Bearclaw Valley Ships in the night

Some assumptions made about who would join my AW thread --- AKA I'm assuming nobody will scare her away from the pack, etc.

It was evening.  Really, she was pretty anguished about the whole thing, but she'd pretty much decided she couldn't continue searching for him.  Could they have passed by each other and not noticed?  She doubted it.  He was gone, lost somewhere in the wilds and she couldn't find him and now she was putting herself in danger.

Maybe he hadn't even left.

She'd spent a day roaming near by and now she had dared to come up to the borders, drawing the scents into her nose to check yet again that this pack was like all the others and without that familiar scent of her brother.  But this was her best choice, near as she could tell.  It was the closest to where she came from, the most likely for him to cross paths with if he had gone the one way she hadn't explored.  He was probably in as bad of shape as she was, so she resigned herself that they likely wouldn't meet again until spring was in full swing.

The now rather gaunt fluff of a woman backed up from the bush she'd investigated as to be certain she was well out of the scent line and raised her head to the sky.  Her maw opened and she released a short howl, wondering if her general anxiousness could be heard in it.  Probably.  She was too frazzled to listen to herself, as she was probably near cracking if she still had to worry about surviving on her own on top of Iovan.  Her posture, though definitely did -- she paced back and forth over a short area, the slowly-thinning snow crunching melodically under her paws.

she had watched the woman's hesitant approach from her prone and hidden position next to the boulder which she often clung.  once the howl spilled from her lips the raven rose, sauntering easily towards the woman who had howled.

hallo, she says to fill the silence, hoping she can keep the girl around until xan arrived.

Honestly, Zenith hadn't even looked that far into the brush, she was far too wrapped up in her own angst.  She assumed someone would have called her out just in general principles if they'd spotted her, so why would she bother looking?  Then suddenly, lo and behold another appeared out of virtually nowhere.

Though vaguely in the same universe as far as coloration went, Zenith was a polar opposite of the one who greeted her in other ways -- Zen was significantly larger, and the first thing that came to mind was wondering if she could somehow lend the other woman some of her pelt, as hadn't she been cold this winter?  They were likely equally weird looking, though -- a Siamese cottonball on popsicle stick legs versus one who looked a bit worse for wear and maybe a little bloated from Zenith's cursory glance.

There was also the fact that Zenith could be a wordy beast, and this was one of those times that she wouldn't have let a word in edgewise until she'd verbally vomited out some of her stress, Oh! Hello! I don't know how I didn't see you there.  Sorry about that.  -- I'm Zenith, I've been looking for my brother -- I don't suppose you've seen him?  He pretty much looks like me, goes by Iovan.  But anyway, if there's room in your pack here I would like to stay a few seasons at least -- I can help with, um, really whatever, just you're near where I last saw him.  And we were supposed to meet, but I haven't found sign of him.  So I hope he's ok...  And stuff.  As she spoke, her once bordering-on-excited form shifted to slowly lower and lower not necessarily out of submission, but due to that ongoing feeling of helplessness that she'd awoken from its den again.  Either way, the end result was much the same: she was nothing, no challenge, just alone and not knowing what else to do.

Had he the ability to do so, he’d likely linger at the borders all day long. But there were often things to do within the valley, along with the need to simply ensure his scent did not fade from the general area; he was there and he would stay there, it was his valley and the walls would never be rid of him permanently. Even with that small necessity, however, he felt a constant pull towards the borders, knowing his friend resided there; it bothered him, still, that she kept to the outskirts of the territory. Were he any less civilised he would have dragged her in whether she wanted to be there or not, ordering her to stay where he could see her—but Alexander couldn’t do that. Perhaps he could have to Seff, whose sole purpose was to act as the albino’s servant, but never to Reigi (and maybe a handful of others). So he settled for checking in on her as frequently as time would allow, and it was towards her boulder that he’d been heading when the howl echoed off the walls.

Though seemingly feminine in pitch, the male’s hackles rose briefly, only to smooth out a moment later whilst his tail rose up over his back. It’ll be fine, he thought but Xan could fool not even himself—especially not as his pace gradually picked up, carrying him closer and closer to the borders.

