The Sentinels time to sink way into the blue, dear

AW!

donnelaith had been good to tachyon -- in the short week he had been assimilated into the ranks he already found himself restored of an old vigor. he ate and he slept and he tried his best to be useful. he  no longer felt disoriented -- and while his frame still was gaunt, the cheerlessness of his expression had long since dissipated.

his energy reserves were still in infancy, and so, he moved in the slow pace of a leisurely traveller along the northern-most junction of donnelaith's borders, not too far where he had first met pearl and lasher. he plastered himself to any tree or shrub he could find, imparting tufts of his fur and his scent along the trail markers that heralded donnelaith's claim. this type of endeavor was fairly labor intensive and after a while he succumbed to resting in the slow with his tongue lolling from his cheerfully panting mouth.

Dante was feeling much better, though unbeknownst to him, the shortness of breath he had attributed to the cold and being out of shape was a mark he would fail to lose.  The coughing had for the most part desisted, but still he did not take his newfound health to see the quickly growing pups.  For that, he would wait as promised.

Besides, there were others here he had yet to meet.  One in particular.  He had heard little of Tachyon and mostly knew of his presence by scent, yet now that he felt sure he would not bring plague upon the pack, it was probably time to introduce himself.

"Hey".  He hailed him when he finally caught sight of him, resting in the snow near the border.  He'd managed to track him down after a while of searching, both by scent and sight.  Seems he'd been industrious in marking the place, Dante had noted approvingly.  He began to come closer, hoping for a quick conversation.

tachyon, out of breath, enjoyed the crisp cold the snow offered in respite. his panting gradually receded in intensity -- but not before a wolf tachyon did not recognize crossed his path. his mouth snapped shut and he looked uncertain -- it was clearly a donnelaith member for he had encountered the scent several times moreover. thus, tachyon assumed he was a superior and his tail beat submissively into the snow as the wolf grew closer. he was careful to keep his muzzle slanted towards the ground in deference, and his gaze never rose past the male's ankles. "hello.. just.. catching.. my breath." he smiled sheepishly, hoping his weakness would not be held against him.

I AM BUZZING HELLO CAFFEINE :D

Tachyon greeted him in a perfectly submissive manner, and Dante nodded sympathetically.  Especially nowadays he could relate.  "No worries."  He waited a moment before continuing the line he'd started on, though he wondered if it was a good time.

"I am sorry, I don't think I know your name yet.  I am Dante."  He thought perhaps he might know that already, though as always he hated to assume.  Introductuins were a courtesy after all.

tachyon slowly felt his wind return to him, and as soon as he was able to he afforded dante a slim yet wholesome smile. his tail continued to rap the ground in a slow but sure beat. he did not rise yet -- in some ways, remaining inert was a suitable gesture of inferiority and he dared not stir too quickly. "i'm tachyon -- i'm new.." he breathed, his head canted to the side as he regarded the wolf. "rescued a week and a half ago by lasher and pearl.. trying to do my dues to pay them back." with that his smile returned full force and he weakly rose to his feet again. "been trying to reinforce the outermost borders, but it's hard work."

"That it is," he agreed, glad that Tachyon was so intent on helping out.  The borders were something Dante paid a lot of attention to, yet he knew even his own frequent lingering couldn't dissuade all (or even most) intruders.  It took the entire pack.

He was another welcomed by Lasher, though not as infirm as the last.  "Rescued?" He asked, curious as to what that meant.  Had he run into trouble nearby?  As far as Dante had seen so far, the coast was peaceful.

unlike many men, tachyon was not afraid to admit his shortcomings -- and one of them had been his stubbornness and delay in finding a pack. he had been searching for lusca -- she had disappeared without a trace and tachyon feared the sea had claimed her -- or worse. the pale wolf shifted and looked up to his superior silently -- and it was clear from his countenance he was searching for an adequate way to articulate his ineptitude.

"i.. i lost a friend." his brow furrowed. "we lived in barrow fields -- she disappeared out of thin air." it pained him to think his comrade was hurt or worse, gone from the earth. "and.. i didn't take care of myself like i should have. winter came before i knew it and i was so busy looking for her i.. i guess i didn't think about my survival." he looked to the ground, somewhat embarrassed by having to recant the series of events that had lead up to his acceptance into donnelaith.

Dante knew that feeling.  "I too lost a friend when I first came upon the plateau.  It seemed she did not wish to travel together any longer."  Or something had happened to her.  But he liked to think that Helena had simply found a pack and settled down, one that did not align with his own plans.  But Dante was an enduring sort, and loss was nothing new.  He hadn't allowed it to affect him like this man seemed to have.  "It is no easy thing."  If he thought him a bit naive, he did not voice it.  They were packmates now and support was all he would offer in matters that did not affect pack life.

"Hopefully you look to survival now?"  He questioned, wondering if it still weighed as heavily or if time had alleviated.  Tachyon didn't exactly look well, but he was out patrolling when Dante had met up with him, so that boded well.

to hear dante had shouldered a similar burden of grief was but a small comfort -- tachyon's gaze tentatively looked upon the beta's own as if examining him for any sign of sorrow. supplanted within his own amber gaze was a semblance of empathy -- and he dipped his head quietly as if to offer platitudes for the male's loss.

dante's second question caused a little bit of a stirring in the pale wolf -- what did he mean? his brow creased as he inwardly inspected the nature of such an inquiry -- his conclusion was that dante was asking if he intended to be useful to the pack. tachyon wanted nothing but -- and despite his ailing health, he hoped it showed. "of course." he supplied without hesitation, rising shakily to his unsteady limbs. "we can talk and work, if it suits you. could i ask you how donnelaith came to be? and who everyone is?"

