Fool's Gold Chasm well-mannered gardens and well-tempered seas

Backdated to 2/14, this is for @Wrynn to ask to join FGC. @Adelard

Leviticus knew this was far overdue, but he had wanted Wrynn to be able to start his time with the Cavern not just physically healthy but mentally as well. To just throw him into it after what he'd been through and expect him to be able to function was unfair, and so Levi had spent the past few weeks between his pack and his friend instead of immediately asking for the other to follow him home.

He still tended to the medicinal den, happy to find it no worse for wear due to his absence, and tried to be more present for his pack mates too. To actually get to know all of them, not just one. As such, they'd gotten his evenings and nights - Wrynn had his mornings. He would bring him trinkets and food from time to time, but mostly Levi would talk with the other wolf while walking, hunting or foraging.

Today, his patient-turned-companion had been clear; he felt ready to ask the Chasm's leader for acceptance. Confident that Wrynn had what it took to be a fine pack mate, Levi lead him to the territory's metaphorical door and did the knocking. Tilting back his head, he sent out a call requesting Adelard's presence specifically. When the song faded completely, he took a calming breath before flashing the wolf at his side an encouraging grin.

"Adelard's really nice, even when you think he won't be. You're gonna do great."

Wrynn had come to hold Levi in very high regard after the tawny male had pretty much nursed him back to health, and then continued to keep in touch for the weeks after that. It had become a sort of routine: Levi would show up in the morning with food and other odd things and they'd hang out for a while, then his friend would leave for the remainder of the day, leaving Wrynn to lay in wait for his return. He had been hesitant to join Levi's pack for so long, afraid that if he stayed he wouldn't ever find his family again, but spending all this time with Levi had made him realise that perhaps there was more to life than just his family.

And that's how he ended up at the pack border alongside Levi, head bent downwards as he stood as close to his friend without actually touching their sides together. Wrynn glanced sideways as Levi spoke, glad for the comforting tone and words, even as his ears continued to remain slightly pulled backwards. What if this Adelard decided he wasn't good enough? Then he wouldn't be able to be with Levi anymore, and that thought terrified him too much to think any more on it.

"What... what do I say?" He blinked owlishly up at his friend, running his tongue over his lips nervously. Even if the leader was nice, Wrynn had no idea how to go about... whatever they were doing. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to conduct himself while requesting to join a pack, but he supposed it started with looking confident.

He managed to lift his head up and straighten his legs, but his tail was still firmly tucked beneath him as he peered around with wide eyes, wondering how long it would take Adelard to show up.

Coming up on the last legs of Winter and the arrival of the coupling season, Adelard was already tense.  The party he had allowed to visit Sanguine Cove was due to come home soon. He was on pine needles just waiting for their return. The sooner his little pack - his little family, really - was complete again, the better.

When Levi's call came up somewhere in the forest in front of him, he picked up his pace. A wild imagination had him thinking the Medic's patient would be tall, burly, and dark. A teasing sense of dark humor entertained the idea that Huddy had taken up a moniker to plan a surprise return. Levi could have been forced into such a game, Adelard was sure of it. He had thought of it once or twice, but his moral compass knew it would only drive the healer away.

What he stumbled upon was a pair of tawny brutes, small in stature, but becoming even so. The Leader prowled forward as he greeted them with narrowed eyes. For Levi's sake, he gave his mottled coat a shake, then straightened and shifted his weight... anything to make himself seem more amicable despite his shortening temper.

He looked from one to the other, his gaze settling on Levi despite addressing them both, "Gentlemen."

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

What do I say? Wrynn asked him, and Levi responded with a bright smile.

"The truth," he answered with a confidence he rarely ever showed in himself.

"You wanna live with us, and you're valuable."

The word was an echo of Adelard, marking his impact on the aspiring medic. If he'd deserved to be told so, his tender-hearted friend definitely did. Moments later, the man responsible for deciding their shared fate appeared.

Gentlemen, came his crisp greeting, and Levi passed the man at his side a mirthful look that said see? He'd been raised to think that the less words offered, the more upset someone was with you. Adelard was showing him that wasn't always true, sometimes not at all, but he wouldn't be surprised if his friend shared some of the same insecurities which riddled his own being.

"Good morning," he answered, tail wagging behind him. It was all he said before pointedly looking to Wrynn - this was his new start, after all. Levi wanted him to have the chance to do it independently, on his own terms and merit, so that when he looked back he could be properly proud of what he was capable of.

(This post was last modified: May 26, 2022, 05:55 AM by Leviticus.)

Wrynn glanced at Levi from the corner of his eye, tail wiggling in almost a wag from where it was tucked between his legs as a soft sound of appreciated rumbled in his chest. Valuable. Yes, he could be valuable. Surely there was something he could do that Adelard would find useful to the pack. Even if it was dirty work that others wouldn't want to do. Wrynn had no qualms with that.

But in the back of his mind, there was still the voice that told him he was not good enough, and would never be good enough. And as he battled to silence that voice, his gaze returned forward, almost unblinking in their search for a moving wolf form.

He audibly gulped as an imposing dark figure emerged, the golden eyes narrowed and seeming to stare directly into his very soul. And then the golden gaze moved from him to Levi, and Wrynn let out a silent breath of air that he had unconsciously been holding. He found himself tipping his head back to look up at darkly coloured male, and he could only assume this was the Adelard they had been waiting for.

Levi had said something. Wrynn had definitely heard words from the tawny wolf beside him, but in his focus on the larger wolf before him, the part of his brain that understood language seemed to have had malfunctioned for those few seconds.

