Bearclaw Valley Meet me inside

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Galena had momentarily left Rising Sun Valley with the intention of continuing her journey through the Teekons, yet a nagging curiosity pulled her backwards. The scent of a particular territory had been upon the dark woman she admired... and the two men she had met during the night. Were they of the same clan? The vagrant's keen nose drew her towards a walled valley and she proceeded with caution towards its borders, eager to ave her questions answered.

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life had grown harder for merrick. perhaps it was the strife between he and the doctor that had him in a melancholy.
no matter. he spent a good deal of time sulking upon the borders, which was where he met the stone woman with cat-eyes.
hiding a scowl, merrick approached with the usual triumphant step masking his inner turmoil. "if you'd like some company, i'll join you," he offered in a friendly voice, though the upswing of his plume invited little opportunity for sass.

Orson was no stranger to absent-minded wandering — that had been the theme for most of her adult life. In her heart of hearts she wanted nothing more than to be a part of something — intrigue, drama, a war, even a polite conversation would be enough to quench her. In the heart of that hearts, there was something like loneliness. But delving that deep was too much for her. She stayed on the surface level — that is, bored out of her mind. 

Her heart (of hearts? or heart of heart of hearts? where was this metaphor going?) leapt when she saw the stone woman, quietly trotting along. She approached, only to find another male joining the fray. From the words she picked up and the way they approached each other, there was no familiarity between them. A meeting of acquaintances then? Orson picked up her step to meet up with the grayscale pair, keeping her body language friendly. A little gathering going on here?

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The wolves of Bearclaw Valley had made an distinct border, the markings were fresh and generous. Pack, thought Galena, but new. The scent was unmistakably familiar, indeed the one she had gathered from the trio... and it didn't take long for a scout to appear.

He looked a wreck -- dark and disheveled, a smattering of obsidian and rust painted on a wiry figure. One ear was tattered to pieces, the opposite eye a gruesome hole in his head. A patchwork of old wounds (and some new?) painted his coat like a Jackson Pollock. Yet, despite his run-down appearance, a dangerous bite accompanied his leering orange gaze... much like the dark woman's. Galena's brows visibly raised in surprise, wondering what unfortunate life this creature had endured so far. Never would she had guessed he was the leader of the fledgling Ursus.

The greeting he called out was of the friendly variety, accompanied by a schmear of charm. "I'd like that," she responded with a cheshire smile, veiling her disgust distrust of the man. 

Only a moment later a third joined their company: a wolf of almost every opposite to the first. She was strong-looking and prime, a spindling of nutmeg agouti with a windswept appearance. "One of yours?" She asked the man.

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merrick did not miss her expression, but preened beneath it all the same. none of his wounds had been for aught; the searchlight gaze of the lioness only heightened his pride, even as the cloak of her smile fell over it.
another woman, a dusting of spice against the silver-dark cascade of nightfall that merrick formed with the first. "no," the boy chuffed, eyeing the flat, hard muscles beneath the newcomer's pelt. "but she could be."
"we were just about to take a walk. we don't know each other. join us," the young coywolf invited with a sweeping grin.

Now that she was closer, she absorbed the scents and visages of the pair. The stormborne woman with the malt eyes smelled of the earth and trees, but there was little in the way of others on her person. The male, black and stained with copper, was bearing many scars — he was missing an eye and part of his ears — smelled of other wolves, their scents laying faintly on his fur. Orson grinned at the one-eyed wolf. Looking for recruits? Sounds promising, if the pack was interesting enough. Sounds good to me. And since we don't know each other. My name's Orson. She looked between them. Yours? Or would you prefer to keep yerselves anonymous?

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Galena doubted  the dark man's intentions as he appraised the other woman. Orson was a rough beauty, strong and imposing, and Merrick well... he certainly didn't paint the picture of a virtuous man.

