Sun Mote Copse There's a song in my heart now

Firebirds, Wildfire said to herself as a frigid breeze tousled the red fur of her nape. The pack felt more or less official these days, their presence now firmly established in the copse. They had clear borders, several caches and even a rendezvous site. At least, she thought this spot would make for a good one. There were no young pups, yet the pack could use it for gatherings, both formal and casual. It was the very same clearing she'd rested in during her first visit, a lovely little glen right near the center of the forest. It was ringed by slender trees, currently leafless, bare boughs dusted with snow, and felt very much like the copse's heart.

Springing atop the log that rested off to one side of the open space, the Sovereign decided to rally her pack mates. She tipped her charcoal muzzle toward the pale blue winter sky and rose a howl, hoping to hear from—or better yet, see—@Corinna, @Finbar, @Kiwi, @Maia, @Sequoia and @Wraen (as well as @Colt and @Eljay if they were here). She hoped to formally declare this the Firebirds' rendezvous site, hopefully with one or more of her followers' sanction.

The call didn't sound very urgent, but Eljay just happened to be nearby when it sounded anyway. He heard the optionality in coming -- besides, everyone was called -- but figured that he could help with whatever needed helping with if needed. Truthfully, Eljay wasn't too sure what he should do to help. Should he mark borders, or like.. find a good rendezvous site? But there probably wouldn't be any pups anytime soon, Wiffle had said, so it made no sense that he would find them a site anyway. Though maybe they needed such a site even without pups, where the adults gathered... Hmm.

Anyway, Eljay dropped his fussing and mindless doing-of-nothing (or rather, exploring the copse) and made his way over to Wildfire. "Hey Wiffle," he said and he smiled at her, then waited for others to arrive and for Wiffle to state her intentions. Eljay only realised he'd called her 'wiffle' after the fact, and he studied her face closely to make sure she didn't mind being called that. After all, it more mommy's nickname for her that he had simply adopted from, well, being around mommy a lot -- okay, fine, all the time -- as a kid.

It was almost a week now, since Wraen had decided to stay with Wildfire, and so far she did not regret taking rest from travelling at all. She had had her fill at the caches, but were soon out and about, tracking and hunting on her own. Winter wasn't any easier here than elsewhere, but something about the copse gave the hungry she-wolf hope and inspiration not to give up and try again.

She had also rekindled her friendship with Sequoia and found a pleasant packmate in Finbar as well. Life seemed on the upward stream now and she only hoped that this good feeling about the whole ordeal would never cease. 

Wraen arrived shortly after Wildfire's song summoned them to a certain location and caught sight of a wolf, who she had not yet seen among those, who had decided to join the russet Redhawk's cause, but his face did seem strangely familiar. "Hi!" she told both of the wolves and sat down to wait for the others.

im gonna regret this but I WANNA DO IT

 

Maia was napping lazily when the call came, and didn't want to rouse.  She'd picked her and Wraen out a nice sunny nook to sleep in and it was comfy as heck, but she groaned and got to her feet to walk slowly to the place where Wildfire called from.

As she arrived, she saw one other, and her almost hello turned into a huge yawn.

It was such a relief, still, to be summoned by a leader that didn't sound like a dying donkey.  Words never to be spoken in anyone's earshot, but Colt's ears pricked with interest.  

Hey, he said as he strolled in right on the heels of a girl who looked like she'd just rolled out of bed.  Not a bad idea for a day like today, honestly, but he'd been checking out the sights.  He gave her a curious look, but didn't ask... he figured Wildfire would be commanding the attention anyway after her call.  Instead he gave Eljay a nod and a smile of hello, then turned his attention to their new leader.

Kiwi was a little dubious of their new members.  She liked Eljay well enough, and was excited to maybe learn some healing from him.  But Sequoia liked Wraen a lot, and that immediately made her jealously territorial of their friendship, though she did make an effort not to be obvious about it to her friend.  And Colt - she hoped he wasn't eyeing an honored rank, because her mom was leader and she was here longer and that meant she had clout.  More than he had, at least.

She stalked past, not overly hostile but not exactly friendly, before greeting her mom with a quick kiss on the cheek.  Hey! What's goin on?  She asked, sitting near and tilting her head questioningly.

As a howl sounded in the wood, the brooding wolf curtailed his thoughts and decided to investigate. It wasn't far. As he moved, Tulimaq came to the conclusion that it was the red-coated stranger from weeks ago — and he found himself interested in seeing their progress. It was not long before he caught wind of many wolf scents and soon enough, their silhouettes. They were a motley crew; at first glance he thought he saw a fox among them and did a double take (Kiwi), but his gaze continued to slide along until he'd looked at every figure poised in attention; this was what he'd wanted of his mountain. Tulimaq could not help but feel a stab of jealousy at the following, but he remained stoic. It would be best to keep his thoughts to himself while he lurked here, gathering information. When his gaze finally traced to Wildfire he recognized her — yes, that woman from before — and wondered if she'd notice him loitering.

