Neverwinter Forest please, let him be soft

@Mal

the morning sky is bright despite the patches of light snowfall that have begun to fall sometime before sunrise. time has become a strange construct for newt that no longer matters. the sun warms his back as he picks a random direction and begins to wander; steps slowing with caution as the scent of a pack border begins to grow stronger with each step forward he takes. there is something that nags at the back of his mind as he draws nearer; something beyond the instinctual warning away.

something that sparks something akin to familiarity but he's never been anywhere near these territories before.

atausiq ...one of four children in his litter. one. another traveler; ghosting through. one. another wayward soul; not sure what it is he is searching for. one. another running from confrontation.

a stab of guilt runs thru him as he, temporarily — or perhaps permanently for he doesn't know where this uncertain path he's taken will lead him — sheds 'newt'. while he doubts anyone will recognize him by name he isn't willing to take the chance. though he's ran away from home due to the civil unrest he interprets as brewing within the once safety of home and his own self, he still seeks to protect them.

steps stop when he's still a respectful distance away from the borders; curiosity piqued. he shifts his weight, deliberating for a moment before on a sudden spontaneous whim, lifts his head and lets out a howl, announcing his presence to whomever was nearest.

The time was getting closer to where he should head out again. It made Mal kind of wish he did have someone to share some of the jobs with -- but at the same time, not enough to make him actually do it. Things were working out ok, and he didn't want to rock the boat by making any decisions any time soon. Something would eventually make itself clear, he trusted.

So, he'd been on a patrol when the howl went up. Mal wasn't too far away, so he showed up on the scene pretty quick. The guy who was there was a pretty big dude, but still seemed kind of young? Hm. Whatever. Either way, Mal greeted him with his normal grin, You're at Neverwinter Forest. What can I do for you? I'm Mal.

it doesn't take long for someone to arrive to greet him; to atausiq's surprise. it shouldn't have, he reminds himself. easthollow had guardians that regularly patrolled and thus, it wasn't too far of an assumption to make that other packs would be the same. still, this merely goes to show his complete and utter lack of experience with these kinds of things. he'd been born into easthollow and up until recently, he'd imagined he'd never leave.

the uniquely patterned male that greets him does so with a grin. a sweep of atausiq's imperial jade gaze is given before it diverts; as he'd been taught to do. neverwinter forest. mal. atausiq, he offers, and then clarifies quietly with, i'm atausiq. just in case it wasn't immediately recognized as a name. if it wasn't recognized as a name, as he fears ...it wasn't as if atausiq could blame him. it was a weird sounding 'name', about as unusual as 'newt' but strange as the alias may be and sound ( even to him ) it fails to tie him to easthollow.

i'm looking to find out a bit more about this, uh, neverwinter forest ...maybe join if you have the space and would take me in. this is where being more of a presence on the borders might've been helpful, atausiq thinks; because he isn't real sure what to do, what information to offer.

Atausiq seemed to be... Not necessarily standoffish, but maybe just a little scattered in a way, at least based on the way he was speaking. Nowhere near the upbeat facade that Mal was used to bringing to the table. No big deal. Maybe it reminded him a little of Simmik: polite but restrained. He could deal with that.

But at least they'd be able to get to the point, Mal went on to cover what his pack had to offer, I made it as a pack that would offer the opportunity of a new beginning, so that people could leave whatever they were told or expected to be behind and be who they wanted to actually be. Makes for an interesting little group figuring out the future, he said, amused. But if that sounds good to you, then tell me, what is it you're looking to do? And if Atausiq wanted to share what he might already be good at, that was cool too. The way Mal offered things made it a little more difficult on his own part, but that was part of the cost of giving people opportunities, at least in a way.

atausiq is attentive as mal speaks, giving him the information that he sought. a pack that offers both new beginnings and leave behind their pasts? it sounded ...perfectly. an ear twitched idly, visage morphing into open contemplation as he weighs what he can see as nothing but pro's. it sounds to him like he wasn't the only one running away from something he didn't wish to confront. being disconnected from his past feels like severing a part of him that he hadn't brought himself to pry from betwixt his jaws even as he leaves behind the first and only home he's ever known ...but the umbilical chord had long since been cut; and beyond that the severing was a necessary evil.

he wasn't in trouble but if he ever found himself in it he didn't want his consequences to fall unjustly upon the heads of kith and kin. yeah, it sounds good. atausiq says, without betraying the new sense of eagerness he feels bubbling within his chest. i'm a decent hunter, he says matter-of-factly. he was decent despite not having the trade to his name ( yet ). and i can patrol. that couldn't be hard, right? i'd probably be good in a fight if someone was willing to teach me. he was built like a tank, after all. he hadn't ever thought of mercenary being a trade he'd pursuit ...but this was a new him. maybe it was time to pursuit new things, broaden his horizons.

Atausiq was right in that many were fleeing their past -- some outright, others like Mal just decided it was now worth nothing and just best to cut it away. New identities, new futures. And unless somehow what was left behind caused issues in the future, Mal wasn't the sort to go picking at it just for the hell of it. Now was the thing that mattered. Then a good start to grow from, was Mal's assessment, so welcome to the pack. We'll get you in and settled, yeah? A tip of his head and he took a few steps away from the border, inviting Atausiq across. And of course, if you have any problems with anyone or anything, let me know and I'll see if we can get it worked out. So far, nobody had taken him up on it really -- aside from Kratos being angry at Mango, but hopefully that got at least partially smoothed over by now.

