Neverwinter Forest dusk

@Mal :eyes:

She halts a respectful distance from the borders of the pack, ears twitching and turning as she listens for sound from within the forest. A small pack, by the scents, yet there is potential to find what she seeks here. Already she has approached several packs, only to come to the realization that none of them could meet her needs. Her optimism is waning, but still, she must try. She tips her muzzle skyward and howls for a leader, trying to hold on to the flicker of hope in her heart.

Mal's next trip out had already been delayed a few days. Part of that due to a certain lady from the coast, but also because he was debating with himself about how to approach step two of his trip. He was going to go see that one pack -- he didn't even know their name -- and was trying to figure out if he should bite the bullet and bring Simmik or someone else along again or just yolo off on his own and ask forgiveness if anyone got pissed when he came back. On the one hand he felt like it shouldn't matter so much, but on the other... He didn't want to insult the wolves that trusted him.

The howl broke him out of that little thought spiral -- he'd figure out an answer some other time -- and he got to his feet, trotting out from under the tree he'd settled under off towards the source. Didn't take him particularly long to get there, and he greeted the woman with a broad smile. You called? he said cheerily as he came to a halt, You're at Neverwinter forest. I'm Mal. Well, she certainly wasn't another from Yuelong, even just at a glance, and unless the wind was really trying to play a trick on him, she wasn't a member of any other pack either, so maybe another wolf he could add to the ranks? Well, even if not, he'd be on his best behavior... Whatever that was.

She doesn't need to wait for long. A strangely-patterned male emerges from the trees within minutes, younger than herself yet clearly more confident; the leader, surely. She's grateful when he doesn't waste any time with introductions; the more secretive leaders she's met have only ever made her nervous. She dips her head in her own greeting. Neverwinter Forest, She repeats softly, glancing around before her gaze settles on Mal again. It's lovely. My name is Aibreann. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mal. I'm here in search of a home; I seek a pack with specific qualities, and a leader who will support the dream I hope to realize, in return for my skills and loyalty. Please, tell me more about your pack.

Now that got a slight cant of the head. Huh, one with a plan? That could be good or bad, but his expression shifted from genuinely perplexed to both amused and fascinated at that thought. A bold one. Look, he could appreciate that, especially since she was being polite about it. Not a huge waste of time, not wharrglbargling rudely or whatever...

A smirk flashed for a moment, Well, things are pretty open-ended here. You see, I made a pack where people can leave whatever they might want to forget behind them and start again -- be who they might actually want to be rather than what they've been trained or told or whatever. Our little weird family. Keep everyone happy by doing what they actually like. It kinda leaves room for a lot of things. About the only thing I don't wanna do is harass the neighbors, you know? And again, being a bit more cheeky there.

A goal, rather, She offers with a smile, listening intently when he explains his intentions. His words appeal to her, but it is one in particular that catches her attention — family. Neverwinter Forest seems a worthy place; too many packs I've encountered are rigidly structured, or crippled by suspicion of outsiders. You seem like a thoughtful leader; perhaps you will consider my proposition.
She pauses briefly, gathering her thoughts for a beat before she continues. It is my hope to raise children of my own, somewhere peaceful and accepting — my birth pack might have been an acceptable place, but it was made up solely of my own family, so I was forced to disperse. I am skilled in the use of herbs to treat wounds and illnesses, and have trained under a midwife; my skills are a valuable asset, and I am well-prepared for motherhood. I only need a home, a stable leader, and a father. Her gaze turns serious, inquisitive. Perhaps you could provide all three.

Okay. Pause. That was not what he was expecting. Mal often seemed to have a response for everything. But everything didn't include someone basically coming up and saying, "Oh yeah, and I'll have your kids." Especially to Mal. Mal was the one that everyone ditched and thought was basically unworthy of just about everything. What did you say to that?

Well, we definitely could use someone with your skills, that's for sure. It's not like we've got a pile of pups out our ears either, yet, so I don't see anything like.. Horribly wrong with the idea. Though I'd imagine you'd want to get to know me a hell of a lot better. He grinned and tried to seem casual about it, probably didn't entirely work. He was a little out of his element, gee.

Other thoughts also bubbled to the surface. What about Cupid and Hua? What if they showed up again? And did Aibreann actually want him as like a mate or just someone willing to kickstart the process and help out as things went along? Look, Mal only knew how the first step worked, let's be real. And relationship stuff equal parts scared the hell out of him and felt like a cage, but let's be real this boy doesn't know any better anyway. The whole thing was kind of weird. Not that his current life was anything close to normal. 

But he was totally again reconsidering all his past choices again. This seemed to happen a lot.

The alpha doesn't completely balk at the suggestion, so she takes that as a good sign. To his words, she nods her agreement. Of course. My heat hasn't come yet, so we have time, But unless Mal is not at all what he says he is, she doubts anything will change. She knows by now that this is what she wants for herself, regardless of the father of the pups. She shifts the subject slightly with her next words, finding interest in his comment about the pack's needs. Is there anyone in need of my skills at present?

Shall we wrap? :P

He nodded but didn't say anything -- mostly because he couldn't figure out how to phrase something that said yep, sounds good, you can come get to know me whenever you want, with or without a wink wink nudge nudge you know what I mean. It was going to be an interesting spring in the pack, that was for sure -- though would her being here and outright saying she'd have his kids change anything? Questionable. Either way, he was fine with her hanging around and assuming she didn't ditch like everyone else, it might be nice having something kind of like a family that he wasn't afraid was gonna ditch him. So, he turned in place and indicated with his head that she should follow.

It was a little unfortunate that she hadn't appeared when all the initial chaos went down. Would have made things nice and easy, Well, I think they're all patched back together now, but if you run into Zephyr or Kratos, might be good to take a look. The one we had as a medic a while ago.. I think saying he bluffed about his skills would be generous. But since they were long out of danger, he couldn't think of anything else... Just the normal tour kind of thing.

sounds good! <3 archive with your next post? maybe he can give her a tour or something idk

She nods, frowning slightly when he reveals the nature of the pack's last medic. She dislikes the idea of having to work against any false notions set by some foolish pretender, but it can't be helped. I'll check in on them when I can. The situation with your last medic is disheartening to hear, but sadly common. It would be wise to give basic lessons to the entire pack to avoid the same mistake in the future, should anything happen to me.

It was common? Eugh, that didn't sound great. But the idea to go and teach everyone sounded good to him. Yeah, that'd be a great asset. Having someone actually able to teach is definitely something I've been looking for. We'll try to make sure that nothing does happen to you though, I kind of prefer people sticking around and being safe, you know? A kind of awkward grin at that, But come on. Tour first. He summons her along, to show the caches, a few of the good hunting spots, hell, chuck in where he normally ended up crashing at the end of the day as well if she needed to find him directly.