Blackfeather Woods cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war

It'd begun to snow, fat flakes drifitng down as the woman paced the borders, great head held low, swinging from side to side as she took in the scents. Blood and piss was thick in the air, decay and dark. It was enough to keep the woman from simply passing on as she had time and time again, but continue her probing search. It was when she found the spine that she stopped, turned to stare into the depths of the wood. The bear huffed, breath twin clouds of smoke that dissapated in the cold, Oira pleased with what she'd found. This place reeked of piss and decay, yes, but also of power; this much death was a result only of strength.

The beast howled, deep and low, calling to her the leaders of this place, shifting her massive frame into a sitting position, the spine dropped before her. It would make a nice chew thing, perhaps.

@Vaati please!

Hope you don’t mind me popping in to keep you occupied. ^^

Emerging from the depths of the tunnels, the northerner meandered through the woods, neither rushed nor bothered. There was little for him to do, though he found his legs carrying him towards the borders anyways; old habits die hard. As of late, he’d taken a particular sort of liking to the tunnels, oftentimes finding himself venturing through the web than anything else. It was soothing, in a way, as well as shielded him from the frigid winds that seemed to seek him out specifically whenever he moved above ground. With the war looming over their heads, however, he couldn’t abandon his post as a guardian of the woods, patrolling as often as he could without putting too great of a strain on himself.

Kove had nearly reached the outskirts of the territory by the time the howl broke the silence, capturing his attention and slightly altering his direction. His speed picked up, closing the distance between himself and the treeline quicker than how it would have previously been; he was drawn in by the call, unable to ignore it or continue strolling so casually towards its owner. And when he broke through the shadows and entered the open lands, his eyes found the dark beast with ease, examining her from then and onward.

Further lessening the space between them, he came to a stop when only a few meters still remained, fiery gaze focused solely on her; built well and seemingly healthy, a worthy addition to the pack if he were to judge by appearances alone. “Tell me your name,” he commanded a moment later, eyes snapping up to meet her own. “Followed by your reason for being here.” To join, he assumed, though he wouldn’t put it past someone to visit the woods for the sheer sake of saying they’d done so and survived—or to visit a friend, as he was sure that the travels of those within the pack were never free of interactions.

There came a northerner, slipping from betwixt the shadowed trees in the manner of a ghost. Gaze was not the common, dirty yellow of her homeland; rather, it was a metallic copper that her gaze was drawn to briefly. She chuffed, low and harsh, dipping her head in quiet respect as was customary at the borders of another, but a gesture that may have been neglected at a border, less - striking than this one. When his gaze moved to meet hers, she met it calmly, ears swiveling atop her skull to catch his words. 

Her answer came steady, a deep timbre, almost expressionless. "Oira. I want to join you." The beast blinked, inclining her muzzle in the slightest as she gestured at the borders. "best to align with most powerful, no?" Her voice mangled the words, had them sound guttural, changed. The common tongue had always sounded soft compared to that of her youth, and the words did not slip easy from her lips.

Per this backdated thread, Kove is the Listener here and able to accept/deny members. That being said, we can roll on with this without waiting for Vaati. ^^

Entirely on her was his focus, gazing continuously at her; there were no emotions to be found in his eyes, their fire had engulfed every possible one. It was far from his first time greeting someone at the borders, having acted as a guardian of the woods for many years now, but it was his first time having control over the outcome. In truth, he had always possessed some semblance of control when intercepting potential members, as he could easily run any of them out should they not show the respect that was required. That was all he could do, however: run others out. When it came to welcoming them, he’d never had any say in the matter—until now. And that realisation dawned on him ever so slowly, understanding that he could decide the woman’s fate.

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

Her statement was given with a peculiarity easily detected in her voice, one of which he ignored, at least for the time being. “A good mindset to have,” he said in turn, needing not follow her motion to understand what she meant; if not power, then their borders would, in the least, signify a good reason to not act against them. “Tell me about yourself,” added the ghost moments later. “What would we gain from welcoming you into our home?” Because if she had nothing to offer them, then what would be the point in allowing her entry?