Keahi was always a gentle soul, for the most part, quiet and observant. It had come as much surprise to her parents when she made the firm decision to travel away from their lands, trying to experience the world in a different view than her pack offered her. It had led her to these lands, far from home but full of new possibilities. She hadn't taken too long to try and find a pack, settling on the hope of finding one in the South lands of Ardent, the ones that so far reminded her most of home. She didn't know what she was going into, but she trekked cautiously until she eventually found some borders.

The dame knew far better than to enter lands without express permission, so she paused. She would have doubled back to continue exploring had her curiosity not gotten the better of her. With a huff, the damsel surveyed the grounds, pale pink gaze casting a wary glance around her, tail at half-mast and wagging. She was happy, relieved to find the scent of wolves after a time of travelling alone. It hadn't been horribly isolating, she had interacted with guards of packs and outriders and rogues, stayed away from fights and kept to herself if needed.  But it was awful tiring after a time, not feeling completely safe when she settled down to sleep at night. A pack would offer her the kind of protection and comfort she needed. 

As she was soon assured that, for the moment, she was alone at the border, she took in a deep breath. Keahi's eyelids fluttered closed as she lifted her head to the sky, chin tilted upwards and parting as it faced the heavens. The sound bubbled in her chest until a loud howl emitted from her lungs, bursting forth from parted lips and surely reaching the distance as a greeting, hoping for any of the ranked canines to acknowledge a stranger at the border. She would be patient, ears perked up and facing the marked territory before her, paws shuffling and nose twitching at the inviting scent of a congregation.

Roza's head shot up to listen as a howl reached her from the border. It wasn't a voice she recognized, but the tone didn't seem hostile in any way. A nervous excitement hit her as she realized that without Ganta here she was the one they would be wanting to see. It was her first time making a solo trip to greet a visitor at the border. Of course the last thing she wanted to do was keep their visitor - or potential member - waiting so she quickly instructed Ulric to wait for her to return at the den and hurried off to see who it was. The light tan and brown woman was fairly easy to find. They seemed to be fairly equal in height and build at least. Her scent didn't have any traces of any of the other packs so she had to assume this was a loner. She greeted the woman with a friendly smile, her tail high with authority but still wagging gently. "Hello there!" she said as she stopped a respectful distance away. "Welcome to Dragoste. I'm Roza, one of the alphas here. Is there something I can help you with?" Talk Abbey Others

It didn't take long for a ranked wolf to appear, which pleased the young canine greatly, her ears perked and pushed forwards in interest. Keahi had been taught well enough to bow upon the greeting she was given, dipping her front end low with respect before lifting her form back up, tail low but wagging in a friendly manner. Her bright gaze did a quick study of the other female, taking note of the dominant posture but kind expression, matching it with her own. The welcome was easygoing, very unlike some of the aggressive and forward canines from previously in her travels. As well as a far cry from the brutality of the empire she had encountered along the beaches of Kiwimbi.

"Hello, m'lady Roza," the bi-coloured damsel spoke with a heavily accented tone, smiling at the introduction, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." They went by alpha here, not like kingdom but like the empires or the congregations she had stumbled upon in Feral. "My name is Keahi of the Irish Masou Kingdom. I'm a traveller seeking a new home, I can provide my services as needed. I've not seen much of these lands but your parts seemed most intriguing to me." She explained herself carefully, willing to elaborate further if necessary. Perhaps she would need to demonstrate her skills, or she would be sent into training if deemed so, but whichever way, the Irish lady was keen on seeing how this pack worked.

Roza's ears perked forward with interest as she listened to the woman's unusual accent. It was incredibly interesting to listen to the slight differences in her pronunciations... so much so that Roza almost forgot that she was supposed to be listening to what the woman was saying! She blinked and made herself refocus on what the words were actually saying rather than what they sounded like. Roza's smile widened when she heard that Keahi was looking for a new home. Oh this was exciting! She wished that Ganta was here to help her decide if this lady would be a good fit for their pack, but if her first impressions were any sign she already liked this woman very much. "That's wonderful!" she said cheerfully, her tail wagging along with her excitement. "We are a fairly young pack and we are still working on building our home here together. You've come at a great time since there are still many possibilities open here for you!" She hoped that was a positive way of saying they had very few members and really needed more recruits. "In Dragoste we like to encourage everyone to pursue whatever it is they enjoy doing. As long as you are contributing to the pack in some way you'll be welcome here." Her head tipped to the side with curiosity as she asked, "Are you skilled in anything in particular?" Talk Abbey Others

The words she spoke were quite welcome to the travellers ears, the notion of being one of the early or founding members of a pack, helping build it up, it was a lovely thought. Keahi was always cautious in being quick to judge, but she could feel herself already liking how kind Roza was, and encouraging. She had heard from her parents of packs having rebellions when wolves felt their leaders were treating them unfairly, which made her ever aware of how she acted around her packmates, and around strangers. She never wanted to be viewed as a cruel or unjust wolf, as she greatly valued being a fair and honorable canine. Even if she could sometimes be a bit cunning in the way she went about things.

"Scouting, exploring unfamiliar territories and reporting back," Keahi responded eagerly, smiling at the chance to tell what she'd like to pursue. Her mother had been a brilliant scout and hunter in her youth, before she married her father and became a ruler. Oriel had taught the younger female enough, so she could be able to travel alone and survive. "I can do a fair bit of hunting as well, although I'm not very fond of larger game." The dame had her reasoning, having heard and seen some nasty injuries from large hunts, and hearing of her great aunt Irish's passing from a hunting incident. It didn't mean she wouldn't participate, she'd just be more reluctant. "I also consider myself fairly decent at negotiations, for my age," she mentioned, recalling how she liked to try and listen in on her father's council meetings, even if she was run off a few times for it.

