Duck Lake you won't see me fall apart

Potential recruit thread for @Mordecai and @Harlyn .. Stevie and I were going to have a thread, but thought I'd include you too, Ku!

After the storm, and the glares she had received from her fellow pack members when carrying the pup she had been instructed to take, the swarthy female had made sure her charge was safe and sound with their mother, and without a word, had left the small gathering.
 
She had rounded away from the pack as swiftly as possible, annoyance burning in her bright green eyes and had stalked across the borders, not once looking back. Kove’s distrusting eyes and the unknown silver male’s words had done more than set her off – especially when the ivory wolf had known she was looking for a pack to call family.
 
Bearclaw Valley had fallen very short of that.
 
Her travel took her to Duck Lake, and it was there that she settled herself down upon the shores of the water, her eyes glancing over the debris that floated upon its surface. No doubt it had been prettier before the storm had hit.

Well since Stevie's still on vacation... I'll snag this for now and perhaps she can join later? ;D

As they crossed further across the broad and varied valley, Mordecai found the destruction there surprising. Whether it was apart of the same storm that had come to ravage parts of the Plateau weeks ago was questionable; he could not discern how recent things had quite literally gone to hell there. In spite of the destruction, the broad plains that they found were crossed easily. Sometimes there were some rather random trees that had been hurled out, but in essence... well, things did not seem as bad as they through some of the forests they had seen.

A gusty breeze drew him in, if only for the quest to quench a bit of thirst. The days were still long and warm and though the wolves handled it reasonably, it was still tiring. Whatever this place was that Harlyn had in mind, she had found it miles and miles away. Surprisingly, he now realized where she had spirited away in what stretch of a few days she had disappeared from time to time. With the general group scattering once again to cover ground and do what they felt necessary to their heart's content, he dispatched himself to the glint of water over the tousled grasslands.

And nearer to its shore, he spied out another wolf idling about.

Not one to ruffle feathers when so spread out, Mordecai announced his approach with a light chuff. He gave them reasonable distance as well, his beeline for the water as direct and dutiful as their venture to the patch of ground that they intended to claim.

*party crashes*

It had been their intention to part ways and see what they each could discover on their own, but it took Harlyn little time at all to realize she was not at all pleased to do so.  So, while Andalusia and Luke went one way, Harlyn trailed after Mordecai with curiosity for what exactly he was up to on her mind.

When eventually she found him, the druid watched as he approached a wolf she did not recognize.  It seemed to her that there was no familiarity in the Ostrega's regard of the woman either, and so Harlyn strode quietly away from her shelter to step up to his wake, her gaze dancing to the female as they went until finally she stopped and regarded her with a neutral, yet perfectly friendly gaze and an amiable wag of her tail.

Her eyes studied the surface of the lake, noting the debris that had settled so thickly both upon the ground and within the waters. Destruction had settled upon the Wilds, but it was not the beauty that she missed, more so the disquiet that had buzzed through the lands prior to the storm. Now, everything seemed eerily quiet.
 
That was, until a soft bark ushered her from her thoughts. Jerking upright, the black she-wolf swung her muzzle in the direction of the stranger, noting his own posture remained amicable enough. Not far from him, a she-wolf was also eyeing her – companions, perhaps? She gave a small nod to the wolf, her own tail giving an uncertain lash through the air. Certainly she had not trespassed? She was distracted.. but no that much.

As he drew near to the lakeshore, Mordecai realized that he was not alone in more ways than one. A glance behind him revealed Harlyn tagging along — he was not surprised at her wanting to steal away a moment with him. As she joined him where he halted, he gave her a playful nudge away before lapping at the warm waters. Perhaps she had the same idea as he had, to find a source worth drinking from.

But of course, there was also the she-wolf not at all too far away that also held his gaze, a gaze in itself which was curious. She seemed as uncertain of them as they were of her, though perhaps the uncertainty stemmed more from Mordecai than Harlyn. Still, the wave of his tail that he offered in return was just as friendly as inviting as he could muster for the time being, as his own distraction was with slaking thirst versus making for a long-distance conversation.

The stranger noticed them both at length and regarded them with respectful nuetrality.  She was pondering how to approach a conversation with her when Mordecai took her attention as he made to push her away playfully.  Harlyn gave him a smirk and nipped at his nose as he pulled away, but soon enough her attention returned to the other wolf.

