White Fir Notch A Bowl of Cherries

@Ishtar

With the children ready to leave the den and start wandering about the notch Emrys was sad to see them growing so fast. There had been times when he'd gone into the den and curled up with them for a short nap in the afternoon. No doubt they would be busy of doing what puppies did at that age. He would be sure to spend as much time as he could with them but they were still too young yet to be teaching things to. That of course wouldn't stop him from having a good play session with them when the occasion arose.

There was however something else that had been on his mind. As he'd observed one of his newest members seeming to stay to herself. This didn't bother the pale leader as he knew it took some time to adjust but he did worry about Ishtar and how she was getting along. He thought it best to go and have a chat with her, perhaps he could set her to a task as he had done with Nauja. That task might help her better acclimate to the pack and maybe get her on track for a role in the pack.

He'd been observing her for a few days and found that she spent some time exploring the notch so he followed her. When. He was sure they were far enough away from the rest of the pack he made his presence known. “Ishtar, may I speak with you?” He asked as he came up beside her.

Ishtar walked alone observing and soaking in her new surroundings, the scents and views were different, but they were apart of her new home and she wanted to make sure she knew every bit of it. But that wasn't the only reason why she did this. She also just wasnt sure what to do in her new home with her new pack mates. Being the daughter of the Alpha in her old pack every wolf just came to her, she was never in this position of being at the starting point of the totem pole so to say in the pack.  

During most of her walk she thought she was alone but something kept telling her she wasn't. A faint familiar smell filled her scenes. When she stopped to look into a small clearing her suspicions were soon validated. She wasn't alone. As she Emyrs's voice her body tensed up. AS he walked up next to her she did everything she could to keep herself calm. She quickly then turned to him when he stopped next to her and bowed to him. Then responded "Y-yes, what can I do for you? Is everything Okay? Are the pups okay?"  Though she wasn't present in the pack very much she still tried to keep up with the happenings of the pack. 

In his time as leader he had come to realize it wasn't always easy being everywhere at once but he was trying to give himself some a little benefit of the doubt. With new pups and only having his position for a couple of months he was still getting into a routine that worked and ensured everything in the pack worked well. One thing that he felt badly for putting off was talking with Ishtar. He didn't like the fact she didn't seem to be adjusting to life in the notch very well. He wanted her to succeed as much as he knew she wanted to.

So he wouldn't put it off any longer because she couldn't go on as she was and he needed to find out what he could do to help her so he followed her. When he approached he tried to be friendly and keep her at ease but she immediately seemed worried that something was wrong. “Everything is fine, I'm sure the pups are sound asleep in the den,” he said with a smile, “I've noticed that you seem a little aloof from the rest of the pack. I want to talk about that,” he said giving her a friendly bump on her shoulder.

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When Emyrys gave Ishtar the friendly bump in her shoulder she felt a little more at ease and a small smile came across her face. He definitely wasnt the kind of strict Alpha like her father was. But when he said he wanted to talk to her about being distant from the pack, her nerves kicked up again. "Well...I...uhh.." She exhaled loudly. If she wanted to the Alpha's to trust her then she was going to need to be honest. The words then started to just flow from her mouth with out stopping."Im scared. Im shy, Im nervous. I dont know if the other wolves would accept me and I dont want to mess anything up or be in the way." She finally paused for a second to take a breath and then began pacing. "I just want to do right. Im not use to being in this kind of position. Where I come from my father was the Alpha so I was never the low wolf in the pack. And i just dont know what to do. And with the pups I know you and Jynx have your paws filled with them, especially after loosing one," She paused again but only for a second so she could give a mental good bye blessing to the young one. She then looked back up and stared at Emrys. She was talking Non stop, and she wasnt filtering what she was saying because she was so nervous. "Oh my, I am so sorry." She began pacing again. but this time no words came out. 

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

Emrys had tried to approach the situation carefully as he was we'll aware of how it would sound. He didn't want the dark beta to think she was in trouble unfortunately he felt that he had failed miserably as she seemed to grow nervous once more even though his bump to her shoulder had seemed to set her at ease. Emrys had learned with Jynx that sometimes it was best to just let the other wolf get it all out. That was what he did with Ishtar then and listened as she spoke or more like rambled as she paced. Emrys watched and listened as she expressed what was going on with her. Then she stopped and apologized.

“There's no need for you to be sorry and you must understand I am not angry with you. I have only brought it up because I feel that I need to do something to help you.” He took that opportunity to explain himself to hopefully help her feel a little better. “There is nothing wrong with the way you feel and in fact it's very understandable. I am sure you won't mess anything up. The other wolves are rather friendly but if you need more time to get to know them a little better you should take it. This is your home now and you need to feel comfortable.” Emrys didn't want to rush her into anything for fear it would drive her away. “A new position does take some time getting used to. I went from being a lone wolf my whole life to beta pretty quick so I do understand. You're a beta now so you're not as low as you think. We do have the pups and our paws are pretty full between them but Ishtar don't ever think we are too busy to take time out to listen and help. We want you to succeed here. Maybe you can start with Jynx see if she needs anything. Have you been hunting?”

