Redhawk Caldera I Don't Have the Right Name, or the Right Looks, but I Have Twice the Heart

@Fox @Peregrine @Elwood @Finley

 So this was it, the end of her journey. 
Maja paced back and forth, not wanting to howl yet, bringing the alphas here. Hello, I would like to join your pack. I am a good hunter, and I can track well, she rehearsed in her head once again. Though, she didn't like how she sounded. It was too... 'show off-y'. If I were the alpha, I would want them to bring something to prove themselves, she thought. So she sprinted away, looking for something to hunt.
 An hour and a half later, she came back, panting and carrying a Mule Deer in her maw. She let it fall to the ground, bloody. It was small and young, had wondered off away from the rest. 
 Frowning, Maja wondered if this would be the right choice, to join this pack. Remembering Aduin, she gained confidence, and let out a howl near the borders. Her ears immediately searched for any wolves, and she let her tail fall to the ground. She hoped Aduin would come first, but the alpha is who she targeted.

I'm going to play this as though she's not sure what's happening with Peregrine's situation (since I'm not even positive at this point lol) Welcome!

Fin had been on her way to visit the alphas when she became distracted by the call.  Or rather, she was on her way to visit the alpha - singular, since there was only one now.  Or was there?  That was part of her intent in her visit, to check in and see what new developments there were to that saga.  Truth be told, she was happy for the distraction.  Negative discussion topics made her uncomfortable.  She didn't know how to deal well with sorrow, nor was she all that great at responding with like seriousness to anything that required it.  She avoided it when she could, and fortunately, it looked like the opportunity had arose where she could.

Turning her steps, Finley broke into a swift canter that brought her towards the source of the howl.  Her trajectory was a bit off, so when she arrived at the borders, she had to do a bit more hunting before she came upon the girl.  Her paws did eventually bring her to the source, whom she approached with a posture befitting her rank and the situation.

"You brought snacks," Finley commented lightly, peering at the young deer at her paws.  In her opinion, this chick was already off to a good start.  They had a mama bear to feed and apparently papa bear was going to be useless in that arena now.

feel free to skip me, eljay won't be doing much anyway so no need to wait for me! :)

Eljay had been spying on mommy when she departed from the rendezvous site, curious to see where she was going. He could tell that something was bothering mommy, and though it made Eljay feel tense himself, absorbing her emotions, the boy was also curious to see where she was headed. Perhaps it was something to do with what was wrong with her — and the general atmosphere in the pack — and Eljay was determined to find out about it. Though he stood at nearly Finley and Elwood's height, it was evident from Eljay's general mannerisms and walk that he was still very much a pup.

When mommy came to the borders (a thrilling yet frightening place that Eljay had visited only a couple of times with mommy and/or daddy, and that he had never gone beyond just yet) Eljay halted a small distance behind her. He stared at the stranger at the borders, observing the behaviour between her and his mother in silence.

As the wolf arrived, Maja averted her eyes downwards. She lowered her head slightly, though, this did not seem like the alpha. She nodded a bit and gave a little space so the wolf could see the deer clearly, and began to speak, letting the words flow smoothly (Maja wasn't a wolf of formality, but honestly, she had no choice) "Hello, I have come to ask if I may join your pack." She paused, wanting to cringe at how old and boring she sounded, before talking again, "I am a good hunter and I can track well." She stopped, thinking if she should mention Aduin, then chose not to. She noticed the younger wolf near the she-wolf, wondering if he was her child, the resemblance was obvious.

Aduin promised to come by. So he shall!

Aduin heard the call, and he had headed over to where it had come from. Though, when he had arrived earlier, no one was there. So he waited. And fell asleep.

However, when he heard voices, his ears twitched at familiarity. He knew that voice. In the second after, he was up with excitement. His sister had come, just as she had promised. And he had fallen asleep! He rushed over to meet her. Though, upon arriving, he found someone else had found her first. He hid back a bit, just to see how things would go, not wanting to intrude and mess things up. His tail wagged eagerly, waiting for her to be allowed to step over into a new life.

I hate to say it, but RHC is actually at full capacity right now so we're not actually able to accept any new members.  That being said, I have an idea as to how to stall IC'ly that might make it interesting :)

Finley heard her son approaching, but didn't realize it was him until she glanced over her shoulder and spotted him.  She gave him a surprised smile and a wag of her tail before looking back at the stranger.  She had heard from Elwood that Eljay sometimes snuck up on him at the borders too and she was curious to see how he behaved in the situation.
The girl explained that she was looking for a place in their pack, which Finley had assumed.  She went on to explain her worth in simple terms, leaving the beta to begin pondering her response.  She hadn't spoken yet when someone else joined them - a wolf Finley had heard of but had not yet really met.  It was his arrival that made her finally remember, and discomfort sank into her gut right behind the realization.

They had no room.

In any other circumstance, Finley wouldn't have minded sending her away.  But there were a few things that made the situation a little more difficult this time... One, her son was watching.  Two, some dude who looked like he wanted to piss himself at the sight of the girl was watching.  And three.. she really wanted that dead deer.  She could just take it and send the girl away, but that just brought her right back to one and two - both wolves would probably frown upon her rude and selfish treatment of the innocent young woman.

Well shit...  How are you going to pull this one off, Fin?

"This is my son, Eljay," Fin said, gesturing to her shadow after deciding to stall for a minute, "And I haven't actually met this fellow yet, though.. he seems... super happy to be here."  Which was always a good thing, right?  Hoping they'd take the introductions and run with them for a bit, Finley set her mind to the task of figuring out how to handle the situation.

