Fool's Gold Chasm veiðimaður

@Woya @Adelard for joining visibility but AW! :D

His nostrils flared.

The land here was rich and flourished once more with a return of rain. With the setting sun, it seemed to cool considerably too. The beast found a great appeal in these things. Further prompted to be interested in the lacings of borders. A scent intertwined with the earth. While none of them meant anything to him, their message of them was clear all the same.

He was intrigued by the beasts who made a home here, in the carved land.

His head tilted back and he let out a low call. Announced his arrival, his intentions. All good, of course. It would always be to a benefit to join strong numbers.

(This post was last modified: Aug 28, 2022, 02:51 AM by Hircine. Edit Reason: been here like a decade and never remember how to tag )

While the earth around them returned to a state of normality, the Chasm pack continued to struggle with everchanging conditions. Wolves they'd thought would be with them until an aged death were picked away one by one, and it had gotten to the point that there was very little left which Woya considered any kind of permanent.

She'd wanted to stay with the children, having been assisting in settling and feeding them. For the Macieo-Gerau clan, dusk was a time of rest, even if every day the pups pushed for it to be briefer and briefer. Upon hearing the summons of a foreign voice, the alpha sighed and pulled herself away from the large litter and their other caregivers to answer it.

When the stranger's scent grew strong, she curled her tail upward and lifted her chin to show her dominance. The ferns parted to reveal a wolf even larger than her husband, practically mammoth in mass. She didn't much like it, but continued on unfazed regardless.

"Yes?"

Sure, she'd gotten the gist of his notes, but it wouldn't be that easy. At a minimum, he would need to have a conversation with her about the matter.

(This post was last modified: Aug 28, 2022, 02:35 AM by Woya.)

It was a small woman who greeted him first. She smelled...motherly. Loosely. Would he offend if he thought of aged milk? Perhaps, not that he would speak on it.

Instead he momentarily dipped himself with a brief show of respect. Her nonchalance made it clear she was the one he had sought to summon. A small fierce mother bear! He cherished her already. Well, as much as he could cherish something.

I have traveled far. I would like to bring my skills of scouting and hunting to your home. He had no grand reason why it should be her home of all places. So he did not sing idle praises to sweeten her to him. He found no such thing would benefit him more in the long run.

Woya was thankful the man didn't appear to put on airs, the woman far too used to being mocked or otherwise underestimated for her small stature combined with her fiery disposition. Still, any wolf could act. His introduction was as plain and straightforward as his ode had been, but it still did not tell her what she wanted to know. How easily was this calm demeanor shattered? What kind of influence would the man have on her children?

She could indeed be considered sexist, and while women and children could sneak past her guard easily, the bullish stranger would not be allowed the same easy in. However; scouting, hunting... while logistically their situation improved every day, the pack could still use those strengths. Woya looked him over a moment in thoughtful silence, weighing her options.

"So that's your offer, what're ya expectin' in return? What'll this be to you?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 28, 2022, 02:46 AM by Woya.)

I only ask for what I give.

This was snorted out softly, not to blow her off but more as a fact of life. He was not here to steamroll her out the gate. That would have been far too easy a task.

If I prove to be the strongest hunter, I ask to be a high-ranked hunter. Same if I prove a strong scout. I ask to make this a permanent place if everybody is pleased with my work. Currently, with time spent as a loner, his desires were low. He did not expect anything to be handed to him.

He paused for a moment. Both for her to have time to consider his words and for him to remember an obviously vital step to joining somewhere. You may call me Hircine.

None of that was unreasonable, and yet his calm felt like so little to her. Disallowed her snap judgments, she supposed they could afford to give what was truly needed to discern whether or not the vagabond was worthy of their trust; time. It was a gamble, but wasn't any wolf?

You may call me Hircine, he told her then, and his wording caused her to snort softly with amusement and show her first crooked smile.

"Oh, may I?"

She wondered what @Adelard would think of the man, whether he'd be appreciative of his disposition or just as guarded as his counterpart.

"Alright, you can give it a try, if yer willing to start out with some restrictions. The children come first here, and I don't fuck around when it comes to them, yearlings included. So if I get any doubts about you, even just one, yer gone. Until I know you better, I don't want you interacting with the cubs. You'll sleep in the infirmary, not the chasm and I will direct your responsibilities."

Woya wasn't much for negotiation, and was thankfully in a position where she did not feel pressed to add to their numbers. If he didn't want to abide by a probationary period, he could take his leave.

(This post was last modified: Aug 28, 2022, 03:14 AM by Woya.)

Well, you don't have to. He offered with a warm look. He could answer to whatever they called one another here. She could holler for a hunter and he'd roll out of bed to get to work.

But here came the hammer.

He watched as she struck hard and fast with her iron words. A list of rules. The good news was he had little interest in interacting with whelps anyway. For the moment, at least. He nodded along properly as she spoke. Understood each and every last condition that was set before him.

Very well. He settled on. Not much more to say beyond that, he supposed. A bit itching to get settled in this...infirmary before he got the lay of the land.

They didn't seem to faze him, which was good enough for her in the moment. It was certainly as good as could be asked, for as she'd discussed with the Ridge scout who'd come looking for an alliance, convincing masks were worn all around them. Putting him under the watch of her mate and the pack's sensitive medic placed in him range of some of the best radars she knew.

Woya stepped back, angled to allow Hircine to walk into the territory with her. She sent up a howl for both Adelard and Leviticus to meet them on their way and help her get their newest recruit settled in before taking off at a trot toward the pack's spacious medicinal den.

"We've got family in the mountains, I've been wanting to send someone to 'em. That can be yer first job. I wanna make sure they're gettin' rain too, that they're healthy n' all that good shit."

She wanted to make official an alliance with the Cove as well, but preferred to negotiate the terms herself. What she wanted was Hircine's impression of their situation in general, and in time she could get their impression of him as well.

"Oh. n' I'm Woya."

(This post was last modified: Aug 28, 2022, 03:48 AM by Woya.)

He fell into step alongside her easily. Half of his attention would be settled on her voice, the other half on the land. What good was he if he did not know his new home in the very barest sense?

She already had a task in mind for him. Some part of him took great comfort in this. That she might actually work him, and not just have him toil away at common work. He had no interest in the slow drawl of day-in-day-out patrols. He supposed a good old fashion check-in would be better than any of that.

When would you like me to get going, Woya?

He hadn't felt an immediate rush but...if she said the word.

While Woya's answer took a moment of consideration, it still came to her tongue swiftly.

"You c'n take up to a week to settle in," she had decided on, leaving exactly 'when' in his monochrome paws. The earlier he departed, the more favorably she would see his choice, but that wasn't anything she'd give him a heads up on. He should already know that there would be nothing but tests going forward. One did not simply plop their rump down and call a place home. At least, the Chasm did not embrace such fickleness.

Woya picked up the pace, eager to finish with this and get back before all the children had nodded off. She'd meant to tell them a story tonight.