Mount Everfall She lit a fire

tag is for reference bc I made a heck ton of assumptions <3

Heck yeahhh Maia was back, and boy howdy was she ready to see @Wraen again!!

Her trip home had been a mess of ups and downs.  Initially, when she'd arrived, she almost hadn't recognized it.  The fire had annihilated the forest where she grew up, and even after months of weather, the barren landscape was like a punch to the gut.  It was indescribable, trying to reconcile the place where she'd lived those first few months with this wasteland.

She hadn't looked for their den, hadn't wanted to see it.  She couldn't imagine what Sarah must have gone through that night, but now had a slightly clearer idea, and her heart had broken for all of them.  That had been a rough few days.

But that wasn't all.

When her brother found her, Maia had been despondently circling the territory, unsure of where to go next.  Her reunion with Cori would have made the entire trip worthwhile... but it turned out, he wasn't alone.  Cass, Cori, their younger siblings... all of them had made it out and were living in the forests even further south, where the fire hadn't managed to reach.

That was where Maia had been, these last few weeks.  She'd stayed to help them as long as she could, but with winter coming, she knew she needed to get home.  Everyone here needed to know what had happened to the rest of the family.

She'd told her siblings how to find them before she left, and even leaving Cass behind had been hard.  But as she came closer and closer to Teekon, she grew more and more excited to see everyone.  

It was nearing nightfall as she came down the mountain on the southern end, and she paused briefly, staring over at the setting sun.  Man oh man, it was crazy how she'd talked about going back home... and now she thought of this as home.  Maybe it helped that she'd seen, first hand, that nothing was left of the old one.  But it was more than that, too.  She'd really really missed everyone here.

Bronco's patrol eventually wound up taking him beyond the borders- where he still figured that roaming sround would still count as patrolling if he argued that he was simply making sure that no one even came close to their borders if they weren't allowed. The truth was that he'd begun to get tired of going through the same routes every day, making his patrols correspond with his mother's as she wound her way in the opposite direction, at differing times of the day so that there was never too much of a gap in the border patrol. But Bronco left a gap when he left the pack, and wandered toward the South toward the area where the mountains fell down toward the river. 

He could still see the impact the earthquakes had had on the mountainsides, which now had a good deal more scree and loose shale here and there where landslides had happened. He moved on until he saw a wolf- a pretty female with dark markings along her cheekbones and around her eyes- looking off in the direction of his pack. He felt a bit suspicious, wondering if she knew she was staring off toward a claimed terrotiry or not- but this was a girl. Sure- she was an adult, but she didn't look terribly harmful, she simply looked pretty, and Bronco was beginning to approach the age where girls began to draw a bit more attention from him. 

A bummer when he was related to all the young girls in his pack. 

It was the kind of dusk where the sky burned various shades of red and orange before fading to purple toward the Eastern horizon, and the dying light cast a warm copper hue upon the female he approached. He cleared his throat, and glanced off toward the sunset, before looking back at her. "Looks like both you an' me got an eye for pretty things," He chatted, fixing his gaze upon her and giving her a rogueish, very Coltish smile.

Maia definitely wasn't expecting company so soon, and she'd been trying to decide where she should go first.  She wanted to head straight to the Firebirds... but she knew if she went there, she'd have a hard time leaving.  She HAD to give Sarah and Terance the news.  So she'd essentially settled on Lost Creek Hollow when Bronco came upon her.

Wait, was that a compliment?  She wasn't sure if he was talking about the sunset or, tone wise, something else.  Either way, she laughed, and with her awkward surprise both seeing him and the confusion, it was one of those weird and kind of loud ones she always regretted right after. She was such a spaz.

Uh, yeah.  Oh no she was so done with boys with pretty smiles, and pretty eyes, and pretty.... gold flecks.... down their sides.  Yeah heck he was real pretty.  Maia didn't have much of a discerning taste; she fell for about every guy she came across.  But even though he seemed younger than she was, that darn grin made her brain devolve a step or two.  Hormones, activate... focus Maia, focus.

Are you, like, from here? she finally asked.  It was a dumb question to start a conversation, she decided straight away, but it was the best she could do right now.  She was a little out of practice, with the whole traveling alone and staying with family thing.

She agreed with him, and brazenly, he felt like he'd won an in. But he couldn't stop there- oh no, she'd answered his comment, leading him to push forward with another question after that, watching her with a simmering whiskey gaze. "So you agree that you're pretty, then?" He asked, testing to see what she thought of that for a moment, before he chuckled and nodded. "I like a girl with healthy self-confidence," He added, toying dangerously with this new idea of flirtation. It was hard to say whether or not he had any real skill with the trade- but it certainly didn't come from his mother, who had been deadpan, sad or angry for quite some time. It felt to him like something that was naturally begging for him to engage, so he happily obliged. She seemed to have been a bit surprised by his comment- and perhaps a bit modest- but it was clear that he'd had some effect on her. 

