Broken Antler Fen Tea time

@Eljay, @Maia, or @Teya? :3

That was quite enough wandering for now -- and frankly, Izumi wasn't up for scouting any longer. Not in this summer heat. Then again, where was she to go? There was nowhere to be called a hearth and no one she'd know well enough to tag along with....unless....unless she went off to start at square one -- again?

The moment where Izumi would travel to seek out another home was inevitable, as much as her stubborn self denied it. In truth the young crane didn't know if she could stomach another moment where her home was torn apart by some outwardly inconvenience that was out of her control -- already happened 3 damn times to count.

'But that's okay' the siamese thought to herself with a sigh -- an unsure sigh -- 'This might just be a pattern I'll have to get used to from now on. All I have to do is not get attached.....' Yeah, seemed like a simple enough concept in her head...

As the princess stood at the borders of the pack, her pale crown tilted backward to let out a howl for any who would lend an ear to it.....

Five children were much more than two, especially for Maia. She was definitely experienced when it came to babysitting, but she was new to the whole mother thing. Occasionally she had to step away. She loved them so much, all of them, and every moment she spent with them she treasured. She just... sometimes it was hard, and she just needed to be by herself to catch her breath.

When the call went up, @Diantha was acting out again. Maia had asked her to please let it rest, but she was adamant that @Roswell had taken something of hers and was pitching an absolute fit. A claim her brother denied, and Maia didn't know who to believe at this point. This afternoon had been a rough one so far.

She took the opportunity and left whatever adult she could grab in charge. It had been a while since she'd performed something as Raven and she thought, maybe, it was time.

Hi. What brings you to Brecheliant? She asked, smiling as she approached the (lovely) stranger. If the smile didn't quite reach as far as it once would have, it was still warm, albeit tired. My name's Maia. Welcome.

"Greetings to you, Maia..."

The shape that eventually reached her violet hues was a large woman, though despite her imposing stature there was radiance to her gentle features that made the crane feel safe nonetheless. Izumi greeted the she-wolf with a gentle bow, along with a returned hail of her own.

"My name is Izumi, I hope I am not intruding on anything." Of course she wasn't intruding, otherwise the crane wouldn't have been approached in the first place -- even so, such formalities were only commonplace for the young femora. A princess raised to be heir was to act as such -- this was the speech she'd just been accustomed to using. Princess of a nothing empire.

"I've come to your boarders to know if.....if..." Her eyes wandered for a bit with uncertainty. Was Izu really so sure she wanted to seek out another home? "If you had any room in your ranks for someone like me?"

Pfft, of course she wasn't sure -- didn't mean she wouldn't try though.
 

Like.. you? Maia looked at her in genuine confusion, not sure what she meant. Then she flushed, realizing she was just doubling down on what was likely an insecurity. Oh gosh.

I mean, I think... yeah. We have room. She glanced almost instinctually back in the direction she'd come from. Eljay was now the Auspex, but he couldn't have a problem with this woman, right? She seemed so nice, and Maia didn't tend to like judging anyone for anything more than that right off the bat. If they were kind, what else mattered?

We are led by a council, called the Ravens. My mate is the head now, but I'm one of them. I'll double check with him, but I think you'd be perfect for here! I mean, if you like it.

They'd lost so much recently that it was refreshing to remember new friends could be made anywhere. Maia waited for an answer, hoping she hadn't come on too strong.

Eljay had just been out when the call sounded. He figured he'd go to it, since Maia was busy with the pups and so he didn't expect her to show up at the borders now. He was surprised to see Maia at the borders before him, but figured that she must've asked one of the other adults to look after the pups for a quick moment. The caretaker felt a little guilty that he was here too now, when perhaps he should've headed back to the den instead, but he was already here now, so, well...

It seemed that she was in the middle of a conversation with a stranger, and as Eljay approached, weary but with a welcoming smile on his face, he nuzzled Maia's face and smiled at the newcomer. Hiya. I'm Eljay, he introduced, and then waited to be filled in on the details — or for them to simply continue their conversation, whichever was fine for him.

Despite her previous anxieties, the woman who'd come to greet her at the boarders was very kind -- which was refreshing considering she was fearing an opposite reaction before coming here. This Maia; her goodwill briefly reminded Izumi of Lumiya from the Faerie Court. A bittersweet memory to bring up now, but a part of her was glad to have found someone that reminded her of a woman she once trusted.

