Barrow Fields i'm gonna kiss her on her tongue doors

After coming to the decision that they may not make the coming of winter with just the three of them (after @Speedy decided to keep on traveling a while longer), they decide to find somewhere to settle. There isn’t a lot of debate, not knowing many of the packs in the area; @Reed’s in Undersea, not too far, but she’s not ready for that kind of thing. Drageda isn’t that far from where they’ve stayed. Mallaidh wouldn’t admit it had been deliberate to come to the ridge because of @Blixen, always tight-lipped on certain aspects.
 
Blixen had given the offer to all of them, not just herself. @Saarthal. And @Max, too, even if she’d told her she’d gone off last time. Now that she’s back, surely it still extends.
 
Mallaidh looks back to her friends with a bit of a smile, awkward and a little unsure of just about everything. Saarthal still flirts with others, and now that it’s right in front of her, she’s left with more questions. The grey girl has a big heart, and a lot to give with it, and Mallaidh can’t stifle it, but doesn’t she have the same problem? Isn’t that how she and Blixen came to split? Her heart beats heavily and she steps up, nudging Saarthal gently. Her nose presses against Saarthal’s muzzle and lingers, rubbing against her like an affectionate cat.
 
“We just need to get Blixen and, and she can take care of the rest,” she informs the pair, nudging the grey woman and then over to Max before she releases a call, close to where she’d help reunite Kiwi.

Please let Max and Saarthal post first! Sorry for any double tags. My post keeps getting messed up.

saarthal prided herself in her spontaneity. she loved being unpredictable, and she loved unpredictable things - better if they were filled with danger - and this was...well, it was neither predictable nor unpredictable. it was just...it was just the way most things were. saarth hated being the way most things were. too normal. too...everything. but she couldn't leave mallaidh, couldn't leave max. she'd always had a bit of an attachment problem. 

mallaidh tugged her out of her thoughts with a gentle nudge and saarthal allowed herself a quiet smile, before pressing a kiss against the side of the other girl's muzzle. unsure as everything was...at least she was here. at least they were all here. save for vari, but - saarth bit her lip, best not to dwell in the past. saarthal stayed uncharacteristically silent as mallaidh spoke and shuffled closer to her friends, surprisingly nervous.

the tranquil days were coming to an end. winter was coming and there was no way the three of them could push through on their own. they needed a place to stay, a fact that max wasn’t enthusiastic about. she loved the freedom that came with being nomadic, she loved the simplicity of having two friends by your side, and she hated responsibility. they were terrifying. she couldn’t trust herself with them. despite this, she went along with it anyways. she’d never leave her friends behind and besides blixen would be there and she had to admit she was excited to see her again.

she nervously licked her chops when when mallaidh bought her closer. this was so nerve wracking, she didn’t know what to do. she sat near saathral, who was oddly silent, which was a surprise. max nudged her shoulder with her nose in hopes to soothe her, or herself, or both.

bat's disappearance has cast a pall over her reign as commander. what good is she if the first thing she does is lose her baby sister? she searches with @Wildfire and probably helix, and haha wow that's the second of this litter to go missing in the short time since helix's arrival. great job blix. really really killing it.

when a much-welcomed call goes up near the last place they met, the redhead's heart can't help but skip. since talking about actively recruiting with her fleimkepa blix has had furi on the mind -- and maybe, just maybe, she has bat? 

the odds are low but she cant help but scan for her missing sister as she approaches, feeling slightly crestfallen when instead it's just furi and her friends. but: it's furi and her friends -- why on earth are they calling for her? blix's ears twitch up curiously as she approaches, a slow smile stealing across her face. "max, saarthal," she says, "furi -- why did you call for me?" she hopes she knows the answer.

The uncertainty in the girls makes her feel a little nervous and she does her best to stuff it down. This is the best thing for them. She doesn’t really know how she became the center of the group, the “leader,” except for Saarthal’s confidence in her and the ashy girl’s words to stay by herself. She can hardly imagine her life without either her or Max and standing in front of her ex-girlfriend, a risk she’s taken by not telling the two, she knows it can all fall apart.
 
(you need to tell them, my girl.)
 
Saarthal’s kiss spurs her tail to sway and—maybe—everything will be okay. She glances to Max and reaches of Saarthal to offers her a lick to her face.
 
“If you guys really hate it, when can go somewhere else and… things might be confusing, but I can explain it later,” she says, perhaps about Drageda, perhaps about the conversation they’re about to have as Blixen comes into view. Mallaidh lifts her head a little, not enough to mask the leader but enough that tells the others she’s got this. Somehow. It’ll be okay.
 
Mallaidh sucks in a breath as Blixen approaches and a nervous glance is offered to either girl but the fiery girl speaks upon her arrival. “Well, we were talking and you said we… still had an offer to join,” she tells her, anxiously looking behind her ex, expecting Heda to be behind her. Still, part of her expects the offer doesn’t extend to her—a deserter—and Blixen doesn’t have that kind of power, last she remembers. A good word, perhaps, or a chance to explain, but she droops a little in anticipation.

wrappin this bad boy up!

relief floods her as soon as furi starts to talk. this is exactly what she'd hoped for -- they need new kru, she'd do anything for furi and max and saarthal are good additions too. "yeah, of course," blix says, unable to hide her grin, "you brought kiwi back to us, after all."

of course furi -- and the rest -- don't know yet about blixen's promotion, and all the things that have changed. she guides them back the rest of the way to drageda and fills them in as they walk, reassuring furi as much as she can that she's welcome, especially with blix as acting commander. as for mother -- well, she doesn't think about that right now, but she knows her mother well enough to know she won't try to incite anything that'd go against her daughter's authority. 

nothing could possibly crash her happiness.