Two Rivers Isle And if I don't belong
Ghost in the woods
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Joining 
@Burke @Malice gonna be vague about what happened in BW and how she escaped, please reply if you have the time :)

Time was vague. It had been early winter when the strange children and their mother found her. She had no idea how long she'd been held captive nor exactly who had come to see her while held prisoner nor who gave her the fresh scars adorning her body. Liri could only assume she had been held for a month or so, it was the dead of winter now. Snow covered the ground though in some places patches of it had melted away to reveal dead, browned grass and lifeless, muddy earth. 

Liri wasn't sure how she had even come to escape the malevolent wolves, it was all a hazy dream-like blur. Perhaps the tiny voice had taken over for the duration of her time. She remembered living off the rats and the musky cave water; recalled vaguely dark forms coming into her cave and the flash of flangs and warmth of blood. Her own and the blood of her enemies. Perhaps it was in the tiny voice's bloodlust that she had simply walked out of the cave without looking back; maybe it was that same bloodlust-haze that got her over the mountains. Liri would never know. 

She came to in the wilderness, in a copse of forest with the cold snow beneath her feet. It was comforting, it reminded her of home. The sound of a river flowing caused her ears to prick; the Caregiver crept towards the noise. She approached the river cautiously, the wind blowing to her and bringing with it the smell of pack from across the waters. It was not scent marked with blood and viscera like that of her captors' but it was a pack all the same. 

Liri crept into the open, watching cautiously. The tiny voice had been mysteriously quiet since she had regained her own senses and control, it seemed to have no input about this new place. That didn't necessarily make it safe. 

It's the middle of winter, no one wants to take in a new pack member. They'd sooner chase you off, jaws snapping and fangs flashing, than let you in. 

Liri turned to go, caution outweighing hope. This isn't about finding a family like you did with Rosings, look how that fucking turned out. You're here to survive. Suck it up and howl. 

She stopped, squaring her shoulders in determination. I will not give them the satisfaction of killing me. She wouldn't be able to just leave without trying, she would be damned if she would let those bastards win. Taking on a confident but respectful pose, she howled from the far side of the river.

Liri's heart pounded as she waited for someone to respond to her call, the slightest tick in her leg jumping in time to the erratic beat.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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This pack was close to moving, close to abandoning their home and finding another. Burke was making the arrangements. It was hard saying goodbye to these lands, and making sure there wasn't too much evidence of them being there. They were running away from another pack also. When Burke heard the howl he looked up in surprise and trotted towards the border. So now joiners were coming? When they were close to moving?

The big male trotted forward into the cold river, instead of staying in the water he stepped out of it, shaking out his fur. His pale eyes fell on the white woman. His stump of a tail was held up. "You called," he stated, giving her permission to speak and state her case. Burke might look big and grumpy but ever since moving away from BlackFeather he mellowed down more. Perhaps it was also Malice that was an influence.

Omg hey! <3
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Ghost in the woods
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She was not kept waiting long when the man approached. He was stern in every sense of the word, dark and brooding with a stump of a tail that still managed to point skywards with dominance. Liri bowed her head to him respectfully. She would no longer cower in fear before others but she would show them the respect they were due. 

"I did," she confirmed, perhaps needlessly. It was the only way of greeting that would slip from her tongue. "I would like to join you, if you have the room and find me acceptable." 

Knowing that likely he would ask next just what made her so special that he would take her in, in the midst of winter no less, Liri went ahead and told him her skills. "I am a Caregiver and I can hunt. I can fight when the need arises," she left out her brief status as an Alpha. It wasn't likely they were looking for advice from someone who lost her pack so quickly. 

"If that is unsatisfactory I will pose you no more trouble and be on my way," she kept her head bowed, tail slack and ears down as she awaited his answer.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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Sorry! New Year's got to me!

Burke looked at the female as she started to talk. Now she was in fact a joiner and Burke almost regretted his decision a bit for their move, but he knew too the bigger the pack would get the more consuming the tasks would be. The male listened as she spoke, instantly also telling what she was good at. "Well you would be welcome in our ranks. Though we are on the point of leaving this territory and finding another home. There have been threads and as you might have realized I am not the youngest. You can join us in our travel if you like," he explained.

