Cedarwood Forest Homing Instinct

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Some of the bounce in her step was gone, somewhere along the way they had lost Cottongrass and no amount of sniffing or howling could find him through the freshly dropped snow. Even now it still nagged at her that he had seemingly vanished without a trace, but with her brother growing more anxious by the day the only course of action was to take him home. Reunions had been brief, she had seen the world outside and she wanted more, so with her mother's blessing and some guidance from Valiant she had returned to the edges of the Lore. From there the directions had been more explicit, easier to follow with none of the flailing she had endured before, and now that she stood here, in the forest where her mothers first met, she understood.

Dull orange eyes roamed up the trunks of trees, wondered where the old bear den might be hiding as her nose took in the scents and her ears swiveled to catch the sounds. Was @Rook really here? For a moment, she almost forgot her manners and stepped right past the scent markers and snow trough that marked a path well traveled, but she caught herself before her paws hit the snow. Backing up with her heart in her throat she wondered if she should howl or if this was enough. Should she just turn around and leave while the going was good? But then why had she come all the way back? The heavy sigh left her chest with a cloud of steam, a slow shake of her head hopefully enough to get her grounded once again. Her howl was low and short, she would wait all day if she had too, for she was certain that leaders had bigger problems than a young wolf yowling at their door. She could be patient, despite the way her paws shifted beneath her. She could do this.

The injured omega paused on her way to the river for a drink, having heard the short call. Cocking her head, she frowned. It almost sounded like an accident without the long, hanging notes. Did the wolf not mean to draw attention to itself after all? Reanalyzing the howl, she felt mostly confident she was a girl.

It was not Pip's habit to greet unfamiliar calls at the borders. Of all the pack wolves, she was the least capable of defending herself both physically and emotionally. It was her instinct to submit to everyone, which didn't suit well for a pack to appear as strong and capable if the first one to greet another flopped over to show her belly. However, most often, it seemed males came to the border. With a female, maybe she wouldn't be so intimidated. The chances were slim, but she was willing to give it a try. Especially since with that short of a howl, the others may not have heard her.

The mute trotted with a broken gait, her shoulder still causing substantial pain that she remained hesitant to allow full treatment. In part, she shouldered it as punishment for causing chaos within the pack. Were it not for her, all would be well still. Since that day, pack bonds had been tenuous at best. Of course, Pip was particularly sensitive to the moods of her packmates, constantly on vigil for how to alleviate tension. Maybe the others didn't notice anymore. It all still bothered her though.

Spotting the wolf just outside the borders, Pip kept her head down and gave a friendly wag of her tail, chirping out to alert the female to her presence. She felt like she should get closer, but was honestly too nervous. It was just far enough from the others that if something happened, the pack wouldn't get to her in time.

Well it hadn't been terribly decisive but at least she had made her presence known, however settling herself down was impossible. Ears swiveled with every breeze through the boughs overhead, and each skitter of vermin underfoot. Anxiety mounted as she questioned herself again and again, just why she was here? Footsteps. She fought down the urge to regurgitate her last mean of frozen fur and bones. This was no time to panic! But she was beginning to wish she had bought some sort of gift.

When finally a wolf came into view, Vic tried to lower her head more than the small woman, her own tail snapping between her heels in greeting. Usually, she wouldn't think to posture herself so lowly but there was something about the woman's stance and posture that reminded her a whole lot of her mother(s), and so she responded as other pack mates would, incredibly gently. She whined out a friendly wordless greeting in response to the chirp, trusting it was sign enough that someone else would be along soon. Her chin dragged through the snow, cheek pressing into the ground, although her rump remained rather high. Perhaps to pass the time they would be able to romp a little? It was with that thought that her nose detected the hint of herbs and dried blood and she froze in her invitation. "Are you okay?" She questioned with concern, words partially muffled by the way her face was pressed into the snow.

Pip wagged her tail more when the other wolf responded in kind, but paused and found herself mortified when the female lowered her head beneath hers. A small voice of panic chimed in her head. Get down, get down, get down now. Lower. She's lower than you! Don't let her submit! She shouldn't be submitting! You're not worth submitting to! The mute panted with anxiety, flopping down nervously in the snow, bum and all. It felt wholly unnatural to see another react that way to her presence.

Please someone else come quickly, she thought with horror. At least with another pack wolf around, the stranger would have a reason to have her face in the snow like that. Maybe...maybe she should pace back to the den and make sure the others were coming. Someone would have heard, right??

The concern in the stranger's voice let Pip know she'd scented her wound. The mute sighed. Maybe now the other girl would stand so she wouldn't have to grovel so lowly. Peeking over, she found herself only disappointed. No such luck.

She gave another chirp, this time directed back into Grizzly Hollow territory, hoping to hurry along anyone who might already be on their way as it was unlikely the bird-like call would reach them all the way at the den. Miserably, Pip's tail managed to tuck between her legs while she lay in the snow and she waited for a packmate with unease.

It wasn't often that Nineva bothered to make herself known to those who beckoned at the border. The pack's leadership was swift enough in handling such situations. However, in this particular instance, the young woman was nearby and recent events had heightened her protective desires. Without much thought toward all of it, she changed her direction and padded off toward the howl's source.

As she moved through the forest, she could smell Pip's presence and while her latest tweet hadn't sounded as though she were immediately in danger, there was an anxiety to it that any of her pack mates would have picked up on. Nineva picked up the pace, snow crepitateing underfoot, until she could begin to see them through the trees.

