But Nobody Fits the Description

Another backdated thread, early October

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She always stayed a while in her chosen locations, in hopes that she would be found by somebody. Spoiler alert- She never was. It seemed the plains were far from bursting with wolves, not exactly the best place to be. Which is why this would be her last night here. She had made the decision to travel west, the scent of multiple packs drifted from there. Not the best for recruiting, but at least she could make a few alliances. And she couldn't be doing worse than she was already after all.

Her thoughts drifted to @Marlin , she hoped her asshole of a little brother was alright. Though if he was laying at the bottom of a cliff, it would save her a major headache. And she could take over the empire, not that she really wanted to lead. But the title of Empress sounded pretty cool.

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He hadn't been doing much, to be frank. Wandering and meeting others, no roof over his head. It had to stop. Somehow, but he didn't know exactly how. So he wandered continually, for now, leaving the mountains and temperate behind in order to walk into these fields. Breathing in the autumn air, crisp but not too cold, he spies a woman. She is of soft oranges, her eyes strike him more keenly than her pelt, however. They just stood out more.

"Greetings," he would say to her as he neared. Not enough to be mistaken as a bee-line but more along the lines of casually walking by her. He doesn't usually approach others with intent, and he did have to find shelter for this night. The plains were... lacking in information for him. He must explore a bit to find a pseudo-den. But it was quite rude to just walk by her, without a word. If she stopped him, he would stop. If she chose to say 'hello and goodbye', he accepted it without fuss.

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Her dreams of being an only child were tossed away, at the arrival of a man.

Cold eyes brushed over him lightly, judging his appearance. The hues of brown in his pelt were soft, nearly pastel in nature. Completely rivaled by the stark white in his fur, which was much different than the cream in her own. Then something else caught her eye, a star marking on his forehead, smaller than the mark that her family often portrayed. But it was still reminiscent of her brother's nonetheless. In normal circumstances that would be enough to make her hate him, luckily enough this wasn't exactly normal.

“What brings you here traveller?” He didn't smell of a pack, which kept her in sort of high hopes. Though Ember didn't either, the scent of her home washed away by time. Whatever, right now everyone was a prospect and nothing more, especially those she had no other interest in.

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"Not much."

Tate is not curt though. He admits this freely to the woman. He is not doing much at all. His tale was a terribly boring one, even if he sought to actually change this with his own paws. Leaving behind others that sought to control him, and his future. Only to throw away his potential with aimless wandering. He would shrug.

"Just trying to find a place to settle. It'll be winter soon" he points out, glancing around their surroundings. The lack of cover alone in the Plains, this Nestle a blessing. It saved him the cold winds of autumn at least "better to be prepared than not at all." He chuckles, attempting to lighten the mood best he could. It feels forced.

"My name is Tate, who might you be?" he asked.

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Her chances seemed to be growing with this one. It took everything she had to not smile. God, Marlin better thank her for this. At this point she expected free meals for a month, no more than that. This was dreadful work.

“You don't have a pack, or family to give you a home for the cold months?” She asked, faking both surprise and sympathy. That was literally the dream, though not one she planned on achieving. Though it was very tempting.

“I'm Ember Iisha” The way she spoke her last name practically vibrated with importance. It was ingrained in her mind to speak her last name always, pride and whatever.

“It's very nice to meet you Tate.” She wished that was a lie. In actuality she had gotten lonely in recent times, with such low amounts of company. Even if she would rather hold a much better kind, she had to take what she could get.

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The way she focused on that question as a vagabond made him assume that she would try to recruit him. She obviously did not have anywhere to go or be either, the lack of community scent on her coat. "You would be correct" Tate replied "I came to this world recently" He explained "I don't know anyone deeply here, and I'm not willing to throw my hat into the ring of strangers" Though the saying could be odd here, among wolves "there are so many packs. Who's to say what is the right one for me?"

