Cedar Sweep End Of The Road

For @Zaavier <3 Dated to the 24th

Grace had traveled nonstop for the next few days after crossing Silver Moraine-the only place she had her heart set on was the place behind the Barrier Mountains. It was the only place she hadn't been so far, and she had nothing going on for her in the Valley or Tiaga anymore. Even the thought of returning to the Caldera wolves daunted her-and thats exactly why she stuck to the shore her entire journey to the West. She'd cut down through the Twisted Slough and the swamp below, not stopping but going around the first borders she passed. It, too, scared her too much: it must not have been the place to stop. 

It isn't until she's come to the edge of a cedar forest that she halts-her golden eyes straining to see the valley in front of her. She crept closer, but sensed the presence of at least a few others. Was there a pack here, or maybe just a few wolves living collectively? A fledgling pack, maybe? Either way, it kept her from venturing any further-which sucked, because where she was from, she could see very little with only one eye working fully well- but this place did not make her cower and sulk away. In fact, it lured her in, and the only thing the heavily scarred girl could do was stand and gaze into the territory with wistful eyes.

He had made the cache. It was nothing special, merely a stump with a whole leading to it's hollow insides, but it would certainly do. He had already put a rabbit carcass in there, and notified the others. Now he was on the hunt for another when another scent that was carried on the wind caught his attention. Departing from the rabbit's trail, he followed this new scent all the way to his new borders. They were not fresh, and he made note to freshen them -- soon. 

There stood a dark girl with burning eyes, staring wistfully into his home. A smirk formed on his features, tail rasing -- not unfriendly. "You like the Strath?" He quiried, slightly mocking her. He scraped his paws against the ground to freshen his scent before sitting down. "I am taking recruits. We're a fledgling pack, but with you added in there, I think we'd be pretty much official. That is, if you want." He let the silence linger for a little longer before realizing that he'd forgotten something. 

"Hi," he blurted. "I'm Zaavier."

Warned as she was of Zaavier's approach by his scent, he surprised her when coming into plain view-at once, she took a few steps away from the border she'd failed to properly scent, but thankfully hadn't actually crossed. Her ears fell low and her tail wrapped closely to her good hind leg, but the male didn't seem to be cross with her closeness. She didn't notice if he was messing with her, for his offer of joining overruled most of his other words: they were a fledgling pack in need of more recruits.... They needed her! That fact alone brought her ears back to cupping forward in curiosity, and Grace giggled softly as he blurted his name. 
             "I'm Grace: w-what are you l-looking for in a pack member?"
She was keenly aware of the fact that she barely stuttered-this male, while still fairly large compared to her, didn't scare her the way some did- he seemed kind. This place just seemed better and better, didn't it?

She shrunk back almost immediately when he approached, and just then he noticed her scars. There were a lot of them. He was impressed.. and not impressed at the same time. What had happened to her? He pushed the thought away as she spoke. Well, the Medic spot was taken -- he wanted Liri for that job if she accepted. Leto seemed to be a warrior and so far he was left with a blank spot for a hunter. But he didn't mind, it was up to the girl -- Grace. 

"Well Grace," he said warmly, "What do you have to offer?" 

Grace saw his eyes wander over her scars-she didn't comment, and wouldn't explain unless prompted- but didn't in the least mind. It was usually the first thing others noticed about her, even when she'd learned to ignore most of them. 
He asked what her offers were, and for a moment she thought-mostly back to Peregrine, and his request for her to keep her Hunter trade. Settling down on her haunches, hind left leg jutting awkwardly to the side, Grace gave him an honest answer:
               "I already h-have my Hunter trade, but it's not something I p-plan to keep after I become a Caregiver and Me-Medic. I'd like to b-become a Botanist, grow my own herb g-garden. Makes things easier on t-the pack and my l-leg."
The thought that came to mind next was a surprising one, but when she realized how close she was to maturity, it paled-puppies. She would be of age in the next month or two, and one day the girl wanted a family-was that accepted here? They would be raised as loyal members to the pack, but that didn't mean Zaavier would allow her a litter that wasn't of his blood. 
                                     "I don't know what kind of a pack you are, or if you allow pups that aren't your own, but if you do then that's something I want in my future."

He listened to her half stammered story in silence, nodding his head very slowly after she finished, telling him quite honestly about her wants to have a family. He felt a twinge in his gut but paid no mind to it as he began to speak. "Well, it seems you're a well rounded woman. You could definitely choose to enter my pack as a Warrior or Hunter. Unfourtunately, I require a Caregiver trade before rewarding the Medic rank, but who says you can't earn that trade?" He told her.

Zaavier stepped back and allowed her room to step over the borders, a signal to let her know she was accepted. "If you like herbs, there is an amazing swampy area just over there," he glanced in the direction of Black Morass. "The Morass is actually one of the reasons I chose this place. It proves fruitful when on the hunt to gather herbs. Maybe we could explore some of it tomorrow, what do you say?"

He suddenly realized that he had not gotten back to her about her family desires. "And, we can touch back on that pup topic when the time comes. For now, I encourage you to live your life without the stress of children." They were words that he had not expected to come from his mouth, and he hoped she didn't take them personally.

Zaavier claimed she was well rounded, that she would be offered a rank of Warrior or Hunter in his pack once it was official-a smile spread across her charcoal face. Her tail began to wag behind her, but she painfully noticed his lack of an answer on having pups-for the time being, she assumed it was a "we'll talk about it later" kind of thing, and that was okay too.
          "I'd be h-happy to be a Hunter for the pack, especially i-if I can still practice all my skills." 
The man stepped back, offering her to step into the Strath and start her new life: Grace obliged, limping heavily forward a few paces until she was directly beside the man whom she'd just offered her loyalty, golden eyes shining and taking in every sight around her in joy. Before she could say anything, he pointed her towards the morass connecting to their little home-somewhere she could find precious, useful herbs. Maybe she could find a place there to grow a herb garden, but the thought of it being so far from direct pack protection was a turn off-but it would be a wonderful place to explore and find herbs and seeds to plant. His offer brought another wider smile to her face, and Grace nodded. She held herself high in pride, paws shifting anxiously, ready to go explore now.
                                  "I-I'd love that. Thank you, Zaavier." 

It was then he addressed her wants of a family-Grace thought he'd ignored her! The brown male said that he would come back to it later, when she was ready-the yearling understood, but she was visibly unsure of this-though she didn't fight it, or even comment past the understanding nod of her head. She was ready for the stresses of pups, she was sure-it was the only thing she really looked forward to other than finding a home and making friends to help her with her trades-things she'd secured for herself once pledging herself here.

She voiced her slight concern about wanted to practice all of her skills and he nodded. "Sure you can. In fact, I kinda encourage it because I want all my wolves to be versatile." He told her, tail wagging. But who was he to talk? All he had was Liri, Leto, and now Grace. It wasn't even an official pack yet, but to him it felt like it. Even if his precious plan failed, he loved them all like packmates. 

"Can't wait," he rumbled as she expressed her excitement to explore with him. He nodded with a smile and padding on, showing her the areas he knew, and explaining to her that he still have much to discover. Then they departed ways, and Zaavier headed off to his makeshift den. It was a shabby thing, barely a scrape in the ground but it would do until he found the perfect one.