Lost Creek Hollow as the river flows

ooc; if you have room for me, i'd love to join!

he would not overstep himself. Baelfire had arrived at the Sunspire Mountains, surprised by the presence of many packs in one place. was this a good place to settle? he was going to find out. picking one at random, he would carry himself to the border of Lost Creek Hollow unknowingly. well, he knew it was a border. he knew it was a pack. but he knew not the name of such a place. steps took him to a water source, where he would bend down and drink briefly.

green eyes kept themselves on the landscape. forever watching for someone or something to charge at him. he didn't know if these wolves were friendly or not; his people had defended their border viciously. he was very used to trampling over strangers in pursuit of loyalty. yet that was in the past now. he was not loyal to his people. perhaps he could be loyal to these ones. if they had conflicting views, he would just turn around and go to another pack. seeking another audience was a dreary idea; he preferred to not explain himself countless times.

allowing the silence to stretch on, Baelfire got tired of it and waiting. he let out a chuff, wondering if anyone was nearby. perhaps they were watching him, to see what he'd do. but he stood respectfully away from the border. trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

Patrolling the borders at least gave her otherwise aimless wandering a point.  She could only fuss around the den and nap for so long before she had to do something, and finding some food and consuming it only took so long.  Treason was long since tired of this -- she'd be counting the days if she knew it was less than two weeks 'til her due date. She assumed her appearance was hideous, her previously strong and athletic lines broken by the protrusion of her stomach -- it wasn't a look she expected would look good on a soldier like herself.  But oh well, she'd wanted this so it was her choice to suffer.

But so, here she was, out on patrol.  Her ears cupped forward as she thought she heard something up ahead, but wasn't entirely sure -- it wasn't too far.  She sped up her pace from the stroll she'd been at to go investigate.  Treason was a little bit more cautious about this kind of thing than she had been previously, not announcing her presence or coming in to view until she'd spotted the mostly-brown wolf waiting, pausing to examine him a moment.  Eh.  She could still probably take him, but she'd keep an ear out in case he had friends.  Time to see what he wanted.  Treason finally strode forward, Can I help you?  Hopefully something nice and boring, not that she was doing much with her day.

his wait was neither long or short. a perfect balance of the two. coming into sight now was a pale woman with dark markings. her belly was swollen, marking her as an ilhar. a mother. his thoughts were brief, though there was some hope that this pack had children he could tutor. or ones that were to be birthed, yes. it was a promising start. the young man wanted nothing more to assist the new generation. even if he was completely gruff and strict with them. he also had the tendency to discipline the rowdier ones. a swift whack up the head was enough to make them pay attention...

of course, he would never do such a thing. he only thought that.

the woman had a no-nonsense vibe to her. Baelfire would regard the stranger before giving a respectful nod. at least it was straight to the point. he hated beating around bushes. "I'm Baelfire" his voice was a bit hoarse from lack of use. his people were notorious for never using vocal battles and did not speak much if at all when pleasantness were required. he could say he sat in silence for two months with his old community. it had been an odd experience. "I would like to learn more of your pack." shall we start with a name at least? he thought.

Call me Treason.  That question of identity again rose to the surface in the back of her mind.  But it wasn't something for her to deal with here, it was something for her to reconsider on her own time, maybe with Terance.  Nobody else really got a say in the matter.

Information.  Hm.   But what?  At least she could start with basics.  This is Lost Creek Hollow.  Terance and Rannoch lead, I am their beta.  We're in good standing with the neighboring packs..  --  What kind of information are you looking for?  I assume you're choosing a pack to join, if someone like me on the other side agrees.  She wasn't going to go guessing what some random wolf wanted to know, but at least it seemed clear by scent that he was alone.  So she probably wasn't going to be too far off the mark.  But still, some wanted friends and hugs, some didn't give a damn as long as they didn't have trouble, others probably had other things they wanted out of life.  Treason wasn't exactly the most creative when it came to think about what others might want.

"Treason it is" he felt irony at meeting a wolf called such a thing, for he was branded a traitor back home now. turning his back on Lolth in favor of his new patron deity... his parents would be so proud if they even cared about him. that was sarcasm. they cared enough to hurl insults and let him know how disappointed they were. bastards. calling him less of a wolf, less of a being for his religious choices. he would lift his head to stare at the beta.

he assumed that she was second in command, for his people had no such word. no real structure. which is why they fell so easily. "yes" he would reply "I would like to join your Lost Creek Hollow" seeing a pack working in union, perhaps harmony, was what he needed. he figured she didn't care to beat the bush either, and so would list his skills before her. "if you have need of a healer, I am versed in herbology. I am willing to teach others such a trade as well." 

if Lost Creek Hollow was indeed on good terms with the other communities, he saw no reason to draw this out. the woman was near her time and had better things to do than standing around here, speaking to him. "if you cannot accept me into your ranks, could you point me to one of your allies? I am... new to the Teekons. I'd rather join a pack that has no outstanding enemies. war is not something I'm interested in."

