Sleeping Dragon Amethyst

uses amethyst bc it's purple and one of SD's colors is purple lol i'm terrible. @Thuringwethil

On any other day, her feet would take her along a path that is completely untraveled. She'd follow it and explore until she knew it like the back of her hand-- and then she'd leave. But today was different. Today she'd discovered that being free for so long was not worth is pleasure, for she was growing weak. She was still healthy enough, but her ribs poked out of her short fur and her curves became less defined as she lost weight. Enough was enough, she'd finally decided. There was no point in being free if you did not live long enough to truly enjoy it.

She stands a good distance away from some well-marked borders, sniffing gingerly at the stubby grass beneath her paws. She raises her head and stares forward for a moment before her nose twitches, and her lips curve into a gentle smile. Portia tilts back her freckled crown and lets loose a long howl to be heard by the pack. Her purpose here is clear-- she wants in.

Thuringwethil took to a lot of duties during the day with Gyda out of commission and Gavriel gone temporarily, leaving Dio in charge or guarding for Gyda. Hush has made his attempts but he'd yet to earn her trust back, a difficult task given his lack of speech inhibits his ability to explain. It would take time for him to prove it, but she wouldn't punish him too much. One of them stood by now and she remains on the borders at time, occasionally drifting off in the search of food, and returning sometimes successful, sometimes not.

Today, and with nothing to show for it, she continues her rounds. When the call is made, she picks up her doped to get there first if only to avoid some stranger too long on her borders. Her head lifts even more, if possible, and her tail arch tightens above her spine, as she makes her approach slow and careful. There isn't much impressive about the girl but no doubt effected by the famine just as any other, giving the young heda a skeptical feel about a loner. Thuringwethil does not speak then as she makes her presence known, and instead silently invites the other to speak up.

Portia dips her head and lowers her body as soon as she spots the other. She knows about dominance and all of that, so by the looks of this wolf she can only assume that this would be Ms. Queen Bee herself. She humbles herself further by turning her crouch into a slight bow, raising her head only so the other could see her face, her eyes avoiding the others gaze completely.

"Ma'am, my name is Portia Moreau and I am here to seek entry into your marvelous pack," she says clearly, but not too loudly or too quietly. "I'm training in botany and am quite good at talking to people," she adds, wondering if that would mean anything to the woman.

Upon her appearance, the wolf drops to the ground and Thuringwethil dips her nose once to acknowledge the submission but nor does she invite the stranger out of it. She speaks her name, her purpose, and what she considers to be of value. Unfortunately, she's learned that the value of some wolves mean little and those she lets in with purpose has failed her. Her second had disappeared, Lucani's value had dropped when she forfeited her spot, and Warbone and Magpie had been a joke for the future of Drageda. The thought alone leaves a bitter taste in her mouth as she steps forward with a low growl, uncaring if she scares the loner away—no one she would need anyway.

"Your skills could be beneficial to my pack but I have wolves that can do the same," she says. She'd taken in Gluskap by his skill set alone and he'd proven her right, if only because they needed it. Perhaps she might have gone easier on Portia if she didn't have him, in the wake of Gyda's birth (which had been minimal in complications, thankfully), but she also knew not to throw away a second set of paws if she could afford it. "Why do you really want to be here? And not somewhere else? What of where you came from?" she asks then with a slight tilt of her head. The wolves of Seageda would follow no others but she, even if they remained in their sister home, but these wolves simply don't understand the importance of following heda and what it could mean for all of them.

Portia does not shy away from the growl-- it does not frighten her in the slightest. It does not seem threatening or like the woman is going to attack her-- so she stays put. Her only reaction is a gentle flick of her ears, which return to their position at half-mast right after. The stranger seems to care little for her skills, which is understandable. She then answers her questions without hesitation. 

"I was born in a pack named Broken Valley, far south of this place-- but I come from nowhere," she says, speaking about the Teekon as a whole. "I've never had a place to call home, but I believe it's time for me to settle down. I'm young and able bodied, and I see no damn reason why I should waste my youth doing nothing worthwhile." 

Portia does not waste her time and for that, she is thankful. It is direct enough, even if she doesn’t fully answer her questions, but having never been on the other side of the border. What’s going through the girl’s mind, she can’t tell, but Thuringwethil rolls off the thought and ultimately nods her head. What goes unanswered isn’t forgotten and she gives her a few seconds to pick up the space to continue. In a roundabout way, Thuringwethil can see it but it does not completely satisfy.

“I understand,” she says with a quirk of her brow. She’d stopped at no other pack until this one, and for what reason she still doesn’t have. Thuringwethil clears her throat quietly, ears cupped tautly forward. “Your loyalty to Sleeping Dragon, and your skills, become ours and unless otherwise instructed, not wasted on anyone outside of Drageda. You’d serve me, your Heda, and Gyda, my queen, Dróttning. She has given birth to four healthy children, despite the famine, and your kills will be shared with her and your knowledge to further advance the health of all of us.”

Although she can't understand why anyone would use skills to assist another pack, she does not argue with the rules-- even if they seem somewhat redundant to agree to. She tips her crown forward again with respect. "I will do nothing more, my Heda," she says, repeating the word that she was just given. She stores away the words for this pack-- Sleeping Dragon and Drageda-- and perks her ears slightly as she speaks again. "My loyalty will be to Drageda, and none other."

The girl accepts her conditions, regardless of her mentally questioning them. Perhaps if she’d understood the last few months. Nonetheless, thoughts Thuringwethil doesn’t have, is pleased enough to hear this. “Prove your worth here,” she tells her, taking a step back to encourage her to follow so she can show her around. Heda doesn’t have time for wolves that take up space within her ranks, something she’d proven with Belle upon kicking her out—and she’d yet to rue the day—but hopeful as she accepts the wolf into her home.

Portia dips her head gratefully once again, her tail wagging behind her. "I won't let you down, miss," she says, crossing the border along with the Heda. She pads along with the woman, leaving her space and letting her step a few paces before her. She doesn't care much for respect herself, but will gladly give it to those who deserve it. 

From there, Thuringwethil shows her the important places. The meeting spot, her own cave (where, for the time being, she'll drop her kills for Gyda), and traveled through the territory while she explains their dynamic. As she passes a few wolves, she introduces them (you can decide who and message them, if you'd like?), and gives her a brief history of how they came to be and their relationship with the pack to the north. Eventually, once she feels she's spoken enough, she lets the girl go about her business and familiarize herself with her new home.