The wisp smiled none the less. "Galena," she responded as she leaned into a slow meandering pace along the rim of Bearclaw's borders. "I've newly arrived from the North. The few wolves I've encountered smelled of this place, and so... I came to find out it's secrets." Her low, drawling voice trailed into a smile as she looked to the dark scout, wondering if he was familiar with her acquaintances. 

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"merrick," the boy uttered to the feline galena and gallant orson. he allowed the former to set their pace, intending to walk between them if it worked such ways. their scents were curious, but it was galena's revelation that brightened the flame of his grin. "the pack is called ursus. we live alongside the bears here," he explained, gesturing toward the paw-shaped ridges that marked the quiet boundaries of the valley.
"i was born here, and i came back. it was like i never left," merrick sighed, glancing between the pair. "and i can answer any secrets you might want to know. most secrets," he amended quickly, wondering when orson would give a taste of her own backstory.

Names were given, and histories at well. She put aside the information for later, focusing on the interesting tidbit Merrick mentioned. Bears? Orson said, enunciating her surprise with a bit more theatrics than was really necessary. You must be feedin' them somethin' good. She grinned, turning her head to meet the dark male's face with a bardic grin. 

Both of her companions had shared their piece, leaving her to add. Well, she didn't have to, but she felt like it. 'Fraid I don't have much interestin' 'bout me. I came 'round here a while back, though I didn't stay fer long. Decided to wander through again. See if anything interesting popped up this time. Now there might be. she left the offer unsaid to Merrick. A pack with bears? She couldn't really pass that up now could she? She could at least stay a while and see what that was all about.

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Galena was equally confounded at the mention of living alongside bears. Historically, apex predators had a difficult time sharing territory. She had never heard of such a thing. The traveler was equal parts skeptical and intrigued while, on the other hand, Orson seemed much more amused. "Indeed," Galena quipped with a laugh, "who must you sacrifice to appease the bears? Surely a rabbit or two won't fill their bellies." 

Her comment was moooostly in jest, but a sick part of her wondered if Merrick's pack fed their firstborns to the bears or something twisted like it. Play unusual games, win unusual prizes.

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"one of the first women to enter the valley bit off a toe to give them," merrick conversated. "just right there. we made an altar for such things. it's still there, too, even if she isn't," came his revelation, glancing between galena and orson with a titillating grin.
"that's not necessary for entry, but the bears come and go, and no one has been attacked." you had to respect the more powerful in your world, he believed, accept your own limitations, humble yourself. the result was the dark beauty of complete freedom.

Yer shittin me! Orson exclaimed, part amused, part disgusted, part apprehensive, though he was quick to say that it wasn't necessary to join. It was crazy enough that she was impressed. Perhaps the bears thought the same. Oh, now you've gotta show us. That's pure mental.

---

Orson's candid reaction to the unsavory tale amused Galena, but she still looked down to make sure Merrick still had all of his toes. To think he had given a piece of himself to the bears was a plausible idea, considering he was a man to lose such thing like an eye or an ear. 


As the trio meandered, the odors of her companions wafted to Galena's nose. It's wasn't anything too informative, simply their own personal musk. Yet the vagrant was surprised to recognize Merrick's scent. He was the male so heavily painted upon the black woman. Was this her mate? Had he been the one to cover her this season? Her expression remained cool, digesting this information. Was he a figure of importance here? This made her think of the catatonic blonde man and his chestnut companion. The characters of this place were unconventional. She liked it.

"I wouldn't mind to see it, either," added Galena, who had a keen interest in such things as altars. 

---

he laughed, a youthful sound that emanated from his battered face like incense. "it's amazing what wolves will do when they don't feel judged," he said, slowing his trot from that of the fierce ladies' movement. "there's only one way in, too." he flicked his tongue against his jawline, tossed them a wink, and turned to pad toward the entrance stone of ursus.
the forbidding rock was a sentinel, watching over ursus. he rubbed his shoulders along it and then faced the two again.
"i'll take you to it," he teased out, "but first: join me."

