Lost Creek Hollow a b c d e f g wash those june bugs off of me

@Misty @Harlyn @Mordecai

With a potential packmate in tow, he retraced the same path he had taken when he had set out from the hollow. It was an efficient route, and he set a comfortable travelling pace. "It's just on the other side of this," he informed as the pair crested a small rise. He paused at its apex, allowing Misty to take a look at her prospective home. His tail wagged as he looked upon, and he drew a deep contented breath. He was already quite fond of the stately trees and the winding waters beneath them.

Continuing on, he brought Misty to the hollow's borders, delineated by the fresh marks of his leaders and packmates. "I'll call for the alpha's," he said. He inclined his head back, and sang to Harlyn and Mordecai both, requesting they meet the hopeful.

Misty was almost bouncing up and down with joy. This might be her new home, and she was finally getting to meet Harlyn, a wolf she had heard a lot about. As Luke called to the Alphas, she plopped down in the soft grass, basking in the sun as she waited to meet a few of the other members in Luke's forming pack. You need to make a good impression. She told herself in her head. You're acceptance into the pack is riding on this. Just stay calm, stay confident, and don't mess this up.

I don't know if Stevie's gonna join in yet or not, but I couldn't resist haha.

A howl roused him that afternoon, stirring him from where he lied entwined with Harlyn.  The duo had been tucked away in some glen where he had initially bedded down for a nap, and she had come to follow naturally.  It was easy to take advantage of the cooling weather, though the warmth of the late summer's ebb into autumn mingled easily with the humidity.

Absently, he had risen and set off with a raucous mess of noise, hoping that in his abrupt departure he would leave Harlyn behind as a game.  As the hollow became increasingly familiar to him, it was easy to make good time towards the border.  And there he found Luke easily; with him however, was a wolf of some unknown origin.  Mordecai's approach slowed to a gentle lope, and with a glance behind him to see if he could pinpoint Harlyn charging after him, he soon came to rest nearby of the duo along the borders.

There were no words exchanged just yet, instead the cant of his head did all the talking necessary.  He was curious, but had the notion of why he had been summoned to the borders; his eyes scanned over the hopeful she-wolf as he waited.

The pack had been working on making the Hollow home for some time now.  Though the borders could always use protection and the caches still needed more filling, Harlyn had decided to set herself to a different task than likely any of her other packmates.  Winter was coming and the druid knew that meant the healing herbs she needed to keep her family well until Spring would be buried deep in snow soon enough.  So, she busied herself collecting them, drying them, and digging out a store rooms for them in strategic places across the Hollow so that she would never be too far from what she needed in an emergency.

She was digging one of these places when Luke's voice sounded through the trees.  Harlyn paused, curious.  He was calling for both alphas, and though the Cinderloch still had work to do, she simply could not deny a request from her best friend.  And so, Harlyn turned and cantered swiftly towards the borders where she arrived just behind Mordecai.

Harlyn stepped up to her co-alphas side as he stopped before Luke and a wolf she did not recognize.  She nosed Mordecai's cheek gently in greeting before turning her attention to the other pair, her head tilting lightly to one side in curiosity.  "Luke, you seem to have made another friend," she commented with a smile as an invitation for them to explain why she and the Ostrega had been called, even though she had guessed already where this conversation would be heading.

Misty smiled bashfully as the Alphas arrived. She decided it would be best to let Luke do the explaining for now and only start speaking when she was spoken to. She shuffled her paw across the soft dirt nervously, trying not to look too scared in front of her possible future Alphas.

Ick. Short.

His alphas were prompt in their response, and for that he was thankful. He greeted them both with a dip of his head, a wagging tail, and a warm smile. Mordecai did not speak in words but the question was put forth by the incline of his head, the same question that lay between the lines of Harlyn's statement. Misty did not speak for now, nervousness lending a shuffling motion to her paw.

"Oh you know me," he drawled. "Always out making friends and dragging home strays," he winked. "This is Misty. She used to belong to the Blackfeather pack, but found she was not a fit. She's interested in joining, but she asked to meet with you folks first." He looked to the white female then, inviting her to speak on her own behalf.

The fair-haired she-wolf didn't seem keen on introducing herself, which seemingly worked out since Luke took ease in doing it himself. Though at the mention of a certain Blackfeather Woods, Mordecai felt a note of tension rise and settle in his chest. Though it had been months since his encounter with the wolves from that place, he still recalled it. The dark and dense woods that held such a foreboding sort of tone, and of course the viciousness that it seemingly contained. Nevertheless, it was not something he outward expressed, and though normally he was just as apt to let the past lie in the past, he could not help but allow his eyes to linger over Misty uncertainly.

