Midnight Plateau come what may

"Mother effin'...Suffering!" A hurried step had caused the normally nimble Atiris to lose her footing and trip, only to land unceremoniously with her left front paw wedged between two rocks. Having been exploring the higher parts of the mountain, she had heard the alpha's call and had been eager to join in...But she was some distance away and figured that she might as well hurry her cinnamon butt up in order to join the group without seeming dreadfully late and irregular, as it would make the wrong first impression. She'd joined this pack and had been in a pack for long enough before to know how to fit in. Her parents had been the alphas for crying out loud- she knew she had to be at the meeting and that she had to be punctual.

But her steps had been too quick and in a leap from one section of a bouldery region to another she slipped, her claws failing to catch on the rock and she fell awkwardly, bumping her chin and biting her tongue as she did so, falling to the side while her left forepaw became wedged between two rocks. She hissed and swore vehemently, directing her frustration and anger at the rock which had failed to be within reach during her leap. She gathered herself and repositioned herself so that she could remove her paw from the wedge and sat down to inspect the damage.

It was quite sore, but not broken. Likely, the bones were bruised and it would swell up, but the only surface wound was a rough looking scrape. "What a piece of quartz," She groaned, putting weight on the foot only to feel tremors run up her leg. "A real effin' piece of quartz," She muttered, and deciding to take her time and amble down the mountainside on three legs looking like a very angry tripod.

The meeting had already begun by the time the somewhat sour and frustrated looking cinnamon she-wolf arrived and she joined the group with her ears flattened with shame and her tail tucked, wishing that no one would look at her. She placed her left paw hesitantly on the ground, trying to make it look just like her right paw, though without being able to put weight on it and the fact that it had already begun to swell up kept her from doing so. She would have sat beside Weldering- had he not been talking. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she refused to make eye contact with anyone in the group and was happy to go unnoticed until she was addressed. Until then, she fumed silently, cursing her luck and hoping that no one made any sort of a fuss over her lateness or her bummed paw.

Adonia smiled in the general direction at Welde as she felt his appraising gaze. Her smile faded as another wolf joined the growing circle, and Adonia looked curiously at her. She was certainly already a member of the pack, but the way she walked as if not to bring attention to herself led Adonia to believe that she had either done something wrong, or just did not want to be noticed. The she-wolf looked the wolf up and down and noticed a slight limp in the way the wolf walked, as if she did not wish to put her right foot on the cold ground of the plateau. Adonia had a feeling that the wolf that just arrived would not be interested whatsoever in pity, or extra attention from Adonia, therefore she shifted her gaze once more to Welde.
<b>"It's nice to meet all of you!"</b> She murmured quietly, now looking down at her paws. Some questions flashed through Adonia's mind like a tsunami, filling her with thoughts such as: How long will I stay here? Will I fit in? What wolves will become my friends in this circle? The white wolf wondered quietly to herself, knowing that in her time she had made quite a few enemies through her sometimes-spunky, rude, and slightly aggressive nature. She hoped this time would be different.

Adonia's ears perked at a slight sound coming from somewhere around them. She had a feeling that <i>someone</i> was watching, although if it was a pack member they probably would have presented themselves by now. She felt the noise was coming from behind her, and she had to use all of her self control not to turn around and investigate. That would just be rude!

O O C | derp.

Stoic. Silent. Solemn. As he sat at Alexander’s side, Borden attempted to make himself appear as though he was a wolf of only so many words by simply resting there. Not a word had been uttered since he thanked the alpha, but his eyes darted from one pack member to another before Weldering’s voice called out to him once more. He glanced to the black-socked male and smiled appreciatively. The warm expression remained for only a brief moment before the Lyall’s somber expression washed it away.

He was trying to read all of them, study them, learn more of them just by watching. Their names were exchanged and he nodded to each of them in a welcoming manner – Weldering, Jayse, Adonia… Atiris. Each one of them had shown up promptly; he was sure Alexander was proud. His pack was resourceful – each had mentioned they excelled at hunting, scouting, even fishing.... Perfect. They would absolutely survive the last few weeks of winter then.

Offering his name just like they all had probably would have been too redundant. These wolves had been recruited by him; all except Adonia, another white wolf for his list of acquaintances. He gave her a kind smile as she stated it was nice to meet them all. ”We’re pleased to have you, Adonia,” he welcomed her. ”I’m Borden Lyall.” He had debated whether or not to add his last name, but it rolled off his tongue, formal and polite in tone.

When he was through, he glanced to Alexander once more as though expecting the leader to say something more. The light breeze and her careful selection of a perch to spy from had done well to conceal Vlarindara from them – or, at least, just Borden. Who knew what would have, could have, happened if he ever realized she was here?

Well, what do you want from me?

<i>sorry everyone. i'm just gonna bring this to a very quick close, and start a more official meeting later. ><</i>

<blockquote>Alexander listened patiently as each wolf spoke, nodding, and absorbing what they claimed their skills were. They even had a fisher. That could be helpful in the warmer months ahead. Abruptly rising, he bowed his head towards the group, and took a step backwards. <b>"I look forward to meeting each of you more personally later on."</b> A spreading smile on his muzzle, he turned around, and wandered back into his den.
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