Swiftcurrent Creek tsu

@Akavir, @Eshe, @Arric, whoever wants to encounter her.

it was almost midday but the sunlight was thin here, frail almost, with barely any warmth. the trees she'd spotted were craggy old things. they had seen many seasons, and she wondered what secrets they kept, if only someone knew how and what to ask them; but she saw nothing familiar about them. here the air wasn't pink with blushing petals, or sweet-smelling. there was a drone to the air that emiya did not recognize; this is what drew her along the most, powered by her curiosity.
the sounds came to a head just as the earth became rocky, and she found it difficult to find purchase with her steps. further ahead of that was the rushing water of a riverbend. she'd seen rivers before—her home had a few—but nothing as fast-moving or winding as this.

Areic wasn't often far from the borders and as it usually was. He was the one to encounter the other. Blue eyes rook in the weasel wolf and he blinked in surprise. 

Head dipped down and then he spoke. You're near Swiftcurrent territory. What brings you to our borders?

Body in easy stance tail above hipa but not overtly dominant. As always a man secure in his place and patient.

she was watching the water, thrilled by the sound of it now that she could see what caused the noise, and wasn't looking to her surroundings as often as she should have been. the man appeared slowly, crawling from the shadows like a sleepy bear, and he was the size of one! the sound of something snapping in the underbrush did eventually draw emiya's attention. when she caught sight of him, her eyes went wide!
he appeared to bow, or something like it; the man's broad shoulders loomed over his head for a moment and emiya, remembering her manners, shrank back and down low, to show she wasn't a threat. of course she wasn't! she might've been tall, but he was at least twice her size! she almost missed what he'd said, so overwhelmed by the sight of a stranger.
this was a claimed place? a family lived here. oh, um!
what was it grandmother had said? not everyone is friendly, so be careful. do not step too close to their homesteads. listen, girl, and you will be alright.
i am exploring! adventuring. oh, that made her sound like a child. her brow furrowed a second, her jaw set and tense. i mean, um — my name is emiya. you live here? it is beautiful! i um, i don't live anywhere. i'm trying to see the world. could i... visit? oh, she felt she was really messing this up.

Arric sometimes forgot his size wasn't normal. At least not in these wilds. Holy hannah there were hardly any wolves his size that he had seen at least. She shrunk down and he took a half step back. HE hadn't meant to scare her. And she seemed nervous. She hadn't been over the borders just near them. He was merely curious as to why she was so close, but her words and her reception made him unsure how exactly to speak with her. 

I do live here. M'name's Arric.

Her request surprised him and he frowned in thought. Unsure what to say. HE couldn't let her past the borders all willy nilly like. It just wasn't done, though Eshe had her brother back, but could Arric really do such a thing. He didn't know this girl.

He gave a soft shake of his head. I'm afraid I can't let you past the borders, but I can walk with you a ways me on this side you on that and show you some things not in the pack lands maybe? Unless you're looking for a home too.

the big man was friendly, to a point. he introduced himself readily enough but beyond that emiya wasn't getting anywhere. she was immediately disheartened; but, she knew she couldn't really blame him for how he received her. she was an unknown, and unknowns were frightening — a fact she'd come to realize since dispersing from her family.
well, y-yes, a home... i would like a home. maybe that's how she should've started things? but who began a conversation like that! 'hello, i'm homeless, take me in?' this was baffling.
i'd like to explore, though. can i... can i do both? i mean, i only just left my -- she was thinking out loud, and realized it halfway along that train of thought, catching herself. oh! she wasn't very good at this. my name is emiya. i'm sorry for being so... everywhere, i just don't know how to do this. its new to me.
her ears fell flat and her posture showed off how insecure she felt.

Arric didn't know anyone that would let someone in their birders without eother knowingvthem or lesrning about them.

Ears tilted forward,  so she was looking for a home. But did she want to settle here or simply be nosy. And maybe it wasn't nosy but she did want to just see the world. But he couldn't in good conscience allow that.

