Hideaway Strath I could surrender but I'd just be pretending.

For whoever wants to meet Rue!

Dingo's desire for some physical fun was tempered by a stronger drive to see this pack become a real thing, because he was an opportunistic jerk and wanted to get to the part of the deal that involved free meals, so while he wanted to lead @Ruenna down a dark path and give in to his devious nature, he knew that wouldn't fly with the head honchos. If either of them knew what kind of beast they'd welcomed in to their would-be home Dingo would be out on his ass for sure, and probably with a few bites out of it. He wasn't in to that. So he kept to the plan and led Rue deeper in to the 'strath until the scent of @Phox became more readily apparent, all the while talking up a storm about the place.

So the family consists of a black-coat named Phox, and his sister @Towhee, who looks like him but she's got some gold on her kinda like me. I'm one of their first recruits but I think there've been others — not sure how many or what, 'cuz I've been out and about and way too busy to meet 'em. Oh, and there's the kids, right, right, them. The little miscreants. There's a little gold one named Fen, and a dark one named Fig. As he concluded the tour and the explanation Dingo paused and spun on his heel, turning his full attention to the woman rather than the trees around them, and grinned to her. Welcome to the rendezvous site! The kids'r around here somewheres, uh --- unless I was supposed to be watchin' them, um -- Crap, was it his turn to do that? Had he forgotten? He looked around and lost his grin, but didn't seem bothered for long. 

Hey, @Fennec? @Figment? Where have you hidden yourself away now — you little trolls, you!

Rue was all ears, more than happy to let Dingo monopolize the conversation with his cheerful chatter. Although Dingo had mentioned that a female was the boss here, Rue couldn't help but notice that it was an unknown male's scent that dominated the grove.

She would find her explanation in Dingo's wall of words. Phox. The brother. Rue quirked a silent, amused brow at Dingo's insistence that he was too busy to meet the newest recruits. Too busy? Busy doing what? Creepily following the women of the Hinterlands? Honing his pickup lines?  

Rue turned her attention toward her surroundings as the children were mentioned, dutifully giving the rendezvous site a once-over. There was no one here that she could detect; perhaps someone had taken the pups on a walk. "The pups.. whose are they? Phox's or Towhees's?" She was glad to hear that the pack was already raising a second generation. 

Rue remained quiet as Dingo called for children, knowing they were more likely to answer summons from a familiar voice.

Phox had just returned from doing another routine pass on one of the weaker border markings with a rabbit clutched in his jaws. His ears perked up when he heard Dingo calling for Fig and Fenn, and he bristled when he heard the voice of somebody else. Phox reminded himself that they were likely to see a lot of new faces, and he cooled himself off with a shake of his coat.

He approached with the rabbit still in his mouth, but Phox dropped it once he was in conversational distance. Fig and Fennec are mine by birth, but Towhee took over as their mother when their birth mother passed away. And she'd done an excellent job of it. And you are? he asked, tilting his head gently to one side.

The kids were somewhere; thankfully it looked like Towhee had taken them out to do something-or-other so that left Dingo with the girl, alone, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he gave in to his deeper desires. So when Phox appeared, he actually felt a wave of relief wash over him. He'd seen Phox in passing and had been introduced to the man by Towhee at another time, along with the kids, but Dingo still didn't really know him that well. He hoped he hadn't screwed up his chances with the little family by bringing a stranger to visit them - but eh, even if he had screwed up, Dingo'd land on his feet somehow.

This is Ruenna, he introduced the girl and smiled. I found her roamin' around. He cut himself off there, difficult as it was to hand over the reigns of the conversation rather than talk over the girl, and let her answer in more detail if she wished.

Phox's scent was heavy in the air; it did not surprise Rue that he arrived ahead of his children. 

Rue nodded in understanding. Two present parents were more than many pups were fortunate enough to have, but Fen and Fig would need more. Pups were best raised in a pack, everyone knew that. No doubt this was a primary reason Phox and Towhee meant to establish one. 

