Lost Creek Hollow The Warmth That Thaws a Soul

"What was I thinking", Siku thought to himself as he trudged through a shallow section of icy river, "It's been days since I've found any evidence of other wolves and even that I'm not sure was a wolf". Siku felt thoroughly sorry for himself but he knew that he needed to find some of his kind before he starved to death in the grip of the winter. "Well," Siku smirked to himself, "half my kind.".

Siku had seen what appeared to be a fairly large forest in the distance while trying to catch fish from the partially frozen river and he thought that there would be shelter, if there was shelter then there was prey and if there was prey there would be other wolves there and maybe a whole pack. Ever since his mother had chased him off he had been trying to reconnect with the wolf side of his family, so far with horrible luck, he had lived his entire life as a coyote and he hadn't the first idea about the things wolves do. Siku snarled as a snowflake landed on his exposed back scars, sending icy hot sensations down the length of his spine and interrupting his thoughts. Siku glanced up at the snow that had started falling lightly from the sky and almost immediately began running as quickly as he could to reach the scant cover of the forest.

As Siku neared the edge of the forest his nostrils were suddenly filled with the smells of other animals and Siku came to a skidding halt, kicking up snow and pebbles in all directions. Siku paused a moment to catch his breath and then began circling the area with his nose to the ground, it certainly was some other animal smell and it was a smell that was similar to Siku, yet somehow different; stronger, muskier. "Well it certainly smells like the last scent I had, if it's not wolves then I'll be a salmon's uncle." and with that Siku sat on his haunches and let out a few yips that shortly turned into the howl of a wolf. Siku grimaced, he certainly hadn't meant to sound like a coyote in the beginning, Siku dejectedly lay his head on his paws in frustration hoping that the pack would take him in despite his coyote half. The new position on the ground further displayed his ribs, evidence of the hunger that had been gnawing at him for days.

*snags this* Oh hai! :D

Lagon, in pursuit of the guardian specialty of the Mercenary trade had taken to running regular patrols of the borders, figuring that it would be easier for him to work towards achieving the mercenary trade first before going for the caregiver because what he wanted to specialize in (sitter) was sort of hard to prove his skills for considering the Hollow had no young children that were in need of watching or teaching. Snow, as inevitable as it was in the winter season, had begun to fall once more layering the ground with the cold powder, crunching under his weight as Takehiko made his usual rounds, pausing every so many feet to sniff at the markings to determine their age and occasionally lift his leg to refresh where he felt that the scents had begun to fade a little too much for his personal liking. 

The dragon had been close when the yips had went up into the frigid air, steps ceasing and smoky black hackles bristling as his mind immediately went to coyote. Any coyote he'd came across hadn't belonged to a pack, or if they had it was small consisting of either nuclear family or entirely unrelated individuals (not unlike most wolf packs); but he'd never known coyotes if they were apart of a pack to have one as large as wolves. Even so he was weary of them by nature. There had been a small group of them that had attacked Naga Veil Forest once when he and his siblings had been very small and while the coyotes had been eradicated the distrust towards them had been drilled into his mind by Sveinx. Part of Lagon rebelled against the idea, for surely not all of them were thieves and trouble.

A howl followed shortly after, in the same voice that had vocalized the yips as Lagon closed the distance between himself and the stranger, causing the dragon some deal of confusion. As he approached, body posture dominate (for the moment he was the highest ranked wolf here and he had no issue displaying that), his mahogany red gaze swept over the other male who appeared to be wolf for the most part, though his scent was different. Wolf but not a little bit coyote as well. While he'd assumed that there had been two: one wolf, one coyote Lagon realized his mistake quickly. The coywolf had lain down appearing dejected, and whether it was intentional or not had exposed his slightly emancipated ribs. 

He was probably hungry, Lagon realized, and while he was a jovial beast by nature but he knew that his cheery disposition had no place upon the borders, especially not while in the presence of strangers. The dragon's penchant for generosity might have inspired him to offer a meal, at least, he withheld any offer (for the moment). This dejected looking coywolf was here for a purpose as his howl had dictated and it was his job as a guardian (or would be guardian at any rate) to determine what. “You rang?” Lagon inquired simply, detached but formal nevertheless.

