A new day, a new chance.

Jade had been in the vicinity of Cold Water Creek for a few Winter days now, and of course had smelt them. Them being the pack wolves of Magnolia Glen. She hadn't approached their boarders, nor linger near by till today. As she summoned her courage she found herself taking small but steady paw steps towards the boarders.

It took her longer then necessary to reach ten wolf lengths away from the edge of their lands. The silver girl lifted her nose into the air and cracked open her maw. A eerie beautiful call echoed out of her mouth, flowing through the surrounding trees. It held a obvious nervous pitch as she called out, *Hello? Alphas of these lands, I'm a searching for a pack.* Her shaky voice came to a end. Timidly she glanced around with Ice blue eyes before falling to her knees. Crumbling further down she shoved her young face into the dirt and rolled over.

*What if they don't want me because of my stupid deformed tail? Or or my shyness? Maybe my terrible personality will be the death of me?* She thought lowly of herself as she waited fully submitted. *Shall they accept me, will I fail them? Bring them trouble? Oh I'm such a worthless thing.* She continued on in her mind before taking in a calming deep breath. Jade distracted herself by watching the slowly falling snow flakes coming from the havens. The early morning sky stood boldly behind the light crystal flakes. The sun was hidden by continuous huge fluffy white clouds that seemed never ending.

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2013, 09:52 PM by Jaden.)

Borlla had taken to busying herself around the borders now, marking them at least twice a day. She felt acutely aware of all the lone shadows floating about the eastern lands now, unable to find their way over the mountain, perhaps. They were stranded and the packs had a better chance of filling their mouths than the lone wolves did of filling theirs. She didn't want to issue a welcome call to all those around that this was free land, that they were wolves that cared to share their home with the masses. She wanted the Creek to reek of the Glen wolves and hopefully send the loners scattering. No, she didn't trust them much. Skinny, empty-eyed creatures looking for a warm den and a full belly until the snow melted and then what? They obviously didn't understand the reality. The reality that they were just as hungry as those that had no claim to anything. Borlla didn't like weakness.

She'd been rather harsh to James when he'd come to their borders. He'd been a bit of a practice run for her. Her aggression had served her well, honestly, in that encounter. However, with such blind tactics, what chance did she really have of sorting the true from the false? Coincidence drove her life. Certainly any lone wolf would want a warm den and a full belly, but what if they wanted a family as well? Someone to serve. And by blindly snarling at all that called at their borders, she was risking sending away a perfectly good creature. A wolf that might enlighten her children, feed their hunger, serve their family. As another call sounded from the borders, Borlla was on the move again. Her pace was even, if not a bit slow, as she mulled over her plan of action. But the wolf she found seemed to do much of the work for her. Honeyed eyes descended upon a female already upon her back, beautifully submitted.

The woman sputtered, resisting a laugh as she stood on her side of the border, eyeing the female who now laid a few feet away from her. Aggression was pointless in this case. The woman was already as low as she could be, and snarling would likely only drive her away before Borlla could ask a word. <b style="color:#32527a">"Get up, you're going to make yourself sick, buried in the snow like that." The woman snorted, taking a step forward, toeing the border. <b style="color:#32527a">

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

Jade had managed to amuse herself in her lonesome, playfully snapping and pawing at snow flakes. She would take wild guesses at just how many she caught. Of course though, it was impossible to know. She couldn't care as her playfulness got the better of her. As the silver yearling heard the faint sound of approaching paws, she moved her head back into the snow. The wolf sounded like it stopped near by, which was confirmed as it sent out a commanded. Was that a laugh behind her words? She wasn't sure.

Slowly she rolled over and got onto her paws, head lowered. She would of took in the sight of her company's paws if she hadn't been so shy. Instead her eyes were looking down at the snow before her. "Thank you, Ma'am." She spoke timidly but her voice didn't nearly show how nervous she really was. Gulping she began to announce why she was here, "I came here looking for a family. I'm Jaden, but please call me Jade Ma'am." She finished, feeling slightly eased after she explained herself. "I don't mean just one for Winter, I wish to stay and be a true member." She added, paws shifting.

