he'd meant to return to the glacier — but then he'd remembered the scents of all the others heavy with wintersbane's children, and he'd felt too sick to contemplate it further.

instead, he goes north. the journey feels longer than it is, more treacherous than it should; he knows enough to blame it on his current state. the dizziness has yet to subside, and on top of it all, he's hardly eaten since the first pangs of nausea struck him. by the time he works his way through the twisting hellscape bordering the cliffs raimo had spoken of, nearly falling to his death several times in the process, the wraith is a wilted shell of himself. still — his state of neglect has not yet brought him fully to his knees. it would take far more than a few weeks of self-neglect to transform zephyr from hardened warrior to helpless waif. he still has his wits about him as he approaches the border of the cliff pack, and most of his strength.

otherwise, he wouldn't feel confident enough to call for an audience — for raimo first and foremost, but also for whoever leads this place; those whose scents are strongest at the border. he doesn't want to go back to the glacier, and this is the first step in making that desire a reality.

it is not raimo that finds him first, but a woman; the leader of this pack, presumably. he only takes a moment to glance over her, noting that she seems more scar than wolf. old, too; a survivor, then. perhaps a warrior... or simply unfortunate. zephyr dips his head, posture shifting to show appropriate respect for her rank.
zephyr. i encountered raimo some time ago, when i was in heat. i'm here to tell him that i'm expecting children now. he promised his involvement, and now, the part that zephyr is apprehensive about — he made no promises regarding sapphique, but i would like to learn more about it, and seek a place here on my own merits. i'm not at my best, in my current state, but i'm still capable of filling caches and guarding borders. i intend to remain active for as long as i can — and if i enter your ranks, i do not intend to leave. duskfire glacier crosses his mind, briefly, but he tucks that away for now. no need to mention what he's running from, not while he still feels like a shell of himself and the thought of the pack he seeks to leave behind makes that shell seem so frail.

his words are met with obvious distaste, though the reason for it isn't clear until the leader continues. immediately he discerns that raimo must not have made a favorable impression on these wolves, and his apparent reticence on this matter has not improved it. based on these quickly-gathered assumptions, zephyr cannot fault the leader for her reaction. he assumes she will turn him away, and that, too, strikes him as a reasonable reaction.
but she doesn't. instead she lays out conditions of his acceptance; again, not unreasonable, but undeniably harsh. it's a relief. too much kindness from a leader who obviously feels disrespected by and disdainful of the man who is to be the father of his children would have made him wary; to be turned away would have left him weary. he dips his head once again as she finishes, grateful and suddenly feeling tired in a different way than he would have in the face of rejection. the kind of tired that hits when you open your front door after a long, hard day at work, not quite able to relax while you know the next day will be just as long and just as hard, but safe and calm enough for the moment to really feel how much the day has worn you down.
of course your children will take priority; i understand, he answers, knowing that he would be no less harsh than the scarred leader, were he in the same position. thank you. i'll address things with raimo, as well, and ensure you receive proper respect and transparency moving forward. if not from raimo, then from himself; he leaves that part unspoken, feeling it is implied.
just as he finishes speaking, raimo arrives, lending a new awkwardness to the scene. zephyr says little to him outside of what is necessary, eager for the meeting to be done with so he can start the process of rebuilding once again. he'll deal with raimo's lack of transparency later, without the looming threat of making his new leader's first impression of him any worse than it already is.