Stonewatch Timbers I have wandered all this way...

ooc: Say hello to my precious cinnamon roll, already 50% done with all things small and fluffy.

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It was already past noon, and still she had found no suitable prey. There were squirrels, sure, but the little hairballs were impossibly fast and she was wandering on an empty stomach. If she could just find one bony old hare somewhere around here, she might not have to go to sleep without anything in her belly - not that she hadn't done so before. But she doubted she would find any scraps around here that weren't being guarded by something bigger, stronger, or quicker than she was, so sleeping hungry didn't seem like an entirely great idea.

Still, she was tired. Resting for a moment probably wouldn't hurt much; she could regain a little strength and then move on again, and hopefully this time find something too old or slow or weak to run away. At this point, she'd take just about anything, even if that happened to be a few measly leavings from someone else's kill. Food was the only way she was going to keep surviving.

She sat down under a large tree (one of many, but this one was hers, at least until she moved) and closed her eyes for a moment. She wouldn't sleep, but frankly there didn't seem to be any danger in relaxing a little. She hadn't encountered any living thing for several days - at least, nothing except bony old hares and sickly little squirrels and those stupid birds that sounded like they were laughing at her.

Maybe one of those stupid birds would land nearby and try laughing at her now. A good lunge might be enough for her to snag a quick snack.

(This post was last modified: Jul 31, 2015, 12:10 AM by Calanthe.)

These days, Gent more often than not stayed close to home. The only instance in recent time that he had venture far was when, upon discovering the three-legged man's absence, he had frantically searched for Lugh, following his confusing scent until it disappeared completely and he'd been left with not a single answer and million questions. No, given the unfortunate situation his pack was in, the unexplainable departure of his beta and their only titled medic, the fear instilled by Vitani's attack still lingering and his concern for the children's safety growing with each progression of age they made, Gent could not afford to wander far from home.

If something were to happen to any of them, regardless of the situation, he would only have himself to blame.

Occasionally, however, he would branch out from his domain and explore the outlying reaches of the timbers, intending to ensure that nothing was lurking in the darker corners, biding its time. This was the intention that brought him to discover Calanthe's existence.

He smelled her long before anything else, her scent having traveled quite a ways due to the convenience of the direction of the wind weaving through the forest. Pursuing it like prey, he made sure she would not notice his arrival until he wanted her to, completely unaware that given the nap she was currently intent on taking, this feat would've taken much less effort than he was putting in. When he finally saw her, tucked away against the trunk of a particularly old pine and blended like a chameleon in with the nature around her, he felt mildly more relaxed. She was much smaller than him, to begin with, and he would be catching her off guard. Overall, he had the upperhand and if she proved to be ill tempered, he had confidence he could chase her away and give her enough reason to stay away.

"Get up," he instructed, voice not unkind but also non lenient. He was the king of this forest, and she would do best to heed his commands.

(This post was last modified: Jul 31, 2015, 05:34 PM by Gent.)

Calanthe jumped at the sudden command and scrambled onto her feet, turning to face whoever had snuck up on her.

Oh, that was another wolf.

There was another wolf standing in front of her.

And he was... a very dominant-looking other wolf.

Half-forgotten etiquette kicked in a second later. That was a dominant wolf, and she was... was the daughter of a subordinate wolf. Yes. He had never been a part of her pack, but the principals were the same regardless. The skinny she-wolf immediately lowered her body and curled her tail between her legs, averting her eyes from him and flattening her ears out.

Another wolf. Weeks uncounted of wandering and she'd finally managed to find another wolf.

...Oh. Oh, that probably meant this was his territory. Which she had attempted to hunt in. And then nearly taken a nap in. All without ever even announcing herself or asking permission.

Ooooohhhh...

"If... this is part of your territory, I'm sorry for the intrusion," she managed after a moment. Talking was an odd challenge after so much time alone. Food and water and those stupid birds weren't exactly great conversationalists. "I haven't taken any prey. I was only passing through."

She could feel her legs trembling and hoped he couldn't see it. Bad enough that he could probably hear the nerves in her voice - and they were really just simple nerves, certainly not born of fear or desperation. That was ridiculous. She was tired, not afraid.

She didn't quite believe herself.

(This post was last modified: Aug 05, 2015, 02:54 AM by Calanthe.)