It was a girl roughly within a year of Nineva's age, displaying playfully kind posture. The alpha's protege relaxed, and as she entered the scene to see Pip flattened into the white drifts, she realized the problem. Stepping directly overtop her pack mate, Nineva clamped her jaws over the omega's muzzle and growled affectionately, reassuring her before moving on.

"How may I help you?" she offered to the stranger, head high but eyes kind.

Vic missed the sound of the other wolf approaching too wrapped up in concern for the brown wolf that seemed to be trying to vanish in the snow. Her concerned while was met with a foreign growl, eyes finally finding the monochrome girl who seemed to be reassuring her original greeter. Victoria allowed her rump to hit the snow, tail sweeping wide archs behind her, "She reminds me of my mothers... I just didn't want to scare her." She explained with a shy smile, eyes slipping somewhere off the pack wolf's shoulder. Her ears were turned back submissively, nerves clear in the tight edge of her smile.

She looked over the trees once more. "They used to live here, but they're at the Reach now," She wasn't even sure this girl would know of the history of the place - the wolves that walked here before them. "I was-" She almost mentioned Avery, but he was back at home now wasn't he? "I was hoping to join," she finally recovered, a weight lifted from her shoulders with the words now out there. She wasn't sure if this wolf was the leader, or if anyone she knew lived here at all, but she wanted to walk where her parents had walked and have a chance to live a part of her history. All she could do now was wait to see what else was asked of her.

@Nineva's arrival brought with her an intense relief. Pip thought it a little strange how she once thought the younger female hadn't cared for her presence when she seemed to be finding her more and more these past few days whether to offer comfort or back up. While another may have found her current position humiliating, Pip was immediately reassured by the wolf's presence, by her firm muzzle grab, and by the way she stood over her. Others may feel it to be dominant. The mute felt it to be protective.

The gray female had a powerful understanding and inclination for leadership, Pip thought with approval. She moved to comfort her own packmate before addressing a stranger. Oddly enough, it helped to bridge some of the gap Pip had been placing between herself and the pack, repairing a fractured bond.

With the other wolf now sitting, Pip was able to lift herself out of the snow and remain silently in the background as Nineva took charge. The mute's ears fell back with embarrassment that the strange female had made to reassure her even if her actions had done the complete opposite. She couldn't have known though. Pip wouldn't hold it against her and was simply glad the moment was over.

With rapt interest, the Mizuno listened of the other wolf's...mothers? Confused by that, she tilted her head a little. Was it like the Macieo children having both a Daddy and a Papa and a Mama? Pip wagged her tail a little, swishing it across the surface of the snow when the female requested to join. She seemed kind enough that the little mute wouldn't be opposed.

There was nothing incriminating about this wolf's presence, her posture amiably submissive. The word mothers earned a forward tilt from her ears. Had she not gone up around Rook and Veho's indiscrepancies, the plurality of it might have shocked and confused her. As it was, she simply dismissed the information. None of her business, anyways. But then, the girl explained a connection and Nineva's curiosity was then piqued. Used to live here, and now were at the Reach? She had to wonder if this woman was of Lyall blood. This did, after all, seem to be their Mecca. Was she here to visit, to carry a message?

Ah, no; to join.

It was not her place to dole out such a judgment, but it would be one day, and as @Veho and @Yvly seemed to be delayed, Nineva determined that she would ask some questions in the meantime.

"Is that why? To live your parents' history?" she asked, almost conversationally though that natural authority she had grown into still remained.

"Would you just be with us temporarily, then?"

Did she even know, really, what she was looking for? Or had she just gotten itchy paws and let her whims lead the way? An interesting way to live, perhaps a lifestyle Nineva herself would have taken up had the Caverns never fallen.

Sorry guys, she's gonna bounce and this will be her exit. Thanks for the thread!

She may have been hoping to join but it was evident with each passing minute that that would not be the case. If the leaders weren't inclined to come to the borders then she was simply wasting everyone's time. Apologetically the girl dipped her head, offering answers to the silver one's questions, "Not so much, I want to make my own way, but with all that I had been told I thought it would be a good place to start..." Her tone betrayed her anxiety, a small smile given to the omega as she thought over the second question, "Mmm, no. I had planned on staying..." Had. But with no leader appearing she would have to re-evaluate.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time." She offered the small apology with a dip of her head, her tail tucking as she began her steady retreat. It would seem she had either chosen a bad day and time, or they had no intention of adding another to their ranks. It was a stab in the gut to be truthful but she couldn't let it get her any more down than having to return Avery home. She was going to make it, one way or the other. She was sure there was someone, somewhere that had room for her.

@Nineva impressed Pip more and more every day. Though she was no Alpha, she could certainly carry herself with that presence whenever the situation called for it. The younger girl knew how to take charge and didn't seem to mind to responsibility that came with it. She even cared for the mute of her own free will more than once. While Pip knew the yearling had aspirations to lead her own pack one day, the agouti female was glad to have her as a packmate until that time came. She was a good wolf. A wonderful wolf.

The stranger's tone quickly appeared sad to Pip's ears and she tilted her head curiously. So she did not think Grizzly Hollow was a great place to start after all? Why? What had Nineva said? Had it been that she had not spoken? Oh, she hoped that was not the reason. More likely, it was that something was keeping Veho and Yvly, she imagined.

Pip's ears drooped a little, crestfallen by the prospect of losing a packmate she had not even gained yet. But the female seemed so nice - she'd wanted to get to know her better. As the other turned away, Pip stepped forward and offered a soft chirp to bid her goodbye, her tail wagging while her eyes remained soft and welcoming in the hopes that she may change her mind. She hadn't even given her name! Maybe one day, they would have the chance to meet again. She looked forward to the day.