Raven's Watch elevator in switzerland

She eyed the overlook above warily, noting that a few ravens seemed to be watching her with their beady eyes.  Banner huffed, hoping the sound would reach them.  Winged bastards.  Hopefully they'd mind their own business and leave her to her bathing.  It had taken a few days to get her bearings, but she'd finally made it to a body of water large enough to enjoy.  She'd even managed to get here without coming across anyone, which was a plus in her mind.

The past week or so had been.. strange.  She'd met up with Menta, a face she truly didn't think she'd ever see again.  Her memory of the cream female wasn't the greatest, but a familiar face had brought about a feeling of ease, however miniscule.  Stark and Captain - that had been a much larger boon to her state of mind.  Imagine finding both of them in the same place!  Luck had been on her side that day.  Now that she knew where her siblings were, the dark female felt more comfortable acclimating to being around others at a slower pace.  One day at a time.

The temperature of the river was cooler, which she appreciated on a warmer day like today.  Banner stood chest-high in the water, her stance relaxed and a small, content smile on her face.  Her tail swished to and fro beind her, creating a tiny wake.  Her plush coat would be plastered to her small body when she finally got out, but for now she'd enjoy the tranquil day - provided those damned ravens kept away.  She wasn't the biggest fan of birds.

It was almost unnerving, the feeling of being watched, of being followed. Still Stark pressed on, following the scent that Banner had left behind. Finding his sister was his first priority - with everything going on in the pack he wanted to have her nearby. Selfishly, he wanted her close too, he'd missed Banner way too much. He'd done his best to stay away for a bit, refusing to box her in and lock her down. It only lasted a couple days naturally, and he was after her to see how she was doing and what her thoughts were about things so far.

When he finally found her she was almost submerged, a little grin forming on his face at the sight of her. Without hesitation Stark crawled into the river too, his nose bumping fondly against her cheek.  The dark male took a deep breath, submerging himself entirely so that he could cool off too. The heat was becoming even more oppressive, and this was a time when he felt he needed his strength more than ever. 

"How're you settling?" Stark tested, curious about if Banner might be interested in pack life or not. 

She didn't miss the sound of someone entering the water - the dark brown female was content and comfortable, not off-guard.  Her nose made quick work of discerning his scent and one ear twitched in his direction.  Banner huffed again, this time at her beloved brother and not those ever-watchful birds.  She watched as he submerged himself with a smile.  He seemed relaxed.  Though conditions were slowly improving, the famine still clung to life in these parts with a firm grasp.  Relaxed was hard to come by lately.

"I'm doing just fine," she insisted in her low voice.  Stark was worried.  She hadn't expected anything less.

The smaller wolf pressed her nose into his chest affectionately.  It was an area he still felt self-consious about, that she knew all too well, but she couldn't help herself.  It was a comforting gesture for her, too.  She sighed into his darker fur.  "I'm glad you've found something for yourself."  The details on his new life were sketchy at best, but she hadn't needed anything in-depth yet.  Stark's happiness was easy to see.  Sounds of the water moving around them caused her ears to twitch again as she moved to lean against him.

He tensed as Banner pressed against his chest, a breath drawn in as she nosed against his old wound. She was one of the few to know about it, he was so careful to not let it be seen, to not let anyone know that he had such a huge achilles heel. She didn't hurt him, not that she would, and Stark draped his head across hers and for a moment just let the whole world be. If Octavia stumbled upon them it would probably be a terrible sight but for the moment there wasn't even a though in him about it - instead, just focusing on enjoying the moment with her. 

"I - yeah - I have." He said with a small smile. "You should come see sometime. It's hidden, this nice little secret the rest of the world doesn't seem to have found yet." Except his brash sister, of course, but Captain was always like that. She just...did. She had no subtly. "I want you to meet my Alpha." This was said just a little more coyly, a little grin on his face. Alpha - yes, but there was a lot more to the situation than he knew how to name just then. 

His embrace filled her with emotion - the good kind, for once!  Banner smiled, joy and comfort flooding her brain and relaxing her even more.  She hadn't felt this way in so long.  Lone wolf life proved more exhausting than she would ever admit aloud.  Famine aside, not having anyone to watch your back or even just be with was isolating.  Cold.  Safer for her, of course, but still.. lonely.

As she listened, that bright green gaze did not miss the look on his face.  That tilt of his lips.  The tone that colored his words playfully.  "Hm," she murmured lowly.  She pulled back, putting a bit of distance between their bodies to give him a dry look.  "Your Alpha," she said flatly, her own lips twitching in an attempt to hold off a grin.  Banner brought one paw up above the water's surface and immediately stamped back down, sending a great splash up in front of them.  She blinked a few times as the liquid washed over her face, otherwise unmoving.

