Swiftly doth these paws tread {Joining}

The snow was light on the ground, the soft light of the grey dawn permeating the air with a frisson of heat but to the cold frozen ground of the valley, it tried but to no avail. The ground was frozen in the depths of the winter- and what a winter it was. The snow had fallen thick since he had entered this place, his soul a desolate wasteland of grief and sorrow and sheer frustration. It was his fault. He had followed Rozari from their home, the youngest of their litter and he had followed her, faithfully and loyally. And he had led her to her death, for no wolf could survive such a snowstorm without shelter and though for many long hours he had searched, she was nowhere to be found.

And here it led here, to a winter valley full of the new scents of a pack. The air was thick with the scents, long ago placed, perhaps a handful of moons ago. Mikael couldn't remember the last time he'd felt the primal urge of a pack territory. It was an urge, common in most any-wolf but of course, some stuck to themselves. The instinct to belong to and be surrounded by both pack and family.

He bordered on the edge of a life both achingly familiar and excruciatingly painful in his memories, a concept of a pack of strangers to welcome him and a family to call his own. It was a foolish thing, to expect a stranger to accept him so readily but many packs needed as many wolves as possible. The winter was harsh after all and prey on the short side of existence. There were hungry mouths to feed but so little to feed them with and any smart alpha needed all the hunters they could get. Mikael assumed he'd be accepted for the winter but who knew what spring would bring? It was a season of life and renewal, perhaps they would chase off the helpers of the winter.

Perhaps he would leave after the season was over, with no attachment to his former pack and no pain. There would be no heartfelt farewells, for none would know him enough to miss him, just as he preferred it. Or so he hoped. Sniffing the ground, he brought his head up further to the apex of the sky, letting a howl ripple from his throat and echo loudly across the convex valley. He made himself comfortable as he waited, knowing his call would be heard and responded to by an Alpha. That was, if the pack was well organised. If not, he'd be in for a long wait. He set his emerald gaze on the horizon and waited for the inevitable meeting with a potentially hostile pack.

He just hoped the polite gesture of a request to see the alpha or a beta would at least secure him safe passage.

I went into a meeting right in the middle of writing this, so it might stop making sense halfway through lol

Finley usually didn't make a habit of traipsing along the borders of the packlands on patrol. She wasn't a warden, nor did she enjoy the endlessly boring task. But, Peregrine and Fox were effectively indisposed what with the alpha female coming into heat and her mate being... a guy, basically. So, it was left up to Fin and Elwood to run the pack in their absence. It often struck her as unfair, but that was just Fin being selfish and grumpy. They'd done plenty of work while she was laid up with physical and emotional injuries, so really she was just making it up to them by pulling the extra weight.

She wasn't far from the source of the howl when it went up, and so whoever the stranger was that the beta came upon did not have too horrendously long to wait. It was a wolf she didn't recognize--a male wrapped in gold and rust with eyes like clover in the spring. Pulling on her best beta-wolf impression, she trotted up to him, curiosity upon her dominantly raised features. "You rang?" Fin said as she came within a respectable distance.

Deep in thought, Mikael glanced out across the valley view with barely seeing eyes, as his thoughts trailed into the darkest depths of his mind and soul. He was unsure of this entire plan, to approach a pack for the season and in doing so, risk becoming attached. And people he became attached to had a habit of dying and he would not bring his curse upon a pack so easily.

The scent of a female nudged at his mind and he climbed to his feet, training his gaze squarely on the silver entwined she-wolf who approached him, bright oaken eyes, vivid in hue, analysing him quickly. He returned the gaze straight on before looking away and lowering his head slowly as was appropriate, his own eyes darting across her petite frame and noting the speed her legs carried, as well as the lean muscles of her flank. A strong wolf, a good indicator for his chances in the pack. "You rang?" The curious tone caught him a little of edge, as he had expected a colder welcome.

"I am Mikael Igantyev, I am seeking the alpha of the pack here. I want to join, if they will have me." He glanced once again across the valley, breathing in the scents and wondering if there was an alpha at that moment. The female in front of him was strong but her scent was not that of an alpha, a distinctive trait all alpha wolves carried with them. "May I enter your territory? I thought perhaps it best to wait, I've had many none-too-friendly encounters with other packs after I had entered their lands."

