Hideaway Strath Did you think that money was heaven sent?

Backdated to 9/13. Set directly after this thread.
@Rye
@Towhee @Phox

It hadn't taken too long to make the journey from the forest southwest of here, but the daylight had slowly began to fade as they arrived at the entrance to what appeared to be a beautiful valley. It seemed well hidden, and her paws itched to explore it and investigate the plant life. But before she could do that, she had to actually be allowed inside. The thought caused the knot in her stomach to tighten; it had grown bigger the closer they got, fed by insecurity and nerves, and now it uncomfortably contracted in response to her impending questioning. She had gone over in her mind what to say, but it all came down to whether or not they considered her someone that would adequately contribute to the pack.

She stood close to Rye, her muscles tense with the uncertainty she tried (probably unsuccessfully) to hide from him. He was something familiar in an otherwise unfamiliar situation, and she used his presence to steady herself. If she had learned anything from her months separated from her family, it had been that she was far more capable than she had been brought up to believe, and she reminded herself of that now, using it as another tool to quiet her nerves and focus on what was next. She turned to Rye with a small smile. Do you want to call for them or should I?

As they approached the border the scent of the walls greeted his nose strongly, enough to stop him in his tracks despite being a member of the pack. Rye sat and looked over at Effie, seeing her tension in flexed muscles. He understood, and gave her a light shoulder push with a smile accompanying. He wanted to convey, 'Relax, you'll be fine.'. No matter the answer she would be fine, he'd look out for her best he could anyways. 

"Hmm," He playfully thought for a moment, "You howl, give it all ya got!" Rye wondered what her how would sound like and if it might sound like she acted. Peaceful.

The brush of his shoulder was comforting and elicited and even wider smile from Effie. The tension in her body eased some, and she pushed away all of the insecurity that beat at her newly found confidence. She would be fine, regardless of what happened here today.

She nodded, her smile turning into a wide grin. Okay, she said. Then she turned towards the borders and lifted her muzzle to the sky to release a soft, ethereal howl, emitting it long enough that the call was sure to stretch across the territory, or so she hoped. She lowered her muzzle and gave Rye another smile before focusing her attention back on the borders to wait for whomever would answer.

It was past time to retire for the night, though Towhee stood solidly near the pass, squinting into the darkness. She could've sworn the earth was trembling every now and then, which was as concerning as it was peculiar. She wondered if there was any sound accompanying these strange vibrations. She should get back to the rendezvous site and ask her brother, see what he thought of the seismic events.

She turned and made to leave, though X swooped out of the night and landed on a tree branch directly overhead. She signaled toward the pass, so Towhee looked over her shoulder. She couldn't see much, since it was getting dark, but she turned and trotted back there. When she found Rye standing there with a strange she-wolf, their shoulders nearly touching, Towhee forgot all about the shuddering earth.

-"Uh, who's this?"- she barked, perhaps more sharply than was warranted.

If I messed up the post order lemme know!

It wasn't long before a familiar face appeared from the woods, Towhee. A part of Ryes' stomach flipped and left a bitter taste in his mouth. Painful reminders too shape in his mind but he ushered them awake quickly, not wanting to spoil anything. He greeted her with a smile, though forced, he tried to mean it. However any semblance of a smile left his muzzle once he heard the tone of his leaders voice. He didn't like it, he got a little heated and wanted to question what had her in such a mood. He bit his tongue however, knowing if he let his mind speak, it would only be worse for Effie. 

"Towhee, this is Effie. Effie, Towhee." Rye looked at Towhee, and pleaded with his eyes to play nice. He didn't expect Effie to get immediate approval but he expected a fair assessment.

Nope! You didn't.

They were soon greeted, rather curtly, by a woman with fur of black interrupted on her flanks by the prettiest shade of red. The words were hard to understand, but she sensed the tone clear enough. Effie would have smiled at her, but she was momentarily frozen with uncertainty. Was she just wary of strangers like Rye had been—of course, he had been less brusque about it—or did she automatically pick up on all the ways that Effie was inept? 

Rye's voice pulled her from her worrying, and she dipped her head towards Towhee, who she now assumed was the leader here. She smiled warmly despite her discomfort. It's nice to meet you, Towhee, she said softly, ears falling a little in submission. I am without a home, and I was hoping to join your pack. She drew in a quiet breath, attempting to steady herself again and recover from being rendered so unsure. There aren't a lot of things I can do well, but I have a vast knowledge of plants. If you have a healer, I'm sure I could be of a lot of help to them. Surely that was beneficial enough to be given a chance, which was all she was really asking for.

Her eyes narrowed as Rye introduced her as Effie, though this more about the dimness than her suddenly sour temper. Towhee said nothing, gaze shifting to the she-wolf as she spoke in turn. It was pretty difficult to read lips at night, though she did her best to catch as many words as possible and use context clues for the rest.

-"Why do you want to join Asterism Grove?"- Towhee wanted to know. It was a fair question, one she often posed, though her gaze flicked sideways to Rye before returning to Effie's face. Was he just recruiting her or was there something more going on here?

Calm your tits, she thought to herself, realizing she had no grounds for jealousy.

Speaking of ground, another quake throbbed beneath her feet. The Kilonova instinctively flexed her toes, feeling the vast rumbling, and shot a questioning look at the other two.

