Emberwood A new approach found

One of her other jaunts had brought her in search of Ibis -- or at least where she thought that she'd been told Ibis was. Fact was that when she got to this forest, it was obviously long abandoned. Some wolves had passed through, but nobody lived there. Saying it was disheartening was perhaps too strong a word to use with Arbiter -- as it wasn't Ibis she truly sought, but Terance -- but it didn't exactly shine a positive light on things. If they had all gone, then why had none thought to come tell Ibis' father? Was she dead or something and nobody knew? There was always the conspiracy angle -- say Ibis and Terance ran off to some far away land together (probably because the girl came up with some bizarre daydream, Arbiter thought). Probably just as unlikely, though.

Still, perhaps there'd be a clue somewhere... Arbiter wandered through the outer edges, searching for any sign that might point her way. Her bulky form wound through the trees, but there wasn't anything familiar so far. She wouldn't linger long, home would always call.

             This was the type of place Evien was used to. Tall trees, dense vegetation, mild smells. The small boy felt almost at home as he limped along, simply enjoying the day and listening to the birds singing high above him. His newfound freedom felt good, as long as he didn't think too hard on the whys of his family's splitting up. It had been what he had craved from birth, and there was a weight off his shoulders that he had never realized was so heavy in the first place.

             The boy was so enraptured by the sereneness of the place that he hardly even noticed he wasn't alone. Coming up on the edges of the trees, he noticed a large white figure - much bigger than himself - picking their way through the trees. A woman, he noted, perhaps a little older than himself. Was she looking for something...?

             "Are you alright?" he called as he approached, not wanting to startle her. He knew from experience that not all wolves were friendly, and with his leg, he needed to keep distance and gauge a response before he got any closer. One could never be too careful.

There was just the scents of the earth, of momentary wanderers. It didn't give her any information she could actually use. It was irritating. Just what the world needed, Arbiter being annoyed. It eroded her patience and willingness to be civil.

She had caught the uneven movement out of the corner of her eye. It pulled her attention as he started talking, and the critical stare that came with it. Was she alright? That was a far more potentially loaded question than she was comfortable with answering. Better to be as standoffish as usual. A slight shake of her head to say 'Not important,' or so was her meaning. Were you part of the pack that was here? The wolf wasn't Ibis. Not even mistakable for her -- maybe if Ibis had gone and somehow switched sex and been darkened a bit. So quite obviously not her, but maybe the sort that Ibis might have attempted to gather. Or something. It was a given that Arbiter was far more critical about anything and everything than Ibis was, so perhaps he had some clue what had happened. Or not. She was pretty disillusioned with a number of things.

The woman before him was intimidating in size and beauty. Bright fur and sharp eyes that studied him as intently as Evien liked to study others. It was unsettling to be on the receiving end of it, and especially by a woman who seemed so cold and standoffish. Evie shifted a bit on his paws and tilted his head to the side at the question posed. 

           "No," he said simply, figuring that this no-nonsense type of wolf would prefer concise answers. Forest green eyes scanned her up and down, and perhaps against his better judgment, offered a counter question. "Were you?" 

           It might explain why she appeared to be looking for something. Evie doubted he could be any help, but he was notoriously curious.

She appreciated the concise. Mostly because if anyone wanted anything more wordy out of her right now, it would be at someone else's expense. Hell, even without prompting that would be obvious soon enough. Because at her core, she was tired of things going wrong. No. My pack is elsewhere.

She continued, her otherwise even tone with a slight edge of distaste as her eyes drifted away, My mate's daughter should have been here. Interesting they said nothing but are now gone. And she suspected they were gone longer than Terance. A pack just doesn't disappear. But Terance must have meant so little to his daughter that she didn't even doing the wolf equivalent of leaving a forwarding address. That or she was the one who eventually convinced him to leave. A certain part of her was almost hoping for the latter -- at least that was a solution where she could feel vindicated dismissing his memory without continuing to wonder what happened. And either option didn't reflect well on Ibis. Unsurprisingly. Flake of a girl.

