Charming stranger (open)

Blitz smiled as she spoke, looking down at the pile at her feet. "The pack is fine. Fallon is still asleep, Coven is taking care of Molly, Chaos is well....Chaos, and Inferno is right here. We still haven't seen or heard from Khalessi, but other than that, everyone is fine and well." He said, frowning as he thought about their head hunter. She had been gone a while, and he was beginning to worry about her. But there was nothing he could do, so he focused on the present. He glanced over at Inferno, frowning slightly. He looked upset and worried, so he sat down, tilting his head to the side curiously. "Is everything alright, Inferno?" He asked, wondering what the beta was thinking.

Inferno turned to look at Blitz, shaking his head and answering seriously, "I don't know...I saw a male at the border of the Northern Ridge today. I warned him of the border, but now that we've found Laek, I will be heading back up there to see what happened with him." He turned his gaze to Laek and asked pointedly, "The male you met..." he assumed Blitz would pick up on the scent in just a second, "...do you know if he may have headed up toward the Ridge?" If so, it was probably the same guy and there would be only one to worry about. If not, they'd have to keep a closer eye on the borders. These wolves, or wolf, seemed to be sulking around the borders, and Inferno was curious to find out if this was just appearance or if there was a reason they were staying so near yet outside the borders.

Laek was surprised when Inferno spoke, almost forgetting that Casanova's scent was all over her from both playing in the snow and sleeping last night. She hesitated, not entirely sure where he ran off to. She shook her head, saying, "He just ran off, I don't know if he'd gone for the ridge or just the forest. I'm not sure where he could have gone." Casanova had said they'd see each other again, but now Laek was hoping it wasn't around Inferno. He seemed to be suspicious about the character at hand. And possibly another, but assumptions, assumptions. But Inferno seemed like a good wolf, so maybe he would accept Casanova, maybe not as a pack member. But just as a wolf. It wouldn't matter, as long as Laek knew her friend wouldn't be hurt.

It was unfortunately that Laek's information was not more helpful, though finding her well trumped the disappointment of the lack of information. "Thank you, Laek," he said, glad that she had been willing to help anyway. "Blitz," he said, turning to the alpha, "I think at least one of us should go back to the ridge and deal with the one newcomer we know about. It shouldn't take long. Either I or you can go back to the dens with Laek." While one of them went back, he would be able to pick up Chaos and Fallon. Chaos would be needed on patrol for sure, and if Blitz decided they didn't need to take out a hunting party today, Fallon could join them on the patrol as well if needed.

Blitz nodded as Inferno spoke on checking on the male at the ridge. "You go ahead to the ridge, Inferno. I'll take Laek back and get together a patrol and meet you out here." He said, nudging Laek's shoulder. He had every intention of including her on this patrol. She was well enough now to travel and patrol with them, and he meant to ask her to join the pack as well. He looked over at Inferno, waiting for a response from him before he would head off to the dens.

While he waited, he went over who he should include in his head. Definitely Laek, and Fallon probably. Chaos was still injured, but she could manage as well. He knew she was getting antsy being confined to the dens. He would let Coven stay at the dens to care for Molly, because there was no way the sick healer was going to join them. She was much too fragile.

Inferno nodded at Blitz, said good-bye to Laek, and turned and loped off toward the ridge. It was a fact now: the wolves hitting the borders was increasing steadily. The pack was growing so much - they had enough wolves to take out an actual patrol, and there were enough wolves nosing the borders that it was actually needed. Inferno wasn't exactly sure if the spirits had anything to do with more wolves being drawn to the pack, but he was sure that the pack was stronger because of their influence.

Laek nodded at Inferno's decision, and looked at Blitz as he nudged her shoulder. She let a short silence ensue after Inferno had walked away. "Shall we head off then?" she finally said, picking up a mouthful of snow with the moss and pine mixture. She was glad that the high ranks of the pack accepted her easily, but was still worried about Casanova as Inferno went on the search. Laek was not sure if they were thinking of the same wolf, but it was safe enough to worry.

She looked just beyond Blitz and saw his tracks; assuming they were from the dens, she followed then for a few steps, then looked back. She then stepped back and motioned for him to lead the way.

Blitz smiled as Laek picked up the moss and started to head off to the dens, leaving a large pile behind because her muzzle was far too small to carry it all. He lowered his head to pick the rest up, trotting past her and bumping her shoulder affectionately before continuing towards the dens. They reached them quickly, and he moved to the storage den to deposit the moss, deciding that the wolves could come get it as they needed it. Then he approached Chaos's den, poking his head inside boldly. "Chaos, I need you to accompany us on patrol." He said, leaving it at that and heading to his own den, where he knew Fallon still slept. He entered, poking her with his nose and nipping her ear gently. "Wake up Fallon. I need you to come with us on Patrol." He said, nuding her again and sitting down as he waited for her to wake.

Chaos sighed as Blitz told her to join in the patrol, and she slowly stood, stretching and exiting her den to follow the path to where she saw Laek standing. She knew that this female was still a loner, so she barely recognized her presence, and instead walked right past her to sit on a large boulder that jutted out from the snowdrift beside her.

