Nova Peak Feels like I'm the only one that's sick of playin'

please let @Taikon post first
@Mahler and/or @Wylla

It hadn't taken them long to reach the bottom of Nova Peak. The trek had been mostly silent but not uncomfortable. Taki lead them through the plains and past the glacier, not telling him of her time ruling there; that was a long, sad story for another time. She didn't wish to darken the moment by bringing it up. 

When they reached the borders of Sagtannet, she turned to Taikon and dipped her head. This is it; I'll call for Mahler and Wylla. She had kept mostly to herself lately. She hunted and added to the caches and occasionally walked the borders to keep an eye out of trespassers, but she wasn't the workaholic she once was. Her reasons for inviting Taikon here were not with the pack in mind, it was just a bonus that it would add more to their numbers for the winter. He would put weight on in no time and she had no doubt he would be an asset to the pack. 

She turned back to the peak and tilted her head back, sending a howl out for the leaders; it echoed off the mountain for seconds after she stopped, the sound eventually dissipating into silence as they waited for her call to be answered.

They spoke little on the way there, partly since they'd picked up a proper loping speed and talking in that mode was next to impossible. The glacier along the path was beautiful to look at; it was something he hadn't noticed before. The last time he had come here, he'd been looking for Aphrodite and had been more focused on finding her than the majestic scenery.
Upon arrival, Takiyok called for leaders of Sagtannet. Her silky voice ringing through the air tempted him to join her, but he resisted the urge. Her cry felt rallying and intensified his excitement. He had to shift his weight to one side to help get rid of the anxiety he was feeling. It was hard to place why he was feeling it.
I should have brought a gift. People like gifts, he announced, looking sidelong at her. He was joking, sort of, maybe. He gave Takiyok an uneasy smile.

Wylla had somewhat selfish reasons for attending the call when Takiyok's voice rose up through the forest. She never suspected a joiner. Having assumed Takiyok was alone and had some other reason for howling, she made good time through the trees, hoping to beat Mahler there. She understood the woman better now in the wake of her last encounter with her par— her fellow Eisen. She thought it was a good time to talk about it. Not that she had any right. It was none of her business, but she was pretty good at butting in.

She was surprised to find not just the wintery Takiyok there, but a man as well. He was smaller than Mahler and much thinner but larger than her, with a white-gold coat that made her stomach clench unpleasantly. It was lovely on him, a thin sunray over a field of snow, but he resembled Mahler's one daughter, and the mere suggestion of that made her feel a little sick to her stomach for no good reason. She focused instead on his amber eyes and did her best to appear unruffled when she came before them.

Hello, she said with a light inflection at the end to hint at a question. Her eye darted between them, but rested first on Takiyok. She was the one who had called, after all. The plain white of the Griff's face next to his soft gold was strangely comforting to her. At least he was a man. If he was a woman, jealousy might've curdled her greeting. Who's this?

Taki smiled a little and shook her head. She noticed his nerves in the way he shifted on his paws and in the curve of his smile. She briefly touched her nose to his shoulder to reassure him he had no need to be nervous. Then she looked back toward the mountain to search for movement.

It was Wylla that answered first, and Taki dipped her head in a respectful greeting. She had no knowledge of the other woman's falling out with Mahler; she tried to stay out of things that were not her business, and the relationship between the two Eisens fell right into that category. She had given up on the idea that Mahler might reciprocate her feelings a long time ago and just recently, the bitterness over it had started to fade into acceptance. She had no desire to be in the middle of whatever was going on between him and Wylla; she was far more concerned with her two sons and spending time with them. Ego returning had been a gift she hadn't ever expected to receive, and she wouldn't take it for granted. 

Wylla looked between them before finally settling her gaze on Taki. This is my friend, Taikon, she explained. I have invited him to join Sagtannet. She would leave discussion of his skills up to him; it was not her place to speak of what he was and wasn't capable of providing for the pack.

