Heron Lake Plateau develop medical provider relationships.

Poe didn't particularly like the idea of joining a pack. It wasn't that she had anything against pack life - she actually loved being part of a pack - she simply didn't want to be in one right now. But after wandering the Hinterlands on her own for a while longer and barely fending off starvation with a couple of scraps and a rabbit, she had accepted that she wasn't likely to make it much longer on her own. So, there she was - sniffing around at the Redhawk border and trying to talk herself into calling for attention.

Her mind was on Owen as she explored the area outside of the borders. He was the reason she had come this way, though she had no idea how much knowing him would help her chances here. Her stay would be temporary - a few months at best. And Poe, not being a dishonest creature, had every intention of being upfront about that fact, even though she had a feeling it wouldn't be much appreciated. She wondered about what else might be around if the Redhawks fell through, but supposed she was maybe getting ahead of herself. Worrying and wondering about things like that would do her no good. She needed to stay in the present and be optimistic.

The Ostrega took a breath, then tilted back her head and SANG A SONG OF REQUESTING LEADERSHIP.

He was on his way to Camilla, but since he was close to the call when it rang out, Phox figured he might as well check it out. Nobody else was there to greet the wolf who had called for a leader, so Phox put on his best ambassador face (which was painfully awkward) and strode up to the newcomer. She was an adult, at least, and all shades of brown and white.

Hi there, he greeted, trying to sound at least somewhat jovial. What brings you to the Redhawks?

It didn't take too long for someone to answer her song. When she saw the figure approaching, she hopped back up onto all fours and straightened eagerly to greet him. It wasn't until he was closer that she remembered her manners and adjusted her posture to one of respectful submission. He was a good looking guy, and briefly she wondered if attractiveness was a trait all Redhawks shared. Hopefully she would get the chance to see.

"Hi! I'm Poe," she introduced with a friendly smile and a happy wag of her tail, "I'm on the hunt for a pack to join and I met Owen the other day and he told me about the Redhawks, so I thought this might be a good place to take my chances." She wondered what her companion's name was, but thought it might be impertinent to ask. This wasn't exactly her usual meet and greet - a lesson she had learned the first time she'd ever approached a strange pack with hopes of joining. They had not appreciated her easy, informal nature, I'll tell you what.

What did my kid do? was Qui's entry to the scene.  He'd heard about half of what she'd said, so he didn't sound too concerned and was sort of just making a joke about his tardy appearance.  He hadn't been too much farther away than Phox, apparently, but it was obviously enough for a bit of conversation to happen.  I'm Quixote.  What would you be bringing to us? was to her.  Then he looked to Phox with an inquisitive glance in case he'd missed anything of importance.  Hopefully not. It couldn't have been that long could it?

He honestly didn't know what to expect from Phox, speaking of.  When he was hurt, he'd made it pretty clear that he didn't want anything to do with Quixote, and the alpha had decided not to push the issue.  Quixote didn't have a problem being civil if Phox was, so it was up to him to set the tone.

Feel free to skip me. Phox will just be standing by.

Phox could have sworn he caught her staring a bit longer than normal, but he brushed it off as his own insecurities. She introduced herself as Poe, mentioned Owen, and said she was here to join. Cool, that sounded pretty straightforward. Phox realized straightforward was exactly what he needed right now, especially after the weird falling-into-a-relationship he'd done with Camilla.

His ear flicked back upon Quixote's approach, and he tensed for a moment. Whatever animosity was between them hadn't been resolved, and Phox certainly wasn't going to initiate that conversation. Now that Quixote was here, he didn't think he would be much help to Poe. Still, he did plan on passing on what Poe had already said.

This is Poe. Phox gave her a brief glance, then turned back to Quixote. She met Owen the other day, and I guess he directed her to the Redhawks. That was really all there was to it. He stood by then in case Quixote needed him for anything.

Poe was just finishing up her introduction to the first gentleman when another appeared. This one carried an unmistakeable air of authority, making her do a quick posture check again before she settled her attention on him. His comment about his son gave her pause. Her red-orange eyes swapped between the two males thoughtfully. Were they father and son? Or was he referring to Owen?

She forgot to wonder as the conversation continued and the spotlight returned to her. Time to shine! "Well, I'm a capable hunter, a decent enough fighter, and I'm a medic," Poe listed, "I'm also very laid back, I don't cause trouble, I love meeting new people, and I'm real skinny so I don't eat all that much or need a big den to sleep in." She flashed another smile, hoping they were good-humored enough to find her endearing.

"I'm also extremely honest, and to that end, I want to let you know that I'm not looking for a permanent home," Poe said, shooting herself right in the foot, "I came this way trying to find my brothers for my mom. I'm hoping to call this place home through the rest of Winter and into Spring, but I'll need to be moving on before Summer comes around. I can promise you though that I'll be a loyal packmate and will do everything I can to pull my weight while I'm here."

Was that everything? Seemed like it was everything. If anything else occurred to her, she would absolutely tack it on. Funnily enough, it didn't occur to her to inform them that she was also extremely chatty.

Honestly, Quixote wasn't quite sure what to think of Owen wandering off like that.  Okay, sure they were plenty big enough to not get turned into lunch by most things, but still... He nodded.  Simple enough explanation.

