Large paws led an equally large woman between the various steaming pools of the spring. The place ran the risk of being overwhelmingly warm, but a breeze drifted through the surrounding trees and served to sufficiently cool the springs. In the winter this could very well be one of the warmest places in the area. The previous winter had been harsh, so it would be nice to have a place of warmth to call home.

Home. She believed this was the place. The place where she and Tamsyn would settle down. Possibly raise a family. Hopefully this one wouldn't die. This could be a place of healing for so many. A sanctuary for those in need. For those at the end of their ropes with little hope left. The woman stopped in the center of the springs and closed her eye. She imagined what this place might be with her influence.

The smaller pools could be blocked off with woven walls that would allow privacy to those that needed it. The larger could be communal pools for those that wished to socialize. Back at the edge of the wood they could set up a healing facility for those that were injured. Along the right side she could see an area for training in various skills. Along the left, a plethora of dens.

Taking a deep breath of the steamy, sulfuric air, Resin released it long and slow. This would be it. She knew it. This would be the place where she would lay down her head for the last time. Her legacy would end here. It was a sobering thought, but not an unwelcome one.

The large male was deep in thought as he wandered away from the mangroves and into the hot springs that neighbored it. After his proposal to Azariah he began to take a serious look at their lives as it currently was. He still dreamt of being the pack leader he had always thought that he might be one day, but he was beginning to wonder if he would ever truly be ready to do so. It always felt like there was something else in that took higher priority. First it was his mother and the death of his father that sent her into several years of grieving. Then it was his nieces and the fragile state of his sister. Now it was Azariah and the life and family they hoped to have. Would he ever really find it in himself to put a pack equal to or above that in his mind? He wasn't sure that he could, but he knew that's what his pack would deserve. If he was going to do it right then he was going to have to put his entire heart and soul into it. He reached the edge of the steaming pools of the hot springs and paused, lifting his silvery eyes from the ground as he scanned the area around him. He'd mostly come here to find a quiet space to think, but when his eyes landed on the scarred woman he remembered from their encounter with a lion his focus quickly shifted. He smiled a little and made his way over to where she was standing. "Resin," he said simply in greeting, giving her a small dip of his head. "It's good to see you again." He hadn't had a chance to reconnect with her during his short stent as a member of the Armada and that had been a regret of his since he remembered the warrior fondly. "What brings you out this way?" he asked curiously, glancing over the hot springs around them. "Talk"

Ears pricked as heavy steps approached. Resin was pulled from her reverie, that lone golden orb opening. Three woman turned her head to see a familiar face. The giant, earthen man drew near, saying her name in greeting. He spoke again and she nodded. "Ulric, it's good to see you as well." Resin was glad that it was someone that she knew. She wasn't in the mindset to interact with a stranger at present. Her mind was too thick with dreams.

When asked what she was doing out this way, the big woman chuckled. Haunches folding, she sat. One black toed paw lifted and she motioned for him to do the same if he wished. "I'm inspecting the land that I hope will be the home to a pack of my own creation." Their interaction with the lion had gone well. They'd been a good team. She rather liked the earthen brute.

"It's been too long under someone else's rule. Such things have never sat well with me." She cast him a sidelong glance. "Being in the Armada is the first time I've not been alpha since I was a child." Resin then allowed her gaze to drift fondly over the springs once more. "It's time to rectify that." Having scanned the springs, she looked to him again. "And you? Out wandering?" One obsidian brow arched in question.

He was glad to see that Resin responded positively to his presence. Seeing a friendly face was certainly a nice distraction - even if it was just a momentary reprieve. When she invited him to sit with her he did, reclining onto his haunches beside her while he listened to her explanation for why she was out here by the hot springs on her own. Her answer made him lift his brows with surprise and pulled his pale gaze from their surroundings so that he could look at her instead.

He was quietly attentive while she explained her reasoning for wanting to bring this pack to life and he nodded with understanding. It sounded like she certainly had the experience to back up her desire to lead - the thing that he was currently lacking. He had the desire and the vision for it, but he’d never had to lead anyone in any shape or form. If he was being honest, he really didn’t even remember much from the pack his father led when he was a child and he hadn’t had a chance to be a member of one because of the traveling he did with his mother. Perhaps it was foolish for him to think that he might be able to fall into the role with hopes and dreams alone.

