Whitebark Stream Whose weapon is his word,

There was some disagreement, and a bit of bickering, but eventually the trio came to the concession to join one, for the time being. She couldn't say they would stay for a good amount of time, but it was something that the elken woman would refrain from saying to the leaders. What mattered more was their own well-beings, and the eventual search for their younger brother.. Maybe even the others.

"The other is beyond, but perhaps we won't need to venture to them." Célnes said, explaining to her brother @Cenric, and her younger sister @Fréobearnn. The three ended up just at the borders, but went no further, as they did not want to cause trouble.

She looked back toward the two, before calling forth any Alpha, that would listen.

There was much turmoil within Whitebark Stream. Loss after loss, Artyom felt himself begin to struggle in keeping afloat. He did so for his young brood, keen to maintain their ignorance of the world's cruelty for as long as he could. They were far too pure to face further heartbreak.

The gilded Alpha stole away for a time, keen to turn focus on a hunt to distract him from his mang woes. He padded quietly through the pallid trees in the direction of neutral territory where he hoped he might find rabbits aplenty, when an unfamiliar voice rose from the pack's territory outskirts.

Dread tugged at his gut, sank like a lead weight into the pit of his belly. Over recent weeks, strangers at his borders brought only bad news - how much more could the wolves of the stream have to suffer?

Artyom turned to greet his newest visitor, and was surprised to find not one but three awaiting the attention of a leader. Golden ears pricked curiously atop his crown and he regarded each newcomer briefly. "Welcome," he greeted smoothly, "I am Artyom, one of the Alphas here. What can we do for you?"

A golden man appeared, which gave an inner sigh to the Déorwine woman. Her family were quite.. Uncustomed to other coats beside of brown variants, and while she was more neutral, but wary of those of not the same coats, she wasn't sure how her siblings would feel. The worriness was covered by her placid smile.

She took the reigns when it came to speaking, however there was a hesitation to the sylph. As the trio has always been in Kingslend, they were not sure how customs work on 'joining' another Pack. She had to pause and think for a moment, to find the right words, "My name is Célnes Déorwine, and these are my siblings, Cenric and Fréobearn. We were hoping to be able join your pack, as we have been wounded by a fire that caused us to lose our home as well."

They were healing well, as fur was returning to her own coat, but the burns were still there. Her own sister as well, lost a tail, perhaps more severe then her own.

i’ll go, but don’t expect much. — fréobearn stood beside her siblings, a smile painted on her features to mask the annoyance hidden within. there were some benefits to joining a pack, the most important of which was keeping her wandering sister in check, but she’d never admit this.

artyom’s arrival was met with a slight rise of brow and quirk of her lip, though she kept her thoughts to herself. a concerned look was turned to cenric, where it lingered for only a moment. back to artyom, we are skilled wolves. it would be our pleasure to share our knowledge with your wolves.

can be a cameo!

three of them. all burned. germanicus blinked. from a distance he felt he recognized one of the darker shadows; the centurion emerged from the treeline to approach his pale leader.

whitebark stream was quiet these days, with an air of melancholy that his own work could not dispel. but germanicus was somewhat pleased to see that he had met the first caller before: the proud woman with the fire-lamp gaze. 

his eyes tipped to her companions; a silent man hued in similar coloration. and a young woman, devoid in part of her tail. she resembled a doe. he had not been close enough to hear their names; the man came to flank his leader some feet away, taking in the sight of the fitted trio with the barest hint of intrigue held in his gaze for the woman he had known once in the rock-cleft.

The darkest of the she-wolves took charge, parting her jaws to share with him her name and those of her siblings. Artyom listened quietly to her request with a soft earthen gaze, brow furrowed by sympathy. His own experience with fire was non-existent, though he remembered Dawn's recollection of a time when she'd been kissed by it.

A strange scent that lingered around this trio was an ominous one, and it made him feel a little uncomfortable. Not wishing to insult potential new recruits, however, the flaxed Alpha shrugged it off with an easy and encouraging smile. "I am sorry for your loss," he offered a gentle sweep of his dense tail, just as a supportive pack-mate arrived, and wanted desperately to believe that these survivors would not take advantage of Whitebark's kindness.

They could help each other, perhaps. The threat of a beastly wolfdog in the mountains sprung to mind, but he kept that sliver of information to himself for the time being. "We have a healer who can tend your burns," he shared of @Kaori, and recognised the weight of his sorrow in Aphrodite's absence. "Or simply a safe place to rest, if that is what you'd prefer?"

feel free to skip him unless he’s acknowledged!

At first Cenric had been generally ok with this plan. He’d much rather not go through with this, but he’d accepted his fate at this point. But the closer they got to this pack, the more he regretted his decision. When he first laid his eyes upon it’s king he had to fight the urge to turn around then and there. Alas, he must stick with his siblings.

Cenric avoided looking at the leader for too long. He was afraid he may gag, and that would surely ruin their chances of getting in. He kept his eyes on the horizon, occasionally glancing at Fréobearn.

Everyone had put on their best face, as she too played the park of a complete smile of a facade. Then the silver man, she saw long ago appeared so, and gave a subtle nod toward him. A recognizable face, but still someone who wouldn't be approved by the Déorwine family- at least her siblings were holding their tongues. Respectable, she thought, expecting Cenric to walk away and Freo to spew fire.

"Thank you," the elken woman started, "I think we would like to rest to get adjusted to area. My sister, is an excellant healer and has tried her best with us."

fréobearn quickly interjected, i’ve been tending their wounds for some time, though we appreciate the offer. whoever their healer, she didn’t trust them to touch any of the déorwine wolves, and never her own siblings.

did célnes not trust her sister’s instincts? did she think that, as had been stated before, fréo needed more experience? of course, this was true, but she didn’t like the idea of the laypeople being told such things.

she caught cenric’s glance for only a moment, then continued, artyom, we were nearby for some time, and i began building a small herb cache. would you give me some time to retrieve those herbs, so that they are not lost?

Whatever frustrations lurked behind Célnes' siblings' cool façades, Artyom was blind to them. Instead he chose to focus on the positive: Whitebark had three new sets of eyes to help keep watch, three new friendships that he hoped would come to fit in wonderfully.

He felt content to let them carry on their way, figuring they would be keen to settle after all they'd been through. One of them, however, seemed eager to slip away for a time to gather her nearby cache, and the gilded Alpha regarded her kindly despite the reminder of a very real threat that lurked beyond their home. "Of course," he said, finding it rather odd that she asked to go, "but please be careful. There is a wolfdog who assaulted my mate not far from here, and has provoked our neighbours." Artyom looked forward his steel-furred comrade to suggest: "perhaps @Germanicus could accompany you?"

he was perceptive, though not accusatory. had germanicus not spoken with the woman who appeared to lead them, he would have thought nothing of it. but as the meet wore on, the muted yellow gaze traveled over each of the three, resting on the silent man.

"of course," he rumbled in answer to artyom's suggestion. an herb store. so they had meant to stay close, germanicus surmised, reminded again of that mysterious hollow in the earth.

stepping forward, he turned his muzzle first toward the dark woman, then her lighter female companion. lastly the man, though his glance was more cursory there. "i can also help to carry anything you need."

who were these three?

end?

"Thank you," with a perfect smile of a studious wolf, she gave a curtious bow to the Alpha as gratitude before standing back up. Her sister wished to get more herbs that she hid in the mountain, and with a wolf that Célnes vaguely knew. She could already tell her dear little sister would have issues with silver-pelted warrior, but there wasn't much to be done with words, as it was a new life to get used to.

"I hope we can get along."