Sun Mote Copse i put them in the conference room.

I am sooooooo out of practice with this writing thing oof

Pox was not particularly perturbed with the newcomers to his forest. When he'd heard what had happened to their sister pack, he had merely stared at his mother with a bored, unimpressed look upon his face that made it quite clear that he could not have cared less. For all the talk of the Copse and the Grove being "sister packs", they had never meant a thing to him in his life, and so he cared very little when misfortune had befallen them. Though to be fair, he didn't care much about anything that didn't directly impact him in some way.

What he did care about was the fact that Crow had up and bailed on them. That was some fuckin' bullshit. Pox would never admit to loving his brother (though he did), nor would he ever claim that Crow was his best friend (though he was), but still his departure stung like a betrayal and it was clear to anyone around him the effect that it had on his mood. He was surlier than usual, short-tempered, and simply unpleasant to be around. And with Crow gone, it left no one to beat on, which had been his former outlet for all of his aggression. So... Yeah. Not sure why anyone would want to join this thread. I'll keep going, though.

The young wolf paced near the borders of him home, nose to the ground as he attempted to find a trail. If he couldn't kick the crap out of his brother, maybe he could find something to murder instead.

she's not over the border but I can take consequences if need be!

Preeti had left the fisherman and carried on, not willing to lose sight of her mission. Her mother was out here, somewhere. She had barely gotten to know the woman before Akuti had disappeared. 

Should she hate her for leaving? Perhaps. But anger came slowly in Preeti's heart, and it was hard to attach such a strong emotion to a face she scarcely remembered. Instead, she wanted to know why. Truly. Wanted to put the pieces together, and maybe even find family in the long run. 

The pungent odor of nearby borders came to her just before she caught the flash of silver. The huntress lifted her head, eyes wary. A young man, prowling his claim. Whelped this year, likely, but she wouldn't let her guard down for that. 

No, protective wolves were dangerous wolves, and she kept her distance — though she did bark softly at him, posture respectful, wondering if he or his pack had any information on her mother.

The scent Penn eventually picked up was not one of prey, but of wolf. A strange wolf, it seemed, as he didn't recognize the scent. His ears pinned forward aggressively as he glared away from the borders, eyes eventually landing on the female after she'd announced her presence. He was compelled to charge after the stranger and run her off then and there, but his mind flashed briefly to Fennec, and that experience gave him pause. Maybe they'd picked up another stray and he just wasn't aware of it. Best to make sure first.

"D'you live here?" Penn called back as he strode forward in her direction, tail flagging dominantly over his haunches. He didn't realize what a bizarre question that was for him to ask. After all, he lived here, so shouldn't he know if she lived there or not? The answer is yes--yes he should've known. He needed to learn to pay better attention.

She had expected many questions, but not that one. She paused, brow furrowed. Eh. . .no? Preeti answered, cocking her head in confusion. I was kind of hoping you did.

He was young, upon closer inspection. Young, and clearly comfortable with this land, although apparently ignorant of its denizens. With that in mind, she thought it would be best to summon a more reliable source.

Are your parents around? Preeti asked gently. Or any leadership? I'm looking for someone and would like to know if they're here. 

Please, please, let her be here. Preeti was too impatient to wait much longer.

Penn nodded thoughtfully as she confirmed for him that no, she wasn't part of the pack. "Didn't think so," he murmured quietly, more to himself than to her. That settled, he began to ponder whether he should start flinging verbal threats at her to get her to move it, or if he should just charge at her. But she distracted him by saying probably the most insulting thing anyone could have said to him.

Were his parents around? Is she serious??

"Excuse me, I'm like a day away from entering the adult ranks and perfectly capable of dealing with whatever crap you want from my pack," Penn growled like the petulant youth he was, "Tell me who you're looking for and I'll tell you if they're here." He huffed irritably. Like he wouldn't know who was in his pack. What gave her the right to insinuate such a thing?

A more irritable wolf may have been swayed to retort, but Preeti knew well the pendulum of emotions present in young boys; the outburst didn't phase her. No, she was on a mission, and nothing would distract her from that. The youth could be mad if he wished.

Her name is Akuti, she continued, ignoring the perceived slight upon his ability to help her. She's small and delicate, with black fur like mine. Thin fur, kind of curly. Does she live here?

