Silvertip Mountain Indecision

Ryuu had felt separate from Ouroboros Spine and so she had left them. That was not a home to her. At least it did not feel like home. When she had left Ouroboros, Ryuu had slipped through the trees of a dark, unknown forest. Now she stands looking up at a mountain. This reminds her of home, though this mountain was much smaller. Bringing her nose to the ground, she can smell the scent of another pack. How many packs were in this area? Her ears pin back along her head in nervousness and worry. Not knowing these territories she fears any hostile packs that she may run across. With an eye to the mountain she tries to slip around its boarders to the left, hoping to avoid any confrontations. But she wants to join a pack. One that will feel more like the old home she had a long time ago. 

The strange, heavy object on her neck rubs against her skin as Ryuu lifts her head to look up at the mountain again. Maybe she can try to join another pack? Her steps slow until she stops. Should she try or continue to wander? To try living in this area alone with no knowledge of the territories will make it hard for her to survive. She could end up stealing prey from a pack and get caught which more than likely would lead to her death. Ryuu whines softly at the thought. What should she do? 

After the last encounter, FitzDutiful was continuing his patrol. The scent of a wandering wolf started to call out to him and it was strong. He was feeling a bit irate still and wasn't sure what the wolf was doing. The scent seemed almost as if it wanted to cross the borders and, as it weaved left around them, he wondered where they were going.

Eventually, he came across the said loner. She was stopped, not going anywhere and his ears picked up the faint whine that she made. Walking closer, he took in the cream coloured wolf in his vision. There was something strange about her neck. Something thick, black and heavy. A yellow light seemed to blink through her fur though he wondered if his imagination was making this up.

Closer and closer still he came until he was at the edge of his borders. He sat down, making it clear from his presence that he was the alpha of this pack. "Yes?" he queried. His voice firm but not unkind.

A voice greets the lone female, catching her by surprise  and causing her to flinch and spin around. Her gaze lands on a peppered grey wolf with dark tipped ears siting with an air of command surrounding him. Ryuu cowers down stuttering, "I-I'm s-sorry. I di-didn't mean t-to intrude...." Her voice fades as she takes a step back, her icy eyes focused on the males white paws. Maybe this is a sign that she should attempt to join this pack? With the way this stranger holds himself, he could be the alpha. But no other words jump to her lips. She silently curses her still tongue and the fear that holds it. Hope and desperation mix with the fear that lingers in her gaze, but it is also tainted with doubt. The last pack had accepted her, but will another? Will she be forced to live out her days as a loner? Her eyes close as she stifles another cry. If that is to be her fate then so be it, but she does not expect to live long if that is the case. Ryuu would prepare herself for death, or choose to speed up the inevitable end by placing herself in a life threatening situation. 


I'm such a coward. Feelings of disgust towards herself rise up inside her heart and she manages to whisper, almost to herself, "Would you accept me.... even though I am a coward?" She looks up at the stranger before her, avoiding eye contact. Had he heard? Did she want him to hear? Her actions will speak lengths about the way she is. Could this stranger accept that? If she was her old self and came across such a cowardly wolf, then she would have rejected them immediately. Such cowardliness is disgraceful.

Intrude?!

FitzDutiful felt his hackles raise as she spoke the words. Had she crossed the borders and he hadn't notice or was she just covering the basis in case she hadn't realised it. Could he trust a wolf that didn't realise they had crossed the borders to another pack? Maybe she hadn't crossed, knew that, but thought he would think she had. It was a confusing set of conflicts running around in his head. He chose to give her the benefit of the doubt - she was giving respect and that was a good sign.

A coward though? He failed to see what was so cowardly right now. What had she done that she considered herself so. Was it the submission for that was respect and stood her in good stead with him. "Why do you call yourself a coward?" he asked. Better to be sure that accepting her wasn't going to bring him a whole host of problems with pack conflicts.

