Duskfire Glacier Harder to leave him now

Pandora has been keeping mostly to herself since being let in. She’s been working heavily on her poison stash. Keeping many poison herbs in one place can be quite deadly. Especially for little pups. So, for that reason specifically, she keeps her den, and poisons, far away from where the pups would stay. Scouting out the territory she took notes of where mostly everyone stayed, taking herself and her plants elsewhere. 

Finding a nice cave, one that has a slight overhang to it, she makes it her home. Catching small animals and lining the den with their furs. The cave is shallow, probably only fifteen feet deep, but it has one chamber that slinks off in the back. This chamber is much smaller, only about eight feet in diameter and oval shaped. This is where she stashes her precious plants. 

As of right now, she moves to the forefront of her cave just outside of the overhang. She drops a fairly sized rabbit skin with some beautiful, white, bell shaped flowers in it. Lily of the Valleys. The plants are poisonous and without treatment, can be deadly. Only if ingested though. Thankfully touching them doesn’t do much. She thinks they’re her favorite right now. So pretty and quaint, but oh so deadly. 

She sits, lowering her head to pick the stems from them. Humming a soft, almost eerie tune, the fog around her is heavy. It makes her looks like a ghost. This section of the territory seems to have a lot of fog, it hangs around her den beautifully — she’s beginning to like it here.

tag(s) for reference. <3

@Iana had told him of their newest addition to the glacier; accepted while he was out of territory keeping a close eye upon the movements of the herds — and patrolling to be sure there was no unwanted intrusions so close to the due date of some of the mothers.

it is with the purpose of introducing himself and getting to know the newest glacier wolf, that wintersbane actively seeks her out.

he follows the scent of the unfamiliar, mixed with the scent of tzila and iana and it is not too long before the tundrian comes across her. in the myriad of dark emerald and browns, even with the writhing fog that sighs as if it were a living entity, she stands out.

a pale drop of ice against the warm earthen tones.

so he does not startle her, wintersbane lets out a low chuff of greeting.

Pandora picks off a particularly stubborn bell from its weeping stem, never missing a note in her little song. Until she hears heavy footfalls, she doesn’t chase the sound with her eyes though, rather her ears do. Large, fox-like auds shift backwards then cup towards the direction of the steps. Her full tail swishes across the loamy earth. 

A chuff rings through her ears then, finally she takes her attention off of her pretty little flowers. Her hum stops in her throat and she lifts her head, blood red eyes half-lidded, as they usually are, stare up at the mountainous brute that shows himself to her.

Now, who is this? She can’t help but wonder.

A smile tilts her lips up in a polite way, but her gaze shows serious interest. This monster of a wolf holds authority. Not only with the way he walks, but in his gaze as well. So she allows herself a quick once over of the male, taking in his beautiful pelt. A melting pot of dark both dark and light colors of the most distracting shade she’s ever seen. Definitely pleasing to the eye.

“Evening, great one.” She hums out her greeting. “You’ve come to speak with Pandora? Are you my new alpha?” She often refers to herself in third person, as is the tongue of her long, but not so forgotten, home.

great one — the title leaves wintersbane with a soft breath of amusement that does not leave him. instead, it lingers in his lungs, fluttering like a caged butterfly before dissipating. great? hardly. it is a flattering sentiment that he does not hold towards himself and does not expect anyone else to, either. please, wintersbane replies, brushing off the formalities with a gentleness that belays his appreciation. he does not want to be rude but something about the echoing words 'great one' grates at him.

i am wintersbane, the tundrian replies. the alpha, yes; but please, call me wintersbane.

Her tail swishes before her once more. She even decides to get up and move towards him as he urges her to call him by his name and not great one. She laughs softly at that, ruby eyes filled with casual mischief looking up to him. 

So it’s Wintersbane then. Pandora thinks internally. She offers another comical once over, shamelessly eyeing him down. 

“It sure suits you, Wintersbane.” She hums softly before dipping her head to him in what appears to be a soft bow. “I’m sure you already know, but I’m Pandora. I appreciate you and Iana for allowing me passage here.” Her voice is velvety and unrushed as she speaks. “It’s been an interesting few months for me to say the least. I’ve been on my own for some time. Hopefully my skills will be of use to you.” 

It’s then she wonders of the wolves she met at the borders have told him about her interesting set of skills. Though, toxicology is her main specialty, she’s always too good at manipulating and spying when she so needs to be. He will either loathe her abilities or accept them and all it them to use. There’s usually no in between.

whether she means 'great one' or his name suiting him, the tundrian isn't sure and its that fact that keeps him from the coy so i've been told that lingers at the tip of his tongue. instead, he settles for letting her words go, carried away by the wind. not everything required a response by him, after all; even though he settles for a small, noncommittal noise.

the glacier isn't in the habit of turning away wolves that need a home. wintersbane supplies the fact softly. the reasons for turning anyone away would have to be extreme.

though the spring months offer plenty to hunt it is hard to try to make it on one's own, wintersbane muses, drawing from his own experience. he has, after all, done it time and again. still, there is a deep seeded rightness to being apart of a pack. socially. physically. spiritually. he is glad for the wolves that helped him form this safe haven and proud of the small empire they have built together.

toxicology, correct? wintersbane inquires, drawing from the information iana had passed along to him. as far as i'm aware, we've made no enemies yet, wintersbane drawls. and with the coming of new life i desire to keep it that way. he has plenty of enemies but sees no point in seeking them out to instigate and hopes they would not seek to take out the sins of the leader on the wolves that follow him. i do not condemn trades, i only ask that you keep your cache or garden of poisons away from where the young can find it when they are old enough to begin roaming.

The coy wolf listens to him with great interest, mesmerized by the deep octave of his voice. It’s true then, this pack seems very quaint and nice. Or most of it does then, she has yet to meet a few of the other members. 

When he mentions making a life of ones own and the difficulties she replies with an easy “It is.” A soft nod following.

Though when he mentions her preference in trade her ears perk up and she nods eagerly. The large appendages swivel in his direction and she can’t help the feeling in her chest that blooms when he says he accepts it. How sweet of him.

It seems his only stipulation is to keep her activities away from the young ones. Which sounds easy enough. Hence why she made her den so far out in the territory. Still, it’s fun to practice on other animals that pass by, it’s much more interesting poisoning someone else. Sadly, it seems like she wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon though. Unless she runs off and finds trouble, it seems trouble, as well as the opportunity, won’t find them. How unfortunate.

Still, she smiles up to him, ruby eyes gleaming with pride. “Can do.” She confirms his request. “I keep them within the safely of my den, unless I’m working with them.” Pandora mentions in an attempt to make him feel better about it. Whether it’s needed or not, she cannot say. 

“If any of the younglings eat something poisonous, I also have the cure. So hopefully I can be of use there if the time comes as well.” It’s then she allows a soft bubble of laughter to fall from her lips. “You know how curious children are.” She hums absentmindedly with a soft chuckle.

you get my 1300th post!

pandora's answer satisfies wintersbane. as long as her plants were in a relatively secure location, she could tend to her poisons without his looming presence. he had once thought to dabble in poisons, a very long time ago and thus cannot see chiding anyone else on their skills or trades. hopefully it will not come to that. wintersbane says.

he makes a small, noncommittal noise when she casually mentions that children are curious. i imagine so. he murmurs, not really knowing from any sort of experience. quellcrist had been his only child he'd had contact with and she'd been older when they had finally crossed paths.