The stranger seemed to be a formal one, which was probably a good thing in this situation. Fin needed to remind herself that she was a beta wolf now, so she couldn't exactly waltz up to strangers at their borders and invite them out moose-tipping, even though that's probably what she would normally have done. That or screw with their heads. ...Well, maybe she could still do that. Peregrine probably wouldn't have minded at least.

"Sorry buddy, the alphas are busy.. um... getting busy," Fin replied with a smirk, "You'll have to settle for me. Finley Blackthorn, I'm the beta female of the pack here--Redhawk Caldera." It was actually probably better for him. Fox and Peregrine had habits of trying to murder everyone that showed up on their doorstep, though Fin couldn't help but wonder if that was because of certain frustrations that came with the alpha female coming into heat.

His next question surprised her a little and she quirked a brow to show it. "Uh, no. You may not," Fin replied shortly, "Not until I say so anyway, and I'm wondering why exactly I would since it kind of sounds like you make a habit of trespassing..?" Just how many packs had he had these "none-too-friendly" encounters with? She would've thought he'd learn his lesson after the first.

Mikael shook his head rapidly in embarrassment and coughed lightly, shocked a little by the other's smirking words. "No, no! I-It's fine! Nice to meet you, I guess. Redhawk.... I've heard of you before. Just little things but nothing too big." The pack must have been on overtime if the alpha pair were in heat, running tighter border runs and he wondered if the pack was still preparing for the onset of the harsh winter.

Mikael laughed, wolfishly of course, under his breath and allowed it to carry across the space between them. "No, no. I mean no disrespect. I just meant that to get anywhere in this area, one is inevitable going to cross into pack lands. I've had to go through two so far, as I'm trying to get a little further into the area. Not like I meant to trespass after all, though the rules around here are just a little varied from the ones I've grown up with. Pack borders were less stringent back home, travel was a courtesy between the packs." He hummed for a second and turned his gaze upwards to the grey dawn clouds that lit up the sky. "And aren't we all trespassers? Wolf packs, for ,centuries have been living here. Ah, but don't mind me. I'm just rambling over here."

He sniffed the air lightly and sighed, shifting his weight as he deliberated. "Well, it's your call. You can make the decision to let me in or send me on my way."

Her words seemed to illicit a few rushed and awkward corrections from the male, all of which served to entertain her. There was something kind of fun about watching the newcomers squirm a little, and it probably didn't do too much hurt to knock them down a few pegs. Maybe this whole having power thing wouldn't be too bad.

Fin wasn't quite sure what area he meant by "this area" where they needed to cross boundaries to get anywhere. She'd been all over the place and had never had to trespass, so she assumed he was talking about some place outside of the Teekon Wilds. Perhaps to the south or the west. The beta got lost in these thoughts for a moment before she realized that Mikael was rambling about something and she quickly kicked herself. She was probably supposed to be paying attention. God this was hard.

"Well, trespassing in these lands is likely to get you killed," Fin warned, "Pack lands are placed strategically apart so that there's no need for it. Any pack tries to settle too close to our boundaries and we chase them off. It's winter and there's no room to share our hunting grounds." Even as she said it, she felt a little overdramatic. The other packs probably didn't murder trespassers on their lands--that was just Peregrine's prerogative. And the packs being separate by other territories might have been a complete coincidence. Hell, the rest of what she'd said, she'd just been guessing on. But moving on!

"Let's see..." Fin remarked, beginning to circle the rusted wolf to thoroughly assess him, "You don't smell diseased and you seem strong enough. What sort of skill set do you have? And please don't bore me with the 'ability to hunt'. I'm fully aware that you're a wolf and you're not dead, so I'm smart enough to guess that you can hunt. I wanna hear something interesting." There was a mischevious gleam in her eye as she asked. Interrogating newbies was fun.