Hello :D!!

Siku had noticed the dominant posture of the approaching wolf and stood meekly, intimidated by the size of the smoky black wolf.

"I.....I'd like to join your pack if your alphas will allow it? I was raised by my coyote mother but I'd rather be around my wolf kind.", Siku had been quick to try to explain why he had yipped in the beginning and that he had never been around other wolves. "I was always on the move when I was younger and I always love seeing new things, I may be able to provide the pack with information of the surrounding areas. I may be small, but I'm quick when I want to be." At this Siku allowed himself to puff up slightly with pride, but he still was careful to keep his icy blue eyes from meeting the eyes of the other wolf, his very survival hinged on this meeting and subsequent decision of the pack.

Siku hoped that he would be accepted quickly, the cold had creeped into his limbs while he had been laying on the frozen ground and the continued snow had set his back aflame with phantom pain. Luckily, slightly to his right, he noticed a bush that had remained fairly thick so far through the winter and he made a move to seek shelter under it's snow-laden branches.

Lagon was not often the largest wolf, bearing a medium build and svelte form that probably looked dainty when compared to some of your hulking and burly wolves but he could tell as the light colored male rose to his paws that he was bigger than the stranger at their borders. Size was not anything that Lagon put much stock into, the large and the small both had their pros and cons of course and an intimidating figure didn't automatically make someone a beast in a fight and vice versa. His purpose was given, confirming what Lagon had believed on both accounts: that he was a coywolf and that he was looking to join the Hollow. “I can't and won't speak for my alphas or the beta,” Because at the end of the day it was their decision whether he could join their ranks or not. “I suspected you might have been a coywolf,” That particular fact didn't bother Lagon but maybe it would be different for one of the three wolves in charge of running the pack. 

“Sounds like the scout trade might be of interest to you,” Lagon spoke, showing that he'd given his rapt attention to the stranger at the borders as he offered skills without having to be prompted. He was efficient and cut right to the chase: something that Lagon could appreciate. “So you said that you lived with your coyote mother? Does that mean a pack is a new concept for you?” Lagon inquired because he really didn't want to know and didn't want to assume either way. He wanted to have some sort of background to offer whichever leader intercepted them eventually, to present a solid case, mostly because he wanted to be the best guardian he could be.

“Hey-!” Lagon barked, brow furrowing in puzzlement when he looked back (for he'd looked away for a few seconds to nip at an itch on his leg) to see that the stranger at their borders had taken shelter in a nearby bush from the snow, hiding in the shadows except for his blue eyes which peered out of his shelter at the dragon. Lagon gave a heavy shake of his coat to dispel the snow that had begun to layer upon the coarse fur of his back. “It's going to look bad if you're hiding in the shadows if one of my leaders happen to come by.” He would have been suspicious would the other have been hiding in shelter when he'd first approached the scene and Lagon trusted his considerations as a guardian as to how the stranger might be perceived by one of the Hollow's leaders.

Sorry it's a shorter one lol

Siku flinched when the wolf reacted to his seeking shelter underneath the bush and quickly moved into the open again, he certainly hadn't meant to cause any mistrust and he decided that a few moments of pain would be worth the acceptance of these wolves. "I....yes....uh....Sorry for hiding in the bush, I've got these burns on my back that hurt when the snow falls on them. Yes pack is a new concept to me, my own family group only ever got up to 3.", Siku paused to take a breath, he had to be careful here, he was getting into a different kind of pain now. Siku realized that he hadn't even given his name and it increased his panic already beyond what it had been, "Oh! My name's Siku by the way, sorry I didn't say earlier.". Giving his name is the only time that Siku glanced into the fiery red eyes of the other wolf, his mother had always taught him to be proud of his name before things had grown difficult between them but he certainly wasn't so proud as to hold that gaze for more than a second.