She did watch to see what he thought of her name.  Its whole purpose was a test. A non-response wasn't a flunk, so that was good at least.  The only one that had really set off her 'what the heck' radar was that one chick who started being all giggly and whatnot.  That had been an odd response.

A healer, huh?  Well, that was good.  Hopefully he'd be a good deal more useful than Tarot, who seemed to have snuck off after Gannet had approached him.  That particular wolf had been useful for a time, but she wasn't sure what had caused the shift in attitude that must have lead to his departure.  So if Baelfire seemed reasonable and had skills they needed, could they even afford to turn him away even if something had seemed questionable?  Maybe not.

We can use a healer, yes.  For pack relationships, I think the other packs would say much the same as we do.  There was one group I think that everyone around here had issues with -- I honestly don't know if they're still around though.  They've been awfully quiet, but we may just be too far to bother now.  I hope that's the case, as I'm obviously not in a state to deal with a war either.  Which was good and bad, and quite obvious -- maybe it said something about the sense of security if the soldier.  Blackfeather was gone but Treason didn't know for sure.  As long as they stayed quiet, they might not really exist anyway. 

But switching back to something that was of more interest to Baelfire, or so she guessed, But we do have a student looking for a tutor.  I'm sure he would appreciate a local teacher.  I don't know if you'll have much in the way of stored supplies to start, but at least spring is here.  Sort of.   It was starting to look that way at least.  Finally.  Still kind of cold and a bit bleak in some places.

hm. one singular pack that had been causing problems for all the rest? it sounded suspicious and he was glad they seemed to be gone. "congratulations" he would remark at her ending comment of not being able to deal with a fight. he gave a nod to her swollen sides. it appeared he had chosen a good place if children were in the future. Treason seemed rough, though he could not talk of such a thing. his own personality was a bit gruff too. she would make a good mother, though. he was sure of it. 

Treason then mentioned being able to mentor, causing the man's eyes to briefly flicker with eagerness. "I know some local plant life that I can easily find" he would return to the prospect of his admission again. "water sources always give life easier than a barren land" he remarked, gesturing to the lush landscape they were surrounded with. he could spot some plants from his standing point now. he'd remember their names and their meanings. collect some later. "but yeah, I can tutor anyone who can put up with me." amusement clear on his voice.

Hey, it was all true.  Lying was way too much effort for her -- bending the truth a little would be ok, but when the truth would do fine, no point screwing with an easily remembered and easily provable thing.

Treason herself found that whole congrats for being able to breed thing kind of weird.  Maybe she was thinking about it too analytically but she was pretty sure just about any wolf would be able to do it -- so what was the big deal?  It wasn't like they fought off a cougar or something.  Whatever.  Society was kind of weird but she'd play along with its whims, as that was far easier than questioning them.  She dipped her head politely, Thank you.

Moving on to something less awkward... Good.  I think you'll find Gannet is quite an agreeable sort, and eager to learn.  He doesn't usually wander far, so I expect you'll cross paths while settling in. And if she ran across him first, she'd mention it.  However there wasn't going to be too much time between now and when she probably saw one of them next, thanks other thread, so we'll see how that goes!

So welcome to the pack, she said, stepping back as if to invite him across.  It wasn't like there was an invisible doorway she was blocking, it just seemed more.. Invitation-like?

motherhood was a gift. a gift given only to women; they blessed the land with new blood. new faces. only they held the power to creative life aside from the gods. so maybe they should all be exalted as deities. some men, however, saw women as a chance to bolster their bloodline. Baelfire assumed Treason was well cared for by whoever had fathered her children. she hadn't said anything negative about the situation so far. he could be wrong though. she could be hating and regretting every single moment. then again... all pregnant women usually did at some point.

Baelfire committed to memory the name of Gannet, the wolf who wished to learn. maybe not from him specifically - they hadn't even met yet. "I'll find him" he replied, feeling the woman had already done enough. she welcomed him to Lost Creek Hollow, and he didn't even bother to ask what 'rank' he had achieved by this. the young man did not care. as long as he was surrounded by others again, positively, he did not care what he got. "bel'la dos" he muttered in drow before recalling the people here. "I mean - thank you."

she would stand back to allow him access to the territory. Baelfire moved forward, keen on exploring the best places to find herbs. he looked to Treason with a nod, allowing her the opportunity to leave. he was no threat to the pack he was apart of. she must have better things to do now.

So that was an issue solved and another member in to the pack.  Treason wasn't going to go leaping around thinking he was totally savior of the pack or anything (not that leaping would be fun right now in the first place), especially since she always had initial doubts about how long newcomers were going to stick around.  She'd rather expect the worst.  But as long as Gannet ended up learning a thing or two, that would be fine -- she trusted him to stick around more than some of the others.

Treason dipped her head in reply, If you have any problems settling in, let us know.  She should go back to her patrol, though.  It was going to be a somewhat eventful day.  And so she didn't stay too long to watch him wander into the territory, continuing on her own way.