Bearclaw Valley whatever it takes

Nothing had yet come familiar to Laurel, though she was vaguely aware that she was in the same area that she'd grown up in. She wasn't sure why she returned here. Maybe looking for, well, something that she had lost along the way, lost here before she had left it, something that she would never find back. Things like parental love or the feeling of being appreciated. In her time away she had entertained many casual flings but only to find that something was always missing. None of it was real, and none of the packs and gatherings she had joined were like family or home. Maybe such a place simply didn't exist. The only thing that was real was her love for her sister and the love she received from her sister.

It was around sunset when she found Bearclaw Valley and Laurel entered it without much thought. She vaguely smelled the presence of another wolf but didn't think it strong enough to really care. It didn't smell like a whole pack was holing up here, and what was one wolf going to do, anyway? Her paws tired, Laurel decided to curl up not very deep into Bearclaw Valley territory for a quick nap. Surely she'd feel better after resting herself for a while, from where she could consider her next step.

@Xan!

The albino’s return to his valley was a recent occurrence, the desire to find those willing to join him often resulting in aimless journeys around the Rising Sun Valley. To be home put him at ease, however, and so he savoured every second of it—up until the very moment he decided it was time to cross his borders once again. Only this time he wouldn’t be seeking out followers, he would instead be making the short trek over to his sister’s pack. Quite some time had passed since he’d told her that he would be visiting again, so he assumed she must have given birth by now. Actually, he was pretty sure that he’d been away long enough for her to have not only given birth, but for her children to be old enough that she need not cater to their every whim. Certain that this was true, he made his way towards the Boulder Path, his decision set in stone—until it wasn’t.

At first, Xan hadn’t even realised that it was a wolf. There was a mound disturbing the earth, which he’d assumed was just a pile of dirt. It wasn’t until the distance between him and said lump was lessened that he noticed something wasn’t quite right. Taking a quick whiff of the air, his suspicions proved to be correct, causing his fur to bristle. Like a sickle, his tail hung over his back as he approached the girl, a deep growl sounding from his chest—yet, he didn’t attack, not immediately. Choosing to take a route never before traveled by the young Inuk, he gave her a chance to explain herself, asking, “Who are you and why are you in my valley?” The visit with his sister would have to wait just a little bit longer, it seemed, as he stared the other down.

It didn't take long for Laurel to drift off to a peaceful slumber. She'd been so tired from the journey. It didn't take long for someone to disturb her sleep however. In the back of her mind she heard someone's voice and blinked sleepily. Laurel looked up at the dominant stranger who looked less than amused. "Oh, this is yours?" she asked casually. She stayed low because she didn't want to invoke any anger, though her tone didn't speak volumes to how serious she was taking this all.

Laurel suppressed a yawn and looked around. "Seems like you could use some more help establishing a territory." Not that she was offering; Laurel didn't really care a rat's arse about this guy and his pack, she was just telling him as it was.

Although it was obvious that he’d woken her up, he felt no remorse for having done so. However few his numbers may be, he was still convinced that the valley was his and viewed her actions as an insult to his authority. The manner in which she spoke didn’t help the situation, the casualness of her tone wearing on him. Of course, his first instinct was to retaliate in some way, though he managed to hold off on doing so for the time being. Silent reminders of how his actions had gotten him into trouble in the past, as well as how they’d led to him being hated, kept him temporarily in control. The part of him that no longer wanted to be alone further urged along his decidedly good behavior, however flawed it was.

“Yes, it’s mine,” he responded after (somewhat) successfully reining in his annoyance. “It’s been mine since birth.” Well, to him it had been, anyways. Even during Raziel’s reign, it had belonged to him and his family, no matter what anyone else might say or think. And now that he was an adult, it was his right as the firstborn to officially take back control of the valley; even without an adequate amount of followers to help him defend it, though, he still considered himself to have full control over it. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to say differently or would correct them if necessary—which seemed to be the case currently, he quickly realised.

Glaring down at her, he said, “It doesn’t really matter how much help I get, this valley will always belong to me.” Undoubtedly harsh, he fell silent for a moment after. In an attempt to push passed his hostility, he cleared his throat before adding, “But I wouldn’t turn someone down if they wanted to live here, too.” Unable to muster up a nice tone, he compromised and settled for something more monotonous instead.

