Dragoncrest Cliffs Out Again

Set to June 19th. Will probably wait for one or two loners to show up, or till I think nobody else is joining. Even after that, though, anyone is welcome to join. Here's the pack information: http://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=16094 

The day after his first call to loners, Charley went out again. This time, he made his way across the coast and eventually to the crags of Dragoncrest Cliffs. Again, he called for loners to come to him, to join a home and let him lead them. 
The patchy male howled for at least the chance to speak, to tell of his plans and lure whoever went for it to a place close to Larksong. Redtail Rise, he'd decided, was where his followers would wait for he and Aspen. They wouldn't be stuck there long, for as soon as the man found enough people to follow he would leave. Hell, maybe before then, whenever Reek and his Seer woman deemed him no longer worthy of the grotto. Hopefully, by then, he will be ready to find the kingdom to rule with Aspen.

It's surely a sign, the tired wolf thought - rather sourly, really. As soon as he'd entered the strange lands his siblings had been rumored to be in, he'd heard the howl. The summoning howl - one calling not just to him, but anyone.

Still. It sure felt like it was meant for him, and Marbas wasn't too sure he wanted to answer. He'd come to track down Ishlid - or maybe Skellige or Szymon - Not for some stranger's call to arms.

But still. Still. It was surely a sign.

With a put-upon sigh, Marbas turned toward the sound and made adequete haste. It wouldn't do to keep the fates waiting, even if he definitely had better things to do.

The cry came from a golden wolf, and while Marbas was not one to be impressed by one's appearance, he was at least grateful fate hadn't summoned him with a half-grown puppy. Indeed, this wolf looked older than him by some years - even from a distance, he could see something in his shoulder and the set of his jaw, and it spoke of a kind of experience that might not quite match his own, but that certainly came close.

Only speaking with the male would tell him what kind of knowledge he had; and if there was one thing Marbas valued, it was knowledge.

He approached the male head-on, being sure to step on a twig or two to make certain his presence was known. "You called?" he said to the wolf - not unkindly.

Paikea had decided to travel far from her sisters in search of a land to stay in. She told them to stay behind and gather food for themselves, stay healthy. She wanted their health to be perfect more than her own. Perhaps that was foolish of her, but she cared about her siblings very much. 

A howl summoned Pai's attention and she raised her head ever so slightly, gazing in the direction it had come from. Whoever it was howled for loners, and indeed she was a loner. Caution masked her features as she slowly picked her way towards the jagged rocks of Dragoncrest Cliffs. Her tail was low and her eyes were alert, ready to react to any signs of danger. Estella and Thea had told her to stay safe, and that she would do. 

Finally, she came upon the scene where the source of the howl stood with someone else. Well, she didn't know which one howled. They were both males and they both looked worthy of leadership -- which one was it? She slowly stepped into view, her stance unthreatening but confident. She appeared just in time to hear the gray male speak. So it was the multi-colored man that had summoned for them. Her soft gaze turned to the howler and she tilted her head. "You summoned loners... why?" She then spoke, her voice soft yet confident. She was made to be a leader, but never had the chance. She studied both males closely, deciding to stay where she was -- several feet away.

Excitement pounded through his heart as the sounds of two approached, and the brute stood from where he perched on the edge of the cliff. Charley turned around and stood tall, dominant, and proud, ears perked and tail high. Bold caribbean eyes held no aggression, only curiosity and his obvious excitement. First a male appeared, and then a woman, both questioning and wary. A short silence followed as Charley gave time for others to come, but after he was content nobody else would show he began to spoke. His voice rang out around them through the open air, and his eyes swept to each wolf while he addressed the whole.
              "I am a King, my friends, my wife a Queen. Unfortunately we have no kingdom, and no followers. If you come with us, come on a journey to find and claim our kingdom, you would live beside us as royalty. Work hard and prove your loyalty to those in the throne, and you'll join our inner circle of family."
The Pryor swept his gaze across again, watching for reactions and who could be interested.
"We gather at the burnt out area of Redtail Rise until I say so, but with hope our travel begins in a few days time."

Marbas out. Sorry, Charley!

He almost ran when the white wolf made her appearance. She looked too much like Ksenia - the same regal bearing, the same stark pelt. At first, the older male's declaration escaped his attention. However, as soon as he'd acertained that this wolf was not, in fact, his dasterly half-sister, the words began to register.

A king. I don't even know your name, Marbas thought, keeping his form decidedly neutral as he mulled over the claim. He didn't particularly want to go to Redtail Rise- wherever that was. He was looking for his siblings. For Ishlid, for Szymon. Even Skellige, if he was around. He couldn't allow this to distract him...

Except recruiting his own pack now seemed like an awful lot of fun, even if he didn't particularly want to lead one.

Marbas turned and trotted away, deciding that - if he needed to find some - there was a gathering of spineless wolves at Redtail Rise, just waiting for any charlatan to take them in.

The other gray wolf looked at Pai for a very long moment before turning back to Charley. Then, without saying a word, her turned around a left. Paikea thought long and hard about what the male had said. She had no idea where Redtail Rise was, but his pack sounded interesting. Plus, she, Thea and Estella needed somewhere to go. 

