Sauda sat at the bank of a stream gazing at the slow flowing water. It had only been a short while since she joined the Sanctity pack and was still getting used to it. She had nothing against the pack itself, but had been traveling alone for quite some time, so being suddenly surrounded by wolves was a bit overwhelming to her. Sitting in the shadow of a large tree, her dark fur allowed her to blend in. This way she could watch the pack without really being seen. Perhaps if she watched the others interact long enough she would feel more at home and then decide to join then. Turning her head she looked out upon the surrounding area. This place certainly was peaceful, something she could get used to after all those long days and nights of wandering through the unknown.

--
Talas'An walked at her mate's side, her mouth full of bright feathers and a rather amused look on her face. She'd managed to catch a small, blue bird, and the feathers had seemed the perfect item to brighten their new den. Carrying the light objects made it difficult for her to speak, but thankfully it wasn't always necessary for Tal and Tar to speak when they were together. Sometimes a happy silence was just as good. Still, her mouth itched from the feathers and she paused as she heard the stream flowing nearby. It made her all the more thirsty and her face scrunched in annoyance and a desire to sneeze as a feather tickled her nose.

--
Taking note of his mates scrunched up face as the feather tickled her nose he led the ay to the stream they heard nearby, sure that by now Tal would be thirsty. Tar'quin grumbled slightly as they came to the stream - he was never overly fond of getting wet and the prospect of crossing the stream to explore the land on the other side just didn't seem appealing, though if that as what Tal wanted then he would suck it up and comply. Huffing softly he glanced behind to see where Tal had gotten to and noted a shadow under one of the larger tree and pricked his ears, padding a few steps closer the dark blob revealed itself to be a wolf. Great now Tal would probably want to go and say hi - Tar wasn't sure what would be worse, the stream or being all friendly friendly with a stranger.

--
Tal paused at the streambed and carefully dropped and spit the feathers to the ground. A firm paw held them in place while she took long laps of water, and she beamed at Tar afterwards. "Thank you." Her eyes followed his gaze to the other wolf, her expression glazing over with surprise. "Hello there," she greeted, pressing her side into Tar's in a gesture of possession and reassurance. "Enjoying the day?"

--

Sauda watched in silence as the other two wolves came close to her hiding spot. These two she did not recognize. It was safe to assume that they were new here, much like herself. Though there was a small chance that they had been here for a while and she just hadn't seen them yet due to her self induced seclusion. Well that was no reason to not speak with them, she told herself. Maw turned up in a small smile. "Hello." Her voice was a bit quiet but not so much that they would struggle to hear her. "It is too beautiful of a day to not enjoy. I am Sauda. Are you new here?"

--
Yes - just what he thought would happen, now he as going to be stuck making small talk with this other female. His tail twitched slightly, he should have just ignored the shadow under the tree but no he had to go investigate - draw Tal’s attention to it. He might have continued with his inner complaints had not Tal pressed against him lightly, her soft fur and warm touch soothing his irritation like it always did. Fine he supposed he could play the part of nice wolf right? Tal would like that and she needed to find friends or acquaintances in this new pack right? Sure...seemed like a suitable excuse to him, clearing his throat slightly Tar nodded his head slightly in what seemed more like a jerk then a bob of greeting. "Well at the very least it’s not freezing cold anymore" He allowed in his typical gruff tone.

--
Tal smiled both in reply to Sauda's question, and at her mate's attempt at small talk. "Talas'An. And this is my mate, Tar'quin. We arrived recently from a pack a very long way from here." She was loathe to remove her foot from her feathers, but she didn't want to appear rude either. For the moment she hovered in a standing place, waiting to see how the conversation would go. If it lasted, she would pick up her feathers and go sit with the other wolf, but if not, she could take the feathers and she and Tar could drop them off at their den before they went beyond the stream and saw what was out that way.