Just as the crane opened her mouth to inquire more about this council of theirs, another body would fill the room. A male, she noted, who was similarly colored to Maia -- just lighter. Izu would've assumed the two were siblings of the sort, but the show of affection upon his approach made her assume otherwise. As he approached and introduced himself, he too was greeted with a gentle bow of her crown. "It is nice to meet you." The crane greeted "You are the mate Maia spoke of? She was telling me of your council."

But would he be as welcoming as Maia was? Izumi had yet to find out.

When Eljay arrived, Maia had a brief moment of worry that something was wrong with the children. He said nothing of the sort, but if he was here, then she felt the guilt of not being there. Her job right now was to be a mom first and everything else kind of after, yeah? He didn't give her a hint of a reason to feel that way, but she felt immediately like she'd messed up, coming here.

Hey, she greeted him. I, uh... I told Izumi that we had room for her, if she wanted to make a home here. If that's okay, I'll let you, y,know... She waved a paw and, unthinking, stepped back deferentially. I should get back.

They didn't really need her on the council right now. She could probably step down even, but.... no. Maybe not that far.

Eljay smiled when the newcomer said that he must be the mate that Maia mentioned, and nodded. Maia though seemed to shrink under his presence, and Eljay didn't understand. There's someone with the kids, he said quickly, hoping to reassure her, at least. It hurt him to think that his position as Auspex would make Maia more insecure. He didn't want to create a shadow for her to hide and shrivel away under; he wanted to be the wind beneath her wings to make her soar.

Still, it wouldn't do to discuss it further in front of this newcomer, Izumi. Eljay turned to Izumi and said with a welcoming smile, Well Izumi, welcome to the pack, then. Hopefully agreeing to Maia immediately made her see that he respected her judgement as a Raven. They were equals, after all; the Auspex was only really so that there was someone to make a final decision if needed, but he would always listen to the other leaders (and pack members) as equals.

Is there anything in particular that you uhm, like doing, or are good at? Eljay didn't want to put Izumi on the spot in case she was insecure or didn't have a lot of qualities (he knew what that was like, or at least to feel that way), but he hoped mentioning 'things she liked doing' might prompt her to tell him something, at least, regardless of whether or not she was secure about her qualities.

Maia had left Izumi and Eljay to tend to other things, and the crane lowered her gaze rather nervously. It wasn't as if she thought Elijay to be a bad person or anything since he seemed just as freindly, but Izu was naturally more wary of males as a result of her upbringing -- having been brought up mostly around the same sex. Her father, grandfather, and brother -- in comparison to her mother, 3 sisters, grandmother and maid.

Ironically, the Auspex welcomed her with open arms just as quickly as she questioned whether he'd do so, and it did manage to soothe the crane's nerves just a little. "I, uhm..." ony for them to fire back up again after he asked for skillsets. The things Izumi did in her spare time would more or less be considered a hobby as opposed to a skill -- I mean, showing up to a pack to say you were a storyteller didn't exactly sit right in her head. She looked up at him for a moment to search his face, as if doing so would give her a clue as to what he wanted her to say,

But in remembering that mindreading didn't exist, she opted for something else instead.

"H-hunting!" The princess blurted out suddenly. Every pack needed food, and Izumi didn't have a problem bringing in small game.....from time to time. "Though I'm also good at....helping around with pack affairs..." This one was more up her alley. The functions of a pack have been drilled into her since a young age. Definitely not by choice.

That was something they needed too, right?

just in case this is waiting bc I forgot last time - skip me after this if you like!

Eljay tried to assuage her but Maia shook her head with a small smile. I should still... it's nice to meet you, Izumi. She shouldn't leave them with someone else if it wasn't necessary and he had this under control now.

Hopefully they could get to know each other a little more later.

Maia's confidence felt like grains of sand slipping through his fingers. He wanted her to know that she could be here too, and that it was okay if someone else watched the children for a little bit. Eljay was left with a frown but nothing to say in return when Maia insisted that she should go. Okay, see you in a bit, he said, a little dejectedly. He turned back to Izumi and said apologetically, We have small pups. Hopefully she understood. He still felt a bit like a jerk for coming here too. He'd only wanted to assist Maia and make sure there was no trouble, not steal her thunder in any way or force her to go back to the children.

