Stone Circle Teddy bear picnic
I'M JUST A BELIEVER THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER
i don't wanna let it go
566 Posts
Ooc — mista
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#1
Joining 
@Thistle + Easthollow (@Valette & @Greyback) - Northern border of Easthollow, afternoon. Please let Thistle post first. Hello there, Easthollow. :eyes:

Are you sure this is the right choice? Thistle has already answered him about a hundred times, but Evergreen can't help his nerves. Their whole life up until this point has been family operated... stepping into the unknown is an experience he's unfamiliar with. His sister tends to be the braver of the two. One ear quirks forward while the other lays back; showing his hesitation. They are far enough from scent markers they likely won't disturb the nearby pack, but he knows the likelihood of them running into them has risen tenfold.

What if... they aren't nice? What if they plan to eat us? Evergreen voices his concerns, his voice growing higher in pitch as he continues his whining. He knows if they are cannibals, they'll go after him over his sister so... he supposes he can die knowing Thistle will probably be safe. His fat will satisfy them. But he also has so much left to live for! Releasing a sigh, Evergreen trails after his sister as they get closer to the Easthollow border. They are both careful enough to mind their boundaries. Probably because Evergreen would have a heart attack if his tiny sister decided to be a daredevil right now and flew beyond the invisible line.

He flops his hindquarters down onto the cold snow, and lets Thistle take the honors of announcing their presence. The bearish wolf is prepared to submit.
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Ooc — Wren
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#2
@Evergreen super excited :eyes: Hi there Easthollow!

After so many repetitions of the same question, Thistle's only response was a distracted hum. She was focused on where the invisible boundaries were, leading them along the borders in a broad circle. Evergreen was waiting for her to reach out, maybe try and call someone out to meet them, but at the moment Thistle's best plan was to pace until somebody came to investigate. Unfortunately, her brother likely wouldn't let her get away with that forever--soon he would be suspicious. Thistle couldn't let on that she was scared when she'd done her utmost to appear strong and in control, as her uncle had always taught her.
She moved with a confidence she didn't feel, yet at Evergreen's next words she stumbled, glancing back at her larger brother with one ear folding out to the side with an utterly exasperated expression.

Don't be ridiculous, She said firmly, shaking herself with a snort as though to brush away the very thought. There was no way they were cannibals. Absolutely not; there was no way. Thistle twisted back to walk toward her brother as he plopped down, at last giving in and plopping down next to him. Only someone who knew her well would see the way she trembled, though if Evergreen said a single word she would claim it was anticipation and bop him on the nose for doubting her.

With one more deep breath, she tipped her head back and let loose a greeting howl, preparing herself to submit and do her best to make a good first impression. Please, please don't be cannibals.
Mother Overlord
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#3
OMG HANDSOME FACES!!

Valette perked up her ears when she heard someone howl for her. The female pushed herself to her feet. She had been watching their bison herd when the howl reached her. It sounded like it came from the north so she turned that way to greet the wolf that howled for her. The matriarch assumed there was a female on their borders. The howl sounded quite feminine. But perhaps she was wrong, she had been wrong before.

As she came closer to the border, she realized that she had been wrong. There was not only a female but also a male. The alpha female trotted towards them. Her expression, as always, was more friendly than neutral. This was also because the strangers respected their borders. When strangers would be respectful the alpha female was often friendlier and easier to open up. Her eyes scanned over the two. Mates? Family?

She stopped before them, her tail was up high to indicate she was of a high rank but it was gently moving instead of standing up stiffly. "Welcome to Easthollow," she greeted. "I'm Valette, the matriarch of this pack." She liked her new title far better than 'alpha' since she felt very motherly to all their members of the pack. "You called," she stated giving them an opening to introduce themselves and tell them why they were here.
I'M JUST A BELIEVER THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER
i don't wanna let it go
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Ooc — mista
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#4
:D <3 Thank you!! Gotta fit in with this gorgeous pack ;D

Ridiculous? Excuse you; Evergreen had every right to worry about possible cannibalism. It’s not as if it was a rare thing! Nope, not at all. He puffs his cheeks at his sister, tempted to stick his tongue out at her as she keeps pacing. Finally, however, she gets the hint and takes a seat next to him. He doesn’t expect feel her trembles. Eyebrows knit downwards in concern. Perhaps… he shouldn’t have blabbed.

His jaws part and he’s about to say that they could call it all off, when Thistle makes the decision to howl. Well. There goes the escape plan. Green eyes flicker forwards as if expecting a wolf to form from thin air. Fortunately, no such magic happens. Evergreen takes a moment to lean into his sister, trying to comfort her or… well, maybe she’s just excited. She tends to get twitchy either way. He gives her a kiss on the top of her head just in case.

