Emberwood jonquil

only if you want it <3 no pressure!  And no rush

There were other children here aside from Ruckus.  This interested Redd for a number of reasons.  Some seemed his age, and by comparison, were haler and more confident than hers.  The others were keen on exploration.  Ruckus remained always her shadow, and while she did not mind this, she knew it could not always be so.  They would need to learn to find their own steps.

She wished to meet and perhaps gain a comfortable presence with the others.  Doing so could inspire Ruckus to do the same, bring a deeper understanding to the meaning of pack.  So she sought out @Ghelan, a ptarmigan clasped firmly in her jaws.  It was not the caribou of the pack, but she had noted the talisman he wore.  Perhaps the feathers would be of interest along with the meat.

It was a peace offering.  She did not wish to ruin a first impression if the correct words did not find her.

dont mind if i dooo also omfg that bird is so cute i want one as a purse dog

a woman follows — the tired one with the son close to his age. there were quite a few his age, in fact, but he'd spoken to none. perhaps out of moodiness, perhaps out of envy.

hello.. he greets in lanzadoii, eyeing the bird clutched between her teeth. it was probably for him, but ghelan smiled and shook his head. thank you.. but keep — keep it. for you.

they are!

He declined it.  Redd cocked her head sideways, appraising him for a moment, before dropping the bird and nosing it towards him.  Then she dropped down, stomach to earth, with her tail lightly thumping the dirt behind her.

A trade, she offered with a smile, hoping this would make it easier to accept.  She thought she recognized pride.  Such a thing had often been present on the rise.

A trade for what?  She knew, but to explain it was harder.  For a name.  It was a start.  And if that was all he wished to give, and then depart, she would accept this easily.  Introductions were never a thing to force if one was not facing an intruder.

she insisted, and ghelan really had no energy to go back-and-forth over the bird. he only briefly returned her smile with an awkward tilt of his own, canine poking his lip like it always did before he hid it again.

his name. ghelan. the only one that mattered here.
 
her offer became less food and more busy work as he took to plucking its feathers. he nipped them at the root and spat the bundles of plumes out. it was the wing-feathers that caught his interest.
why? he spoke in between each pluck. not hungry? or was he being babied?

He took it and she relaxed, happy to have the pleasantries handled. She had never needed to worry about ingratiating herself to a new pack or wondering her place in such. She had worried often about her place in the rise, but she had never wondered if she had a place. Not until the end. It was not a feeling she wished to carry with her here.

Redd, she replied, watching the feathers fall. The next words he spoke she did not understand, though her ears pricked to catch them as she thought she misheard. She had never heard words that she did not know.

What does it mean? She asked with a new curiosity. A new insecurity, maybe, as well. She knew little enough of words at times as things stood. She hadn’t realized there was less to know.