Yeah, I stink at coming up with names for threads.
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Here she stood again. It was funny where life brought a person. Hanna stood once more at the borders of Phoenix Valley, but north of where she'd found Pendzez. The white warrior had filled her in on some of the details of the pack, but she wanted to really look around, and she wanted to talk to the alpha, as well. She hoped to learn a bit of the pack's history, maybe his ideals, that sort of thing. She wanted to introduce herself, as well, and name off her skills, getting it out of the way for later. She'd decided, after all. The life of a loner was difficult, and it was too easy to let her emotions get to her. She needed the support of a pack to keep her sane.
She'd keep her promise to Cercelee, by continuing to train Svara in the ways of the medic, but she couldn't have further non-business dealings with the pack; it was too difficult. Glancing around, she saw no one, and chose to utter a smooth howl of greeting to whomever was nearest her, bringing her presence to notice. Her clothing was on, she was clean, her friend Tobias the hawk sat unjessed and unhooded on the falconer's glove she wore on her arm, and her knives sat in their sheathes about her waist. Her medic's satchel was slung over one shoulder, draped against the opposite hip, utilitarian style.
"Hanna speaks."
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Doot doot!
There had been that feeling of anxiety within him for the past week or so, and yet its origins and reasons for existence had yet to be discovered. The one-eyed idiot had searched every corner, every nook and cranny of his mind trying to figure out what he was dreading, what he was worrying so much about that he couldn't possibly identify. He had been quieter than usual as of late in result, often finding ways of busying himself instead of sitting around musing and feeling the awful emotion in his stomach. It was like something was clawing at him, telling him to be careful. Be on the alert. Something was coming, it screamed. Jefferson just didn't know what the hell it was.
Walks and meandering the borders had become tradition since. The feeling of restlessness made it hard to stay in one place, and on the side of that, the pack was still a small one and needed the extra security anyway. He was too protective of his members, of his lands, of the safety of his loved ones. The brute may not have ever admitted it, but those that ended up in his pack became a part of the family he'd never had--or didn't remember having, since there was plenty of that old family running around, a majority of which was unknown to him still. So when he came across the dark-furred wolfess at their borders, he paused immediately and took defiant steps in her direction. No limp, that day. Two strong legs, one arm, and one eye. That was Jefferson. "Who're you?" he started crossly. "What do you want here?"
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Before long, a tanned male who had seen better days -- evidenced by the lack of use of one arm and the more apparent lack of one eye -- appeared and took several steps toward her. She diverted her eyes from his face and moved her tail so it swayed lightly between her legs. Still, her eyes took in his appearance; he didn't seem to be as aged as the woman was herself. But he obviously was a well-ranked member of the pack; she'd seen the look in his face and the way he walked in other leaders.
He questioned who she was and what business she had being there. Hanna paused to consider her words before replying. "My name is Susquehanna, or Hanna for short. I've been a loner for a decent amount of time, and I wish to join a pack. However, I've not been able to choose which path to take, and I'd like to look about, with escort, if you don't mind. I have this feeling that I'll know where I'm supposed to be once I see it."
She splayed her hands in an innocent manner, explaining further, "I am a medic, have been for awhile now. My friend, Tobias, here, helps me sometimes, guiding me to my patients if need be or running messages. I also tattoo, and tan hides, though less extensively." The more she looked at the man, he looked very familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before. She wanted to ask, but it seemed rude. So she waited, her unoccupied hand comfortably dangled, the other hand beginning to weary from Tobias' bulk. The hawk shifted from one foot to the other, trying to ease the pressure he put on her hands.
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She struck him as familiar; perhaps it was her somewhat regal mannerisms in speech, but the woman possessed a business-like method of speaking while remaining at a humble and harmless tone. He could respect that really, considering the only reason he was respected was because he was so damn freaky looking. Well, at least he had that to hold onto, if nothing else. The fact that she mentioned a medic had his blood boiling somewhat, as he was unsurprisingly reminded of Deuce and his lack of affinity for her and the way he'd been deserted, but that was in the past now, wasn't it? They needed a new healer at some point or other. There wasn't any harm in helping her out a little while... he supposed it would get his mind off his restlessness, anyway.
"Yeah, sure," he shrugged, somewhat overwhelmed by her long-winded response to his simple questions. He peered one-eyed at the hawk that accompanied her, oddly perplexed by its presence and the fact that it had been tamed, but nothing was impossible anymore. Hell, he was a living statement of that. A million slashes and handicapped at least twice, and he was leading a pack somehow. He turned on his heel, beginning to stride back into his packlands with the general expectation to be followed. "Our last leader was a healer, but she took off some time ago. Gave the pack to me, but we don't have a medic." He shrugged. "Anyway, this is Phoenix Valley. I'm Jefferson." He kept his back to her, shallowly digging his good claw into one of his pockets.
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He agreed to accompany her as she peeked into the territory, and turned to walk toward the interior of the lands. She launched Tobias and then followed, keeping up easily, even with his larger strides. "Thank you, and it's nice to meet you, Jefferson." Her eyes roved around, taking in the sights, storing things away for more in-depth decision later on. She still wasn't sure, but this seemed to be where she needed to be. Her skills were required here, as they were in Dahlia, but this pack seemed the better choice. Svara would make a good healer for Dahlia.
As they walked quietly, Hanna felt the need to figure out why she seemed to know Jefferson, but without asking outright. She decided to speak about her working history, since he'd mentioned the past healer. "I wanted to be a medic even as a pup, and I set myself to training under the Apothecary of Chimera. Well, sort of; he never officially trained me. I basically trained myself. Eventually I moved to Clouded Tears under Laruku, and while Naniko was the official Apothecary, I tried to make myself helpful whenever I could. Then, of course, there was the fire, and I met up with my sister, Colibri, and Cercelee." She stopped there, unsure what to say next and not seem like she'd abandoned Dahlia.. even though in a way she had.
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Jefferson paused mid-step at the mention of Clouded Tears. That land was long gone; he had no recollection of what had happened there, but he knew as a fact that his birth pack had been a tight-knit bunch for the most part, once led by his grandmother, father, and mother at equally different times, not to mention that Laruku had also taken over alphaship after Ceres's passing. His idiot of an adopted brother was dead now, one way or another, and the reminder that he'd once been in his prime and been in the same boat as Jefferson now was almost sprung a chuckle, but it was suppressed when Hanna mentioned her sister's name, at which point Jefferson swallowed the lump in his throat and looked her in the eye.
"Colibri is my mother," he said stiffly. That was all he knew about her, after all; the two had never gotten to meet although she was assumed alive by Haku. "Laruku was my adopted brother... he's dead." Jefferson frowned, gaze wandering to the ground. "I was born in Clouded Tears. My name is Maluki, but... I don't remember any of that anymore." Another relation he'd found by coincidence... how convenient.
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