A soft chuckle and he began again. Alright, Emiya. Do you want to settle at your first pack you meet or just explore. No pack will let you pastctheir borders. There's too much at stake. So you can explore to your heart's content away from our borders. Usually you find a pack you like, or wolves and you tell em a bit about your skills and what you can help the pack with.

she was so stupid! of course nobody would welcome her. emiya didn't have any life skills to contribute. this guy didn't know her. who would welcome a total stranger in to their home when they openly admitted to wanting to scout the land? she could do better. winter would be here soon and emiya would use this as a learning experience.
okay. I'm... I'm sorry for bothering you. her nerves didn't help matters.
I'll just go. I'll... um, thank you, bye.
as she turned away she felt tears welling in her eyes; that was the last straw for her! she didn't want to cry in front of this stranger, and hurried to pick up her pace.

Arric blinked and rushed forward. Hey wait. Wait!

He tried to get around to stop the girl. He could tell she was trying not to cry.

Please. I wasn't telling you you couldn't stay here. I was asking what you do. Do you hunt? Heal? Are you a knowledge gatherer what?

He wasn't trying to scare her, but damn she was a little faster than he had anticipated.

he was quick to chase her, which was frightening at first until she realized why. emiya didn't feel any better; she hadn't misunderstood.

i- i don't... i can't do anything. well, untrue. but everyone could hunt for themselves, or they'd be dead. hunting for other people? that sounded like a lot of hard work. she couldn't imagine doing anything else - all she wanted was to explore!

i mean it. im okay, really. emiya would keep looking. that's all she wanted out if life right now: to explore, meet people, go on adventures. the man was right! she couldn't do it here.

He figured he was probably scaring thr bejespus out of her, but he didn't know what else to do.

He frowned racing through his thoughts then he came across one. She jad said she liked to explore to see things.

You know theres a trade called scouting. Where you travel all around learning the area, running messages for leaders. You could have a place to lay your head and still explore. Or theres naturalist wolves who learn about nature.

the man was persistent! maybe that's what she had to be to get anywhere. what he offered stalled her in her tracks, and as emiya turned around to face him she dabbed at her eyes.
a scout -- i could do that? and in the next instant, her mind buzzing and tears drying up, she answered her own question. i could do that! is that OK?
i can hunt for myself, so i won't take anything from your family. and i can report on anything cool i find? her tail gave a little sway.

Arric knew he was being a little heaby handed, but he couldn't allo2 her to run away in good conscience.

He smiled. Well thats not exactly how it works. You join a pack it sort of becomes your family. We all hunt for each other, we help each other and you would have leave to scout yes, but sometimes we may need you to go to a certain place and also give messages and stuff like that.

He wagged his tail briefly. Would you be alright with that?

for every moment of good, there was some sort of caveat.
emiya was too enamored with the idea of seeing a new place and being given the freedom to roam, that she did not really think about the trade-off; so when the man told her what it would cost, she agreed with a more eager wagging to her tail.
yes! thank you, this means everything to me. beyond the necessity of a home during winter, emiya hoped to begin anew here and build something of herself. she had always dreamed of seeing new places and meeting new people, and this was the first step.

She was exuberant he'd give her that. But she would clearly need guaidance, but that was okay. It gave Eshe a project since she wanted to help.

Alright come along then. I'm Arric Bera the two alphas are Akavir and Eshe. We have a few healers and one other scout Viinturuth he can help if you have questions. Lets get you a den and a tour and you're good to go.

arric; akavir; eshe; viiinturuth —
emiya tried to recite the names as they popped up, over and over, in her head. they became a mantra. they blended together so thoroughly that she would not in fact remember them properly, separate, but as one string of sounds.
at least she was given a tour! that was something. she kept silent as arric showed her the way, and eventually she would be shown to a place to sleep and make her own. the novelty of being accepted would not wear off for many weeks.