All the while she did this, her mind was burning with thoughts. It seemed too wild to even keep up with a single one. Fragments and chunks flew about in her brain till she forced herself to calm. *Focus, you have a task at hand. You are in not just the judgment of yourself, but another wolf. A pack wolf and elder that is.*

The girl did as she was told. Very obedient. Borlla smirked as she was on her paws, though still kept her gaze averted. She was given a thank you, though Borlla wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve that. And without provocation or instruction, the nameless stranger went right into her reason for being here. As it it weren't obvious enough, but it saved the winter-worn woman the effort of speaking, most likely in some frustrated or snarky manner. The girl didn't want to waste time or energy and Borlla appreciated that. Probably just as much as she appreciated the girl's likely honesty.

When the girl had finished speaking, Borlla crossed the border to stand before the girl, sitting back on her haunches with a slightly haughty look upon her face. <b style="color:#32527a">"Well that's all good and dandy, but what benefit are you bringing to Magnolia Glen, Jade?" It was one thing to bring forth promises of permanence, but Borlla wished to see the worth in others. What could they do to benefit her, her pack, her family? She showed no aggression towards the girl, thankfully for the girl, but Borlla would not be won over so easily. Though she might not have much weight in the decision making department as ti stood right now, she would do the hard work for her mate so that, when he arrived, she could simply inform him of the straight details...As she interpreted them, of course. They all had enough on their plates, and after her incident, it was the least she could do for her own weather-weary hubby. <b style="color:#32527a">

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

Silence. Brolla's question brought a doubtful yet thoughtful silence to Jade. The girl looked down for a new reason, her brows knitted together as she sorted through memories. *What can I bring, what can I bring, what can I bring..* The question resounded off in her head over and over. *Fast runner.* She thought, thinking of how she was a great traveler. *Scavenger, maybe or Scout? Those two could work.* She continued on in her mind.

Now finished with her long drawled out silence she began speaking to the pack wolf, "I could possibly serve as a scavenger, maybe a lookout, um I'm a fast runner but I don't know what good that is, and ah well I'm up to being taught if your willing." She said thinking over all she was before continuing. "I wouldn't mind serving as omega if it meant a chance to impress you guys. I'm not sure what they do other then be on the bottom but I'd like to try to fit in somewhere... to belong." The to and belong in her sentence were a mere whisper.

Now finished she noted just how much closer the other wolf had come, and shifted her paws even more. *Why is she so close? So she can get a better grip on my neck if she doesn't like me? Ohhh this was probably a absolutely terrible, stupid, fatal mistake. I'm a goner, I'm a goner, I'm a goner. SHUT UP!* Now back on the task at paws she waited for a response. Her eyes never looked up to challenge or disrespect just stared at the snow.

(This post was last modified: Jan 03, 2014, 10:23 PM by Jaden.)

Look Out!

Water is beginning to freeze and some fish are trapped. Hunt Opportunity

The howl echoed across the frozen skies, calling to the wolves of the Glen with the familiar plea. Another summoning. Wearily, a sigh pressed past the ivory male’s lips, and had he not worried that whatever rogue called for him now would simply traipse through his lands and take what they wanted, he would have been more than happy to let them sit there and rot. Whether it was the darker days of winter that fed his frustrations, or the exhaustion that wore him down to the bone, either way, Phineas Argyris’ patience was running thin with the sudden influx of rogue’s – all seeking shelter from the harsh winter season, and only offering their loyalty now because they had no other choice.

He had moved as fast as he could – mentally and physically – and yet as he finally came upon the stranger, he noticed his mate had already beaten him to it. Holding back a crooked grin, the large male swept up from the shadows of the Glen, prowling to one side of Borlla as his figure lifted to impressive height. He spoke nothing, not interrupting the ivory woman to his side. His fiery eyes roved over the other, the silver of her pelt with sparse bits of ebony intermingled within her fur. Yet his eyes fell upon the stub of her tail, and while he considered himself a noble that refused to stare another’s misfortunes down, his eyes perhaps stared for a beat longer than what would be considered normal or polite.