Evien found that he appreciated this as well. No beating around the bush, no double meanings. Everything clear and to the point. It was surprising, but it put him at ease in a way that most conversations with his family never had, with their every word a double edged sword. 

           "Is that who you're looking for?" he queried, silently agreeing that it would be odd for an entire pack to drop off the face of the earth. Maybe if they had to run from something - Evien understood that well enough - but these woods were so peaceful. There didn't seem to be anything that would cause anyone to run away, and there certainly wasn't pack smell lingering around. "You're the first wolf I've seen around here."

A slight nod. One of several. She wasn't into volunteering that the others missing were her mate himself and one of her own children. It sounded pathetic, no to mention there wasn't a chance he'd seen them based on what he said. It was just another dead end -- and she didn't know any of the other wolves that would have been here to ask about either. Easthollow was her only chance unless someone came stumbling to her door.

I hoped they would have had information about the others, but they've been gone far too long. So still no answers. Shrug. Fretting about it really didn't do anything other than making things mentally worse. Arbiter was not you average wolf -- she was far too practical for some things. Or perhaps too cold. She looked back in his direction.

She was so very good at conversation, wasn't she?

One of several? That had to be hard. Evien was fortunate enough to have never truly had the experience of losing someone and looking for them. Much less several of them. He wondered, vaguely, how long she'd been looking - how far she had traveled. 

           "What are their names?" he asked, tilting his head and leaning his weight onto his right side. "If I run into them, I might be able to send them in your direction." It was the best he could think of, really, if he hadn't seen the wolves she was looking for already. And Evien wanted to help her find the wolves she was seeking - he hated seeing people in need and be unable to do anything about it. 

             He also didn't quite mind helping guide the conversation. Evie was almost never without things to say.

Send them her way? Right. Mm. I'd certainly would hope they'd already know to head home. a slight bit of gallows-type humor in her voice there, subtle tug at her lips. Terance and Pike are the two I seek, but of the wolves that should have been here, Ibis was the one I knew. And giving it a thought, she didn't actually know any of the other wolves of the pack that should have been here -- they hadn't been social. She wondered how much of that was Ibis's influence, or if it was just coincidence. The more and more she thought about it, the more ways she could think of for it somehow to be that girl's fault. She couldn't refute it either. From her, I just want answers.

But if Ibis was to be as scarce as she had been the past few months, Arbiter suspected she'd be of little use. No, the pale devil was left to her own devices, as often was the case. There was a grand total of one wolf in this world that she could reliably rely on.

The woman expressed somewhat of a smile after her joke, and it caused Evie's own maw to tilt upward in a little grin of his own. She was fascinating, really - big and surly and straight to the point, no-nonsense. It was so refreshing, and he found himself relaxing slightly. She went on to list the names of the wolves she was seeking - Terance, Pike, Ibis. He could probably remember that, just in case they didn't know to head home.

            "And what's your name?" he questioned then, tilting his head to the side and meeting the large wolf's eyes. He wanted to project a bit of confidence of his own - something in him didn't want her to see him as weak.

When he looked up to her, her own response was to raise her own head higher, her gaze became more focused. Though he was trying to be confident, step wrongly and it would certainly send the wrong message. She was not the sort to overlook even the slightest challenge -- and certainly not after all that she'd been through. No, now she demanded respect, no other options.

Arbiter, she said before adding, of Legion. A pause and she focused her attention more on  him. She didn't outright ask for his in return, but the slight forward tilt of her ears was inquisitive. Not to mention the open-ended way she left it -- on purpose this time -- allowed her some more insight into the man. What would he fill the gap with?

Yeah, there was no way he was going to challenge this lady. She looked like she could step on him and crush his skull, and he wouldn't be able to outrun her. Certainly not with his leg the way it was. Besides, he had no use for dominance - he was a healer, and she wasn't being mean to him. So he tipped his head just slightly to show his throat to her in a submissive gesture. Quick, easy, and hopefully enough to show he wasn't trying to challenge.

