Hideaway Strath chandeliers and caviar, the war can’t touch us here

she was alone, once more. the others had scattered like wind, leaving her with the slightest taste of community, one she could simply not forget. it had been her goal to erase the longing from her mind, and go on as she always had. but when she found the borders that evening, the dying sun barely piercing through the thick blanket of cloud cover that overshadowed all, she could not bring herself to leave them. the woman moved parallel to them for a time, debating, occasionally drifting closer or farther. it was quite suddenly she whirled to face the interior of the pack, a howl tearing from her throat to drift into the evening. 

summoning completed, the woman paced, then stood still, squaring her shoulders and waiting for someone to present themselves. she had not formally joined a pack in this manner before, instead amassing around her small groups that stuck together for a few weeks at a time, of joined other such small groups. and established pack was something she had avoided, in the past. and yet, something had drawn her here today.

 

The call came out and Hemlock turned towards the call. Her movements were without their usual haste, moving with duty rather than outright purpose. When she arrived it was to a female not too far her own stature. That was a surprise to say the least, and it showed minutely in the shift of Hemlock's gaze. Her eyes widened but she didn't say anything, not yet. There were no obvious injuries or scents she could pick up. 

"Why did you summon us?"  Hemlock could explain the summon in the most basic method but everyone's reasoning was different and she was curious what the woman would say specifically. It was different with every person, their reasons and their logic - and the answer would tell her exactly where they went from there. 

Arturo trusts that Hemlock can do her job efficiently, that she can handle those whose calls rise into the air; but he is Ceannasach and he should, at the very least, be present. Lotte’s temporary step back from leadership comes as some surprise but Arturo does not push for explanation: he understands and supports her, assuming that it is because of her grief overing losing Roarke. She has been through a lot and if she needs time out of leadership duties to focus upon herself and their remaining children then that is what she needed to do. He was not overly far from where the howl rang out into the air and thus he is slightly surprised to see that Hemlock has beaten him but surprised that she was closer, yet. His steps slow as he draws near to Hemlock though keeps further back, for now. She had asked what the woman’s purpose was and Arturo’s ears cup forth atop his skull, alert as he awaits the stranger’s response.

they are not long in coming, the residents of this place. her gaze first finds the woman, finding her oddly familiar, narrowing her gaze a fraction as she tries to recall how this is. she is quick to realise that it is herself the woman is similar too, and there is a twinge of surprise in her gaze before it becomes neutral once more. slate optics fall next on the male, arriving moments after. her stance is submissive, obviously so, she would not approach another's lands filled with pride and defiance unless she wanted to start a fight. her head dips, gaze watching them both.

the woman speaks, and her answer is not long in coming. "I am Aglæca - I seek a pack"  her words are steady, yet beneath the surface, she is uneasy, unsure of how to go about this. "Do you have room in your ranks for another, perhaps?" was she too blunt? too quick, missing some important formality that must be observed? these doubts she was quick to crush, for dwelling on them would hardly do any good.

Hemlock isn't the solitary representation of Teaghlaigh and when Arturo arrives they share a glance. It takes no words, not anymore, when Hemlock feels his pain as if it was her own; she cannot accept a reality however in which the boy is dead. They had not even found blood nor bones and she, perhaps foolishly, clings to this possibility. Her attention focuses on the female and Hemlock shifts all other thoughts to the back of her head and the reality safety of compartmentalization. Later she can live her aches and pains anew. 

"I am Hemlock, and this is Arturo." At least this time she remember to provide both their names in response to the inquiry at their borders. The pack itself could stand many more adults, but Hemlock does not stress over these facts. "You have come to the borders of Teaghlaigh, and we operate as a Family. It comes before the individual, and all actions made both inside and outside of our borders reflects this covenant: our Family comes first." She had devoted her life to the Family, and it had served her well. She saw no issues with such deep loyalties. 

"Our other most important rule is that our Ceannasach's word is law. To break it is to accept the punishment the Family sees fit." The Family took care of its own, and while to some it might have seemed ominous, it was the very most basic rule. Otherwise, they were not governed, and left to pursue their passions.

The woman seeks to join their ranks and admittedly, their adult ranks have become to look a bit sparse lately. These fluctuations happen and while Arturo is not opposed to nature and time working to it’s purpose by weeding out those whom cannot remain loyal to Teaghlaigh (henceforth sparing him the trouble) it does not mean it does not bring with it it’s own concerns. It does. Teaghlaigh is not so desperate as not to go through the culling process at joining though for the sake of keeping things simple, for now, until they have the numbers to bolster it he keeps the Comhlach’s trials adorned, for the time being. So long as the new members understand the magnitude of what they are committing and what will happen if they betray The Family he sees little reason to enforce it while their numbers are yet on the smaller scale. Arturo is content to let Hemlock take the helm on this and she does not disappoint him as she rattles off Teaghlaigh’s most important and only tenets. Fiery, twin sun gaze refocuses upon Aglæca then, waiting to see if she understands and if she does if she has changed her mind or not.

“What skills can you offer Teaghlaigh?” Arturo breaks his silence for the first time, smoky timbre like the roll of distant thunder calls out to the stranger before them. Skills are imparitive, after all and Teaghlaigh (and Ceannasach) are not in the business of taking those who do not intend to pull their share and offer their chosen skills to the Family.

Like so many before her, the woman seemed to balk at the prospects of Teaghlaigh and the bounty it offered. The price must have been too steep, or perhaps she'd reconsidered what she had offered at the start. Hemlock briefly flashed her fangs, exchanging a glance at Arturo as the hesitation of the other female grew and grew. "Perhaps you would be best suited somewhere else." The woman said quickly, before the pair dispersed the stranger from their border.

tacked on a quick ending!