When she turned the question back on him he chuckled a little and sighed as he glanced away toward the steaming pools. “More just... thinking,” he replied after a moment. He didn’t know Resin personally outside of the time they had spent together during and after the fight they carried out with the lion, but there was certainly something about her that made him feel relaxed near her. He didn’t want to dump his entire life story on her lap, but with her experience he was genuinely curious to hear her thoughts.

“I’ve been working toward building a pack of my own as well,” he answered honestly, giving her a glance. “I have an idea for how I would like it to be run and I’m willing to put in the work to do it, but...” Ulric hesitated for a moment while he tried to find the right words to say. “Family has always come first. I haven’t gotten to experience what living in a pack is really like because my father’s pack was taken from us when he died and I was just a pup back then. I traveled with my mother while she grieved and now that I’m back in Boreas my time has still been wrapped up in trying to sort out my family again.” He paused and a bitter sweet smile crossed his face. “And now I have a fiancé and I feel like I’m putting our lives on hold while I continue to chase this dream.”

He seemed a little surprised at her reason for being there and the cause of that surprise soon came to light. He'd come here alone to think, and what he was thinking about was right along her own train of thought. Ulric spoke of wanting a pack, lack of experience and family coming first. The scarred woman chuckled. "Pack is family, so of course family comes first."

Forelegs slid outward and Resin rested upon her stomach. She could understand his concerns. Taking on the responsibility for countless others was no light decision. Making decisions and knowing that those decisions could mean life or death for those that looked up to you... well... it wasn't something that everyone could handle. There were some that were born to lead, like herself. There were others that learned to lead. Perhaps Ulric was if that ilk.

Being the dirty to take others under her scarred wings, Resin instantly thought of an idea. Dare she say it aloud? Oh, she dared. "From what I know of you, you've a good head on your shoulders. A sound mind." The fact that he was thinking doooo felt on the matter showed that he didn't take it lightly.

The woman brought her piercing golden gaze to the mans earthen face. "If you wish it, you and yours could join The Hallows. I would allow you to shadow me and see what it truly means to lead and protect." When and if the time came where he wished to leave and forge his own pack, she would allow him to do so. Far be it from Resin to halt the progress of another. "What say you?"

If Ulric had been surprised by her statement before, it paled in comparison to the offer she made now. He appreciated her compliment and gave her a small smile in return for it, but when she offered to give him and his family a place in her new pack his eyes widened with surprise. Not only that, but a chance to shadow and learn from her as she led. It was something he had hoped and considered trying to do with the Armada or Valhalla, but those packs were simply too large. There wasn’t room for him to bring his family with him and he refused to leave them behind so that he could learn and train.

He was quiet for a moment as he thought over the offer. It was a hard decision to make on behalf of the ladies in his life, but in the end he knew it would be what was best for them in the long run. He could relax in knowing that they would be safer within the borders of a pack so he put his attention into bettering himself for the future. He also wouldn’t have to be so against he and Azariah starting a family since they would finally have a real home to raise their children. He also knew that he quite liked Resin and being able to help her in any way to grow and protect her pack felt like a win in his book.

With his decision made he brought his eyes back to Resin’s singular gaze and gave a small nod. “My family and I will join you. You’ve a very generous offer and I’d be a fool to turn it down.” He smiled a little as he realized that some of the pressure he had been feeling as of late had been relieved and there was now a new focus for the future. “It will be me, my fiancé Azariah, and my mother, Roza. I’m not sure if my two nieces will want to join as well. They’re old enough to decide on their own so I’ll let them choose.” They were free spirits and while he hoped that they would want to stick with their family, he knew what it was like to be young and want to have free reign of the world.

The shock on the brown man's face was evident. He hadn't been expecting her offer, it seemed. She liked the fact that he thought it over thoroughly before answering her. In the end though, he agreed to the suggestion. Of this, she was glad. Resin wouldn't live forever. Perhaps, if Ulric did well and showed promise, she would hand the reigns over to him. If he wished to leave and begin his own dream, she wouldn't hold that against him either.

Nodding in approval, the woman spoke. "Yes, bring them. Just know that everyone will be expected to contribute as they are able. It takes all bodies to keep a pack running smoothly. Each has their role and their duties to fulfill." She would have no laziness. Though The Hallows would be a place of relaxation and healing, part of healing was in doing. In doing, you became stronger. In doing, you learned valuable skills. Resin truly believed that she would be lifting the status quo of wolves. As a whole, the species would be better for it.

Rising, the woman shook out her ashen pelt. "Bring your family here in a weeks time. This place will be my home. It will be our home." With a nod, the no-nonsense woman took her leave, preparing to travel back to the Armada and set her plan in action.