           His first instinct was to respond in kind, though he hadn't a clue what of Legion could mean. Perhaps a pack. "I'm Evien. Of Kastner," he responded with a smile, leaning back just a bit on his haunches. "Have you been traveling for long, Arbiter of Legion?"

And that bit of submission stopped that slow tension that built in her. Though the coiled spring didn't unwind, it at least wasn't in danger of going off... Yet.

She was, as always, slightly cagey, Not long. I'll be back to my pack in a day, but I had other stops before here. A pause, thoughtful, and then she continued, dark humor again,And they were equally fruitful. Not at all, you see. What would it take for Arbiter to have some luck? Seemed pretty impossible, but at some point things had to turn or it would just be silly. The name he gave wasn't familiar -- not anywhere near here. But you must be far from home. Wherever that was. Distant. And with the way he'd walked towards her, it was somewhat of a surprise that he'd survived this long -- but she was also quick to assume that those who showed weakness were going to feel nature itself biting at their heels, wanting its pound of flesh.

I'm so sorry this took so long for me to get to!

The submission seemed to appease her, for now. Evien was not afraid, of course, but he knew full well she could hurt him if she wanted too. She was bigger, and most likely faster. If she wanted to grab him at any moment, she probably could. 

At least she hadn't been traveling for days or anything like that, not eating or sleeping. There was nothing for Evien to take care of here - she was fine on her own. Most likely doing much better than he was himself.

"Hopefully it won't be too long before you find them," he reasoned with a small smile, then perked his ears up at her question. "I don't have a home." It was true - at least not one he could go back to.

Optimism was never her thing. Realism or pessimism, yes, but not anything that looked up, never anything that expected fate to just give her something for free. So, it was just idle musing, Would be nice, at least. Solve a few problems. But that was about how far it reached. Believing it was just a fantasy.

But Arbiter being Arbiter meant she was hesitant to invite anyone back to her pack who had too big of a chance of being a hindrance than a help. She watched him, Is that what you seek? A slight tilt of her head. She was critical of the weak, emotional, mental, or physical. The predatory side of her was not buried deep, but that wary side was one that could be satiated by fact. And if he didn't want to try... Then she wouldn't bother.

Think we can fade this soon?

The woman before him was odd, Evien thought, but if he had more time, the boy thought he might be able to figure her out. He liked puzzles, and though this one might not be particularly complex, he still enjoyed trying to put her together. Strict, observant, aloof, realistic. Not much unlike himself, really.

Was he looking for a home? Evien wasn't sure. In truth, he hadn't given it much thought at all since he'd left his former home. "Maybe, in the future. Where I'm needed," he said after a few moments of deliberation. Evien was perhaps physically weak, but mentally was another story.

Yeah. You can probably have him just wander off or whatever at this point? Since obviously he doesn't ask to join Legion. XD

At least right now Arbiter only had a few obvious goals that she set out on the surface. What was hidden? It would remain there, a mystery to him. If he was not intrigued enough to follow, then she had no desire to reveal them. It was better for it to remain that way, after all -- less trouble. She wanted interest after all, not trouble, and she wasn't going to try to bring in the weak just for funsies and desperation. She had standards.

Future, hm? I suppose this time of year things are becoming easier. But the question is.. Would you really want to linger without? A tip of her head, and she took a few steps onward. If there were to be no answers found here, then she should return home soon.

Evien's exit <3

In truth, he couldn't blame her for thinking of him as weak. Evien was weak, physically, and if one didn't know what he could do, it was a fair assumption to see him as such. There was a mutual disinterest here, both parties pulling back and going on their own separate ways. But it hadn't been an unpleasant experience, and Evien wouldn't mind running into the woman again in the future. For now, however, it was the wrong time and the wrong place.

"I suppose I'll have to see what the future holds. Stay safe out there," he told her, by way of farewell, and turned to head back to the meadows. Perhaps they'd meet again in the future.