Izumi, meanwhile, seemed to struggle with some things of her own; she seemed nervous, though Eljay didn't understand nor could pinpoint exactly why. He hoped it wasn't because of him or because of the situation with Maia. Either way, she offered that she was good at hunting and that she could help around with pack affairs. Pack affairs? Eljay asked with interest. What sort of things? He asked it in a friendly manner, a soft and welcoming smile on his face, in hopes that would be enough to soothe Izumi's seeming nerves.

'We have small pups' he'd say. An established relationship with an established family -- Izumi assumed that they would've been around for a while now to make such a thing happen. She'd already had a taste of what friendship felt like during her time with Bridget and Teya in the past, even if her interactions with Teya were a bit sparse. Though that was nothing compared to the companionship Maia and Eljay had together -- the crane never knew how such a relationship worked. More accurately, she never found the confidence within herself to actually explore something of the sort.

With the conversation still on her skillsets, she tried her best to explain what she'd meant to the man, sounding a bit flustered in the process. "Well, in my old home," the young girl began, "My parents were leaders and taught me and my siblings the fundamentals of keeping our home stable. That usually involved keeping our external affairs stable as well -- it was the reason we traveled a lot."

"I wouldn't mind keeping tabs on the relations you guys have with other packs....?"

Eljay listened as Izumi explained that her parents — leaders — taught her some fundamentals on how to keep a pack running. Eljay, fresh into leadership, still didn't really understand what she meant. He was happy for the elaboration of travelling a lot and keeping tabs on relations with other packs. Eljay, he didn't care very much about other packs. He always felt that Towhee focused too much on relations with other packs, sometimes forgetting their own wolves in the process. Still, it could be useful to at least know if there were any threats in the area.

Oh, yeah, Eljay said with an acknowledging smile. That sounds great. Uhm, we mostly take care of ourselves, but there's Redhawk Caldera to the northeast that we are allies with, at least. It would be good to know about other packs in the area, just to know if there's any potential threats or such as well. He admitted then with a bit of a bashful glance away from Izumi: I'm not much of a traveler myself.

Her ears lowered some when Eljay responded. The way he worded it made it seem like her offer wouldn't be as useful to them as she wished it to be, and to that the crane felt more out of place than to begin with.

She probably shouldn't have been -- after all, it wasn't much of a big deal. Maia and her husband seemed welcoming and kind enough to make Izumi feel comfortable enough, but if she was to join a new home, she wished to fell useful in her commitment by providing back. Was that possible with her own skillsets? Lackthereof?

"I see..." the princess responded tentatively to the man's words. The conflict of her Imposter syndrome was kept quelled for now, as did many of the feelings that clawed from the outside. She had gotten used to this mask of hers overtime. "Then perhaps I may visit Redhawk Caldera to see how things fare when you need me too....maybe I could even scout the packs around us to keep you well informed..."

It still would've been more transparent to tell about her actual strengths, but in fearing that he'd see it as nothing more than a hobby, she just rolled with what she had...

It seemed like she stayed tense or at the very least insecure. Eljay just wanted to make her feel welcome. Even though he wanted to make her feel useful for the pack, he also definitely wanted to make her feel like being useful was less of a priority. She looked healthy and therefore he presumed her capable enough to hunt, and she seemed friendly enough to be a sociable addition to the pack, and those two things alone would make her a useful addition anyway. If only he could show her somehow. Hopefully time would show her that she could be at ease here, and help her find her place.

Yes, that would be great, Eljay said with an encouraging smile when Izumi offered to scout out other packs or check on Redhawk Caldera. Actually, it might be nice to have a neutral messenger, or at the very least someone who could accompany him when he went on trips to other packs. Eljay feared travel that it was a huge deal for him to go to even Redhawk Caldera, let alone anywhere else. I'll let you get settled in, Izumi, Eljay said with another warm smile, hoping to make her feel welcome in the pack. But if there's any questions or problems, please let me or any other leader know. There's me and Maia, and then there's Teya who's also a Raven. It was Eljay's first time officially accepting anyone into the pack, and he still felt a little rusty. Eljay lingered a bit longer, in case Izumi had any more questions, before he headed back to the den to see how Maia was doing.

feel free to wrap if Izumi has no further questions/comments, or we can keep going if she does <3