So he had heard her. Flinching slightly at his question, Ryuu answered softly, "I fear everything." She hated admitting to that and having to explain her cowardice to a stranger. She turned her head from him, feeling ashamed. She was useless. If it came to fighting another wolf she would run and if she had to hunt, she would cower away from the prey out of fear of being hurt. And speaking to another wolf? She'd fear being turned away. All in all, she could say that she feared pain and rejection. She closed her eyes, fearing his response and assumed that he would turn her away. She was just a shadow of her former self. If her sister saw her now what would she say? But was Rain different too? Ryuu shook the thought off. Her sister had betrayed their pack, Ryuu couldn't forgive that. But she couldn't stand up against Rain either. A soft sigh of sadness tickled her lips. Would she ever be able to get past this?

Feared everything. That wasn't bad but it wasn't necessarily good either.

Now that they had pup's FitzDutiful couldn't accept wolves without considering the impact. He knew he was potentially running out a pack member soon and they were getting short on stability. He couldn't afford to take on any more charity cases.

"What can you offer the pack?" he asked. She didn't have to hunt, she didn't have to fight. All she had to do was contribute. That could be healing skills, puppy care taking, counselling. Anything. "And do you plan to stay with us or would you flee as soon as something better came along?" That was the other thing grating on him. He wanted wolves that would think like he did - that pack was family, not just a temporary place to stay until a better offer came about.

It was time to be more like an alpha and start to be more picky about who joined their pack. His children depended on that security.

What could she offer the pack? Ryuu thought about that for a moment, but nothing came to mind. With the way she was, she has no idea what she could to for a pack. "I-I don't know.... I had tried to be a part of a pack after not having been in one for over a year... but they hadn't given me a chance.... " she said softly. "And it-it's not that I am lo-looking for something better.... I wan-want a place that I can call home...." she stuttered quickly. She swiveled a paw on the ground stating, "I just want to feel like I belong... I don't want this feeling of being alone..." Ryuu avoids eye contact with the male, feeling a little lost. There's no telling if this place would feel like home to her. The only thing that made her think that there was a possibility was the fact that it did remind her of her original birthplace. Perhaps it would be the closest to feeling at home that she could have in this area.

She looked up shyly at the male saying out loud what she had thought, "This mountain reminds me of home... perhaps I can gain back what I have lost." A spark of determination glints in her icy blue eyes. If she could gain the feeling of a pack back, then maybe she could become the wolf she used to be. 

FitzDutiful looked at the woman in front of him carefully. He openly studied her as she spoke and thought about all the things she was saying. He wasn't going to take in a charity case but something - that spark of determination - swayed him from turning her away. She wanted a home, she wanted a chance. She would get a chance but she would have to earn the right to stay.

"We need a caretaker and we need a healer. If you are willing to learn one of those trades then I will offer you a place within my pack. You will start at the bottom but you will be treated fairly and, with time, may rise to the top. We have two puppies at the moment. They are the priority. Here, pack is family." His eyes wandered over the cream coloured wolf, once again stopping at the collar upon her neck. FitzDutiful didn't know what the collar was, what it represented, but it seemed harmless. It obviously hadn't hurt her and he doubted it would hurt the pack. A story for another time perhaps.

For now, "Do you accept my terms and want a place in Silvertip Mountain?"

The breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, escaped her in a rush of air.  He was offering a place for her if she took up a trade. "I would be honored to train to take both trades and I would be grateful for a chance in Silvertip" She had to think about what it may mean to be a caretaker. To be the one to look over puppies. They would be safe within pack boarders so she wouldn't have to worry about gaining courage to chase off some dangerous animal or wolf.  And young wolves weren't something to be afraid of. A slight frown creased her muzzle. She would be worrying over them though. Making sure they didn't get into things they weren't supposed to. Keeping them away from possibly poisons plants, or potentially harmful area's like cliffs and rivers. Ryuu shook off the pessimistic thoughts. It would be a good trade for her. 

Then she thought of being a healer. Healing didn't involve any fighting at all. There could be some harsh words from the ones she would treat. If a wolf was in pain, then it would be a sure thing to expect some explicit langue and shouting. Could she handle that? It was worth a try. But then she had to think about the wounds she would come across. Broken bones. Bites and scratches from battles. Would she be able to handle the gory scenes? There was only one way to find out. "Is there anyone within the pack who can teach me these trades?" The thought of having to travel to another pack to gain information on either one of the trades was not appealing. She was having a hard enough time speaking with the alpha in front of her. 