Halfway through satisfying an itch by swinging one of his hind feet at one of his dark ears- and only hitting it every third or fourth stroke, given the belly he had to swing his hind leg around in order to reach his ear- Fluke paused, quirking said itchy ear for a moment before a wide grin spread on his features. He tried to stand but ended up flopping sideways lightly, as that one hind foot had still been held out to the side before he'd tried to stand. Shaking out his fur, though some of the snow still coated one of his silver-speckled sides, he picked up a trot and began to pick his way through the drifts of snow toward the clearning that the call had come from. 

He was a bit out of breath when he reached them, and as he approached, he was faced with the important decision of who to sit beside. There wasn't a wolf among them that he didn't like- and the few he didn't recognize still looked like the nice sort of wolves. As he approached, though, he nearly tripped over himself again when he suddenly caught sight of another wolf- a rugged looking male- off near the outskirts, just watching. He paused for a moment, giving the stoic stranger a grin and gestured with a jerk of his muzzle toward the group meeting. "C'mon over, bud, looks like it's just getting started," He said good-naturedly, and continued toward the group simply assuming that Tulimaq would follow.

He could pick out a few small groups of wolves that obviously knew each other- such as Kiwi, Maia, Sequoia and Wraen, and the two males who sat near each other seemed to know each other as well. Fluke unashamedly sat himself between the two gatherings, bridging the gap between them and regarded the one who'd brought them all together- Wildfire- with a warm smile.

Wildfire's heart soared when nearly every one of her new pack mates arrived shortly thereafter. Eljay came first, greeting her by her nickname, which the Sovereign didn't mind in the least. She gave him a smile, which she turned on the sisters, Wraen and Maia, as they materialized. She noted the latter's yawn with a quiet chortle, then jumped down from her perch to better greet Kiwi, who appeared at the same time as Colt. She returned her daughter's kiss and offered Colt a nod. Before she could answer Kiwi's question (and ask if she'd seen @Sequoia or @Corinna), she heard a familiar voice and looked over her girl's head to see Finbar speaking to someone she didn't know.

Swiftly, Wildfire loped over to intercept the stranger in their midst. Here was her opportunity to set an example of how she would like perceived trespassers to be treated. Finbar had already addressed him kindly, which was good. By the time she closed the gap, she realized she did know this wolf. She stopped and stared at him for a beat, scrambling to remember his name. "Tu—" she began, faltering for a second before an aha! look came over her face. "Tulimaq? What are you doing here?" Her tone was cordial and guarded in equal measure.

Since this is a group thread, I'll post every few days. Don't worry about order, just try to post once per "round." :)

whoops when i read this i didn't even realize it was a group thread idk why

corinna rolled up late, fashionably, even. her gaze, mint and struck with interest, fell around the clearing. she had met few of these wolves -- save for the thick one, finbar -- and had no interest in making herself known to others. not yet. she was aloof (the definition that means cool and distant), quiet, certainly mysterious. but her scent was present around the borders. she'd been patrolling, filling caches. just, independently. 

she'd interact when she wanted to, for now she liked keeping to herself. 

she gave wildfire a deep nod of respect, paired with a gentle smile, before settling nearby the pair that she would later learn to be wrean and maia. she offered them a polite dip of her head, ears flicking.

He was not hidden or trying to lurk, unlike his usual tactics, and certainly wasn't here to test anyone in combat. He didn't really know why he was here at all rather than upon his mountain — but it was probably related to his bruised ego and the scar that cleaved across his rib cage. When one of the strangers noticed him and called out to him, he followed that invitation and drifted closer. Tulimaq was not as wary of these wolves as he perhaps should have been; assuming he understood their intention to claim the woods and their connection to the plateau pack, it would be unwise for him to make a scene or let himself become too controlling in this moment.

When the attention of the host drifted his way he stopped. Wildfire drifted closer and after pausing, appeared to recognize him. He wished he had a better answer than, I need somewhere to stay. It felt like admitting defeat. His heart was still devoted to the mountain; he would conquer it one day, but until he chose to take up that challenge again, he was willing to pledge himself here. Although his features remained neutral a subtle sourness crept across his expression as he added, The winter has not been kind.

