Redhawk Caldera Serenity Cherry the funniest pony this side of Applewood

ooc: set for 8th - 9th February. @Raven 

Birk, who had never suffered from lack of confidence, had found it rather hard to approach the pack territory to seek out Raven. He had lurked nearby for the major part of the day, hoping that by any chance he would catch either her or someone else, who knew her, but no such luck. His reluctance to call for her directly was not because of shyness, but because he hated asking for help to someone else, show that he too - the tough Ice Giant - was a vulnerable being. 

Eventually his inflamed, painful and bleeding ears, the sore patch on his tail (which had spread since it's first appearance) and the raw paws convinced him to go near enough to the heavily scented borders, lift his muzzle and give a half-hearted call to the only person he knew in the area. He then retreated, finding comfort in sitting next to a gift he had brought to her - a small deer's skull - and waited. Reasoning that, if she did not show up... he would not have to deal with the embarrassement of showing weakness.

Raven ventured out toward the fringes of the territory, then flopped down in the snow with a sigh. She couldn't stop thinking about poor Oriole, how he had suffered and starved and died. She felt horribly guilty for ever leaving the cave that day, not that she could have known what would happen. She was angry at herself and the others outside for not working tirelessly to break through earlier. It would take a while for her to process all of her emotions and she knew she wasn't the only one struggling. She intended to reach out to Finley and the others, yet right now, she just needed to be alone.

A halfhearted howl scattered her thoughts, causing Raven to sit upright, then push to her feet. She began trotting toward the source, though she didn't approach when her yellow eyes plucked out the figure beyond the borders. Instead, she squinted at the wolf, trying to figure out if she knew him. He had called her by name so they must be acquainted.

Unable to identify him from this distance, Raven eventually called out, "Can I help you...?"

When Raven did show up, Birk felt relieved. Before getting to his feet and going to greet her, he sat down to scratch at the left ear, which was the itchiest, therefore causing the crusts around the margins to fall off and small droplets of fresh blood appear and roll down, making a fresh, red streak on one side of his face. He did not notice that though - with the business finished, he approached the black healer, choosing to stop few feet away from her and greet with a friendly wag of his tail and curious look.

"You might not remember my dashing person, but I happen to know you - Raven, right? The girl from the poppy field?" he put forth the most extraordinary fact he recalled about her. "And you said then, you were a healer and I was... I happened to be around here on purpose and I was shamelessly wondering, if you could fix me?" he smiled at her.

He began moving toward her and Raven began walking again too, approaching with caution. When they came within a few feet of each other, she felt her innards recoil a bit. She recognized him now that they were up close but all she could do was stare at the blood dripping from his ear down his jawline. Her nostrils flared as she tried to detect the scent of infection.

"I remember you," she said a little distractedly. "It's... Brick?" she guessed, ears folding back somewhat as she made eye contact with him. "What happened? Is it an allergic reaction?" she couldn't help but wonder, recollecting their last (and very sneeze-infested) encounter.

"Birk," he corrected her and did not take grudge for her not remembering his name correctly. It had taken him two months after all to recall her name. Like a true healer she wasted no time and went straight to business, asking, what the problem was, and whether it was some sort of an allergic reaction. Since all the man knew about allergies was sneezing and having a stuffed nose, he assumed that this was not it. 

"Winter has sharp teeth," he replied. "I have had frostbites before, but never have they been this bad. Usually they don't hurt like this and just become dry and fall off. Can you do anything?"

When he mentioned frostbite, Raven winced sympathetically. She'd never experienced it herself but she'd witnessed it in a young sea lion while roaming near the coast the previous winter. Smoothing her face back into a neutral expression, the Gamma licked her lips and contemplated what she could do for him. There was perhaps a minute's pause before she gave an answer.

"I could make a salve to soothe the skin but there's no rescuing the tissue; it's necrotic," she informed him. "But..." She felt bad but between the season and her meager medical stashes, she simply couldn't waste the pack's supplies. "I'm sorry, Birk, I have to reserve my supplies for my pack mates." Raven frowned in apology. "My advice is free, though."