Siku shifted nervously, "If there are scout positions open then I would be more than happy to fill them, anything I can do to help the pack. Are one of your alphas nearby? I'd rather not intrude on your territory and I can spend the night away from the borders until they decide if I may join or not."

tagging @Mordecai , @Harlyn & @Luke so a leader can hop in here :D and that's perfectly ok! sometimes i write novels of fluff, lol so there's never any obligation to match my post length. c;

“Oh,” The dragon said, ears falling slightly when the stranger admitted that he'd been seeking shelter only because he had burn scars on his back that stung when the snow hit them. It made him feel bad about chiding him on diving for the shelter, assuming that he simply hadn't wanted to endure the snow. Knowing there was a reason — and a sound one at that — made Lagon feel like an idiot for assuming but he still, regardless, didn't recommend the other seek the shadows of the shelter. It might not set a good first impression, and there might be days where it snowed nonstop, he couldn't hide for days on end and not contribute anything to the pack. “Wow, only three?” This confirmed what he'd been told: that they were typically loners or that their “packs” were extremely small. Lagon couldn't name off the top of his head how many wolves that Naga Veil Forest had been home to. Over ten, at the very least — and that was just adults.

“Siku? I'm Ancalagon, but you can call me Lagon, everyone does.” 'Lagon' was just so much easier to say and the young dragon had gotten used to hearing the nickname so much that if someone decided to formally address him as “Anacalagon” he might not be sure how to respond to it. Their gaze met for a brief second, a graze of glacier blue against fervid red. “Well you have to earn the scout trade it's not really a position. Our “positions” are ranks like I'm an Epsilon but I'm trying to earn the guardian trade. It's not really required but having special skills that help contribute to the pack, like being a good scout, does help your case.” Lagon explained patiently. It was kind of like explaining it to a child even though Siku was clearly not a child. If anything he was probably older than the young dragon who had only recently hit his year mark. 

“I'll go ahead and call for them,” Lagon assured moments before his muzzle tilted skywards and he let out a howl meant for one of the Hollow's three leaders, informing them vaguely that they had someone interested at joining at their borders. “It shouldn't take one of them too long to make their way here. I'm not sure who will respond, Harlyn, Mordecai — who are our alpha pair, or Luke, the pack's Beta. I don't think it'll take them all night to decide. I'll relay what you've told me, but y'know just be honest and respectful and they might have a few questions that I forgot to ask though you pretty much answered all of my questions before I could ask them,” Lagon offered him a cheeky smile, to prove that he wasn't mad and that, in fact, he'd appreciated cutting right to the chase. It had saved them a lot of time. “I'll stick around in the background.” He wasn't the type to just leave a scene he'd intercepted, plus if he did forget anything it would probably benefit him to watch how the process went down (his own interview had been kind of a blur), plus if Siku did win the leader(s) approval then Lagon could give him the tour and maybe catch him something to eat because the poor coywolf looked like he could seriously benefit from a good meal.

quick post before i head out to work! >_>

When a howl rose up from the depths of the thinning wood, Mordecai had not realized how far he had gone through the territory. His shoulder ached considerably less and somewhere in the winding wood he had long abandoned thought to where he was heading in favor to ponder over any one of many things that he came across. Still, he took the opportunity to return to those borders without thought to the ordeal he had been through, perhaps eager enough to assert his presence after a lengthy departure.

As he happened upon the scene, he spied out Ancalagon easily against the snowy backdrop. Less obvious was the small wolf he had found, though Mordecai found that labeling the canine as wolf may have been a little off. There were finer nuances in the snowy figure that suggested something else, perhaps a muddied heritage that he could not quite place a decision on. But his solitary gaze did not linger on the figure long, instead it was drawn to the yearling curiously. He had intercepted someone, staying true to his talk of wanting to guard their borders.

"What's this?" he asked, though he knew why he was there.

