Swiftcurrent Creek recommended practices

For @Rainier, if you have time!

It wasn't until days later that Bazi looked back on Rainier's induction into Swiftcurrent Creek and found it lacking. She could scarcely remember what they had talked about - where did he come from, exactly, and what had prompted her to accept him? They were losing two fully grown wolves with the departure of Njal and Tuwawi - not ten. It would hurt her to lose the pups, but... she possessed the equipment to make more, and it would be coming of age soon enough.

Bazi sat in her usual spot atop the northern of the two Sleeping Guardians that morning, squinting at the grasslands below. Rainier wouldn't exactly stick out against a background of green and brown, and after an hour of hoping he would simply traipse past, she raised her voice and called on him explicitly. There was more in-depth questioning to be done.

Of course!

Rainier was dozing on his back in the fields when the summons echoed out across the grasslands. The sound nudged him awake; his ears responded first, swiveling towards the howl, followed closely by his eyes as he lifted his head and looked out in the direction of the creek. With a great, gaping yawn, the young wolf shook his head and rose to his feet. He bowed in a stretch, splaying all of his toes with a groan of satisfaction before loping off towards Bazi.

He spotted the Alpha female lying between the trees on the northern rise above the creek. She wasn't really difficult to find; her white coat stood out strikingly against the cool greens and browns of the shadows. With his head down, ears flat, and tail tucked, Rainier made his approach with a few soft whines of subservience. "Hello Bazi." He said with an amiable wave of his tail and a quick smile.

Slight proximity powerplay - let me know if Not Cool and I'll change. :D

Rainier was quick to answer her summons. Bazi straightened up when he came into view, smiling genuinely at his efforts to submit. She had become accustomed to the subtle displays, and no longer hammed up her own position nor dismissed their submission as unnecessary. It was necessary, and she was the pack's leader.

After he greeted her, when he was close enough to touch, Bazi rose to give the grey-brown male a thorough inspection, sniffing around his ears, neck, and chest, tasting his muted fur with the tip of her pink tongue. She came away without much of anything to report - certainly nothing alarming. He smelled warm, tasted like hair, and had a colouring that allowed him to melt into the background somehow. Unlike Razo, whose eyes burned, Rainier's was a soft, buttery yellow.

"We didn't really get to know each other properly," she began, stepping back. "I didn't even ask you where you came from, or if you've had much contact with disease-ridden plague-carriers.." It was said in jest - sort of - and accompanied by a close-lipped grin.

Absolutely fine, always!

Rainier closed his eyes when Bazi approached him and tensed just a little bit; not enough to give the appearance of alarm, but he was cautious. She was his leader, but he didn't know her yet. He also took a chance to sniff at her shoulder as she gave him a once-over, but also found nothing of note. When her breath tickled the tufted fur in his ears, he snorted in a poor attempt to hide the sudden giggle.

When she speaks, his eyes open again and focus on her pale chest. Rainier chuckles at her commentary, "Just my sister." He replies in kind, flashing her a toothy grin. He continues, "I came from Hurricane Ridge, uh, but that probably doesn't mean much. It's a few days west of here." Rainier tilts his head and twists an ear forward. "Dad always told me to follow my feet, so I ended up here."

Bazi's attempt at a jest found its mark, and her restrained grin burst to reveal teeth and a pink tongue. Bazi : 1, Awkwardness: 0. Rainier seemed rather more easygoing than some of the others - Shadow in particular, though her relationship with the silvered outrider was much, much better after their frank conversation on this very hill.

She listened to his story with patient interest. "Why did you leave at all? Everyone I speak to seems to have left home.. on purpose, a lot of the time." A chirp of a laugh escaped her, as if the decision to abandon a perfectly good pack was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard (she was still coming to terms with Njal and Tuwawi's decision to leave). "Maybe you were chased out! Should I be worried?" The question was asked smilingly, but there was a definite undercurrent of I'm Dead Serious there.

A few waves of his bushy tail, and another soft laugh indicate his quickly realized ease in Bazi's company. She was friendly; watchful, maybe a little serious at first, but he was starting to get the feeling a lot of that was just a requirement of her position. "You're right, it does happen a lot. You can inspect my butt for bite marks if you want?" Rainier, of course, can't keep a straight face and laughs again.

He plops his butt down in the grass and cocks an ear forward. "Everyone's got their problems, you know? Parents kicking chicks out of the nest, so to speak, or everything changing too much to bear. Or not. Sometimes it's just the need to see what's past that distant hill you grew up seeing every day you stepped out of the den." He explains. "I was the latter, well, mostly. Our home isn't very large, and my older brothers are set to inherit. I decided to strike out like my dad did when he was a pup and find my own place."

"You're right, it does happen a lot. You can inspect my butt for bite marks if you want?"

Rainier laughed and Bazi grinned, charmed by his easy nature. When he sat down, she did too, arranging her paws in a neat line. His explanation was received with a frown, but it had its roots in confusion rather than disdain.

"I don't get that," she told him honestly. "I would have stayed with my pack until I fell down dead. I will stay with this pack until the end of my days. Wouldn't it.. concern you, if you were the Alpha, and your wolves' eyes were drawn by the distant hills?" Essentially, she was asking him if he would be loyal - and to prove it, but softened it with a gentle smile. They were only chatting.