OOC: She is currently around 10' inside of Hallows borders.

Avantika woke to a foggy pain in her head. She whined involuntarily as the pain spiked. It was barely a sound at all, but it cut through her grogginess like the dive of a falcon. She flinched and pushed herself closer to the ground, not a thought in her brain but all-too-familiar fear. After a few moments, she was able to think clearly enough to realize that she was far from her usual sleeping nook. Gritting her teeth and forcing herself through her headache, she lifted her head a few inches. Enough to see that she was right. The palace was a collection of connected caves. Her current surroundings weren't caves.

Her thoughts repeated, circling like hungry vultures. No, not caves. What is this? Not a cave. Where? No, no, no.

She stumbled to her paws, wanting to bash her traitorous head in with a rock. Please, please... She didn't even know what she was begging for.

Staring frantically around didn't give any clues of where she was or where her parents were. Her breathing was rapid, ragged. Eventually, the panic overwhelmed her, and she fell to the ground, eyes squeezed shut. She had never wanted to scream more. But she wouldn't. She couldn't. Zara. Larin. Pain on her body from fangs and rocks and no food and no water and--and--

She couldn't help it. She screamed. It ripped at her throat. The sound felt like it had slammed into the sky itself.

It didn't help.

She broke into sobs against the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm...sorry..." She repeated the words over and over until they lost all meaning.

A scream cut through the mindless routine of running patrols. Ice struck the scarred woman's stomach at the thought that it might be one of her pups. It didn't take her more than a moment to surge forward, heavy paws striking the ground rhythmically as she sped of in pursuit of the sound. What could have made one of them scream so? In the end, it wasn't one of her children at all, which was a relief. Instead it was some stray pup that looked more than a little distraught. The scarred fae's brow furrowed and she stared at the child, inspecting it for injury with her single sulfur eye. Resin was a hulking beast and stood larger than most wolves. She wasn't exactly the type of wolf that could soothe an upset child. Scars littered her form, one eye was missing, her teeth were serrated... She would try though. Resins normal growling tones came out soft, though still a little gritty as she addressed the shaking pup. "Nothing will harm you here. Now tell me your name. How did you end up here alone?" It was odd for a pup so small to be wandering alone. Resin imagined the worst. "Speech"

The girl continued crying until she felt empty. Hollowed out and numb. She started making a list of things she knew to try to tether herself back to reality. M'name's Avantika Azrail. The ground's prickly. She took a deep breath. Lists are easy. I like lists. Just as she composed herself enough to open her eyes, a strange wolf ran up to her.

Avantika's eyes widened and she cringed a few frantic inches backward. The hackles rose on her back, making her cower even more at the anger she was certain would come from such disrespect. She couldn't force the fur to flatten any, no matter how hard she tried. Staring up at the woman, she almost gaped at the terrifying size and strength of her. She was bigger than any wolf the child had ever seen. She flinched and shoved herself back against the grass even more. Her eyes were so bright... Well, eye. Was she born with it? Or--or had someone attacked her?

Eventually she registered that the stranger had started talking. Her neglected upbringing had left her with a vocabulary pups younger than her could scoff at, so it took her a few seconds to figure out what she was asking for and how to respond. "Avantika Azrail," she mumbled, just loud enough that the woman could understand if she paid attention. "An' I dunno. She didn't want to think about whatever happened. She didn't want to think about anything at all.

The child was a bundle of nerves. She reacted as Resin imagined she would and balked at the giant woman's approach. Thankfully she didn't run. She did pull herself together enough to give her name which Resin accepted with a nod. "Okay, Avantika," the giantess continued softly. "My name is Resin. I'm the alpha of these lands." With the kid so distraught, it would be better to use a more conversational speech rather than her typical, formal tones. How would Tamsyn feel about a seventh child in the den? She couldn't realistically tell a child to leave her lands and go off to die in the wild. Just like she had with Grimshaw, Resin decided to bring this one home too. "Why don't you come with me, Avantika." It wasn't a request. "We'll get you warm and fed and tomorrow we'll try to find your family." With a pull of her skull, she motioned for the child to follow. She hadn't felt much sympathy with Grimshaw, though she should have. For this small, broken girl though, Resin was trying. Tamsyn was always telling her that she needed to be softer, so here she was, trying to be softer."Come," she said again, motioning with one wide paw for the girl to follow. "You'll stay the night with my family and I." "Speech"

OOC: Feel free to power-play Tika following Resin!