"Can't use a salve that I don't have," Birk told her with a bit of a disappointment in his voice. He did not care about losing parts of his ears or tail or, if his pawpads never healed properly, he, however wanted to the itch and pain to stop. And so far - waiting out for things to get better - had not worked. From the point he was standing, it seemed that either they would get worse or it would take a really, really, really long time. He was tired of waiting.

"What if..." he paused, as if the resolution he was about to make, took a lot of effort and compliance from himself. "... what if I payed you back somehow? Earned that salve fair and square?" he looked at her hopefully. "I have got a skull for a start?" he tapped the thing, lying by his side, with one of his paws.

"I could tell you where to look for the plants, though it's unlikely you'll find much this time of year," Raven admitted. She shifted her weight when he offered to barter for her services. Her yellow eyes dropped to the skull and then lifted back to his face.

After a beat of silence, she regretfully shook her head. "I'm sorry, the only thing I'd trade for is other medical supplies." Raven shot him yet another genuinely apologetic look. "I wish there was more I could do for you," she said truthfully. But she simply could not spare her limited supplies for anyone outside of her pack.

"Nah... the descriptions would not work for me even on a nice summer day. I would most likely find the wrong stuff, use it the wrong way and the rest would be... a history so to say," Birk shook his head, not yet quite ready to give up on trying to bribe Raven. There had to be something and he did not want to go on suffering for longer. 

Then an idea struck him. "You would help a packmate, wouldn't you?" he asked, amazed, how easy it could be. "I mean... despite my bad looks, I can still walk and do stuff. I can't get you medical stuff, but I could help your kind somehow," if the rest of the caldera folk were as decent as Raven, he might as well give the pack thing a try. "And I promise I won't run to the hills, once my wounds have healed."

Birk made a valid point and Raven could only nod in resigned agreement. There was a reason her profession was highly regarded; the average wolf did not know what she knew and could not do what she did. Her frown deepened. It went against her nature to turn away someone in need of help, yet she must think of the caldera's wolves first and foremost.

She didn't quite pick up on what he was implying with his next few words. "Yes, I would help a pack mate," she agreed redundantly. She blinked her yellow eyes, comprehension finally starting to dawn. "You want to stay here? I mean, join the pack?" the Gamma pressed.

"Kind of," Birk shrugged, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed and shy about his decision that went against all he had claimed before - about being a free and independent man, having a chance to go wherever he wanted and whenever he wanted, not sharing food with anyone. "I mean, what is there for me to lose and no one's waiting me anywhere anyway," he did not say out loud the rest of the sentence, that this place would be as good as any other. Perhaps with the bonus of enhanced healing of his frostbite wounds.

"My worst flaw is talking too much, but otherwise I am a decent guy," he added quickly, not sure, how exactly you should present yourself, when you wanted to become part of a pack.

She blinked again at his noncommittal reply. "Kind of?" she repeated. Had she been a less patient sort, she might have been put off but instead Raven's lips twitched into a smile. "If you want to join, I'm sure we have room for you. But it's not up to me. I'll have to call my Uncle @Elwood or Aunt @Finley to come vet you." She paused, then added, "I'll vouch for you. I know you're not ill or contagious and I trust that you'll earn your keep."

Without further adieu, the Gamma lifted her black muzzle toward the steely winter sky and howled for one or both Alphas.

Elwood hastened towards Raven's call, though he was hard-pressed to leave the safety and warmth of the cavern. After having been barred from entering it for days, he was happy and relieved to be reunited with his family -- and with shelter. He and the others were lucky that they hadn't had to endure much more of the wintry weather without refuge.

He came upon his niece quickly, his gaze sweeping over her companion. He took in the strange wolf's battered, frostbitten appearance, then turned a questioning expression to Raven. "Who's this?" he asked, brows raising.

"Wrong choice of words - want to!" Birk corrected himself and noted that this was his flaw number two - using phrases that people could easily misunderstand. "Thank you!" he felt a little flattered by Raven's immediate trust in him and, though he thought he could present himself well too, a good word for him would never hurt.