"Well," Mordecai said as Luke's words ebbed away, "whether or not you join us is based on what you can do for the pack." With their numbers as robust as they were, Mordecai did not fear what turning away stragglers would do to them. He was certain that if they could keep what they had now, things will go well. Especially after all the work they had put into the pack thus far.

Harlyn smirked at Luke's response, though her gaze remained upon the girl who seemed too nervous to speak for herself. Her eyes narrowed slightly when her friend announced that she had come here from the pack at Blackfeather Woods. She stole a glance at Mordecai, the story he'd told her of his run in without of their members coming sharply to the forefront of her memory. The female didn't seem to be a threat. Perhaps she hadn't fit in because she was lacking their violence or belligerence. Harlyn could only hope her answer to Mordecai's question would reveal a personality that confirmed this was indeed the case.

When the male Alpha asked what she had to offer, a switch seemed to flick and she perked right up. "I'm working on being a naturalist and I'm good at tracking and hunting." She said shyly. "Blackfeather didn't work out because....I'm not mean, I'm not aggressive....and I don't like fighting. I avoid it as much as possible. I know that might not be what you're looking for, but....anything would be better than Blackfeather Woods. It's too dark and creepy there for me to handle. I figured that a pack that's just starting out would be a chance to start over, maybe make some new friends."

He caught the looks on his leader's faces when he mentioned the name Blackfeather. He had not forgotten Mordecai's encounter with them, but it was not in his nature to cast aside an individual because of a previous association, nor was it in his nature to be distrustful. Now however, it was time for the white female to speak for herself, to let the leaders know what she offered. Luke was quiet as she spoke with Mordecai and Harlyn.

Though he could not have said that he knew what exactly a naturalist did, he assumed it was something more or less up Harlyn's alley. And with at least one other that he was aware of that had some sort of interest in it, Mordecai was inclined to believe it was a good thing. Maybe it meant that they were some sort of healer; he made a mental note to find out sometime later. What he was interested in was her reasoning for leaving the woodland pack and he found that he agreed with her assessment of them. They were aggressive, perhaps overly so given the transgressions that had come to light. At least from his end, anyway. But there was that inclination to lean heavily upon the past, but he kept himself from it.

"Well, we could always use more hunters and trackers, especially since winter will come. We'd rather not take our chances and hope our meals to come to us," of course, was the part he did not add on. Turning his attention to Harlyn, who had been silent, he decided to leave the decision in her hands. "What do you think? Do we have room for another?"

The girl spoke her reply, and almost instantly, Harlyn's heart grew at ease.  It was as she'd expected - hers was a sweet personality that simply didn't belong in the morbidity of those twisted souls of Blackfeather.  Mordecai cast his judgment, but looked to her for the final word.  Harlyn was happy to give it.

"I think we can make use of her," Harlyn said with a smile.  Mordecai had spoken more of hunting, which had not gone unnoticed by the Cinderloch.  She knew also that he probably wasn't completely sure what naturalists were good for, and she did not want that talent to be disregarded.  "Luke, would you help her get settled?  Perhaps in a few days, you and I can spend a little time together - I'm a Naturalist myself as well as a Healer and I've been in need of some assistance with seeking out medicinal herbs for my stores."

Misty smiled. "I'd be happy to help with the herbs. I can't thank you enough for accepting me into your pack. This means a lot to me." This was true. It did mean a lot to her. And it meant a lot to Skyshire too. She replayed in her head what her mentor had told her when she was deciding whether to join a pack or not. "Do me a favor and just experience being in a pack for a bit. Commit to at least a year, if you still don’t like it, or that pack just isn’t for you, you can try something else. But at least trying is the point." She was going to fulfill her mentor's wishes. This wasn't just for Skyshire, it was for herself too. She was doing this for herMisty was going to do this to try and make a better life for herself, because it's about family, friends, and survival. That's what being a wolf, in Misty's eyes, was all about. And that's what she was going to do. Be a wolf.

how did this become so philosophical?

Last post for me!

He expected no less of his leaders; they were gracious and welcoming, not holding her first pack against her as they accepted her into their ranks. Harlyn inquired if he would be willing to help their new recruit settle, and he nodded his head. "Of course," he chirped with a smile. He rose to his feet then, stepping forward to lick the druid's cheek and bump his shoulder against Mordecai's. "Come on then," he said to Misty. "I'll show you were you can get a bite to eat and find a place to sleep." With that, he lead the white female into the heart of their territory.

last post from me as well. :)

As Luke stepped up and offered to show Misty into the hollow, Mordecai's attention shifted from the departing pair to Harlyn with the ghost of a smile. He gave her a nudge before turning back towards the thick of the forest himself. With that out of the way, he supposed he would find something to busy himself, or at least someone to busy himself with... which upon writing sounds horrifically inappropriate but we're just gonna leave it anyway. If nothing else, he was content to follow and see what Harlyn intended to do now, and perhaps lend a paw in that regard.