Eljay silently observed. He'd watched daddy sometimes when he greeted wolves at the borders, but daddy never really interacted with him until it was done. When mommy turned and introduced him, Eljay looked startled, ears perking up in something close to fear.

He stood still for a while, staring at mommy, then the female at the borders. "Uhm, hi." Eljay shuffled his feet and shot the stranger a nervous smile, then looked at mommy to see if he was doing well.

The whole post got deleted :/

 Maja nodded at the smaller version of the she-wolf. 'Eljay', he was called, apparently. She frowned when the wolf mentioned someone else. She followed her eyes towards.. Aduin! So he had come! She flashed Aduin a grateful smile before returning her attention to the wolves in front of her. "He's my brother," Maja explained, smiling. 
 She wanted to ask if she joined yet, but that would result in a no, demanding to enter will never get her anywhere. So, rather than ask, she waited if the she-wolf would add to what she had said, hopefully allowing her to join this pack.

Just a short one

Aduin returned the smile with his own, then approached the meeting. "I promised I would come, didn't I?" he asked his sister before nudging her with a brotherly love. However he did not know about the 'pack full' situation. Had he known, it would have shut him down.

Sorry for the wait!  Silly vacation popped up

The ploy worked well enough for introductions took place for a few moments, giving Finley time to think.  She was derailed momentarily by the revelation that this Aduin was the stranger's brother, but a brief oh that's fuckin' great... was all it took to get her back on track.  With nothing left to do but drop the bomb, she gave a sigh and a flash of a smile.

"Unfortunately, our borders are currently closed to new wolves," Fin said finally, her face apologetic and suuuuuper uncomfortable, "Our numbers are already high for the amount of territory we hold.  That and our alpha is pregnant, meaning neither of them is in the position to trust more new blood so easily, there being so much at stake." 

Finley paused, feeling out her words before she spoke in a move that was very unlike her, and due mostly to the fact that she wanted to make a good impression with her kid watching.  "But it is Winter, and members tend to come and go.  If you are truly intent upon joining our ranks, it would be a testament to the kind of loyalty you would show us if you were to stick around and wait to earn a place once.. if.. one opens up," she continued, her gaze flickering to the doe.  It would probably be too much to say 'oh and leave us your food too', even though it would also be a point in her court.  But Fin was sending her away with instruction to live as a lone wolf until they had room for her...  It would be a little mean to steal her food when she'd have to work so much harder to get more.  Not usually a concern of hers, but her son was watching.  Must behave self.

Mommy didn't give much of an answer, and so Eljay just looked away, feeling uncomfortable and out of place. This feeling was only amplified when the stranger greeted a wolf that Eljay hadn't even met yet. He was obviously part of the Caldera, though, since mommy was amicable towards him.

Eljay didn't really understand why the female was turned down, but she was. He remembered that others had been turned down before, like Njal, but never by mommy or daddy themselves. Mommy seemed uncomfortable with the notion of turning down the female -- maybe even guilty? -- and Eljay observed in further silence, not speaking again unless something was asked of him.

"Oh," Maja said, hurt. Aduin seemed to disappear from her view, but so did everyone else. She pushed herself back into reality. Her face fell, but she forced a polite smile. "I-it's alright, ma'am," she said, a lump in her throat. Her eyes screamed with sadness and anger, but she retained the smile. She forcefully attempted to swallow the lump down, but no success. She glanced back at the deer before noticing the other wolf also looking at it. The she-wolf probably still wanted the deer. "You can keep the deer," she added, even though it was still technically her food. She could go catch another one, later, but lone wolves aren't usually lucky twice.

Aduin was hopeful when the female packmate smiled. But all that hope diminished when she spoke. As she went on about the pack being full, his spirit went down and down. His ears and tail drooped to their very lowest. An involuntary whine escaped him. For a second, he thought about going with Maja. But then he heard Finley speak about his sister staying nearby. That rose his hopes a little. He would be able to visit her if she did.
 
So he knew how this was going to go. He had to stay for Sebastian's return. He pulled Maja into a wolfish hug, and whispered his goodbye, "Stay close, please." He then withdrew and stepped back, now taking a position back over the pack's side of the border. He would miss her, most certainly.

Exit fin

Ohhhhh it was so uncomfortable. The girl looked crestfallen, Eljay awkward. She stole a glance at the brother, worried that he might show anger. She didn't know him well enough to be sure of what to expect. Luckily, he behaved much like his sister, and stepped forward to embrace her comfortingly. Business adjourned in her mind ad Fin dipped her muzzle and made to leave with her so in tow. She stopped when Maja offered the deer, just as the beta had hoped she would. But, Fin found herself unable to take her offer. "no it' yours, unless these two would like to share," she said with a smile before departing with a nudge to her son's crown, inviting him to join hr if he wished.

Eljay wasn't really sure what was going on, finding it all confusing. The way he understood it, she'd be back sometime soon, because that's what mommy had said. As mommy departed, telling the girl to keep her gift -- a thing that confused Eljay, because he thought gifts were something you should always accept and it was winter, so food was harder to come by now, and it wasn't like he could hunt yet either -- Eljay glanced over his shoulder before he joined her and said: "See ya later," to the girl, fully assuming that she would soon be a part of their pack. Why wouldn't she be? She brought food, and she had seemed very nice, so surely as soon as there would be space in the pack she would be accepted.

With that in mind, Eljay trailed after mommy, back to wherever they were headed, while he thought it all over in his mind.