Blackfoot Forest Does Love Exist?

@Liri but anyone else welcome to pop in and meet the shy boy <3

Samuel had been accepted and had seen the parts of the territory. It was quite a nice piece of land, the boy couldn't doubt that. However, with his time of one month of being alone before being assigned a mate, he freaked out a little. How could he meet all the females and make himself interested with one?! It was insane to him, but that was the pack and he would have to just suck it up.

Swiftly, he lifted his jaws and parted them, letting a howl rise through his throat. A clear message welcoming any of the females to meet him and join in conversation. Hopefully, that was not too much to ask for.

Liri loped towards the call when it came, not recognizing who sent it. She supposed it was one of the new males. Several times she nearly stumbled and fell simply because she was so nervous her legs were shaking. 

The howl led her to a large male, he was easily as large as Aaron and Faramir if not larger. She, of course, looked like a dwarf next to him. His fur was a mixture of grey bands, overall he was handsome. Everyone in the pack seemed to be and that left her wondering where that left her. 

She padded in front of him, not bothering with submission since she was higher in the hierarchy than he. She smiled at him shyly,"Hello."

Liri is so adorable!

It was not very far off that his calls were answered, a small white wolfess came into view. She was very pretty to Samuel, pelt white like the snow that looked softer than silk. Samuel smiled towards her, a bit of shyness in it. She looked kind to him, it wouldn't hurt to socialize now, would it?

The girl came closer and offered a small greeting, tainted in shyness like himself. The boy moved closer and dipped his head towards her. "Hello to you, may I ask for your name?"

hah thanks!

"I am Liri,"she replied softly. "Who might you be?" She liked having names to faces, it was very possible this man would be her mate. That made her even more nervous than before. How disheveled she must look with her scabbed shoulder and scratches marring her slender chest. There was no doubt dried blood on her shoulder where it was constantly pulling open in the middle. That fox had got her good, she knew it was hardening though it only cracked now when she ran very fast.

There was nothing to be done about that now, he had already seen her and he didn't seem to mind. He seemed kind, she hoped so. She hoped none of the men were cruel in this pack, if she got paired with another abusive man she would be left with no choice but to keep running. She had met some kind wolves and she was so tired of running. She refocused her attention on the male before her waiting for his name.

The beautiful wolf replied with her name, Liri. "Liri...The name suits you, it's pretty." He offered her, smiling. Unknown to the both of them, both of the two were quite similar. Both were burned by love, whether it was abuse or cheaters or liars. Both were shy to love. If only they knew that about each other....

Liri asked about the boy's name, he answered her question gently. "I'm Samuel. Thank you for coming to meet me." Samuel started to take a liking to Liri (as a friend for now). She was maybe on the same ground with him? He hoped so, she was shy and found that adorable about her. He was shy, but when was a guy ever shy to a girl? That went against almost all of the stories his old friends told him about love.

She looked away with a small grin, he thought she was pretty. She murmured a soft thanks. Samuel. It was not a name she would have heard up north but she liked it nonetheless. She sat, feeling more comfortable around him. Now she practically had to crane her head back to look at him. What was with this pack and big wolves? Well it could've been the fact that she was a petite she wolf. Had she been taller she would have been seen as willowy or even lanky.

"What brought you to come here?", she asked. No one had yet to ask her the question and it seemed like a good place to start. She had kept her own personal experiences locked tight, the exception being Aaron who had seen right through her. She wondered what had brought this gentle giant to Rosings.

Samuel's gentle demeanor made Liri more comfortable around him, her posture was becoming softer as she sat down. Samuel saw her crane her head up, he had to admit, he was a monster wolf. He too sat down, wishing to diminish his size for her, his tail wrapped around his hind leg softly. Liri soon asked about Sameul's reason to join the Rosings pack.

He moved his paws a little, watching them with his own eyes before returning his gaze towards her. "I left my old pack due to the different beliefs and every day life. It wasn't fun, to put it simply. They were cruel, sickening, evil wolves who held no care for the world around them. Many of the women there were victims while others were cruel themselves." Samuel left out his parts about his failures with love, Liri wouldn't want to be bored by him. He wouldn't ask her about her love life either, that was none of his business. 

"What about you Liri?"

She was stunned if that was even a strong enough word. Her face fell slack at the mention of his old pack, she found herself wanting to tell him about her past. He wasn't alone, the two were more similar than she would have ever guessed. Both running from their pasts, from cruel wolves, both taken in by Aaron.

She glanced away as she spoke, her voice no more than an audible hush,"Your reasons are similar to my own. I was deceived into mating a much older male but I was wrong about him." She left it at that, they had never consummated their marriage. The thought of it sent shivers of horror down her spine. That wasn't the reason he had taken her for second mate. He loved reminding her how unnapealing she was.

"You and I are more alike than one would think,"she told him, murmuring it more to herself than him.

Samuel was quite astonished by Liri's response. The two of them were connected by their horrendous pasts. Samuel looked to her and flattened his ears in sadness, how could a wolf treat a girl like Liri so terribly? She looked to be a gentle soul, who would take advantage of her? Liri was right with her statement though, the two were quite similar.

"Similar, but in the worst way my friend." He offered to her, slouching a bit. "It always confused me why wolves would take advantage of others in such a way of lust and cruelness. I... can't comprehend it sometimes..."

She shook her head understanding what he was getting at,"He never..he didn't,"she couldn't bring herself to say the words,"he got close several times." The last part was barely more than a whisper. She remembered those dark days of the fear. The constant fear that her sister mate, that bitch was only a sister in name, would not be the only one with pups.