There was something youthful and girlish about the way she spoke, which gave him a bit of hope. He assumed that she was older than he was, and probably out of his league- but he was testing out the waters, wanting to see if he could float, let alone swim. He'd already caught her by surprise once, so he sidled forward, closing the distance between them to see if he could continue with his streak. "Yeah, I do," He said, lifting his chin slightly, before he gestured with it off toward the Copse. "My pack's just off that way a bit; we're called the Firebirds," He said, and willed for his fiery eyes to flash as he said the name, though he wasn't entire sure if it was physically possible to even do so. He turned his head slightly, and ran his gaze over her for a moment, noticing readily that she was healthy and fit. Why wouldn't she make a good addition to their pack? And how awesome would it be if he was the one to wrangle in a brand new packmate? "You lookin' fer a home? 'Cause y'know, if you meet the standards...I might be able to do somethin' about that," He said, trying to entice her with a cheshire grin.

If wolves could blush, this thread title would be super appropriate, because Maia was burning under her coat.  She'd always been fairly oblivious to flirting, and never really assumed anyone saw her like that. So when someone was this obvious about it, she had zero capability to deal with it.  Cue more nervous giggling.

Uh, no, I mean, maybe?  She took a step back.  She definitely didn't think she was all that great looks wise - she'd always felt she was too big and too awkward for that.  But she didn't want to come right out and deny it either, because like he said, confidence was something generally people liked.  And as uncomfortable as she was right now, she really, really didn't want to make him leave.

Fortunately, he said a pack, and immediately she latched onto that saving grace.  I know them!!! Wraen's my sister!!  I don't remember you from there, but that means we are packmates! Maia grinned with both elation and relief to have found some common ground (and have slyly moved the conversation from herself).  I was on my way back, but I have to go see my brother first!  It was funny, to be recruited into her own pack!

He'd seemingly caught her by surprise again, and she seemed a bit unsure of herself. That was alright, in the long run- Bronco had enough confidence for both of them, and silently winked at her, nodded, and mouthed You are to her, so that she might not be too overwhelmed to hear the words out loud, but that she could at least still be reassured that she was, indeed, a pretty creature. There was something about the dark lines near her eyes that reminded him of the markings he'd seen on an owl once, and owls were plenty pretty. They accented her cheekbones and provided a contrast for the mercurial shine of her silver eyes. The soft beige that framed her face made her look all the more feminine and girlish, and added to Bronco's assumption that she couldn't be too much more than a year older than him, right? 

Then again- it seemed like he did take after his mother after all- in that age wasn't exactly something to be taken into consideration. 

Her confidence swelled immensely when she heard the name of his pack, and his ears flicked back for a moment, shocked that she now claimed to be one of them. He tilted his head to the side, betraying his youth and tendency to be a bit unaware of the pack's inner workings, but she did mention Wraen's name and claimed to be her sister. There were two different approaches for him to take then- he could either play the skeptical guardian and demand that she accompany him so that she could prove that she was indeed Wraen's sister (though this girl seemed far too bubbly and bright to be Wraen's sister, as Bronco found Wraen to be a bit of a know-it-all and a bore) OR he could simply take her word for it, pretend that he was aware of this situation all along, and go along with it. 

It was easier to attract flies with honey, wasn't it?

"Well, welcome back, uhm...Sorry, what's your name again?" He asked, feeling a bit ashamed that he had potentially forgotten her name. How could he have done that? Or had she even introduced herself to begin with? Wait- he hadn't even introduced himself yet! "I'm sure Wraen'll want to see you, though, and the borders are just that way...Wouldn't you want to stop and say hello first?" He asked, sounding a bit like the wolf trying to tell Little Red Riding Hood that she should stop and see the flowers. "I could be your personal escort- an' get you caught up on all the pack's stuff. Or, if you really want to go see your brother first, I could just...Let Wraen know that you're around," He said, looking down, shrugging one shoulder, and trying to convey his disappointment so that she might change her mind- and go to the Firebirds with him first.

She caught the words he mouthed, though with the kaleidoscope of thoughts racing through her head, it took a solid few seconds for them to sink in and be recognized.  As soon as she did, though, a healthy dose of warmth ignited and spread in her chest, surprising her.  He just out and said it, so matter of fact.  She didn't remember anyone outside Charon ever really complimenting her like that, and the validation made her feel like she was twice as tall.

