Shadewood integrity, faith and crocodile tears

Despite her promise to keep @Tegan company, Bat itched to get out and about. Promising not to be gone long, the youth traipsed down the plateau's natural declivity. She paused at the bottom, then decided to head west. The air was cool, the sky overcast. There was an interesting scent in the air, one Bat couldn't pinpoint.

When it began to snow partway through her trek, she drew up and blinked, staring in open wonder. Bat wished there was someone she could ask about what she was seeing. Was this normal? When she looked down and realized it was accumulating, her jaw dropped.

Skipping joyfully through the gathering white powder, Bat eventually found herself at a riverbank. She shivered at the thought of crossing, yet today her sense of wander (do you see what I did there?) was stronger than her aversion to a momentary chill. She found a shallow spot and waded across. She was shivering, teeth chattering, when she reached the far side.

Bat wanted to run to get warm, though she stayed there at the water's edge after catching the scent of wolves. It smelled sort of like an entire pack, which immediately intrigued her. Silver eyes shining impishly, she threw back her head and howled, requesting an audience with someone who might assist her in joining the resident pack.

Just as he broke away from Kai's sleeping side and managed to encourage @Phex to journey along with him on this extreme path back to his Empress, Cry was pulled back to memories of his own required appearance at the borders of this fresh home. Shaking his thick coat of obsidian out, the assassin made his way to the end of the treeline. Breaking free from the shadows of the peaceful and slumbering woods, the Phantom assessed the howl long before he showed himself to answer the call. The pitch was high, wobbled slightly in octaves, and acute in length. It wasn't deperate, nor pleading in any way; seemed there nothing amiss. This was curiousity; and with a chuckle, the ex-Nightmare recalled how he was surprised to find Phex so freely behind the makeshift borders, enjoying her company with both Tula and the waterfalls of the Verona Bank - a section he had only recently named himself- which hosted enriching waters brimmed with minerals and a marvelous temperature in which to enjoy them. She was enjoying them, alright, and was bashless about it.

It seemed that with their added numbers, the youth who had come to seek whoever lived here knew not to tread past such a thickening border. That reduced the strain of hunting them down, and Cry immediately appreciated it. However, as both he and the tawn and ivory cream female came to the place of calling, the Phantom noticed not only him being right in assuming this was indeed a youth, but a youger youth! This was actually an adolescent, not even a year old. Cry, though he were near experienced in all other sections of reality, had near no understanding when it came to the younger-than-a-yearlings; hell, he hadn't even had any pups of his own. So Bat caught him as a rock in a hard place ought to be. However, it was clear her body had grown more than a pup's would happen to be, and the Guardian sincerely hoped her mindset was just as matured, if not well on way of ripening free of kiddy antics.

Walking up to the slim but leanly muscled youth, Cry kept his calm mask afoot as he greeted her. While his maw worked, his nares did also, sending his mind on yet another tirade of questions and answers. "Hello," he began while the avalanche began against the slate grey, nearly black in the night child. 'A youngling?! Who's? Can't be that coywolf's, no. Did she send them? Has their parent been made aware of this? Were they followed?' His glacials scanned the trees behind the youth, only to return as no movement convinced him otherwise. 'Seems not; but what would this seem to be to the parent?' Hopefully this child hadn't come seeking shelter; this could possibly start a massacre before they even got established! Kai was already repairing herself - hell forbid he die trying to protect her as she fought and killed herelf trying to protect him. And what would Gwen think? Him being unable to collect her - it would break the ivoria even more than what she was, already. Fuck.

"Did you need something?"

Every chant in his dome prayed this encounter go smoothly, calmly, and without tresspass or treason.

Phex trailed along after Cry, her bath to clean herself of evidence of her bear-hunt and curious investigation of the bird, named Tula, was interrupted by a howl. It held a demand and she would oblige with Cry's company; intrigued as to whom would be asking for them. Perhaps it was a nearby pack, the one she'd scented upon the isle, demanding information about them. A small frown crossed her maw in concern; she'd never had troubles such as this before. But if she wanted to be a leader she'd have to learn -- and saw Cry as the perfect opportunity to develop under -- to be patient and welcoming. Although she was welcoming to most, when put into a place of leadership the youth became serious and tried to apply all her wisdom into the situations she was faced with. 

