Lamps to guide through the season....

[Dale Hunt]

Dale listened as each Uratha present sang praises to their totem. A wide grin formed across his face when Emily's turn came up, and it was obvious that he was impressed by his fellow Blood Talon's words. He continued to observe each Uratha as their turn came up, listening closing to their words. Once the ritual was over, Dale walked up to Starflower and offered him a brief, but polite nod.

"Thank you brother. I had never been part of such a ritual, and I want to extend my gratitude for allowing me to be part of it."

The young Rahu smiled at the Bone Shadow. Even though he had only met him briefly back at the warehouse before this evening, Dale felt some sort of connection to Starflower due to their shared auspice and the whole "fighting a Magath together" thing. Once he had paid his respects to the Ritemaster, he took a couple of steps back and smiled at the Alpha of the ACB ( Lesingnon ).

"It's good to see you again, and under much better circumstances this time."

[Lesingnon]

"Magath have a way of ruining introductions. But you handled yourself pretty well." And jumping straight into the fight like that was definitely worth some major points. She spared her lantern a glance and set it down on the ground. No use hanging onto it all night, and it was still in decent enough shape not to start anything on fire. "So how have you been doing since then?"

[Matthew Kelly]

Matt nods his head politely in respect for the kind words of the other Uratha, acknowledging the gesture of his Tribemate Raul. "Thank you. I am Matt Kelly, Shakespeare's Pride to the People, Elodoth and Alpha of the Heart of Darkness." The words come out as a simple introduction, although a hint of a smile appears at the deed name and there is a bit of pride when the Pack's name was mentioned. He smiles fully when the introduction is finished and offers his hand.

"The Herd is interesting to watch and often understanding when something is wrong with them or their side of the Gauntlet leads us to discovering potential problems before we normally would." He'd seen it in action back in Ithaca, both when it was observed and nasty situations were averted and the one time it wasn't and five innocent people had paid the price before a solution was effected with jaws and claws of group of Uratha. He remembered how even when his own mentors were proud of how he, Emily and the other pups had handled themselves against a nasty opponent without any other innocents dying, the two older Iron Masters had blamed themselves for the whole mess happening in the first place. It wasn't their fault, nobody's fault but the murdering bastard, but that fact did not dismiss their own feelings of guilt.

"You're right, what you said in the ritual. Working together a Pack can bring down an opponent that would easily defeat one of their number, it was one of the first things I learned from my Mentors and an important lesson that every Uratha needs to learn when they're a Pup." Matt smiles, the compliment genuine. "Where did you come into Sacramento from?"

[Dale Hunt]

Dale chuckled slightly at Chantay's comment about introductions.

"You are absolutely right, but I'm glad I was able to help." He paused as he thought about how to answer her question. "So far, so good. Haven't really ran into much trouble since then...just trying to figure some things out you know."

Not sure if this is the best time to bring up the whole packless thing...ehh, what gives? May as well do it now.

He took a couple of steps closer to the Elodoth and gave her a sincere look.

"I don't think I mentioned it before, but I've been running around packless for almost a year now." He paused for a moment, remaining silent for a few seconds. "While I've managed to do alright for myself during this time, it is in our nature to run in packs...and I feel like I've been doing the 'lone wolf' thing for far too long now."

[Lesingnon]

"Dale...you showed up, the first thing you heard was that there was trouble, and you followed me across without even hesitating. If you want a spot in the ACB it's yours." Most wolves were asked to prove themselves after they asked the alpha about joining. He'd already done it.

[Matthew Kelly]

Matt nodded at Raul's mention of the reason why he needed to leave LA, it was a gesture of understanding at the complete life shift caused by the First Change. It was a common experience for every Uratha as each had to come to terms with what they had become and then find their place in the world, something that he had learned the hard way. At the mention of territory, the Elodoth again smiles. "It is a great part of the city and I have become attached to the people, places and even the spiritual side of it. I've got an excellent Pack who I'd want next to me if I had to walk into hell itself." He nods towards Emily and Half with a look of pride on his face. "I cannot complain. Well can't complain too much."

[Dale Hunt]

Dale smiled at her response.

"Thank you. It is honor to join up with your pack, and I can assure you that I won’t disappoint.”

The young Rahu was obviously pleased with the idea of a new pack, and was eager to prove himself a worthy member to the Alpha and the rest of the ACB.

“Does this mean I’ll need to learn how to ride a bike?”

Dale had noticed that most—if not all—the members of the pack owned their own motorcycles, so he figured he may as well ask. Also, learning to ride a bike would help him to get around much faster than having to do so on foot.