The arrogant way in which he spoke made Laurel think that he must be some sort of prince — self-proclaimed or no — and she wondered if he had anyone to back up this claim. Then again, did it really matter whether someone was born heir to a territory, as long as they had the means to make it so. She remained on the floor as she looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow and asked, "If you're the heir, where's the rest of your family and pack then?" Maybe they had dispersed. Laurel knew all too well what that was like, though she would hardly consider herself the heir to Silver Creek. The place meant nothing to her; there was nothing for her there except for a slew of bad memories.

Laurel could not suppress a chortle when he said that he wouldn't turn down someone who also wanted to live here. Laurel picked herself off the floor, getting to her feet — making sure to keep her body language neutral at most, knowing she was treading on thin ice — and she tilted her head as she cast him a look that was intended to be charming — shy, humble, pretty and interested — and might've actually been charming, she bitterly reminded herself, had she looked a little more like her sister. "Is that an invitation? From a real prince?" she asked in awe while eyes sought his and she licked her lips. She just hoped this wouldn't be the moment @Indra would wake up and follow her scent here, because that would surely ruin any of her chances.

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It was easy for him to speak on most days, having oftentimes run his mouth when he was younger more so than any child really should. Yet, whenever the topic of family came up, he was less eager to answer. Now was no different, despite the steps that he’d taken thus far to try and fix his family; however much effort was put into it, the past could not be changed and his family would never be considered anything other than broken. “My family is... spread out,” he decided to say, finding the words to be far more simplistic than the whole story. “As for my pack, they’re still in the works.” Gathering together a collection of followers wasn’t as simple as some made it out to be, especially when the days where he wasn’t intolerable were few. No matter, his efforts would eventually prove fruitful—this he was confident of.

Alexander’s eyes never left her body as she rose, closely monitoring the girl. Once their gazes had met, however, he couldn’t help but quirk a brow. The look in her eyes was strange to him, though he tried to ignore it in favour of answering her question. “It is,” he answered, his chest having risen only slightly in response to being called a prince. “Will you accept my invitation?” Although he hadn’t necessarily intended for it to be such at first, flattery was his weakness and she said all the right words in the right sort of tone.

His eyes fell to hers, the look within them still unrecognisable. This time, however, he couldn’t ignore it and said, “Your face looks different now.” Whilst blunt, he didn’t outright demand an explanation, leaving that for her to decide whether or not it was worth it. His primary focus remained on his own question, curious to hear her answer.

Now that she was fully awake it was easier for Laurel to shake the drops of cynism and sarcasm off; easier to not be herself. When he said his family was spread out she wondered briefly if he had had a similar past to her own. Had his parents run off, or were they dead? Well, it didn't really matter. She supposed she might find out at some point, if she hung out with the dude for a bit. However long it took to win him over.

She was amused at how being called a prince seemed to make him feel better about himself. Wolves were so easy, and they were all the same on some level, but the trick was to find what mattered to each one individually so that you really knew what buttons to press (or not to press). He asked if she accepted his invitation and she said with a sweet tone to her voice, "Well, who am I to refuse a prince, really?"

She giggled when he said that her face looked different. It made sense that he'd assess the sudden change in her disposition. She'd gone from snarky just-woke-up-who-do-you-think-you-are regular Laurel to sweet and dumb Laurel, after all. "That's because when I'd just woken up I didn't quite realise how handsome you are."

if sleep was a companion, it was a fickle one. too soon slumber left her, and fitful, the russet wolf rolled on her side to face Laurel and demand entertainment.

only Laurel wasn't there -- leaving Indra acutely aware of the sudden cold and seeping isolation. she was not one to be left behind and determinedly she rose to her feet and exited the makeshift thicket that served as their den.

it was not difficult to track her sister, though this was more so out of a lack of concealment over Indra's skill. she could scent her sister was not alone, and while she wished to intervene, she could hear through the wind a most unmistakable tone. Indra smiled to herself, knowing full well what that tone meant. rather then intrude, Indra elected to hang out of the rifling wind's range and witness how this scene could possibly unfold.

