What a scraggy, dangerous place this was. Dominik was beginning to wonder if he'd made a mistake coming here, even though he'd been sure that he'd want to join his acquaintances' pack. Despite his misgivings, his cream-colored paws carried him rather nimbly over the rocks, making his way up steep inclines without much difficulty. He was well-aware of his dangerous surroundings, and he watched his every step to ensure he didn't meet an unfortunate fate. Could anyone really call this place home? Perhaps it wasn't so bad once you'd traveled over it several times and memorized the pitfalls - that was, if you didn't fall to your death first.

Sighing, he came across a scent-marked line, an obvious border, and thus he stopped his forward progress. He had finally come to claimed territory, so he wouldn't pass into the lands unannounced. He didn't feel like getting his pristine pelt ripped apart today - he might be lucky if Karabela recognized him, but there was always the chance of running into a guard. So, the sun-streaked male braced his legs as he tried to ignore a rather precarious drop just several feet from where he stood, tilting back his head with all intention of making himself heard as his lips pursed into the shape of an 'o'. Instead, a rather shy howl escaped him, barely echoing off the rocks surrounding him. Self-consciously he lowered his head, wondering if anyone had heard him, and at the same time wondering if he should just turn around and leave. But... he forced his paws to stay where they were, and he would wait for someone to approach him, hoping he would be just good enough to join them in this pack...

Dancing in the sunlight Karabela scampered around the densite enjoying another nice fall day. Couldn't it stay like this all the time? She peeked her head back into her den under a rocky outcropping and examined it one last time before nodding firmly that she was winter ready on that front. Now to see to the stores. Manuervering over the terrain she turned a sharp corner and slipped into a crevice in the side of the mountain, slipping down into the cool dank of the cave where assorted animal carcasses were being stored. It was a bit of a grand experiment. Some corpses were buried while others were dragged down into the coolest parts of the cave. In truth though they were not squirrels. Hunting during winter would be essential and something they'd all have to learn to do. She supposed the warm day wasn't helping the preservation but when the cold weather of winter came she was fairly certain they could store the corpses for a much longer period of time. Of course… she wasn't sure there was a good way to prevent them from being frozen solid.

Inspection complete Karabela emerged from the crevice finding herself particularly pleased with her niece's work. Frowning she wondered where her brother Sabre was and once again why he wasn't with the girl. Though, she supposed he'd always been a bit distant and if her mother was any example in how to raise a family then he was going by a paws-off approach. She passed Dagmær's den ears alert to the soft breathing of her tuckered out niece. The girl would not start hunting again til the evening and Karabela made a mental note to have Dagmæer have herself checked out by one of the menders.

A howl slipped through the mountains and Karabela blinked at the sound as it echoed off the mountain face. That voice… sounded familiar now where had she- Dominik! She grinned at the memory of their meeting at the hot springs and like a bolt of lightning she was off. Well… sort of. The eastern mountains were vast an she'd only explored so much of it. The route down towards the call wasn't nearly as familiar so she was taking it a bit slower. It wouldn't do to mis-step and fall into a splatter before she had a chance to meet him again. Patiently she worked her way down until she saw him and yipped out a greeting. "Hey Dominik! How are you? One second… let me… whoa… one sec, one sec." Sliding her body along a particularly thin ledge she slowly maneuvered herself down to his level. "What can I help you with today?"

"Speech"

He waited, not impatiently but anxiously, one second feeling like he should leave, the next, feeling like he should stay right where he was. He fidgeted with his paws, clawing at the rocks and kicking pebbles around as he stayed in place. When he finally heard a voice calling to him, his head whipped up, golden eyes widening as his heart pounded. Who was there? His eyes searched through light fog to find a dark figure, only to realize it was Karabela. Relieved to see her picking her way over the rocks toward him, his sun-streaked tail waved back and forth, reserving his smile for when she got a little closer. His breath came a little sharply as he watched her carefully move across that very narrow ledge, almost slipping. Ugh, why would anyone live here? he wondered secretly, but he would not voice the thoughts. After all, he was considering living here, if he was granted permission. Not like it was where he'd choose to live if it was up to him, but perhaps one could grow used to it after time.

When she finally made it safely to where he was standing, he chuckled slightly, tail flicking. "I'm well, Karabela, how have you been?" he returned the pleasantry, listening to her next question. He hesitated for a few moments, not because he didn't want to be here, just because... well, that's just how he was. He seemed to hesitate over everything. "Well, I've been giving it some thought," he began, his eyes looking over the rocky terrain, then shifting back to her, "And I'd like to join your pack, if you'd have me." He felt like it was kind of a lame answer. Maybe he could have answered with what he thought he could offer her and her pack, but instead he just made a wimpy plea to join her. He knew there were useful things he could do... he just wasn't used to a social lifestyle, so he knew it was something that would take some getting used to for him. But he was sure he could do it. He could learn to be around others, and make use of himself. Karabela seemed like someone he would want to follow, and he would work hard for her, even if this was way out of his comfort zone. He was tired of being alone, so he was ready to put himself into this, if she was willing to give him a chance in Ivory Ridge.