This said, when her eyes landed on the girl that seemed younger than herself it aroused suspicion within her. Her eyes darted about while Cry greeted the adolescent; expecting there to be a trap of some sort. She found no signs -- but then again she wasn't the best to be relied upon -- and relaxed the best she could. She didn't want her family to be accused of taking the adolescent, if it crossed at its own will then so be it. But if hardships were to come from it the youth would resolve it with the lack of teeth and bloodshed.
That was not her calling.

Her eyes looked to Cry as he asked his question, her mind echoing it -- do you need something? -- and quietly sat down, her tail brushing up the leaves around them. The girl loved youngsters, loved caring for them, she'd been a sitter for her aunties brood a few number of times, but this situation was different. But this adolescent seemed too old for sitting (How dare she even think they would need that treatment?!) That is if they were trying to join in the first place.
As usual, her childish ways of thinking had clouded her judgement.

Not one but two wolves arrived to greet her. Maybe she should've grown wary at being outnumbered but Bat could only think, Well, I feel special. Her tail stirred tentatively as the pair came closer. Although she wanted to keep looking at them—especially the female's pretty patterning—she ducked her head and avoided their gazes.

If she'd known the two had pegged her as a pup, Bat would have been affronted. She was, after all, nearly seven months of age and fully grown. She was also quite serious about her trade pursuits, which included scouting and, hopefully as of today, some roguery... if everything went according to plan. And if she could keep her lies straight.

"Hello! Thanks for coming. I'm Apple and I seek to join your pack," she replied to the dark male's opening, getting straight to the point. Maybe it was a good thing she couldn't look at them; maybe it would make it easier to connive.

He listened to her request, his wintery gems swivelling to catch Phex's own inquisitive gaze. Winter met cold spring, and in his own eyes, he silently asked the tawny girl 'Should we even?' Turning back to the slate youth, Cry assessed the situation. Though he was free from his family at an extremely young age, and though it were by choice, he knew it were probably far from what this youth was going through. Why had they left their home?

Being unable to catch any scents upon the dark flint pelt, the ebonian had a hard choice to make. Did this wolf really need a home? Were they a runaway? What if they were trying to hide from a pack of their own, and he fostered nothing but trouble?

The words of Gwen echoed in his mind, repeating the soft and delicate dulcets of which he couldn't exactly refuse. If this child was looking for a place, then perhaps it was one of the lost souls that Gwen was speaking of. Still his gut tried to refuse such a notion, wondering where the snivel and plead was, where the theatrics lay, wondering why such a haste to join had been shown. The Phantom was at odds with this judgement, but putting his faith in his Empress' words, he nodded. Yet, a cant edged his crown sideways, and he added his prohibition to the allowance.

"You might have solace with us- but first, we will need you to accompany us on a trip." To show his honor, he introduced himself, straightening his head and posture, the assassin let his alias fall from his lips. "I am Cry." A gentle twist of angle and his obsidian snout pointed in the direction of his sand and earthly sheathed company. "And this is Phex." Bringing his gaze back to the youth, the leader of this little group made his analytical mind up..

They had just finished the meeting to speak as to why this trip was taking place, and it was made excruciatingly clear, that business spoken within the pack would stay in the pack. This rule now applied to both he and Phex, as Apple was an unknown wolf. This would also test the accomplice in her potential for ambassadorship.

"Agreed?"

She caught his gaze and the meaning behind it, but her eyes studied the girl before them. She would let Cry reveal what he wanted, for she knew that was far better -- she had the tendency to say the wrong things -- but instead opted to mention the Apple she knew as it seemed harmless to do so.
"I know an Apple, she's a nice old lady. Came through here and I believe is resting before she moves on." She smiled fondly at the thought of the dame for her presence had made Phex want to stay here more than ever; despite the imminent departure the woman would perhaps take. 

Her keen eyes watched the adolescent with a kindness for she expected not to find deception in one so young for she herself was only just older. One day, Phex would learn something new about socialization and it will change her mindset when meeting newcomers. But for now, she accepted the presence of the girl and allowed her tail the wag with a greeting, noting any change in the adolescent's features. 

Bat didn't have much firsthand experience with joining packs, however, she thought she knew what to expect: they would ask her about her skills, she would ask them more about the pack and it would be up to Bat to make a case about how she could contribute to make it better.

Instead, the male, Cry, mentioned a trip. The scout's brows raised. Hell yeah! was her immediate inward reaction, though she quailed a little in the following seconds when she realized this might prove a quandary. It didn't help that Phex evidently knew the real Apple whose name Bat had just stolen. The youth swallowed.

