King Elk Forest i've always been this blunt

@Mato and @Delight

The trek had been long and unforgiving, but Queenie didn't mind much. The time that it took her to go from the mountain and across the plains, into this obviously marked forest was good for thinking. Once she'd made it to the border, her mind was clear and mean ol' Queenie was back to being her normal self. It wasn't that she necessarily wanted to join a pack — to be clear, she hated the idea — but she knew that she needed to. 

Before winter had really set in, there was enough small game around to keep Queenie moving. Now, food was scarce. It was time that she gave in to her one fear (following anyone besides her prey) and make an effort, at the very least, to join someone else's ranks. The attempt at Morningside had been a lousy one, but she planned on giving a bit more effort this time. 

Queenie sat back beside the border and lowered herself (with a necessary eye roll; who would she be without one?), then howled for whoever was in charge.

delight's worried, though he tries not to let it show as he moves methodically across the borders. they could really use another mercenary type: his slight frame is not cut for patrolling in the biting cold, but after the incident with brienne he's a little nervous to leave them unattended. and mato's.. distant, more distant than usual, though whether that's because of burke or because of brienne or because of, god forbid, him, he can't tell.

but he's gotten pretty good at compartmentalizing, at least for the sake of posturing as a leader. someone's gotta keep the place from crumbling around the ruins of their three-part tragic romance. and, oh, hey, good on you delight, because there is someone howling at the door. for a moment he thinks maybe it's ivy (that cheers him up a little - mato adjacent company is nearly as good as mato company, all things considered) but he's quick to be corrected, coming upon the woman he's never seen before. for a moment, he's distracted by her coloration, having never seen something like it before. 

but he's not into women, so the aesthetic appreciation remains exactly that as he draws himself up, getting used to the still-unfamiliar feeling of his tail curling behind him. ha, leadership. right. he gives her a critical look, then cuts to the chase: "i'm guessing you're trying to avoid freezing to death?"

Queenie gave a confused frown as she slowly rose an inch or so. You could say that, yeah. It was strange for a leader to address a loner this way (in her experience, at least) so she wasn't really sure how to react, other than to say, I'm Queenie. No real trades but I'm a quick learner. The girl hadn't had her hand in too many actual fights, but she'd seen enough to know which moves would and wouldn't get you killed. She'd also seen how to patch up a few wounds here and there, but outside of that, she didn't have much life experience to offer.

his expression doesn't change from it's deadpan stare but he feels a flicker of sheepishness at her reaction. but delight doesn't have mato's stately presence; he's not noble and he doesn't ooze competency. he's just the guy who's still left.

she's blunt and honest - he appreciates that, and gives her an appraising once over, no longer distracted by the unusual merle of her coat. "long as you're willing to work," he says, "this is tindómë. our ranks are based on trades - we're non-traditional, so to speak - and we share the forest with an elk known as the king elk that we leave be." he opts to skip flowery and go right to the point, figuring she'd be the type to cop to that.

mato never liked to dictate what skills his wolves pursued. delight doesn't either, but hey, since she doesn't seem to have one in mind. "i'm delight singing-sunlight, our n- morwinyon," and boy, wow, that is super weird out loud, it's too elegant a title for him, "uh, alpha. you think you could dust up in a fight? things stay pretty quiet around here, but we could use some merc-types." and if the answer's no, that's fine, but, never hurts to ask.

 

cameo! feel free to ignore, she'll be hiding in the shadows.

she ghosts in, a whisper, there only to eavesdrop and observe.

she had already been told it wasn't her place to greet people at the borders, and her expression goes sour as she hears how delight greets this possible newcomer.

that would've gotten her ass handed to her by mato, but she figured that in his eyes, the androgyne could do no wrong even though tindome was dying once again with anatha disappearing and burke on death's door.

and then delight introduces himself as their alpha.  it hurts her in a way she cannot comprehend, and rolling it around in her mind she bounds off to digest it elsewhere.

Your what? Queenie asks, trying to silently runback the term; alpha was much easier to remember. Yeah, I can fight. Or at least, she thought she could. If the opportunity was ever to arise, Lord knows how she would do. This time around, her attempt at joining had been much more successful which Queenie was quite glad about. No small talk, all business, and rather than leaving, she had been accepted it seemed. Anything else you need? 

Some packs liked wolves who could double up on trades which Queenie didn't necessarily mind, but she'd like to know before getting herself caught in a workload she didn't ask for.

"morwinyon," he repeats, trying not to sound as uneasy as he feels. it probably looks back if the guy in charge doesn't like being the guy in charge. he understands why mato ... stepped back, so to speak, and it's temporary, only temporary, but nonetheless. he flashes a small smile when she confirms that she can fight - good, that helps take away the sting of anatha's depature, of the hole they'd had since trajan left. 

(he doesn't notice brienne slip in and out - and for the best. that's.. a particular guilt he can't deal with right now, on top of all else.)

her question earns a light shrug. "up to you," he says - they're a little imbalanced still, sure, but delight's not about to dictate a list to her. "i can show you around," the androgyne adds and takes a step back, prepared to lead her in to their forest - and maybe next time he'll get better at the whole 'being a serious morwinyon' thing.

Queenie smiled, Morwinyon. Okay. Yeah, I could go for a tour. After all, it didn't sound very pleasant to get lost or stumble somewhere she wasn't supposed to on her first day. She took a step forward, over the border, and followed after Delight.