Karabela steadied her gait. Oh winter was going to be fun when the mountains were covered with snow and ice. Though on the bright side she'd found a lovely slope on the east side of the mountains toward the base that was smooth with the perfect slope for sledding! She couldn't wait to tell the rest of the pack. After the first good snow she was going to see how many of her packmates had enough sense of humor to go sliding down a hill on their backsides. She was glad that Dominik was doing well, she'd been wondering what he'd been getting up to since their last meeting. "I'm doing pretty well! Things are a bit crazy right now with getting ready for winter but it seems like the pieces are finally starting to fall into place." And not a moment to soon in her opinion. While the fall was still unusually warm they'd had a few cold periods and a bout of freezing rain here and there that made her wary. An unexpected snow storm could be trouble.

Karabela's grin grew wider as Dominik stated that he'd like to join her pack. "Really? Sure, I'd love to have you. When we last met you struck me as a good and honest man and there are to few of those in the world. Do you have a particular set of skills?" Ok, not the most Chieftan of answers. Really, she supposed she should be asking him what he could do for her pack and then testing him but Ivory Ridge was small enough that she hadn't felt the need yet to test everyone that wanted to join and Dominik had one thing going for him. They'd met before. If it was a random stranger showing up that would be another matter but she'd spent a lovely afternoon with him and new he had a good heart. Character was of more importance to her than skill at the moment for skills could be learned and it would take courage and strength of character to weather a winter in Fenrir's Maw.

"Speech"

He nodded as he listened to her, understanding that she must feel a lot of responsibility for getting a pack prepared for winter. It was easier when you were a nomad - you could just leave and go any place you liked, and if prey wasn't abundant enough, you just moved on to somewhere that was. With a pack, everyone was expected to stay in one place, and resources had to be made to last all winter long. He realized if he wanted to stay here, he would really have to pull his weight and make sure he wasn't just an idle mouth to feed. But it wasn't like he'd ever lived off the backs of others. He'd always provided for himself, and from a young age, too. He couldn't see himself being deadweight, even if pack life was a new concept for him. "I'm sure with you in charge, things are going right," he said, and he meant it. From what he'd seen, she seemed like a very capable woman, and self-assured, too.

He smiled and even laughed a bit when she said she'd love to have him here, and tucked his ears back self-consciously when she said he'd struck her as an honest man. "I-I... thanks," he said quietly, shuffling like a nervous pup. He wasn't used to hearing compliments like that, and he wasn't really sure if it was true. But if that's what she thought of him, he wasn't going to let her down. Now she asked if he had a particular skill set, which made him visibly squirm, his paws digging into the rocky ground, tail shifting uncomfortably. What could he really say? He definitely wasn't a fighter - he hadn't the idea of conflict, and he knew he'd be useless in a battle. But he wasn't a healer either, having no knowledge of herbs or techniques for healing wounds. However, he knew he could hunt, since he'd always taken care of himself.

"Well, I can definitely hunt," he began, honey amber eyes looking up at her, "I can help your pack get ready for winter. Uhm, but mostly I've been a traveler all my life. I'm pretty good at navigating, finding my way and learning new routes easily. So, if there's any way we can put that to use, scouting out new territory, looking for resources, that kind of thing... I'm pretty good at that." He wasn't sure if it was a skill that could be used in a pack, but he sure hoped so. He had always traveled the lands, and it was what he knew best. Following the stars, the sun and the moon, creating new paths and trails to make the land easier to navigate, and finding new things, especially food.

Karabela was feeling particularly pleased with how her pack was growing. Seeing Ivory Ridge grow beyond the ragtag group of wolves that first answered her meeting call was truly exciting and gave her reassurance that she was on the right path. She was going to find her answers come hell or high water.

"I'm sure with you in charge, things are going right,"

Raba felt the heat rise unexpectedly to her cheeks at his praise. She didn't really know what to say. It was strange to be complemented so, especially when she felt like she still had so much to learn but she appreciated the vote of coincidence. "Thanks, Dominik, that's sweet of you to say!" She resisted the urge to giggle as she watched him fidget, keenly aware of his own embarrassment as well as her own. It seemed neither of them were that great at receiving compliments.

Karabela grinned as he stated he could definitely hunt. Excellent! If there was one thing Ivory Ridge was going to need going into winter it was more hunters. She nodded politely as he continued to speak. His skills in navigation could be good for trade routes or leading expeditions should any pack ever wish to borrow Ivory Ridge's explorers to lead expeditions into various territories. "Glad to hear! We could definitely use more hunters with winter coming around the corner. At the moment our only full-time hunter is my niece Dagmær. I'm sure she'd appreciate a hunting partner. We call our hunters Trappers because we keep and cure the pelts to line or dens and to use to trade with. Kassander and Dagmær would be able to show you this process if you're unfamiliar with it." She smiled genuinely at Dominik. "I accept you as a member of Ivory Ridge, Dominik. You'll be ranked a Trapper. We currently have two territories. Fenrir's Maw where most of the dens are located and then the Stone Steppe to the east which is our main hunting territory. If you want to follow me I can show you where to get settled in." She turned and leapt carefully onto a ledge, pausing to give Dominik a chance to follow.

"Speech"