Takiyok nudged him, and he leaned briefly into the touch to feel better. He licked his lips and yawned before the leader arrived.
Wylla was smaller than he expected. He found her face unnerving, and used this as a good excuse to bow his ears and lower his eyes. Her one-eyed gaze on his in particular was intense and critical. He went into a deep, overly formal bow as Takiyok introduced him as a friend. And, showtime.
Pleased to meet you, he said, rising from his long bow. I've been travelling since Whitebark Stream split up from the floods, so apologies for my appearance, he explained, speaking to his poor weight. He wasn't starving, but based on the way Takiyok had mothered him he probably didn't look awesome. I'm a fair hunter, and I could definitely help with keeping the wrong sorts out. I was trained as a warrior in my youth, he told her the good bits, hoping that she'd be able to see past whatever misgivings she might have.
Only here did he flick his eyes up at her face, having previously been looking at her chest. He swallowed, and it felt loud in his ears.

Mahler didn’t come, and that was just as well for her. It made things significantly easier. She could almost smile with genuine interest, conjure forth a little of her warmth that so rarely touched her features. It helped a lot that Taikon was an exceptionally polite wolf.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t used to seeing a respectful display without having to demand it, but she was taken with him in an instant. Oh, not in that way. He was handsome but not really her type. No, she was just so impressed with his border etiquette that her smile broadened and her discomfort with his similar appearance to Elke slipped away. Now that was more like it.

I’m sorry about your old group, she said. It wasn’t a pack she had ever heard of, but she sort of knew what it was like to lose a pack. Well, actually, no she didn’t. She’d been the one to abandon all her previous ones. It was sort of similar, though, she thought. Sagtannet is a small pack made up of families, she told him. We keep to ourselves, don’t meddle too much in the affairs of others, but we protect what’s ours. Does that appeal to you? Then, like an afterthought, she wondered, What sort of things do you hunt? It was more of a formality than anything. She didn’t want to make it seem like Sagtannet was desperate by welcoming him in without seeming at least a little critical of his skills.

But, truly, he was practically a member already.

Taikon seemed to be doing well so far, but then, that wasn't surprising to Taki; both instances in which they had spent time together, he was polite and respectful—hunters and guardians were always a benefit as well. 

It seemed Wylla was pleased by with him, too, and Taki's gaze moved between the Eisen and her friend as he finished speaking and she asked more questions of him. She had no doubts about his abilities, but she was also interested to learn what he hunted best, if only to possibly lure him into two-wolf hunt at some point—it was a good way to spend time with and to learn more about him. 

Having no reason to speak at this time, she just quietly listened, eager to hear his answer as her fiery gaze settled on his face with curiosity.

Wylla seemed to relax. Her smile became more genuine as Taikon went through his pleasantries that had been forced into him from childhood. He guessed that she and the rest of Sagtannet hadn't had much interaction with Whitebark, which made sense considering Artyom and Dawn had largely kept to themselves. The great irony, of course, was that both packs had been bothered considerably by the formation of the Saints.
As Takiyok listened silently, Wylla went on to describe Sagtannet and its purpose. It was a few families banded together and that was all he needed to know to be good with it. Whitebark Stream had also been primarily a family unit. It was when last names were revered and a family unit became a kingdom or an empire that things tended to fall apart. He nodded gently to her question. It does; I only wish for a quiet, safe existence for my pack, he said honestly. He had no interest in grand warfare, in romance, or other grand aspirations. She followed it with a question he wasn't sure how to answer.
Taikon thought for a moment, glancing at Takiyok as if she might have his answer hidden in her gaze. She didn't. He looked back at Wylla and nodded his head to the side in a sort of half-shrug. The past several years I've specialized in large rodents and vermin like beavers and foxes, he began, but made a quick expression of displeasure. But really I've always preferred to hunt elk and moose; my birth pack was big and so we had many hunters of different skill types, he finished explaining. What he didn't bother to mention was that the Farukans had an entire team of hunters dedicated to running animals to exhaustion. It was only after this that the royal family was called in to finish the already wounded and dying animal off.
Since leaving them, he had only participated in a handful of large game hunts. Still, it was his preference.