Oh, duh! I'm Maia.  Who're you?  Normally she was better about getting her name out there, but she'd been lost in this conversation from the get go.  If I stop, it's gonna be reeeaaallyyy hard to leave, and I gotta deliver some super important news! Then I can tell Wraen after.  She's definitely gonna understand.  They were the best sisters... stuff like that was fine.  They always understood.  I'm super great at traveling and scouting so I don't need an escort.  WOW that was a lie, but she owned it.  But if you wanted to come, I mean, I do love company?  

She tried to play it casual, but she really hoped he'd say yes.  Traveling alone was super lonely and she'd always kinda hated it.

Maia. So this was Wraen's sister- though he didn't really figure there was much of a resemblance, at least as far as their character went. Wraen was just and easily and effortlessly commanded respect, but she was also a bit too serious in Bronco's eyes...Maia here was flirty and seemed to lend more freedom to her emotions, which was refreshing. Most adults seemed to have some reason or other to hide their feelings, or at least to make them much more bland so that they seemed more respectable. Bronco felt it was a ridiculous effort that they put into seeming adult. 

She still didn't really seem too keen on stopping by the pack- even though he wanted to do more to convince her, of course. After all- how awesome would it look for him to escort the alpha's sister back to her pack? Regardless, her invitation caught him by surprise and for a moment, his features brightened and his tail lifted and waved. "That sounds- awesome," He said, his voice trailing at the end of his sentence, and his tail drooped as he remembered...His mother was off on a scouting mission, so he couldn't ask her permission- and aside from that, he'd been put on guardian duty. "'Cept we're low on guardians right now 'cause my- our sergeant-at-arms," He said, not wanting to seem too childish by talking about Niamh as though she was his mom- "Is away on a scouting mission, so I'm in charge of the borders. Otherwise, though, I would've loved to," he admitted regretfully.

Oh.  Maia tried and failed miserably at hiding the disappointment in that word.  At least he seemed genuinely upset at not being able to go.  Otherwise she might have felt like he was just blowing her off because he thought she was irritating.  Not that she was.

That's cool, I guess? Not that you can't go, but that you're a protector.  He was a guardian then.  Immediately that bumped him up because it meant he had a role, and that in turn made him interesting.  Maia enjoyed giving titles, and guard captain wasn't a story she'd played out yet.  She'd met a king, a prince, a monster, and a mercenary.  Now Bronco was amongst that company, but his lower title didn't mean he was any less cool.  Almost the opposite.  It set him apart because she didn't usually go from the follower's perspective.

Before I go, have you fought anything off lately? she asked, after a small pause.  If she was going to make a story, she wanted to base it on truth, but she could totally make something up too if he hadn't!

Bronco shrugged indifferently, though his disappointment was fairly palpable. He did want to go with her- the idea of travelling with a pretty young woman was very tempting, but he knew he'd never get away with it without punishment. Wraen would need him to be a guardian, and his mother would be disappointed if he didn't follow through and assume her position as sergeant-at-arms-in-training in her absence. "Yeah," He muttered in a monotone voice, lifting his gaze to hers to show in earnest that though he was agreeing with her, that he was still very sorry he couldn't go with her. 

She asked, then, if he'd taken anything down, and a puzzled look came onto his face. "Uhh," He said, scrambling to think of something to say. He didn't want to lie, and wasn't terribly adept at coming up with something on the spot, either. "I dunno, like...Not along the borders, it's been pretty quiet, I've just been hunting, when I can find something to eat," He answered flatly, but honestly. He shrugged again. "Guess that's not that exciting," He admitted.

Nothing exciting.  That was a pickle, Hmm.  Maia bit her lip for a moment, considering, before shrugging and laughing.  Don't worry, I'll come up with something good.  Like a manticore, maybe, or a griffon?  Griffons could be good or bad, but fighting a bad one would be a job and a half.

I'll give you a story when I come back.  she finished, likely clarifying for him what exactly she was getting at in her roundabout way.  Something to do with hunting and protecting, obviously.  Maybe something went wrong on a hunting trip and he had to defend the pack single-handed as they escaped with the food.  Ooooh that was good.

Realizing she zoned out there for a minute, Maia shifted, then smiled again.  Ok, I should go, but seriously.  See you later?

So she was absolutely sure she wouldn't be going back with him- but having been out on a patrol, and having found a potential future pack re-joiner, he felt he'd done a good job. She was still hung up on this story business- and mentioned a couple things that Bronco had never heard of, so he laughed- albeit somewhat awkwardly- and shrugged a shoulder. "Uh, sure, I guess?" He responded. His mother had not exactly entertained him with stories- though she had bragged about her own real life experiences. He found it somewhat anti-climactic to think of a story being written about him doing something he'd never actually done...Fighting a creature he'd never heard of...But heck, he couldn't say no to her, could he?

He nodded to her, and sighed, still reluctant to see her go. "Catch ya when you come back...And you better, Maia," He said, casting the pretty girl a wink, before he headed back to the borders with his news.