In time, the familiar shadow of Phineas was beside her and she found great comfort in his presence. Perhaps at her core, she found herself more frustrated at all these strangers for putting her mate out. There were far more important matters to tend to, matters that didn't involve answering the begging cries of every stranger that collapsed upon their borders, their stomach grumblings drowning out any words that came from their parched jaws. This woman was being suitably submissive though, perhaps lightening the load somehow. He offered no words, and so Borlla continued, honeyed eyes traveling over the wolf, trying to pick out parts of her that might back up her claims to usefulness. It seemed her tail was missing. Borlla hadn't noticed that before, and her ears flipped back. Noting this, she struck out any potential as a hunter, for certainly her balance would be affected.

But the woman mentioned nothing about hunting, only scouting and scavenging. And the potential to be taught. Borlla scoffed, <b style="color:#32527a">"We hardly have the time to teach you how to be useful." Huffing, she fell into a thoughtful silence. A scavenger could be helpful, so long as she kept her paws out of the way of other packs, equally hungry mouths that wouldn't appreciate having food taken from anywhere near their borders. <b style="color:#32527a">"Perhaps a scavenger would be useful." Her eyes flicked upwards towards the face of her mate, wondering what he could be thinking about this. There was really little honor in eating up scraps, but there was little honor in starving to death either. <b style="color:#32527a">

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

As the male came to the scene she gave him a quick glance and lowered her head some more before putting her orbs back on the ground. As she listened to Brolla she could feel Phineas's own eyes on her and shifted more and more. Jade's tail tucked tighter against her, it's dwarf self completely hidden in silver fur. *Of course no one has time to be teaching me...it's Winter.* She thought scolding herself for her ignorance.

*A scavenger?* A tiny speck of hope filled her. Maybe she would get in, they needed the food. Plus a wolf her size did not eat as much as the larger ones. Waiting the ivory giant's judgment she fell into the sickly silence. Her gut twisted and churned only to make her nervousness more unbearable.

Jade shifted her weight and moved her front paws shyly some more. She was not sure if she would make the budget or would be turned out to survive the Winter and other seasons alone. *That sure does sound lonely,* she thought and furthermore wanted to be in this pack. She did not know much about the wolves here or Magnolia Glen but she could not be picky with packs. They had to be picky with her and all loners. It was there job to decline or accept others. For a sparse moment she wished that you could just waltz on up to a pack and be accepted just like that, but then the world would be choas.

(This post was last modified: Jan 06, 2014, 08:30 PM by Jaden.)

The stranger at least submitted properly, unlike many of the lone wolves that came knocking on their figurative border door. She spoke nothing, and a low rumble of impatience parted the dominant male’s jaws, his eyes drifting to his mate’s cheek. Borlla mentioned perhaps the pack could use a scavenger, and his only response was a non-committal grunt for the moment. Perhaps the hope was that there would be something to scavenge – and yet it was not a particularly bad idea, given that he was less content to send out say Zia to scout the other lands for potential food or scraps.

There was a moment of silence that followed, and the alabaster male shifted his weight slightly. The she-wolf did not offer him her name, nor did his mate. Even so, Borlla seemed to vouch for her, even begrudgingly, and Phineas gave a small nod of his muzzle, his tail sweeping behind him through the cold winter air. Moving forward, his muzzle bent down, his jaws opening to grip the rogue’s muzzle gently but firmly in his grasp – his show of dominance and acceptance to her. Releasing her, he turned his large form, making his way back to his pale mate’s side, his muzzle now brushing against hers affectionately. Tipping his head once more, his eyes fell upon the darker female, his features unreadable still. He would lead her in the direction to her new home soon, but for now, he awaited for her to rise. “What is your name?”