Stone Circle You’ve got the world at your feet

@Valette

Elken’s paws thudded as he walked, not caring much in hunting while he was here. There were scents coming closer, firm scents of a pack that was regularly doing patrol on the outside of their land. He found where the scent was strongest and sat a few feet away, wondering if he should give a howl to the pack to announce his presence. He decided to maybe let the  pack find him themselves. Elken had never had a true pack before, this was a completely new experience.

He thought back to his mom and then to how far he had walked to get there. A small smile quivered at the edge of his mouth, knowing his mom would be proud of him getting out of the hellhole that was his past home. He absent-mindedly pawed at the ground while thinking, no hostility to show the pack he was going to introduce himself to. His body was sturdy in the soft wind that blew through the lands. Elken waited for signs of another living being to come address him.

Valette was usually with her children these days. She never really liked doing patrols in the first place. So it was just a moment of mere luck that she saw the stranger at their border. The female had a meal in her jaws as she trotted through the plains and in the corner of her eye she saw someone in the distance. Valette turned to get a better look and noticed that it was, in fact, a wolf.

The female dropped the hare and trotted towards the stranger. The female's hazel green eyes scanned over the other. "Hello, I'm Valette. What brings you to Easthollow?," she questioned. She was not sure if she liked wolves hanging around her borders however, this one had been respectful of it so she would show the same courtesy.

When Elken could smell a mother wolf, he seemed to relax. A mother was usually a 50/50 with either being a happy wolf or a wreck due to her pups keeping her up. Either way, he could do this. He seemed to be a little awkward and stumbled as he stood up, long fur around the back of his ankles almost tripping him. He shook himself out to try and compose himself. He obviously hadn't done some looking in a puddle when he's done this though and no one bothered to tell him it just fluffed his fur out a bit more which made him look like a large pomeranian. What a great first impression.

When the female approached, he suddenly panicked and bowed to her like someone would do to a god instead of a respectful head nod. He was obviously trying his best an hadn't been in front of a pack leader before. He stood back up to talk to the she-wolf. "Hi, I'm Elken, I was wondering if you, uh, had space for another wolf in your pack." Elken was so nervous, he was practically sweating bullets. "I'm sorry, I've never had much interation with a pack before. I swear I'm usually better than this." He was goofing it up. If you looked close, you could see he was about to cry from embarassment. The male was just trying so so hard to be a good candidate for a pack.

"I'm really good with hunting rabbits and such. I'm quite faster than most wolves and I'm also very good at moving through snow. It used to be what my homeland was like."  He decided to offer what his good points were to the wolf, maybe Valette would like him more if he could make himself useful.

Valette could tell that the male was nervous. She noted the deep bow when she arrived. Her expression was rather surprised as loners never really did that type of thing. The female offered a soft smile. In a way, he reminded her of Vespera. She had been much like him when she arrived. "No need to bow," she offered and dipped her head in greeting. He spoke about not being with a pack before. Interesting, she wondered where all these pack-less wolves came from. Vespera was one of them. "Nice to meet you, Elken. We do have some room left in this pack."

Valette noted that he was good at hunting and normally faster than others. She remembered him stumbling to his feet so she wondered if his words were true for a moment. 'Alright,' she nodded in return. "But let me tell you something about Easthollow. We are a family-based pack and care for each other like we are family. We do not have ranks based on dominance but based on family relationships and loyalty. I'm the Matriarch of the pack, under that we currently have all the family members. Under that are newcomers, this will be the rank you will be in if you join. You will have to prove yourself to become family. We stand for respect to others and are not an extremely territorial pack. We try to help when we can. If you are outside of our borders we expect you being a good ambassador for Easthollow," she explained.

"Our main source of prey is bison which we hunt in big group hunts. Though if you specialize in small animals our fields contain those as well. We encourage our members to follow the paths they aspire to be. Hunters fall under my leadership. My mate is more in charge of doing the patrols and guarding. That is how we divide the work.' It was a good introduction in her opinion. Now she just needed to find out if this young male wanted a family lifestyle or if he was looking for more of a rowdy pack. "You say you haven't been in a pack before? Why are you interested in joining ours?," she questioned.

Greyback watched from the top of the slope, his figure imposing as it always was to newcomers. His long fur moved with the gentle summer breeze, his scent rolling down the hill as his amber eyes pierced Valette and the stranger. Perhaps if the male at the border looked up he would notice the giant. Greyback silently hoped he would. It was good that others knew their place. Wolves who get get a sence of weaknss will eventually slip through the cracks of authority. 