Laek waited for Blitz and he passed her, nudging her softly. She followed him and they quickly arrived at the dens. She followed him still to the storage den and dropped her pile on his. She turned and watched him go into the dens, calling the wolves for patrol. She stood outside the den and waited, swishing her tail in the snow. Other than the obvious cold, it really was a beautiful day. To add an upside, her paw was feeling much better after a couple nights of sleep and light stress. Laek sat, pondering her future, as Chaos walked past her.

She saw Chaos sit on a rock in her peripheral vision, and noticed that she had yet to meet Chaos. But she felt like Chaos was a tough wolf, and was slightly scared of approach. She shrugged it off, knowing, or hoping rather, that they'd meet properly eventually.

Chaos had no intentions of ever introducing herself to this lone female, nor of accepting her as a member of the pack until Blitz made it official. And even then, she would probably avoid her and scare her off whenever she got the chance. But her new position of Head Warrior forced her to be less violent towards the other pack members, and even loners apparently, so she decided to ignore the other female instead.

Blitz waited a few more moments for Fallon before getting up and nipping her nose gently. "Come on Fallon, get up. We need to get going. There's some loners around the borders that we need to take care of. Inferno is out there alone right now. Hurry up girl." He teased, nipping her ear again before exiting the den and joining Chaos and Laek. "She'll be out in a minute." He said, glancing back at his den in hopes that Fallon would emerge soon.

Laek decided to leave Chaos be and watched as Blitz approached. Then she realized something,"Am I participating in this patrol as well?" she said as she tilted her head, slightly confused. She wasn't yet part of the pack, but Blitz sure treated her like it. As did Inferno. While she waited for the answer, she pawed at some snow beneath her and packed it down to make a solid patch of snow. She shook out her coat for a moment, small flecks of snow flying towards the ground. She then sat back and looked back at Blitz, seeing Chaos in the side.

Blitz smiled as Laek asked about joining them. He came to sit in front of her, nodding slightly. "Yes, you will be coming with us. But not as a lone female, I would like you to become a member of this pack, Laek." He said softly, glancing over at Chaos as the black female's ears pinned back in annoyance. But other than that, she said nothing, and Blitz focused back on the female in front of him. She had proved that she could be a great asset to the pack, and he wanted her to be officially a member, not a lone female that lived here. "May I ask which rank you would prefer?" He asked, wondering what she wanted to be. Warrior, hunter, or healer? There was no need for a pup sitter, since there were no pups in the pack, after all.

Laek was taken back with surprise and shock. Had Blitz really just asked her to join the pack, and it took a few quick moments for her to realize that he was. Her face changed from confused to a smile, nodding in acceptance, noticing quickly how annoyed Chaos looked. But she shook it off and racked her mind for what rank she'd like. In her old pack, she moved between ranks, learning the happenings of her pack. She never stayed with one fully, but did her job correctly and efficiently, as she had always been trained to do.

But here, she yearned for the hunt, so she spoke up after debating with herself, "I'd like to hunt." The sentence and request was short and simple, but that was all that was needed. She was going to be part of a pack that she actually seemed to like. It was not like the mountain packs she always encountered. She fit in easy here.

Blitz smiled, wagging his tail as she was accepted into the pack. "Alright, Hunter it is. Welcome to the pack, Laek." He said, nudging her affectionately and ignoring Chaos completely. The black female had risen and was walking away, towards the borders. She laid down further away, out of earshot and obviously waiting to head out onto patrol. "It's good to have you in the pack, Laek. I think you'll make a wonderful hunter." He said with a smile, glancing back at his den to see where their other hunter, Fallon, was.

Fallon moaned in unconscious protest at Blitz's wake-up call. After the second time, the wolfess couldn't stay down any longer, though, and stiffly got to her feet to stretch with her eyes still stubbornly closed. She bowed down and yawned as Blitz went out to speak with the others. The female would take a few steps forward and stretch again or shake out her coat, trying anything to get her more energized. Mornings were the hardest part of her day, though she usually made up for the lack of energy in every other aspect of the day.

Finally, Fallon left the den and groggily made her way over to Blitz and Laek. Blinking rapidly, her eyes still fighting to stay closed, she asked, "Loners? Patrol?" In a few moments, she'd ecstatic about the prospect of new members hanging around the borders, but she just had to get over this horrid morning issue of hers.

Laek smiled as Blitz welcomed her officially into the pack, with an affectionate nudge. Laek turned her head slightly as she watched Chaos walk off, but turned back as Blitz spoke again. "And I look forward to hunting with you all, and being in a pack with everyone." She replied with another smile, then looked beyond Blitz as Fallon awoke in a groggy mess. Wagging her tail, Laek waited for Fallon to really awaken, and she glanced at Blitz. After a quick moment, she turned, flinging small flecks of snow everywhere, and walked in the trail they had made coming into the den areas. She got to the edge of the area, some distance from Chaos and waited for the others, full of ecstatic energy from her new welcoming.

(ok...hold on....we need to bring all of these threads together....haha....how about we just merge everything into another thread? I'm going to make another one in the pack lands...I'll post the link here. To many of our wolves are doing to many different things at once, and together, too)

https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t65-all-together-jenn-roar#829