Bearclaw Valley dreamin' again of a train track ending at the edge of the sea

@Xan @Laurel but AW

He had moved far inland, away from the sea breeze and sappy trees. Those parts of the land just weren't meant for him. Not to mention he was awfully bored of being alone. A life of solitude was not a life for Dimitre.

So somewhere on his winding path he had ended up on some pack's doorstep like a stray dog. Looking like one too thanks to the rain that had soaked his ebony coat. At least he didn't look worse besides that. Hopefully his fair enough health would help boost his odds of being accepted here. In his books, it meant they didn't need to watch over him like he was some medic's patient.

There was a moment of hesitation before he tipped his head back - considering if he wanted this but the male had never been one to back away from new chapters in his life. With that in mind, he let out a deep call.

Laurel wasn't entirely used to being Alpha yet. She'd demanded it but had never expected to get it. It was strange being at the top of the food chain suddenly, when she'd spent her life at its bottom all along. Laurel's ears cupped up as she heard a howl from the Valley's mouth. "See you later, sweetbuns," she murmured into @Lucas ears, whom she'd been grooming, and Laurel got up and started a gallop towards the borders, knowing that Indra, who was still recovering from the birthing, would look after her pups.

As she reached the borders and saw a bit of a wretched-looking wolf there. Laurel kinda liked knowing that their fate was in her paws, but it was also a weird thought because how would she even decide whether to accept them or not? Flip a coin? She assumed he was trying to join, anyway, considering he looked so.. miserable. As she arrived Laurel chuffed a greeting as she approached, carrying herself proudly and tall. "Hello, I'm Laurel, the Alpha here. What do you want?" Her words weren't unkind in tone, though the word choice was perhaps a little poor.

Xan is hanging back and watching for now—feel free to skip me!

As the howl echoed off the valley’s walls, Alexander was drawn towards the entrance. His pace was steady and slowed further as he came upon the two of them, refraining from pushing his way to the forefront of the exchange; he did not view Laurel as being greater than himself, nor would he ever submit to her. He was, however, curious about what she would do. Would she accept the male or cast him away, listen to or ignore him? Without a word, the male settled back and simply watched, head held high but body language suggesting that he had no intentions of stepping forward.

Feel free to skip and lightly powerplay him, I'll hop back in if he's reprimanded or addressed or anything like that!

Awwwww, Lucas' eyes seemed to plead even as Laurel rose and left to respond to a summons. Was there anything in the world better than being groomed by your mama? If you asked Lucas, he would claim that dancing was better, but only just. Laurel's ministrations came in a very close second, and a great many things were tied for third place. He managed to roll slowly over onto his paws with a wiggle and a twist, and his icy eyes followed her form as she headed for the borders.

There wasn't a disobedient bone in Lucas' body, but no one had told him to stay put. A new yearning rose up in him then—curiosity, you might call it, about where Laurel went when she went away—and he plodded hastily after her, utilizing his good nose to track her when he couldn't see her brown figure across the rolling valley. Laurel had a shadow in the form of a white-and-tan roly-poly dancing queen.

Of course, Laurel wasn't alone when he found her. There was an unfamiliar wolf with her, and soon they were joined by a third, a bright white male who stuck out to Lucas, though the boy couldn't place him. Even frowning his hardest and drawing up nearly right behind his father, he couldn't recall where he knew that fur from. Some memory that time had eaten, surely. "Hi!" he chirped to Xan's derriere, beating his tail cheerfully against his own hinds and rhythmically stamping his paws in the grass.