He also noticed the way she focused so dearly on her surname, as ifit meant something to others. Not just herself. "Forgive me, I haven't run into anyone with Iisha name before" He shook his head "would you care to enlighten me on your family's values and origins?" Despite Tate being hands-off with his own titles, a former lesser noble, he was curious to see why these wolves placed suck stock in their past. Surely, unless you came with plenty of family members to this world, it was easier to rebuild from newness — instead of clinging to the past? An old name, that nobody cared about?

Not everyone discarded their surnames like him, however. Not everyone had the sense to throw their chains away.

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“It's best to be picky with matters such as your home.” She agreed. “It would be dreadful to be stuck in a place that works against you, or with bad company.” That last part was definitely not targeted.
“If you have a choice, it's best to make it an informed one.”

She did speak the part about choice in a sort of reminiscent, as if she didn't have one. And she really didn't. It was much more than a simple name that tied her to her family and empire, it was blood. Blood that screamed at any thought of rebellion. No, she didn't have a choice.

"would you care to enlighten me on your family's values and origins?" He asked. She simply nodded before getting into it.

“I was formerly a princess to the Iisha Empire. We were a pack formed on the idealization of Aristocratic blood. ” Here is where she had to start pulling things out of her ass. “and the proper protection and quality of life of our citizens. My sister and I worked on filling the caches, and were the main hunters of the clan.” There it was the reason she'd do all of this, she wanted her position back. Even if she couldn't get back the person she shared it with. It was a part of who she was, and taking it once the empire got back on its feet would be the closest she could get to normalcy.

“After arriving in Canis my brother decided to rebuild what we lost, and I'm helping him. ” There it was, the whole simple story. Or as much as she cared to share anyway. Ember paid more attention to him than she had before. Ready to answer any more questions, and blatantly lie if needed.

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misc skill; archivist
 

The woman was ready to agree on the choices of freedom. Thankfully, she didn't recruit him in a direct way. Tate was also thankful for that, because the more she spoke of her family, the more he was inclined to move away from them. Aristocrats were what he had run from. "I see." But made no move to explain his discomfort, inward as it was, because... Well, she didn't ask him anything about himself. She did not make a connection, in a sense.

If she had, he would have given a bit of a run-down. If she had, perhaps she would have understood or sympathized. But the way she spoke and acted made Tate assume she really didn't care. "So you seek to claim a spot in the history of this world" He remarked after mulling it over in near silence "good luck." It seemed polite to say it, even if he thought the world could use less royalty and blood ranks. There was a divide between those that thought themselves almost holy -

And those that felt they were common. A divide he didn't wish to be part of. "The Plains seem to house few packs" he added idly "you'd find it easier to stake a claim here over the mountains."

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It seemed like she reached another dead end.
A shame, but she supposed it came with the territory. This whole recruiting business got boring fast. She hated talking almost as much as she hated listening. She was someone who enjoyed hard labor, not whatever the hell this was considered.

"So you seek to claim a spot in the history of this world, good luck." He said finally. "The Plains seem to house few packs you'd find it easier to stake a claim here over the mountains."

“I'll keep that in mind, thank you.” She said flatly, rising to her feet. Best to leave now with grace, and her pride fully intact. “I should be on my way. I hope you'll find me if you ever need a place to say anyhow, my offer will still stand.” No, she hadn't made an offer outright, but it was blatantly implied. Ember was certain he understood.

“Well met Tate” The princess said finally, turning her back on the man. To temperate it was then, her luck would no doubt shine upon her there. It had to happen sometime.

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It was almost insulting.

Finding someone to speak with, only for them to try and use him. He was quite aware others would, but to have it happen... Well, another thing together. It burned in his core. She didn't speak with him as a person, so why should Tate bother to follow her? She only wanted to recruit him. She didn't want to get to know him, or even fake being friendly. If this is how she behaved around others, the woman would find she lacked the finesse to properly recruit for her kingdom.

In the end, he parted ways without a word. Why did she think agreeing with him about packs, yet making no verbal offer nor even talking about her wished community — would get her anywhere? Tate may not be the smartest, or most clever, but he saw through her ruse quickly enough. A shame, all these wolves wanted power without making a connection to their masses. How would that inspire loyalty? It would only give them blind servitude. Farewell, then he mused, shrugging as he walked away from her.

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