The list of skills that Keahi gave her was surprising but exciting all the same. They had healers and fighters, but she didn't know anyone that had skills in scouting and negotiations. She would certainly appreciate having someone that could help them when they eventually go to negotiate alliances and trades. "Well, hunters are certainly always needed, but it sounds like you would make a perfect Mesagerii. That's what we call our messengers and diplomats. Hopefully that sounded like something that would interest her. "You would be our first Mesagerii if you agree that it's something you would like to do... Either way, I would love to have you join us, Keahi." She offered the woman a warm smile, adding, "If you want I'll show you around the territory and I'll tell you more about our pack and rules." Talk Abbey Others

Keahi nodded quickly to Roza's words, amused by the comment as she always viewed it as a given that any pack constantly welcomed hunters. She couldn't recall a time she had seen a pack that would turn away or ask for other skills from hunters, perhaps because packs were consistently growing and expanding their lands. Her explanation of the ranking caused the young Irish lass' ears to perk, bright eyes still fixed on the leading lady. A title for a messenger and diplomat? She had only ever known of scouts and spies as a different sort of rank, so the new position was enticing to her.

"I'd love to," the bi-colored dame spoke smoothly, dipping her head politely. "I'd be willing to take up the challenge, it sounds quite lovely." It would be a perfect chance for her to grow and learn. The whole point of why she had left her home Kingdom in the first place was to experience the world and gain a better compassion and understanding of others. "That would be nice, thank you, Lady Roza." Keahi remained respectful, hiding a wide grin and instead just smiling, eager to hear more about their laws and customs. Some of the packs were very unlike hers, and she would find fun in adjusting to new traditions.

Roza grinned happily when Keahi agreed to join and said that she was up for the challenge of taking on the previously untested rank. It felt great to finally have some good news. So much wrong had been taking over their lives lately that it was nice to have something to celebrate. "Wonderful!" she said cheerfully. "Welcome to Dragoste, Keahi! Come on, I'll give you a little tour." She motioned with her head toward the lands behind her and turned to walk further into the Weeping Woods. Roza could already tell that she was going to like this woman. "The territory of our pack is made up of the forest of willow trees we're in now, called the Weeping Woods, and a piece of the coast further south, called the Sea's Plain," she explained as they walked. She kept a pretty leisurely pace so they could easily talk. "It's pretty easy to tell where our lands begin and end though if you just make sure you check for the borders. I'm one of the alphas and my mate, Ganta, is the other. I'm sure you'll meet him before too long as well. He's... been out for a little bit. But hopefully he'll be back full time soon enough." She hesitated for a moment, her gaze turning toward the ground for a moment. "Our daughter has gone missing so he's out looking for her." She didn't want to elaborate too much on it right now. After all, Keahi just joined. She didn't want to dump all of their problems on her all at once. "As far as our laws go they're pretty straightforward. Just show up when we call for pack meetings or trainings, be kind to one another, and try your best in your rank. If you want to take a mate at some point just make sure they aren't part of another pack unless they're willing to move to ours." That was the long and the short of it. She was happy that their rules were so simple and easy to follow. "Do you have any questions so far?" Talk Abbey Others

Keahi's tail wagged at the positive reaction from Roza, continuing to grin at the welcome. She was finally a part of a pack after enough time traveling and exploring different places. She figured she would enjoy it, and these lands looked fairly promising. "Thank you, m'lady," she visibly relaxed more, comforted now that she would be part of Dragoste and be shown her new home. The smell of the lands was inviting, as well as what she could see from where she had been situated on the border. The tour would be nice, so the newly minted Mesagerii wouldn't be getting lost in the territory.

Following behind her, the dame's ears perked up, nose twitching as she inhaled deeply, taking in the various scents, faint and more recent, that were in the areas around them. There wasn't a lot of scents from other wolves, which made sense as Roza had stated they were a fairly young pack. She was eager to finally have a pack scent on her again since it had been so long, she clearly smelled like a rogue. Keahi understood that, about checking borders, for she wouldn't want to stumble out of their lands and end up in different pack lands. In fact, she wondered how close the nearest packs were. Did they already have alliances or rivals? Or just plenty of neutral and undetermined parties?

The mention of their child going missing had the pale damsel's ears perking up curiously, wondering how young this canine was. Surely their daughter wasn't in danger unless these lands proved more challenging than Keahi initially thought. Which was highly likely, for she hadn't ventured too far yet. Her next words were easier to digest, the rules straightforward and easy to understand. "That seems easy enough to follow," she grinned, tail wagging at the thought of getting to be the first in her rank, before answering her question, "Not as of yet."

Roza knew she had spoken a lot so she was glad to hear that Keahi was following along alright. She smiled and her tail wagged as well as she glanced over at their newest member. "Wonderful!" She looked ahead of them and saw that they were coming to the edge of the willow forest where it faded into the Sea's Plain. "This is the other half of our territory that I was talking about before. If you're one for fishing this is a great place to grab a bite to eat," she mentioned with a chuckle. She stopped now that they were in the middle of the territory and turned to face Keahi. "I'm sure you'll get acquainted with the rest of the pack soon enough. We're a friendly bunch after all. My son is around here somewhere so I'll tell him to come introduce himself at least." With that she smiled and added, "I'll let you get settled in and decide where you'll keep your den. If you need anything at all feel free to come find me. I'll make sure Ganta gets to meet you as well as soon as he gets back. Welcome to Dragoste, Keahi." She gave the woman one last warm smile before she turned to head back toward her family's den. She was sure Ulric was waiting there not so patiently to go hunting with her so she didn't want to keep him waiting too much longer. - exit Roza - Talk Abbey Others