"H-hello." He tried not to wince at the definite voice crack as he spoke, and instead cleared his throat to try again, echoing Levi's words of encouragement in his mind. "Hello, sir," Wrynn said again, this time managing to sound only half as terrified as he felt. He risked a glance up at those golden yellow eyes, before his gaze dipped back down to focus on the white of his chin. "I'm here to ask if you'll allow me to join your pack... I can be a valuable member, if... if you let me prove myself to you." Wrynn had more to say, but that was as far as he got through his speech before his mouth seemed to forget how to work, and he found himself simply staring at Adelard's chin.

Many, many, many apologies for the tardiness on this!

Adelard gave a small wag of his tail in response to Wrynn's greeting. He met Levi's eye before sizing up the newcomer as he spoke.

"I can be a valuable member, if... if you let me prove myself to you."

While Adelard had expected more, the rogue said nothing else. He couldn't help but recall how Levi and Riven when they had first met him. They had seemed younger and even smaller then. Wrynn was no different; and, that was when the Leader realized he had to ease up.

The whole of his body seemed to relax as he took a seat. A quick roll of his shoulders attempted to coax about an air of casualness. There would be no judgment here. Frankly, Fools Gold Chasm needed the numbers, and as long as the man longed to be a part of the pack, they would have him.

"Prove it to me then," he voiced, his tone serious but without the weight of solemnity. "Stay with us for as long as you like," the invitation was genuine as he looked again from one to the other and back. "Then, when you're ready to pursue an official role, let me know."

(This post was last modified: Jun 09, 2022, 05:48 AM by Adelard.)

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

Levi's smile grew as Wrynn spoke up, doing what the Armstead wolf thought was a fine job. His beryl gaze shifted from from friend to friend, focusing on Adelard when it became his turn. He himself wasn't entirely sure what to expect, not having really experienced it before. Even his own joining had been awkward and indirect; he'd simply wanted to reunite with River, and allyng with the Chasm as a whole had resulted as a mere byproduct of that- at least, until the blonde had gone.

There wasn't really any waiting needed, as had been a fear; his alpha declared Wrynn one of them, and able to sort out his specific place in time. At his own pace, Levi happily assumed. He was beaming with happiness, tail a blur at his wolfish heels. Mossy eyes bounced back to their new recruit to see his reaction.

(This post was last modified: Jun 12, 2022, 06:27 AM by Leviticus.)

He had been expecting some kind of push back. Instead Adelard sat back, easing into an air of relaxation that had Wrynn risking another glance at those golden eyes. There was no malice in that gaze, no hint of a trick or anything to suggest the dark male was being ingenuine.

While confused, Wrynn wasn't about to make a fuss when the whole thing had gone so smoothly. His mouth opened for a moment as his brain worked hard to figure out what he wanted to say. Internally he was a jumble of gratuity, but he wanted to make a good first impression. Tripping over his own words in desperation to say thank you would not make for one.

"Thank you!" He finally managed to blurt out, his tail almost a blur behind him with the force of its wagging. "I'll do my best to show you how much this means to me," Wrynn continued, feeling braver the more words he got out. He could do this. He could prove to Adelard that he was a hard worker, and one that could be trusted.

Wrynn glanced sideways at Levi, meeting his friend's gaze with a big grin. "So what happens now?" He didn't really know where to go from here, and found his gaze switching between Levi and Adelard, waiting for one of them to make the first move.

Warmth finally came through as Adelard smiled.

"Thank you!" Wrynn beamed. "I'll do my best to show you how much this means to me."

Very much like a proud parent, the Leader's head tilted and he cast his gaze at Levi. Wrynn, who also looked to the medic, was quick to sidle into what was next, "So what happens now?"

Adelard's head righted itself and he stood up. It wasn't like he had better things to do, but he knew from experience that he was quite the looming shadow. An intimidating one at that. His expression turned wily with the arch of a whiskered brow, "Well, maybe Levi would like to give you the grand tour of the place?"

There was a small twinkle in his eye, "I could catch up to you later if you'd like, but--" He took a step back towards where he had come from, "I'll leave you two to it. Ask all the questions, explore all the places, Levi's one of our best."

He gave a small nod, almost as if dismissing them both. But, since the duo had summoned him first, the gesture was meant to simply welcome them further into the lands beyond Fools Gold Chasm.

         

ADELARD

heat stroke, bring the fire black smoke, I take it higher

As expected, Wrynn appeared to be just as thrilled. He spoke from the heart again, once more making his newfound friend proud. It would take a lot for anyone to convince Levi that he'd made a mistake in allying with the smaller wolf, his affection for him already quite strong and clear. The pale agouti wasn't the sole source of his mirth however, nor the warm feeling of belonging that he could feel swirling about in his chest.

Adelard spoke again, and Levi's eyes fixed on him with a glimmer of the same intense admiration he'd subject Sawyer to. The more he grew to know his leader, really know him, the more he felt at home among the blood-red ferns and wet walls of the Chasm. The masked monarch had helped to give Levi back a measure of his own confidence, enabling him to have enough to give to those in need in the first place.

His mossy gaze all but sparkled as his luminary ended with a gracious compliment, proud to be spoken of in such a manner.

"Thank you, Adelard," he spoke earnestly past a insuppressible grin, before moving to lead Wrynn into his new home.

"We'll find you later with a meal, okay?" It was the least they could do.

(This post was last modified: Jun 12, 2022, 06:37 AM by Leviticus.)