The look she fixed him with said that he'd better start talking, but she didn't say anything.  It wasn't her way.  Stark would spill everything in time - he did love to hear the sound of his own voice!

Stark screwed up. Oh god his mouth had done it again. He bit his lip as Banner pulled away from him, starting to say something and then stopping repeatedly. "Shit," He muttered under his breath, his blue eyes flashing as he looked at green eyes. "Yeah. Octavia." He said quickly - god he was awkward at this. He was used to be more smooth, more suave, thinking of something else entirely. 

He shook his coat, grinning at her for a moment before he splashed some water at her. "What, y'jealous?" He asked with a little grin, tail swaying behind him. He could only imagine it though, how the two might conspire against him. Maybe it wasn't the best idea ever. Still, he wanted her in the Keep. Possessive as he was, Stark needed Banner around. He just felt better when she was there. 

She made a show of looking entirely too affronted at his retalitory splash, but was quickly unable to keep the grin from spreading across her maw.  He'd changed since they last saw eachother.  Banner couldn't pinpoint what it was, but Stark seemed a little more down to Earth than he once was.  One brow rose as she studied him.  What was it, responsibility?  A sense of belonging?  Some kind of magcial, weird relationship thing that happened when a man loved a woman?

Ah.

"Jealous?"  The small femaled seemed to seriously consider this point for a moment.  Jealousy over her brother's obvious affection for this Octavia character she knew literally nothing about?  Jealous wasn't the word.  "Depends," she offered finally, shrugging and turning to head to shore in the same movement, the cool water making a swishing noise as it swirled around her.  "Is Octavia a male or a female?"  Banner carefully kept the humor out of her voice - hiding her gleeful expression was much easier when she was facing away from him and to the shoreline.

Looking at Banner, Stark narrowed his eyes a bit - just trying to read her properly. He was a bit more tempered since they had seen each other, between the growth he'd experienced on his own. Still, Stark wasn't quite sure where he stood with Octavia, if this was something more real or if this was just a momentary fling for the two of them as they enjoyed their own lives. Anything was possible after all. There was always the chance that she was just using him to blow off steam, although he didn't think it was that. He hoped not anyways. 

Stark followed after her, flopping unceremoniously down onto the ground next to her. "I don't know many guys named Octavia." Stark said with a grin. "She's got a kid - Tambourine. She had him right before I joined Marauder's Keep." He explained quickly - not wanting the question of 'is it yours' that would follow. Tambourine had a father he'd never met, he already had that family, but if they were honest he and Octavia were probably the biggest staples in the boy's life.

"The pack founder vanished on us. She's been running everything on her own." Stark was still upset about that. "There are still some in the pack that complain about that. Don't get why though - he's gone. Without her stepping up to the plate even with her newborn we would have been shot in the foot."

"You never kno-ow," she teased in a sing-song voice.  Banner wasn't a feminine name.  Then again, it didn't end with a vowel.  Bannera?

Her eyes reflected the surprise she felt as her brother explained that this Octavia had a son.  A kid?  Banner sat back on her haunches next to her brother on the shore.  How very domestic of him!  And also very unexpected.  Life in this new area certainly had changed him.  Her eyes closed again while she listened and basked in the lovely sunlight rapidly warming up her dark fur.

But Stark's tone changed a bit and it didn't escape her notice.  ".. disloyalty," she added with a quiet growl.  As if this Alpha didn't have enough on her plate with a youngster, the pack founder pulling a vanishing act at a piss-poor time, and the famine to deal with, her own pack had the nerve to rumble their discontent?  Her eyes snapped open and she searched for her brother's bright blue gaze.  Her breaths came more qiuckly - the anger was bubbling up.  "Sounds like they should fuck off if they don't like it."  Her words snapped out, her sudden anger raw and real but not directed toward her brother.  Banner grimaced at the feeling.  She'd been calm for so long..

True. Cap got stuck with a rather masculine name and Banner wasn't much better. Stark was fine with his name, although sometimes it seemed more likely as a last name than his first, but, it was his only as far as the male was concerned. Stark offered Banner a little smile, shrugging his shoulders as his tail thrummed behind him. He expected Banner's surprise, the look on his face almost sheepish - like he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to let people see. And in a way, it was. Being sweet to a kid wasn't exactly in his wheelhouse, but, he liked Tambourine. He made an exception for the little ankle biter. 

Stark had always been in tune with Banner's emotions, the two had worked well that way. Seeing her getting a little worked up, Stark moved closer, nudging gently against her shoulder. "I've got you,' He promised - trying to give her an out if she felt she was getting worked up. Stark could handle her. He always had. He never took it personally either, which was a plus. She could blow off some steam if she needed and he'd let her do so. 

