Sun Mote Copse A Lonely Encounter

Hopefully, I get this right :3

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Morningstar threw himself down in exhaustion. It's been days since he last found food, and the red wolf was traveling with his last strength. He doesn't even know why he traveled all this way for just a pack, though his gut instinct tells him this was the right choice. Already, he can smell the boundary line and instead of the usual uninviting musky smell, this scent line smells almost flowery to Morningstar, and it fills him with hope. 

Remembering back to the lone wolf he met that told him about this pack, Morningstar musters up his courage and lift his head, yowling out @Wraen 's name, hoping that the lead female will accept him into the pack.

Wraen had been gone for few days, travelling the Kintla flatlands and Great Bear wilderness to check, whether conditions were any different there than they were at her home. The results weren't, what she had hoped to find and the only consolation was that Firebirds were doing a little bit better than everyone else. One could always wish for more small game, but it was still around. 

Wraen had entered Sun Mote copse from a different border and had been about to go and greet the rest of the group, when a summoning howl, asking for her specifically caught her attention. Curious at, who may that be (because as far as she knew Asterism Grove wolves were still trapped inside the strath), she ventured towards the source of the sound. There -looking like a red-scruffy carpet was a foreign wolf sitting and waiting. The Sovereign stopped, pondered briefly and then approached the poor fellow with a confidence of a wolf in her own home.

"Hello," she greeted him. "I do not think I know you," she sad and smiled at him kindly.

A rustle caught Morningstar's attention and he snapped his head up. There in front of him stood a proud gray she-wolf; he immediately ducked his head in a sign of respect. "H-Hello," he stammered out, silently cursing himself. He slowly stood up as to not alarm Wraen. "Um, yes, you don't know me. I just got here. I mean, here as in Teekon Wilds. But also as in here, here," Morningstar quickly got out, his tongue twisting around the words. He shook himself out of embarrassment. "Um, what I meant to ask is, could I please join your pack? A traveling loner wolf told me about it, and it sounded so nice, and I would love to have a family again," he finished his mini-speech and waited with bated breath for the she-wolf to answer, praying that she doesn't turn him down.

Niamh, resigned to quiet patrol most days and nights, passing quietly by her son who often patrolled in the opposite direction, heard the youthful, hopeful call, and was not terribly far away, coincidentally. She chuffed softly to herself and flicked her tail thoughtfully- perhaps it was another joiner, and hopefully one that could be useful during the winter. She moved along the borders, picking Wraen's scent up as she did so, and already knew that her leader had beat her to the chase- but the sergeant-at-arms elected to attend the wolf's summon nonetheless, if nothing more, than to be backup for her leader and make sure this stranger knew that the pack was not unattended. 

The stranger in question was a meagre wolf; much smaller and shorter than Niamh, and had a tremulous air about him. A red wolf, she guessed, by his size and coat pattern, and she wondered vaguely if he had come from the Eastern Coast, where she'd heard that red wolves lived. Her calm, honey stare settled upon him, though she nodded once to Wraen silently, and flicked her ears forward. She suspected Wraen was handling this all fine on her own- but contented herself with simply supplying a backup presence, a display to this stranger that the pack was strong.

The man looked rather beaten down and Wraen could not help, but feel sorry for him. The fact that there were people, who spread her good name outside the wilds, surprised her a little, but she did not spend much time wondering, who they had been. She had met a lot of people during the two years she had spent here, most of them she did not recall by name or looks.

He did not beat around the bush and asked for a home within their ranks, yet the leader was in no haste to give a positive answer. Company aside, there was little else she could offer to the man. Food was sparse here as well, she could share some scraps to get him going, but Firebirds were in no place to sustain a grown-up wolf, when children were still a priority. Her silent contemplation was interrupted, when Niamh attended the two as well.

She acknowledged the young she-wolf with a nod and a quick smile, then turned back to the man. "First, tell us your name and, where do you come from," she said calmly, sitting down and preparing to listen. "What are you good at?" she asked and looked over her shoulder at Niamh. If Sergeant-at-arms wished to ask something, she was welcome to be involved in the discussing the joining terms with the red wolf.

For whatever reason, the discussion did not go the right way and the Firebirds did not aquire a new pack member that day.