Leaving Mordecai to slake his thirst at the lake's edge, Harlyn picked up her heels to trot steadily over to the other wolf.  She assumed Mordecai would follow soon enough, but would not at all have been perturbed if he chose to stay behind.  When she came within a few yards of the other female she paused, her posture relaxed and the waving tail at her haunches a sign that she meant no harm.

"Hello there," Harlyn greeted with a smile.  There was curiosity apparent in her eyes as she regarded the girl, but she held her tongue for now - a simple hello sufficient enough for the moment.

The male was interested in the water – that she could understand. Her eyes did not drift back to the quiet lapping of the shoreline though.. instead, bright green eyes remained fixated upon the rather alluring female that took far more interest in her. The stranger’s posture was relaxed – neutral, and there was a smile upon her features when she gave a welcome.
 
Vega’s own features remained stoical. She assessed the situation critically, her feelings still sore from the treatment she had just received from her own pack mates, and in turn, dampening her mood. Yet as to not be rude, she gave a hesitant tip of her muzzle, her swarthy features canting slightly as her tail gave an idle flick. “Hello,” she offered in return.. and then, because she was never one to beat around the bush, she wanted to clarify something: “I’m not near claimed territory, am I?”

There must have been something about them that tipped her off, though to say she was near a claimed territory was truly beyond Mordecai's realm of knowledge. This side of the region he had scarcely ventured, and a large part of it remained unknown to him. Perhaps in time he would gain a fair assessment of it, but today was far from being one of those days. Finding the lake had been really nothing more than a blessing along their way, a landmark that meant that they were only that much closer to the prime real estate that Harlyn had picked out.

"Not that I know of," he answered, once his head and been pulled back from the water. He licked his lips passively. "Why, are there some around here?" It was hard to speculate whether or not she was concerned that they were a threat or because she had simply come across some unsavory hosts. Still, he did not waste the opportunity to try and glean a little information.

"I'm Mordecai, and this is Harlyn." Introductions seemed like a fair idea, too.

Harlyn smiled as the girl greeted her - well not just her, but Mordecai also for he was soon enough at her side.  She was quiet as he replied to her question and then proceeded to introduce them both.  Her companion posed a question to the girl, and Harlyn decided to take the time to give her the once over - recruitment already on her mind.  She seemed to be in good health, though perhaps a little down emotionally.  Maybe a new home would fix that...  But she didn't want to get too ahead of herself yet.

The male spoke then, and Vega shifted her gaze to drift between the both of them now. Mordecai and Harlyn – both seemed respectable enough, given they remained strangers to her. Of course, Kove and Raziel had seemed intriguing when she first met them as well – and while the latter was perhaps the only one she regretted not saying goodbye to, she found her allegiance to the pack had been given on misinformation of how they treated their pack mates.
 
“Vega – a loner, now, I guess,” she offered, a wry smirk creeping on to her features. She was relieved to know she wasn’t on pack territory, but she had been confidant that she hadn’t traipsed past any borders. “The only one I know of is a bit south of here, not far. Bearclaw Valley.”

*quietly tapes vega to things and hopes no one notices!?*

Bearclaw Valley. That was easy enough to remember and hey, maybe it sounded just a tad foreboding too. Of course, Mordecai couldn't have reckoned if the name was because the valley itself was shaped a certain way, or maybe because it was full of bears. Truth be told, he didn't know a lot of the names of territories in spite of knowing them. Maybe it was a generational thing, a name passed down through the ages.

Contemplation aside, he couldn't help but look to Harlyn for a brief moment. "Guess it's good we're not going south then." He couldn't have imagined how she would have felt if the territory she had scoped out was suddenly claimed. And frankly the stress and strain of such a thing would have been definitely not worth it. "But, I guess you're in like company," he went on to say, attention rolling back to Vega with a smile. As it were, they weren't really apart of a pack either, but if things went even semi-according to plan, they would be soon.

*NOTICES*

While Mordecai began to contemplate Bearclaw Valley, Harlyn was focused more on the stranger herself - Vega, a loner, now.  She furrowed her brow thoughtfully, wondering on the last bit of the statement for it had been followed by a nonchalant I guess.  It seemed they were in the company of someone who had recently become a lone wolf, and under circumstances she wasn't entirely certain the finality of.

