Not a great deal could be spoken between the two wolves as they marched their way back to Hollowheart Keep, each lugging a fairly significant amount of meat. Of course, they hadn't made any kills- but their circumstances had made it possible for them to find not one but two kills. Of course, the ravenous wolves had eaten a tiny bit each, but the majority of it had been pulled back with them, to make it easier to barter for Couth's acceptance into the pack. She felt fairly impressed and optimistic. With the temperature rising above zero, more old kills were surfacing from the deep snow, making it easier for wolves like them to scavenge and survive. She knew that Naira would need to stock up on as much food as possible if she wanted to have a healthy litter- so Sagacity hoped that this would help. She also knew that Nova was close to perishing, as was Evann, so she felt that with this food she could make a difference.

She brought Couth to the borders of Ghastly Woods where the trees creaked in their usual, eerie way. She put down her chunk of meat and stretched her shoulders and neck, which had become somewhat stiff while she'd been carrying it. She sat down and leaned her shoulders one way and another to sort out her spine and once she felt lean and limber again she looked over to her partner. How fortunate it was, for them, to have found food. But before she could feel absolutely sure Couth would be pack material, she had to interrogate him.

"Welcome," She said, though her tone wasn't convincing- after all, she couldn't officially welcome him to the pack, as her rank was that of a beta. "I'm the second-in-command, here, and Scout. Our alphas will need to know what you can and will do for the pack." She said. Though she wanted to be able to talk to him without being formal, she knew he'd have to do his best to impress either Mapplethorpe or Naira. "And you have to be polite, respectful- no jokes, Mr. Wise guy. We're not the warmest folks, we don't just let anyone with a nice smile who wants world peace join." She said, and straightened up. "Well?" She asked, hoping that she could be impressed.

Sagacity sighed softly when Couth began to make observations about the pack and she nodded, to hurry him along, simply because she didn't want to interrupt- but he wasn't answering the question she'd asked. Well, he was- he'd just interpreted it differently. She stopped and gave him a slight glare when he did the inevitable- and cracked off a comment, and seriously considered pinning him or giving him some sort of physical reminder of the fact that this sort of tongue wouldn't be acceptable. But decided not to- but if he stepped out of place again, she knew that if push came to shove, she'd have to start swinging whatever meagre weight she had around in order to keep his mouth shut.

"Couth," She said sharply, in warning. "That's exactly what I was afraid of; anyway. No, I didn't mean what do you think of the place- you know what I'm like, any place will do, whatever. It's grand. But I meant 'well?' as in 'what can you do?'" She explained. "You need to be of some use to the pack, guarding, hunting, something- something serious," She said, expecting that he might interject with some sort of ridiculous task like basket weaving or zombie imitations. She knew she'd have to do whatever she could to sell Couth to the pack- but if he could help sell himself, that'd be a good starting point.

"And if you must know, we're badass." She said, straightening up a tad and tilting back her head. And because Sage always wore her hipster jeans whenever she spoke about the pack, she added: "We were badass before it was cool."

While it was good to see that he did remember manners and that he was able and willing to rein himself in to submit to her, she would have to believe that he would do the same for other pack members as well...Still, even though it meant sticking her neck out on the line in order to vouch for him, she felt it was worth something. Couth could be an asset to the pack- as long as he kept in line and contributed, she was sure she could make him scout with her- teach him how to map in his mind, maybe- or hunting, or something. So when he brightened up and spoke about his skills as a medic, Sagacity was surprised- and at first, not inclined to believe him.

"Bullshit," She said, though the comment came not from the fact she didn't believe he could do something useful- but because sharing insults with Couth had always been a knee-jerk reaction sort of thing. She'd say something, and he'd snap back with some witty insult. If he did something, she'd never be wholly impressed, but it had worked. But he was so earnest, at present, that her ears flicked forward. "Really though?" She asked, and waited a moment for some sort of positive affirmation, before she tilted her head back. She had little to say to that- nothing snarky, at least. A medic was a skilled wolf, and she looked Couth up and down, and could actually picture him carrying assorted greens around and using his sense of humour to lighten the situation. For once, Sagacity was impressed, and she let it show.

"Wow," She said, with a slight nod of her head. "You'll need to prove it, but...That's really good, Couth," She said. She smiled faintly, then, faintly but honestly- but then the look faded from her features as she scented the air. She was sure she could smell one of the leaders in the area. "That'll be them now," She said softly, and uttered a low, short howl to catch their attention. She loOked at Couth again and sat a little straighter, with all hopes that he would be acceptable.



sarah edit: just wanted to fix your code, you were missing a "<" and it was breaking the board

Sagacity's keen amber gaze swept the white horizon in search of one of the leaders and soon enough, she saw someone approaching. Mapplethorpe was coming directly toward them, with purpose, as per usual. She was aware that it was not the best time of year to distract either of the alphas, nor was she nearly as close to Naira as she was the rest of the year; while they were companions, they were both females and Sagacity herself preferred to keep away from other women during breeding season. Not that she had a particular beau she felt she might lose to them, but her hormones made her competitive nonetheless, and she knew that it was simple best if she and Naira avoided each other until breeding season was through and tension was lower.

Thus, she knew it as best to get straight to the point. And she suspected that Couth, being a social fellow, and not knowing that Mapplethorpe had a lady to attend to, might beat around the bush a bit- or say something out of line. So she lowered her head in a respectful greeting to the alpha and kept Couth in the corner of her eye so she could keep an eye on him. She felt guilty for having disturbed him, but hoped he wouldn't be disappointed; she had a other pack member for them- a medic, no less- and a decent amount of food.

"Sir," She said, with a tone warmed with appreciation. "This is Couth, an old traveling companion of mine. He's trained as a medic, and wants to join our pack. These," She said, gesturing to the meat they'd scavenged, "Are for you and Naira." She said and drew back slightly so Mapplethorpe could take the meat or question Couth further if he felt so inclined.