He'd been more inquiring about the man's state of mind, but didn't want to press.  So when Tachyon simply offered that they could talk while working, Dante shrugged.  "If you like."  He enjoyed the drive that the male showed but wasn't overly concerned if he would rather take a moment to focus on introduction.  Whatever was preferred.

"Donnelaith was once a pack on a plateau to the east, though we did not hold that name.  It was a beautiful spot, but both Lasher and I agreed a change was needed."  He kept his pace slow, allowing Tachyon to set the speed almost without thought.  Leaning his shoulder against a tree, he rubbed an itch out, relishing the relief.  "So we scouted and came to the coast."  He paused, considering the second question.  "Lasher and Blue Willow obviously came originally, as well as my mate Osprey and I.  Some have left since then, but Pearl, Behati, and Eilidh and Casmir remain of the original comers.  The rest have come since."  Come and gone.  "Is there anyone in particular you wanted to hear about?"

tachyon appreciated the grey wolf's intentional slowing of his gait - it allowed tachyon to keep up with him while maintaining his wind. he flicked an ear and listened as the male dictated each name -- and a brief summary of donnelaith's origin. when the male asked if there was anything specific tachyon drew to a slow halt, considering the question. "afraid not -- i would just like to know everyone." he pulled towards a lone briar brush, shouldering his long fur against the outreached thorns as he marked it. "and i haven't really been able to get to know everyone yet. i like to know things -- if a stranger came up to me and asked what donnelaith was i wouldn't be able to give them an answer besides a home to me. but it must mean more to others." there was no lying that it was a certain novelty to be able to identify all of his pack-mates in a crowd, but tachyon feared he was still just learning.

Dante laughed at that, though it was a good-natured sound.  "What more did you expect?"  He asked, genuinely curious.  "In my experience, there are few words with more meaning behind them than 'home'."  Saying all he had found here was a home was like saying all he'd taken in a hunt was a bull moose single-pawed.  It was a bit of an oxymoron to the beta's ears.  But perhaps when he spoke of home, he meant only the location and not the full picture.  After all, the word had many different interpretations as well.

tachyon's ears flew back at the sound of laughter -- but his posture relaxed as he identified the good-natured humor that permeated dante's laugh. he was relieved -- at first, he thought the wolf mocked him. he passed a tussock and flew upon it, sending an offended ptarmigan shrieking and flapping from the folds of the leaves. he watched the bird disappear into the blue before he offered a rejoinder. his reply was interspersed by deep breaths, as he was scarcely fit enough to work and talk at the same time. "well, for instance -- my last pack -- my birth pack.. 'home' may have meant the tall birches that dominated the forest, but it also meant a lot of other things -- it meant worshiping the gods and continuing the realm of the kings. we did not allow outsiders. we did not spread. our family was the only family -- our forest the only forest." his brow furrowed as he recalled the very nature of his homestead. "they worshiped gods -- and disbelievers were quietly outcast." he had loved his family, but not their creed. "home to them meant protecting their religion and blood no matter the cost." tachyon was a believer, but not of gods -- and while it pained him to recall his origins he also thought back on many of them with fondness. he paused and glanced at dante with a wolfish grin: "it's a good thing they were so kind to disbelievers otherwise i wouldn't be here, right?"

Dante listened, catching on a bit more to what he was implying.  The culture of the place, how each fit together.  It was perhaps a good question, though still Dante wasn't positive what Tachyon wanted from him.  "I'm afraid we aren't so interesting as that," he responded with a returned smile, shaking his head.  "I have my own gods, and Lasher his own beliefs as well.  I'm sure there are any number of different gods in Donnelaith.  Whether you have your own or even worship all of them is up to you."  Theirs was a place of tolerance.  Dante's home pack had been all the same, but religion hadn't been a massive focus even there.  It was odd to hear of a pack so consumed by belief in controlling forces rather than corporeal things.

"If the pack is a home, then Donnelaith is first and foremost a family.  That is what I take from it."  The good sort of family, though.  The kind that respected and protected one another.  Neither strength nor creed mattered if that were the case.  All that mattered was what you gave versus what you took.

thanks for the thread! i might wrap up here -- feel free to PP tachy for a conclusion -- if u want a new one let me know

tachyon felt guilty he had rambled, but it seemed dante had not minded such a windy transgression. in deference, the pale wolf angled his thick skull in agreement to dante's assertion: first and foremost a family. as each day passed tachyon felt more assured of his place within the band, and this renewed his purpose: to defend. "makes sense." the wolf parted with a pant, sinking onto a half-rotted stump sheathed in snow. "gonna rest a bit -- saw a rabbit warden just a little bit further from here. thanks for the talk." with that he slumped onto the bough, sending powder flurries of snow into the air.

"Alright," Dante said, trying not to judge the wolf for his state and managing mostly success.  There was a bit of disappointment, yet he could only hope once the male regained some of his constitution he would prove more hardy.  

Lasher's proclivity for taking in the unsound bemused the beta, but he took it in stride, treating the newcomer with cautious assessment (though a bit more pleasant than Eigma's; that girl had misfortunate timing in her appearance).  Now he left Tachyon to rest and continued on his way, prepared to complete his patrol and only shaking his head once he'd passed out of sight.