Kjalarr had been tending to his patrols — which besides hunting meager game for what was left of the pathetic caches of the Saltwinter wolves — though they had been bare before the pestilence had stolen through the lands following in the wake of the swarm for the Seadog pack had parked upon their doorstep, closing off that avenue for prey. It had never seemed fair that Saltwinter had taken the brunt of it: they had been hit by both and yet there was a surge of pride for them...that they were enduring despite the obstacles thrown in their path, seemingly without mercy. If the Gods were testing them, then surely they had passed and their luck was due to turn around soon. The sprouts of life had taken rapidly: seen to Kjalarr as varying gray foliage, and begun to fill the once barren and skeletal limbs and ground. This, at the very least, was promising.

The silver and sand dual colored Viking had been close when the howl arose and thus did not take him long to reach her: a small and slender creature draped in a coat of ivory. Upon his approach, Kjalarr's tail rose over his back in a display of dominance and rank. The Beta drew in her scent through flared, black leathery nostrils — a loner, though there was a few unknown scents upon her pelt, fading and not nearly strong enough to be the scent of another pack. There was something familiar in the slender craft of her muzzle and body, he noted as he assessed her quietly. It reminded him of Caiaphas though the truth was that neither woman looked anything alike: except for the fact that they were both coywolves.

“This is Saltwinter, and I am Kjalarr, it's Beta,” He broke his silence and spoke to her, offering an introduction of the pack and himself. “What do you seek here?” Although, he could guess; but still he knew what it meant to assume and deigned not to jump to conclusions.

The stoic viking took to a statue-esque pose as she, in turn, studied him. It was only fair, Kjalarr supposed. He'd taken his assessment of her, though his assessment had been to judge her health, to note if she had any alarming limps or injuries that would wrought havoc and be a burden upon Saltwinter: providing that she proved his suspicions correct as to wanting to join. She introduced herself in turn and the viking bestowed upon her his rapt attention as she spoke, skipping all the pleasantries and going straight to the point. This, Kjalarr enjoyed. He did not yet harbor the patience for long pleasantries; but he was a blunt beast. She was looking for a place to stay, though he found her use of the word for now a curiosity. At one time, perhaps, Saltwinter had only been a temporary fixture but somewhere along the line it had grown into a fixture that felt permanent to Kjalarr. It was Summer and they still survived: they even had babes...a future for their pack.

“Once upon a time Saltwinter was only to survive the winter and yet we remain,” Admittedly, the pack and his position was not something that Kjalarr could claim he was willing to forfeit and Caiaphas had given him no impressions that she intended to disband them any time soon. “You would be loyal for only a short time, you mean. At least until the famine is over.” Loyalty was loyalty...and he wasn't so sure where he should have stood on this. She only wanted shelter from the famine but the wolves of Saltwinter were no longer the vagabonds that had formed it, or at least that was how Kjalarr had felt about it.

“I will call for @Caiaphas and hear her opinion on the matter.” Because, at the end of the day Kjalarr was just the Beta and did not feel right making this decision without hearing his Alpha's opinion as well. With that said, he sent up a howl, summoning Caiaphas to him and the loner. The idea of letting her join for only a short while did not, admittedly, sit well with Kjalarr, but that was just him.

Devin, as she had introduced herself, realized her mistake when Kjalarr brought question to it and her answer changed. A slight narrow of the Norseman's eyes were given as she offered him a “maybe” and then a “it depends”. It seemed to Kjalarr that she could not make up her mind and confirmed as much when she launched into an explanation, further stating that it depended on the state of the Wilds after the famine ran it's course but then added that she might stay forever. “We are free to roam, our members aren't chained to the Sound,” Kjalarr stated bluntly. “The scout trade is particularly useful for sating that desire and aids the pack as well.” But his decision had yet to be made and he was glad that he had called for Caiaphas. The hard ass in Kjalarr wanted to tell her no, but he respected her honesty, at the very least, but her uncertianty made him uncertain and left him unwilling to make the decision on his own. 

Kjalarr's gaze slid to Caiaphas as she approached, relaxing his dominate posture in respect of his Queen's presence before his gaze moved back to Devin when she introduced herself and stated simply that she wished to join the pack. Kjalarr waited until she was finished before his gaze flickered back to Caiaphas. “For a short time, she means. Maybe. She told me that it depends,” Kjalarr quoted Devin wanting Caiaphas to be aware of why he was struggling. It wasn't as if he couldn't handle the borders or the acceptance of new wolves, but at the end of the day Caiaphas' word was his law and in this instance he sought her judgment in the same way that she had allowed him to make the final judgment on Whittier's acceptance though the situations were vastly different. “on what state the Wilds are in after the famine. She isn't sure if she will stay with us or not.”

“If it makes any sort of difference she was honest about it.” Well, for the most part. She hadn't lied when he'd called her out on her use of “short while”, at least. "And offered loyalty if we were to accept her for however long she stayed."

Caiaphas left the choice up to him, as she had with Whittier, speaking that so long as the Viking though the girl worthy that she could stay. The Saltwinter Queen's trust was an honor to hold, and as Caiaphas voiced her warning to the pale coywolf before them the Beta deliberated with a shift of his weight and a stoic expression across his scarred face. Devin's honesty had garnered her a small semblance of trust, and Kjalarr believed that she would do as she had promised whether it was only for a short while or she decided to stay with them for good. Caiaphas appeared willing to accept Devin and coupled with what the pale girl had offered Kjalarr saw no reason that he shouldn't be equally as willing. “Welcome to Saltwinter, Devin.” Kjalarr decided, gesturing with his muzzle for her to cross into their borders and make her induction official.