White Fir Notch Bloom In The Night

(( Aimed towards @Gent but anybody and everybody is welcome to jump in <3 I wasn't sure about sleeping habits so if she was wrong to find a den just yell at her ;) ))

Her first night here had been a little odd -- she didn't know if the pack slept together or not, but she hadn't thought about it before finding her own den in the form of a hollow log, stashing the herbal-stuffed rabbit skin inside and zonking out for the night -- if only because she wasn't used to the scent of wolves so around her in the night anymore. Even back on the shore, she'd shared a den with Cas and Cas only: she couldn't remember sharing a sleeping space with anyone besides him and her siblings though -- and the remnant memories of a mother, somewhere far back -- not even when she'd gone to see her real family. 

Now she was approaching her second night here, but the flower still didn't know the proper customs for the pack -- hell, the nearly white femme didn't even realize she might be doing something wrong, staying away from the pack -- and settled just beside the tree you could hardly tell was occupied save for the dip in the ground where she'd widened the opening. It would make a good den, a good herbal store, she assumed, seeing as it was out of the elements and somewhat hard to find. 

For what felt like the millionth time, Witch wondered about the scents she found around the territory -- four males and six females, three of which were puppies -- and when she would meet everyone behind them. A few, yes, she knew she'd already talked to, but the majority? Not even close. Then and there Witchhazel made it her duty to meet and befriend everyone here, alphas included. Not only could it benefit her one day, she truly craved the interaction and the care that a tight-knit pack could bring her. 

The pack typically sleeps together in what used to be a bear den. Hazel is more than welcome to have her own den though, its up to her. <3

he comes, he comes; judge so severe

It was always in a leader's best interest to be just the least bit paranoid. Anticipating the worst kept you from being crippled by it should it come, and Gent was well aware that this little swell in membership could easily vanish come Spring, if not before. Yet he would not make assumptions on the newcomers' character, nor look down upon them for wanting survival. What mattered was that they had more hunters and guardians on the ground to keep the pack strong and the children cared for, and should they be few once more when the season turned, so be it. He was prepared for anything. While they were here, however, a solitary personality would not be tolerated. That lesson had been well learned with Merys, and the king was determined that he would never know so little about one of his own again.

It was with this mindset that he find himself checking up on Witchhazel, @Ambrosia and even @Nascha most of all. Joining them as they completed their duties, encouraging their presence amongst the group, and in the newest member's case, seeking her out now to better get to know her. On his heels was his daughter, Lucia, always her father's shadow. She was always just as eager, though for different reasons. There was very little the leviathan would shelter her from, and her own pack was certainly not one of them. She would learn as he did who exactly this newest addition was.

They moved through the white drifts, the king plowing the path for his princess, her runtish size offering both benefits and drawbacks when it came to dashing through the snow. His snow twitched as it drew in the frigid air, searching for the woman in question's scent. She hadn't joined the pack the night before, and he had not been so nosey as to track down where she'd gone. It was up to her whether or not she would integrate herself into the Notch, and the first night was always difficult for those who had been on their own for long. It took time to acclimate, after all, and he could manage the tzedakah of allotting her some. This left him guessing now, however, at least until his lungs finally filled with the hint of her presence.

A chuff instructed Lucia not to dally as he picked up his pace, eager on pinning down Witchhazel's whereabouts before she slipped out of range. Thankfully, she was relatively close and the duo found her quickly as she remained in place. When his pale eyes caught sight of her, it was only thanks to the vibrant splashes of rust that adorned her coat. The rest seemed to blend with the snowy landscape until he was closer. She certainly was an oddly colored thing, perhaps their most unique.

"Witchhazel," he greeted as he drew close enough for conversation. This place smelled particularly strongly of her, and he could only assume that, "this is where you disappeared to?"

seven trumpets speak, oh they speak him near

With each wolf that moved in with them, Lucia was beginning to realize the spectrum of what they might look like was not so limited as she originally thought. Initially, it had been only black, white or her mother's tawny. Now they had wolves with their faces torn up and eyes that didn't match and she was just waiting for one of them to have spots as blue as @Ryker's eyes. In other words, the more she saw and was exposed to, not just in the variations of wolf pelts but life on the whole, the less the world impressed and surprised her. Which meant getting her thrills would take more too, leading her to develop into more and more of a handful for her parents with every passing month.

