better and better (joining)

Adya heard the howl go up, and his pale ears pricked with curiosity.

He'd been trekking along the coast, north to south. The desire to see a friendly or at least non-murderous face wasn't strong enough for him to lose sight of the shore - not in this strange land with all its unfamiliar sights and scents. The sound came as something of a shock, as he hadn't realized how close he was to occupied territory... Was he in the territory? That would be an excellent way to begin a relationship with the Teekon wolves. 

He paused, lowered his round, moonish face to the ground, snuffled at a scent mark. No, definitely a border mark. It wasn't too sour or too bitter; it smelled like a warning, not a threat. Fierce enough to keep out intruders without the malice that  would attract thrill-seeking challengers. It smelled like one of moder's marks; she was always clever with them.
I can assume they're busy with the kind of drama that comes with having packmates, then, he thought dryly. Maybe I can just... sit, for a while? Sand is hard to walk on.
His fur was gilded with the stuff. Grains were still clinging to his paws. They were like snowflakes, but dumb. Adya had no choice but to ease himself down on yet more of them, and try to pick the sharpest bits out of his forepaw.

Charon decided to get a quick patrol in before he'd go out and explore again. He loved the exploration process, although Charon really wished that he'd run into Amekaze soon. He was growing impatient and got tired of waiting for his Alpha position — the yearling yearned for it like nothing else. Perhaps the only things that rivalled his desire to be an Alpha was the desire to be one alongside Amekaze, and the desire for his pack to be a unit again; no more quarrelling.

While lost in thoughts, his nose caught an interesting thread of scent and Charon decided to follow it. It did not take long for the yearling to find someone at his pack's borders, and his interest was immediately piqued. "Can I help you?" Charon asked, uncharacteristically friendly (he usually just demanded what they wanted at his borders), although he showed that he was top dog of these lands by puffing himself up in size, displaying his dominance through a lifted head and tail.

Engrossed as he was in cleaning himself up, Adya didn't immediately notice the other wolf's presence. When he spoke, the white wolf stiffened, one foreleg lifted awkwardly into the air. He put it down, licked his lips.

"Ah."

This wolf was younger than him. Smaller, too, and already wounded - still, he looked strong and healthy. Did his allies take care of him, despite his weakness? Maybe it wouldn't be impossible to knock him down, if things got ugly, but Adya hoped it wouldn't come to that - his strengths lay in devastating wordplay, not fighting, and certainly not in warfare against a legion of wolves.

"Adya. My name - I'm Adya Ru." Scratch the last part. "Are you a leader of some kind? I'd like to join your... pack, if that's possible."

The word sounded right. He learned it from a wanderer, in a place she had called the Tangle.

Charon rolled his eyes when the stranger finished grooming himself. What a place to do such a thing. Charon remained tall, making sure the stranger knew his place upon his borders, even though his question hadn't been unfriendly. He saw the wolf eye the wounds on his shoulder, but no comments were made about them. Then an introduction followed. Adya. Sounded a bit like a girl's name to Charon, but he made no comment about it.

A confident smile curled around Charon's lips as the wolf said they were interested in joining their pack. They had barely begun their plans to merge packs and already good fortune was upon them in the form of more wolves to bolster their ranks with. "Yes, I'm the pack's Beta. And soon to be Alpha." Charon scrutinised the stranger, wondering if he'd see surprise that a yearling like he had managed to reach such heights. "Anyway, can you hunt? What're you good at?" Because even though Charon was secretly excited to welcome a newcomer into their ranks, he still was going to need useful wolves for his ranks if they were to get through winter well.

Adya believed the best way to overcome awkwardness was by pretending it didn't exist. He stood up, tried to maintain an amiably submissive stance. Beta. Alpha. Why does there always, always have to be a language barrier? Why can't everyone do things the same way?

The stranger looked too young to have any sort of title, but things were different here. Adya managed to keep a straight face. He considered himself for a moment: he'd hunted rabbits and caribou with some wanderers he fell in with a few months ago, and moder taught him a few things about navigation, but other than that... The longer he kept the stranger waiting, the less truthful his words would sound. Best to get it over with.

"Small animals, and large game if someone helps me drive the prey. A bit of botany. I know the stars, too, otherwise I wouldn't be here - a few of the southern ones are new to me, but I can pick them up."