It did not take long for, what Birk could only assume was either Elwood or Finley (until he spoke, of course), arrived and he stood up to greet the guy in a friendly manner. Though the question was adressed to Raven, the battered ice giant decided that he could introduce himself too. "My name is Birk and despite my bad looks at the moment, I would be happy for a home and companionship at your pack," he paused, quickly going through, what he had said, and finding no lethal mistakes. 

He did not mention his initial bargain - joining the pack so that Raven would agree to treat his wounds. Besides at this point he wanted to be part of this group for other reasons too.

He clarified his intentions and Raven graced him with a smile. It wasn't long at all before Elwood appeared. Raven fully intended to step into the background after introducing the possible recruit. She didn't even have to open her mouth, however, as Birk took it upon himself to make an introduction. Her tail wagged and she bobbed her head, pleased by his amiability and good manners. It made her look good, especially considering recruitment was certainly not one of her strengths.

"I've met Birk on a couple of other occasions," the Gamma added, "and I think he'd be a good addition, pending your assessment." Her yellow eyes trailed over her uncle's face and then she stepped backward and took a seat in a silent indication that she would stand by during the males' exchange.

You're welcome to skip me as needed. :)

The stranger introduced himself promptly, with no exaggeration. He was forthcoming with his reason for approaching their borders, and his frankness agreed with Elwood. Despite Birk's ragged appearance, his disposition and Raven's words in his favor earned him a handful of points from the get go.

Elwood looked to Raven and nodded, showing his appreciation for her input. Then, he addressed Birk. "How did you end up on your own this winter?" he asked, a question backed simply by curiosity.

"I left my homeland at Far-Far-Away in Cold North in search for a milder weather and easier life down South," Birk explained. And up until that cold-wave with ice-storms, lightening and plenty of snow all had gone quite well. However at this point... he sat down to scratch one of his ears, which had become particularly itchy... he did not know, if getting frostbitten here was any better than getting frostbitten back home. 

"I am a regular fellow," he went on, "and aside from weather-related ailments I have fared well this winter." That, of course, spoke about his skills to survive on his own. "And I as I told to your comrade Raven here - my biggest flaw is talking too much. And... I sometimes annoy people either because of that or other reasons."

You two can wrap up! :)

Elwood listened patiently as Birk unraveled his story. He nodded and smiled, especially when the male admitted that he was wordy; it was easy to tell that after talking to him for only a short time. And while Birk considered that a flaw and even called himself annoying, Elwood saw no reason as to why this would keep him from joining their ranks and becoming a productive member of their pack. His wariness had worn off after Aaron had proven himself to be trustworthy; not every stranger would turn out like Kaizer.

He bobbed his head again and said, "Well, as long as you can contribute to our pack, we're happy to have you. Hopefully your frostbite will heal up soon, especially with Raven taking care of you." He glanced at Raven and then turned to leave. "I'll let her show you around. At some point, you'll want to introduce yourself to our Alpha female, Finley. Welcome, Birk." With that, he departed.

"Thanks, mm..." Birk had been about to say "man", but stopped himself at the right moment. Now that he was part of a pack he probably could not take liberties at being too informal with his superiors. Therefore he corrected himself quickly: "Elwood. I will do my best."

He would try hard - it would not be fair to Raven, if after healing his wounds he would not repay her somehow. "So, that leaves you and me now. Where to?" he was beginning to feel as excited as a kid, who is about to get ice-cream.

Cool if we fade this? :)

Raven's lips twitched as she listened wordlessly to the exchange. Elwood was an experienced and supremely efficient interrogator and Birk was formally recruited within moments. The Gamma gathered herself back to her paws and smiled at her uncle, then returned her focus on her brand new pack mate as her godfather took his leave.

"Come with me," she replied simply, turning to lead him across the borders and into the territory proper. "I'm going to take you to the rendezvous site, where I keep my supplies in an old badger den. We'll see if I can't find something to help. I think we should hold off on a tour until you're a little more healed, but then I'd be happy to take you around and introduce you."

With a little flick of her tail, she set off at a trot, keeping her pace measured so that Birk wouldn't have any trouble keeping up as she led him toward the heart of the Redhawks.