When she answered, her voice sounded considerably nicer than before—he wasn’t quite sure if he liked it. In an attempt to look past it, he focused on her words, rather than her tone; she’d accepted his offer. At least, he was pretty sure that she had. It was hard to determine the authenticity of her response, the sound of her voice—ignoring it was difficult—throwing him off. Forcing the questions from his mind, he decided, without much proof, that she wasn’t messing around with him. “Since you accepted, I should probably know your name,” he said, prompting her for an answer. “I’m Xan.” Eck, introductions. The whole process still annoyed him, had for as long as he could remember, and would likely always.

As her giggles reached his ears, they folded back. He listened to her response with a frown, which deepened after every few words. “Okay…?” he muttered, confusion growing. “I think I like you better when you’re tired.” A few months back, perhaps he would have played along but now, after what happened with Kendra… he just couldn’t. Too focused on the girl and hoping that she would stop being so weird, he didn’t even pick up on the scent of her plus-one.

His request for a name came out weird and crooked. He wasn't the social type of guy, she supposed. "Xan. That's a nice name," she said and softly smiled. Then couldn't help thinking what the fuck is wrong with this guy? She was throwing out all the works and he was still acting like she was doing something weird.

Ear folded in the direction of her sister when she picked up the scent, but luckily it seemed like he was too distracted to notice. Indra was such a beauty compared to her, Laurel knew that it would be hard to keep anyone's attention on her once she showed up. Where Laurel's legs were a bit stubby and short and she looked rather compact, Indra was feminine and graceful in all the right ways and had a fiery-hued fur to top it off.

Laurel lifted an eyebrow and noted, "You're so rude," unable to help some of her act slipping. "I'm Laurel. 'Prince Xan's girlfriend' for friends." She grinned in a way that showed that she was joking, but maybe not entirely joking, depending on how things would go. Considering the daft-ness of this guy so far, she was afraid it might not go her way, but Laurel didn't want to let go of the last hope it just might. Especially now that Indra was here. She didn't even think this guy was all that great, especially what with the way he was acting now, but she needed this win.

if no one notices her, feel free to skip me next round <3

it was difficult to make out the conversation from the lattice-like husk of ferns that enveloped her, but indra would not betray her presence -- at least not willingly. laurel had always been the bolder of the two, the more cunning of the two -- indra was happy to let this incidence unfold without her intervention, for she feared her exposure might ruin whatever machination her tawny sibling had devised.

she squinted between a broad blade of bracken fern, thankful that its burnt sienna surface was not unlike her own. she would remain motionless unless something happened -- but for now, she played the role of "expert spy" quite poorly.

Me at Xan rn.

Focused on the conversation at hand—and lacking his usual attentiveness on account of being at home—he remained unaware of the other girl lurking nearby. Perhaps he should have taken notice to her scent by now, or perhaps he already had; combined with Laurel’s own, he couldn’t separate the two and was oblivious to the increased intensity of the fiery girl’s.

At her comment his ears perked back up, silently hoping that she’d go back to being a grouch. Although that side of her wasn’t too great to deal with, it was definitely more tolerable than whatever she was doing now. But of course, his wish was not granted and he was forced to continue speaking to the weird version of the girl instead—whose words never ceased to confuse him. “Why would your friends call you that instead of by your name?” he asked, quirking a brow. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to call you Laurel?” Made more sense to him, anyways. “You’re not even my girlfriend,” was the next comment to leave his mouth, eyes narrowing into a glare. “My girlfriend died.” Though technically, Kendra wasn’t his girlfriend, she had been a girl and his friend at the same time, so… close enough.

LMAO, I love Xan! :')

Laurel pretty much felt like facepalming by the time the first words left Xan's mouth. This guy was really daft, and he certainly hadn't ever had any girl hit on him, she could tell. Laurel rolled her eyes, managing to restrain herself while he went on to say that it would make more sense for her friends to call her just Laurel. Then he said that she wasn't even his girlfriend, which was really just the cherry on the cake, and then said pointedly that his girlfriend was dead. Well, boo-hoo! Like Laurel gave two flying shits about his dead girlfriend! She wanted to scream, but managed to calm herself down at least somewhat.

