Secret Falls but you just never know

@Koda or @Iopah!

Slowly, Val had started to wonder if she could still have her grand adventures while also calling a pack home. Perhaps that was what the scout rank was for. She was more of a hunter but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t do both… right? Curiosity plagued her as she continued her ventures south, as far away from Terras Fortem as she could get. She would blink as she came to a halt. There was a scent of a pack and it made her wonder what this pack was about. She should have turned away, but alas she could not fight the urge to call for a leader or someone in the pack. Her ivory fur remained well kept and she remained well fed with well-built muscle. She was perfectly healthy as far as she knew and she preferred to keep it that way.

Her emerald eyes held the nerves that she felt deep within her as she waited patiently at a safe distance from the borders in case things were to turn bad. She may be young but she knew perfectly well how protective parents could be and it was pup season which meant each pack was sure to have children about. This alone made her wonder if her curiosity was worth the risk but it was already too late as the young yearling had already called for them all to meet her. Part of her wondered if she could settle down, obviously depending on how the conversation went, if they would take her. It also begged the question of how big the pack already was.

She caught a few scents along the borders but there was no way every wolf was to do border patrols which left her with little to go on and her over-active imagination and brain started to hypothesize a situation she hoped to be just in her head. Part of her thoughts of a huge pack of vicious wolves while another part of her hoped it was a smaller, closer knit pack of nice wolves with decent morals. Only time would tell.

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An unfamiliar call made Iopah twist northwards to listen. Pale feet stretch her high as she sought the echo that reverberated through the still-standing cedars. There'd been little message in the call and the only information she could glean was youthfulness. The last echoes faded away and Iopah was left with the soft rustle of the salmonberry brambles that shut her little den site in. Her daughters were still sleepy from their last meal and she expected the strange howl to have completely escaped their notice.

Her body craned to listen in the other directions. The male ranks were short-handed as it was with both women tending to their litters. She let loose a low chuff to Zia, knowing the other mother was close and would easily hear. Likely the charcoal second had heard Valeria as well. Iopah waited for a soft sound in reply before asking @Zia to keep an ear on her daughters while she met with the stranger.

Once free of the brambles and clear of the children, Iopah sent a low howl back in response. She responded in kind, simply letting her pitch speak for her recognition. Their last guests had not bothered to announce themselves. Iopah already had a higher opinion of Valeria than she did Kjors. The yearling was still in the location her call had given away. The alpha's pace was relaxed as she skirted the last fallen tree. Her tail was high and held the faintest sway to it, but her eyes were sharp as they studied the ivory girl. This was her home and it would be defended just as the thickets had been. "Why have you come to my borders?" Was the blunt question as she finally came to a stop.

A recognition response reached her ears as a woman, by the sounds of the voice, let her know that she was on her way. The girl was patient as she looked at her paws, wondering what this pack was like while hoping it was not similar to the stricter regime that her father had led. When the woman arrived, she looked up to get a glance at her. The nerves had started to hit Val when a blunt question was asked. Why had she called? She formed her words carefully as she stood, her head bowing slightly and her tail dropping in respect. She meant no harm and from what she could see, the woman was a mother, which, in her mind, meant the leader of the pack. She remembered her mother teaching her that only the alphas had pups and so she assumed it was the same in all other packs.

“I stumbled upon your borders and I was curious… I’ve been looking for a home for a while but they all turned me away because I was too young… they thought I didn’t know anything. My name is Valeria. Technically Valeria Octavia Lycus Slayer but most just call me Val… and I’m rambling… sorry.” Her words made it evident that she was nervous about this particular moment and the fact that the woman had been so blunt had only made it worse for her. Normally she was fine but with such important meetings like the one she was in right now, she couldn’t help but ramble and occasionally she found she would even stutter.

This meeting was different. She had used her full name which was not something that the ivory girl did often so she looked towards the leader with hopeful eyes. Perhaps if she could find some way to prove herself then this one might consider her as the others hadn’t. She understood why some of them turned her away. She was not good at fighting because she was more of a hunter and a scout. Scouts had to defend themselves sometimes, which was why she often leaned on hunting. She also found herself babysitting her siblings a lot even if they were the same age. But, at the same time, her mother had failed to teach her anything about diplomacy because all of the ‘rules and regulations’ were really confusing.

What was to stop this woman from turning away? She kept her emerald eyes averted as she contemplated what she could do next. She let her nose do the work as she searched for scents that could help her. There were vague scents of deer, rabbit, and vole. She could not hunt a deer alone, and she doubted that just the two of them could take one down. Rabbits were bland but they were fast which meant that she could show her speed to the woman. At the same time, voles were more delicious and might prove to be a better gift.

Perhaps she was just overanalyzing everything like the Slayer girl normally did.

