Celandine listened to his answer quietly, picking apart and evaluating everything he said. She even smiled when he admitted to kind of liking it. So he was the type to root for the underdog then? Well, their come up was inevitable. In fact, it had already began. "It's quite the riveting tale, isn't it? But worry not, we've got our fair share of members now." 

There were no inconsistencies to be found with him yet, and for that much she was thankful. Then again, he might be a fantastic liar, and she had yet to learn his tell. "I came back to the Lore in search of my family. Instead, I found Morganna. I helped her and her mate found a pack much farther North of here. She was heavily pregnant when things took a turn for the worse, and so we left for her ancestral pack. Now that the kids are nearly old enough to travel, we decided it was high time we returned. I guess this place is as much a part of me as I am of it." Her story was far too long to go into too much detail, but she hoped it would suffice.

It would seem that the tables were already beginning to turn for the pack and the male expressed a wide smile in light of this information. He wondered what position Celandine held in the pack and whether she had more family that lived with her; did they share similar personalities to her? She shared her own history and he realized that he had been wrong about her after all. She had no family aside from the one she had followed back here and it seemed the history she shared with a certain wolf could have spanned back years. She really had seen a lot with this family she now occupied the pack with."You're loyal. A trait I enjoy most from a wolf.


He turned toward her with another smile, his limbs slowed in their stride just long enough to find her bright gaze and he spoke once more. "have you a mate as well?" he asked in all seriousness, knowing that the female could take the question either way but hoped she would at least answer honestly. He hadn't a reason to ask if there wasn't a bit of interest held for her.

Celandine wasn't exactly sure that loyal was a good descriptor for her, but she had no intentions of correcting him. If that's the conclusion he had drawn, then so be it. It wouldn't hurt, and perhaps she had been rather... attached to Morganna, and Maeve. That's not to say that she would follow them blindly into battle or anything. But for now their interests aligned, and she wasn't terribly unhappy with how things were turning out.

The subject change was interesting enough to paint a sly smile across her delicate features. He certainly wasn't wasting any time having his questions answered. "I've never been good with that stuff, unfortunately." Celandine wasn't even entirely sure what the word 'mate' meant. Did it have to be someone you had cubs with, or could it just refer to someone you spent your time with?  Was it an unbending vow to give yourself to another, or could it be pliable, and easy to move like the summer grass? Whatever it was, it certainly wasnt at the forefront of her mind. Maybe she wasn't the one to answer such a question.

"And you?" 

Clearly he hadn't brought anyone with him, but hey, his little mate might be on her way. Stranger things had definitely happened.

If he could read minds he would be surprised at how quickly he had read this woman wrong. He supposed that it was his fault, reading too much into her story, that he believed her to be loyal to a fault, but then again, following someone from another land and back again seemed a tall feat for any wolf and yet little did he know that Celandine had done it to benefit her. In what way, he would probably never now. "Apparently I never was either cause I've yet to settle down either." he admitted, ears pinning themselves backward as he turned to face her. He didn't exactly expect her to be surprised but he was hoping for some kind of emotion, if only to gauge whether the news was useful for her in anyway. "but it doesn't hurt to try. Love is...interesting." he smiled, awkwardly at first before bursting into a chuckle. He had never actually been in love either, but smitten he had plenty of times. "I'm sure whom ever gains your love and trust would be happy." he attempted to compliment her, all awhile wondering how much further this pack of hers was.

Love was interesting, though that probably meant something different to her than it did to others. It was interesting in the way that it made someone yours, binded them to you so that they lost whatever free will they'd had before. They could only see you. It was odd. Of course, she'd never been through it herself, but she had observed enough. 

Simply offering up a nod, with a kind smile on her lips to answer the first part of his question, she used her honeyed voice for the second. "It certainly is."

Celandine suppressed the laugh bubbling up in her throat at his assumption. Rather than saying something like 'I'm not too sure about that.' And arguing it, she just thanked him. "I'm sure I can say the same for you." maybe. Possibly. She didn't really know him, but it sounded nice.

He couldn't contain the smile that spread along the length of his lips when she reversed the question to him. It would seem that this year had been the first he'd actually considered seeking a mate, his hormones having finally reached their peak to the point where he felt he needed a woman at his side, and the feelings was different in every way. He supposed he met Celandine at the perfect point in his life. "I'm alright, not much of a bragger." he said shrugging his shoulders. He had said the same about her, and he actually, mostly, meant it from this meeting with her alone.


"Are we any closer to your pack?" he wondered, looking toward her with a questioning glance. It seemed they had been walking forever and he hadn't caught whiff of a pack scent as of yet. He figured they had to be near it by now, not that he was complaining or anything but his nerves were starting to get to him. What would he think of the leadership and would he really be ready to commit to this pack?

Celandine offered the appropriate girlish giggle at his comment. At least he was humble, and that was more than she could say for herself. "Keep the expectations low, and you'll always surprise them?" The retort was good-natured, made apparent by the mischievous grin adorning her lips, and the silly tilt of her head. 

His question came just as the trees began to thin, giving way to an increase in light, and a plethora of white-barked trees. "Almost. You should be able to scent the borders soon." They had been reinforced thanks to the various wolves who now resided in the Vale, herself included. "Niles or Morganna will answer the call." Refusing the urge to sigh, the woman once more wondered how she'd found herself as a subordinate again. "You'll be on your own after that. I obviously can't tell you what to say. Well she could, but... "That'd be cheating." The playful wink she threw at him was complimented by the corner of her lip drawing upwards.

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She was funny and her response made him laugh. He never thought about it that way, and in a sense it made a lot of sense. "Of course." he winked, joking alongside her. Apart of him wondered if she was serious but another more sensible side of him knew that despite what she thought of him, she had no idea who or what he was about and therefore her comment was as lethal as the summer breeze. He chuckled again, for good measure, and stalled when he realized that the scenery had completely changed around them.


He was thrown off by the beauty of the place but the quiet had really taken him by surprise. Perhaps the members here were simply good at hiding or they preferred to make a grand entrance when someone decided to offer their services. His head turned when she gave two names, Morganna and Niles, and he nodded to remember them when she mentioned that he would have to do this part alone. A part of him sunk, knowing he'll miss the warmth of her at his side but he knew that joining was something he had to do on his own. He couldn't imagine why he wouldn't be apart of their growing family soon. "I wouldn't want you to cheat for me." he joked, turning and lifting his head high to call for the leaders of the pack.


---Fade--