"She must not have been very good at flirting," she said snippily. "Can't even recognise a pretty girl wanting to get with you when she's right in front of you." She decided to try and further leave out the dead girlfriend, because obviously odds of this ending poorly would only increase tenfold if she would say any more about that.

Talking to him is like talking to a robot, I stg. Poor Laurel

Despite how it seemed, it actually wasn’t Xan’s first time having someone try to flirt with him. In fact, it had happened a few times in the past, and he’d been just as oblivious then as he was now; he’d never been too in tune with the emotions of others, usually too focused on himself to even begin to understand them. It definitely didn’t help that he was fairly antisocial, having spent the entirety of his youth avoiding others rather than learning to properly interact with them.

He wasn’t entirely sure whether her comment should be taken as an insult or not. In his eyes, Kendra had been amazing at everything; although he clearly wasn’t an expert on flirting, he was sure she had been great at that, too. Perhaps he meant to say something about it—defend his late friend—but was stopped by what was said next. It took him by surprise, as well as confused him even more, which was shown by the furrowing of his brows. “You don’t even know me,” he pointed out. “Why would you want to get with me?” It made absolutely zero sense.

Laurel's ears folded back and an annoyed frown found its way to her face when he spoke again. She felt like someone had put a dagger to her heart — the whole point was that nobody that knew her would ever want to get with her. "I'm starting to wonder about that myself," she said haughtily, finding it impossible to be quirky and charming any longer around this oaf. "But whatever, fine. Just show me and my sister the damn territory then." She looked in the direction she had smelled @Indra in, hoping her sister was still around and would step in right now. She just hoped this Xan guy wouldn't immediately fall in love with her much prettier sister, or she was definitely out of here.

she was still too far to make out their conversation, for the wind had a unique way of carrying all other sounds of the forest to her straining ears. from her vantage she did not miss the subtle shift of her sister's body language -- dutifully, the red child rose and padded quietly down towards them.

as she drew closer she was able to appraise xan, who from a distance she couldn't tell much about. in truth she thought his height and stature intimidating, though it appeared her sister did not. she offered the male the weakest of smiles before circling to pull up behind laurel.

At last, it seemed as if she was tired again; he’d continue to assume that to be the reason for her less pleasant self, seeing no point in calling her out for having a personality similar to his own. Her response brought a smirk to his lips, though it disappeared just as soon as she mentioned a sister—there were two of them? He followed her gaze and soon saw a fiery coated girl come into view, who he followed with his eyes as she came up behind her sibling. He waited a moment to see if she’d say anything, or if a smile was all he’d get out of her—seemed the latter to be the case. “Your name?” he asked and waited; whether he got an answer or not, he’d look back at Laurel moments later before turning and motioning for them to follow him.

It wasn’t that he found either of them to be ugly or unattractive in any way, really. He just had no concept of flirting, wasn’t too good with words or voicing his innermost thoughts, and had a tendency to refrain from getting too attached to others—which, in his head, could start just by feeling even the slightest bit of attraction towards someone. So, he kept his opinions to himself in situations like the current, focusing instead on a task.

“The territory itself is pretty basic,” he said, gaze staying ahead of him. “There’s a forest, a river, a waterfall—nothing too spectacular, aside from the walls. They’re pretty nice.” He liked the defensive aspect of them. Alexander wasn’t too sure about how he should properly conduct a tour, so he stopped suddenly and turned towards the pair. “Do you want to see a bear?” he blurted, considering Arthur to be a pretty important part of the territory. He was definitely worth seeing when he wasn’t busy being grouchy—so catching him during his hibernation, when he couldn’t complain about all the wolves, was an ideal time to introduce others to him.

Laurel didn't get why he smiled so dumbly at her. She hated being manipulated in any way and she had a feeling she was being manipulated right now. But whatever; winter was in full swing and it seemed a smart idea to find someplace to stay. Maybe this dump wasn't her favourite place, but it would have to do for now. Staying anywhere for long made Laurel feel like she was suffocating, for it reminder her of all her time in her father's packs when she was younger, feeling like a pariah and an outcast most of the time, receiving no love. But she also wanted to live, so for now this seemed the best plan, and as always, she took the lead in these plans.

