Shadewood To Spite it All, Despite it All.

It had been a while since he had seen the piebald bundle of joy @Phex was. He felt the older stiffness of depressed callings attempt making their way back to him, and with firm resolution, he called for her. Around the land that would soon be The Keepers Meet to them, he sat atop where they had their meeting what seemed like moons ago.

Once she arrived, the Keep Watcher greeted her, hopping down to give a gentle rub across the top of her reddish brown head. A smile from older memories crossed his dark lips, but soon vanished. 

Wasting no time, he threw her into the deep caverns of his mind. “What is there to be done about the RedHawks, Phex? How did your journey go?”

The girl, despite her talk with the wolfess, Lilah, had returned to Shadewood. It was unbearable to be parted from its arms and to stay with wolves she didn't know. She vowed to return soon, however. 
A call from the edges from Sahdewood,
CRY
The youth sent her own howl to the treetops before starting her race through the forest towards her leader. She supposed she saw him as a grandfather. The one she'd never had.
The one she'd set out to find in the first place.

The one who'd died under the tyrannous rule of Meztli Narcetten.
The man that enslaved the Vaidya's pack and led to their demise.


She reached Cry, her tail wagging furiously as she skittered to a halt before him and pressed a lick to his chin. Respect and love for the man she looked up to; for guidance.
 When he started to ask questions, she looked up to him and whispered, "They're gone, Cry. Kai and the other. I do not know where...but the bear is still here." Hope shone through the veil of sadness -- the loneliness. She peered around him before continuing, "I'm not sure what they're meaning is, but I will go back and try and make better connections." A smile spread her maw at the memory of Wildfire, "I believe some are kind, but I do not know for all of them."

Her ears cupped, "Where is Gwen?"

A gentle nuzzle from the side of his maw to the round of her head, appreciation for her humility in these troubling times. Immediately he regretted not finding her sooner, inquiring of her mental state. She probably needed companionship; this place grew desolate as he noticed they had been gone as well.

“Kai will be back.” His resolution firm on the matter. She was dedicated, loyal; should she be fine and alive and well, she would come back to the solace of the woods. Something deeper than simply friendship had bloomed between the two loners. He saw her as a daughter, the Sea-Found. But there was something else that glimmered secretly in those mysterious glass eyes of the naiad- he just never had enough time to find out what it was before she had disappeared.

Returning to subject at hand here, he listened to the second half of her report, everything of his mind focused on her tale. “Be careful, Phex”, he warned. “I’ve seen others around these parts and we can’t be certain of who will be plotting against us so soon. Don’t give up anything other than what’s mandatory for recruitment.” 

Cry knew how charismatic Phex was, but her youth would be what shattered the filter of what was meant to be said, and what wasnt. Cry couldn’t take any more risks. He even had to have a side search for Kai and Arrowbella, should he have time for it. 

“She’s around.” His heart smiled when he thought of her, and his banner began a soft sway to illustrate his ease of speaking on her. Just damnit, he loved her. “She’s currently earning her Hunter trade, so look around for her tracks- you’ll run across her very soon.” With an attempt at a joke, he added, “we’re surrounded by nothing but brown and green, not too much white here. But if you see a small mound of it moving, there you go.”

Phex nodded, steeled by his certainty on the subject of her packmates. She too would go to look for them soon whilst on her recruitment trip. She knew she shouldn't talk of who dwelled in the woods; she'd keep a tighter lip on everything whilst meeting with strangers. But his warning caught the youth off-guard.
Who was there to be afraid of?

She gave him a grin, "I can look after myself Cry, I promise to be safe whilst I'm wandering." Her tail waved softly to make her point, a laugh pouring from her at his description of Gwen hunting. "I'm sure the lady is more dignified than a mound, Cry."  Her eyes sparkled with the joy of company, of having her pack returning to the woods. 

She paused, casting a glance around the skeletal foliage about them, "I will recruit who I can, I'll be sure to find the bravest for these woods!" Her tail wavered faster, unable to damper her joyous personality.
Not that she'd need to anyway.

His slight warning fell upon childish ears as the growing teen pushed aside his worries. A raised ebony brow showed his unending concern. Good things happened to be the first lives taken in this world. Sincerely he hoped Phex wouldn’t be one of them.

”She is- you’re right about that.” Well, it was the truth. 

He chuckled, laying the side of his muzzle across the top of her head. 
“I believe you.”

She reached her head up into his comforting touch before rising up slightly, making him look at her. 
"You shouldn't worry so much about me, you know I can run fast," a mischevious grin was cast his way, "besides, how could I get into trouble?"

Her tail wavered slower now, the banner now riding a soft breeze. The youth shook out her fur,  "I'm proud to call you family. All of you." A sincerity crossed her features, "I'd do anything to protect my home, as would everyone here." She knew it and suspected he did too but wanted to voice it for some compelling reason. Perhaps to solidify those familial bonds that now ran between them.

A snort flew from his snout. "I'm pretty positive you startled a gender-confused being not too long ago; there are other wolves who would not take kindly to being so energetically approached, Phex. Some that may be heavier and faster that you." It was a roll of shoulders that freed him from such barbaric thoughts. The last thing he wanted was to kill anyone for hurting his family, but should it come to that, he would do so effortlessly. But that was the double-edged sword - How would she learn from her mistakes unless she got hurt from them?

"As would I. As many times as I have...I know this place is the right choice. And I'm glad I found you at the Lagoona that day...even if you were technically tresspassing," his glacials gave a teasing gleam at her spring eyes. "We do, however, need to know where we stand with other's nearby...Ive seen a few over the Isle, and a few over on our right, further south. I have no idea what band they may be, but they seem to be getting more prevalent. That leads me to believe they're looking for a place to settle, and that place seems to be by us." Thoughtfully, he mused over the piebald's capability. Could she handle such excursions?

"Would you be fine with seeking these bands out and finding ot what you can about them?" This was important, and the Phantom wanted to be sure she was up to it before asking her to do so.

The youth threw the ebony male a grin, carefree at her age. Untroubled with her aloofness, yet the wisdom that lurked there was evident. Her eyes shone with an understanding of his concerns -- his fears -- even if she was yet to find out what exactly they meant.

She took on his observations, relating them to her own. She would go back and find the other packs. Talk with them, make relations. Perhaps she'd come across Wildfire again; she dearly hoped so.
"I would be glad to do so," her tail waved softly, a proud banner tipped with the white purity interlaced throughout her. In her soul.
Seemingly uncrushable.

"I will also report to you of anything that may seem amiss, anything threatening."  Because this was her home. Anything wrong so close by would break her hear to see it harm someone or something she cared so deeply about when she had the chance to bypass that fate. Yet she didn't let on to her own mild concerns, no hint of fear or worry. Still the cool and joyful girl that she hoped she'd stay for a long time.

Damn, he appreciated Phex so much. She was willing to brace it all, and she did it with a smile on her face. 

Cry nodded to her oaths, hoping she stayed by them. It would take alot of work, but she would see it through. The Guardian had faith in her, and that was a rare occurance for anything. He was practically watching this girl grow up, and even though he was overseeing her, she was doing this all on her own. A mature immature girl. 

After her word, he shook his head, his voice taking on a mock of somber tone. "But you won't be going anywhere, if I beat you to the borders." And without any warning whatsoever, the Keeper threw them both into a game of race, taking off with a direct beeline through the woods like an arrow.

AND THIS IS IT FOR US! Go on, my favorite little piebald! Ambassador like the wind!