Arriving right at the end of the stranger’s ramblings, he looked first to Reigi—one, two, three looks over her, assessing her from where he stood before slowly closing the distance, satisfied by the lack of wounds. Several weeks ago, he might have greeted her first with a soft touch to the cheek, but this time he settled for moving up alongside her; he did not touch her, but he did take a few steps more than she, positioning himself just enough between them that he could protect her, if need be, without blocking her from view. Queer eyes found their mark shortly after, studying the stranger’s expression, posture, and overall looks before asking, “Are you here to join?” He hadn’t managed to hear her speak to Reigi, having not arrived until the end and then immediately focusing on his companion. And, for once, he didn’t care too much about the possibility of making an ass out of himself by assuming her reason for being there.

she waits as the burly woman assaults her with an onslaught of words, most of which she doesn't catch onto.  brother was the only word that made sense to her, and she furrowed her brow.  she hadn't seen any wolves as of late and especially none that looked like her.

xan arrived and took over and god, she was grateful.  she didn't know why she perched at the mouth of the valley day in and day out other than to guard the place; she certainly couldn't help when anyone came along.

she defaulted to him, keeping her eye on the stranger but ultimately offering a slow, dumb wag of her tail.

She did notice the frown and it did make her heart drop a little even as she continued to talk -- had he not come by here either?  Where had he gone?  But the lack of swift response made her think that perhaps that was a wee bit too much to have rambled all in one breath.  She was about to apologize and be exceedingly formal when another wolf arrived on the scene.  Obviously the alpha, both from pose and the fact that as he approached it became clear he was the one whose scent permeated the borders the most.  Some sense was returning to her, her limp tail now curling around her leg as she took a half step backwards, just in case.

There was a brief pause as Zen wondered if local woman would repeat anything she said, but it seemed she'd bequeathed the entire interaction to him.  Zenith, however, had gotten a bit more control of her words by now, Yes, unless you've seen my brother, Iovan, in which case I need to find him first.  But as it seems unlikely -- I'm Zenith.  She bowed her head, ears folding father back on her skull before continuing, I'll do whatever you need.  I'd just like a place to stay while I try to figure out what happened to him... At the very least.  From her tone, it was obvious that with her plans destroyed enough as it were, she really had no idea what to do if it turned out Io had died.  She didn't even want to consider it.  From her perspective, there was no point lying about it either -- either he was willing to help a woman whose ego finally realized she needed to ask for help or she'd have to go find the next nearest pack to try the same thing.

A single ear remained twisted in his companion’s direction, a slim portion of his attention lingering on her just in case. For the most part, however, he paid attention to the stranger; he took the time to sniff at the woman then, searching for whatever information that he could, though what he found wasn’t all too interesting. Her words provided more insight, at which his ears perked, both swiveling forward to catch every sound she made. He didn’t recognise either of the names, her or her brother’s, which he made clear immediately: “I’ve never heard of anyone with that name.” He very well could have passed by the valley but, if he had, Alexander had never seen or heard from him.

She sought a place to stay, yet the way her sentences were formed concerned him. Should her brother be found, would she just up and leave? Briefly, his eyes narrowed as he thought that his pack might be used, but the expression was adjusted just moments later when he remembered his friend’s presence—her condition, too. Gaze flicked towards her, studying and considering his options, before deciding to take things one step at a time and actually listen prior to jumping to conclusions. “What happens if you find him?” he asked, returning his queer stare to the seal-pointed woman. “Will you leave right away?” Could he let a wolf join if he knew they were destined to leave? Possibly—

—not.

reigi is going to be taking a step back and doing nothing noteworthy until a decision is reached, so please feel free to skip her until then!

she watched xan more than she watched the stranger at first and noticed his attentiveness towards her in the turn of his gaze and the gentle flicking of his ear.  it pleased her.  she cleared her mind, focusing back on the stranger and the task at hand, mostly just acting as a guard dog in case this stranger was somehow dangerous — two versus one were the odds she favored so long as the two were on her side.

Zenith didn't demand the never-ending loyalty of others as long as they were honorable about their choices. She'd always hoped that others would think similarly, but there were often those who didn't.  She didn't know if it was some version of greed or jealousy or what.  Either way, it was one of many things that could end up disagreeing with her worldview, and she wasn't always willing to hold her tongue.

For now, though, there was the issue at hand.  She shook her head.  No.  Even if he shows up tomorrow, I'm done with wandering for a good while.  I'm not here to abuse your hospitality, I expect to act and work as any other pack mate would, even if on down the road it turns out my destiny is elsewhere.  It wasn't a special thing, it was expected.  It was how the world worked.  Wolves would always come and go, but she was honest about it.