Siku gratefully flashed a "coyote grin" at Lagon, "Thank you Lagon, I'll be sure to prove how worthy I am of the scout trade.". Siku felt exactly like a pup again, having things explained to him, but he knew that it would be his situation the next couple of days because he was just so new to 'being a wolf'. When Lagon said he was going to call for one of the leaders it increased Siku's apprehensive excitement almost ten-fold, this was it, time to see if he had what it took to be where he felt he belonged.

Siku paced nervously for a few moments in the slowly drifting snow, excited and dreading the meeting with the leadership in equal amounts until he felt like he was going to burst with nervous energy. While he was pacing, a thought suddenly came to him and he glanced back at Lagon, "You could have treated me like any other intruder and run me off without another word to anyone about it. Thank you for giving me this chance, if there's anything that I can ever do for you......" Siku's ears pricked at the quiet sounds of something approaching and he quickly assumed a respectful posture with one last quick grin at Lagon.

The wolf that approached looked even larger than Lagon! Siku suddenly felt like he was going to feel very small for the rest of his life, he had never realized just how large wolves were. The wolf looked like he had recently survived a fight as well, a dangerous one by the looks of it, almost the entire right side of the wolf had some sort of scarring and his right eye seemed to be missing. Siku retained his respectful posture, lowered tail and no direct eye contact, despite almost jumping out of his skin with anticipation and doubts. "Try to stay calm," Siku thought, "Lagon seemed very understanding and nice maybe the alphas will be as well. Stay respectful and be completely open.". The wolf's gaze lingered on Siku for a moment before turning to Lagon and then he spoke, Siku wasn't sure if it was to him or Lagon so he opted to remain silent until spoken to, out of respect.

Siku had flashed Lagon a smile that was, while undeniably full of gratitude, there was something also a little bit mischievous to it, though Lagon brushed this off simply as it was how wolves tended to, for the majority, see coyotes. As mischief makers. Siku had taken to pacing, but Lagon had settled upon his haunches, a picture of ease against the nerves that had seemed to grip his companion. Lagon understood: he, himself, had been full of jittery nerves during his own “interview” process. There was gratitude in Siku's voice as he ceased his pacing long enough to break the silence that had settled between them as they awaited, offering further gratitude for giving him a chance. “I could have,” Lagon agreed, “but you're not intruding on our lands, nor do you strike me as a threat and so I didn't see the need to be hostile.” A guardian was vigilant and protective of the borders, of course, but Lagon didn't think that a good guardian went berserk and possessive and hostile without cause to be such. He was just trying to do his duty as a wanna-be guardian and while it was nice, found the flattery to be a little strange. He'd never had anyone thank him for intercepting them at the borders before and he wasn't quite sure what to do with the foreign gratitude. 

Lagon's posture lowered into one of submission when Mordecai came on the scene, mahogany red irises lifting from Siku to touch the alpha male as he approached, holding the submissive posture for a few moments longer before he rose beneath Mordecai's curious gaze. Right. This was his time to determine that he'd done an efficient job at intercepting — even if Siku had been prepared without needing much prying from Lagon. “Mordecai, sir, this is Siku. He's a coywolf and hasn't been apart of a wolf pack before, having lived with his coyote mother until recently,” These were the things that Siku had told him, offering him the knowledge freely without attempting to hide it. “But he shows enthusiasm to learn how to ...er ...wolf I guess,” Because Lagon wasn't entirely sure how to phrase that. “He spoke of an interest in scouting, also.” Lagon informed Mordecai, a small flutter of nerves of his own making it's presence known in his stomach.

The last thing he wanted to do was mess up in front of Mordecai.

sorry about the brief delay @Siku! work ate me for a couple of days. :C

An ear fanned out to one side as he listened to the report Ancalagon gave to him. It would have seemed that the yearling knew a thing or two about handling visitors to their borders, though he had no idea that their visitor had come prepared. Such a thought would not cross his mind either, given that he also heard that their particular visitor had not been apart of a wolf pack. This struck him with particular interest, but no so much that he wondered after a life outside of a pack. It was quite the opposite; Mordecai considered the potential issues that could have arose from such a thing, and the fumbling of his companion seemed to suggest the same. Learning to wolf.

