Wapun Meadow When you were here before

Tagging leadership for visibility, @Aventus @Arielle

Where one life is lost, another must be built in concrete form. Without it, there is no purpose to live. All must have a purpose, or be fated to hell and join the likes that go down under.
Out of the ashes, the soul is reborn. With it, struggles will follow, as will questions and curiosities. 
Where can these questions be answered and curiosities made no more? Only in a place where there is will by others to provide.
After a long, tiresome journey, a meadow is seen in the distance.
There are scents here. None are recognizable, but they are present nonetheless. There is life. Whatever souls remain, these questions will be asked and these curiosities will be satisfied. Perhaps even a life can be led here, if these strangers would welcome it.
Would they at all? Who can tell...
Only time is able to do such a thing.
And so, without a moment to spare, the little brown wolf along the edge of the meadows sent up a call, beckoning to her any who would heed it. Time to see what she was in for.

he had already been out in the meadow, scavenging for things to bring back to the garden he had started in ursus. except here was a shady figure. one he didn't recognize to be that of ursus. awfully close to.

his gaze hardened, black eyes squinted as he frowned. then she went and called for the bruins. it was not possible for him to frown anymore, but he certainly tried.

instead of leadership, she'd be intercepted by him. small and lean. cloaked in the deep smells of ursus and richness of herbs. kinder smells than the look he wore as he eyed her.

whatcha want?

It was a haggard, unkempt wolf who strode up the slope from the valley, dark ears pricked attentively forward. Thoughts of children and what he would do with them plagued him every waking hour of the day, and nightmares of losing Arielle, and them, hounded him in his sleep. It was clear from appearance alone that Aventus had stopped caring for himself.

He could not turn off the authority of being Bruin-jaw, however he tried to neglect that, as well. When he stood before the caller, forming an approving bulwark alongside Cyril, it was with straight shoulders and head high. Right then, one could almost overlook the bags under his eyes and the drooping of his fur.

Aventus said nothing. Cyril had already asked the only question that mattered.

The time for wishful thinking was over; her sides had a hint of roundness now that made her condition undeniable. 

And Aves was reminding her of the bruin-witch in his last few months of life with his apathy regarding himself. He carried the same dirty clumps of hair everywhere, and she was at a complete loss for how to help him.

On top of her fears over her husband, she felt like crap. She could barely eat most days because she felt so sick, and she was always exhausted. She tried to keep as busy as she normally was, but often found herself falling asleep wherever she was working. So some days, she just gave up and slept for the entire day.

Arielle had attempted to make a trip to gather plants from the meadow but it was interrupted by a summons from a stranger. So she headed that way instead, grumpy from how bad she felt and unsure if she would bother to hide it. It all depended on what the stranger wanted.

Cyril and Aves were already there, and she cursed herself for coming. She could have continued to do her own thing but now that she was here, she didn't feel like she could leave. 

The bruin-heart stopped next to her mate but her focus was on the woman. What did she want with Ursus.

One. Two. Three. 
They arrived like clockwork. None displayed aggression, yet. If anything at all, tension surrounded. 
The first then offered a query.
To learn... to exist... maybe even find a place to call home. She spoke, tone drawn out calm and careful.
A true answer, simple and plain. What further words need come from her tongue? 
Now, she could only wait for a response, or even a mere acknowledgement. Either would do.

he frowned at her, it wasn't like he had shown up with a much better offer. and admittedly with the arrival of the two bruins, this interrogation fell out of his hands.

so unless he was further wanted to press the woman, he merely stood as a smaller barrier as protection to ursus. a grumpy, tiny, barrier.

That's not very specific, Aventus noted, watching Arielle from his periphery. It felt wrong to be so disheveled when she was the one going through hell. He should be taking care of her, but he wasn't able to even take care of himself right now. Guilt gnawed at him and forced his attention back to the stranger.

Why should we take a chance on you? If Ursus wasn't so small, he would likely not have posed the question. He had no time for such vague introductions. They needed wolves, though, hunters to help when Arielle was out of commission with their... Spawn. He could not bring himself to think of them as his, even though they could belong to no one else. Not out of spite, but fear.

She was thankful that the bruin-jaw took control of the situation because she was having trouble mustering up the energy to really care. The woman had the same answers as everyone else. It would be the same conversation they always had, and it would all lead to the same place: they could never trust anyone until their was irrefutable proof that Ursus wouldn't be betrayed again. Though, she wasn't she sure she had the right to call anyone a traitor anymore. 

The bruin-heart took a seat and said nothing. She would only watch and listen for now.

Edited from a response to a departure. I will leave this open for replies, if any of you wish to do so, but it will not be required. If after 3 days there is no reply, I will archive the thread.

The first of this new man's words were true. It wasn't a specific answer, but need she truly offer anything more?
Perhaps they did not will newcomers, or if they did, except them with ease.
Just as she'd said, she was here to learn. Learn, she could not, if held back by the feeling that she would not be taught by willful souls.
Something had called to her upon the moment of her wake... no someone had called. They needed her, just as she needed them. If this pack did not have the heart to help her find them, then she would waste no time by staying.
I see that perhaps my coming here was a mistake. Please forgive my intrusion. Farewell, and may the spirits keep your souls peacefully.
With as much decency as words would allow, the woman tipped her snout in a nod and turned, parting from their view at an even pace.

well...that was awkward. the whole thing a giant muddled mess. why call the leaders just to depart? he'd snort softly, content to stay out here in the meadow. he still had work to do here and it would allow him a way to make sure she had truly left.

Aventus had no time or patience for this sort of nonsense.

So this wolf had come here, summoned them to her, and proceeded to waste their time entirely. Fool. The second she turned to leave, the Bruin-jaw lunged, snapping at her heels in an aggressive chase. There would be no casual strolling away after such disrespect; she would run. Only when he ensured she was well on her way did he turned back, bristling and snorting, to disappear back into the valley before he turned his temper upon the others.

Arielle grew annoyed too. This stranger had wasted their time and interrupted their day. And only to just turn and walk away. She felt irritation burn in her chest. 

Aves lunged forward after her to drive her off, and the bruin-heart waited for him to return. When he did, though, he just kept going and disappeared into the shadows of Ursus. Arielle watched the place he had disappeared for a long moment, the sting of loneliness making her heart hurt. 

She took a deep breath and pushed the feeling away. Then she trotted off in the other direction, towards the meadow where she had been headed originally. She would likely spend the entire day there before returning to valley when the sun set.