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A white tail and pair of ivory ears as the volley started. Iopah's stance altered with Valeria's, falling into a pose that implied dominance rather than screamed it. Iopah wasn't going to stand around with her tail in the air like a peacock when the other was clearly respectful. She followed the dialogue and kept note of fragments that attracted her attention. It was quite a lot of words and, just as Iopah had that thought, Valeria apologized. Tawny brows rose at the sentiment, why did the girl think she had to apologize for the way she spoke? Of all the things Iopah cared about, that was not one of them. "You don't have to apologize for anything truthful."

As for the rest?

"You are young," Was the murmured agreement. Valeria was even younger than Iopah when she'd turned tail from the doomed Black Hills. She well remembered the number of packs that had turned her scrawny frame away. However, this was not the dead of winter and even Iopah had not been as useless as she'd been deemed. "But even I could hunt at your age." Not well enough to keep the famine away, but the ability had existed. She watched the nose search and a smile tugged her lips sideways. Iopah had a feeling this girl was not as useless as she made herself out to be. Those other packs were right to be critical, but she wondered if a chance had even been given a chance.

"Do you have a way to prove yourself?"

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

The woman cast aside her apology, claiming it was not needed and that was when Val would speak again. “My father always said that rambling was disrespectful so I just assumed…” Her words would trail off as she cast an unsure glance at her paws. Why did these kinds of things always go like this for her? Her mind tried to wrap around for a possible explanation that she could give herself. Did this mean her father had been wrong about the times that she would ramble? It made her confidence grow a bit more and it made her smile in an ever so slight way. Her emerald eyes would dark around as her nose continued to search for scents. She managed to find directions for each one of them. The rabbits to the north across the territory that the pack had claimed and the voles were farther away from it.

Voles it was.

Iopah quickly agreed with the other alphas which made Val start to frown, believing she would once again be cast aside, but that attitude changed quickly when the woman made a note that even she could hunt by Val’s age. Her ears perked up at that news as her tail wagged a bit. The alphaess, the queen, asked her if she could prove herself and she nodded vigorously. She would run off away from the meeting towards where she had scented the voles, her eyes narrowed as she gracefully avoided the obstacles she had spotted: roots, trees, bushes. She was determined to prove to this woman she was useful, and to prove it to herself too.

She would close in on the voles, remaining light on her feet as she was careful to the sensitivity the ground had to creatures. She would make as little noise as possible as she approached the creatures downwind. If they could not smell her and could not hear her, that left them with sight alone to figure out her tricks. She would move close to the ground, freezing a few lengths away from them with her tongue swiping across her lips. Valeria would bring back as many as she could.

She would quickly make her move, rushing them as they figured out that she was lurking behind a bush. Her mind fell into instinct as she leapt, pouncing on the plumpest vole of the ones that were gathered there. She grinned with triumph and dismay as she watched the last remaining alive one escape into a hole in the ground. She quickly bit the neck of the one that she had in her grip and trotted back towards Iopah, setting it down at her feet before retreating. “I would have gone for the deer but I obviously can’t take it on by myself and the rabbits were across the border… so I caught you a vole, ma’am.” Her words were respectful as she explained her thinking to the woman who stood before her with all the power.

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@Valeria

The girl darted away. Iopah hesitated a moment, ears twisting to make sure nothing was amiss within her pack before following. She assumed the girl had set off to hunt and had no intentions of staying behind. The process was just as important as the result... and Iopah had her own fair share of curiosity. She kept far behind the ivory figure. This wasn't her hunt to direct and she didn't want to risk scaring prey and making it more difficult. At one point Valeria was nothing more than an pale shadow bounding ahead in the forest. The hunt had already started with the girl light on her feet and fixed on her target, when the mother finally drew close enough to watch and gauge her movements.

She nodded at the offering and touched her nose to it briefly before looking back up at Valeria. The vole was nothing more than a mouthful and Iopah was far more impressed with her tactics. It was clear the girl knew what she was doing, and even seemed to like it. She listened to the explanation with appreciation, a soft noise of acknowledge at mention of the rabbits. They were too fast to be anything but a pain to catch. Gold eyes cast quickly over the girl when the deer were dismissed, remembering her young age. Her lips quirked as she let Valeria in on a secret. "A doe will hide and leave her fawn every morning, you just have to know where she spent the night. Iopah had taken countless fawns from the blackberry fields by simply walking up to the helpless things and dragging them away. "It's incredibly easy to do."

"Have you hunted large animals with others before?" It wouldn't be a large matter if the answer was no. The consummate huntress had no problem teaching and had a feeling the girl would learn quickly. As Valeria answered, Iopah took the time to accept the gift. Her ears flicked forward as the tiny bones snapped under her jaws.

