Sometimes I can be nice

@FitzDutiful set outside pack territory :)

Raissa still wasn't quite used to the constant gloominess of black feather woods, so once and a while she needed to go somewhere light. This time she had ended up in a huge grassland surrounding a half-mountain. The top seemed to be missing.

Raissa enjoyed the light, even if the clouds blocked the sun. The cool air was damp with a promise of rain, or if it became cold enough, snow. The grassland seemed frozen in time due to the lack of wind and Raissa felt the air hang with moisture. Apon reaching the base of the tree covered mountain she stopped. She could smell the scent of another pack and for once she didn't want to cause any trouble. Today she was actually feeling nice. She was rarely nice.

Raissa stopped and wrapped her fluffy tail around her tiny paws, just enjoying the view out across the plains.

Hope you don't mind me assuming the other thread still took place

FitzDutiful was on patrol that day when he stumbled across a scent. It was familiar and yet, different at the same time. There was a sense of pack and belonging upon it. On guard that another wolf was near their pack he approached cautiously, recognising the wolf in front of him.

"Well, hello there!" he exclaimed, happy to see a familiar wolf for a change. "I smell you've joined a pack now - is that so you can get help with getting thorns out of your paw?" Poor Fitz still wasn't aware that the thorn scenario had been entirely fake. Maybe that was for the best.

He wondered what pack Raissa was with now, and what she was doing outside of the Caldera lands. Hopefully it would all come to light soon.

Its perfect! :)

Raissa was startled out of her trance and turned to the source of the voice. She recognized the male standing in front of her. He was the one that she had been nice to before. He was lucky.

She smiled and let out a light laugh at his joke, a little bit of guilt coming forward at the though of her almost scam, "Yes, now I have people that can help with that." she teased.

"I didn't know you had moved here, its good to see someone I know." she smiled, flicking her ears in happiness.

"And yes, I have joined the Black Feather Woods pack. I came out here because I still have gotten quite used to the constant darkness and gloom of the woods. I figured these planes would have plenty of light to spare." She explained, using her tail to gesture towards the grassland surrounding the mountains.

Raissa explained that she had joined the Blackfeather Woods pack but it was quite dark and gloomy. Fitz nodded in sympathetic understanding. "It's a shame you didn't join us. Then it'd be bright and airy all the time!" Fitz was kind of taken aback by the words he had just said. Did that mean he didn't mean them? No, he sure did. He kind of wished Raissa was in the same pack.

Trying to cover what could possibly be described as flirting, he hastily extended an invitation. "Why don't you come walk with me? I'll show you around the Redhawk Caldera lands and you can tell me how the Blackfeathers came to win you." What was up with his mouth?! Once again something vaguely flirting and quite unexpected escaped but this time Fitz just let it roll.

What's a boy to do except pretend it was all planned and intentional?

Raissa suppressed a giggle at Fitz's sheepish face. She decided it would be a good time to put him out of his embarrassed misery.

"I think a walk sounds wonderful!" She stated, standing up and intentionally stretching her graceful legs out. She trotted up to him, letting the fur on her flank brush his own lightly before looking up at his eyes.

"Shall we?" She asked softly.

Fitz found himself watching as Raissa stretched - watching in a way that he had never looked at a wolf before. FitzDutiful was a few months away from becoming able to help create pups but it appeared the urges that brought upon the creation of puppies were just beginning to manifest. Or perhaps she was just the first wolf to interest him that way.

"Of course," he replied as she echoed a question and they set off walking across the Caldera land. Fitz avoided leading her up to the top, though, and they instead walked around it, heading more to where his den was. "So what did bring about your choice to join a pack - and how come the Blackfeather Woods?"

Maybe there was no good reason other than winter was coming upon them and now was a time to be a pack wolf instead of a lone wolf. Maybe, just maybe, there was another boy in her life. It was better to find that out now.

Raissa studied Fitz as they walked around the base of the mountain. His peppered fur highlighted his golden eyes that seemed to glow in the sunlight. She was to busy looking at him that she almost missed his question. She lowered her head, embarrassed for once. Then she thought about his question a bit more. Why did she join the Blackfeathers? Sure she had met Bane but he was hardly a reason to join a pack. In fact, both the males she had met had been rather rude to her. And her leader, Meldresi was surely insane with the way she talked about cults and assassins and of course her great goddess of whatever.

Tilting her head slightly she smiled at Fitz. She genuinely liked him, which was a first for her. "I honestly don't know why I joined the Blackfeathers." She admitted.

"Maybe it was just my instincts telling me I needed to join a pack before the worst of winter hit, but there isn't really anything I like about living there." She told him. She would much rather be in a pack with someone she knew and liked. Or maybe more like be in a pack with him.

