Stone Circle Whatever wind blows, while they and I have leaves, we cannot other than an aspen be.

After exploring the plains, Brynn headed for the forested part of the Easthollow territory. When she came to upon the forest, she saw that it was made of all the same type of trees. She noticed that the trees had strange white trunks and green, rounded leaves that came to a point. She had seen trees like this before. They were pretty common where she came from. She entered the forest, taking in all of the scents and sounds. She could hear the occasional breeze rustle through the strange leaves and a sentry bird somewhere in the distance alerting others to the presence of a predator. 

As she padded along the moist forest floor, Brynn took notice of a squirrel scurrying up a tree a few yards in front of her. She took a mental note of the animal. Squirrels were small but made a quick, efficient meal when in a hurry or very hungry. She wasn't here to hunt right now, though. She just wanted to become familiar with all the parts of her new territory so she could properly patrol the borders. 

So, Brynn continued her hike deeper into the forest, listening to all the sounds of the life that called this area home.

It was the calm that fell after the storm, now. There had been so much hatred, so many fights, rescue missions, even the death of one of his sons, but now it was as quiet as ever. His kids were as elusive as before, but he did not blame them for it - they'd survived many hardships, those two, and he hoped beyond hope that it was over. Mawk wanted only for his family to be safe and happy. He'd tried his best but not succeeded entirely... and it was ok. He wasn't supposed to be perfect, even though he wanted to be for his kids and his wife. They'd made it, and the Saefyn would do anything to ensure this peace remained.

He was simply taking a stroll when he came upon the other wolf, wandering the land of the Easthollow wolves in her lonesome. He would not pass up the oportunity for a casual conversation, and he'd not met this woman before, so the man padded a little faster to catch up with her. "Hey," He called, face softening into a smile.

Lost in her thoughts and observations of this new area, Brynn had been walking for little bit now. Her current solitary exploration reminded her of they way her life had been as a lone wolf, which made her think how different it was to belong to a pack now. It was still new, so she hadn't really had time to adjust yet. That's probably why she felt perfectly comfortable going about her business alone. 

She caught the scent of the other wolf before she heard his greeting. She thought the scent seemed familiar, and she was pretty sure she had picked it up during her wandering along with the other scents of the wolves that frequented this territory. She gave him a polite nod before replying, "Hello," and offering him a small smile in return.

She responded with a polite nod and a short greeting, to which Mawk replied "I don't think I've met you before, what's your name?" Honestly, if she wasn't in the mood for a chat that was more than okay, he just thought that maybe it would be nice to have a relatively normal conversation amongst all the angst of recent times. "I'm Mawk." Perhaps introducing himself would be a good place to start, and hopefully he could gain a friend if they hit it off well enough (he was so caught up in his family and trying to protect them that he'd not really made a huge number of friends despite being here for like a year).

"I'm Brynn. I'm new here." She hadn't met anyone other than Howl and Valette of course, and wanted to become familiar with other members of the pack, too. She gave him a shy smile. "I was just getting familiar with the territory. Social interactions were a little hard for her right now as she was still trying to adjust to the change from being a lone wolf, but she wouldn't mind company. "You can join me if you'd like," she said shrugging and looking a little awkward. He knew this area better than she did, anyway.

Brynn. He committed the name to memory, glad that he usually could recount names with relative ease. He returned the smile, nodding slowly, "I'd love to join you." He was lucky enough to have been in Easthollow for a long time now (and a few packs before that) so he was more than used to the daily social interaction, even if he was not perfect at it himself. "Where'd you come from, if you don't mind me asking?" He'd never seen her before, perhaps she had an interesting backstory (though he did not want to pressure her into speaking of it, since he was far too aware that not all stories were pleasant.)

At Mawk's acceptance of her offer, Brynn continued walking. He soon asked where she came from, and she tensed. She knew it was a question that would be asked many times as she continued to meet other wolves in the pack, but she still cringed at the thought of talking about her past. 

She glanced at him briefly before finally answering. "Just a little north of Teekon," was all she offered. Not wanting to linger too long on her painful backstory, she quickly changed the subject and asked, "Have you been in Easthollow for a while? How do you like it?" She thought it seemed nice here, and the alpha had been welcoming enough.

He noticed her body go tense, and he regretted asking the question. Hopefully she wouldn't feel inclined to answer, because clearly there was something that she did not wish to speak about (and he respected that). He nodded to her short reply, not pressing on the matter for it was clear she wanted to move on - he wouldn't deny her that silent request.

"I've been here for just over a year I believe, with my..." He hesistated, but quickly recovered. "With my mate and kids. It's good here - we've had some... rough spots, but none of it was to do with Easthollow. Valette is a wonderful alpha, and I can assure you you can put your trust in her." He left out how much he hurt, how much he regretted his past decisions, and how guilty he felt for not removing those who had caused his family so much pain before they had the chance to deal the damage. Burr's death was not all your fault, he reminded himself harshly (despite still feeling guilty), though the matter of his son's passing was not the only negative thing on his mind. "Do you plan to stay long?"

Brynn picked up the brief hesitation with his answer but didn't say anything about it, just continued to listen as he went on to tell her about Valette. She had only met her once, but she liked the alpha and thought she seemed like someone she could follow. 

I hope so, she said in response to his question. It was all still pretty new, and she had a bit of insecurity about whether or not she would fit in with the pack after being on her own for so long. She was glad to be here and have the security of a pack again, but it would take her some time to adjust to the ways of pack life. She didn't need to live her life day to day anymore, only concerned with staying live. Now, she could begin to form bonds with her packmates, as daunting as that task sounded, but she hoped it would get easier as she became more settled.

If it's okay imma begin to close this up so I don't keep you waiting anymore <3 thank you for the thread

The scout gave a short nod, a gentle smile taking hold of his masculine features. "I look forward to seeing you around, then." Hopefully, she would remain on his good side, for he was growing weary of those who broke up his family as though they were pieces of a difficult puzzle that none could fully complete. His head tipped up to peer at the sky and upon noticing how the sun had begun to dip beyond the horizon, the man stood and dipped his head, wishing the wolfess farewell before disappearing into another section of the territory to check up on what of his relations did remain.

Np!

Brynn gave a polite nod and watched the male named Mawk turn and move away from her. She was honestly glad their interaction had been a little short. She was still feeling pretty rough around the edges, and too much socializing made her anxious. It was nothing against the male; he seemed friendly enough, but until she was more settled, she would probably be keeping mostly to herself. Once he was gone from her sight, she began walking through the trees again, listening to the sounds of the forest as she explored.