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"There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."

She often wondered what the wolves thought of their former alpha. She heard he was a young male, barely an adult, yet somehow he was able to get a following of adult wolves. Was it just because they fed off of his need for power or was it something else? Was he able to manipulate others? Did they just like the guy? She wanted to know more about him so she would know how to combat him when he came back. She had no doubt that he would. Wolves like him didn't just leave all these behind and give it up for good. He would feel entitled to it, like she should just hand it over, like she was just taking care of it temporarily. But Avery wasn't about to give up without a fight. This was her home. She had just as much right to it as anyone. Now she just had to gain the support of her followers. She knew they didn't come here because they believe in her. They came because they have hope that she will be different, that they will get to stay in the place they call home too. Now she just had to prove them right. She wasn't the type to step into a position and tell everyone to lay down their loyalty and pledge their lives to her. No, she was a fighter by nature. She was used to earning everything she got.

So now she would fight to earn their loyalty. Each one of them would take some time to get to know but she was okay with that. It would give her something to do while she was setting down roots again and rejuvenating the pack lands. Already she'd started by cleaning out the filth that the former alpha had left behind in his den. Old bones and carcasses. She tossed out everything and freshened the place up a bit. Then she started spreading her influence more outward. She was cleaning up the swamp little by little. The rain had helped some and of course, there was only so much you could do about the smell. But at least it didn't have to look like a disgusting graveyard. Just because it was a swamp didn't mean it had to be filthy. She was intrigued with the wolves that had stepped forward. So far, most just wanted to come home or belong somewhere and she could understand that. There was one wolf that caught her attention more than most though. He had come forward without a word but she could see it in his eyes. He had given up. He had already accepted something about himself that he didn't allow others to see, but he chose to come forward anyway.

And so she gave him the same chance she gave everyone else who came to her. She offered him a place. She was just guessing that he was a mute since she figured most would say what they wanted to a new alpha that they didn't know anything about. And it was as she suspected. He flicked an ear when she offered it to him. A hunter then. He had the build for anything if he set his mind to it but Iromar could always use good hunters to provide for the pack. Maybe he'd even help her with a pack hunt soon. He didn't come out and say he wanted to move up as a hunter but it wasn't like he knew how. She would have to reach out to him, find a way to communicate with him. Avery had never been around a mute before, but she was intrigued. There was just something so sad about him. He had such an air of despair to him, like he was all alone in the world. She just wondered if he was abandoned by those he used to know or if he distanced himself on purpose. She found his scent and started tracking him. Soon enough she was getting close to a den she didn't recognize. It was almost like a former alpha's den, in a good position of the pack lands and yet the scents around it were faded.

And there he was, curled up on top of the den. She smiled, her face softening as her tag wagged behind her. She cleared her throat to let him know she was there, stopping a few feet away so she didn't get in his space. She tilted her head, studying him for a moment, before lifting a brow. "My name is Avery, in case you didn't know. Do you have any family here in Iromar?" She waited for him to answer, trying to keep the questions to just yes or no cause she figured that would be easier for him. "Did you live in Iromar before?" She waited once more, nothing but patience in her body language as she studied his facial expressions, figuring she could read out of that more than he was giving with his head shake or nod. "Did you leave because of the former alpha?" She waited once more. Once he gave an answer on that, she looked down at the ground. "I would like to call you by something. Can you spell out your name on the ground? Otherwise I can go through the alphabet with you, one letter at a time." She waited to see if he could write on the ground or not before she would go on.