"Her name's Indra," said Laurel when Xan asked for her name, and she looked back at her sister. Laurel followed Xan as he came into motion to show them the territory, feeling rather closed off emotionally herself at her failed ploy. Whatever. She'd find some other idiot to woo into bringing her food and stuff and then dump him soon as spring came round, and in the meantime she'd be safe in this pack. Then once weather got better, they'd see where to go. As long as she had Indra.

"Well, you're sure selling it well," Laurel retorted with a snort as Xan said that the territory was nothing spectacular or great. When he stopped and suddenly asked them if they wanted to see a bear with a tone to his voice that suggested it was a positive thing, she blinked. "A bear?" She didn't answer, really, too flabbergasted to hear there was a bear at all.

indra was happy in a way to have laurel speak for her: the male's significant portion made indra temporarily mute, though she did steal occasional glances his way, still drinking in the size of him.

in no way shape or form did indra wish to visit a bear, and when the pale wolf offered to show them one she dug her heels into the dirt with disbelief. full stop, she would not partake in that -- she looked to laurel with her brow furrowed in alarm. thankfully her sister shared her reservations but was too shocked to really provide answer: indra blurted: "why the hell would we want to see a bear? do you want to die?"

The thought of seeing a bear didn’t seem too wild to him. If it were a grizzly or any other predator that he didn’t know then yeah, he’d be a little concerned, but this was different. Arthur had existed there long before he’d been born, and even before his parents had settled into the territory. From what he remembered, and was told by the bear himself during a few (claimed) accidental interruptions to his slumber, there was nothing to worry about with him being there. He’d settled on an agreement with Scarlett long ago and, now that it was Alexander’s turn to take over, that same agreement was inherited by the living albino.

When neither of them seemed all that excited about meeting a bear, his own brow furrowed in confusion. “Yeah, a bear,” he repeated, looking towards Laurel. Was she hard of hearing? He then looked at Indra and told her: “He won’t kill any of us—he’s harmless. He usually keeps to himself, anyways.” Really, killing a wolf would require way more effort and energy than he was willing to exert. And as long as no one bothered him too much, he didn’t usually have many complaints.

“Come on, aren’t either of you at least curious?” He’d expected a better reaction in response to mentioning the bear; maybe a few oohs and aahs but not shock. He’d gotten a little too used to Arthur, though, now being entirely unaffected by the realisation that his valley was shared with a much larger predator than himself.

Though Laurel mirrored Indra's thoughts, she also couldn't help but feel a little bit curious. She looked at Indra as Xan explained and then asked if they weren't curious and said, "I'll see it." If nothing else, she'd prove once more that she was the braver of the pair of them; a thing, she knew, Indra didn't mind. She also knew that if she would say it was okay to do so, her sister'd follow.

indra leveled xan the hardest skeptical stare she had ever mustered; a bear was no trivial thing, and she was innately fearful of them. while laurel showed similar trepidation, her willingness to go somewhat softened indra's resolve to refuse such a ridiculous encounter. "fine," she muttered, though she would see to it that she was FAR behind them whenever they came across the bear. and hopefully, if laurel was smart, she would position herself a healthy distance behind xan just in case said bear was hungry.

With both of them then interested—willing, is more like it—he continued walking, leading them towards the river. From the bank, he picked out a spot where the ground underwater was raised significantly so that the could cross over onto the island; it was a familiar path for him, having visited a few times already. It was close to the center of the island where the bear had made a home for himself, though there were few recent traces of him being there—something that Alexander didn’t really like, having never understood hibernation or why bears did it.

No matter, he led the pair towards the mouth of the den, but didn’t travel any further in; nor did he say anything, currently disinterested in actually speaking to Arthur. Besides, waking a sleeping a bear? Didn’t seem like a good idea, even to Xan. So he just stood there, letting them look for a bit before a shift in the bear’s sleep had him ushering them away and back to the other side of the river—he wasn’t scared, just a bit spooked, as well as conditioned from being shooed away from Arthur as a child. His actions also kept him from saying something stupid like I told you he was harmless, when they were back on the riverbank, choosing instead to part ways for now. It was with a quick bye and belated enjoy exploring that he set off on his own, heading towards the treeline.

It was time for him to find something to bring back to Arthur, just in case he’d accidentally woken him up.