after Acere accepted her into the pack, Heloise wasted no time trying to find a place to reside. she left the new king alone and explored deeper. soon, the woman settled on the outskirts of the pines. but it was still nearby where several others had made their dens already. having dug a makeshift cave to sleep in quickly, she focused now on recovering her strength. patrols were going to be done tomorrow, fresh scents up to mark Winterfell. tonight she feasted and celebrated her acceptance. a hunting patrol had brought back some food, and she chose a small portion for herself. dragging it off to the side of the central camp, Heloise would settle down and begin to eat. her thoughts were with what Fracture had said previously; that Winterfell had been won through a challenge by Acere, rebuilt in his image. she had asked if the previous owner would come back, only for her question to fall as easily as she inquired. nobody seemed to know. unaware that several wolves from Fyri made their homes in Winterfell, she assumed most had left after the challenge with the previous alpha. but that was all it was; guessing. she paused, spotting movement a few steps away and lifted her head. there was a pale-dark blue man with red stripes. the most exotic wolf she had seen so far aside from the woman who helped tend her wounds. he didn't seem to have noticed her, so she let her voice carry over to him. "greetings" he did smell like the pack and didn't seem to be a trespasser. Heloise motioned to the portion of meat before her paws. "would you like to join me?" it was good to build a rapport with the other fellow Winterfellians, surely?

Souzan still wasn't totally sure where he fit into the pack yet, it certainly wasn't an easy process, not like Fyri had been. There he knew exactly where he fit, beside his brother, wherever he was needed. Here he felt like a much smaller cog in a bigger plan and it left him unsure was he needed to do yet. But he was determined to finally stop running. He had to honor Avis' memory by finally living his life, by finally allowing himself to settle. Part of that was getting a lay of the land, of becoming familiar with his surroundings enough to move with ease and truly feel at home. Then he could take note of herds or potential pitfalls. He was in the process of wandering the pines, taking general notes of where the borders ran and thing of visual note. He was padding back through the thicker part of the pines, towards the inner part of the territory, he was aware of other pack members nearby but chose to keep to himself, for now, still unsure how to approach so many strangers with his less than vocal socialization. It had been easy in Fyri, he'd had Ig or Sephi to help decipher his gestures, they knew the nuances of his notions, knew the difference between a formal nod and an affirming one and one that meant something more specific. A voice reached him and Souzan stopped, slowly turning his attention towards the white woman, she stood like a ghost among the pines and he'd have thought her a spirit if not for the all too real scars that crisscrossed her form, too real flesh beneath an ethereal pelt. He slowly met her pale blue gaze and gave his massive head a deep dip, the formal greeting he'd been raised to replicate. She asked him if he wished to join and the man swept his gaze towards the morsel at her paws. He lifted his eyes again and met her gaze with an obviously quizzical one. She was offering him her own catch, but he also knew that some wolves were more territorial of their prey, that was usual in his own home... a land with sparse enough to catch let alone to share. Still she'd offered it to him, so Sou nodded hesitantly, a slow nod that didn't dispel his openly uncertain expression. He took a few hesitant steps towards her and then gestured with his muzzle at her catch, telling her to go ahead first. speech action

he seemed receptive to her offer, causing a small smile to cross her lips. the man's head dipped to her meager piece of meat, questions in his eyes. Heloise raised her head and shook it. "I did not catch it" she'd confess quietly, having only a basic skill in hunting things down. "I only took a small portion because I haven't done much today." she hoped the explanation was enough; she wasn't one to eat a very large piece if she hadn't done anything to warrant her share. if she had caught it, it would be added to the pile. she didn't eat her own catches if she was in a pack. at least, that was the plan. let the youth and yearlings have it first. she could find something else. Heloise pushed the rest of the meat toward him as he approached. she'd eaten a bit but wasn't very hungry. her long travel to the Boreas was rationed food-wise. it was only her that traveled to this realm, and she wasn't equipped to deal with taking down large prey. soon she'd have to bulk up for winter, but her naturally slender form was enough to retain energy from small pieces of food. she only wanted some company, to get to know the people of Winterfell. even if the man did not seem to be much of a talker, she could live with that. each person was a unique flavor that made up life. each had their own quirks. "I am Heloise" she'd introduce herself after some time. "I joined the pack the other day."