His gaze, which had become unfocused in thought as he processed imparted information, settled on the coywolf curiously. "Why join a pack now?" The query felt necessary to ask, though he imagined a simpler response to it. Survival, of course, but what he knew of coyotes told him that they were quite capable of managing on their own. Winter was a harsh season for all of them no doubt, but somehow they were occasionally fortunate enough to survive such.

No problem @Mordecai I know how that goes, work is an insidious beast waiting to devour everyone, everyday of their life ;) glad to see you survived though!

Siku sat quiet through Lagon's report, not wanting to interfere in the situation until he himself was questioned. There was a moment of silence after Lagon's report and then the wolf named Mordecai turned to Siku and asked him why he was joining now. Siku's ears flattened against his skull as he looked down at the snow around them and a low whine escaped his throat, "I'm not going to survive the winter as I'm sure you probably already know, I can see my ribs as well as anyone else, and I  need a pack if I want to survive to see the spring. I know it sounds very self-serving and maybe manipulative but I enjoy living, I'd be willing to do anything in return, frankly I'd be in a debt that I'd never feel could be repaid. Mostly though," at this Siku glanced up with ears erect and icy eyes looking directly at Mordecai, "I've never felt like I've owed my coyote kind anything. It's like Lagon said, I only ever lived with my mother until a year or two ago and she certainly didn't show me anything to make me proud of being part coyote. I've been looking for a wolf pack to join from the day that she chased me off, I'm willing to do anything that needs to be done to prove that I can be a contributing factor to this packs survival."

Siku was shaking, but he couldn't be sure if that was the cold or if that was the intense waves of emotion moving through his body. The only option he had left to him was joining this pack, there wasn't going to be time to find another and during the time that him and Lagon had been speaking he knew that this where he should be. Siku sat quietly for a moment, regaining his composure, "Thank you for taking your time to consider me."

don't mind lagon he's sort of being an awkward creep just chilling, lol. :p

Mordecai had listened to Lagon's report as the dragon had offered it up, and after Lagon was finished the alpha male turned his attention from Lagon to Siku breaking the silence he'd adopted during Lagon's report to make an inquiry. During this, Lagon was silent, more or less assuming that his part in this process was finished. He'd made the interception and now it was between Siku and Mordecai. Lagon didn't leave though, instead lingering a bit in the “back” observing. He was interested (though he attested this because he'd been the one to answer Siku's call first) in finding out whether Mordecai would accept Siku or not. After all, Siku had initially seemed pretty worried about him being a coywolf and how it might affect his chances of getting into the Hollow. 

Lagon gave his attention to Siku as the coywolf began to respond to the question posed to him, Lagon's ears of smoky black cupping forth though he could hear him just fine even without that attentive action. Lagon's eyes went to Mordecai before they slid back to Siku when the coywolf had finished responding to Mordecai's inquiry, contented to simply observe until he was called back into the conversation (if he would be).

Things felt as though they were going swimmingly, up until the point where Mordecai felt the icy gaze of the coywolf meet his own. Perhaps Siku felt it necessary to make a point — something in which the alpha male could understand — but it wasn't a point that Mordecai hadn't heard before. He had heard it many times, perhaps even used the same rehashed in places himself. His initial response was mute; a thin curling of his scarred lip came about to reveal his teeth in warning. Though aware of the quivering of the much younger hybrid, it was a necessary response to such a bold move. It soured him instinctively, though it may have been better to say that Mordecai had long been soured by the repetitive dredging and structure of the borders and their fruits.

He veered from how Harlyn would have handled things, and how he once had handled them himself. Less open and welcoming, Mordecai plucked his words decisively at Siku's close. "You claim you're a scout, but what else can you do? I have scouts, hunters, and guardians too," and all of them to him were things they all were capable of doing. And of course he had his reservations beneath it all; after all, it had been a coyote the cougar followed and who was to say that they were not bred from the same stock?

