Moonspear Time will explain

There is a universal moment in any spinster's life, when she faces the mirror, counts all the gray and white hair, as well as lines in her face, and realizes that her life is neither a rom-com movie, nor a sitcom with a happy ending. The belief that your better half is somewhere out there just waiting to fall in love with you is the same as believing in Santa Claus. It is nice, while it lasts, but in the end dream is just a dream and it does not change the reality. The one that tells - you are past your prime, you are not getting any younger and that it is time to reconsider the blueprint you had drawn for, how you wanted your life to turn out. 

Lele had faced that moment a month ago or so. All her life she had followed other's lead and let them decide her fate. Then it had been an eternity spent on her own, doing, what she knew best. Traveling, exploring and enjoying her freedom. For a long while this had been enough - she had never been free to choose, where to go,in her previous life as part of a nomadic family. Now she had done everything she had wanted to her heart's desire, yet it had never felt quite complete. She had entertained a thought about settling down, but after that first failed stint in romance and a couple of chance meetings never followed by a second or a third, she had come to a conclusion that meeting someone special and having a family with him or her was a lottery game. Very few drew the lucky tickets and she had never been the one to be good at gambling. 

So as yet another winter moved on and she found it more difficult to be out on her own (slight stiffness in her elbows and back had become her faithful morning companions), she decided to find a place to stay permanently and, perhaps, a place to die in as well. Lele had made a decision to no longer expect anything from her life and simply be happy in however long was given to her. So, when one of the claimed lands in the wilds caught her interest, she stopped by and howled for, whoever was in charge, to meet, greet and see, whether this would be a pack she would like to stay with for good. 

He was keen to settle, certainly—Njord had seemed a promising comrade, and thus, Argent was trying to make good of his promise to be of use. He rounded the borders—marking every so often to ensure a stronger claim with more numbers, and as the hours past, the routine became soothing rather than out of place.

As days would go by and he would walk the borders yet again, the surrounding nature started to become familiar, and the routine more set—and as such, more comfort found. Every so often his eyes would trace to the directions of the Sunspire and the valleys near, knowing he should seek Mahler—and yet there was a desire to believe the man was alive and well, and Argent feared that if he did try to find the man, he would come to find out otherwise—after all, Mahler had been ill and ragged the last time he had seen him.

Argent was simply not ready for that yet.

A howl was exactly something he needed—the caller coaxing a wolf of leader status to them, but it would be the tall silver basilisk that would come upon her. His silver eyes were cold as they swept over her—softening only when his gaze met hers as he began to close the distance between them, uttering a low croon in greeting. “Welcome,” he offered, the crunch of snow from his paws reiterating the crispness of the cool air. “You’re on Moonspear’s borders. Can I help you with something?”

Lele did not have to wait long to have someone respond to her call - a handsome man arrived to meet and greet her on the borders. Her gaze swept over him quickly and for a second or two the primal part of her brain made a possible match between him and her. She smiled to herself, because this habit of which she had at first felt ashamed of was something she had got used to. It was easy to draw a line, where the rational Lele with her true thoughts and ideas stood, and which was this purely instinctual creature, who could be tamed and ignored. Plus - it was good that no one could ever get inside her mind and find out, what was going on there.

"Greetings, guardian of Moonspear," she returned with a polite dip of her muzzle. "I am a seasoned nomad and explorer, who is looking for a home for winter and spring. I am a decent hunter, self-sustaining and easy to be around - at least I have not grown annoyed with myself," she smiled at him. 

And a sense of humor, I see, he noted at the end, amusement glinting only briefly in his eyes despite assessing her. Healthy, seemingly—starwoman seemed eager for her ranks to grow upon the tall mountain and so he gave a gentle incline of his muzzle. Sialuk leads here. She should be along shortly.

As if to reiterate such, the large silver wolf made to settle himself more comfortably—the she-wolf before him seemed amicable enough and he felt no need to be entirely guarded before her—the way of the Moonspear wolves was far different than his upbringing. Why did you choose the mountain? Sialuk would claim her spirit was called by the mountain. Argent idly wondered if it was perhaps just the first potential pitstop along the way.

Everyone has received this "by the book" question on "Why did you choose this place?" or "Where you see your life in five years" during a job interview and how many have answered truthfully instead of carefully and correctly crafted lies? That your motivation to be here is mainly money, because you want to eat and spend that precious currency on nice things?

This was not the first pack Lele had temporarily joined and not the first time she had been asked this question. If in the beginning she had attempted to impress people, then at this point in her life, she no longer felt the need to. She knew her worth and was self-sufficient - were it not for the luxury of having company and mating prospects that a lone wolf has less opportunities, she might not have even decided to knock on the door. 

