Redhawk Caldera you'll know what makes a real man

@Ivy!

Lagan was super excited to meet all of his new family members. It was like a giant surge of people just flooded in, and he didn't mind one bit. He was a 'more the merrier' kind of guy, and there were definitely more of them now. He hadn't met any of them yet, so today he set out to find one of them, any of them would do. Though he'd caught on to one scent in particular, the scent of another young wolf. She seemed closer by than any of the others were, so he began following her trail, eager to find her.

<3

These first days spent within the confines of her new pack - welcoming though they were - had been.. interesting.  Ivy hadn't been able to decide how she really felt about this whole relocation business, but she did know that her feelings didn't hold a candle to those of her sister.  She paused, a frown crossing her youthful face for the briefest of moments.  Nova didn't want to leave Mato behind, that was all.  But their brother had left of his own free will and apparently had the blessing of Sebastian to boot.  The four siblings were older now and only a few months out from earning their respective places among the adult ranks.  Mato just.. well, he decided to speed up the process a bit and strike out on his own.

Shrugging to herself, the short grayscale girl let out a sharp huff and continued on her way.  Just like that, thoughts of her siblings and their issues dissolved.  Anyway, Ivy had no real path planned out for her stroll today but she'd sorely needed to stretch her legs.  Clean water and the return of her appetite meant that she'd been feeling up for more activity.  It was refreshing to actually want to move again, though she was mindful to not stray too far up the mountain.  Her mother's voice echoed in her head, repeating the message of the Caldera's Alpha male that she'd apparently missed upon their arrival.

Her pace set, Ivy let her mind wander.  And wander it did - it was amazing how well rested she felt!  Catching up on beauty sleep really did make all the difference.  Oh, she'd suggest extra sleep to Nova upon her return!  And then she'd see if Ben wanted to join her in some wandering.  Maybe they'd find one of the other pups..  And her father might be able to show her around.. and her mother could share some wisdom about being in a new pack..

Soon Lagan's amazing tracking skills led him straight to the female he'd been seeking out. He looked up from the ground to look at her, and he found that she was very pretty. She was light grey like him, except with less darker markings. She was around his age possibly, if not younger. He trotted quicker to catch up with her, letting out a soft bark to let her know he was there. Then he fell into step with her, walking at her side. He actually felt kind of tall next to her, which rarely happened to him.

Hi! I'm Lagan. He said in his usual jovial tone. He hadn't been in the least bit cautious about getting close to her. That's what pack mates did right?

A bark cut almost violently through the pleasant fog of her thoughts and caused Ivy to startle.  She let out a yelp - an undignified, squeaky nose - and whipped around immediately to see who had snuck up on her.  The petite girl's gaze darted around until she settled on a cheerful-looking male who had sidled up awfully close to her.  She drew in a few rapid breaths to try and calm her heartbeat before her features slowly melted into a scowl.  Granted, such a look on her young face likely didn't have the desired effect, but her irritation had bubbled over.

Hi, Lagan, she retorted sarcastically.  Do you always sneak up on unsuspecting young girls like that?

The girl who Lagan was talking to looked sort of spooked for a moment. Lagan didn't know why she would've been scared of him, he was the plushest cuddliest little fluff ball in the world! So he glanced around, looking for the source of the scare. When she spoke, he dropped it, still unsure of why she seemed so frustrated. Lagan was a little too sweet to catch on to her sarcasm, so he shook his head to her question, still smiling.

Oh no, that wasn't sneaking. Sneaking is like this. He replied, and shot off into the bushes nearby. He walked through them, pretending that he was the sneakiness sneak in the world. Then once he figured that his point had been made, he walked out of his hiding place and back to walking next of her. See! He said, his tail wagging joyfully.

Ivy put great stock in first impressions for one so young.  Namely first impressions she had of others.  What anyone else thought of her was still trapped in the realm of utterly irrelevant, though that was sure to change in the next few months as she came of age.  She blinked owlishly at Lagan's oblivous and happy-go-lucky attitude.  Her light green eyes followed as the young male darted away, his delcaration regarding sneaking lingering in the air in his wake.  .. what? she muttered under her breath.

Had she any patience to begin with, it woud have been worn down to nothing by this point.  She huffed loudly while Lagan goofed off in the bushes and turned her body away from him entirely.  Ivy had taken only one step in the opposire direction before she heard his voice again.  Annoyed, she snapped her head back around to look at him and was almost caught off guard when she saw the look on his face.  Proud, maybe?  No, just.. happy.  Good for you, she retorted with one raised brow.  I know what sneaking is.

When Lagan returned from his 'How to sneak for dummies' show, he found that his new friend looked really angry! She had turned away from him entirely, but when he spoke she snapped her head back around and practically spat in his face. What? What had he done wrong? He was just being funny, and friendly, as always? She said she knew what sneaking was, and Lagan couldn't help but think, Well now you do. He was smart enough not to vocalize that though, who knew what fire that would've lit in the other girl.

Instead he decided to be polite. If his normal jests didn't appeal to her, maybe his sweet side would. Sorry, if I annoyed you. I didn't mean to. What's your name? He asked, his head bowed just a little.

Great, now she actually felt bad for snapping at him.  With a frown, Ivy ducked her head a bit as she studied him.  No, it's.. it's fine, she mumbled.  She wasn't used to explaining her feelings to other wolves just yet, especially her attitudes.  Now that she was in a new pack and her parents weren't Alphas, she should probably think about toning it down.  Just a little, anyway.  If for no other reason than not making her father's life more difficult while he worked to suss out his place in the ranks.

