Blackfeather Woods disregard the way i know we feel

the snow was tiresome. each step she took weighed her down, trudging through cold and damp and thick. she'd mostly gone in circles since she'd left moonspear. though pretty, the pack offered her little of the companionship and family atmosphere that she'd wanted. it seemed there was one, maybe, but corinna felt so isolated and uncared for inside the borders that... well, it simply didn't work. maybe she just hadn't earned her place in the ranks just yet, didn't earn anyones trust or friendship. 

but it was corinna we're talking about, after all, her charm should've given her a step up. and it hadn't. so, frustrated, she left to wander once more.

this place... it was not moonspear. it didn't have that breathtaking beauty that the cliffs had but... it had something. character? maybe? corinna was intrigued. the woods were dark, she could see them from the mountains, and they looked the same as they had from the cliffs. maybe... maybe she could just make a stop, investigate. her nose twitched, posture lowering, as she approached the borders slowly, not howling immediately but... observing. 

and then, when she felt ready, she let out a call for leadership.

@Kove

♥ ♥ ♥ !!

Since his recent discovery on the borders, and then the creek, Kove was on higher alert than usual. When he wasn’t wandering the woods, ensuring nothing was out of place, he was patrolling the borders, on the lookout; he watched primarily for wolves, unwelcome males, but also sent off any coyotes that dared to get too close. But he could not be everywhere at once, unable to divide himself into several wolves and keep watch from every cardinal point; although he would have loved to do exactly that, it just wasn’t possible. Luckily, he was already travelling westward from the southernmost point of the forest when the howl rang out, allowing him to arrive within a reasonable amount of time; the feminine lilt to the song made him less bothered and far more welcoming, her potential presence not a threat.

Kove slowed when the female was within his sights, then stopped just beyond the shadows’ reaches. He studied her for a moment, examining her physical features and demeanour, as well as glancing past her to ensure she was alone. After realising that she was, he spoke: “Hello. What is your business here?”

it was an older man that greeted her at the borders. he was friendly, seemed regal in some kind of way-- but also nervous. she couldn't pin why, for he didn't look timid, but perhaps on edge? she tried not to study him here, for that'd be rude and disrespectful, instead dipping her head and gaze low to show something far more respectful and deserving of the situation. "my name is corinna, i'm a medic and a naturalist, i'm looking for a home," she said gently, clearly, tail at a slow wave low at her hocks.

As she dipped her head he nodded, accepting the display. He appreciated both that and her directness, the point of her being there made immediately, rather than danced around like some occasionally did; that he needed not demand a name, either, was also nice. “My name’s Kove,” he said, returning the gesture. He considered her skills then, each a good one and, truthfully, needed; with Potema gone and the silent woman looking after her children, the woods needed another that was capable of using its flora to their advantage. “Is there anything that you specialise in as a Medic?” he asked, interested. No matter her preferences, whether it be the care of children and mothers or the treatment of wounds, her skills would be valued—he was curious, is all.

"a pleasure, kove," she replied, appreciating that he returned it. amekaze had returned it as well but not everyone always did. it was nice that, at least from this perspective, kove had some manners. 

"i specialize in healing but i've learned a thing or two about midwifing," she told him with a soft dip of her head again. she was a simple kind, in a way, anyway. she'd done everything her mother had told her until it was time to leave. and now everything her mother had told her was all she knew. plants and femininity. that was all she knew.

It was almost refreshing, the ability to speak to someone that was—seemingly—all there from a mental perspective; it was not quite as nice as speaking with Shivali in their native tongue, but close. “Likewise,” he noted, content to share the thought. He thought for a moment of how this likely would never have been possible, had the silver-coated Melonii not gone away, and felt grateful towards the child’s departure all over again.

A healer, yet she was knowledgeable, too, in the caring of mothers. Although the woods was lacking when it came to both sets of skills, he found the latter to, for the time being, be more needed; children had only recently been born, surely the mother and whelps alike were due for an exam. “What you know will be useful here,” he noted, decision made with ease; not only were they needing a medical professional of sorts but, he hoped, she might also be able to aid in the teaching of his young apprentice—he wanted her to know as much as she could, after all. “Come, follow me,” said the leader, motioning towards the treeline. “I will show you around.” Especially the areas worth avoiding—he didn’t need to lose their medic after only just acquiring her.

her head dipped. "i hope so," she replied, already feeling more excited and welcomed by this man than amekaze. though amekaze was simply the most beautiful wolf she'd ever seen... kove just seemed more personable. 

and when he offered to show her around, she followed quickly, her tail waving contently at her hocks.