Ocean's Breath Plateau and little sir john sprung up his head

for the first time since they'd arrived, aditya felt comfortable in calling this a pack. a small pack, granted, but a pack nonetheless. he was suffused with pride in the days since pharaoh had arrived, and found himself looking for more signs of good fortune. the best of which, obviously, would be more wolves upon his border, with friendly faces and can-do attitudes.

this morning, he summoned them together — @Brook, @Dashiell, and @Ramesses. what a quartet they made! but it was clear that they each had their strengths, and he couldn't wait to see what their combined aptitudes could create.

our territory must be secured, he said, when all of them had arrived. the borders must be marked—i've been working on that, but i'm only one man. more scents on the edge of the plateau will send a message, further stake our claim. and on that note. . .

adi smiled around at all of them. we need a greater membership. if you can scout for others, do. if you come across a wolf that seems like a good fit, bring them to me. only when we are a dozen-strong will i feel comfortable with our place here.

he was a fervent shepherd; he had led a flock of one (his shy but amiable daughter) for moons now. he would care for anyone who followed. but it was the way of the wolf that might made right, and only numbers would solidify their foothold upon ocean's breath plateau.

Dash showed up promptly, sporting his usual ear-to-ear grin and upbeat attitude. 

Out of the group that showed, Dash only recognized Aditya and his daughter, Brooke, although he hadn't yet conversed with the latter. He'd looked around for her some, but he kept getting distracted by other things. He had the same excuse for his lack of border-marking, actually... but! But! He was determined to do better. He ate up Aditya's speech with fervor, wagging his tail, smiling, and giving small nods.

"M'kay!" Dash agreed eagerly. "But, uh.. what makes 'em a good fit? Besides being able to pee?" So far, border marking was the only task assigned to the pledges. And as far as Dash knew, everyone could pee. Shouldn't there be some  stricter criteria?

She clung to her father's side as the others arrived, focusing on the vibrations his voice made to ground herself. She knew that she was not capable of chasing off intruders, let alone approaching strangers and recruiting them. In fact, Brook wasn't really sure what she was capable of. She didn't mind hunting, provided she did it solo. And she did spend plenty of time ambling around the plateau studying the various plants here, but she hadn't actually put either of those things to good use. She wasn't particularly good at anything.

It would be best if she remained out of the way, she decided. Let the others do their work, keep herself from interfering, and stick to Aditya's side whenever possible.

"i will patrol our western border first," ramesses told the holy man, striding confidently to a place alongside the one who had questioned. he was a windblown green-eyed sort. pharaoh felt no smarting of competition in him. he and aditya shared a deep understanding that gods ruled the world.
here the soldierly training into which seti had forced all his sons and nephews, and the crown prince himself; here it would suit ramesses well. he did not look often toward yuelong, but when he did, he thought of empress hua and maegi, the only names and faces he had retained from his time there.
his eyes drifted to the small wolfess he had seen before, clasped tightly against aditya. curious.

he gave brook an amiable brush of his shoulder to hers, smiling over at her, then his eyes moved to dashiell with the same warmth. try to judge their character as well as their muscle, he instructed. we want strong wolves, true, but we also want those with good hearts. loyal wolves, dedicated wolves. i know it's easier said than done, adi admitted, chuckling a little.

pharaoh spoke up, and the elder's golden gaze traveled to him, now. thank you, he intoned, dipping his head, then looked at the others. that is, of course, our most vulnerable edge—the rest of the plateau is bordered by forests or cliffs. if intruders were to come, they would likely choose the beach upon which to breach this territory.

but it was a bridge to cross when they came to it. right now, there was little reason for anyone to pay them much mind, save some lunatic with usurping on the brain.

strength in kindness, strength in loyalty, aditya reiterated. those wolves that would provide and care for their packmates above all else—those are the ones we want within our ranks.

do you see me, grayday? he thought, glancing briefly at the sky. this is your legacy.

The new guy with the intense stare volunteered to patrol the border, so Dash supposed that left him to do the recruiting. Brook didn't look like she was really up for it, if Dash had to guess. Wandering around was kind of his specialty anyway, and the only additional thing that was required of him was to look up occasionally and talk to whoever was around. How hard could it be? 

"Then I'll start collecting some wolves with character," he stated proudly, with just as much confidence as the stranger beside him. Of course, Dash's confidence was not founded in lifelong military training-- to be honest, it was mostly unfounded. But he was confident all the same. 

Strength, kindness, loyalty, okay got it! 

Dash fancied himself a pretty good judge of character (news flash, he isn't) and so he was certain he could find some people that fit Aditya's criteria.

Aditya explained what he was looking for, though Brook did not feel qualified for judging anybody: muscle, character, hearts, loyalty, or dedication. But she would do what she could, and she gave a nervous laugh after his own chuckle. She wanted to learn, but she did not feel capable of doing so.

She did not look to them as they arrived, keeping her eyes pinned to her feet. Brook was not keen on being in front of everyone, preferring to be in the shadows, but doing so would mean leaving her father's side, and she wished for that even less. She felt eyes upon her, her heart quicken, but she didn't dare look up.

Pharaoh spoke, then another wolf she had seen, but had not met. Both of them had voices that she knew would never be like her own. They were confident, proud, and sure of themselves.

they were both assigned orders from aditya, who had actually not done so at all. but ramesses took pleasure in the idea that he had returned to some seaport village waiting to be rebuilt toward glory. he gave the verdant-gazed man a level look that revealed nothing, and then his eyes traveled to the girl that still clasped to aditya's side.
the prophet looked to the heavens; pharaoh flicked his own dark gaze upward and then returned them to the tousled holy man. if there was nothing more to be said, then he would decamp almost directly. in the interim, he did not stare at the flighty brook, only amused himself with thoughts of how they had spoken.