Again—she had little faith that he knew for sure, given that he hadn't known whether or not Preeti herself resided in the forest. But if he wanted to play little ambassador, he could do so.

Penn considered her description for about half a second before he decided the Copse didn't contain anyone like that. Towhee was the closest match to it, but that girl could hardly be described as small and delicate. It was pretty much just the black fur that matched, and not even that was quite right with her white belly and splash of red on her sides.

"Nope," he answered simply, "Never seen anyone like that around here before." Penn watched her, wondering if that was it and if she'd be on her way now. But that thought made him pause.

"So it's my turn now!" he blurted suddenly, wanting to get it out before she tried to leave (if she was even about to), "You seen a guy that looks like me? Same age, but different-looking? Like his fur is different colors? Except they're the same colors, just in different places I guess?" Penn wilted a bit as he spoke, his self-important attitude slipping away to reveal something slightly more vulnerable.

She visibly deflated, although not to an extreme. It was a longshot that Akuti would have been here; Preeti knew she had many more places to look. She was about to bid the youngster farewell when he replied with a question of his own (well, several questions), inquiring about his own ostensibly missing family member.

No, I'm sorry, I haven't, Preeti replied after a moment of contemplation, frowning in sympathy. I'm very new to these lands and haven't run into many strangers yet. What is his name? I can ask those I meet if they have seen him.

Despite them getting off on slightly the wrong paw, she had a great deal of sympathy for the boy. He obviously was still growing into himself, mentally and physically, and to lose a loved one on top of that. . . It certainly didn't make things easier and was a wrinkle even in the best of times. She would keep the description and the name in mind, for even if she didn't find her mother, reuniting a family would be the next best thing.

Penn had naively allowed himself to feel the bright glimmer of hope as he awaited Preeti's answer to his question. He was young still, and so he often thought rather dumb things to himself such as, I bet she's totally seen him around! and The world isn't so big that he could've gone that far! It made things like optimism rather simple to obtain. One day, he would learn.

She dashed his hopes with a single word. He frowned, looking down at his paws with a sorrowful sigh. She offered to keep an eye out for him, which was kind of her. But Penn was struggling now with how he ought to deal with these feelings. Like his mother, he didn't like to feel sad or disappointed. Anger was useful in masking it, and it also felt more tolerable. So, he got mad.

"His name is Crow," Penn answered, lifting his chin with a lash of his tail, "And if you do see him, tell him he's an asshole and he's not welcome back. He can get eaten by a bear for all I care." It was clearly a lie, but he tried to convince himself it was the truth. It did feel better that way.

Well, she got a name. . .and a whole lot else. Preeti blinked as the boy went off, obviously hurt by the other youngster's disappearance. There wasn't much you could do in this situation except nod along in sympathy, which she did, remaining silent until the sentinel had exhausted his words. 

Okay, she said briefly, still taken aback. But I will keep an eye out for him. Make sure he's safe.

Preeti dipped her muzzle in the direction of the forest past the boy, eyes questioning. What's your pack called? she asked. I might need a place to stay for the winter if I don't find my mother soon.

Penn was quickly falling into the black hole that was feeling sorry for himself, so he said nothing when the girl said she'd look out for him anyway to see that he was safe. He didn't really want to care, though his heart try to make it clear to him that he really didn't have any choice in the matter. That was fine though; Penn would just ignore the stupid thing.

"Firebirds," he answered, glad for the distraction, "The forest is Sun Mote Copse." He paused thoughtfully, his lips pursed as he frowned at her for a few extra seconds before giving a nonchalant shrug, "I could put in a good word for you, if you wanted." Not that he cared about that either. It would be kinda cool, though. Assuming she was worth anything to them. He wasn't quite proficient enough at this border patrol thing yet to know to ask after her worthiness, so he just glanced sidelong at her to see if she found that to be at all impressive that his opinion of her would matter to their leadership.

She nodded silently in thanks, storing the name away for safe keeping. His offer brought a smile to her face. That would be lovely, she murmured, tail swishing slowly behind her. Thank you. . .

Preeti trailed off, realizing suddenly she hadn't gotten his name. I'm Preeti, she said. It was nice to meet you!

Once the requisite pleasantries had been exchanged, she wandered away from the borders once more. She was both disappointed and amused — and a little anxious, too. The clock was ticking down to the day when winter became too miserable to travel. 

If she couldn't find her mother before then, other arrangements would have to be made.