Was this the fourth time? Or was it the fifth? At this point she had lost count and was there even a point in counting the loss of her homes? Her shattered family reminded her of the days when her mother had begun to drift from her depression. As a child Voodoo had been too young to fully understand but now in the clutches of life she felt like a fly struggling to get out of a spiders web. Had the gods gone as far as to curse her. What of her sons and daughters, they were getting older and voodoo cursed herself for not trying to find the time to teach them what they needed. No doubt phantom was independently taking on the world. While her daughters were nearby, Jay and Tomie having attached themselves to a mother during unforeseen unfortunate circumstances. Voodoos muscles still aches, but they were covered in patches of herbs. Perhaps instead of trying to climb she should try to concentrate on her healing skills.

Voodoo let out a breath, letting the cool morning air flow through her fur. The east she hadn’t explored much. Her paws stood on an invisible scent line, respectfully keeping a distance from the newly formed pack. She should have come when he called, but she had wanted the loss to settle in her before attempting more politics. The gray and black woman raised her head in a summoning howl. Once again, she hoped at least this pack wouldn’t crumble underneath her feet.

((Permission to enter thread has been obtained from King <3))

The young woman was hardly what one could call stable. Not emotionally, no Tomie was pretty solid in that regard. But much of her life had been spent being tossed from one failed pack to another, no place had been home long enough to really let her settle and start turning her focus inward. She'd watched her mother fight for a pack twice now and both time she'd been less than useless at helping to patch the woman back up. Instead she'd attached herself to her mother and sister. When Voodoo made the climb up the mountain to try once more for a home Tomie was behind her, cyan gaze watching their surroundings to ensure nothing was coming after her mother. Making herself the protector was the only thing Tomie really knew how to do. Of course she'd follow her mother to the ends of the earth, being there for the woman was all she had. Tomie stopped a little bit behind her mother, not wanting to look like she was looming over the woman but she kept her gaze hard, ready to spring into action if it came to it. "Speech"

Art by Cloudy!

Settling the pack was work, but then, the shadow had never shied from a hard day. Never had, never would. No, he simply put his head down and got shit done. It was near as natural as breathing. The viking king had risen, and he would only keep rising. There was something about it, something... he knew. This was the time to rise and keep rising. Víðarr does not ask questions of the gods, but follows the path laid before him.

He wouldn't question those they put in his path, either. The shadow can hear her call, and carefully, he picks his way to the source. Politics were largely foreign to him. Víðarr knows how to settle things with his fists, not his wits. It had done him well before, and if it wasn't broken? Well, Víðarr wasn't looking to fix it. With his head high, his gaze settled on Voodoo as she came into view. Just behind her, a yearling. "Girl," he greeted, not unkindly. "Younger girl," the same tone coloring his voice, eyebrows lifting slightly as he took both in. Curious. Very curious. "Why have you come?" The words are spoken crisply, curios as he was.

"Speech"

Voodoo remembered explaining to lurid what had happened to her, she’d been tired then and wished she didn’t even need the words to place her thoughts. He seemed…. Strong but she knew strength wasn’t the only thing the gods lent to them. The healer sat then curling her tail around her paws. Her gaze was still but she felt courage with her daughter at her side. "Greetings, Vidarr was it?" she tilted her head, hoping she had gotten the name right.

"Ive come to offer my paws in your pack. The reason I had tried to take claim is a long story, my home has been ravaged from me four or even five times. My children, two boys, two girls, have had no pack lands to call their home. This is Tomie here with me today. I’m a healer at heart not a leader, I can see your warriors healed, your mothers looked after. But I want a promise that you’re strong enough unlike all the others who have failed me before." Voodoo stood her glare boring into him. It was not a threat, in fact the emotional touch in her surprised the woman. Her glare was twisted into a somber expression, kindly settling back down again. "I am tired, I do not wish to keep hoping a pack that I can serve well in the rest of my life only for it to keep slipping from me. I want. to apply myself to a community that I can feel like I belong to." her life nearly felt like it hadn’t even started.

