behind him, the male took a step forward breaking the distance placed between them. While Somnia might've expected him to enter the corteous slow dance she had begun, the Ostrega was moving to a much faster beat, "Ciervo " he woofed quickly, his golden eyes seeking to connect with the female's own,"And is this Caldera welcoming new bodies?" he inquired, simply to know if it would be worth his time seeking out its Alpha(s) for an introduction.
Nope, no information for her yet. The wolf, who Somnia now knew was Ciervo, didn't follow the steps she expected he would. Oh well, lesson learned for the day; everyone danced to their own beat. If she really wanted to know where he came from she could bring it up later. For now, Somnia would follow his lead.
Her brown eyes met his. They were a nice color of gold, just like how she would be nice and answer his question. "Yes, as long as you respect the borders." It was short and sweet, right to the point, which Somnia often had trouble doing. Telling about how she had heard about Peregrine recently almost killing a possible recruit because he hadn't respected the borders would've been a good warning, but she also didn't want to scare Ciervo away from joining the Caldera.
Slowly, Ciervo brought his rear onto the ground, feeling that the opportinuty to fish out some information out of the female was only beginning. Whether or not he saw an interest of trading his freedom for a spot in the ranks of her pack remained yet to be seen. Even if the decision would be solely his (and the Alpha's) in the end, the Ostrega wanted to hear from a member herself how good was this Caldera exactly.
Like a customer on a store, Ciervo wanted to have her sell out her pack and list their numerous benefits they had above others (given that they did) instead of being him who tried to persuade them into opening their gates to him. It might've not been the most delicate way to approach a situation which could ultimately change the course of his life. But being 'delicate' had never been exactly one of Ciervo's virtues.
He listened a bit more carefully now, wondering if by that she meant he was expected to respect other's borders (a crime he had already commited before) or if he was meant to respect and make others respect the packs boundaries as if he were some kind of guardian. Neither of those excited the man, but didn't turn him off either. "Who runs this pack again?"he asked, wanting to know a bit more about the Aplha(s).
As long as they weren't overzealous tryrants, Ciervo would give it a more throrough look.
Somnia noticed Ciervo's rump slowly sink to the ground, and took it as an opportunity for hers to do the same. The atmosphere seemed, to her at least, calm and relaxed. Ciervo was at ease with her it seemed, and that was a good step if she were to recruit him to Redhawk Caldera. He certainly seemed to have an interest. Plus, wouldn't bringing in a recruit make her better in the Alphas' standards?
"The pack is run by Peregrine and Fox." Somnia then wished she knew their last name. She thought she had heard it once before, but it didn't surface in her mind at the moment. "Peregrine is big and black, Fox is small and red. Peregrine is the calmer one of the pair, and is one of the main backbones of the pack with his Gamekeeper and Warden trades. Fox can be fierce and impulsive, but both she and Peregrine have a territorial urge to protect the pack." Hopefully, giving out this information wouldn't come back to bite her in the butt in the future.
Ciervo's lips curved upwards as he watched the female mirror his movements now. While she had wanted to be the one that designated the course of the conversation, for one reason or another it was now his own rythmn the one they were moving to. His eyes ran over her face idly as she began to speak, introducing the Caldera's ruling pair with a physical description an all.
Though he would not open his mouth to comment on it, he found it quite funny she gave such information to him, as if the fact that the so-called Peregrine was dark colored would some how influence his decision. Well he had asked who they were after all, better settle with the information that according to her, made who they were.
He sat through her speech quietly, wanting to imagine how the pack's dynamic was just by judging by the way their Alpha's sounded like. "And it sounds like you like it there a lot by the way you speak of them" he noted simply. Though a member's happiness would not weigh heavily upon his choice, he'd like to know her view on it -- even if they she had not given the impression they were iron-fisted tyrants, the repetitive use of the word territorial didn't not allow the potential charm of the Caldera to lurr him in.
Somnia did like it there. It was better than her last pack, the pack that she had been born in, and it had only consisted of her close family. She had heard another speculate that Somnia's old pack had bad conditions between the members though, so she didn't have much of a way to compare Redhawk Caldera to another pack. The most she could do was know that she liked it and explain why.
"I do like it there." The statement was reinforced with a nod. "Everyone cares about each other, even if the pack-mate is new." Somnia was thinking more of her experience when she said it, but it could also be interpreted that it was directed towards Ciervo. "And, everyone helps pull their own weight. But after they do their part for the pack, there's many different unique personalities that emerge that keeps life interesting."
Somnia watched Ciervo, analyzing any reactions that would be clues to how he felt about Redhawk Caldera.
Like any good saleswoman Somnia gave him the basic details of it all, which aside from being meant to sound sweet and lurr him in, held a certain ambiguity Ciervo didn't like. He of course did not want her to throw in all the little flaws of her pack (accepting all packs had some) into the conversation,but he also didn't want to have his mind clouded at the time of a decision (assuming he'd even have to take one) by her flowery words.
Ciervo was a man of facts -- and as pretty as it sounded he was not buying the whole 'eveyone loves and cares about each other' speech.
If that was a requirement when joining the Caldera they might as well throw out his application because as he was hardworking and passionate about the things he loved he was also careless and brusque when relating with others -- especially after having to compete with six other siblings while growing up.
With his ears swiveling back as if he was no longer interested in her testimony he stood up, shaking his coat with indifference as he once more seeked her eyes with his own. "Oh, I'm sure they do " he barked non-chalantly, preparing to leave but holding back in case the female had something else to add.
Ciervo suddenly lost interest. Where had she gone wrong? Somnia hadn't seen anything wrong in her reasons. His statement that shortly followed showed that he doubted at least one of her reasons. Why? Somnia wasn't sure, as they were all true in her eyes.
Ciervo made eye contact and lingered. Was he waiting for her to say more? "Just speaking the truth. If you don't believe me, or don't care, that's your own fault. The Caldera is a little southwest of Great Salmon Lake if you ever want to seek it out." With that, Somnia got up and turned around. She had done her part. There was nothing more for her to do with Ciervo, besides pleading her case that he probably wouldn't listen to. If he said something to her before she got out of ear-shot, she would stop and listen, but if not, Somnia would continue on her way and try to do some hunting.
In spite of the good intentions Somnia might've had during her speech, her words did not manage to captivate Ciervo's fleeting interest. With a dull grimace that had the phrase 'thanks but no thanks' written all over, the Ostrega pricked one of his ears to grasp the female's final words -- which were gone out the other ear as soon as they came in.
Though he knew it wouldn't hurt to check out the place, he made no gestures of being interested on taking a hike near such place in the days to come. With a bit of luck, Ciervo would be able to run into another wolf, whom he would persuade again into spilling things about their packs so that he'd have something else to compare the Caldera to.
Even after the major letdown he had felt through her words, the Caldera continued to be the number one option -- something that sounded better if you ignored the fact it was also the only one until then.
Feeling no need to add anything else to the already dead conversation, Ciervo turned around briskly, slipping again to his previous task of scouting the place for an abandoned cache he could assault.
