Whitestone Monadnock every road leads back

 

The silver boy’s stomach tensed at the man’s hackles raised ever so slightly in response to his eye contact, his words not even causing a scratch on the exterior of his facade. Wrong move, stupid, he thought to himself. But...everything he’d experienced with others before would indicate that his words would have worked, would have pricked some form of sympathy or sense that he was just in any other wolf. He hadn’t had enough time to really judge the man’s personality, see what made him tick and what might tickle his fancy because he’d just jumped head long into the situation without proper background. Just what kind of wolves were they getting themselves tangled up with? He was curious now, his interest piqued but for the time being his eyes went back to a respectable level.

Auds swiveled sideways to catch Hal’s words, amazed that she was simply handing over their personal situation. But...the relaxation of the man’s posture proved that her explanation was far more acceptable than his. Why was it that the truth proved time and time again that it was the best course of action, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to expel it? He was no pathological liar by any means, but his distrust of others had been ground into his very being from his experiences at a young and impressionable age and it seemed that Hal’s efforts in helping him overcome them had only just barely scratched the surface.

The man went on to explain that they would need to each collect more offerings over the next four days and inwardly he cursed, even if the offerings had been cut by one day. Prove, prove, prove, so much work for a cause and a pack he didn’t even know if he wanted to be a part of. But...Hal needed to be here for Spieden. He would do it, for her. And...perhaps during their stay he could learn a few things from the man before them. He had a strong air about him, something that demanded the answers he searched for without demanding them entirely verbally. And, it seemed to work. But, if it was action proof that he wanted then that is what he would get. In fact, Kino had always said much the same thing. Perhaps Hal was getting to him too much, for he had noticed he’d been much wordier in the past few months. The previous situation proved he wasn’t much good at words, but actions he could do. He dipped his head, “Yes, sir.”

@Craw

Her eyes closed, relieved by the small effect her words seemed to have on the tension in the man's posture, but unable to feel safe uttering any sort of sigh. In her heart the value of truth and concrete facts was affirmed yet again, and the girl was so sure that as long as she kept these things at the top of her priorities that life would open up for her. There had been no obstacle she had not conquered with her integrity yet and, naively, the girl concluded that this was the only key she needed: the master key for any door. Her golden eyes drifted over to Alastor, hoping that his pride had not been wounded too much by the glowering demeanor of the wheezing man. Though she was rarely boastful, the girl found herself wondering what kind of show it would take to prove it to her friend that trust and truth were gifts that could be given freely. 

Though the "thank you" did not seem entirely genuine, the girl bobbed her head anyway. But this was the point at which any of her assumptions or feelings of security were cast aside, as the man did not conclude with anything along the lines of "great, welcome to this pack"—what ever this pack was—or even his name, just a challenge. There could not possibly be anything farther from what she was used to, in distance or in spirit. No one in Oak Tree Bend had ever been asked to do anything, not for one gift and certainly not five. Everyone back home was taken at their word or no one particularly cared what their word was. They were all just trying to stay alive and say happy, but here the world was apparently different. There were higher standards to live to. The girl had never been asked to prove herself in her short existence, and she had only ever answered to herself. Her mouth hung open a little and the girl was so sure if she opened her mouth to protest the rest of her resolve would crumble away. Stay positive. So she closed her mouth and tried to find another perspective from which to look at her situation. She could find four gifts. Did they have to be food? Did this man like any particular kind of food? Wrapping her tail nearly around her leg, "Should... we just leave them here for you—the gifts? Someone will come and fetch them?" The idea of some bird or scavenger coming along and eating her gift before the rightful owner could find it made her nervous.

She had never felt more like a child than in this instant.

@Kino

Half-expecting another heartfelt tirade from the silver boy, Craw was pleasantly surprised by how the wolf chose only to bow his head and confirm his understanding. Grunting a quiet note of acknowledgement in the back of his throat, the spider's attention slipped to Sahalie, who looked rather less certain, but that did not surprise him. He had no idea what kind of soft place she was from, and he would not judge her for it (not too much, anyway), but if she truly wanted to live here, with him, then she would have to learn to adapt. He still harboured suspicion that their loyalty would remain steadfast to Spieden above all, and that could end up being a problem.