Easy to keep an eye on who's comin' in an' out, She noted. She wasn't much for strategy or tactics, but it didn't take a tactician to see the benefits of this Valley. And the detriments. It would be hard to get out of in a big battle, or during a natural disaster. Like, join yer bear-lovin' pack? she asked, unsure if she was stating the obvious. Hm, sounds intriguin', She looked at Galena, wondering what she would say.

---

Galena regarded the massive stone, a sleeping giant, at the gates of Ursus. Bearclaw Valley was an unsual territory, if Merrick was speaking truth. Very rarely could you find a patch of land with only one entrance. That meant it was easy to fortify, however it could also be a deathtrap.

The dark man was giddy with excitment, shooting both ladies an invitation accompanied by a wink. Galena would be lying if she didn't find his attitude infectous. He waltzed like nothing in the world could take him down. Orson ruminated on the idea. She looked to Galena and Galena looked back, pondering his offer. The stormcloud thought about Astara and her dangerous beauty. If Galena played her cards right, here, there would be plenty of oppertunity for her true agenda. She could make her Mothers proud. 

"Maybe," Galena said with a coy smile and a slight turn of her face. She liked playing Merrick's game. "It seems to me you stand to gain two strong women to your fold. Two warriors. Providers. What do we get in return? What can you do for us?" 

---

they were both in on the playfulness, and merrick was dazzled by how well they had come to this point. "absolute freedom," he purred. "a history. a place to become yourselves. but before all that, i'll be honest with you if you ever need to come to me. i just expect it back." a direct point of contact with their leader. involvement in every part of ursus.
and blood.
he kept that to himself, cyclops gaze swinging between the two she-wolves. merrick did not speak again, for he felt that his statement stood alone. honesty was not something freely given, but to the boy, it was a tenet of his being, to say his mind whenever he meant to say it, and to accept nothing less than a listening ear.

Galena laid the terms. Despite her own size she wasn't much for fighting. She tried to use her words to get out of situations, her bulk acting more as a hindrance to her nomadic lifestyle. But it wasn't like she couldn't do so. She had her usefulness, even if it wasn't all plain on the surface. For the moment she had to agree with Galena, seeing where the offer would take them.

If she was being honest, the promise of living side-by-side with bears was too intriguing for her to let up. She wasn't sure of the promises that Merrick made — what exactly did he mean by absolute freedom? Freedom to do anything I want? Ye really mean that? She doubted that he meant that he was ok with her taking a dump in front of his den.

Regardless of what he said, she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Sounds fair to me. I'm in.

---

Galena liked this idea of freedom — the ability to do or cultivate whatever you wanted. But to have freedom, you had to have power. Power, in the end, was everything. And with it came the rest... history, tradition. A smile graced the she-wolf's features. Orson agreed, and the wisp nodded amicably. She could use this freedom. "I, as well," she added. "Show us the way in, Merrick?" If the cyclops would lead them into Ursus, then she would follow.

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"we do what we want here," merrick crooned, rolling his shoulders. he was king. astara queen. those were the rules he meant to be followed, and he could think of few others at present. "welcome to ursus," the young wolf purled. two joiners. two warriors. two more to be given unto the bears in spirit if not in flesh.
and merrick, happy to pave the way to sacrifice with his own blood.
he grinned at them and slipped beyond the stone into the valley that spread into a gemlike expanse of old growth and coniferous magick.

She did not expect, when she entered the Valley, that she would end up a pack member, but that was often how things went in life. She wasn't disappointed by the results, only grinning at the prospect of something new. Something exciting. It was an anchor, keeping her here in the Wilds for just that while longer. It'd be interesting to see what shenanigans this pack would get up to before their bears dug in for the winter.

She followed Merrick, ready to see what the young man would bring for his side of the bargain.

faadddeee

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Galena wondered, briefly, what her mother's would say about this new venture. Would they think it auspicious? Smiling, Galena followed Orson and Merrick into the Valley, dreaming of the future, of freedom, and of power. 

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