Swiftcurrent Creek paper crown

The sky was still awash with grey clouds when he returned to the creek borders, @Shaara at his side. Their journey had been swift and short, something that aided in soothing the Valento's concerns; he doubted the peppered wolfess would be turned away, with numbers so low, but he maintained his composure regardless. He supposed there was no real use in recruiting wolves who didn't do anything to help the pack, and in any case, it was not his decision to make.

Large paws slowed to a halt in the dusting of snow, and he shot a quick glance toward the darker woman before tipping his muzzle to the sky and calling for @Constantine, who could make the final judgement. Recruiting wolves proved to be a somewhat difficult task, and while the pair waited, Soltero silently pondered the reasons - perhaps most wolves had already found shelter for the winter?

As much conversation as they shared in the short time period that they had, Shaara could almost relax at this point. Almost. She still hadn’t met this Alpha of his, and while Soltero was a rather chill dude, she was dubious of damn near everything at this point. Most namely psychotic brothers who murdered their fathers. But wasn’t everybody a bit crazy at this point in life? Hell, she just thought about manipulating Soltero into giving her a piggyback ride over a damn river and she had just met the guy today. 
Had to be the Era of the Crazy, at this point.

Lightly snowed feet nimbly picked up and put down tracks where the Keil followed her guide/inductor. All while they talked, she listed plenty of differences between herself and him, watching him with a gilded gaze of amusement and faux risings where the indications were needed to prove she was in the moment as he was. But was she? Stained glass eyes and colorful words were all she had left, but she used them when needed. 

Shaara waited, halting her gait as Tero did while he called for Constantine. How would this go? Or rather, what had she gotten herself into, this time?

Summoned, the swarthy shadowrunner stalked toward the borders, his gaze intent upon Soltero, despite the peppered wolf he had brought home. The silver wolf had been an active addition to the pack, slowly winning over the trust of the regal, close to the point that he felt the pack was not a pointless cause to carry forward.

As he swept forward, closing the distance between himself and the other two, his gaze finally drifted over the she-wolf, his nose tipping up slightly as he tested her scent in the air, finding no disease or illness detectable. Not that he believed his comrade would bring sickness to their pack.

“Hello,” he rumbled, slowing his pace as he gave a nod of greeting. Constantine went through the motions for the time being—his mate having left, and his son missing. His form remained rigid—stiff in his firm claim to the pack as he moved to channel his emotions to one thing—raise a glorious pack that could become family. “I'm Constantine. And you are?”

short to keep it moving <3

Constantine was quick to arrive, and the Zeta ducked his head in a solemn display of respect - his eyes met the dark fur of the regal's cheek, avoiding his gaze so as not to challenge him, and then peered toward the dappled wolfess with a hopeful glimmer in his gaze; he could not present any reasons why Shaara would be turned away, but the judgement was not his to make, so he would silence. Soltero did not interrupt, and allowed the newcomer to speak for herself, willing to provide aid if it was needed.

Shaara was speechless, momentarily. Not because she had nothing to say- the girl could weave a speech out of thin air over something completely unrelated, should she care enough to. No, she was speechless because this Constantine was remarkable. And she was attracted to it. Not for his colors or anything, but something living, primal and full of interest had commanded her to actually lust for this particular wolf. It had something to do with his mannerisms and position, she mentally mused. Or was it them sharing eye colors? Was it simply because of his authority? Or was it how he displayed it like some scarred king? 

Shaking her rambling away, Shaara eased back into the moment, anticipation and anxiety failing to find common ground in her heart. “Hey. Name’s Shaara”, the Keil replied to the stocky man, darting those luminescent ambers to the muscles forelimbs of the Alpha. “Just looking for a place to stay, and hopefully pay back my dues.” Her ears slanted against the crux of her head as her hinds lowered a bit, bringing half of her belly and pride with it. There was no reason to hate it - it was meant to be. Otherwise she’d probably get chased off, and it was way too cold for that shit. 
Why did Constantine look so familiar to her?