Her response was swiftly and genuinely submissive, which went far lengths in pleasing the great beast. The harshness of his demeanor began to smooth slowly into something a little more amiable, though still far from being representative of the word itself. After all, any wolf could act, and he would not be caught of guard and made a fool of. Not in his own forest, nor anywhere else in the world.

Ears swiveling appropriately to catch her buzzing words, his facial features did not shift a smidgen from the stoic gaze that had befallen her. His eyes roamed freely, unabashed as they looked her over for information: injuries, weaknesses, strengths, emotion. All of it mattered and little escape his analyzation. As this was done, it allowed for a moment's pause between her apologies and his answer.

"Not quite mine," he answered, smooth voice rumbling through the air. "but close enough to be of my concern. Passing through from where, to where?" He very much indeed considered it his business to know.

Where had she come from? Where was she going? That question brought Calanthe up short. How in the world was she supposed to answer that when she didn't even really know where she was right now? All she had done was wander aimlessly, following food more than anything. She was surprised she hadn't stumbled into any competing predators yet; that was probably more dumb luck than anything.

"I... From lands further to the... east." Was that right? How could she be entirely sure...?

No. No, she was right after all. She had kept the rising sun to her back most of the time. She must have travelled west, so she must have come from the east. But as far as where she intended to finally wind up... "I... do not really have any... particular destination in mind."

Which sounded even worse when she said as much out loud. This wolf was going to chase her out, she was sure of it. She wouldn't want some bedraggled stranger wandering near her pack's lands, especially not one this covered in dust and leaf litter from who knew how many failed rabbit hunts and trembling from exhaustion (and absolutely not fear) and skinny enough that it showed through her fur.

Suddenly staying put in the fire-ravaged remains of her old home was beginning to sound as though it would have been the wiser idea. At least there was no one left there would might have thought she was some beggar dragging herself through for scraps...

(This post was last modified: Aug 05, 2015, 02:51 AM by Calanthe.)

She was certainly unsure of herself, which helped the king to relax. While she could have been a very well practiced little actress, the chance was highly unlikely and while cautious, the man was far from paranoid. He eased into a seated position, bottle brush tail laying lazily at his side. Those icey eyes of his began to melt from guarded to thoughtful as he began to regard the possibilities that lay before her inside of this woman. She was young, lacking confidence, most likely inexperienced in most areas of responsibility. Yet all of that could be remedied with a mutually beneficial situation. Could.

"Relax," he instructed. "If I've got nothing to fear from you, then you have nothing to fear from me."Once more, he was looking her over, as was his right as the most dominant force between the two of them. This time, he focused completely on seeking out her strengths and weaknesses, assessing just exactly how useful she might prove to be to him. Her actual wishes were distant but present factors in his mind, and thus he continued the conversation as though they were all that mattered to him.

"If you don't know where, do you at least know what you're looking for? Can I ask why you're out here alone, instead of with a pack?" and then, as an afterthought, "it doesn't look like you're faring all too well."

Calanthe took a deep breath, although she wasn't sure whether or not she should sit down. Her instincts told her that, no, that probably wasn't the best thing to do at the moment. For one, he'd only told her to relax, not to sit; it wouldn't be smart to accidentally insult him by assuming something he hadn't told her. For another, if she did sit down, how did she know her legs wouldn't seize up after holding this submissive stance for so long?

"I'm certainly no threat, sir." How could she be? She was a half-starved bag of bones who barely remembered how to act around other wolves, and this was a much larger, stronger, healthier wolf who acted very much as though he owned the place. As close to each other as they were, she doubted even her quickest sprint could help her get away from him if things turned violent. (Besides that, she wasn't in anywhere near her best condition, even ignoring the fact that her new "best" was a feeble shadow of her best when she was full-fed.)

His questions hit her like physical blows to the chest, and in some quiet part of her mind she watched herself flinch in response.

"I don't... have a pack." She glanced down on reflex to make sure that sudden, biting pain was in fact only in her mind. "There was a fire - we didn't have time..." She floundered for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing on. "I've been wandering away from... from my old territory since then, trying to find shelter. And food."

She glanced along her side again, scrutinizing herself more closely. "I've done as well as I could manage, sir. Maybe an older wolf would have done better."