And we may have someone who could help with that last bit. Gotta talk to him about a few other things, so I can mention that as well. But in case you run into Kratos first, you can always ask him yourself -- but I warn you, he's not a happy-go-lucky sort. That ending aside was said with good humor (and not quite a wink, but had that sort of feel to it), but the information itself wasn't a joke. Had he even really seen Kratos smile? Uhhhhh. Didn't think so. Mal should see if he could make that happen just to see if that was physically possible.

tags for reference! ♥

overall, the whole process went over without a hitch and without complications; of which atausiq couldn't have asked for a better joining meeting. he suspects that his worry about impressing a potential leader wasn't totally unwarranted but that neverwinter forest wasn't exactly what he thought of when he thought of a 'typical' pack. relief slowly ebbs away the tension that had begun to knot at the junction of his shoulders as he's both welcomed into the ranks and invited inside the borders. yeah, atausiq parrots and then offers a small curl of his lips into a smile, a wag of his tail following.

— and thanks. he doesn't promise to provide for the pack — in his world actions were always worth more than words — but it goes implied with the gratitude that lingers in his gaze.

from mal's prior words, atausiq had already begun to imagine that neverwinter forest was a collection of misfits; banded together by their desire to a fresh start. whether it was true or not, atausiq would come to learn certainly, but his new alpha's words of coming to him if any problems arise sort of solidifies atausiq's suspicions.

kratos, atausiq mirrors the name, noting how it falls from betwixt his lips a bit rough. a rough name for a rough character? atausiq wonders. do you think he'd be willing to teach me, then? atausiq questions. the last thing he wants it to become someone's obligation. to be fair, most warrior-types do not come across as happy-go-lucky. atausiq points out his observations of them to mal, his own lips curling in a teasing smile. when atausiq thought of a warrior, he thought of @Greyback. powerful. ethereal. intimidating. not traits that he'd naturally partner with 'happy-go-lucky'.

OKay Atausiq made a reasonable point. Mal smirked at the last bit of it, Certainly hope he will. If not, there might be another option -- part of what I need to go talk to him about. Suppose you're right about attitudes. Well, maybe not all, there was that -- you know what, that's a whole different tangent I can go over later. Once he knew what Kratos thought of Ying's idea and how much he was willing to train people, Mal thought that the rest would fall into place pretty quick.

So he shook his head and moved on, So I can take by the cache and what ever else makes sense. Might be able to find Kratos' scent on the way so you'll know if you come across him. He was trying to think if there was anything else that would be useful, Anything else you'd want to see on a guided tour or would you prefer to find it on your own? Wasn't like Mal was going to entirely monopolize his day. There were probably other things both would wanna do.

atausiq's point made, his new alpha mentions that he hopes kratos will be willing to train him. while mal's attention diverts to another story that he catches before it slips out — mentioning that he could tell him later — atausiq considers that while it would be best that he be trained by someone inside their own borders he could always outsource mentors, if needed. surely, there were a plethora of guardians and warriors willing to impart their knowledge upon a young student.

mal mentions showing him the cache and, in his own words, 'whatever else makes sense'. i don't think so... atausiq speaks, partially as an answer and partially thinking out loud. what's the denning situation? is there a communial den or are they individual? if it was the latter then when he and mal split ways he would begin his exploration by finding something that would make him a suitable den.

Mal figured he'd go deal with the Ying and Kratos and Zephyr things before he headed out on his trip -- only problem was chaos was likely to abound so uh... So much for that brilliant plan.  It would happen eventually, sure, just probably not the way Mal was expecting. They really did need to get the whole figuring out fighting thing settled.

Honestly, Mal had grown up as such a hermit, he hadn't even thought of communal dens being a thing. Maybe he'd contemplate that again as winter came close for next year. Back mentally on topic, he replied to Atausiq, Mixed bag -- a few together, but most have their own places if they've got a place. Hopefully we're close enough into spring that we don't have to worry about it like.. being needed to not freeze to death, you know? Kind of gallows-y humor but hey, winter was long and kind of awful so if he could smile about it now, that was all good. If you want something short-term, you can probably can still find a few of the places I dug out under the larger trees if they haven't melted into nothingness. It was still pretty cold, so he figured that they probably would be there, but eh.

oof, short post is short. :c

sure, atausiq supplies as mal answers his question, responding that there isn't a communical denning area though some den together. even with the time spent sleeping as a lone wolf, atausiq wasn't used to sleeping without the presence of other bodies but in lieu of not really wanting to give much of his past away, he doesn't say as much. i'll check them out. he decides as more information is offered on places mal himself had dug out beneath trees. thanks.

No prob, so is mine! I think things are pretty much wrapped up anyway. :P Could probably wrap here or in your next post!

Mal eventually turned to lead them down a path that was more noticeably worn in the snow than some of the others. Over here's the way to one of the caches.. Kratos may have been by this one. There was that whole kill two birds with one stone thing. If you'd rather explore on your own, I could leave you from there. It was pretty central to the territory at least. Nobody had complained.

If you think up something later you can just give me a shout too. It's my job and all to help out. he said with a grin. But everyone needed their space and Mal probably needed to do a few more things before he went to go find Zephyr and Kratos himself.