Everything Taikon said from that point on only solidified his suitability for Sagtannet. Wylla listened and nodded along, with special attention paid to his interest in large game. Unlike Taikon, she’d always been more of the scavenging sort, and it had been quite some time since Sagtannet saw a proper hunt. She formulated the idea quickly, and gave voice to it when he had finished.

We have pups here soon coming of an age to hunt with the pack, she shared in a tone that was more thoughtful than informative. She’d thought long and hard about how to introduce Phaedra, Thade and Astraeus to the hunt. With her limited experience hunting large prey, she wasn’t the best option for a teacher, but here stood a sturdy wolf claiming an interest in exactly the sort of prey they would need to test themselves on.

Maybe you could show them the ropes and lead their first big hunt. If it interested him. Wylla turned sidelong, presenting her flank to him in a sign of good faith, and wagged her tail a little. Welcome aboard. My name is Wylla. I lead here along with Mahler. You’ll find some caches further up the mountain, near the treeline. Something cold clenched in her stomach, but she maintained a warm enough smile, which she extended to Takiyok, as well. No matter what she’d felt about the woman when she’d had designs on her rank in Diaspora, she was a very valuable packmate outside of being a comforting presence for Stag. She'd done well to bring Taikon here.

wc: 261

His wish for a quiet, safe existence was shared by the griff. After everything that had happened to her over the last few years, all she wanted was peace and quiet and time with her family.

Taikon was doing well. He explained that he liked to hunt larger game, which would be helpful as the pack prepared for winter. Wylla seemed pleased with his answer as well, even inviting him to teach her pups more about hunting, which spoke volumes.

Wylla turned and officially welcomed her friend into the pack, and Taki gave a dip of her head when the Eisen offered her the same smile she had given Taikon. I can show him around if you'd like, she offered, figuring the leader had plenty of other things she needed to do. She certainly didn't mind.

The one-eyed leader seemed pleased. For a moment, Taikon looked at Takiyok and his lips curved slightly into a cool smile. It was beginning to set in that he might be joining her.
When Wylla mentioned that there were new hunters that would need training, his smile curved further into a lopsided grin. His tail waved lightly with both interest and hope; he had always wanted to have a chance at training those who were just gaining their skills. This had been how he had learned. Taikon had many teachers growing up. The only reason he knew how to do anything for himself was because Mother had insisted on him training in the masculine arts.
That would be great, he said calmly, mirroring her sideways turn in the opposite direction. He sniffed politely at her, his tail wagging low and slow.
As she welcomed him, he turned again and looked at Takiyok, displaying something of a goofy and even vulnerable smile as she offered to show him around. Thank you for your generosity and trust in me, Wylla, he nodded, I'm happy to be here. He didn't lie. Though his courtesies and mannerisms were all well-trained and purposeful, he meant all of it in sincerity. He was here because of Takiyok. He was here because he trusted her judgment and friendship.

Thank you, Takiyok, she said, grateful for the Griff's offer to take Taikon's onboarding onto her own capable paws. It wasn't that Wylla didn't want to be part of that process, but she understood that being led around by a leader might present more pressure than being shown around by a friend, and she didn't want to stifle Taikon right out of the gate. Furthermore, she was still a little unsettled by his similar appearance to Mahler's departed daughter. Truth be told, she wanted some time alone to process that feeling and discard it before it could become a problem for her.

It took her a moment to get over Taikon thanking her for her generosity. It wasn't something she had in much abundance. But she managed a small smile and dipped her head gratefully. We're happy to have you, she said. After so many years of vitriol and distaste, she considered that maybe life was easier if you simply eased up. This had certainly been one of her better border encounters. I'll leave you to it, she said, giving them one last parting look before slipping back into the trees.

She didn't have any particular goals for the day, but the borders always needed tending, and a patrol was perfect for mulling over her thoughts while remaining productive.