"Did something happen with your former pack, Vega?" Harlyn asked, curious, but also concerned.  Had the pack disbanded and left her to wander alone with nothing but her own devices to care for her?  Or was it something else.. Had they asked her to leave their ranks?  Nothing about the female struck the druid as worrisome, but she knew well the secrets her kind sometimes buried deep beneath their skins.

While the one called Mordecai was happy to converse casually, it would seem the darker female, Harlyn, sought a little something more. Lime eyes drifted back to the she-wolf, noting that the tone itself was no accusatory. No, she simply seemed curious.. perhaps the two were seeking to join a pack somewhere, and she desired to know more about Bearclaw Valley? The thought clashed with the male’s previous statement, but the dark female wasn’t going to dwell on it.
 
And she had nothing to hide.
 
“I was a member of the Bearclaw Valley for about two weeks – I was hesitant to join, as they wanted me to swear my ‘undying loyalty’ or something from the start, and we didn’t know each other.. but I wanted a pack that would become family. They said they would be.” She shrugged, bemusement flashing across her features. “But the storm hit, and the pup den flooded. We had to move the pups, and after instructed to carry one of the puppies, the very man who helped accept me, and then his other pack mate thought to threaten me if something happened to the child.” She paused, her tail giving an idle flick. “Nothing did – I’m not a pup murderer. So once they were safe, I left. It just left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I didn’t think it was a good fit.” Perhaps she had been sensitive -- but she also had nothing to hide from the woman before her. "And your old pack?"

He was surprised when Vega simply launched into an open explanation of why she was suddenly on her own. But it was masked through curiosity and he listened to her as she laid out the details. Even the storm had affected wolves here too, not that the evidence wasn't scattered around and obvious. "That's rough," he said, splaying his ears briefly. He couldn't have understood their actions though, let alone their reasoning; the story was one-sided and moreover, he had no parental experience to compare it to.

But as for them, he curtailed the reasoning — or would at least try to — but simply stating: "We wanted to settle for ourselves. Have our own pack and all." Whether or not Harlyn would go derailing his attempt to sidestep the question, he couldn't have guessed. Mordecai was just as content to leave the past in the past, not go dredging up everything that could have or was potentially wrong with a prior situation.

She was quite open with what had happened in her prior pack, and it wasn't any of the scenarios Harlyn had expected.  The druid listened quietly to the tale.  She had known the storm was a bad one, but hadn't fully grasped the extent of the damage it had done to the entire Wilds.  For a moment, she worried for the Hollow and what hurts her home may have suffered that they were yet unaware of.  But that would be determined in time, and right now they had other things to focus on.

In reality, Harlyn wasn't entirely comfortable with the story the girl had to tell, but that was more due to the impression it gave of their future neighbors than anything to do with Vega herself.  She stole a glance at Mordecai as he responded, giving a short but neutral reaction to her story before answering the question she had posed with an equally vague response.  The druid smiled smoothly before looking back at Vega.  "I'm sorry to hear of what you have gone through," she said earnestly, "A pack should not do such things to their own."  Threatening, mistrust, and demanding fealty.  "A pack should earn trust and loyalty from their members, not demand it," she murmured with a small frown, pondering then how she would guide her own packmates to maintain that philosophy though it did soon enough occur to her that Mordecai might have a different idea about that.

The swarthy female looked between the two -- having told her story quite openly, she was met with splayed ears, and a sad reason of their own. Their unwillingness to share much of their own history, though felt the desire to question her of hers left her with little to desire, and Vega's relaxed form shifted then to attentive, offering a curt nod to the she-wolf as she spoke. She seemed kind enough -- certainly seemed to emphasize with her, but Vega had not looked for sympathy nor understanding. She had not displayed herself so openly for such things..

She had wanted honesty. "Best of luck to you both," she offered, her muzzle dipping back down to the water to dip her nose in to it before jerking it up, allowing a spray of water to shower her and cool her tired form.