I've titled you up, feel free to take part in the pack meeting! Since this is set before, FitzDutiful would expect Ryuu to appear there.

Ryuu accepted his terms and FitzDutiful realised that he had never asked the newest member of the pack her name. He had jumped straight to business. "Then welcome. My name is FitzDutiful, the alpha. You are?" He wondered if he should have got her name before inviting her to join the pack. But then, what did a name matter? It wouldn't have affected whether he had invited her in or not. He had no wolves on his ban list other than Tempest and he knew exactly who she was. Briefly he wondered if Copper, Paxton and Minxy would soon be joining that list. He wasn't sure he could ever re-accept a deserter. He had done that once and it had backfired.

The conversation progressed and Ryuu asked about where she could learn these trades. "No, I ask only that you learn by practice. I taught myself the naturalist and counsellor trades with no one to learn from. We have puppies in the pack and, with supervision from myself or Bindi - the beta - along with their mother, Raissa, you will be allowed to interact with them and learn. For the healer's trade then practice is the best way to learn. I can teach you the first aid that I know and Bindi - our outrider - may be able to go to other packs and ask questions for you. I do not expect wolves to leave the pack lands if they do not wish to." In fact he'd rather they didn't at the moment. It seemed you never knew if they were going to come back. Abandonment was hitting him hard.

What are the HTML colors for this pack?

He gave his name as FitzDutiful and then asked for hers. "R-Ryuu," she answered shyly. She listened as he explained that she could learn her trades with practice. The Caretaker trade would be easier to learn with the help of this Raissa and Bindi that this alpha spoke of. She wasn't sure how she could learn a lot about healing other than what FitzDutiful had offered to teach her and figured that she would end up having to ask an Outrider to gain healer information. She didn't know anything about herbs or taking care of wounds and doesn't know if she can learn all she needs to just with this male's knowledge and experience. It will be a hard lesson, but she has to try her hardest for this pack. "Thank you," she tells FitzDutiful softly. "I will give it my best."

Looking past him she inquired, "Where can I find the pack's den?" Her gaze dropped down to her paws, unsure if what she was about to say next was right. "I would like to meet Rissa and her puppies and start learning my trade now."

Pack Colours: Lilac (#c8a2c8) and UP Maroon (#7b1113)

Ryuu accepted the terms and FitzDutiful smiled kindly at her. She mentioned wanting to see the pups immediately to start working on her trade and it caused him to realise that he had kept his family too secluded. They had yet to open their eyes but he wasn't gaining anything by hiding them away. Even Bindi hadn't met them yet, but that was a whole new kettle of fish there.

"Come with me." he said, letting her walk over the borders and walking with her to towards the den area. "I hope you like it here." He was going to mention how they'd had wolves desert them and needed more members but decided better of it. What if there was something wrong with his leadership skills? It was a harrowing thought but one that he needed to consider. For now, his pups would get introduce to their future caretaker who would be allowed to interact with them with supervision of himself, Raissa or Bindi. Ryuu was part of the family now.

Thank you :)

FitzDutiful invited her over the boarders by telling her to follow him. He also had said that he hopes she likes it here. Ryuu hoped that she would as well, but was a bit skeptical after the last pack she had tried to join. There was still a chance she could like it.  Already this pack's alpha seemed more friendly than Ouroboros. Maybe that would change how things worked out here. If the alpha was friendly, then the others could be too. 

The one thing Ryuu was curious about that he hadn't asked her, was the thing that rubs around her neck. Not that she had any answers as to what the object might be. She hadn't even seen the thing herself. With her mind on it, the thing begins to make the back of her neck itch. Not wanting to take a pause in case she was left behind, Ryuu stretches her head out and then back, trying to use the object to scratch the spot. It didn't bring any relief so she ignored the itch as best she could while keeping close to FitzDutiful.