Mercury sat comfortably in a small field in the Gorge. The two young foxes that had been following him, picking at the scraps he discreetly left them, were playing together. Siblings, he believed. They tousled and growled together, rolling across the grass as he and his Cormorant watched them.

It was late in the morning, and he had yet to decide what tasks he wished to fiful in the day. He could scout some more, but he didn’t want to go too far from the Gorge when Wren would be bringing the pack together soon. He could hunt and craft for their stores, or he could meet with more of the wolves that were to be his pack mates. “What do you think Solar?” he turned his attention to the cormorant, who clicked his beak at him. He rose to his paws, stretching out his legs and carefully balancing his shoulders to keep Solar stable. “Your right, perhaps I’ll call for Sybil? I did offer to pick her brian about diplomacy” he mused, to which the bird made some more clicking noises.

Looking across at the playful young foxes, he shook his head, and then raised it. Calling out to Sybil to see if the young wolf was free.

"Speech"

Sybil had been anticipating the call from Mercury, and to some degree she had been looking forward to it. Her own curiosity pushed her forward. Who was this strange man? Where had he come from? And, most importantly, were he and Wren an item? This investment in this relationship between them was nothing more than a vestigial urge from girlhood, something she acknowledged as such. She had been raised with the expectation of gossip, to not partake would be peculiar and she found herself gravitating toward it almost naturally. Mercury held a similar kind of sea-salt charm to Wren, humble but not unambitious. She could tolerate a lot, but she had a hard time dealing with the unambitious. Without a vision of the future, how could you ever move forward at all? She padded toward him, giving a curious glance to the pair of quarrelling foxes as she did, then watching the sea bird at his shoulder, growing more certain of her assumption. Yes, this was a wolf of water. “Mercury. You called?” ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

It wasn’t long before the pale wolf arrived. Her shimmer silver coat could give her the appearance of a ghost in the right sort of lighting. Especially with the pale-blue eyes set in a slim face. He offered her a smile as that very gaze swept over himself and his companions. “Sybil” He responded politely. “Thank you for coming” he continued as she padded closer to him. He offered her a seat beside him, and the playful foxes paused to look at the wolves curiously. Their attention only lasted a few moments before they were at it again, spinning around each other in the soft grass.

“So, if you don’t mind me going right into the difficult questions” His eyes crinkled at the corners in gentle amusement “Then I’d like to know what your ambitions in Menagerie will be”


"Speech"

She took her seat beside him, tail curling over toes, forming an almost perfect circle of space. She did not sit tall with the rigidity of a soldier, but the grace of someone who was raised to meet certain expectations. She did not return his gentleness exactly, regarding him with the alien neutrality she regarded most. For such large, pale eyes they did not betray much of her soul. Regarding him a second time, if he thought of her as a ghost, she thought of him as a dark sky over sea. Serene for the moment, but large, overwhelming. Regardless of his demeanour, he held both presence and authority. He could just as easily be a hurricane, she knew. She made a thoughtful little noise at his query, though glad that he had gotten right to the point. “For the menagerie,” She paused to watch the foxes in idleness. Their activities, while of little interest, where certainly entertaining to observe. “The title of Minstrel, ideally.” ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Mercury nodded his head, not entirely surprised by her answer. Wren had already mentioned her interest in diplomacy. It seemed to him that their leader was already preparing her for the role. It was for this that Mercury had called upon her. “Diplomat and public face of the pack” he said conversationally.

“Have you had much experience in speaking to Alphas so far?” He continued. She was young yet, and wanted to get a feel for what she had learned so far, and where she had to go. If Wren wanted to prepare her for the position, then Mercury would do what he could to offer his knowledge and experience.


"Speech"

When watching the foxes tired her, she shifted her gaze to the horizon, as if envisioning her ambitions coming true, what her life could be like, if she played her cards right at least. Her answer didn't draw much reaction from the seneschal, and she suspected he had predicted as much. It wasn't a hard guess, Sybil played her skills and interests as straight as she coud. She wouldn't want to be grouped with the manual labour types on accident, wouldn't she? "Aside from Wren? Not much." She admitted. "But if they're anything like rich folk, it shouldn't be too much of a challenge." She turned to face him at the last line, small smirk curling her lip. She had plenty dealings with those who's power was arbitrary, but less so earned. In truth, she looked forward to meeting those wolves, the ones who draw others in their orbit. Regardless of how or why, it was an impressive feat, to earn that kind of responsibility. It was why partly why she respected Wren so much. In the small amount of time she'd been here, half a year at most, she'd already left an impact. ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