It had been shaping up to be another typical day, which, for Marsh, involved ramped-up quantities of border patrol, marking and the casual hunt, wherever something convenient crossed his path. Corinna had given birth, and if he had been walking on hot coals before, now his strings were tight fit to snap. Their troublesome neighbours had not been so troublesome of late, which was one point of relief, but he did not trust them one jot to begin again at the worst possible time. Corinna's offspring were as invaluable as the wolf herself, and the very thought of harm coming to them was enough to flare his temper something terrible.

When Cali's voice rose from the air, his immediate thought was one of concern, but a more rational part of his brain took over a moment later and correctly identified the call as far less urgent. It had just been a regular summons, that for their leaders, and there were a few distinct reasons to make such a call. The most likely was that of recruitment. Corinna was out of commission, and with Indru as busy as Marsh (no doubt for identical reasons) the Second turned and trotted towards the source, near the borders, his fur flattening down after his first, more panicked reaction.

He was a considerable distance from her, so when she called again he frowned and snorted to himself at her impatience, but at the very least was content for the fresh set of directions. Angling himself to compensate, he sped up a little; he respected her enough to do that much, for he trusted her not to howl on an unimportant whim.

The scent of an unknown female came to him then, intertwined with the white wolf he knew - and in more ways than just proximity; siblings, he noted, before he had even laid eyes on them. While family ties did not hold much importance to the gruff beast, if she was anything like Cali then Swift River would be all the better for having her.

The pair came into view then, perched beyond the border, and he lifted his tail automatically at the sight of the stranger, though wagged it once to show that his approach was not hostile. Not that they would guess it from his face - hard and smileless, partly from his constant tension and partly because that was simply how he was, he approached with little warmth in his expression save for a single glance to Cali which contained some small softness of familiarity and trust.

His attention fell then to the monochrome sister, a pure stranger despite her relation to the pack's female Second, and his tail rose higher to make his posture clear. Cali had probably omitted such trivialities for the sake of family - it was a weakness of those who preferred speech, he found. No matter. If Cali could vouch for her worth, and Marsh could vouch for her respectfulness, then he would have no trouble supporting her admission into their ranks.

Since the birth of his newest children Indru had not strayed far from the den, they were not long born and with Corinna remaining vigilant inside it for their safety Indru found it difficult to stray for too long. Yet, never the less, the borders needed his strength (even more vital in Corinna's absence) and he was not one to avoid his duties willingly, especially one that helped keep everyone safe.

It was on this particular circuit that Cali's howl reached him, and while it clearly beckoned his attention there was no urgency in it to make him think she was in danger, or that a wolf from Poison Path had unwisely strayed too close once again. Without much delay Indru headed towards the summons, using her somewhat impatient second howl to further guide him and noting, as he closed in on her, that Marsh had already arrived. Yet, of more interest at the present time, was the unfamiliar scent that mingled between the two he trusted.

With the strange female in mind when Indru broke from the trees to greet them a hardened stare immediately fell upon the lone wolf; his tail raising to his extremes to show her that he was without a need to lower it anyone here if his dominant scent was not enough of a sign. Quickly, so not to detract his attention from the stranger, Indru turned to greet Marsh first with a nip to the top of his muzzle before doing the same to Cali, his eyes softening as they fell upon each wolf so that they would see he was not displeased with their presence. However, at the moment, his opinion on this new wolf's presence was undecided. Who is this? With a swift turn of his head it was clear the question was aimed at Cali for the proximity and warm feeling between the two females had not gone unnoticed.

Despite being his female equivalent, Marsh was satisfied by Cali's display of respect - if nothing else, it helped further quell any potential doubts about her sister. The sister in question was not quite so submissive, and her muted display prompted his eyes to narrow, but he held off on judgement just yet. Cali's voice graced the air, and though he would have preferred more base methods of communication, he welcomed her brevity. Still, the words he picked out - sister, alongside the sharing of names - were nothing new to him, and Cali's silence would have been just as productive.

Jessie spoke, then, with a tone Marsh was familiar with, and he was about to move to take her muzzle in his when a more dominant scent filled the area. Marsh turned back to see that his authority had been overridden, and quite obligingly he stepped back to receive Indru's greeting (returning it with a soft whine as the Tainn nipped at him) and allow the leader to take centre stage. Marsh's tail had dropped accordingly, though he held it high enough above Jessie's to affirm his status.

Stoically Marsh turned his gaze back to Cali's sibling, for now his presence was little more than reassurance of pack strength and back-up, in case something went wrong. He did not show the fact that Indru's presence had tightened something in his gut, for it was not something he wished to dwell upon. Indru's subtle rejection had stretched a part of him thin, but nobody needed to know. He would not let it affect his duties.

Of course, Marsh's life was one of constant duties.

The River wolves posture dropped to a more submissive one in sight of him, as any subordinate should to a leader, and not only did it demonstrate their strength as a pack but it too showed his strength as a leader to the female. While their dominance dropped in response to his own it did not fall from either of them entirely and while he hoped such a display would be unnecessary he was pleased that they understood his desire to show such strength to a stranger who, most likely, wished to join their ranks. After all, you were less likely to betray a strong pack with loyal wolves.

While Indru mainly watched the mysterious female as Cali introduced her, the soft twitching of his ears and quick shifting of his gaze from her to his subordinate showed his attention was divided between them. After her words his gaze fell upon the younger female was renewed interest as he took her in. Jessie, he greeted with a welcoming yet more formal tone than he would were only Marsh and Cali present. Your sister has proven herself to be of great value to Swift River so far, could you yourself offer us as much loyalty as Cali has done? For, that was the base of it—River wolves were expected to be loyal wolves and as long as they had that the pack would remain strong.

Conversation passed between the two parties, though Marsh noted the sister's silence and was pleased by it. Indru was clearly addressing Cali, after all, and that Jessie understood her place - and would only speak when spoken to - was a mark in her favour. His opinion would not carry much weight from this point, but for what it was worth, Marsh was prepared to give the young girl the benefit of the doubt, which was a lot more than most new females got from him. Cali had proven him pleasantly wrong, after all.

Not that Jessie was treading on easy ground; with Corinna's children still so young and vulnerable, Marsh's graces were very easy to lose.

He glanced sidelong at his leader then, and felt confident that Cali's sibling would not be denied. Not that Indru was well known for rejecting females... but that was a running joke broken by Cali's loyalty. Indru's attention went to the sister then, and though he did not bother to pay attention to the words, Marsh's ears perked at the sound, recognising - if nothing else - the questioning nature of it. So this was likely to be it, then. The copper wolf glanced at Cali, wondering if she would want to show her sibling around on her own or with his company. Perhaps Indru would demand it. Whatever the outcome, Marsh waited patiently, observing and offering little but pack solidarity.