"It's such a small margin of the pack but they bitch and moan. I don't get it. We're surviving the famine, only one of us has fallen - but still. They're ungrateful, disloyal - it disgusts me." Stark admitted. He hadn't been so vehemently outspoken before but this was Banner...if he could trust anyone it was her.

Stark's gentle reassurance coupled with the nudge to her shoulder acted as an achor amidst the thrashing, shallow seas of her mind.  Banner tensed up and put all of her effort toward focusing on his words as her eyes remained firmly - desperately - fixed to his.  The rage had bubbled up as quickly as ever and grated on her sense of security in her own mind.  Why couldn't she get a hold of herself for on single afternoon and soak up the rays like any goddamned normal wolf?

A shaky breath left her.  "How?" she ground out, attempting to keep her voice low and steady.  "Only one loss in a famine and they have the audacity to even think that way?  Bastards'd be singing a different tune.." she trailed off for a minute, not knowing how to finish that thought without giving away her.. strange and lost time before meeting up with her siblings again.  ".. if they didn't have the security of a pack."

Her anger then reduced to a strong simmer.  The feeling still made her skin itch and she needed to move around.  Banner stood up and began pacing a small pattern in front of her darker brother.  "How does she stand it?" she demanded hotly, speaking of course of Octavia.

Banner took a moment and Stark didn't hesitate, letting her do as she pleased. She could work herself however she needed or wanted to, knowing sometimes trying to cage herself just made things worse. "They would be dead."  Stark said matter of factly. There was no doubt about it. Considering the culprits of the uneasy culture of the pack, there would be nothing but death to greet them. 

Stark stood as she set to pacing, guiding Banner gently into an actual walk. They'd come back to the river, but, it might do him sole good  to be moving too. It might help work her thoughts out, and he always found that moving made it a little easier. "Her priority is her son. I think were  he older, she might have already sent them packing. Famine or no. She's a good woman, but, there's only so much one person can take. " Stark knew that. He understood that. He couldn't change her will. 

"There is another leader as well, Harlyn. The pack is equally uneasy about her - her family had been offered refuge by the founder. She's got little ones too. Older, though."  Good kids, it seemed, but he hadn't expected the progression from solitary Bachelor  to someone somewhat involved and actually tolerant of children. It wasn't bad. He couldn't even say that. 

She didn't comment on his factual statement.  They most certainly would be dead.  Though seeing as she didn't personally know any of them, that might have been a brash thought.  Banner didn't much care.  The fact that her brother and Octavia and the rest of the loyal members of the pack put up with immature grumblings was much more than any of them deserved.  Loyalty was clearly big in her book.

The small female allowed herself to be led, her shorter legs working double time to keep up with her darker brother.  Her breathing began to even out more and she felt the agitation recede.  It was the same feeling every time - draining, like an open wound seeping blood.  "Lots of little ones," she said in her low voice after clearing her throat.  "Lots of mouths to feed."  That was another consideration.  She eyed her brother, knowing without having to ask why he was so eager to detail pack life to her.  Was she ready to leave the life of a lone wolf behind?

In a famine?  Stupid question.

Of course she was.  But with her temper.. and Stark seemed so settled and happy.  He had always been quick to defend her.  What if she flew off the cuff and caused trouble for him?  Or Captain, for that matter.  Banner hadn't spent any considerable amout of time with their golden sister since arrival, but she had no doubt that the other female carved out a life for herself within this pack.

As they walked, Stark still occasionally leaned his bulk against hers, silently supportive as he let Banner work through her feelings."Yeah, one of them - I helped him with his first kill the other day." He said with a smile. He leaned in, pressing his nose to her cheek. "Do you want to stay there, maybe?"   He asked hopefully. If he introduced them, let Banner feel things out, maybe she'd want to stay there with him. 

He could almost feel her anxiety rising, could almost sense the worry in her. He offered a little sigh, smiling over at her. "You'll be fine, I know you will." Stark said with a grin. "If they put up with Cap, they're gonna love you."  He said and smiled. "What if I talk to Octavia, let you two meet, she can answer any questions and you two can feel each other out."  He offered. 

The smaller female let out another huff and rolled her eyes in his direction.  "Cap and I are a little different," she countered.  The golden female was level-headed and sure of herself.  Banner was essentially the opposite, struggling to keep her cool and constantly second- and third-guessing herself.  She sighed.

"You're confident of this."  Naturally.  He was Stark.  And Stark was nothing if not confident from the bright blue of his eyes to the tip of his tail.  "I suppose I should apologize in advance for whatever I may do," she said with a shrug.  The political unrest of Marauder's Keep (if that could even possibly describe the pack's current climate!) promised to be troublesome for Banner.  Not problems with the leadership, but more with pack members who didn't care to understand how loyalty worked.  A small growl escaped her clenched jaw before she had the chance to stop it.  She didn't feel anything half way, that was for sure.