If that does happen, Theyns repay their debts.  We'll bring you something additional, whether it be a whole big deer or something for the cache and a pile of herbs for your healers, or whatever else that seems appropriate at the time.  It wouldn't be a surprise, I'd speak to you and we can work out a timeline.  To a certain point, shouldn't that be better than certain other wolves?  She'd known some would just disappear off the face of the planet without a warning.  Zenith was definitely trying to be reasonable about the whole thing.  At your convenience.

She quieted again, And if he doesn't show up.  Well.  She shrugged. Zenith wasn't sure what to do if that was the case.  Would fate have abandoned her?

Shockingly enough, Alexander was not totally incapable of being reasonable. The more he listened, the less it seemed like a terrible idea to grant her access into his home; she would act the same as any other pack member, and she wouldn’t leave without notice. It was a convincing argument, chasing away the seeds of his irritation before they could take root. There was also the promise of a debt repaid—how could he pass that up, especially if someday circumstances forced him to collect. And though his initial reaction was to turn her away, he found himself being worn down by what made the most sense.

“How can you contribute while you’re here?” he asked, deciding that she was worth a continuation of the interview. “What skills do you have to offer?” He assumed hunting, given her promise, as well as the recognition of herbs—but he had to be sure, on the off chance that one skill belonged to her wayward brother and not the female herself.

She'd been really worried she'd picked the wrong pack to try, but it did seem she still had a chance.  Even if she was a little off her game fretting about her brother.  That wasn't something that was going to change soon so she'd have to figure out how to work with it..  Even if she didn't want to.

And unlike the other woman who'd thus stayed silent other than the greeting, Zenith had plenty of words to share.  All the basics.  Can hunt, fight, probably keep someone dying until a real healer shows up.  There wasn't anything particularly surprising about that.  She'd lived this long, hadn't she?  But before we left home I was the one who studied the more oddball things that would hopefully support the pack we were gonna make.  So I dunno if you want any help with making sure you're on good terms with the neighbors but that I should be able to do -- and I've already been wandering around a lot to the western reaches, so it wouldn't be as much pointless wandering.  I learned about the world to help garden for the healers, get an edge on the weather, and that sort of thing.  That at least was probably the most odd-and-thus-useful skills of hers.  So ambassador first, naturalist after -- then probably after that, some kind of fighter.  I'm not hideously picky, if you've got others who can do that sort of thing, I can probably fill in as needed.  That had been the point of their education, after all -- be able to survive, be able to figure out what was needed by those who they gathered, then pick a secondary skill that would compliment them.

She had the basic skills to offer, things that he fully believed every wolf should be capable of—if they couldn’t use their teeth, then how could they call themselves wolves? But accompanying those skills were ones that he wasn’t entirely familiar with, save for the gardening bit. Briefly, he felt his chest tighten, struck by a memory of his late friend as he recalled her interest in plants. The memories were immediately forced back into the depths of his mind, buried beneath less-emotional images and thoughts. He focused back on the present, where he was and those that were around him, whilst the tension in his chest eased.

“I think our healers could use your, uh, ability with plants,” he noted, inwardly chastising himself for the slight pause in his words. Stealing a glance at Reigi, he used her to ground himself, brought back fully to the present whilst the past was left where it belonged. Turning his gaze back to the potential recruit, he said, “What you know should be helpful. You can stay here.” It felt weird to let a wolf join when he knew that, someday, it was already in the plan of things for her to leave. No matter, he tried to ignore that bit of information for the sake of keeping his mood from slipping. “Just remember to let me know before you leave, whenever that happens,” he added, unable to keep his gaze from narrowing—but he corrected it soon after, doing what he could to not come off as too irritable.

Something seemed a little off with some of the comments he'd made thus far, and though she was pretty sure she hadn't said anything completely wrong, she wasn't sure what to think about it.  Asking him directly about it was not only probably a bad idea and awkward, but likely something that she should ask someone else about.  Maybe the black and tan woman there later? She didn't seem like a chatty type, though.  Hm.  Who then?  Who are the healers I should speak to?

And I'll make sure that it happens.  Until then, I look forward to working for you and your pack.  She smiled then bowed her head before tiptoeing slightly forward cautiously heading into the pack lands.  There was that brief pause when she made sure, basically, that he wasn't going to change his mind at the last instant.  Ordinarily she might have been more formal about thanking him and offering submission with a lick to the chin but she was just...  Wishing she could read him better.  Zenith would be meek, though, continuing with her submissive posture as she moved.  Thank you.

She was split between hoping Iovan would show up soon and hoping that he'd just show up later, also fine.  She hoped he'd show.  She hope he'd be ok.  She hoped whenever he did show up -- and he would, right? -- it wouldn't make things too complicated.