Mordecai could not help at the way she politely, but curtly concluded her investigation of them. Whatever it was that she was searching for hadn't quite gone unnoticed by him, but she did not seem content with their answers. He, however, was content to simply let it go at that and move along. Though they may have been keen on gathering able wolves to aid them, he wasn't about to go pushing anyone in any particular direction. Instead he propositioned another way, at least wanting to extend goodwill towards her.

"I'm sure we'll need it, a little good luck never hurt anyone," he said at first, smiling as his gaze opted to wander briefly over the lake's surface. It came back to Vega shortly thereafter as the words he wanted came to him. "You're welcome to travel with us, if you're headed in the same direction. We're more than happy to split our meals with you." And if she rebuked the offer, he would not take offense towards it. After all, she would stand to possibility benefit from the interactions and food as much as they would the extra set of temporary paws and teeth.

Something changed in the female's demeanor shortly after Harlyn had finished her comment. She seemed put off somehow, and gave them a notably curt sentiment and turned away as though dismissing them. The Druid was confused. Had she said something wrong? 

Harlyn wanted to ask her if she was alright, but Mordecai was responding in a way that dismissed her sudden chilly attitude and extended an invitation to her to join their travels. The Cinderloch admittedly felt a little uncertain about that now, but she held her tongue out of respect for her future Alpha male.

Had she known Vega's reaction was over their lack of detail regarding their own history, she would have been able to dismiss her misgivings easily. After all, there truly wasn't much more to say about it than what they already had, and that was easily explained and the air would be cleared. As it was, all Harlyn saw was a sudden change in the woman's demeanor that seemed unprovoked, and that left the Druid wondering and slightly wary, though not outwardly so.

She couldn’t read the strangers before her – likely because they were that.. strangers. Yet she had ignored her gut instinct prior, and it had gotten her here – not hurt, but alone once more, and her search for a more permanent home and family pushed back to the start.
 
The male seemed to shift his demeanor now – once so silent in his responses, he now invited her to join them.. and in turn, the talkative female became quiet.
 
One era would flicker as her eyes would drift between them, and amicably, Vega determined to cut her losses then and there. She could have traveled with them.. gotten to know them better before committing herself to something fully. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it just yet, and she gave a gentle shake of her muzzle. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m not great company these days.” There was a small pause as her gaze drifted to the she-wolf, who seemed uncertain by Vega’s dismissal. “Perhaps I’ll run in to you both again someday.” With a nod, she pulled herself from the water’s edge, not necessarily desiring to take up more of their time. They were withholding something from her, and the inconsistent attitude between them was not something she was willing to look further in to at this time.
 
And no doubt, she would be a third wheel. “Safe travels,” she called out, excusing herself from the two nomads as she continued northward, uncertain where her paws truly lead her.

last post from me!

Vega seemed keen on leaving them and passively he was willing to let her go. His gaze followed her as she moved to and did depart them. By then he was certain he had pinpointed the change in her demeanor and could not blame her — it had not been either of their places to query what drew her out. Not when it was bound to be a one-sided conversation, at least from Mordecai's end. He had no desire to explain why they had come out there. What was done, was done, and as such deserved to stay buried in the past.

While another companion to travel with would have been nice, they did have an end destination in mind. A plan full of opaque certainties, even. He brought his gaze to look on Harlyn, and did not imagine that they were far off. Besides Luke, she was the only one who really had the idea of where they were going. At best, he had a shaky concept of what the terrain ahead had in store for them, as the last time he had come through that specific expanse of region was nothing more than a one-way trip.

"Guess we should meet back up with the others," he decided.

Wrapping this up :D

The woman declined the offer politely enough, and Harlyn could not begrudge her the lack of interest she showed in their invitation.  She still wondered at the shift in her demeanor, but it didn't much matter as she was shortly sidling away from them.  Harlyn had given her a nod of farewell before looking to Mordecai.  She anticipated an opinion on the situation from him, but smiled fondly when she received nothing more than a suggestion to return to the group.  It was one of the things about him that so charmed her, his nonchalance and his easy nature.  He would probably forget about the encounter as soon as they made it back to the group and he'd never bother himself with pondering about the woman's behavior again.

Deciding she liked the sound of that herself, Harlyn gave a nod and set off to rejoin the rest of their pack with Mordecai in tow.  Soon enough they would be at the Hollow and the real work would begin.