Luck seemed to be with FitzDutiful as Raissa explained that there was no particular reason she had joined the Blackfeather Woods pack (no rival). He took a moment to look at her, a bit of a silly grin on his face as he did so. Her dark brown fur seemed to contrast against the greys in a very pleasant way as the sun's rays hit the lighter strands. As he watched her, he felt butterflies in his stomach and quickly looked away as she finished talking about how her instincts were the main reason for the pack join.

"If you don't like it there, why stay?" he found himself asking, almost without realising it. "Why don't you become a Redhawk instead?"

It's entirely possible she wouldn't want to. Maybe she felt loyalty to her new pack now. There's was also a possibility that Peregrine, Fox or Finley would think that letting another pack wolf join may be... stealing. But surely a wolf's happiness was more important.

All FitzDutiful knew was that he wanted to get to know Raissa better. And having her as a pack mate would be much nicer, and help with that.

Raissa was startled by the offer and her orange eyes surely showed that as she met Fitz's golden eyes. No one had ever outright wanted her to be somewhere with them and this came as a pleasant surprise. The startled look on her face soon turned to happy smile as she thought about the possibility. If she did indeed join Redhawk Caldera, would Meldresi be mad? What if she attacked the caldera wolves, then it would be all her fault! Her expression drooped at the possibility. Yet she still wanted to give it a try.

"Would your Alpha's even consider it?" she asked hopefully, her orange eyes gleaming and her tail wagging slightly behind her. She knew that if it was possible, that she would do it. She would leave those dark, depressing woods and come live out her in the sun, with Fitz.

Raissa questioned whether the Redhawk alpha's would consider letting her stay and FitzDutiful didn't wait a second before replying: "Of course they'd consider it! They may have a few questions for you, but I don't think they'd be against taking in another."

FitzDutiful noticed they weren't too far from one of the packs borders and so he herded them towards it. "Listen, we're pretty close to a border here, so why don't we just make a trip to it - for a good first impression - and I'll call Peregrine and/or Fox here?"

With excitement his tail began to wag at the prospect of Raissa joining the Caldera and had to resisting calling for his alphas right away. He needed to be sure this was what she wanted before he took that jump.

Raissa hesitated at his offer to call the Alphas. Sure it had sounded amazing at the time but what would her old pack mates think? But then again, she was just meeting them, she wasn't joining right away. She would be able to go back and say goodbye, get some little things of hers, right?

"Would I be able to go back and get my things? I wouldn't be able to come right away, and there is still no guarantee that I'm going to join." she warned him, though she had a strong feeling that she would be part of his pack soon. She just didn't want him to be too terribly disappointed if she found some insane reason to stay with the Blackfeathers.

Argh, Fitz made me finish this thread. Me wants another when you're available ^_^

FitzDutiful saw Raissa's hesitation and immediately realised that he could be after something she didn't want. "Look," he started, sombre now as the reality that he may have pushed her too far set in. His heart closed fast. "I will never make you do anything you don't want to do. Take your time and think about if you want to be here. Head home and decide what you want, for you. I'd like you to move here but, really, we barely know each other so your move here shouldn't be solely for me. What if there never comes to be a we?"

The wolves had reached the border now and Fitz escorted Raissa out before turning around, making it clear he was about to head back into his lands. "If you decide you want to move here later on, let me know. I'll come running when you call." His heart was feeling broken, almost. It was strange. As he'd said he barely knew this lady and yet, their conversation just seemed right. "In case you're worried, I doubt Peregrine or Fox would turn you away. But we'll approach that together. If it comes to pass."

Too many ifs. He turned, unable to stay and hear her respond to these words if she attempted to do so. He moved quickly, painfully, until he was out of her sight. And, in warden manner, waited to ensure she left the pack borders.

Awww! We should do another one soon for sure!

Fitz's change in tone came in a hard shock to Raissa. Maybe he really wasn't interested in her. A weird feeling came over the she wolf as he turned his back and walked away quickly, leaving her all alone on the border. The feeling made her heart heavy and cracked. Not broken, but cracked for sure. Little spidery cracks made their way from the center of her heart and to the edges the more she thought about it. Sure she had only just met him, but she felt like she should be with him, that if she wasn't, she would always feel out of place. Her eyes filled up with tears as she watched his peppered shape disappear into the trees.

Figuring he wanted her to leave, she turned her back and started slowly walking away, reluctant to go. Her muscles ached to go back and figure out what she did wrong, what had made him turn and leave so quickly. What he had said about there not becoming a we struck home. She hadn't realized it until then, but she wanted there to be a we. With one last look over her shoulder at the spot he disappeared, she took off in the direction of her gloomy, depressing home, filled with jerks that wanted nothing more than a little fun at night. Tears filled her eyes as she still tried to figure out what she did to scare him away.