Like Nauja he thought if he got Ishtar into something it might make her feel better about her place in the pack. However he felt she needed something a little closer to home.

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Ishtar listened to her Alpha. It did help put her at ease quite a bit when he told her that he understood. Ishtar exhaled and relaxed her self. She walked up to Emrys as he spoke. She then thought about the last time she hunt. "I havent done any kind of major hunt lately. Not since the one time with Nauja. I mean Ive caught my own small prey like squirrels and a rabbit. But nothing major. And I know I need to see Jynx. I just dont want to interfere with her and the pups. Thats all. But maybe taking a job or something might help." Ishtar knew that she was going to have to start taking initiative on things. And with Emrys coming to her and talking to her, it did kind of help a bit. She wanted to do good for this pack, and she really was hoping to find someone to be happy with, like Jynx and Emrys. She wanted what they had. That connection and love for one another. 

Her mind then quickly went to the topic of her doing something for Jynx and Emrys. "You think its possible that Nauja and I could do a job together? I know it might seem weird that I lean on her alot but she helps me with my fears and shes a really good friend. Unless you think I need to work with the other wolves first." It was just an idea. She wanted him to know she was interested in what he offered about talking to Jynx and doing something. She didnt want to seem weak to him either. When Ishtar was on her own, she can handle everything just fine. But when she gets close to someone whether its just as friends or something more, she tends to fall back to her old submissive ways. 

Ooc: Sorry for the wait.

The pale leader tried to convey to his subordinate that he did understand how she was feeling so that hopefully she wouldn't feel she was in trouble. It seemed to work as she spoke about her hunting habits and needing to see Jynx. He rose a brow as it seemed she'd been catching food for herself. “The pups are growing and are now starting to leave the den so I'm​ sure you won't be interfering. She would probably glad for the break of a visitor,” he tried to reassure her before returning to his concerns about her hunting. “Have you been working to help keep the caches full?” She'd spoken of a job and he might have just found one for her but he awaited her answer before proceeding.

All along Emrys had known he wanted to be a leader that listened to his subordinates and took their suggestions into consideration. Her suggestion of working with Nauja on a job was one that he didn't think a bad idea especially as Ishtar went on to explain the help the other female was to her. “I don't think it would be a bad idea for you and Nauja to do something together. If she helps you so much then having her close by might be beneficial until you're feeling more confident.” She did need to start integrating with the rest of the pack but he was willing to give her more time to do so as long as the pack didn't suffer. Nauja seemed a little more outgoing than Ishtar so he hoped that the other female might be able to get Ishtar talking with the other pack members. He did not want to lose the female in front of him as he felt she did have potential to be a very good member of the pack, he just needed to figure out what would be most helpful to her.

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Ishtar listened to her Alpha and responded to  his first question. " I have not been filling the cashes" She lowered her head in disappointment. "Ive just been catching small prey and feeding myself so that way I would take from the cache and from the pups." Ishtar again listened to Emrys. She was glad that he was accepting to how close Nauja and her were. Nauja was Ishtar's anchor. She was the one that gave Ishtar the confidence  that she needed for  anything. But she knew that she needed to finally get  out of her shell and start meeting the other wolves. the others in her family. She looked to Emrys "Can I walk back to the den with you. That is if you're  going back that way?"  Ishtar felt too that if she was seen walking with Emrys that maybe then she could have enough confidence to talk to the other wolves and that hopefully they would be accepting of her even though she has been distant since she was accepted into the pack. 

She wasnt sure how the other wolves  felt about her since she kept herself distant. Some may not trust her since she has been so reserved. And others just may not like her at all. So she wasnt too sure if they would accept her or not and if there was any problems that did happen to occur, then Emrys would be there to help if its needed. 

Hearing that she had been hunting her own prey he worried that she might not be helping with the caches. Being the type to want to know all the fact before making a decision Emrys came out and asked her. Ishtar's answer was disappointing but he gave her the benefit of the doubt since she was a new member and having a hard time adjusting. He wanted to show her fairness and not drive her away, he nodded in response. “I see, I am glad to hear that you are thinking if the pups but you are free to eat from the caches as a member of the pack as long as you are contributing to them. From now on Ishtar I would like for you to try and put something in the cache each day,” he told gently, “However, if you're having a bad day and haven't been able to catch anything it's not a big deal. You just try again the next day” He was sure to tell her this as he remembered how much he'd wanted to catch something everyday and became discouraged when he didn't. The pale healer didn't want this to happen to her.

As they continued to walk he thought about how else he could help her to adjust. Her friendship to Nauja would help but he felt she needed something else to feel like she was a part of the pack. “Before you came to the notch was there anything you particularly enjoyed doing?” He asked curiously. A smile did cross his features when she asked about accompanying him to the den, “Of course, we can head there once we've finished.” He wasn't quite done figuring out the best way to help her.

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