Stark chuckled at her words, giving a little shrug. "Well, yeah. I like you, but I  tolerate Cap." Stark teased. He'd never say he disliked his sister (openly at least) but he couldn't hide who was his favorite sibling. The chocolate female was his equal, the yin to his yang. "None of that now." Stark countered, looking over at Banner and leveling her with a little twitch of a smile. 

"You're going to do a lot of good. You ARE good, even if you don't see it sometimes." the male had limitless faith in her, and no matter what happened he'd stand next to her and support her. "How about I go talk to her, bring her back here?" Especially if Banner was comfortable here then Stark wanted to offer her to stay relaxed and comfortable. It might help her more, and he was all about keeping her as calm as possible. 

"Mm-hm."  She returned his look with one of her own.  He really did have a lot of faith in her.  Ah, well, at least someone did.  "If you sa-ay so," she murmured, that sing-song tone back in her voice.  Banner's fears of pushing others away were always sitting at the forefront of her thoughts, festering there as a sinister reminder of what her outbursts could do. 

Her bright green eyes flicked around, appreciative that the oddly lush area was still peaceful as it had been through the entirety of their afternon visit.  Those stupid crows had even found something better to do, she noted as her eyes narrowed at the overlook high above the pair.  "Whatever you think is best."  Banner deferred to her brother with what she hoped was an optimistic smile.  He knew this area, he knew Octavia, and he knew the pack.  She was more than glad to defer to his judgement in this - and most matters, actually.

Banner stopped moving forward and shoved her nose into the black fur at his shoulder, letting out a quiet exhale while she closed her eyes again.  A warm feeling that had nothing to do with the cheerfully shining sun came over her and with it a greater sense of ease.  "Thank you," she whispered sincerely into his pelt.

Stark smiled warmly, watching Banner and considering (perhaps prematurely) what it would be like to have her in the pack again. He didn't see any reason for her to not be comfortable among the wolves of the Keep. Even with her anger issues, over all, Banner was an asset; she was strong, loyal, and above all trustworthy. If Stark didn't know her already she'd be the sort of wolf he would want in his ranks. 

He halted when she moved to press her nose into him, giving a soft sigh and nuzzling into her. He rested his head across hers, not even breaking away to answer her. "Always," He murmured quietly. He'd always be there for her. "I'm just...I'm sorry I didn't take you with me." No matter everything that he had seen and all that he had experienced, he was sad that it wasn't with Banner at his side. 

It was idealistic to wish that they'd never part again. It was too hopeful and too much to suggest such a thing. It didn't mean he didn't wish feverently for it. "You relax for a bit. I'll go and talk to Octavia, bring her to meet you." Stark said gently, eager to have the two meet one another because he was so eager to have Banner safe and sound and have her belong again.

She withdrew from him and shook her head, choosing to non-verbally disagree with Stark's sentiments about leaving her behind.  It wasn't like Banner had been alone and abandoned - she'd just stayed at home with Captain.  The taller male specifically set out on his own and she wouldn't have wanted to hinder his personal growth.  Without their separation he may not have made it here and found Marauder's Keep.  It was an achingly painful separation for her, but not permanent.

When he expressed that he'd be taking off for a bit to find Octavia, Banner nodded.  Relaxing was definitely not on her adgenda, but she'd take a few moments alone to collect her thoughts.  "Right," she replied in a louder, self-assure voice.  She faltered.  "Er.. travel safely?"  An awkward look passed across her face and the small dark brown female grimaced again.  The sentiment was genuine, but her delivery was.. not great.

"I'll just.. wait here.." she trailed off strangely, offering him one more grin before turning back toward the water's edge and lowering her neck to take a drink.

I started the one for Banner, Tavi, & Stark and tagged you in it :3

Stark offered her a reassuring grin, nodding. "It's not too far. I'll show you after you meet Octavia." He said, tail swaying behind him. Her unease and occasional awkwardness didn't bother him in the slightest bit, he was acquainted to her particular charms and find himself more relaxed when she was relaxed. This was just a different sort of way. She'd be just fine, and he'd go pave the way to having her in the Keep.

It was harder to part with her each time, the instinct in him to stay and to not leave - or to take her with him. But they'd get there. It wouldn't be too long, and Banner would join him as a Marauder. He had no doubts about that. The dark male left with a lingering look back at Banner before finally ducking his head and making his way along to find Octavia. His first goal would be the crook, and after that, he'd just set to the borders.