It isn’t long before the duo is approached by a wolf—average in height, pretty and holding herself with rightful confidence. Evergreen attempts to shrink further, but it’s difficult with his massive size. His ears fold, and his tail is kept on the ground. He’s wary at first, wondering what kind of person this pack wolf might be; but he’s relieved to see she’s… a friendly face? He thought they'd be greeted with teeth and growling. A sheepish grin starts to curl on his lips, and his tail thumps on the ground slowly.

Easthollow is the pack they happened upon, and he can’t help widen his green eyes at the word “matriarch”.

“Uhm,” he starts off nervously, glancing towards Thistle. Usually he lets her take the lead, but he figures he should at least introduce himself. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Valette,” Evergreen ducks his head. “I’m Evergreen, and this is my sister, Thistle.”
Working on wrapping up current threads!
"The mountains do not break to the wind nor does the sky change for a single individual."
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Ooc — Wilthking
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#5
WOOPS! I was shadow posted so i'm going to edit!
The beast of a wolf had been relatively close to Valette when he heard the call coming from the borders, it's tone soft. It seemed that as winter raged on more and more found themselves at Easthollow for one reason or another. Perhaps it was the lack of food, or the fact that many were leaving their homes in order to make room for pups. Regardless, Easthollow wasn't having any food troubles as of yet, so he was open to the idea of others joining.

Following Valette closely behind, the patriarch ventured near the border with his matriarch only to find two lone figures standing. As he neared Greyback noticed the girl was significantly smaller than the male— her fur silver and roan. The male, which he assumed was either a friend or a mate almost rivaled in his size.

As he approached  behind Valette he made no effort to seem hostile, though he did stand proudly and tall, his tail raised and ears alert as he looked down at the two with a stoic expression. Only his eyes would show his weakness to be kind. He didn't have to show an aggressive demeanor much since the sheer size of him easily intimidated most. Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it on the two.  He had heard the end of Valette's words and suspected she had already introduced herself and the pack. It was only after Evergreen spoke that he  introduced himself. "Greetings, I am Greyback. Patriarch of this Pack. What may we do for you two?"


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Ooc — Wren
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The moment she'd tapered her call, Thistle's trembling grew worse. To the point where she would have been forced to admit--she was nervous. So, so nervous. The familiar weight and woodsy scent of her brother helped to calm her, a little; she moved to nudge beneath his jaw in thanks for his silent comfort. Every moment of their surprisingly short wait feels like a year to Thistle, but when the she-wolf appears she makes an effort to still her nervous trembling, shifting to make herself smaller and letting her tail wave briefly even as she stepped a little ways away from the comforting shadow of her brother. The matriarch looks graceful, and it is a relief to see her tail moving even as she's asserting her dominance. Evergreen is quick to introduce them both, and she lets her ears perk forward briefly before she's distracted by another hulking shadow approaching.

It's only due to her familiarity with Evergreen that she doesn't immediately mistake him for a bear. His expression was far more severe to her eyes than Valette's gently waving tail, and her nerves began to get the better of her once again. In response to their presence, she curls her own tail low, tucked up against her back leg, yet she let the tip wag ever so slightly. She made sure to lower her gaze as well, keeping them in the corner of her eye but hoping to convey respect.

We're very pleased to meet you both, Thistle spoke earnestly, and it was really something to be greeted by both alphas—though it certainly wasn't doing anything for her nerves. She really, really didn't want to mess this up. Our family recently sent us away to walk our own paths. We weren't a part of a pack before, but we'd like to see what it's like.

Here she paused, lowering her gaze further. If you have the room, or if we could be useful, we'd very much like to join yours.
Mother Overlord
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Valette was getting familiar with Greyback's approaching footsteps. She had not been nervous about going to the border and meeting the two strangers but it was definitely nice to hear him approach behind her. She wouldn't mind a back up and now they were even numbered. Valette nudged him briefly in greeting. After all, she couldn't help but to say hi to her handsome mate. She quickly regained her focus though.

The male introduced them and it seemed they were brother and sister. Valette nodded shortly. Her eyes on the two. It seemed they were nervous, both of them. Valette could imagine that approaching a pack would be something intimidating if never done before. "That must be very exciting to be out on your own." Her own children had gone their own paths as well and traveled. She could understand that this was the next step for them. "Nice to meet you Evergreen and Thistle. We do have the room," she confirmed.