--
Giving each wolf a nod of greeting Sauda looked at the male, and then turned her attention to the female. She didn't want to ignore the male, no that would be rude, but Tal seemed a bit more welcoming to conversation then her mate was. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I myself have only just joined the pack recently." She told them with a smile. “I had been traveling for some time looking for a place to call home. And this is where I ended up.” Certainly their story didn’t seem much different than hers. Only she couldn’t recall her old pack. She had been in it as a pup, but once she had been old enough to go it on her own Sauda had left and never looked back.

Though she did somewhat miss her old home and family she refused to live in the past. This was her new home now and her new family. Now all she needed to do was to make some friends. Perhaps Tal and Tar would be among the first she would consider friends, as long as this conversation went well. “Were you traveling for a long time?” She asked, hoping that this simple question would lead to a continuation of the conversation.

--
Tar let out a bark of laughter at the question, long? That would be an understatement, at the time it had felt like their journey would never end, like they would never track down the pack they had deemed fitting to raise their family within. "Since we were teens," He confirmed. "Felt like we were never going to get here some days, of course half the time we didn't know exactly where we were going, running off rumors and the like," He continued in a rare show of talkativeness. His musing over the dark male fell into silence once more, he wasn't sure what had prompted him to tell so much of their journey to this Sauda character but he shrugged slightly - he was supposed to be socializing with this pack wasn't he? This was their home now, he needed to start trusting them.

--
"We were looking for here, actually. Stumbling across Kalani was simply good luck, and finally a good lead. Definitely a long journey," she agreed. This was going to take a fair amount of time. Tal leaned her head down and plucked all of the feathers up again and moved closer to Sauda. She set the feathers down a few feet away and took a seat there, her tail wagging briefly. "Although I doubt any of us are 'officially' members yet. Sanctity has all sorts of rituals, and we-- Tar and I, at least-- haven't been to so much as one yet." The thought of a distant mating ceremony put a stronger smile on Tal's face; one of the few things that seemed so right it was odd. She turned her smile to Tar, the happiness daring him to disagree with how pleased his mate was.

--
Sauda raised her brow at Tar as he spoke. It seemed odd to her though she couldn’t figure out why. It should not seem odd for one to speak, but when Tar did that was what she thought. Pushing that thought from her mind she tried to make the best of it. “I have been traveling about that long as well. Thought I had no real destination in mind when I set out from my old home.” She smiled at Tal, at least the she-wolf she very pleased with being here and talking about it. Yes, there was a good chance they could become friends at this rate. Sauda needed a good friend or two within the pack. “Though you are right. I do believe we are not official members until the naming ceremony. And with so many new faces I am sure they will hold that particular ceremony soon enough to welcome everyone.”

--
Tar managed to suppress a sigh as Tal picked up her feather's and moved closer to the other female, at least Sauda didn't seem too bad...she had so far been neither nasty, condescending nor fakely pleasant...and it seemed they had all travels a goodly distance to get here so maybe they had something in common. Right...Tar shook his head slightly but the look on Tals face did him in - she was so damn happy at meeting another wolf that he couldn't bring himself to do anything to ruin it - so much for their happy afternoon of exploring - but hey at least he didn't have to go into the water, that was a plus. "We can hope so in any case" He added to the conversation though it was clear that the females were the ones carrying it along and he settled on the ground nearby Tal.

--
"Have you already settled into a den?" Tal was assuming so, since it seemed Sauda had been at Sanctity at least a little longer than they had, but it couldn't hurt to ask. "We're just getting around to settling into ours." She nudged the feathers with her paw. "I thought something bright might help make it more homey." Tar and Tal hadn't had a lot of time to talk with their pack members, which seemed odd to Tal, who had grown up in a close-knit family and surrounded by friends from her pack. She didn't need them-- and often liked her space-- but it was nice to have at least one friend within the pack. Well, aside from Tar, of course. A female friend.