She was waiting for an answer, and gave the soft Ughh of a long suffering daughter when, instead of answering, her mom ran off to meet a newcomer.  Priorities, of course, but that didn't mean she had to like bein left to wait!  

Fine.  She should probably try to meet some of these wolves around here.  She'd pass on sleepy - she didn't look worth the time right now.  And Wraen was there, and a part of Kiwi stubbornly didn't want to like her knowing how much Sequoia liked her.  She was definitely going to have to get over that.

That left Eljay, who she knew, Corinne, who she didn't like, and the older guy who she also resented because she was sure he was going to try to horn in on her honored spot.  She was off to a thrilling start.  Finbar and the new one were talking to her mom.  Ok fine.  Wraen and sleepy it is.  And Corrine - she should probably get that over with.

Hey.  Wraen, right?  I'm Sequoia's friend, Kiwi.  She glanced at Corrine, then looked back to the two expectantly.  If Wildfire wasn't starting straight off this seemed good a time as any.

Few others joined and Wraen was quite surprised to find out that Firebirds were a bigger bunch than she had imagined earlier. She watched Maia's sleepy entrance with an amused smile, gave an acknowledging nod to Finbar and followed curiously the interaction between Wildfire and the newcomer, whose name she missed, because someone else addressed her. A wolf clad in a coat of various hues of browns and vibrant green eyes that somehow were very similar to her own.

"That I am - nice to meet you!" Wraen replied. "This is my sister Maia," she beckoned to Maia. "And we are cousins to Wildfire."

Unexpectedly, Wildfire left the congregation to go greet the fellow that Fluke had invited over with them on his way toward the group. He looked over one of his shoulders, half feeling bad realizing now that the guy he'd so casually invited wasn't actually a member of the pack- and that he'd potentially just thrown a warm welcome out to a complete stranger who didn't actually belong with them. Fortunately, though, it seemed as though Wildfire knew the guy, and he seemed to be safe enough. He still watched out of the corner of his eye, though, just in case anything got out of hand. Fluke found the rugged fellow a bit intimidating- and didn't want anything to happen to Wildfire because he'd invited the stranger to join them.

His words took her by surprise. Wildfire's lips parted as she looked him over, catching a glimpse of the gnarled flesh on his flank. Despite it, Tulimaq looked to be in good shape. She would've liked to assess him more thoroughly, talk to him about his talents, but she would have to do that later. For now, she needed to make a quick decision so she could return to the impromptu rally.

"You're welcome here. I'm going to address the pack now, though I'd love to talk to you one-on-one later." She dipped her head, then swiveled and returned to a more central position among the group. The Firebirds were talking among themselves and she observed quietly for a moment, smiling softly.

"Okay, everyone!" she eventually interrupted, raising her voice just a little to be heard. "I wanted to invite you all here to see what you thought of this spot. I was thinking it could be the rendezvous site. Since there're no young pups right now, it'll be a general gathering and resting place. Feel free to take a look around and let me know what you think! If you think there's somewhere else more suitable, let me know. That's it!"

She grinned fondly at them all, then retreated a step or two, sitting near the log, waiting and watching to see what the Firebirds thought of—The Roost? Wildfire caught herself thinking, wondering if the Redhawks would mind her borrowing the name.

Eljay looked at all that happened -- all the other wolves that arrived, one apparently not yet part of the pack, who was invited to join. It was all rather chaotic and Eljay found it hard to socialise with anyone. He just stood there, feeling like he should be socialising but also anxious to actually do so and hoping no one would speak directly to him because he'd just tumble over his words, surely.

Wiffle then announced the reason for this meeting: an invitation to look at this as a rendezvous site. The thought of puppies come spring made Eljay excited -- he hoped that there'd be some so he could sit on them, err, well, not literally, of course -- but he also thought back to Owen, Kite, Vasa and Phoebe and how he missed them -- and Raven -- already. It was weird being away from them. Eljay just waited until Wiffle announced they should have a look around this place. He then waited until people actually started to look around and then he started sniffing about the glen, mostly just pretending very much to be super busy with checking things out and stuff so that he looked like he was contributing, when in fact Eljay wasn't sure what he should be looking for, exactly.

Oh.  She's my mom, Kiwi responded proudly, though she figured that made them family too?  Huh.

She didn't have too much time to respond to that though, because now her mom was finally telling them all why she had called them.  This place would make a good rendezvous, but the important use (pup site) escaped her, so Kiwi wasn't sure it was a big enough deal to have warranted all this.  She'd ask later.

She had a follow up question anyway.  Do you two know any healing? She was on a kick lately and, while she could get some good lessons from Eljay, wouldn't hurt to have options.

