Bearclaw Valley is it okay to cry, sometimes?

Due largely in part to the fog, the expression of the small valley delegate was misinterpreted by Phoenix as he introduced himself. She seemed more confused to him than repelled, but when he opened his mouth to address her reaction, he quickly closed it again as another gamine figure emerged from the rolling mist. This she-wolf's bearing was significantly more dominant, but it wasn't her approach that had his ears peeling back respectfully: it was her taut, engorged belly that cowed him.

What kind of place was this that would let an expectant mother loom so dangerously on the outskirts? What kind of pack allowed such a heavily pregnant female to act as their sentry? Phoenix swallowed his misgivings, though dismantling his flummoxed expression was decidedly a harder task. His wagging tail had stilled— bewitched by the refined mother-to-be— and his eyes stole wary glances behind the two packmates as he prepared for an ambush of men coming to defend their unborn brood. It didn't come... at least not right away.

"Hello," he responded to the swollen guard, instinctively keeping his eyes away from the dark mask of her face. His short tail began to sway tentatively once more, though it slowed nearly to a stop as he noticed that his first greeter had adopted a thick veneer of agitation. She skirted forward, giving her name at the same time her exact features fully became known to him. Dashing chestnut-red fur. Summer-amber eyes. Indra Redleaf.

Phoenix stiffened, at first unable to reconcile his immediate attraction to her with the fact that this was his older sister. He looked like he had been slapped. She offered to take him to the Maplewood, a proposal he nearly missed because he was staring at her so intently and his tail had begun to wag a little furiously. He wanted desperately to shout; to exclaim and explain to her who he was; but the air around them had changed. A can of worms had been opened right under his nose, and he was not interested in partaking.

Indra's sudden and "friendly" invitation had clearly been more of a ploy to get away from the pregnant queen rather than an actual desire to show him some trees, but instead of calling her out on the transformation, he just went along with it. Phoenix would take what he could, especially if it meant getting to know Indra. Almost apologetically, he glanced at the alpha female— who would have been far more interesting to him if she wasn't already so clearly spoken for— but Indra had the majority of his focus. His hunger had been stolen, his thoughts occupied now by youthful anxiousness and a dry mouth. Still, he was eagerly on his toes, prepared for whatever pace and direction she chose to lead him.

"If it's not too much trouble," he grinned, posing to prance giddily after her.