Once the gray male had left, Paikea stepped closer. The multi-colored male's dominant position didn't daunt her. He had no rule over her... yet. She stood tall and proud, but not overpowering and threatening. "I am interested in this offer of yours," She said, choosing her words carefully. She was not desprate, nor did she was to sound that way. "Me and my two sisters would prosper if she found a place to stay. I just want to know... what's in it for us?" She asked. "We helped found your pack, what do we get in return?" 

Paikea wasn't one to just go along with things. She always found a way to get something out of it for her and often times her family. She studied the wolf who called himself 'king'. She wondered if he really had the potential to leader her of all wolves. She was a handful.

As he had before, Charley felt the sting of rejection in his breast as the male turned and left without a word. He kept his stance tall, however, and was finally paid off with a bite of interest. At once, he admired the way the girl held herself and approached: somehow both respectful and saying that she knew she was worth something. 
        "In return for your loyalty, you will get respect you deserve, protection, and a pack to stand beside for the test of life. For as long as you provide for the court, hone your skills and use them along side us, you will live as royalty for the rest of your life. Cared for when you're sick, bandanged when you're injured, fed when your hungry. All just for you to live and work beside us, whereas you would be doing it for someone else."
His blue eyes looked right at her, not bothering to avoid contact, but not being dominant either. There was a question there, asking if she would indeed follow him. Three young, capable women would give them almost what they need to thrive and move on with their group.

Pai was pleased with his answer. She could tell that he respected her, and that made her feel a whole lot better about this and the decision she was about to make. With a flick of her tail and a twinkle of her eye, Paikea opened her mouth to speak. "We'll meet you in Redtail Rise then," she told him with a smile.

She studied him closely for a quick moment. "I'm Paikea, by the way. But you can call me Pai." She then said with yet another friendly smile. "What is your name? What is your wife's name?" She knew it was a lot of questions all at once, but Pai was merely curious about it. If he and his wife were going to rule over her, she wanted to know their names.

"Oh.. one more thing. Where is Redtail Rise?" Paikea and her sisters had made it to the Teekon Wilds only a few week ago, and everything -- especially this place -- was new to her.

Charley's trail set to wagging, and a smile plastered itself along his blackened maw. Though he knew Reek and Hosannah were bound to realize the gathering of wolves next door eventually, Charley hoped to hide it until they were ready to leave. 
                 "My name is Charley, Charley Pryor. My wife is Aspen."
The questions were more than fine by Charley: the better they knew what they were getting into, the better they would be able to serve him and rise in the court. He turned and pointed back East. 
                            "Redtail Rise is that way, and hard to miss. There must've been a fire there, cause its still a little charred, but everything is starting its regrowth in the Teekons. You should be able to follow my scent to find it just above the marshes, but if you come across the borders of Larksong you've gone too far. There are three packs before then, you'll have to pass in the space between two of them."
The ragged male did his best to give directions, and could only hope she'd see the burnt out area of the Rise before leaving Felltree Marsh and going too far. 
                                            "Aspen and I will call when it's time to gather, but until then we'll be sending other loners into the area."

Pai listened the all of his directions with a keen ear. They all made sense to her, but she worried she didn't have enough time to travel back to get her sisters. She lashed her tail with a very worried expression. "Charley? I have to go back and get my sisters. What if I'm not there when you leave?" She didn't want to be left behind by any means, but she also didn't want to hold him back.

Wait! There was an alternative! She could meet them at a place they stop to rest along the way. That would be a lot quicker. It all made sense to her, now it just had to make sense to the multi-colored man in front of her. She lashed her tail, trying to figure out how she would put this.

"What if we meet you along the way? I'll go back and get my sisters, and we'll meet you somewhere your group takes a rest." She wanted him to understand that she didn't want to abandon the pack. She wanted to make it happen as much as he did, and she would be willing to do anything possible to make sure this pack becomes powerful.

It was clear she wasn't exactly happy with something, and for a moment he thought his directions were bad. Pai soon told him her sisters were back aways, and Charley tried to decide what to do with this. She offered to meet him along the way, but the truth was he and Aspen didn't really know what their course would be, where their paws would take them.  
                "Truthfully, Paikea, I'm not sure the way we'll go of yet. I'm sure Aspen and I could wait, and we plan on having a few days yet to ourselves anyways. If you could assure me you'd be there within the next two or three sunrises, we can wait. There will be a scent trail nonetheless, assuming you were there before it rained."
Spewing out ideas as they came, Charley studdied his paws in thought. He wouldn't leave Aspen alone for days, couldn't afford to be gone so long. Waiting was the only option, right?

Paikea listened with pricked ears, tail swishing with determination. They would make it there! "We'll be there Charley," She told him with a nod. She glanced quickly at the sky. It didn't seem like it would rain anytime soon, but weather was unpredictable. She just had to hope for the best. With that, she gave him a nod of goodbye and promised to see him soon, turning around an loping down the cliff to deliver the news to her waiting sisters.

Short post >.< Lets assume that she makes it to Redtail Rise later than she expected and the group is long gone, so she finds a home in Moonspear after she attempts to follow them, if that's okay with you? Fade with your post?