Maia wasn't really big on the girl asking them questions, mainly because she hadn't even said hi to her? But hey, whatever, she was tired anyway.  It was probably because Wildfire had interrupted too, not that the pack leader could really interrupt a meeting she called.... ah, she knew what she meant.

Nope! No healing.  Maia replied first to Kiwi's question, noting the 'you two'.  Least... I don't think? She glanced at her sister and gave a little tail wag of uncertainty.  Wraen hadn't ever said she knew anything, but Maia guessed she'd never really asked either.  

But if you need any exploring done, I'm your girl.  Me and Wraen have been all over.  Mostly!  This wolf was definitely not old enough to be giving orders (right?) but the way she talked, Maia supposed it couldn't hurt to say it so she didn't seem completely useless right now.

Wraen was slightly amused by the way the young wolf adressed them, because she was younger than her by a lot and younger than Maia as well. Kiwi could not have much seen of life and the world yet, but she had such a burden of responsibility on her shoulders already. It would be wrong to tease her because of that and yet... having someone, who had only recently slipped in the adult shoes, as your superior felt a bit odd. Whether it would turn into a joke, time would show.

Wraen's inner thoughts and musings were kept to herself only, outwardly she was polite and patient, and interested in, what the girl told and asked them, turning her attention to Wildfire, when she explained the reason for the meeting, and then back to Kiwi. "I am sorry, I cannot help you in that area," she said. "Small game hunting is my forte, on the other hand. We could do that together some day."

from the other side of wrean and maia -- corinna listened intently. she learned the trades of the three wolves around her, as well as their names and relations. interesting. the caramel dipped she-wolf flicked and ear, and then chimed in. 

"i'm quite skilled in the trade of healing," she offered to kiwi, who she quite vividly remembered from her first trip to the copse, "i'd be glad to give you some lessons." her eyes glinted, remembering how entitled the little girl had been upon their last interaction. if she would be as humble as to accept teachings from her, corinna could easily knock her down a few pegs. 

to wraen and maia, she added, "my name is corinna, pleasure."

Watching her pack mates explore and socialize made Wildfire's heart happy. She beamed broadly at the scene, though she didn't mingle herself. She'd already looked around the site quite a lot, so she was fine with observing the others.

But then she noticed Eljay roaming off on his own and Wildfire moved to fall into step beside him. She shot him a smile, her tail wagging, but said nothing as she lowered her muzzle toward the ground and began sniffing alongside him. She'd been over most of it before, though there was always something new to discover about the copse.

Ohhhhh no.  She'd forgotten about Corinna.  She was disappointed as they listed their skills - hunting? Scouting? She knew all that.  Yeah, maybe. She responded, knowing she should probably try to be polite but definitely feeling like that might be a waste of time.  Unless Wraen had something to show her mom couldn't, which she doubted.  Maybe it'd be worth just finding out.

Before she could respond with a more affirmative answer, Corinna had jumped in, and Kiwi had to stop herself from groaning out loud.  How did she forget her least favorite person here was a healer?  Well.  She wasn't a kid, much as Corinna might think she was, and she had a rank here.  So yeah, maybe she should.

Ok. She said, almost challengingly.  Yeah.  She'd learn from her, if she had anything good to teach that is.

Eljay didn't mind being on his own super much, feeling it was easier to fake contributing then. He liked the Copse so far; it was quite nice. As Wiffle joined by his side, Eljay smiled at her and then went on his way checking stuff out again, feeling easy in Wiffle's company. He'd known her for a long time, after all; she was probably the only wolf in this gathering that could make him feel not-caught in his scheme of pretending to be useful. He knew no words were needed between them, while if it were anyone else he might've tried breaking the ice with awkward babbling about senseless things.

There was an undercurrent to the conversation between the girl and the new lady (Corinna, pretty name) that Maia felt she was kinda missing.  That was ok though because it was tension and she was so not into that.

Something about the way this girl talked too made the older girl feel a little ehh about her anyway.  So she shot Wraen a look with a smile (is she serious?) before saying Nice to meet you Corinna and then sidling off to actually start checking things out.

"Corinna, lovely," Wraen dipped her muzzle politely. "Wraen and Maia," she introduced herself, in case the cream-pelted wolf had missed it on the first occasion. When the exchange happened between Kiwi and the lady mentioned earlier, Wraen was had briefly looked away and over to, where Eljay and Wildfire were sniffing something out, then her gaze stopped at Finbar and the newcomer, and by the time she met Maia's inquisitive gaze, she could only shrug and smile.

She had no idea on this matter. "So, Corinna, where do you hail from?" she asked, meeting this girl for the first time.