Neverwinter Forest A bad penny always turns up.

Man, that rambling. Did he even know anyone else who went on like that? Probably not. Maybe Zephyr went off on some crazy rant once, but that was all of once and he couldn't remember too clearly now -- it was unimportant so he chucked that fact out of his brain. Either way, he nodded to Simmik. Yeah, this dude was kind of troublesome already. But the question was what was the cause? He wasn't sure. It seemed super foolish to him, but he knew Cam had trespassed by accident, not malice, so it was just back to pinning down whether this newbie was more of a hindrance than help. Giving second chances is one thing, but if we do, he'd better learn to pay attention to his nose real quick. His attention shifted back to the guy, I don't care how exciting things are, if you don't learn that, you'll end up messed up or dead. Some of the other packs out here would have definitely shredded you. So if I decide you get to stay, think you can do that?

And just because Simmik might be more obviously playing bad cop, it didn't make Mal the good one. He had his own approach to it all -- he was the leader here, no question, but it was also no question that he knew that they had the upper hand in all ways here. This youth was fortunate he didn't go stumbling into Moonspear or someone else like that. This is Neverwinter Forest. I'm Mal. So who're you? Got any skills that'll make us forget that you messed up? Would that send the kid into a tailspin rant again?

He clamped his mouth shut while they discussed their plan for him. The girl's increasing attitude made him very nervous, and while the boy's commentary was somewhat accusatory Stone couldn't fault him - or really either of them - for how they reacted. Stone was too exitable, he knew that. It was hard not to know that, considering he was the one living on his wits and whims. If nothing else this moment was a strong learning experience.

By the way it sounded, this Neverwinter Forest place might be forgiving enough of Stone's blunder to accept him, which was all he'd wanted from the start. The idea of being torn apart by any other pack made his blood run cold, and whatever mirth was on his face vanished. But then when Mal asked him for his skills - igniting his hope - his smile gleamed wide upon his face again.

Well, uh, um, I can hunt! I had to, right, or I'd have -- I dunno, starved by now. I've been places too, I could tell you about all the places I've been. I'm good with plants too, if that... Is that valuable? I wanna learn everything -- and I'll be better, I promise! I'll do anything.

She raised a skeptic eyebrow as Mal spoke to her; she wasn't so sure learning real quick was something this guy was capable of, but maybe he would surprise them. When Mal reminded the intruder of the danger he might have been in if he had wandered across a different pack's borders, her icy gaze slid back to the boy. Moonspear came to mind then, and she wondered if they would have even stopped to ask questions or just torn him apart—probably the latter; She might have have done the same had they not been distracted by that creature. 

The guy at least could hunt to some extent, or so he claimed. But another wolf to hunt was definitely something they could use; they had Caerus to feed and Aibreann's pups on the way. Hunting is a good place to start, she told the intruder. She didn't much care about where he had been; she doubted he had any useful information. But his willingness to learn at least gave me a few more points. She glanced to Mal, her expression implying an acceptance of the intruder if that was what he wanted. Her expression quickly changed to impatient as she looked back to the stranger. You didn't answer his first question, Simmik pointed out. Who are you?

I'm quickly having him answer so Mal can react and we don't get stuck going an extra round just for his name l m a o... I derped.

The assessment gave him hope.  Then the girl remarked over a missed detail and with a bright "oh!" moment of surprise at himself, he flooded the air with apologies, and an answer. I'm sorry - yes that, I'm -- my name is Stone. Nervous, sheepish expression afterwards came quickly. He was grimacing slightly, assuming they would call him out on such a dim little name like everyone did.

He didn't know what to think of this kid -- just from attitude, Mal couldn't stop thinking of him as anything but some sort of overgrown child. But still, his pack was about chances... 

We'll have to see what Aibreann thinks of your plant prowess. Unless plant-knowers were cursed, since the last one bailed pretty quick. You get a chance. Don't blow it. You're gonna have to pay a lot more attention to what your nose says, though. We won't be able to bail you out if you're halfway across the valley bugging someone else, yeah? So Stone could Stay. Mal was just worried he'd turn out to be a complete disaster, but maybe this had been a wake-up call.

I'm very sorry! i forgot we agreed to a new posting order D:

She felt like she would have to keep an eye on this guy at first; she didn't trust that he wouldn't unintentionally cause some kind of trouble because he didn't seem to know how things worked. She honestly wondered how he had made it on his own without getting his ass kicked. Or maybe he had but hadn't learned from it? That would be even worse. So she for sure needed to keep tabs on him. Plant and hunting skills were definitely helpful, but it remained to be seen if actually had anything to offer. 

Her gaze moved between Mal and Stone, and she waited to see how the boy would react to his chance to prove himself more than a dumb kid who trespassed on their land.

He listened intently, his entire self focused on what Mal was saying - his future depended on it. At the very least Stone should have felt fortunate for not being torn to pieces; instead he had so many thoughts ping-ponging around his head that he'd forgotten all about his initial crime. 

The boy nodded frantically, wagging his tail as a clear sign of glee. I'll do good, I'll -- yeah, yes, I'll stay here and prove to you I'm not a mistake. Thank you!!! He was practically vibrating in place, even as he rolled to his paws.

Someone named Aibreann was mentioned and, even though Stone was experiencing ten different flavors of ADHD in that moment, he focused on that name and repeated it to himself; in his head at first, then quietly under his breath. Should I — can I go now, and find them? Like, uh, am I... dismissed....? His voice got smaller with each syllable, clearly unsure of his next step. But to be fair, it wasn't like he had ever been in this situation before.

Mal had to wonder if the way Stone acted was similar to how a slightly older pup might -- like not even metaphor, more like just remove Stone's brain and put it in a pup older than Caerus, would that fit better? Well. He'd find out eventually. Hopefully this wolf wasn't making stuff up though and was gonna be useful. Again, time would tell.

Now or later. Whatever ends up making sense. Yeah, you are -- make us all proud to have you as a packmate. Or at least, that'd be the kind of thing he'd say to Caerus and hope it stuck. Would that work with him too? Well. They'd find out. He looked to Simmik, giving her a glance with a slight shift in expression -- he wasn't 110% sold either, but at least he seemed harmless enough.

Her expression would mirror his own when he looked to her because she also wasn't completely sure that he wouldn't end up letting them down in the end. But, she supposed it was worth a try. Teaching him would probably be frustrating, but maybe he would prove them wrong.

She would watch Stone leave, and then return her attention back to Mal. I'm going to go get this looked at, she told him, pointing her muzzle to her leg. I'll let you know if I have any more problems with him.

Unless he stopped her, Simmik would offer him a smile and then turn and head to go see Aibreann.

He nodded to her. Hopefully the whole thing would end up being no problem. Maybe. Oof. Well, at least he didn't have high expectations for Stone. He did trust that Aibreann would make sure that Simmik was fine. That was the more important thing in the end anyway. Catch you both later. Or in Stone's case, at some point he'd just disappear. But people did do that.