Dragoncrest Cliffs Bring me another!

Intended for @Phobos

Like he said, before sundown. 

Or. almost. Were the days getting shorter? That seemed right. 

He turned to face his companion. 

"Borders are right around here. I'll call for someone." 

He raised his head to give a howl. 

@Mireille
@Val
@Chacal

Phobos straightened himself up and shook out his coat; an attempt to make himself appear presentable. He didn't want these wolves to believe he was sickly - that would likely ruin his chances.

"Is there anything I should worry about?"

He asked, eyes flicking up to Pepper. Nearly every pack had different traditions, etiquette - not everything was universal.

”Naw,” he said, moving toward Phobos. He offered him a gentle lick on the cheek. ”You look fine,” he reassured. 

”Just be honest with ‘em.”

He gave a nod, Pepper's words appearing to settle his nerves. He could be honest - honest enough, at least. He would never say it out loud, but he questioned how Pepper had been brought in. He didn't tend to make the best first impression.

Maybe it had to do something to do with the she-wolf he had been traveling with, whom Phobos assumed had joined the pack as well. He was interested to meet her after all he had heard of her.

"You're right - I'm sure I have nothing to worry about."

summoned by pepper’s howl, val arrived with his soft gaze landing questioningly on the stranger flanking sapphique’s newest addition.

he knew pepper would explain — inevitably — but he could not help the way his mind leapt to poor conclusions. hello, pepper. who is this? his gaze rested on the man whose dark pelt engulfed in white along his throat.

Pepper greeted Val with a swaying tail. He could tell Val wasn't sure about Phobos. It would be cleared up soon. 

"This is Phobos. He knows about plants 'n healing. Helped me a while back, so I've been huntin' for him."

Head now at a slight bow, his eyes flicked up to the stranger. 'Val' was the name Pepper had used to refer to him.

The wolf seemed to be unsure of him, and Phobos couldn't help but worry.

pepper cut to the point, a habit of his that val was coming to appreciate. perhaps as wolves got older, their patience burned out at the edges, making them decisive and straightforward where young wolves dawdled.

his gaze trailed to the plant specialist. sapphique had lost their resident healer to eresta; sobeille was a budding herbalist, but he was not sure he’d eat anything she produced. does he talk?

He took the question as permission, but what was there to say? He would simply remain polite for now - gentle introductions.

"Pepper has spoken well of your pack - I couldn't help but show some interest." He spoke, eyes glancing to his larger companion. "Admittedly part of my interest is simply because I would like to remain at Pepper's side."

He wouldn't mention his inabilities until he knew he had a step in the door.

Pepper shot a raised brow in Phobos’ direction, giving him the floor, which he took only a moment later. 

He returned his gaze to Val when he finished. 

”He ain’t cut out for bein’ alone..and it’s already startin’ to cool off.”

the stranger spoke up, offering a morsel of context. a package deal. val studied him a long moment.

he assumed that if pepper had informed him of sapphique, he’d also informed him it was matriarchal. something about pepper’s last statement nagged at val, but he brushed it aside. sapphique was not a charity case, but they’d taken in their fair of stragglers.

he turned to pepper, gaze holding the greyed male. and you vouch for him?

”Yes sir. Wouldn’ta brought him if I didn’t.” 

He knew Val was younger, and that he’d already been reprimanded for using such honorifics, but it was still habit. It also felt fitting here.

He returned to his silence, eyes carefully moving between the two. He would let them speak - however he still wasn't a fan of Pepper seeming to think he couldn't be independent.

He had survived this long, hadn't he? That should prove something.

pepper vouched for the stranger, something that made val wonder their history together. there was more than met the eye here, but val had come to enjoy pepper’s presence in sapphique — if phobos was the same way, he could not foresee him being a problem.

i’m val, sapphique’s aventurine. he started by way of late introduction. welcome to sapphique, phobos. pepper and i will show you around. i assume he’s told you already sapphique is a matriarchal pack; we pride ourselves in care of our family and strong women. if you do too, you’ll fit in here. shall we?

he motioned for both to follow as he began his short tour.

He gave a nod, beginning to follow after some hesitation. "I was raised in a matriarchy myself - it won't be an issue."

He wasn't quite sure if he should be worried about such a thing; while he had a negative experience with his birth pack, he knew that this likely wouldn't be the same.

He had seen some young men reject such values due to the implications it had when it came to breeding seasons. However Phobos had little interest in such things.

So long as he was treated fairly, he would be happy.

It went over smoothly, like he predicted it would, but Val seemed more critical than he thought he'd be. Or maybe he was just nervous. He didn't know why he was nervous. 

He relaxed when they got the ok to look around, though, and he gave a warm smile to Phobos after Val motioned them to follow. 

"We won't be in yer fur long," he told Val. "If ya had somethin' else going on." 

He couldn't tell if that was the case or not, but wanted to make it clear that he didn't intend to impose if it was.

a few short words, and phobos put val's mind at ease. these days, men in sapphique were in short supply. they either stayed long enough to spread their seed in sapphique's women, or they died.

only he and svalinn remained, weeks, to months, to years. he wondered if he was looking at the next generation's svalinn or val in these two peering faces - though pepper was more his contemporary in terms of age.

we won't be in your fur long, pepper intoned. val gave him a brief smile before he stepped back, revealing the open meadow of bluepeace. this is bluepeace - our rendezvous is that way -- he pointed to a glittering lake in the distance, where the roja den abutted. i'll howl to let the pack know.

val's song rose to the pearl-tinged skies, announcing to all of sapphique their newest joiner.

He nodded along as Val spoke, looking over the territory in front of him. "This is quite the nice area. Is it as peaceful as it looks?" He was asking neither wolf in particular, simply making conversation to ease the air of formality.

It could be quite nice to live by the coast, he thought. While Phobos never liked the water he did enjoy the smell of the sea, and the herbs and prey that came with it were some of his favourites.

Yes, this would do for the time being.

This time, Pepper did join the howl. It was rarer for him to do so, and his howl had suffered from lack of use, but he did find his rhythm eventually, dragging a note up to meet Val's, or close enough to it. 

After finishing, he answered Phobos.

"So far it's been. Not much to distract ya,"

their song rose up over the proud backs of the forest; val smiled to himself to hear pepper’s voice join him.

we work very hard to ensure that peace. he answered once the last of their fluting song faded away. but it was not always so.

dodging a skirting of brittle jewelweed, val turned his attention to the pied wolf. i will leave the two of you to it: i trust pepper will give you the full tour.

Phobos offered a nod; he would say nothing more. Rather he looked to Pepper with a calm, content look in his eyes; something new to his face usually clouded by a smug grin and his teasing words.

He was glad to be here, to have a chance to rest next to another each night. He would not take this gift for granted.

"You got it, boss," Pepper said to Val, offering a nod. 

What he really wanted now was to show Phobos to his den. And then a nap. So he'd make his tour brisk--they had all day tomorrow to go exploring. Anyway, he was sure the black and white wolf was just as tired as he was. 

archiving unless anyone wants to add anything!