Broken Antler Fen i'll check in tomorrow if i don't wake up dead.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by Penn during his snooping around the Caldera that another shop was being setup nearby. He'd struggled with the idea of making himself known to the mini-pack he'd neglected for so many weeks. He also struggled with the notion that they were making borders and becoming something more permanent. He'd liked the fact that they moved every few weeks, and that he was free to come and go with no strings attached. The Blackthorn couldn't help but suspect that gravy train might be over if they established a true pack.

Still, the thought of wandering alone in the wilds during winter didn't appeal to him that much. So, it was without any real committment one way or the other that Penn approached the developing borders around Brecheliant that day, doing nothing to keep himself out of sight or his presence unknown. He paused, noting that while they weren't very well established, the border still existed. In the end, he gave a nonchalant shrug and crossed right on in to start hunting down @Maia and @Wraen. He was family. He was allowed.

sorry to double tag! Wanted to be sure this was ok

Maia had already broken the news of Terance's death to @Wraen (we are going to say) but with a reunion with Jupiter, she was able to compartmentalize her grief and push forward without completely shutting down.  After her parents it had been harder, but Maia was growing and finding resilience.

Penn was another welcome sight as well!!  She remembered that he hadn't seemed very keen on this direction, but it seems their company was enjoyable enough to bring him back their way.  He'd said he would stick around as long as he wanted only, so every day he stuck around longer she took as a compliment.

Hey Penn!!  Long time no see!  Her tail waved happily.  Most of her scabs had healed up and we're beginning to disappear beneath her fur.  Before long (she hoped!) it wouldn't even look like she'd been attacked at all.  Scars were not her thing at all.

It didn't take him too much roaming around before he came across one of the wolves he sought. He tried to remain nonchalant about seeing her again, yet he couldn't stop the rapid wag of his tail and smile that suggested he might actually have missed his travelling companion. He turned to meet her, giving her a once over as the memory of Wraen's conversation with Fig and some Blackthorn sibling or other about how she'd been attacked. She seemed to be in decent shape, however she might've been before.

"Hey, you don't look that beat up," Penn greeted, "I thought you were supposed to be a cripple now. The rumor mill must've gotten it wrong."

Ever since dashing off to caldera to see Maia, Wraen had felt a sense of guilt for not saying a word to Penn. She had been totally unaware that the sly fox had been listening to her conversation with Figment and Cinder, while hiding in the bushes, and therefore would have saved herself a plenty of guilty-conscience had she known this. On the other hand she was not particularly worried for her young friend's ability to get in trouble and also get out of it. He was not only Blackthorn by nature, but had that damn Blackthorn luck too. The one that let's you squeeze through a keyhole, if ever needed. 

Therefore it was less relief, more a welcome surprise, when she caught sight of him in the company of Maia already. "Hello, Mr. Legendary," she told him, when she had joined the group. "How has life been treating you lately?"

Maia balked, nearly imperceptibly, at Penn's immediate reminder.  Golden eyes, wild black fur.  She cast it off, though, with a shake of her head and a laugh.  Nah, Eljay patched me up.  Your rumor mill is putting out pure fiction, but I wouldn't shut it down just yet.  Might make good story material.  She chuckled again, this time more genuinely.

At that moment, Wraen showed up, asking the question that had been right on the tip of Maia's tongue (though not quite that wording.)  Mr. Legendary?  Maia looked at Penn questioningly, wondering what she missed.  Though she was also very interested in hearing if life had been alright, of course!

Penn smirked at Maia’s dismissive response. It was just the sort of thing he might’ve said had tables been turned, so he appreciated it. He wouldn’t have been comfortable hearing about her actual feelings anyway, so it was better she hadn’t shared them. Otherwise things would’ve gotten awkwarddddd.

Before he could say anything in response, the other sister appeared. Penn straightened proudly at the nickname he was given, his smirk deepening on his handsome young face. ”Things are good. I got to visit a couple of old friends,” he commented cheerfully, referring to his conversation with Bronco and Fig during which the former had attacked him, ”It was a gratifying experience. But what about you two? Were those border markings I crossed?”

Wraen was relieved to know that Penn did not hold a grudge for her abandoning him. He seemed to have had a good time and - if she was not wrong - was genuinely happy to rejoin the little group as well. "Well, Maia's there has got a romance going on over at Redhawks," she filled the boy in on the most recent news. "I did not want to be the evil sister, who keeps the two doves apart, so we decided to camp out here for winter and see, where things go come spring," she explained. 

"Besides with that creep, who attacked Maia still on the loose, it's safer for now, if we banded together," she added. "Plus - as you see, girls have only so much material to mark the borders. A help from a professional in the field would be appreciated," a strange way to say that they wanted to have Penn settle here.

Maia smiled a little shyly as Wraen told Penn about her and Eljay.  She was still getting used to the idea of it and every time she heard it, it renewed the butterflies.  Enough that the mention of the creep didn't manage to offset it.  She still kept her smile, a little distant, as she thought about how she still needed to go back and tell Eljay she was back.  That had been her next intended stop.

Our own enchanted forest.  You'd just have to pick your title.  Maia glanced at Wraen, wondering if she caught the throwback to their game.  Penn of course didn't need tested, but that didn't mean he wasn't about to need to come up with some title.  Everyone needed something!