As it were, he knew he had more to consider than whether or not such a creature would benefit them in the long run. There was confidence in the thought that their numbers would sustain them through the lengthy draw of winter and before too long, their numbers would bloom to nip at the delicate fingers of spring.

So sorry for the long wait for the reply, got wrapped up in holiday stuff with the family and haven't had much time to be on.

Siku knew he had crossed a line the instant that Mordecai's lip curled in warning of the breach of conduct. Siku immediately assumed a more docile and respectful posture, averting his gaze and even showing as much of his throat as he could without rolling over onto his back. Siku was terrified that he had ruined his chances at being a member of this pack and was already not looking forward to searching for another when Mordecai asked what else it was that he could do besides scouting and Siku felt a small ray of hope that he may still be accepted.

Siku frantically sifted through his memories searching for anything else there was that he could do that would help get him into the pack. The little ray of hope that Siku had felt earlier was quickly being snuffed out as he realized that there was very little he actually had to offer, the only thing he had ever done as a pup was wander around the land with his mother and that was about it. Just as he was about to give up hope again Siku remembered all the times that they had traveled at night and the way his mother had taught him to use the stars and moon to guide them and plan for nightly hunts when the moon was fullest and gave the most light. Not necessarily a skill that no other wolf had but Siku loved looking at the night sky almost as much as seeing new things and traveling the countryside and he felt that he had at least one or two things to share with the wolves. "I can use the stars and moon to guide me on nightly ranges!", Siku blurted out quickly, "I know it's probably not what you're looking for but what good is information I get scouting if I get lost on the way back during the night in unfamiliar territory? I also know a little about the stories of certain star-signs and patterns and what those mean to wolves born within those time periods. Now that I'm saying it, I realize how very little a hungry pack would need skills like that.".  Siku ended quietly, it had started as such a good idea and suddenly had taken such a deep drop to a very bad offer. "Stories of star-signs?! How could I be so damn stupid?" "That's about the only other thing that I could offer Mordecai." Siku was very careful to keep his gaze averted and retain a respectful pose, fearing even to move a single hair of his tail.

no worries, holidays are crazy. :) i'm gonna go ahead and title you up (and unlock your other thread) so you can start posting more too, and then we can slowly draw this thing to a close!

He was eager, Mordecai would give him that. And though he found himself still wary of the notion that they would be taking in someone who didn't entirely know what they were doing, he also found himself relenting in keeping them out. It had perhaps been his more eager subordinates that kept their numbers solid, so one more wouldn't have hurt them. It wasn't like they didn't have the stock to keep them fed, right?

He let out the breath he had been holding, stifling it away from being a sigh. At least this one had been keen to show submission where it was needed, so not all was lost on him. "You'll have to work to keep your place here," he decided on, "but I don't think I have to tell you much more than that." It wouldn't be easy, but then again in the middle of winter few things were easy.

"Lagon," he said, seeking out the other who had sat by so quietly, "would you show him around?"

Poppin' back in here for my last post with Lagon. c:

Lagon kept to his silent observation of the scene before him, hesitant on if Mordecai would accept Siku or not. For a few moments Lagon was not sure that Mordecai was actually going to accept Siku, and for that small measure of time it didn't, percisely, look good to Lagon. Still, he was the silent sentry, silently urging Siku to be able to turn it around. Somehow, he did, in the end, whatever he added as extra skills — which sounded a lot to Lagon like something that might fall in line with naturalist — managed to pass Mordecai's inspections and the alpha male informed Siku that he would have to earn his place. This wasn't different than what any other wolf had to do and Lagon took the words as confirmation moments before the alpha male turned to him and inquired as to if he would show the coywolf around.

“Yes sir, I will.” Lagon responded formally with a respectful bow of his head when he was addressed before he rose from his reclined position and attempted to catch Siku's eye. With a wag of his tail and a gesture of his muzzle Lagon headed towards the thick of the trees, giving a momentary pause to ensure Siku was following before he led the way on their tour of the Hollow.