"You seem a small pack and new," she explained. "I think that blending in with a group of unrelated and newfound pack is easier than trying to find your place in an already established family," she said. "But I may be wrong and you are all one big and happy polyamorous family," she smiled. "What prompted you to join?" 

@Ukulele I sucksobadI'm so sorry! Don't leave me, I love her. <3

A crooked smile formed across his lips at her last question—appreciating the aspect of her wondering why he had joined himself—particularly given he had only been here a little while himself and had milled through the same questions and answers. Still, he remained straightened—assessing her in a quiet way.

“I like mountains,” he offered, though a simple answer, a light tease in his words. It was partly true—that, and “I also found the guy who greeted me to be easy to talk to.”

He paused—“So what’s your name, seasoned nomad?”

Better late than never. :D

"Apparently that quality has been contagious," Lele pointed out, grinning. "I happen to have met a guy, who is easy to talk to as well," she said. Social situations tended to be a struggle for her, because she was so used to being in her own company. In the beginning she had thought that this was the sole reason and maybe some additional weirdness and childhood traume. At this point in life, however, she had figured out that one did not click with most people they met. So, she was not awkward. Not 100% anyway. This was a norm. 

"Who said that it was not my real name?" she teased and quickly added. "Ukulele. Lele for short. I was only ever called by my full name, when I got in trouble. And you are?" 

Oh, he liked her.

Her quick humor drew the hint of a grin to his features—a task in itself for many. “Good. I was hoping that quality would rub off on me,” he echoed, muzzle tilting lightly as he studied the she-wolf. Maybe she preened at him for more information—or, maybe, he had finally found another wolf besides Njord who he could see a potential camaraderie.

“Ukulele the seasoned nomad,” he tried, tasting her name on his tongue and then giving a shrug. “Got in trouble a lot, did you?” Another smile that threatened at his lips—and he found himself nodding in the direction of the lands, a quiet invitation for her to follow him as he began to turn and walk. “Argent. Without a nickname.” Spoken in full when in trouble and in the throes of…. Ahem.

He probably shouldn’t scare her away.

“Sialuk is the leader here and is tending to many matters these days. If she can’t come to the borders to assess you herself, I don’t think she would mind I escort you to her.”

"Nah, hardly ever," Lele replied, but the smile this time did not reach her eyes. She had been a good girl for as long as she could remember and in the end it had rarely paid off. Looking back now she could not understand, why had it taken her so long to disentangle from Larkspur's toxic influence over her life. If viewed critically, she had never been a good step-mother, never had intended to be and yet Lele had tried very hard to understand the woman and had pitied her for the circumstances that had shaped her. 

"Well, if you are into one - I would suggest Mr Gently. Sounds good. Advertises you even better," she offered. "Oh, absolutely," she agreed to the suggestion, hoping that this was not going to be the last thing she did in her life. Going into another pack's territory was like entering an alligator pit. If you were on your own, there was a high likelihood that you will be torn to pieces first and asked questions second. With a guide to accompany her, it should be safe, unless he turned out to be a psychopath, who just happened to play his role of a polite and harmless gentleman very well. 

At her agreement for an escort, Argent indicated with his muzzle for her to follow, beginning to lead the way toward Sialuk’s haunts. “Mr Gently,” he considered, a rumble of amusement cloying his tone. “Doesn’t exactly inspire intimidation for anyone who might hear of one of Moonspear’s border guardian.”

Then again… intimidation didn’t seem to be what Moonspear was about—and perhaps that was part of the reason it intrigued him so—particularly when strength and intimidation had been a leading force in what he had felt was his father’s life, upon the mountain across the valley between them.

He gave her a sideways glance—studying the she-wolf with a growing smile. “You think I’m gentle, hm?”

"Well, there have been instances, when cold-blooded murderers and psychopaths have had nice names. So you may be Mr Gently The Torturer - leaving people guessing. Whether your torture people just like that or you do it gently - licke tickle them to death or heart-attack," Lele suggested, surprising even herself for the uncharecteristic length and creativity she had put in her speech. Who would have known - shy and quiet Lele, a person, who cannot shut up. Maybe the magic of the place was working on her. Or the magic of this particular person. 

"I make bad judgements about people's characters. I don't know - you prove you are not," she grinned. "Where did you come from?" assuming that he was just the same kind of outsider to the Moonspear as she was.

Argent showed her around and they had a pleasant conversation for the next half an hour or so.