No one questioned him about which friends he'd visited, which worked just fine for Penn. He couldn't imagine Wraen or Maia being thrilled to hear he'd been fighting with the neighbors, though in his defense, he actually hadn't started it this time. He did kind of want to brag about that fact, but he held his tongue and listened as Wraen went on to tattle about her sister's love life, then tell about how they were establishing a pack--the latter news, Penn had figured out already.

His brow quirked as he raised his eyebrow at Maia suggestively. "Oh yeah? Got a bee in your honey, eh?" Penn asked, elbowing her lightly, "A trout in your river? Got a squirrel comin' after your nuts? Eh? Eh?" His elbowing increased, but he eventually stopped and moved on.

"Master and Commander, obviously," Penn said promptly, naming his title without having to give it a moment's thought. He liked the idea of the girls calling him 'Master', and he'd be happy to be 'Commander' to any males that joined them. It all just worked.

"Master of Bordermarking - that's all I can give you for now," Wraen agreed to half of Penn's terms, but even with all his legendary feats, Everest high ego and simply being the son of a very good friend, she would not grant him the rank "Commander" yet. She was a firm believer of proving one's worth through work not just words. 

"What goes for - "commander" - I think that's a field you will have to discuss with the rest of the male population field. Spar it even out, if it comes to that," she suggested, pushing this particular area of responsibility for Arcturus and Akavir (and - who knew - a Towhee-like she-wolf character, if they ever acquired one) to deal with. 

"But this should not be hard, should it? With all your brave feats in the past?" she arched an eyebrow and smiled.

What about Master Commander of Bordermaking.  Or of squirrels, since you seem to enjoy that.  Maia added with a snorting laugh that dissolved into her actually laughing at her own joke.  Which probably wasn't as funny as she made it out to be, but Penn's joking had her blushing.

She let his nudge drop, though her smile was probably all the answer Penn needed to sort it out for herself.  There was definitely a squirrel after her nuts and she was not in the least upset about it.

Master of bordermarking? Penn quirked a brow, unimpressed to say the least. His gaze shifted over to Maia as she attempted to improve it slightly, but at the end of the day, they were still trying to resign him to a life of walking around in circles, peeing. He had never been interested in taking up Guardian as a trade, or any trade along those lines. Sure, he liked getting into fights, but he was at least smart enough to understand that the pack didn't really appreciate that he was the one to start them, and usually for unnecessary reasons. They certainly weren't going to grant him a special title just for being an asshole.

It would be cool, though.

He went ahead and shrugged as his response to their suggestions. "Eh, if it's bordermarking that needs done, then I can probably help out. A little," Penn answered, even though he was reluctant to agree to it. At the end of the day, he'd probably be useless at it anyway. His attention span wasn't conducive for such monotony, but he'd give it a shot. "How come it's just the males I need to discuss commander with? Neither of you delicate flowers interested in fighting for that title?" he asked, honestly a bit curious.

"Don't worry, Penn - we just need your scent around the perimeter - do your round once daily and be gone," Wraen reassured the guy, who did not seem too thrilled about the job they had proposed to him. "Eventually - when there's enough of us, we'll discuss, how to manage everything, we can discuss other jobs or ranks that you may find more tempting and suitable for you," she smiled at him reassuringly, having hard time imagining that the adventurous Blackthorn would ever resign to a mundane life in a pack. 

"Well, I am a general already - on top of all things, and Maia's my good-will ambassador to keep my tantrums in check," she grinned in response. "If you masculine flowers won't be able to come to a solution that will suit you all - I will intervene, of course. But until then..." she shrugged and smiled slyly. "You can choose your own headquarters - the territory is big and diverse and laregely unoccupied," she offered. him.

Last one from me! Thanks!

Good will ambassador.  She rather liked that.  Maia laughed at Penn's insinuation, not really even bothering to put thought towards it.  She was definitely no commander, like Wraen said.  Besides, for now, the titles they had were all for show.  Nothing like a hierarchy was really needed until they officially had a pack, and it seemed like a while before they had enough strangers to qualify.

I already called dibs on the dragon barracks.  Ambassadors gotta have messengers, after all. Maia added, still somewhat laughing.  Delicate flower hardly described her and hearing the words 'masculine flowers' leave Wraen's tickled her immensely.  She stretched, then yawned.  Speakin of, time to feed them and me! You hungry?  She looked to Penn hopefully.  It'd be a very Commander-like thing, helpin me snag something.  She might not have the power to give him the title, but heck, she'd put in a good word with whatever boss had that authority.  Hunting alone was way harder.

Once per day. She made it sound like it wouldn't be a lot, but it did subtly suggest that he would actually be around every day, at least for a bit. Penn kept his comments on that to himself and merely shrugged to give the impression of acceptance. At the end of the day, he was going to do exactly what he chose to, no more and no less. It was simply the way the Blackthorn was programmed.

"I could do some hunting," Penn agreed, much more interested in Maia's comments than Wraen's since they involved food and doing something he actually enjoyed. After agreeing to let Maia lead the way (since she knew the place better and all), he set off with her to go find some dinner and start getting himself acquainted with the forest.