Avantika continued staring, but her mind was far from empty. It's all okay, see? She felt like she was nuzzling the version of her that was anxious. You'll be fine. She's not mean. It'll be okay. She tried to block out the obsessive, nervous thoughts that asked "what's going to happen later?". She imagined a boulder falling and slamming down on the pesky worries. Poorly, but they were kept at bay for a bit, enough for her to listen to the stranger in front of her.

Resin. Alpha. Lands. Words jumped at her like flies in the heat of summer. She frowned and narrowed her eyes, working over the sounds in her head. Resin was her name, she gathered, and "these" meant that "lands" was something of some other things, right? She had no clue what "alpha" meant, but apparently Resin was it. She'd figure it out later, though, as the woman was talking again. She readied herself for more thinking.

Okay, so first, the words she knew. She knew all the words in the first sentence. "Why" was asking something, she didn't know what, "don't" was like "no", "you" was talking to her, "come" was telling her to follow, "with me" meant follow Resin, and then it was her own name. So presumably it would mean Avantika should follow Resin. But wait, that couldn't be it! What about that "don't"? Did that mean she shouldn't follow? And the "why" was confusing also. She decided just to wait and see if she could figure out what the woman wanted some other way.

She started using the same method to deduct the meaning of the next bit but balked at the word "family". She didn't protest, though. She was scared of them, but she was also scared of anything else. So she lay on the ground in frozen indecision, as Resin seemed to be beckoning her closer.

Come. She could do that. If she wanted to leave she could, probably. Hopefully, the nervous voice in her head echoed. What if Resin decided not to let her leave? What if her parents wouldn't want her if she left? What if-What if she was trapped in whatever choice she made and there would be no do-overs?

Then she would run. She'd find a way out. She'd have to, right? It couldn't be that hard. She made a tiny nod. No turning back now. She got to her feet, cautiously, head and tail tucked, eyes wide and staring up at the older woman's face. "Okay." Her voice was small, but it felt like a triumph. And terrifying.

There was something wrong with the girl that Resin couldn't quite place. She knew that it wasn't contagious. If it had been, she'd have killed the child outright to not only protect her family, but to end the pups suffering. No... this was something different. Some sort of trauma. A stunt in emotional and mental growth, perhaps. Either way... it was something that Resin was ill equipped to deal with. She was a hard woman and thought she was built to protect, she wasn't built to soothe and heal. Avantika moved forward at her insistence to follow. That part was good at least. The pup was maybe six months old. Resin could carry her, but she would rather not. Not with her teeth. Since she was taking a seventh pup into the den, Tamsyn ought to know. The big fae released a low howl for her lover, asking Tamsyn to meet her at the base of the Falls. She could hand the pup over to Tam while she went and fetch the skinny child some food. The hot springs bubbled and steamed as the giant and child moved past them. The visitors were all in their dens it seemed. Other than the sound of water and the falls nearby, the area was fairly quiet. As they neared the path that led up to the top of the falls, Resin turned to the girl. "Tamsyn is going to take you up. I'll get you something to eat." As she waited for Tam, Resin watched the strange child. What had happened to her? "Speech"

Walking along just behind Resin, Avantika kept up her submissive half-crouching pose. Better to be cautious, she thought. The woman seemed nice, but she couldn't help but wonder when that would turn. She didn't know what would trigger this stranger's anger, so she would do nothing much at all until she knew what was safe. It was the only way to start off on the right foot. But at least now she knew what she was doing. Vaguely.

Resin let out a howl. Loud, loud. So loud. The pup cringed back down to the ground. Every sound seemed stronger to her. Angry. She'd lived in silence. Only the King and Queen made noise, and they yelled. She'd hidden through dozens of arguments, trying to block out the screaming, and sometimes the thump of bodies as they attacked each other. She breathed slowly, deeply. They weren't here. Before Resin looked back at her, she was fine and on her paws once more. If she was held together with twigs and string, at least she was held together at all.