"What kind of trip?" she asked, suppressing the urge to kick herself. Why couldn't she ever seem to lie without it immediately backfiring? Bat was genuinely curious about this voyage though. "That's a crazy coincidence," she added in reply to Phex before wondering aloud to them both, "Hey, what's the pack called, anyway?"

With Phex’s mention of another ‘Apple’ and this being a younger Apple, while Phex described the Apple she knew to be older, Cry’s suspicion was planted and began to send root. Sending a curious gaze to the youthful but keen Phex, his curiosity soon spoke something more akin to ‘We’re going to talk about this later’, before the winter jewels were brought back to the sooty youngling.

The assassin may have thought himself inept as the prospect of determining youth, but when it came to reading reactions, the swarthy Phantom was rather on the dime. Glacials watched the eyebrows raise and that enough provoked a smile from him. It was meant to seem reassuring, but his eyes hadn’t moved from hers, nor had his head shifted to a more comforting position.
He was watching her, and her shock hadn’t done anything to prove her case.

“An odd one, indeed,” he surmised before choosing to begin his walk into the quickest path to start this extreme journey. 

“We can give you a few details on the way. But meanwhile, I’m sure we’d rather find out a bit more of who we’d be adding to our ranks,” he continued the walk. Turning back over his shoulder to see if the apparent double was coming, he asked again. “Is that fine with you, Apple?”

 

Phex’s eyes hovered on Cry’s, hoping he’d know she was not one for lying. Only when it mattered. She chose to look to Tula and, again, started inspecting the ways her colours shimmered in the filtered, dim lighting.

Indeed, the bird had a grand crown but that didn’t seem right. Not when a bear lived in their midst. But what she noticed now was far more interesting, for now the youth had noticed a belt of brown crossing the midsection of the bird, reaching to her wings. 

Then, Cry moved, signaling to Phex to follow; she’d only heard the words spoken between them and wondered why he’d invited that the big-eared girl to join them. From what Phex understood, it was a private matter.

It wasn't just indecision that rooted Bat to the spot as the other two began to move, apparently setting off on this impromptu trip right this very second. It was also honest to goodness perplexity. Was it standard to force a recruit to accompany them on some sort of trek with absolutely no context up front? If it was, Bat was glad she didn't actually seek to join this pack. That was a bit too much cloak and dagger for her... and she was training, subtly, to become a rogue.

"Ah," she blurted as they began to disembark, clearly expecting her to follow. It occurred to her, in that very moment, that they might be on to her, suspect of her motivations. How could that possibly be? Bat wracked her brain and could come up with nothing other than the name, which was the world's weakest evidence. Maybe they could read minds or possessed some other unfathomable superpowers? She couldn't guess.

But right then and there, she knew the jig was up. It was a mission: incomplete. Although disappointed, Bat silently reminded herself that it was still a good experience. She'd definitely learned something in this first abortive attempt to sneak her way into a pack. She would definitely have to try again, somewhere else, probably after she hashed out the details with Tegan...

"On second thought, this doesn't feel like a good fit," the juvenile eventually said, one slender shoulder blade rising and dropping in a simulation of a sheepish shrug. "Uh," she hemmed awkwardly in the next breath, "thanks for your time." I guess... Bat turned to go.

And just like that, everything looked up for him. He didn’t have to worry about furious parents coming to get their kid back into the birth pack, his worries of the youth possibly crafting some kind of family drama in the peaceful sorority he oversaw faded away into oblivion as those slender shoulders rose to deter them. Only the blissful part was that it hadn’t . 

Continuing the walk from Shadewood’s forestry front, he called back to the coal youth. “What a shame. Then you have a fair day, miss.” It did well to illustrate he wasn’t embarking on this trip because of her, but it was a preplanned thing before she had even arrived. Whether she chose to change her mind or not and tag along would not have changed their course as they were heading to the winterlands regardless. 

Last post ^.^

When the girl announced she wasn't to stay with them, a great weight lifted from the skewbald girl's body, a feeling she'd never experienced before. She didn't even know she'd been tense in the meeting, and wondered how she'd got so wound up over an adolescent. Was this her life to be? Caught up in secrets and hiding the truth forever? Or was it just the weight of the task ahead getting to her.

Either way, she let it go. She wouldn't let anything dampen her sanguine air. 
With that last thought of the girl, she cast only an ear back before diving off to the side with a yell of happiness towards a patch of undergrowth to investigate; leaving the pair to say their last goodbyes or whatever.