So most of her resume sounded good, but there was kind of that one problem.  A look to Phox at Poe being a temporary member -- in a sense he got to be a proxy for Towhee, especially since Towhee had been quite bent out of shape when it came to Niamh's decision.  Either way, Quixote turned back to ask about it, I personally appreciate the honesty instead of you just vanishing off the map one day.  But we recently had quite a few split off for a new pack, and not everyone was happy about it.  What will you say to them?  Normally he'd ask something like what the stranger was good at or something, but she'd pretty much covered everything and then some.  Hell, maybe Quixote had a challenger for rambling and getting ahead of himself!  Or not.  It could just be an one time thing.  Either way, that'd be another good test of characters.  Phox got to be the gauge for whether or not that at all sounded reasonable.  They could do with some fresh blood, even if it was just to help out in the harder months.  Once things got green, people got antsy and they'd hopefully have some new faces that'd stick around, some born, some that just walked.

The moment of truth came, and Poe wasn't entirely surprised to hear that the Redhawk alpha had misgivings. She wondered about the story he told regarding the split of the pack, and wondered even more when he turned it into a question for her. She didn't actually understand what she was being asked - which them? The them that had left? Or the them that had stayed and were upset? Her eyes flickered briefly to the other boy (definitely not Quixote's son, the more she considered it), but settled back on the alpha before she inwardly shrugged and just went for an answer.

"I would tell them the same," Poe said, as honestly (and generally) as she could, "I don't believe in holding things back, and if a decision I've made affects someone, I'd rather set expectations upfront than keep it myself just to avoid a conflict, and I prefer others doing the same for me. If it's not a fit, it's not a fit. That's fine with me and I understand, but who I am, what I say, and what my priorities are don't change based on whether or not it's what other people want from me."

She took in a breath then, waiting for the verdict. Or for the next question, if that was the case. The other guy hadn't said much yet, and she wondered what might be going through his head. Poe reminded herself again that it would be impertinent to ask, so she held her tongue and was patient.

Okay, yeah, she was definitely a brutally honest type.  If anyone had any second thoughts, they probably would get clobbered by a clue bat the way she was speaking.  And again, wasn't it better when someone said how long they were staying so there wasn't much of a question?  Really, they would kind of need a few extra hands around since the Firebirds all bailed.  Hopefully Poe was more reliable than the random folks who showed up looking for a "home" then disappeared after a week or two.

Personally, I feel it's a long enough period of time that it isn't as much of an issue.  Summer always feels forever away. -- As long as you do as you say and pull your weight, I don't have a problem with it.  Just keep us in the loop if for some reason things change.  Towhee probably would.  Raven probably would be okay with it as long as she did as she said so they weren't wasting resources on someone who was gonna run off in the sunset.  Or at least he hoped so.  Sure, there was also always the chance that for some reason something would happen that would make her want to stay -- or at least come back after she found out where folks went to.  Stuff happened, such was life.

Phox had pretty much stayed out of it.  Quixote gave him one last chance to interject, but assuming he didn't, continued, So then, welcome to the pack. Want any pointers to get you adventuring into the territory or you like doing that on your own?

Poe wasn't entirely certain if her answer actually addressed the question Quixote had asked, but she figured it must've been considering what happened next. She smiled as relief inched its way bit by bit into her heart with each word he spoke. By the end, she was grinning broadly and her tail was waving like a happy flag at her back. "Thank you, Quixote!" she chirruped brightly, letting her enthusiasm get the better of herself as she tiptoed in to plant a respectful, grateful nudge upon his chin, "I'll definitely let you know if plans change."

Her gaze flipped between the two men as she stood back from them again and considered the offer. "I can find my own way around," Poe answered after a beat, "Actually... I think I'll try to hunt down Owen and see if he'll give me a tour. I promised we'd hang out again. So maybe some notes on where to find him this time of day?" She grinned again, trying to imagine how the boy would react to seeing her prancing freely around his home. She guessed it would be equal parts happy and anxious, and all parts endearing.

Phox allowed Quixote to take the reins, sizing up the soon-to-be-deserter, and he wondered what Towhee would have thought. Actually, if Towhee had been here, he had a good feeling she would have chased off the flippant wolf who had just been welcomed into their fold. First thing Phox planned on doing after this was tracking down @Towhee and warning her not to get too close to Poe. She was just here for the short-term, and Phox knew he wouldn't be treating her like a true pack mate while she stayed with them.

Quixote probably had a better handle on where Owen was hanging out, and since Phox had served his purpose here, he gave each of them a silent departing nod, then trotted off to find Towhee.

Yeah, what a cheery sort.  The family spot is over by the lake -- we've got a thicket there, so if they haven't wandered too far, that'd be a good starting spot.  Then again, if he did wander off to go meet you, who knows how far he's adventuring.  Yeah, Quixote wasn't exactly ready to accept the fact that the kids were mostly grown.  There was a certain part of him that was still amazed they weren't tiny little things still.  Oh well.  Time passed.

I'll keep an eye out for him, so if you happen to have issues finding him, you can hunt me down and hopefully I can help you out.  I'm pretty reachable if you have any other questions as well.  Not to mention he had to capture Owen and find out just what nonsense he'd been up to.  And keep a closer eye on them.  He'd try to not be too ominously inquiring or whatever.

Other guy had no input to share in the end. Poe flashed him a smile as he turned and walked away, but had the distinct feeling that he intentionally avoided seeing it. That might be a challenge. She shrugged inwardly over it and returned her attention to the friendlier of the pair, who had remained to offer her some advice on how to find her little friend.

"Got it," she said brightly, then added, "If it helps, he seemed pretty nervous about it, so it may very well have been a one and done thing." Poe grinned and stood then, firing off another round of "thank yous" before heading into the heart of the territory on her hunt for Owen.