--
Sauda nodded her head. "Yes I have settled into my den. It lies west of here, though it is somewhat distanced from the others dens." This had been a nice bonus to Sauda, not that she wanted to be anti-social in her new pack, but having a bit of open space between herself and the others would allow her to slowly adjust to her new life, instead of being thrust into it. She glanced at the feathers and smiled. "They should make a nice touch to your den." Her eyes fell upon Tar for a moment before returning to Tal. They were such an interesting couple.

--
Tar glanced at the feathers too, they were a pretty color he had to admit but he wondered vaguely what the other males in the pack would think of him for having such girly things about his residence - not that it mattered really, Tal wanted the feathers, Tar would let his mate do whatever she wanted to their home if it made her feel more comfortable in it. Homey - it had been a while since either of them had lived in anything remotely homey and Tar was sure she missed it "Tal found them" He stated with a nod though this was probably pretty obvious. "I'm sure she will have the place feeling like home in no time" He continued with a warm look at his mate - whatever his typical gruff nature it was clear he adored Tal.

--
Tal beamed at him and leaned over to press her shoulder against his. She never hid her feelings for her mate, as oddly open as that was, even for her. "It will. You're welcome to help, if you'd be interested." She scratched idly at an itch on her side and looked at the stream again. Sanctity could be everything they wanted, as long as they could learn from their Alpha and their other leaders. She looked back and eyed Sauda for a minute. The others who settled here must feel the same. What other reason could there be to join the pack than to be blessed by some all-seeing wolfess?

--
Sauda let out a soft laugh. She was pretty sure she knew what Tar was thinking, that if he let Tal decorate the place up it may become a very girly home. "Perhaps you can find a deer antler or something to add to the feathers." She suggested to Tar, perhaps that would add a manly touch to their home. Her eyes fell upon Tal again as she looked out at the stream. "Almost too peaceful." She said before she could stop her thoughts from coming out in the form of words. Sauda had not meant to say that and had to quickly recover. "Conpared to traveling that is."

--
Tar nuzzled his mate as she pressed her shoulder into him before looking back at Sauda, he rather liked her suggestion of the deer antler, it semed like something a male olf ould have in his den right? Well more so then flowers and feather anyways. "Perhaps some nice soft pelts as well" He suggested after a few moments of thought "And we know hat you mean - one gets accustomed to atching thier back, ondering if they will find a sfe place to sleep that night - it's a vast change to get used to all at once, though a nice one" He agreed before standing and giving a slight shake of his pelt "If we are to get all this done in our den we had best be getting to it" He told Tal with a smile

--
"Pelts would be lovely, if we could find a way to keep them from eventually stinking. I suppose if the hunting is good enough there would be a plentiful supply if no one else wanted them. Horns we could find after the shedding, or from other kills." She smiled briefly and glanced sidelong at Tar. "And horns are more masculine than feathers or flowers." Tar's suggestion of getting back to decorating made Tal nod. "You're right." She stood and tilted her head at Sauda. "Would you like to join us? You can help me find a way to hang the feathers for now, and can get a look at our den before we transform it."

--
Sauda smiled and nodded. "Yes, that sounds good." Raising herself to her feet she gave her muscles a stretch. "There may be a part of your den that the feathers will hang off naturally. Or we could find something to hold them up." She glanced at Tar and somewhat felt sorry for him, even with the suggestion of antlers and pelts she knew he would feel a bit overwhelmed with two females working to decorate the den and make it look homey. Turning her attention back to Tal, she smiled and gave her tail a light wag. "Well then shall we be off?" Sauda wondered if their den would be close to her own, she somewhat hoped so as it looked like she had made a couple of good friends today.

--
Tal stood as well and moved her foot so she could carefully lift the feathers again. She nodded to Sauda and turned to walk off. A single switch of her tail buffeted Tar's hip as he stood, and she waved it a few more times in good will as she trotted off towards the den before the feathers made her mouth itch again. Today had been a good day, and Tal looked forward to getting to know Sauda. Hopefully the first impressions were all accurate and this meeting would turn into the friendship Tal was looking for. She regretted having the feathers in her mouth so that she couldn't continue the conversation, but sometimes a companionable silence worked just as well.

--