Redhawk Caldera New Places

She had spent most of her days exploring the wide terrain of Teekon wilds, although she has been everywhere due to packs territory which she made sure not to trespass. Whisper felt that it was the right time to start looking for a pack that would take her in. She has limited skills which she know will limit her chances but she knew that she had much to offer to a pack. She sniffed the air to see if she could catch the scent of a nearby pack, she was successful and went to it's border in hope a pack wolf would be there.

Towhee didn't feel any particular affinity toward Wildfire, though she brought her older sister a vole X had caught this morning and hung around long enough for some idle chit-chat before announcing that she must go patrol. As she padded away, her feathered companion taking flight overhead, Towhee couldn't stop thinking about how forlorn Wildfire looked. Much as she didn't want to care, it still bothered her a bit to see a pack mate and relative so clearly down in the dumps.

"But what am I supposed to do about it?" she said out loud, glancing up as if speaking to X. The hawk made no reply, of course, and soon the two of them neared the borders... whereupon Towhee immediately spotted a cream figure who stood out against the light dusting of December snow. The youth's hackles prickled as she swiftly made her approach.

There was no question about her dominance as she came to a stop near the stranger, tail up and ears thrust forward. "State your name and business," Towhee commanded in her grating monotone.

Whisper looked at the she wolf and her posture. "I don't mean to intrude, but I'm looking for a pack to join into." The young wolf decided to go straight to the point. She knew that she must find a pack before the winter got any more rough than it was, 'fore she feared that she might not survive on her own this time.

The stranger peered back at her, making no effort to submit in the presence of the pack wolf. Towhee bristled, a lip lifting. The angle of her arched tail became even more severe and she let out a low growl of warning.

The guardian read her lips with relative ease, though she made no verbal reply. The growl continued to emanate from her in rolling waves, growing in volume with each passing second. It was a cold, sunny day and she saw X's shadow pass as he cruised overhead. But her burning orange eyes remained fixed on the interloper.

Whisper felt the pack wolf's posture showed more dominance and immediatly lowered herself to the ground and flattened her ears. The young she wolf had seen a few other wolves do this, but she knew not why they did so. Whisper lightly looked up at the wolf. The pack wolf's growling made her back up slightly.

Although the stranger seemed to catch herself, Towhee didn't feel satisfied when she lowered herself and backed away. The mercenary regarded the she-wolf coldly. There was very little (if any) room in the ranks, so it was tempting to chase her off and be done with it. But more than ever lately, her aspirations for leadership were top of mind when Towhee dealt with outsiders at the borders. She thought to herself now, What would Uncle Elwood do?

"You didn't give me your name. Why did you choose this pack? And what can you contribute?" Towhee demanded, voice harsh in the quiet, wintry air. Perhaps if the stranger wound up possessing some exceptional skills, then the guardian could summon one of her godparents for a final assessment. But Towhee sincerely doubted it would get to that point; she certainly wasn't impressed so far.

Whisper thought for a slight moment and decided carefuly on what she would say. "My name is Whisper. I chose this pack by coincidence, I traveled far and your pack was the first that I came across. As far as skills go, I was a negotiator/mediator in my last pack. I'm not a great hunter but my mother who was a hunter herself taught me well." The young she-wolf spoke very highly of her mother, who she thought of often. She spoke to the pack wolf with humility, she did not want to boast.

Towhee's eyes zeroed in on Whisper's lips as she spoke. She could make out most of the words fairly easily, despite the angle, and processed everything she said in stony silence. Even when she finished, the mercenary didn't speak right away.

"Tell me more about your experience with mediating and negotiating," Towhee eventually said, speaking even more slowly than usual. It seemed like a skill Elwood and Finley might find important in these times, even if the mercenary was personally put off by the fact Whisper hadn't chosen this pack for any particular reason at all.

The young wolf thought of the many times that she had put a stop to both internal disputes in her old pack as well as many disputes between packs. She chose her words carefully before she began to speak to the pack wolf once more. "I had become a mediator in my last pack after my alpha nearly argued his way into a war he knew he could not win. I may have spoken out of place that day but many wolves would have died if I hadn't." 

Once again, Towhee remained utterly silent as she processed. She could call one of the Alphas and let them make a judgment call. But she didn't want to waste their time. The more she thought about it, the more Towhee didn't think they had room for Whisper. The pack was stretched to its limits lately. Besides, they were beyond the point of negotiation when it came to Blackfeather Woods. They needed warriors, not peacekeepers.

"We're at capacity and we can't make an exception for you," Towhee surmised after a moment. Especially because of her deafness and subsequent lack of tone, the words might have seemed particularly cold, especially since her face remained rather stony. But even if she hadn't been deaf, she wasn't exactly one to coddle outsiders.

There was a beat of silence before Towhee added (quite charitably, for her), "Maybe try Moonspear, to the northwest. Just don't go anywhere near Blackfeather Woods to the east." These were her last thoughts on the matter. She punctuated the words with a gesture urging Whisper to promptly remove herself from the caldera's borders.

Whisper sighed and nodded her head. "Thank you for the information. Sorry to have wasted your time." The young she wolf bowed her head and headed off in the opposite direction, away from the pack she had been trying to join into but failed.