She would want to know more about them as they should probably also know more about Easthollow. 'Are you familiar with our pack? Because otherwise you might want to hear about our values and how we work as a pack. Each pack has their own philosophy and ranking system so it can be that we might not be a good fit," Valette explained calmly. Since they were new to this, she wouldn't want them to pick the first one they would stumble across. She smiled at her mate. "Maybe you can tell something more about us," she spoke to Greyback. The Stone Circle on the hill standing in the distance behind the leading pair. Perhaps after they liked Easthollow, they could tell her more about what they liked to be doing in their pack.

AWW Thanks!! <3
I'M JUST A BELIEVER THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER
i don't wanna let it go
566 Posts
Ooc — mista
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#8
Sorry about the shadow post, Wilthking! Happy to have Greyback here as well :D

It is soon after his words that he spots a massive form appear alongside Valette. How he had missed it before is a mystery, but it’s safe to say that Evergreen is both in awe and intimidated by the large, handsome male. It seems they had the luck of meeting both Alphas. He glances towards his sister, concerned for her anxieties were seeping under her strong mask. Perhaps he ought to swallow his own fears and speak up more.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Sir Greyback,” he parrots shyly, keeping his eyes away from staring directly at the greyscale male—the bearish wolf can’t help be curious about the scar across his muzzle. He knew, however, that it is rude to stare. His uncle never liked it much when others stared. Thistle takes the lead and answers their question on why the duo has approached Easthollow.

Valette seems to take the situation well, so he supposes they haven’t been thrown out of the running just yet then. His tail wags softly, eyes peering curiously at the leading pair. It is true that they heard only minimal details about the pack before approaching; much of it’s inner culture are a mystery to Evergreen at least, and he’s uncertain if Thistle knew much more.

“Since we came from a family-oriented group,” he pauses, trying to gain some confidence in his words. “We thought maybe Easthollow would be similar. Family is important to us, but… uh, yeah, we don’t know much more about the pack.” Evergreen admits. He shifts his green gaze towards Greyback, hoping that he would tell them more.
Working on wrapping up current threads!
"The mountains do not break to the wind nor does the sky change for a single individual."
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Ooc — Wilthking
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#9
Standing, Greyback let his gaze sweep over them—his intense stare burning holes into the two as he desperately tried to gauge what kind of wolves they are. Thistle's trembling frame, polite greeting, and lowered gaze did everything to melt his gaze into something softer while her brother, Evergreen stood by her with a wagging tail. It was only when they spoke about their journey for a pack that his stoic facade soon cracked and his face gave way to a humble smile as he looked at the both of them. "There is no need to be afraid here," he chuckled. "We won't attack unless provoked."

When Valette asked him to add he glanced to her out of the corner of his eye as if to say 'of course.' "Easthollow prides ourselves on a tight-nit structure while being devoted to working as one." he began. "We also hold respect to each and every one of our members despite the rank we hold and are quick to take from everyone's experience as a chance to learn." His eyes never left them as he talked, wanting to gauge their reaction to such a philosophy. While both had come from a family oriented pack he wanted to see how they would react to being told to learn.

He fell silent as he waited only to blink and clear his throat as he continued. "We are a peaceful pack, but that doesn't always mean life here will be easy. The bison for example—" he looked and pointed his nose in the direction to the herd that was hidden over the ridge. "— are food of choice and quite dangerous. But we manage." He turned back to them once more. He would like to take them in, however he wanted to see how they would fair.

"Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourselves? Do you have any skills?"


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Ooc — Wren
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#10
So sorry about the wait! ♥

Thistle offered a smile in response to Valette's words, though it was somewhat weak. Exciting was one word for this new venture of moving off on their own, and one that Thistle might have dived into headfirst--but, aside from the fear of the unknown welling within her heart, she was also unable to forget what they'd left behind. She was happy to let Evergreen respond as she shook off the memories of her mother's fond smile, her uncle's gruff farewell as they were sent off into the unknown. She glanced up when Evergreen was done speaking, giving a nod--she had heard that Easthollow was one of the more close-knit groups, and after meeting Valette and Greyback she felt more certain that they wouldn't feel out of place under their rule.

Her tail set to wagging when Greyback laughed, glancing toward her brother. It was more reassuring to hear than it probably should have been when the Alphas had been nothing but kind so far, but she still relaxed more at the large male's words. When he expounded on the pack philosophy, Thistle snapped to attention, looking at the two leaders with quick, darting glances as her tail moved even faster.

Working as one, valuing life experience no matter what rank a wolf was in the pack--that sounded fantastic to her. However, at the thought of being expected and encouraged to learn from those experiences, Thistle couldn't help but grin. She had never been great at sitting down for her mother's story-lessons as a pup, but whenever Oki had managed to drip some wisdom in her ears, Thistle had always immediately wanted to put it to use. Now that she was older, she enjoyed listening and learning much more--and she was certain her brother was of the same mind.