Rye stayed quiet, letting Towhee and Effie talk things over. He hoped she would be let in, having knowledge of plants could've help both Towhee and Rye at one point. There shouldn't be a reason why Effie couldn't join, he was confident she was golden. Suddenly the ground shook beneath him, his feet dug its claws dig into the ground. He held firmly planted and rode the quake until it was gone. He shot a questioning look back to Towhee then looked over to Effie to see if she was okay.

Why did she want to join? She had some trouble understanding the question at first, but she was pretty sure she understood the gist. She felt like there were a few reasons. She obviously didn't know much about Asterism Grove, but if someone like Rye called it home, then there must be something special about it. Well, it's close to the forest where Rye and I met, and that's where I stayed with my family before I got lost. They are gone now, but I want to stay close in case they return, Effie explained. I also want to use my knowledge to help others, and I was hoping I could do that here. She glanced to Rye and smiled shyly at him, her face heating again before she looked back to Towhee and continued. I'd really like to be a part of a pack, and after meeting Rye and hearing him talk about his home, I'd really like it to be my home too. Was that too much? Maybe she should have kept that last part to herself, but she didn't know how else to convey her worthiness. 

The ground began to rumble beneath them, making her tense and forcing her to steady herself to keep from falling. Her ears flattened briefly as unease settled in her chest. What were those sounds? They didn't seem like they were anything good, and she worried what could be causing the ground to shake. When things quieted, she gave Rye a reassuring smile before focusing back on his leader. 

Let me know if I'm not interpreting Towhee's communication methods correctly. I'm going on the assumption that Effie wouldn't be able to understand the signing but would be able to make out enough of the words to understand what she is saying.

Aye, she's meant to be a little hard to understand! It pleases me when people reference that. :)

Neither of them seemed overly perturbed about the small quake, which ended almost as soon as it started. She still felt uneasy, though she chose to ignore it too, for now. She would pick Phox's brain all about it later.

She squinted as Effie explained herself, her dialogue including a shy glance in Rye's direction. Towhee felt her jealousy rising again and it prickled the fur along her spine. She forced herself to take a breath and stay calm. She'd rejected Rye, who had every right to find someone else. She couldn't help her feelings, however irrational, but she could control her behavior.

-"Well, if Rye vouches for you, that says a lot,"- Towhee said with a lot more diplomacy than she was actually feeling. -"Gotta ask, though: do you intend to bail if your family comes back around?"-

Ignore this ooc text, Idk how to get rid of it so rip

The quakes were showing more and more of its self, never have experienced them before the last few days, Rye was a little freaked out that the ground moved. Once stable standing ground, now a game of try not to fall whilst your whole world shakes before you. However Rye was soon ripped from his thoughts by Towhees question, it raised concerns of his own. Would she up and leave? Rye wouldn't blame her but at the same time, it would be sad to see her go.

LOL will it not let you delete the code?

Effie's smile returned, and she dipped her head in gratitude towards the grove leader. It seemed Towhee held a lot of trust for Rye, and even knowing him for the small amount of time that she had, she wasn't really surprised; it made her eager to know more about him.

The next question was valid. Why would they want to allow her into their home if she was just going to leave to rejoin her family? But there was nothing to worry about. She had returned to look for them mostly to let them know she was still alive, but she was fairly certain that they would not agree with the way she chose to live her life now, so even if she wanted to go back to them, they probably wouldn't let her. She didn't want to live that life anymore, though. So she answered with complete certainty: No. Once I'm a part of this pack, I have no intention of leaving. She felt like she should probably explain why, but it wasn't something she really wanted to talk about with someone she didn't know very well. It was a sensitive subject, one she still felt pretty confused about, and she didn't think it was an appropriate time to discuss it.

Effie gave the right answer, though words were cheap. Only time would tell if she made good on that vow. Towhee said nothing for a moment, pondering whether to ask any further questions. She possessed at least one serviceable skill and Rye wouldn't have brought here around if he didn't think she had merit. Even though part of her wanted to turn Effie away because Rye clearly wanted her to live here, Towhee was a grownup at least most of the time.

-"All right, welcome to Asterism Grove then. I'll let Rye do the honors of a tour and all that jazz. I have to be getting back to the rendezvous site to talk to Phox about these earthquakes or whatever the hell,"- the Kilonova said, her gruff voice trailing off into a mutter at the end. -"I'll catch you guys later,"- Towhee concluded a little distractedly before trotting off toward the center of the grove. She was saved from any unpleasant speculation about Rye and Effie by yet another shiver in the earth.

Welcome to AG!

Rye withheld a grin upon hearing Effies acceptance, "See you around Towhee." He said happily. However he couldn't help but feel a little tense with Towhee. He wanted to write it off as not hearing correctly, or having his own feelings muddling his social queues but after seeing his leader fade into darkness, he let it all go and Rye turned to Effie "Easy as pie." He chuckled, "Now hows about that tour? Or would you like to explore the place yourself?" Either way would be find with him, he was more than happy to chase after Towhee and ensure everything was alright. 

New thread?

ty! <3

She couldn't help the obvious relief that washed over her features when Towhee officially accepted her. She dipped her head once more in response to the leader's departing words, wondering briefly if she would find out any more information on the strange rumbling. Thank you, she offered as Towhee turned to leave, unaware that she probably didn't hear her.

A grin brightened her face as she turned to Rye. It had maybe not been quite that easy, but she was glad to be here regardless. Even the the feel of another rumble didn't dampen her mood. I would love a tour, she exclaimed. Lead the way.

A new thread sounds great!