She heard the bubbling of the springs before she saw them and couldn't resist a smile. Nice, calm sounds. It would never be silent here, but she kind of liked it. It wasn't angry sounding. She hadn't heard sounds like that before, and she hadn't seen anything like the springs themselves. They met a path that led up to a falls. There was so much water here! She'd never go thirsty again if this kept up.

Resin started talking. Tamsyn sounded like a name, and, with a little thought, she figured out that the sentence meant something similar to "Tamsyn is going to put you up the falls". Made enough sense to her. And Resin said the word "eat", so that was good. She was getting hungry, though not as hungry as she had been some times. She sat, keeping her eyes locked on the dark wolf. What was going to happen now? Who was Tamsyn? And why had she been brought here?

Walk | "Talk" | think

Tamsyn was resting outside of the den she shared with Resin and their family, watching their daughters as they played and explored near by. The boys were off somewhere else, which wasn't unusual for them. She did make them come check in with her every so often thought the day though ever since Rudy and Art's adventure out of the pack's lands unaccompanied, but she knew trapping them to the play area around the den would be nearly impossible. It could be done, but they would just be miserable in the process. A little smirk touched her lips as she thought about how when she was a pup she had wanted to do all of the same things they were doing - though she had been given much harsher punishments when she tried. Perhaps this was all just proof that her own adventuring tendencies ran so deep that they were passed on to her children. Luckily, it seemed like their girls were a bit more calm so at least she didn't have to worry about them as much.

Resin's summoning howl was a surprise and it made her head pop up to listen. It didn't seem like the kind of urgent that meant something was wrong, but it was certainly insistent. When she looked back to the girls, they were all looking her way and she smiled. "I'll be right back, not to worry," she told him before getting up and hurrying off to meet Resin. When she arrived her curious, mint eyes went to Resin first, but quickly drifted down to the small, thin, patch work girl beside her. Her ears perked as surprise colored her expression before softening with concern. "Oh! Hello, sweetheart," she said as a kind smile found its way onto her lips and she settled onto her stomach so that she would closer to eye level with the pup. After the surprise of Resin bringing Grimshaw home, it wasn't nearly as much of a surprise this time around and she really didn't even question it. These pups needed help and someone to care for them and as far as she was concerned there was more than enough room in her heart for them all... though she was beginning to wonder if there was enough room in their den. "Who's this?" she asked as she looked back up at Resin curiously.

Avantika seemed to settle down as they waited for Tamsyn to arrive. At least the child was calm and wasn't fighting her. That would have made things a lot more difficult. She probably would have just pointed her in the direction outside of the territory and let her loose. The child seemed a little off. Like she hadn't been taught certain things. Where had she come from? Whoever her parents were, Resin might very well not give the girl back. Soon Tamsyn arrived and instantly dissolved into mother mode. Resin was thankful that at least one of them had it. Though a little warrior, her obsidian lover was very much of the mothering spirit. Mint eyes raised questioningly to the one-eyed woman. "This is Avantika. I found her wandering through the territory. She's a little... fragile." Moving forward, Resin nosed the pup behind one ear, her voice soft yet again. "This is Tamsyn. She'll take you to our den where its safe." Again she nudged the girl, though gently. "There are other pups there, so you won't be alone." Casting a slightly concerned look towards Tamsyn, Resin took a step towards her lover and slid their cheeks together. "I'm going to bring her a fresh meal. She needs it." After placing a lick upon Tam's muzzle, the maned woman turned and padded off to hunt. She still wanted to find the child's parents so she could take her displeasure out on their hides. "Speech"

OOC- Feel free to skip Resin for a bit.