Not that she wasn't a good child, dutifully following her father's pawsteps now. In fact, when it came down to it and the list was checked twice to find out who's naughty and nice, Lucia was certain she was on the latter's side. She helped out, she kept @Aleris from getting too big a swelled head and Ryker from being too big of a baby. She was mama's angel when it called for it and she'd even done her part to keep their borders free from ragamuffins (because the Notch was not a tzedakah). Nevermind that sometimes she bit too hard when wrestling, had a big mouth and didn't always mind the rules. That was all trivial.

Prancing happily behind the king, the bottle-brush coated runt was excited to get where they were going and do another nice thing. She'd been told, along with the rest of the pack, that a woman had joined them the day before. While the others would have gone to at least say their welcomes, however, she had stayed behind with a few others to continue their usual business. This would be the first she would actually speak with Witchhazel, and not just throw her a nod in passing. She hoped the girl would be as fun as @Sylva or as knowledgeable as @Jynx. Something that would make it worthwhile to hang out with her or work at her side.

While the rest of her might've been able to hide from sight, that red in her coat was strikingly easy to spot. Lucia woofed to the other wolf to let her know they were around, drawing up to her father's side now even though that required a bit more effort to move through the unbroken snow. Gent spoke the lady's name, and the young girl's nose wriggled. What a funny thing to be called. She was so thankful for Lucia, simple and easy to say while still sounding nice.

"Do we call you Witch for short?" her own question chased the alpha's, gold eyes bright with interest. Witch, now that would be a cool name. Not only did the word itself sound snappy, but it could be intimidating. Bad ass, she would say when her father wasn't listening.

Witch was nibbling boredly at her paws when Gent showed up, and she turned her blue and green gaze to the large ebony man with a smile of greeting -- at first, she didn't notice the little girl following after, but when said child woofed a hello, Witchhazel's eyes flickered to the ticked pelted youth and lit up in joy. It was an honour, Witch knew, to be allowed so close to a cub with as new as she was to the pack, and the newcomer made no move to stand to whom she saw as superiors -- even if only one was technically -- from beside the den. The leaders question rang around her thickly, and though it spiked a hidden anxiety that shed done something wrong, Witch kept her cool and simply nodded. 

                              "Am I supposed to be elsewhere, alpha? Where I grew up, we made our own dens -- does White Fir Notch function differently?"

Lucia's question prompted another grin from the rust-frosted Quinzel's maw, and the fae nodded to her, too. She'd collected a few nicknames in her years of life, and she gave these to the pup in case she deemed one of them more worthy. And why not give her the option to come up with a new one? A new nickname seemed fitting in a new home, right? There was no harm, at least -- though there were some she didn't mention in preference to keeping them specific to people in her timeline, Witchhazel had to admit the excitement that came with possibly getting a brand new alias in the Notch. 


                                                       "Yes you can: Witch, Sel, Hazel.... Whatever you prefer or come up with." 

Tossing Jynx in here.
<3

 

Reach for the stars

Having heeded the advice of Emrys, their new medic, Jynx wisely did not rush her recovery. Her ankle had been feeling better and stronger with each week that passed. But as the cold air of winter set in, along with the layers of snow, she also began to develop a new perspective. One which was perhaps, unwarranted. Paranoia. This had been the second time she had injured that leg, which now gave her good reason to be more cautious than ever. She patrolled, she returned to hunting small prey, and she exercised and stretched. But not to the extent of her full and former capacity. Sure, she could have thrown caution to the wind, but out of fear that her leg was still not yet completely healed, she held back.

Her ears dipped down against her head, brows knitting together while a frown of contemplation marked her lips. She would have to consult with Emrys on this matter, or perhaps Sylva or even Gent. With her desire to rise to become the packs top hunter as strong as ever, the idea of being handicapped in even the slightest, did not sit well with the russet female. What was more pleasing news, was the addition of several new wolves. One a male, whom she had yet to meet. Another, a female, who had been accepted just days earlier. Winter was one of her favorite times of year; it made her feel social and bouncy. Who didn't like plowing through the snow and dissecting all the interesting scents it could bring?