Charon was pleased that the stranger submitted to him, as asked of him. With his healing wounds he may look beatable in a fight, and while Charon would fight tooth and nail to maintain his position as future Alpha, the yearling wasn't keen on a fight. Luckily there wasn't going to be one, and the fact that this Adya fellow knew his place gave him a head start at being a good addition to the pack.

Adya explained a thing or two about his hunting capabilities, but Charon's real interest was piqued when he mentioned the stars. He had to keep himself from excitedly asking Adya to tell him a story — that could wait. "Our pack is small, and we're soon going to move to a better territory for winter and join up with another pack. You're welcome to join us, since you sound like you can take care of yourself and the pack, Adya." Charon smiled confidently and then said: "I'd love to hear what you know about the stars sometime." The yearling stepped forward and briefly touched his nose to Adya's shoulder as a welcoming gesture.

• Does this happen before, after or during the pack meeting? I was thinking Adya could follow Charon up to where the others are, but that wouldn’t explain Charon’s very impressive multi-tasking skills.
  

“And I would be delighted to talk about them. Try and stop me.” The pack wolf’s quick decision was... gratifying, Adya supposed. He returned the gesture with a genuine smile and a tail-wag. “Well, then. Where do I start?”

it's set after the meeting, if you don't mind. otherwise Adya would already have had to be at the meeting, and Charon went there with Flóki. So this is after the meeting while everyone is exploring, preparing for the move etc! ^^

Perhaps if Charon and Amekaze had settled upon the mountain he desired already, Charon would not have been so quick to accept another stranger into his home. However, he wanted to get out and explore more, and get on with his life. Besides, this wolf seemed fine; what could possibly go wrong?

"Do you know if there are any places when you stand on a mountain, where you can touch the stars?" Charon asked, his inner Naturalist triggered. Besides, he was moving towards a mountain, so he should know these things. If it were possible — heck, even if it was unheard of he might try — maybe he could find the Moonspear's tallest point. Maybe he'd see his deceased parents and siblings up there, too.

If you want to PP Adya out, we can post a couple of times so I can count it for EXP as well! :)

Charon often had a shadow, whether he realized it or not. Floki made a conscious effort to follow him when possible, soaking up as much information as he could. On this particular day, he had hung back in the shrubbery, watching as Charon interacted with a new wolf. He listened quietly to the conversation for a short while, then emerged and came to stand next to Charon.

He looked up at the freckled Beta with a smile, then glanced at the stranger. Had he passed Charon's test and joined their ranks?

Unfortunately Adya had no answer, and feeling that he felt caught out without answer Charon intervened by saying, "You must be tired. Go ahead and get some rest." It was only after he had sent Adya into Stavanger Bay territory that Charon realised Flóki was stood beside him. "Hey bud," Charon said with a smile. "Wanna come finish this patrol with me?" There was little need to patrol any longer, but wolves like Adya appearing showed there was still some need to it. Maybe Flóki'd like to join while they took another whiff of nostalgia before they left Stavanger Bay behind for once and for all.

sure thing! thanks for joining :)

The white wolf didn't respond to Charon's previous question, prompting a quizzical frown from Floki. But Charon seemed to chalk it up to exhaustion, and excused the newest member of the pack to take a rest. Floki watched as the male turned and departed, then looked to his brother with a wave of his tail.

"Sure!" he replied, bumping his nose against Charon's shoulder as they began to walk. "Is that guy joining us?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder in the direction that Adya had gone.

one more from you to wrap up? :D

Charon started the patrol round Stavanger Bay's borders, realising full well it might be one of the last times he did so. He felt no more protectiveness over the Bay, eager to leave it behind and start his new future. For now though they still needed someplace to live, and they did not yet have a new home, and so keeping the Bay safe was still necessary. Flóki asked if Adya were to join them, and Charon nodded. "Yup! See? This move is already bringing us luck."

A fond smile rested on Charon's face as he started to trot along the Bay's borders with his brother in tow. He hoped there'd be others like Adya so that his and Amekaze's pack could grow big and strong.

Perfect! :)

"You're right," Floki agreed, and he truly believed it. Moving to Moonspear would bring prosperity to both packs, where they had previously been lacking. He would have preferred to go do some exploring at Moonspear, but for now, Stavanger Bay was still their home. He patrolled with Charon for a little while, though his gaze often strayed to the south where he could see the top of their future residence outlined against the sky.