There was a mischievous gleam in the fae's eyes and he swallowed past his own nervousness, tail lowered a little in an anxious display of submission and anxiety. Mikael allowed his lips to curl up into a wolfish smile and watched the fae in his peripheral vision as she circled him. "If packs to the east ran things the same way, it'd be much easier to travel around. They seemed rather close together in eastern areas I've passed through."

He pondered the fae's question thoroughly and could come up with very little. Sure, he was a good hunter but most wolves were, if they were still alive without a pack. No, there was very little he could say he was unique in. "I've got nothing really. I'm good at using herbs and such, my mother caught my sister and I all she knew but I'm nowhere near a master. I guess I'm good at very few things. But I do them fairly well to balance it out. I'm fairly fast, so that is a bonus and I am fairly fond of pups. I used to amuse the pups of my old pack and such, so it's something to say at least. I guess that's it. I'm none too special, in any light."

The wolf didn't have much to say about himself except that he was exceptionally ordinary. Fin did like his honesty, however. And since when did a wolf pack need to be made up of a bunch of superheroes? He was an able body and didn't seem like he would cause them any trouble, so really there was no reason not to accept him.

"Alright, you're in," Fin said after a moment of pondering, "If anyone asks, you're a professional snake charmer that can see the future when it rains." She gave him a cheeky grin and let that sit in his mind for a minute before she shook her head to let him know she was just teasing. "The alphas are Peregrine and Fox. As I said, the alpha female is in the middle of her heat, so I'd suggest keeping your distance for a few days until things have calmed down. Our beta male is.. Twig Grove. He calls himself Elwood, but don't believe him for a second. Just keep calling him Twig." To this, she did not smile. The first part wasn't a joke after all, so why let him think the second part was?

Mikael waited with bated breath as the beta female debated and deliberated, sharp eyes constantly assessing him. He almost sunk down in relief from the response the fae gave and grinned heartily, rising up on his legs once again and shaking the vestiges of snow from his coat. He smirked teasingly and bowed his head jokingly under his front paw. "Yes ma'am. And what if I can? I shall just wait until it looks like it will rain and then tell everyone it's going to rain. Voila! Future is told!" He grinned once again and then quirked his head at the curious statement and advice that the beta relayed to him.

"Twig, eh? Well I shall remember that well! No Elwood there!" He thought it was a little suspicious but who knew? Perhaps he was just being complicated. He stepped forward, stretching his body out a little and grinned wolfishly once again. "So, may I enter? Or shall I set up a den outside of your border?" He chuckled a little afterwards, letting the fae know he was fooling around.

Wanna wrap up in your next post :D Welcome to RHC!

It seemed the wolf did have a sense of humor buried beneath the propriety. His comments brought a smirk to her muzzle. It was a neat trick, and if he ever played it while Fin was around, she would be sure to turn to the nearest wolf and shout "I TOLD YOU SO" right in their face. Even if she hadn't told them so yet. Minor details. Whatever.

She was even further pleased as Mikael went on to agree to calling Elwood "Twig" when the opportunity arose. The man was scoring major brownie points already with the beta. She could only hope that he would continue to do so. "You may enter," she said with a smile, "You're liable to get eaten by a bear or something if I leave you out here, and that would just reflect poorly on me I think. Can't have that!" Fin stretched with a wag of her tail and then trotted forward to sniff at her new packmate's nose in a friendly, wolfish way.

"Come on, I'll show you around," Fin said then after she'd finished noting his scent, "We'll find you somewhere better to den."

[size=xx-small](How do you do the little grey thingy box....?)[/size]

Mikael breathed a sigh of relief as she announced that he could enter and he chuckled, slightly nervously, at the thought of getting eaten by a bear. Bears were far, far from his homeland, so he hadn't even thought that there might be bears around. Roused from his thoughts by the beta as she noted his scent, he too did the same as politely as possible and felt a warmth going through him at finally having a place to belong.

He followed after the beta female, wagging his tail happily and smiling like there was no tomorrow. It was nice to have found a pack and to finally be accepted somewhere despite his past. But the question still hung around his thoughts and heart.

Where was Rozari?