"Ruenna Redfern," Rue spoke after Dingo, adding her surname. "I'm sorry for your family's loss." Rue paused, inhaled. It made sense that Phox would want to start fresh in a new place, after going through something like that. "I'm looking to settle down somewhere. Dingo says you're recruiting for a pack, and I hoped we could talk." Rue let the offer hang, waiting to either be questioned further or dismissed.

Camilla's death was no longer fresh, but that didn't mean that Phox failed to think about her. He often wondered if he would have stayed at the plateau if she had still been alive, or perhaps their departure would have been expedited. He would never know, and he shook the thoughts from his head as Ruenna introduced herself and gave the common reply to the news.

That's correct, he replied. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What do you think you could bring to the pack? Phox wasn't exactly tough on interviews, but he fully intended to get to know each and every wolf that planned on following him. It was one of his frustrations with Quixote, who had always seemed out of the loop from his perspective.

There wasn't much he could add even if he'd wanted to, and as much as Dingo liked to hear himself talk he was mindful enough to keep his trap shut while the two of them spoke. It did give Dingo something to think about though: he'd known that Phox and his sister were caring for these kids but he didn't know anything about the mother of the kids, so hearing that she had died was eye-opening. Sorta sad. But he didn't dwell on it because, honestly, he was too self-absorbed to fathom a proper reaction. It wasn't like he was the most empathetic creature on the planet.

Phox went ahead to drill Rue with a few questions; Dingo sank back upon his haunches and listened attentively, curious to know what sort of skills the newcomer had as well. He should've done more recon when he'd met her but it never occurred to him to do so - he was much more fixated on what he could do to her rather than what she could do for everyone.

"Sure," Rue replied. "I've been living in and around the northeast mountain chain-- the Sunspires-- for the last year. I know that area well, including the wolves and packs that live there." Rue doubted her knowledge would be immediately useful here in the south, but you never know. Something could come up. 

Ah, that second question though. Rue's gaze dropped to the ground for the briefest of moments. She had spoken with enough callers at the Blacktail Deer Plateau border to know that most wolves would take this time to claim impressive feats, special talents, or years of specialized training. But Rue had none of the above. 

"I'm trained in the basics of hunting, border defense, and wound care. I can pull my own weight and then some." Jack of all trades, nothing special here. Rue added, " And I don't cause trouble."  As far as she could tell from her time with the northern packs, that final remark was probably her best selling point. Rue was not accident-prone or high-maintenance. She was not here to steal anyone's rank or sleep with anyone's mate. She was happy to simply fit in and contribute wherever she was needed. 

"I'd love to hear more about the kind of pack you Towhee are building." Rue was eager to direct the conversation away from herself, feeling she had already talked far too long on her least favorite subject. It was important to her to understand Phox's vision and intentions, so she could be certain she belonged here. She wasn't going to make the same mistake she made with Diaspora.

Dingo faded into the background as Phox focused on Ruenna, although he did appreciate him bringing the new recruit around when he was rather new himself. Phox wondered how Leen was doing in that department, but he put that thought in the back of his mind. He listened as Ruenna explained where she had been, what skills she had, and lastly that she wasn't here to drum up trouble. Then again, who was? The Redhawks were a bit infamous for their drama, but it tended to be internal rather than external. Perhaps turning over this new leaf would eradicate some of that.

She asked him what he wanted this pack to be, causing him to pause. First and foremost, I want Asterism Grove to be a safe place for Figment and Fennec. That was the only hard and fast requirement, and anything else would probably fall to the wayside. Aside from that, the usual stuff. Wolves helping wolves. Hunting together, that sort of thing. I have a particular interest in the night sky, but that's not something I'm trying to push on anybody unless they're interested. Phox was a simple wolf, and he had really never wanted much in life. Now all he wanted was for Fig and Fenn to be happy.