Greyback did not need that. Valette did not need that. Their kids did not need it..

He woukd watch for a while, still like a stone but relaxed. It was only when they talked a bit more that the male would squint and travel downwards to join his mate and meet the stranger. He would hear the trails of their current conversation as he neared behind the Matriarch.

"Come now my heart," he rumbled. "If I remember correctly I bowed till my face touched the earth." 'and would continue to do so till my last breath' he thought before turning to the male. "Pray tell, what is your name, young one?"

Oh no, two wolves now. He was starting to feel hopeless, but he continued on with trying his best to gain the trust of the leaders. He informed the new wolf, who he assumed was a mate or a lover due to scents. He gave a gentler bow to the other man. "I am Elken Avinay." He addressed the female too, making sure he talked to both of them equally. He also nodded when Valette spoke of how the pack worked.

"I have heard about this pack, your familial ranks are something that I haven't had in my life before. I was born of a loner and had little packs around due to the frigid temperature around us. I really wanted to join a pack that embraced the things that I had little of around me." He was genuinely taking something from his heart now. It was almost nice to open up a little to someone after staying silent for so long. His childhood was full of lots of silence, it was almost a distant memory now. Hopefully, he'd be with better people now.

Valette looked up when she heard the familiar approach of her mate. She twitched her ear and greeted him with a lick over his cheek. Valette grinned. "Yes, but that was only because my sister was there and made you," she smirked. Nanook had been very skeptical of the male in the beginning. The male wanted to experience what he never had. But Valette was worried that he would not know the customs and would fit in with the pack. Valette glanced at her mate to see what he was thinking.

They could give him a chance. He had been nothing but polite. "What do you like to do besides hunting?," Valette asked. Perhaps there were more things that this male could do for the pack. They would give him a home and perhaps a new family if he stayed long enough.

The once stoic facade that stretched across the man's body crumbled with the kind lick of his mate. He was quick to return his own to her as well, the swell of his nose touching her cheek gently with a soft hum. "Ah, yes. Nanook was quite the force to be reckoned with," he chuckled before he returned to the boy—fully composed once again.

'Elken Avinay.' The man rolled the name on his tongue with a modest tone before nodding in affirmation. It was a strange name to him. Greyback was a northerner, a man who came from frigid temperatures with names of simple natures. Elken was nothing short of arbitrary to the Patriarch, a name that was random and did not reflect the boy's appearance one bit. Greyback wanted to ask said boy where he hailed from but would store it for a later conversation. He instead continued to stand silently and stare at the boy, studying him.

Other than hunting? He had to think for a bit. The silence obviously became a tad worrying for himself since he really felt as if he should have thought of these things before. “I have been told I am quite resourceful with what little materials I have to work with. But my other ability that I’m far greater with is to memorize the land I have travelled. I got here with little direction and know how to get my way back.” His words were more thought through this time.

Elken tended to forget how well his memory was with the landscape around him. It was something he has picked up on in his barren land he had grown up in. It was easy for pups to get lost in so he had worked hard to know the land better to guide them when they were lost.

”If you would like, I can work to prove myself to belong in the pack. I do not mind being tested by the rest of the wolves to see if I fit in the family. If it does not work out, you can throw me out and I’ll run packless until I find somewhere else that may be a better fit.”

Valette dipped her head when he spoke. It sounded like he would be a well-rounded member and she couldn't really see anything negative about the wolf at this moment. She wouldn't mind accepting him in their ranks. "It sounds like you will be of help here," she spoke with a nod. "You will first become a newcomer, after a while and you integrated more you will be considered family. But I will let you know when that is," she returned and glanced at her mate. She didn't have the feeling that Greyback would be against this.

"Don't come too close yet to the alpha den," Valette warned. If he was a good wolf this other wolf would respect her wishes. She didn't want a stranger close to her children just yet. She looked at her mate one final time. "Welcome to Easthollow, Elken!" She smiled kindly. Even though this wolf had not been in a pack she knew that most individuals adjusted well, he didn't look as difficult as Vespera. "Greyback, perhaps you want to show him around the territory?"

sorry for the late reply!

Greyback continued to watch silently. He found that the more Elken talked, the more he grew to like him. The boy was bit of a chatter box, a bit too outspoken, but ultimately would find decent company within the pack. He only continued to offer a smile to the boy, but when the conversation turned onto him he gave a nod and a flick of his tail.

"Welcome, young Elken. There is much to show you—come, right this way." And with that the large male gave a small kiss to Valette's cheek and trotted off, hoping the newcomer would follow.