As another woman approached, presumably the Tamsyn spoken about earlier, Avantika quickly scanned over her, searching for any sign that would make her want to be more careful than she was already being. Her eyes were bright minty green and seemed soft. Kind. Her body was smaller than Resin's. Everything about her appeared soft and gentle, without a hint of aggression, even to the girl's suspicious vision. She relaxed a bit, letting her jaws unclench. The woman said hello with a smile so that was good, right? Smiles were nice. People smiled when they were happy and people weren't usually mean when they were happy. At least, she hoped so. Then Tamsyn lay down right in front of her. Or at least, too close for it to be comfortable. She was still a stranger and every move was a potential threat. The ocean-eyed castaway pulled back, ears tucked. She crouched a bit closer to the ground, but stayed roughly standing. Her eyes darted to the woman's face as she asked Resin who she was. Crap. She'd been so focused on the newcomer, she'd forgotten to keep track of the darker woman. All had ended up fine, though she made a mental note to refrain from such oversight in the future. Avantika paid close attention as Resin introduced her to Tamsyn, her ears pricking forward. "Fragile". She didn't know that word, although she could figure out pretty easily what it meant based on her behavior. She curled her tail around her feet, eyes narrowed. She was only being careful. "speak"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Tamsyn’s ears flicked worriedly when the little girl cowered away from her when she laid down in front of her. She didn’t mean to startle the little girl and she felt guilty for doing so even though it wasn’t her intention. She nodded when Resin explained the girl’s name and presence and then turned her attention back to the girl that she had to assume was an orphan. Surely there would be parents looking for her if she had gone missing. “Avantika. That’s such a pretty name,” she told her with another gentle smile. Once Resin left them to go hunt, she added, “Don’t worry... I was fragile when I met Resin too. She’s really good at helping others be strong.” She had more than her fair share of scars to show for her past and Resin had been the only one to make her feel like they didn’t matter.

Getting to her feet, she led the way up the hill to where they had their den, leading Avantika around the “fence” of rocks around the play area in front of the den. “We have a bunch of pups here,” she said both as a way to warn her for what she would be going in to and also hopefully as a way to help her feel more comfortable. “You just let me know if they get to be too much, okay? We can go to one of the guest dens if it feels too crowded.” She slipped inside and peeked into the main bedroom that she shared with Resin and the pups. Luckily they were all still sound asleep so at least they wouldn’t be bombarding their new guest right away.

“Here, come over this way,” she said as she guided the girl over to a spare chamber off to one side of the den they had set up for guests to stay in. At least here it would be a little quieter and they wouldn’t risk waking up the others while they waited on Resin to get back with some food.

A fat, sleepy rabbit had been the victim of bad timing and luck. The rotund creature swung between Resin's jaws as she made her way back to a very crowded den. So many children... If Avantika stayed with them, she and Tamsyn would be caring for seven children. Had she told her younger self that she would one day be raising seven children at once, she would have laughed at herself. This was insanity, but what were they supposed to do? Neither Resin nor Tamsyn would be able to leave the child out to fend for herself. Not when she was obviously so broken. Pushing into the den, the fae scanned the chamber at the far end with her singular gaze. All of the pups seemed to still be asleep. That was good. There would be excitement enough in the morning and Tika could use the time to rest. Moving into the guest chamber, Resin lay the rabbit before the frightened girl. "Eat." Based on the slender frame of the girl, she felt the need to add, "The whole rabbit is yours, so eat as much as you'd like." Stepping back out of the chamber to give the girl space, the maned fae continued to speak, though her voice was soft and low. "You're safe. If you need anything, Tamsyn and I will be right out here." With that, she left the girl alone to eat. The chamber was packed with furs and so she would be quite warm. Just in case, Resin added a log to the small fire nestled in the corner of the den. Turning to face Tamsyn, the ashen woman sighed and shrugged. Another mouth to feed. "Speech"

More smiles. More softness. It was starting to feel weird. She was suspicious, but not willing to do anything that might break the spell. There was so much warmth in Tamsyn's voice as she talked about Resin, though. Could that all be a lie? As Tamsyn continued speaking, Avantika's brain stopped even trying to figure out what she was saying. She should be listening. She knew that. But she was unused to people talking so much. She talked like she expected her to understand her, too. The girl was mentally exhausted. She just wanted to go somewhere enclosed and rest. Thankfully Tamsyn seemed to understand and guided her into a spare chamber. Soon Resin entered, carrying a heavy rabbit. Avantika stared, licking her lips to keep from drooling. It smelled delicious. She wanted it. It was dropped before her, and she stopped thinking about anything else. Hunching her shoulders forward and trying to protect the food with as many little physical behaviors as she could manage, she ate, well, like a wolf. Every couple of seconds she stopped to breathe and keep herself from getting sick on the food, but other than that, she gorged to her heart's content. She barely noticed Resin's exit, but she smiled anyway. "speak"