I don't think I've ever seen a bison before, Thistle mentioned, following Greyback's pointing nose with curious eyes. Of course, they were hidden out of sight from the borders, but she craned her neck as though that would help anyway. My uncle mostly taught me to hunt birds and small game. Uhm, our mother also showed us a bit about how to monitor where we lived and make sure we could predict dangerous events, like blizzards, or...if the next year's growth would encourage the prey to move elsewhere.

Oki had had names for her skills, but Evergreen had always listened more closely than she had. Thistle forgot herself for a moment and glanced to her brother, brow furrowing in thought. What did she call it, Lump?
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Valette was getting to know these wolves better. The male spoke about coming from a family orientated pack and looking for something similar. Well, they were at least at the right address. Greyback started to explain about Easthollow. She was so proud of her mate. It was wonderful to see how much of an integrated member he became. He captured the Easthollow philosophy perfectly.

Valette listened with interest as the female explained about predicting dangerous events and even see in the future to see how the territory would look like. Valette was definitely interested in that. She did however frown when she called her brother 'Lump'. "Lump?," she questioned. She was not sure if it was a positive nickname?

"Those are all very interesting trades that we could house here," she spoke. "We also have small game in the fields but we prefer hunting for everyone and taking down deer or bison," she added. The alpha female looked at the male of the two curious if he had the same skills. The female already liked the two, so she was pretty optimistic that she was going to give the two at least a chance in Easthollow.
I'M JUST A BELIEVER THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER
i don't wanna let it go
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Ooc — mista
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#12
Naturalist, he answers with a grin. The word itself is a mouthful, and during his youth it was impossible to wrap his tongue around it properly to pronounce it. Now, he can confidently puff his chest out. Word conquered. His ears twitch, eyes turning to Valette as she speaks his nickname aloud. His head tilts, confused by the tone she says it and the matching frown. He supposes he could sympathize; Evergreen would be shocked if someone called another by a seemingly "negative" nickname, too.

How does he explain it without telling them his entire life story though? Sure, Greyback asked them to tell em a bit about themselves, but... that seems a little too much. He grins lopsidedly at Valette, wagging his tail slightly in hopes to comfort any of her worries.

It's a nickname from our childhood that's just... stuck. I don't mind it. He settles on telling her a vague summarization, hoping it's good enough until... later, maybe, when Thistle or he could expand on the story.

I can learn to help with the bison, Evergreen offers, interest piqued. Small game tends to be too swift and fast for him, so maybe his bulk would come in handy here. Otherwise, uh, our mother taught me how to fish. Uncle wanted me to be a Guardian like him, so I have... defensive experience? But I'm willing to learn new skills. Oki used to say he was good at giving advice, too, but he doesn't feel comfortable saying that... just hopes that his current talents were enough to get them started in Easthollow. I like working as a team. Where ever I'm needed, I'll do my best.
Working on wrapping up current threads!
"The mountains do not break to the wind nor does the sky change for a single individual."
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Ooc — Wilthking
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#13
He held a calm smile as the two talked to themselves and shared their history, their close-knit bond obvious to him. It was apparent that they were siblings now, Greyback always imagined what it would be like if he kept in touch with his own siblings... perhaps when the pups were born they too would hold a deep bond. He slowly slipped into deep thought, his eyes fixed on the ground below as his brows knit until he heard the soft whisp of Valette's voice.

Snapping his head up, Greyback rejoined the conversation with a curious gaze. Valette seemed to be interested in something the pair had said, though he had no idea what. He had already missed a large chunk of the exchange and now stood dumbfounded with a tilted head. Perhaps later he would talk to them without the thought of children on his mind.

"Well then.." he started, looking to Valette out the corner of his eyes for confirmation. "You two seem a perfect fit for Easthollow. I think its safe to say that we— both of us, and the pack would be delighted to have you."


I'M JUST A BELIEVER THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER
i don't wanna let it go
566 Posts
Ooc — mista
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#14
Quick wrap up post. ❤

It's with baited breath the siblings stand eager; denial would not be the end of the world, but acceptance would be their first step. New as they are to Teekon Wilds and tired from travel and the bitting cold, Easthollow is a sanctuary both would undoubtedly work hard to repay. His ears resist the urge to swing in the direction of Greyback; surprised yet delighted all the same. Evergreen's tail flies a mile a minute. Thank you so much! He exclaims, bowing his head in appreciation. The brother glances towards Thistle with a broad grin. And so their journey begins.
Working on wrapping up current threads!