The woman had followed her to make sure she could hunt like she said she could, and when she arrived back, the woman seemed please. It was hard for Valeria to tell but the woman did give her some excellent advice. A doe will stash her young? That did sound like easy prey if you knew where to go. She would be asked another question and Val had to think about it for a second. “Yes ma’am. My birth pack had a tradition of us joining the hunt after two seasons and then almost a season later, my siblings and I had to lead a hunt to prove that we were worthy to be heirs before my parents made their call as to who it would be.” Her words were shot out like a spitfire in speed as she remembered the pack hunt that they had led.

She remembered in vivid detail that her an Nahilus had taken down the kill, being ‘the guard’ and ‘the huntress’ while Salva and Absyrtus had chased it to exhaustion. She remembered the pride her mother felt for her, being the main leader. That was when she thought her mother would have picked her but alas, she picked Salva over her. She would live because now she was free from the shadows of her siblings. “I can scout too… and I’ve sat in on a few of my mums diplomacy meetings so I could try… not much of a fighter though. I always let my older brother handle that.” She would start to ramble again. Why is it always me?

She had a small glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked to the woman who appeared to be gathering information to make her final call as to whether or not Valeria would have a home to return to and a pack to serve. She would do whatever it took to get in. “I mean, I could learn to fight. My brother said I could do it but he just never had time to teach me…” With that she would wait for Iopah’s call on the matter.

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xD @Koda and other's pm'ed as an fyi

The girl shared far more than Iopah anticipated. She'd been expecting a 'yes' or 'no', but was quickly realizing that Valeria did not share her own succinct way with words. The claim was impressive. The Barberi pack had introduced their young to hunting at a young age as well, but not with such organization. Their 'sink or swim' approach had yielded only one. Iopah followed every rapid word, pale brows raising once in understanding, but still wanted to know one thing more. "How did you come to leave them?"

Iopah wasn't even sure what a right or wrong answer would sound like here. It was part curiosity, part test. Valeria was very young to be a lone wolf, younger even than Io had been. The cream alpha had made the wrong decision for the right reason, and wanted a feel for the things that drove Valeria to act. But, it was more than sympathetic interest into a private matter. The trust had to go both ways. It was more than Koda and Iopah trusting her ambition and ability; Valeria had to trust them as well. It was an intrusive question and the ivory girl needed to place faith to answer it.

She did not hurry the reply. A quiet shake was made to let her coat fall more slickly to her sides and diffuse any discomfort. The point of this was not make the girl feel on the spot. The words would come to stop before Iopah finally ventured away and onto more business-like topics. "We do need hunters and a scout that can go where we cannot." There might come a time when word needed to be passed over the mountain range and into the midst of their past. She wondered if @Inkheart would let @Zia travel so far and everyone else would be recognized instantly. Iopah would bare her secrets as willingly as Valeria had, but now was not the time for it.

Instinct guided her to do what experience could not supply. Ears and coat swept back up with pride as a step forward was made. There was no malice in the approach, but rather an offer. "I'm Iopah and I have no reason to not accept you into Broken Timber Pines." As long as the girl still wanted it, that was. Her muzzle stretched out for Valeria's own. Teeth would not close down and it would last a brief moment, just long for Iopah acknowledge the girl as one of hers.

The question had admittedly fazed her. She had not expected the woman to ask such a question at their first meeting which had caused her to panic slightly and ramble on about scouting and hunting and how she didn’t fight. She would gulp slightly as the woman said she had no reason to not accept Val. A slight weight lifted off her chest as the woman took her muzzle, marking her as a member of the pack. She took a deep breath (presuming that Io released her) before she would begin speaking again. “I left home because I was living under the shadows of the perfect siblings who were named heir… more specifically my brother Nahilus. I needed to find my own place where my sibling’s actions had no effect on me.” Her words were carefully placed for once. Terras Fortem had been a secret place when it came to how the lead family had fared.

They protected their own, though Val saw no reason Iopah would have to travel months north only to find someone whom she left on good terms with. Logically, it was fine to tell her this despite her parents warning her not to share anything about the family on her travels. Her parents also thought she would be returning but that was a fact she would keep to herself until the time came where she had to tell someone about it. She would let everything rush to her head as she realized that she had done it. She had a home and that was something that she had not had for nearly a quarter of her life. It felt good and she felt at peace. “Thank you so much, Ma’am! I won’t let you down.” The eager girl, being only 12 months instead of nearly an adult, was ready to jump up and down.

There was her undying embarrassment down. She would grin as she dared to take a step over the borders. “Who are some of the other wolves in your pack, ma’am?” She would ask, refusing to drop the ma’am title because it was her sign of respect that her mother had seemed to embed into her brain. She had called her mom “ma’am mom” even because her mother had still been her leader.

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