He listened, gathering aspects of these individuals to his memory for later use. If Rue was welcome here then he would have another target for his (often unwanted) affections; that would draw him away from Fennec and keep him satisfied until she was older and more appealing, sublimating his needs for a while. She sounded like the same kind of jack-of-all-trades as himself which appealed to him. 

Phox mentioned having an interest in the night sky — which made his choice of a home curious, considering how dense the 'strath was and how difficult it would be to watch those little blinking lights. But that led Dingo to further plotting -- if he was invested in such a thing he'd likely pass that interest on to his kids, which would give Dingo many opportunities to ingratiate himself to them as they matured. They'd acclimate to the dark, and perhaps to Dingo being near if he showed the same interest. A plan was slowly coming together.

Border defense! You? He inserted himself back in to the conversation and gave Rue another look-over, smiling. Its been pretty quiet lately but we could use all the defense we can find. Maybe I could show you the territory limits and we could start on some patrols together? That is, if Phox had decided that the girl could join them. Or we could start fillin' the caches s'more. I've more familiarity with fish'n stuff but Phox and I have been doin' a mighty fine job culling the local rodent population... The man glanced to his superior's dark face with a raise of his brow, then back to Rue.

Asterism Grove. It was the first time Rue had heard the pack's name spoken aloud, and she committed it to memory. It seemed Phox hadn't really nailed down the specifics of his vision, or perhaps there simply weren't any. That was okay. Rue nodded her acceptance. Pack life was instinctive to wolves by and large. Complicated systems and intricate plans were unnecessary and in many cases, distracting from the overall goal of surviving and thriving.

Rue turned to Dingo as he jumped into the conversation once more. "Border defense! You?" Rue might have interpreted his surprised tone as derisive, had it not been for the man's genuine (seemingly genuine?) smile. "Sure," Rue confirmed with a small shrug. She would never claim fighting as her strong suit, but she was no coward. Especially with precious, young lives to protect inside these borders. 

"Sounds great," she agreed after hearing Dingo's suggestions. "Wherever you could use the help," she added, turning back to Phox for direction and approval. Catching some of Dingo's infectious enthusiasm, the young woman waved her tail hopefully.

Phox could have sworn Dingo had ulterior motives for wanting to take Ruenna along with him, but he wasn't about to cock-block the enthusiastic lad. In fact, having solid couples around was exactly the kind of thing that made a pack strong. So when Dingo jumped in to offer some suggestions on where Ruenna might go from here, the Kilonova bobbed his head with approval.

Sounds like you two have got it under control. Ruenna, you'll probably want to meet Towhee at some point. She and the pups hang out around here most of the time, so this is probably the best place to catch her. As for Phox, he was going to find the best place to stash this rabbit for future hard times.

Everything appeared to be settled - Rue would be joining them, and Dingo was anticipating her to be a positive force among them which made him quite happy. The more bodies they had the less work each individual would have to do, right? That's how it worked? So Dingo would continue trying to find more, hopeful that his efforts would inevitably lead to vacation mode. Images of him sunning himself while a pretty lady (maybe Rue, maybe Towhee,) fed him fresh meat danced in his mind.

Phox brought his attention back to reality as he mentioned Towhee. Dingo thought of all the things he could do with Rue in the forest — both useful to the growing pack and not-so-much, the selfish stuff that'd only benefit him — but had to stop himself before he missed his cue in the conversation. Whatever you wanna do, Rue, just say the word!

We can fade/archive whenever you guys are ready. :)

"I'll make sure to do that," Rue agreed, readily accepting her first task from the kilonova. Meeting the woman Dingo referred to as the boss was already pretty high up on her list of priorities. 

"A border patrol it is then," Rue decided, turning her attention to Dingo with a wave of her tail. Her demeanor had brightened noticeably. This was definitely an optimistic start to.. to something. To finding a home. To being part of a family, maybe.

With a parting nod of respect to Phox, Rue would trail behind Dingo as they set off for the border.