" Especially during traveling your skills will be welcome," he added. Then again, the female wanted to join a pack for winter, at least that is what he assumed. Perhaps she would not want to join a pack that was about to travel somewhere else. Luckily he had send Judas out for scouting. Hopefully the word for reach his son before they would arrive.
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that's fine :)

Joining a pack for winter had been the main reason Liri approached, hoping that she wouldn't be one of the many lone wolves sure to die of starvation or exposure. She felt a twinge of disappointment that if she joined she'd not be able to find a nice den to keep warm in. 

"Alright. I'll come with your pack if no one else objects," Liri agreed. She did not smile but she did nod in gratitude at being given the opportunity to come along. Not everyone would have let a stranger come with their pack, maybe their family. 

"When do we leave?" Liri questioned mainly for curiosity. No point in getting comfortable if they would be leaving soon.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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[ooc] Tagging Malice for visibility! :

Burke nodded back to her. "I am pretty sure they won't. I will introduce you to my mate @Malice," he explained and let her enter the water to the island. He stepped himself expecting her to follow. Not much needed to give her a tour. After all they would leave tomorrow. The female asked about it. Burke realized he didn't know her name yet.

"Tomorrow. What is your name?," he asked curiously. "I'm Burke. I am the alpha here, or well, soon I won't be," he then frowned. He wondered if he would ever come to terms with that. Burke got to the other side of the river and shook out his coat. That was definitely going to need some adjustments.
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Liri followed him across the water, letting it sluce over her with relief. God only knew how filthy she was after the tiny voice had taken over. The water was so cold it felt as if it burned her skin; the burning felt as if it could rid her of any touch or taint left on her by the man or the captors. 

She shook her fur out once reaching the other shore, listening as the tailless leader explained about his pack and their departure tomorrow from their lands. Liri's eyes scanned over the territory, pitying that she would not get to explore such a beautiful place. She got over it quickly, the scenery wasn't why she was here.

"Liri," she answered, the only name she ever owned. If her father had a surname he hadn't shared it, and if either husband had ever possessed one they hadn't passed it along. 

"You're still an Alpha, just not here," Liri assured him, wondering silently if it was crossing some unspoken boundary. She offered him half a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Maybe smiling a bit would let him know she at least would still follow him, even if he technically had no standing in travelling.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."
 
 
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Burke showed a hint of a smile at her wise words. At other times he might have lashed out but now he couldn't find the effort to even be angered about it. Frankly he found that her words were right. "Labels and titles they are," he spoke to her. "One shouldn't get too attached to them because it doesn't say anything about the wolf itself," he stated. It helped him cope a bit. His title didn't tell others who he was. It was a mere title that shouldn't have so much meaning. He had made his decision and should be ready to put down the title.

"Welcome, Liri. I would give you a tour but it won't be needed." Burke decided that he might as well tell her. "We are on the run for a pack, and seeing that they have come close to finding us we are going to move to my son's pack over the mountains to hide. They will probably never suspect it. Alas. Rest well, you can meet more of the others tomorrow," he spoke to her. Perhaps it soothed her that he told her a bit more and she was not blindly following somewhat of a stranger.
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Liri nodded along as Burke spoke, more than ready to just find somewhere to sleep. It didn't matter if she or the tiny voice had done it, crossing the mountains was tiring work.  

Unease skittered along her spine, fear puffing up her fur just the tiniest bit, at the news that Burke's people were fleeing another pack. The irrational thought that it was her captors, some many miles and a mountain range away, were the enemy pack crossed her mind. Liri immediately disregarded the notion. There was no way the dark woman or Abraxas and company were here. 

"Thank you," she spoke somewhat awkwardly, feeling an obligation to express her gratitude vocally. "Tomorrow then."

 After Burke had departed she went to work making a bed of snow and damp deadfall to sleep in for tonight. Worries for the next day lingered in Liri's mind even as she drifted off to sleep.
"i'll keep you here when I lose my mind."