Or a boon, depending on how Spieden herself turned out. He'd wait and see if they lasted the winter, first.

"There is a large round stone a little further in," he said, an ear flicking back at the structure behind him. "You can leave them under there, but I'll make sure they're found." So long as you leave them in the first place.

Seeing that they appeared to have said everything they planned to - and likely caught off-guard by the fact that their acceptance was to be delayed - he looked between the mismatched pair, his stance back to comfortable. "In case you didn't already know, this is Whitestone Monadnock. My name is Craw, and I lead here with my mate, Morganna Archer." Just a little giving-back of information - to balance their deficit. Not that any of it was a secret, but he found it fair considering how much they had told him. "Spieden has already joined, along with her two children. While you are obviously within your rights to see her, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call or wait for her right at my borders. I'll let her know you're out here. She can come to you."

Satisfied, he looked between them, an ear flicking and balance shifting in subtle cues that he was ready to leave, that they were dismissed, unless - "Is there anything else?"

(This post was last modified: Jan 04, 2017, 12:49 PM by Craw.)

Sarah, feel free to have Kino follow her. I left it vague since I wasn't sure if she was going to say anything else.

 

His gaze traveled to see Hal’s jaw drop at the man’s suggestion of them bringing gifts. While Kino had only ever had to actually join the Bend, it was still something that he’d done that Hal never had. And, joining the Bend didn’t actually feel like joining anything. He remembered, vaguely, how it had been in the Crest when other wolves had joined. Certainly it hadn’t been required to make offerings, but you were definitely given a firm interrogation and if you were granted entrance you didn’t automatically become a part of the family. It took a while for you to work yourself up to the same level as everyone, you have to work for what you wanted. He’d seen that and experienced that, which was, perhaps, why the current situation didn’t shock him as much as it did his sheltered friend.

Attention turned back to the rough looking man as he began to speak, announcing the name of the pack and his name as well as his mate and co-leader’s. He put them to memory, identifying them as high importance. After all, they would be their alphas. Hopefully. “No, sir. Thank you for your time,” the boy said, turning his head to Hal to see what she would do.

@Craw you can either post again or archive

Sahalie nodded, though still unsure about this whole gift idea. This whole place was stone and she hoped this "large, round" one being described to her would stand out among so many others. The girl also wondered how long the weather would hold for, as dark clouds gathered over the stone fortress and in her bones she could feel a storm coming on. Would there be any prey out there? Her ears flickered. Was this a fools errand? The idea that there could be so many wolves living here, on a desolate tundra, finding five gifts seemed insane. 

The name of her potential home was a mouthful, and Sahalie's lips moved wordlessly as she tried to wrap her tongue around Monadnock. She was not even sure if she could say it. For now it would have to be just Whitestone, she thought, already longing for the three short syllables of her birthpack. She had been quite busy worrying about pronunciation, though, that the man had lost her full attention until a familiar name drew her back out of her mind. Morganna Archer? Sahalie had been just a distant bystander to the plight of Willow Ridge, though that had felt like an age and a half ago. She remembered Sven's frustration, Greer's insistence that his uncle was "bad crazy" and that Morganna was "good crazy," and then learning that one night in the middle of April it had cracked wide open. Looking back on it now, Sahalie had to wonder if the situation was not unlike what had transpired back in Oak Tree Bend. But to find that Morganna had ended up here of all places, that was the most surprising thing she had heard all day, and her bright eyes bulged. Her mouth hung open.

It was good to hear that Spieden was, at least, in the pack and being taken care of. That made her feel a little better, even if she could not call for her, and Sahalie bobbed her head again, but this time her nod was a little more absent, distressed, distracted. She was beginning to wonder what path she had set her paws upon and where she was. But this was the life she had chosen for herself and she was going to do it. "Th-thank you, sir," was all the girl had to add, looking helplessly at Alastor before the two of them turned away.