The shadow watches, listens carefully as Voodoo pleads her case. His expression is unchanging, rough-hewn features remaining truly neutral as the woman speaks. Though his knee jerk reaction is to turn her down outright, to inform her we have healers, there is the question of children as well. Yearlings, judging by Tomie's size, as she lurked behind her mother. Víðarr watches them both carefully, considering. It was either bravery or stupidity that brought her to his doorstep, and she did have children to think about. He couldn't turn down a traveler, and the shadow supposed that's all she was now.

Víðarr studied her for a long moment before finally speaking. "The gods would not have chosen me if I was not the man for the job." His tone is careful, and the shadow chooses each word with intent. "Is this the only child you bring, or will it be the others, too?" He had to consider what the mountain could provide, how many it could support. There was always the idea they reach farther, sweep down its craggy edge and on into oblivion (or whatever else was down there.) Finding some merit in this train of thought, he'd hold onto it for later.

And then there was the question of trust. Víðarr could not trust her, not yet. Voodoo says she's not a leader, was he inclined to believe her? Was she planning, scheming something? After another long, thick pause, he speaks once more. "If you want to stay, then you will start at the very bottom. You will each prove I can trust you. Apply yourself like you say you want, and time will tell." His tone picked up a hard edge, expression gravely serious. It was a risk, and Víðarr knew that. But it was a risk he could take, with plenty of dangerous and able bodied fighters within his ranks. The work would be hard, the climb would be tough. You have to be tough to survive with the worst of them. Carefully, he watches. He waits, looking for any shred of reaction to his terms.

"Speech"

She let her nerves ease. Vidarr didn’t know what life she had led, and she didn’t expect him to care either. She felt like she knew him a bit better having crossed teeth with him. Voodoo had meandered her whole life, been sidelined in a family heritage she had felt slipping away from her. More over she was more like her mother than she had realized. The gods would not have chosen me if I was not the man for the job….. her gaze softened as she looked to her daughter Tomie. "One other daughter, her name is Jaybird. My son phantom wanders and I’m unsure if he’ll seek me out. As for my last boy, he was kidnapped a few seasons ago. An albino yearling named Reqouis some purple woman took him and I’ve been looking out for signs of her." she shook her head. She had been fighting many things for a while.

What he said finally caused her tail to wag. Her heart was doing enough of pounding against her chest. "That is the smart decision. I will let time tell you who I am. I have the feeling the gods placed you in my path for a reason. I am no stranger to hard work and I cannot thank you enough for even the chance. So thank you Vidarr." she dipped her head. It wasn’t just healing she was good at though. She could make booze, poisons, and other tinctures. A present for the king perhaps? Voodoo was intrigued to what culture she was putting herself into but it felt like a breath of fresh air.

Tomie was a young woman of few words, she'd never really learned how to use them well growing up with very few wolves in her life to whom she needed communicate with that needed more than a few words and then the friendly or playful bumps she felt comfortable giving her sister and mother. So she chose silence for the most part though she was painfully aware she would need to learn if there ever was a place they'd stay that'd last. For now though, she simply watched in silence, nodding a few times in agreement with her mother but otherwise she kept herself solid, very little emotion crossing her face. Still she disliked the way the man seemed to regard them both, more so the edge of distrust he had to him. Tomie was not upset for herself though, rather she was biting back frustration that the man could look at her mother and see anything but the humbling she was doing right now, seeking shelter with the man that had defeated her not long before. It rankled, a hard edge entering her gaze but she still said nothing.  It seemed Voodoo was pleased though and Tomie finally moved forward, standing just a bit behind her mother. "I can fetch Jay." She offered, leaning towards the smaller woman as her voice lifted barely above a whisper, just enough the man would hear it if he wanted. She wasn't looking to stoke the fires of his distrust. Still she was also loath to leave her mother here with him, casting a distrustful glance all her own in his direction. "Speech"

Art by Cloudy!