She fought the urge to get up and pace as was her habit when agitated. She forced a smile onto her face as she turned back to him. "So do you have a trade? Or do you know what you would want to learn?",she inquired, shaking off her dark thoughts.

Liri had spurted out short phrases, Samuel tilted his head towards her. Oh no, did he say something wrong? Well, the boy couldn't say much, Liri had already fixed herself with a smile, making Samuel a bit suspicious but say nothing else. Liri questioned about Samuel's trades, did he have any or any he wished to earn?

"Well, I'm going for the counselor and healer. Aaron spoke about needing a healer, and I like to help others, so why not?" Samuel said to the white wolf, his tail thumping happily. He liked Liri, she was quite a nice woman to him so far. But would she turn on him like the others have done in the past? Could his broken heart mend itself once more for anyone?

Well, he would cover that later, right now he had to focus on Liri. "Many made fun of me for wanting to be a counselor though, they called me a wuss and such. Many also degraded the woman there, calling a woman, saying I was weak." Samuel bit his tongue to prevent angry growls from flowing out of his throat. He wouldn't do that in front of a lady, no he had to be a gentleman.

She smiled at him kindly,"I think it's a good trade. We don't have any other aspiring counselors that I know of. Besides, I could always come to you for therapy." She laughed at her own joke, sending him a tiny wink. Her words were true, they could probably use a counselor. They had a hunter,a botanist, a storyteller,and a sitter so far that she knew of.

"As for healing, I am trying to get to acquire that trade as well." She frowned when he told her of his last pack teasing him about being a counselor. That was particularly rude, women were some of the strongest she knew. She was the best hunter at home and even in Remo's pack before he had forbade her from doing such. A small growl slipped from her lips,"That is not very nice." Her growls weren't very intimidating though unless you tried to hurt someone she cared about,then she could get scary.

Samuel was greatful for Liri's kind response. She didn't think it was funny for a man to be a counselor. He cast her a smile, one filled with thanks. He didn't speak though, he didn't think words were necessary at the time. Liri even said she would go to him for counseling, a little wink thrown to the boy. He flustered up in silence but chuckled it off.

Liri spoke up about the trades again, saying how she would like to earn the caregiver trade as well. That would be nice for the two, they would get to work together. "I would enjoy working with you Liri, it would be fun."

Even after what he said, the white wolf seemed to be a bit angered by Samuel's old pack picking on woman. The boy didn't blame her though, sexism wasn't his favorite topic whatsoever. Both genders had their strengths and weaknesses, this was true. But to constantly bring it up over nothing was a bullshit move in his opinion.

"I don't blame you for being angry, they were the reason I left."

She said nothing, just sitting in the silence left after Samuel's words. It wasn't uncomfortable, they both seemed shy and it was a content type of silence. Suddenly she thought of something. They were supposed to be meeting all the pack mates because in a month's time, give or take, they would all be getting mated. Or close to the same time anyways.

Liri shifted nervously, wondering how he would respond,"What do you think about the marriages?" It couldn't be easy marrying wolves who were practically strangers. She was determined to make the best of it, although she had concerns. For one, would the marriages have to be consummated? Who would be having pups out of the pairs? She supposed it was possible for wolves to lie together without having pups, so long as it wasn't during a she wolf's heat. She had to admit she wouldn't mind mating with Samuel.

Samuel's eyes scanned over Liri as she shifted a bit before asking another question. What was his viewpoint on the marriages? Well, he didn't like the idea of being assigned a mate, but he did like the idea of marriage. "I like the idea, it would show a true bond of loyalty and love between two wolves. Besides, if a wolf decided to go behind his or her mate's back, he or she would be caught easily."

Marriage didn't interest him entirely yet, Samuel was still young and a bit reckless. He wanted to be free for a little bit and have fun rather than be tied down. Surely others were like him, marriage... he just wasn't ready for that transition yet. "Would you marry someone, even if you weren't forced?"

She wasn't expecting the question and it took her a moment to mull it over in her head. She had been mated once before but that had turned out horribly. She wasn't sure she wanted to get married again, wasn't sure she was ready. "I think if I loved him enough,"she finally answered. Love or not she would be paired with someone eventually.

She didn't know  which male she was hoping to be paired with quite yet. She had been leaning towards Faramir, simply because he was the only male other than Aaron and kind too. But now she wasn't so sure, she liked Samuel. She still had to meet the other two males as of yet. If she had to pick though, she had a feeling she would pick the man in front of her.

Liri's response was expected by Samuel, any woman would only marry if they loved their mate enough. He couldn't blame her, what was the point of marrying if you didn't love them enough? Samuel thought back to his old mates, why they left him. Abusive, cruel, unloving, disloyal- could Samuel handle it again?

He nodded his head to show his understanding to Liri. He hoped she would find someone she would love entirely and the wolf would love her back. She looked as if she deserved it deeply. "Sounds reasonable" He offered, raising his head towards the sky and seeing that it was becoming darker.

"It is growing darker, it may be time for us to turn in" He said to her, turning his head and letting his grey eyes scan over her soft white fur.

She nodded, looking to the skies that were fading from blue to black. "Goodnight,"she bid him as she stood. She gave her fur a shake and then began to trot back the way she came. Her white fur flashing like a beacon in the dark night, she slipped through the trees and back to her den. 

last from me

I'll archive, thanks for the thread with Liri :D

Liri agreed wit Samuel and bid him farewell for the night. He nodded his head towards her and decided to stay out for a while longer. It was a beautiful night, the stars were dancing around as the snowy ground was slowly fading away as the season went on. The weather wasn't too cold, he enjoyed the coolness. She was nice, he thought to himself. He would meet the others in the pack, but he was sure that Liri might be the one for him, he just wasn't absolutely sure yet.