Bearclaw Valley eat it up for dinner

hoping to get my last scouting thread!!!

With @Rala in tow, Cole breached the borders to Bearclaw. The journey was short, the cub woman not lingering far. It was how he found her— her sweet, icy scent. Whilst his hearing seemed to not be the best, his nose was killer.

He paused to look behind him. Greet the royals well, he stated.

Tilting his head back, he signaled a gentle call for @Ameline and @Ancelin. Either will do, he knew both the Regina and Rex had tasks and children to watch over. He anticipated the lady of the valley's arrival.

Found this one roamin' the outskirts.

she would follow along, now, in silence. southman led the way to the valley, telling snowwoman to greet the royals well. curious, now, as to the demeanor of such royals, she waited at the border with a patience that she carried like a gift. similarly a gift, she held the hen in her jaws, resting it on the grasses in front of her. an offering, perhaps.

sitting back on her haunches, rala's tail swayed behind her, pale and snow-kissed.

today would be ancelin, sap-stained tousle-haired, shaggy bear-lord of the woodland over which his much more attractive counterpart had made her throne.
the bearclaw held in knotted fur at his chest caught the light before his eyes, before indigo glowing became his scarred face and the vaguely mocking grin he oft wore.
melonii-stare scanned the newcomer and then back to cole. "well. what can you do?" he asked in a voice now edged with the rasp of disuse. ancelin was not forceful, only firm as winter went on.

Before the Rex, Cole lowered himself in respect. This was the lord of the valley, equal in nature to the Regina. He held the same respect for the male, maybe even more for providing for his family in these harsh conditions.

He cast a sidelong glance towards Rala, then, waiting to see what she could do. Cole never had a habit of speaking out of turn. The polar cub could speak for herself, just as she had before him on the borders.

The bullet did wonder what she possessed beneath her thick coat. The gang of Bearclaw wolves weren't so pristine as she made herself out to be— Ancelin's tossled, wild fur; Cole's tattered, stocky form— weren't exactly picturesque.

this scruffy, albeit somewhat larger than herself, man descended from the valley, and as suggested by cole, she gave a deep bow of her pale head. a faint surprise that she would not allow to paint her face washed over her - the figures of leadership that she had met within her homelands were often well-groomed, wash from the so-close ocean and tidy from communal grooming. although, winter so oftentimes rippled a change in one's duties ; there were many things more important than keeping oneself presentable.

i hunt, snowwoman begun, pushing the dull-coloured female duck towards the valley-lord. the chieftain, or, as she had been raised to know, angajuqqaaq. i sing, dance, when it is time to lift spirits, or prepare for a feast, memories of celebrations played within her mind - such festivities being sometimes the only thing that could truly keep the tribe together, and happy. the cruelties of the seasons were able to be mended with food and laughter. though inexperienced in it, i can mend. body and soul.

she would not speak of her weaknesses, her short-comings. not yet.

i wish to rear children someday, rala also said, hoping that would not be an issue.

enough skills, willing to expand. the valley was growing at a rate which pleased ancelin and perhaps made him amenable enough to accept her. the last, however, gave him only a little pause. "prove yourself first, especially to the queen. ameline. show us what you can do and i don't think there will be a problem in the spring."
with who? he wanted to ask, wondering if these ladies showed up for the strapping guardian as much as the pack life. "i'm ancelin. what's your name?" he said instead, lifting a hard paw to pull the duck his way.

Polar cub had skills! Cole glanced toward Ancelin with a confirming nod of his head. The ducks they had just hunted were fresh, and he didn't even need to guide her. He thought of Elowen, the soft dove from the lake, who was an inexperienced hatchling.

Kids? She was so bold. It was...different. Cole hadn't thought he wanted his own kids. Not yet, anyways. He was becoming a regulatory father for Annie, anyways. He didn't have the time. The valley required his attention more than most.

It was a task he took willingly.

Cole still bit his tongue. It was Rala's turn to speak. Cole mindlessly plucked away at the duck's feathers.

proving herself would not be an issue, for she was a stubborn woman - that, cole would know from their hunt. when she put her mind to something, she would not so easily let go of it, and so she gave a nod of her head, saying, simply: i will.

polar cub was asked for her name, then. nanuralaaq, a pride carried upon its' shoulders. one that was earned, without room for excess ego, rather held with a weight that whispered of the winters she had survived through to earn such a title. shortened - rala, a sidewards glance to the southman, edged with humour ; his former butchering.

with a breath, she said: i am named 'cub of polar bear', in the tongue of my people. i hope to share culture with you, should you be willing recipient, and although her words were both formal and broken, her warmth was palpable, her voice that of a songbird personified. an energy of compassion that encompassed her surroundings.

--and hope that i may learn of yours.

ancelin was certainly glad rala offered a shortened name; he wasn't familiar with the syllables of her first and didn't want to be wrong. both for his pride and her own. "welcome aboard then, rala," the rex said with a bit more joviality.
he didn't miss the little grin that she tipped cole's way, though he kept his purple eyes on their newest claw. "i would be happy to hear of it. this land, our land — it belonged to my grandfather, merrick. he worshipped bears. and while i do not, we've kept his altars and the old bones left behind when ursus was here. so. bears all the way down," a wry grin to follow.
he studied rala. "perhaps you'd like a tour?" and perhaps he'd let cole do it, amused by what he assumed to be a hint between them.

Cole finally stood, appearing to be satisfied with Ancelin's judgement. With the duck in his maw, he would begin to scathe by, uninterested in providing a tour. He had duties to tend to, the increasing number of strangers appearing on their borders unsettling within him.

He dipped his head towards them both, a deeper one for Ancelin.

Then the gold barrel was gone through the woods, marking the trees as he went.

exit cole

a grateful smile adorned her features, and an intrigue filled her gaze as she listened of his grandfather, altars, bones and what she assumed to be a pack by the name of ursus. a faint glimmer of familiarity - her father, and both of her grandfathers had all been chieftains. perhaps this was similar, in a way.

though, before she could open her maw, cole slinked away, back to marking, defending, snowwoman guessed. wordlessly he went, and so she looked back at the lord of the valley, and took in a breath. i would like a tour, her voice a somewhat amused chuckle. if you have things to do, i can find someone else.

either way, rala did not mind, merely wanting to grow familiar with the valley.

we can assume they had the tour or play it out! <3

oh, was he wrong? ancelin's eyes darted curiously after the guardian, and then rala had his entire attention. "it's no bother. i'll show you the altars first," the bearclaw offered, setting off at a comfortable pace once he had slung the duck over his shoulder. "and you should know we consider wapun meadow our hunting grounds. be — forceful there, if you have to."
"or if you want to," he chuckled, alluding to the casual ferocity which had always marked he and ameline.
the rex found a thin path and set off along it, inviting rala along with a swing of his tail.

assumption sounds good to me !! feel free to fade here / with your next post <3

a blink of dawn-hued eyes given as confirmation, both to the mention of the altars and the meadow, although, she would look back behind her to seek the grasses in which would mark it. after spotting what she assumed to be the meadow upon the horizon, she would turn back to ancelin. force is no stranger of mine, snowwoman mused.

cub would follow along with silent paws, walking to the left of the man, not directly next to him but neither far behind. a careful pace was tread, and she made sure to memorise the sights that they ventured past. her new village, if only temporary, was to be respected. it may not live up to the grounds of the muskox herds, but it was home.

for a little while, at the very least.