Redtail Rise splatter

all welcome!

He did not know that this land might have mattered to him, if he knew the man who had sired him. As it stood this was land of Raider and her blood.

Some tendril of nervousness spread throughout him and he wondered if it would choke him out when the time came to announce the news. He wore the scents of Dragonspine like a cloak of comfort, though. Allowed it to fill him with some sliver of confidence.

His head tipped back and called for Wealda (@Redd) but was prepared to be met by...anyone!

Masque's family, he reminded him. Not Raider.

Someone calls.  Wealda attends, approaching in a manner that gives no welcome, only questions.

Her guard drops only partially when she realizes they come from her sister’s claim.  She would be friendlier on neutral ground, but here she must still stand firm in their boundaries.  Welcome was for pack alone.

Still, she is curious, and tilts her raised head in a welcome to explain.  It is likely that he is here with a message.  She would hear it.

A call for Wealda always implied the presence of her Berserker.

Mulherin offers a woof upon glimpsing Redd as she walks through the woodland. She gives him minimal acknowledgement, more focused on finding and meeting this stranger. He falls behind and lets her range ahead. 

An unfamiliar man waits to be received, passive.

He is curious to see how she handles it.

A silent guard, he watches from afar.

She looked like she could kill him.

He did not know why it made him want to look at her more. He was wise enough to know better.

Wealda, For it is her, surely! The one who is Wealda must look as if she could kill many things! Masque and Riley, three sons now. It was not as clean as he had hoped, but it was clear (he hoped) and that was what he cared for most.

Dragonspine stands.

Yet he bowed ever so slightly when announcing this.

She did not understand this message, and the expectation of more was clearly present as she took it in.  Nothing in it impacted the Rise; she was glad, but had little more to offer.

Congratulations were not needed - the future was assured for them, this was celebration enough.  Did Masquerade seek more?  The Rise did not defend, nor provide for, those not within its borders.  This was clear and, she thought, understood.

Redd had a sister, but Wealda only pack.  And it was Wealda who appraised this messenger now.

Redd had many sisters, one of whom remained.  Brothers, but only one Berserker.  And Redd had a mate who no longer stood here, yet whose absence was felt in a way that unbalanced her.  For the first time perhaps, there was relief in being Wealda.

She feels the presence of Berserker behind and is glad for it.  Her head lifts with a small rumble of approval for his deference, and yet otherwise there is little to say. Did he have more to bring?  Or simply news?

Three sons.

Three nephews.

He hopes to meet them sometime.

As for the nameless recruit, he offers a nod of approval.

His tail swishes in a high, confident wag. Then, with a look to his Wealda, he slips away into the brush.

She had it handled, but he would linger in earshot in case she required more from him.

last from me

He might have squirmed in his skin if there was not a familiar comfort in being nailed down by powerful presences. She did not speak, but for a long stretch of his own life it had been that way too.

Welcome to come see in few weeks. Just call when there.

He wanted to offer to be the one to escort her, but knew realistically Riley might do so as well too! If they were meant to meet again then they would.

There was not much more he could say, not having the long clusters of words that others might have had. Not having a billion things to say about babies that even he hadn't seen yet! So he only lingered now in waiting for some kind of dismissal.

A ping pong ball between two sisters, two packs.

His words did nothing to clarify and only opened an invitation.  Wealda still did not fully understand but she acknowledged the words with a slight relaxing of her posture and wave of her upright tail. She would come.

Further words felt needed but she had none to offer.  This wolf was a messenger of her sister’s pack and therefore still a stranger to them.  There was nothing of the Rise he need share and nothing of Wealda he needed to know.

Thank you.  The words were strange, she thought, but at least polite.  She would remain until he departed, not unfriendly, but clearly with little conversation to offer.  If this had been his purpose then it was accomplished.

"Thank you,"

For a moment his tail wriggled behind him. It felt surprisingly good to hear those words. It made him feel like he really could be a recruiter, if others seemed to not mind him so much.

Maybe he had just needed these little pushes of confidence from the sisters.

He only nodded once more, low and respectful, before he departed now in full. Eager to return back to the confines of Dragonspine.

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