She was genuine, and Gent could very much appreciate that. Watching her heed his advice and unwind a little bit, he was reminded once again of the differences between himself now and the wolf he had been a year ago. From the time he was raised all the way through fighting to keep Hollow Heart Keep and its members alive, Gent had only respected those who worked from an angle. Since his inadvertent hiatus from the Lore, and returning to swear his allegiance to Minka and her tribe, he had become fond of the opposite of his past mentors. Those who remained with the pack, specifically Raela, Cessair and @Minka herself were nothing more than what they presented, honest, hard working and dedicated to each other. This was now what he sought in others, this was what he trusted. And now, more than ever, he needed wolves he could trust.

He listened to her story, not at all surprised by the violence of it. She'd lost her family to fire, a clear explanation for her shaken demeanor and lack of direction. They had been taken from her suddenly, horrifically, and was clearly still reeling from the loss. Despite the measure of tragedy in what she had just revealed, however, not a single drop of pity tainted the pools of his pale blue eyes. These things happened indiscriminately every day, and he remained as firm as always in the belief that it was not where you came from, but where you were going that mattered.

"You're alive. That's a testament to something," he offered, and that he meant. There had been a lot of options given to her when she found herself the sole survivor of a disaster, including giving up on the spot and allowing depression to consume and destroy her. Instead, despite her obvious inexperience, she was doing the best she could to stay alive and endure, utterly alone. It was exactly the kind of spirit that he wanted to foster and keep close.

"I like you," the king stated bluntly. "How would you feel about having a new home? With others who would help build you back up and teach you to thrive?" It wasn't yet an offer, for this interview was not over; instead, it was just as he had asked, a question of her thoughts on the matter.

His praise was appreciated, though it cast only a dim light on her present situation. Alive, sure, but what did that count for when she was barely scraping by? It wasn't really living so much as surviving. Barely. In fact, "clinging to the ability to breathe" was actually probably an incredibly accurate description.

Her ears perked up at his next words, and for a split second she glanced up at him before remembering herself and looking away again. A new home? The idea seemed foreign to her. Home didn't exist for her anymore. She had beds. Shelters. The occasional alcove. She left home behind, buried under ashes and a sky so choked with smoke that it had taken days of travel for it to turn from filthy brown to clean, healthy blue again.

Was he offering her a home now? Did he have that to offer? ...Yes, he must. He carried himself like somebody who was used to having others at his command. He must have a pack of his own.

Still... she hesitated. This would be an extreme change from her current life, and change... A warmer summer than usual had brought fire and death and homelessness. One spark had been all it had taken for everything to change for the worse. This might not be any different, though it seemed so much more promising than a dry summer. It was a change. Change was... dangerous.

"I... I certainly need to change something," she slowly admitted. "A home... a pack... I could fare much better if I wasn't alone." If she had routine, structure, order, a clear sense of who stood where - no, that couldn't be so bad.

She was hesitant, but that didn't surprise him at all. So much upheaval in one's life could easily make them skittish in regards to any sort of change, even if it was clearly for the better. Regardless, she didn't know a thing about himself nor the pack he represented. It was wise not to jump into a commitment without thorough knowledge. Her choices, however, weren't so open at the moment. Wanting to do his best to assist the girl before him, he chose to speak at length about the subject in order to aid her thought process.

"Constant hunger and exhaustion will hold you back, but given a year or few, you'll adapt and eventually thrive on your own. That's if something or someone doesn't pick you off first," he stated, not with the intent of scaring her but of simply laying out the facts. "You might not be a natural at solitude, but you're surviving. You've been through something horrible and you're still pressing on, fighting to live. That's not a choice everyone would make, and fewer still would have the mettle to actually continue. As much as you feel like you're failing, I think you've proven quite a bit about yourself already."

It wasn't usual for him to give out so much praise, but he felt that she needed the guidance toward light. The flame that was bidding her onward could very well be close to flickering out, for all he knew, and the resultingly squandered potential would be quite the shame.

"My pack is within these mountains, and we have plenty of room to grow. It could be your new home, if you're willing," finally, it was an official offer, but not without its stipulations; "but it's not charity. We'll help you to gain your strength back, teach you all that you want to know about life, but only if you can commit yourself in return. We have children to protect and nurture, and our life on the crest is hardworking. Dedicated. You must be too."

Perhaps it was coming on strong, perhaps it would scare her off. If so, then he supposed he didn't want the girl at his side anyways. These were trying times, and while the pack was in need, it was in need of those it could depend on.

"I think you could meet these expectations quite finely, though. Do you?"