The warm topaz slid up those legs to scoot across that dark chest and rest across the left of his neck. “I’m pretty decent at hunting; I’ve got a thing for strategy. I’m extremely bad at fishing though,” the salted pepper through out there honestly.

@Shaara @Soltero Holidays... bleeggh. Finally here!

If her interest had been piqued by him, the she-wolf had hidden it well, and the Mayfair remained oblivious. His eyes scoured over her, the pattern of her pelt reminding him fiercely of his son, Akavir, though her own peppering was more pronounced. HIs tail lashed, ending the comparison there, and as she introduced herself, offering a brief breakdown of her talent, the male gave a brusque nod, his muzzle lifting to glance back to Soltero, who chose to remain silent.

“Glè mhath,” he rumbled, the old tongue of this father a comfort to him. Somehow, he had lost himself before. But he intended to put the pieces back together. “Very well,” he repeated in common tongue, a nod given to Soltero. “If Soltero deems your worth, then I trust him.” He paused, his features remaining stoical as he studied the male before him. There was no better time than now. “I’ve been meaning to ask you if you would favor the position of Beta.”

<3

The smoky knight listened in continued silence, prepared to voice his own thoughts if it was required of him; the introduction appeared to go smoothly without his assistance, and he felt a sliver of relief course through his stomach - the creek needed more wolves, and Shaara would be a welcome addition, he was certain. When Constantine gave his acceptance, the Valento passed a small smile in the dappled girl's direction, before his gaze returned to the darker alpha, ears cupped forward to listen.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you if you would favor the position of Beta.”

It took him off guard for a second, and he blinked in mild surprise before his features settled and his head dipped with respect -- he knew what his answer would be. The traveller did not intend to let his duties slide, and he felt an unspoken desire to remain at the creek, do as much work as he could; it felt good to be acknowledged for what he'd already done, too, and his tail swayed slowly at his hind. "I would be honoured," the young man said at last, feeling a wave of determination even more strong than the first wash through him.

He would not disappoint the regal.

You all good, hun~

Shaara was both relieved and somehow disappointed he hadn’t acted on her heart-stopped revelation; but she couldn’t be mad about it. She couldn’t telepathically send her emotions or thoughts to the man. Just couldn’t pull her heart outta thin air either, apparently. 

It was already troublesome she was flirting with Soltero- now gunning for the Alpha? Damn, WITH heat coming in a month or two? Like how the hell was she supposed to survive this shit without isolating herself away somewhere? Maybe she could acquaint herself with swimming AND fishing-

“Thank you,” she humbly slid her tail back and forth across the frigid ground. She would’ve gone the extra mile to give a light ‘appreciative’ lick under his jaw, but she kept her ass put. Too soon. Too much!

With his next words, she turned to Soltero, a happy grin slapping itself into a slender maw. The small salted pepper was happy for him. Even happier that maybe her recruitment had helped boost his spot in the pack. “Good for you,” she barked at the bicolor male. Well she was actually happy for him. 

Trying to move herself to have room enough to include both in her next statements, she had hoped the celebration was over before she interjected a slight, “Should there be anything I need to know before settling in? Anything special I should look forward to, or others I should meet?”

Soltero accepted his offer—something the swarthy wolf found relief in. Swiftcurrent Creek had only ever seen him and Durnehviir as its leaders, and it felt as if they were able to move forward by accepting a wolf as Beta. Soltero had earned it—and while his eye had drifted to Arms frequently for the position, he was uncertain how the politics of the pack would adjust to that shift.

“I’m grateful,” he rumbled, allowing the topic to once more drift to their newcomer. Shaara was eager to assimilate herself in to the ranks—something the Alpha could appreciate, and his muzzle gave a quiet tip of acknowledgement to this. He would offer her insight to their laws, while beginning to lure both wolves past the borders and on a quick tour among their her new home.