She let out a soft sigh.  Ivy.  What's yours?  If nothing else, she could be polite.  It wasn't much, but it was a start.  Besides, this guy seemed sort of sweet.  When he wasn't being annoying, anyway.

The girl calmed down a bit, she almost looked like she was sorry for snapping at him. Lagan didn't care whether or not she was sorry, he wanted to be her friend either way. She answered his question, her name was Ivy. That was a nice name. And then she asked his... again. He wondered if she knew or not, about her little mess up. He opened his mouth, but only air came out as he tried to decide whether or not to point it out to her. To say or not to say, that was the question. Every mischievous bone in his body told him it would be hilarious to point it out, and see the look on her face. But the part of him that didn't want to get yelled at again said otherwise.

It's Lagan, you must've forgot because I already told you. Mischief won him over, and he chuckled a little after saying it.

Ugh, of course!  Lagan's antics must have been more distracting than she'd thought for her to forget that he'd already provided his name.  Flustered, Ivy shook her head and let out a quiet growl.  It was a little thing, clearly not intended to be threatening in the least.  Not that a wolf her size could possibly be imposing to him.  Whatever! she blurted out, punctuating her outburst with a bratty stamp of her paw for good measure.

What was it about this guy, anyway?  He had a good attitude - better than hers by a a long shot - and yet it all seemed so.. grating!  Ivy huffed again and pointedly looked away from him.  Well, Lagan, she began, the emphasis on his name heavily sarcastic.  Just after the words left her mouth she realized that she'd greeted him the exact same way not minutes before, a thought that caused her to scowl again.  Why were you following me?  There, steer the conversation away from her own foolishness!

As he'd expected but for some reason ignored, Ivy got frustrated. She seemed a little fussy, but that didn't stop Lagan. If she was gonna be in his pack they had to get along right? He stepped back a bit when she stomped her foot, momentarily worried she might bite him or something. She was younger and smaller than him yes, but Lagan was the least violent boy in the world. If she did lash out at him, he wouldn't know what to do, so he'd probably just stand there and take it.

She asked why he was following her, and wasn't it obvious? So they could be best buddies, duh. Well there's a ton of you new guys and I thought you might want to meet me! Ya know, so we can get to be a family and stuff. He explained, it hadn't occurred to him yet that maybe she and some of the others didn't exactly want to be part of his family.

As with everything else about him, Lagan's response to her snappy question was so pure and innocent it almost caused her to feel guilty.  Or was that nausea?  Either way, Ivy's eyes widened a fraction before she cautiously turned her head back to face the gray male.  Not all of your family is happy to have us here, she countered softly.

To be fair, one grumpy pup at the borders when her family showed up tired and ill didn't necessarily speak for all of Redhawk Caldera.  However, that particular "greeting" by a wolf so close in age to herself had stuck in Ivy's mind over the past few weeks.  As a result, she'd been reluctant to spend time around anyone other than her parents and siblings.  Ah, maybe she should shoulder some of the blame.  But at least she was getting out now.  That had to count for something.  Though her interpersonal skills left much to be desired, apparently.

Lagan was having a very hard time understand Ivy's emotions. One second she was shouting and stomping, the next she was saying she was sorry. Kind of like his mom now that she was pregnant! Maybe... no, Ivy was too young right? Besides, he thought somebody had told him once that it was rude to ask that question. So he once again kept his dumb thoughts to himself. Anyway, she was soft again now, and what she said made Lagan feel a little sad, because he knew it was true. He wished both families would be open to each other, like he was. But they weren't all like him.

I'm really sorry about that. Some of us are a little grumpy. Like Towhee! But don't worry about her, or any of them. I'll make sure my baby sis and everybody else doesn't mess with you anymore. He said thoughtfully, offering her a friendly smile. (Was this foreshadowing to a future confrontation? The world may never know...)

I mean, it's not your fault.. she mumbled even while Lagan continued talking.  He was just the type to apologize on behalf of an entire pack.  Ivy couldn't imagine a situation where she'd be that.. diplomatic.  About anything.  Even the mere thought of it made her want to shudder.

Towhee? she questioned when he was finished speaking.  The black and white and reddish one?  She's your sister?  Ivy gave him a skeptical look, her pale green eyes giving his body a quick once-over as if to non-verbally confirm in a low-key dramatic way that the two wolves looked nothing alike.  Though they all had slightly different coloring, even she and her three siblings at least looked  like they had the same parents.

Single-minded as she was, it didn't even occur to the youth that adoption or some other situation could be the answer.

Yeah, that's 'er! Lagan said, thinking fondly of his little pal. Ivy then asked if Towhee was his sister, she looked a little skeptical. So maybe he wasn't his sister, but he was like his sister. The firebirds had been given many different titles by Lagan; cousins, siblings, he even called them his kids sometimes. This time sister had come out, even though it wasn't entirely true. He shrugged his head to the side a little. Well sorta. She's my mom's best friend's slash my dead godmother's daughter. But my mom and dad raised her so she's practically my little sis.

We aren't related through like, blood if that's what you mean. He explained.

The two wolves talked for a little longer, until Lagan got tired and yawned. He said goodbye and headed back to his den, where he would get that well needed sleep.