Curious as to who this newcomer was, and why her scent was not entwined with the others at the communal den, Jynx set out to pinpoint her origin. Being new was hard, as she had learned from past experiences. But the Notch was a group of social, tight knit, welcoming wolves. The very least she could do was try and make Witchazel feel welcome. The snow was laced with several scents, guiding her to a tucked away corner of the territory. As she drew closer, the plowed path in the snow served as a clear sign that Gent and his daughter, Lucia, were also interested in the whereabouts of the new wolf in the pack. With a gentle, happy chuff, she drew up alongside her ebony leader, yellow eyes peering down at the distinctly colored female. With a shake of her head, Jynx replied to her question. "We encourage everyone to share the same sleeping quarters, to strengthen the bond of the pack." She smiled easily then. "But we would never force such a thing. I also have a private den of my own, for when I need a little more space." 

 

wow i am so sorry this took so long

It was always a little odd assimilating new members to the pack's way of living. Coming from a different home often meant a largely different lifestyle, and it showed so clearly right off the bat. That was his main function when it came to recruits, was to make sure that the transition was smooth and that newcomers fit into the cogwork to keep the machine running at peak performance. Gathering his haunches beneath him he reclined, ready to settle in and do his job in better getting to know the woman.

"Just Gent is fine, Hazel," he told her with a small smile, picking out his own choice of nickname for her as well. Before he could answer her question, however, his mate's beta joined them and beat him to the punch. His pale eyes regarded her from their corners as she spoke, and when she was done speaking he leaned over to knock her muzzle with his in warm greeting.

"In other words, you're just gonna be lonely and cold out here. I don't expect you to jump right in if it makes you uncomfortable, but I think you'll find the communal den a lot more pleasing."

After Merys, Gent didn't much want another wolf that kept their distance from the pack. It had made him curious before with the hunter, but now he knew it to be a red flag. Still, Hazel's situation was clearly understandable, and he couldn't expect her to change life-long habits in the blink of an eye.

"This is Lucia, my daughter," he introduced, moving on from the subject lest the woman feel she was being scolded for anything. That certainly wasn't the case. He also wouldn't jump to any assumptions over whether or not Jynx had already sought out their new member and introduced herself before, and so he did not throw out her name for her.

"How've you been settling in?"

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Or come up with? Lucia latched onto that, the lighting of her eyes asseverateing that she was indeed interested in trying her paw at creating a new name for the woman. Yet, she wasn't the most creative of children, and nothing popped immediately into her mind. She decided that it was something she would work on, and for now she'd settle for the still-awesome nickname of Witch.

Shortly after, Jynx joined them, and Lucia's tail wagged with joy at seeing the woman. They were all talking about where everyone slept at night, and that was pretty boring. After all, shouldn't it have been obvious that they'd sleep together? Witch had mentioned her pack did things differently, and Lucia thought that was just weird. Why would wolves sleep separately? For a girl who only knew her own world, it was difficult to wrap her mind around something so different.

But whatever. When her father introduced her, the runt puffed her chest out and grinned at Witch. She had her own batch of questions for the woman, but she knew to let the adults get their say in first, so she remained quiet and listened instead, waiting for an opening or, if she got lucky, for Witch to engage her.

Gent was a kind and understanding leader, settling back into a sit to talk to her in a more friendly way rather than an alpha looming over a subordinate, insisting his name was enough for her to address him by.

It was not the three of them long -- another woman of russet and white joined the side of the dark alpha -- and for what was not the first time, Witchhazel felt a little cramped. It'd been a long while since she'd been very social -- even longer since it wasn't her family she was being social with -- and coupled with the already unnerving feeling she wasn't fitting in brought her sitting up, tail curling around her paws in a very feline way. It was this female, however, that gave an answer to her question, to which Gent added.

                     "Not at all, Gent -- I'll join you all tonight, and continue sleeping there." 

Her voice was soft enough -- perhaps softer in her nervousness -- and smooth, but her bicolored eyes betrayed her nerves in the way she kept her gaze below the older wolves.

It was here, however, she caught another sight of Lucia -- the pup and her wagging tail was too much to be anything but thrilled about. Witch easily noted the confusion on the young female's face before she was introduced, but it swiftly turned into pride. 

                                                         "Hello, Lucia -- you look like you have something to say." 

How was Witch settling in? Gent's question made her stop and think -- she missed her home, wished to fit in here, wanted to showcase her skills, but all around was still nervous around so many.... But she was happier than she'd been in a long time. Tipping her head, she finally set her blue and green eyes to the alpha -- or, more accurately, his chin.

                                                                                                   "Its a little.... full, considering I've been a loner for a while, but it's nothing I haven't once been a part of and can't adapt to. I want to feel at home here, to be part of the family."