It was official. Orica had been accepted into the tribe. The black and white birds now believed she was one of their own. Maybe it was thanks to her fur colors - which were an almost perfect mirror of the little thing's feathers. Or maybe it was because she'd helped that wounded one. Most wolves would've seen the penguin with a broken wing and figured - Dinner. On another day Orica would have too, but she hadn't healed anyone in a long time. She had herbs that would spoil if they weren't used. And, well, ever since having kids her soft spots had gotten soft spots. Now she sat on a pile of ice and rocks, looking like the king of the black and white waddlers. They didn't chirp or sing these birds, they had a couple younger ones that squeaked, but for the most part they made strange chortling, trumpet sounds. They were hiliarious - dancing about, smacking eachother with flippers or sliding on their bellies. A large group of them were just standing in a warmth-huddle on the ice while others hopped in and out of cracks in the ice and went fishing. Earlier in the day one of them had brought Orica a small silver fish, which she nipped up while showing as few teeth as possible. It was really too adorable. And showed quite a bit of intelligence. Water crows. That's what she was going to call them. In all her travels she'd never come across such a creature. The joy of discovery was enough to make her all warm and happy and more than ready to lay down and let the birds cuddle up to her for heat - or wander around. One one started pushing itself around on its belly, Orica couldn't help herself. Seven years old or not, the next minute she was in a low play crouch, pushing herself around nose first, letting her back legs do the work as she sledded about on the ice. A couple others joined in. It was her first lesson on being a water crow. There were other creatures about the sheltered cove. Seals for one - great heaps of fat and flesh lazing about the beach and barking at eachother. Those, Orica had learned could be very sweet or extremely dangerous. The black and white birds kept their distance for now so so did she. She didn't smell any wolves yet on the wind, but she wasn't exactly paying attention. She was having too much fun with her new friends.

It had taken her a little while to get used to the territory Xephyris had chosen. By mistake, she'd already discovered the strange palm trees that grew on the beach. She'd been wandering around without her companion and had bumped nose first into one of the trees. She might have enjoyed the tree if it hadn't left her with a smarting nose. It wasn't until the throbbing ceased to a dull thump that she'd checked out what she'd run into. It was honestly a pretty big shock for her - why on earth was something so tropical growing in a northern place. She had to admire the sturdy determination the trees seemed to have even if they were only trees. Today though she found herself away from Vyper. Things had been pretty quiet. Limno's pups had been born (she'd attended of course) but she soon figured out that her presence hadn't been needed. No herbs had been given and Limno and the babies were healthy enough without her. With that in her mind she felt confident enough to go scout around. It'd been a while since she'd been in the north. She made sure to avoid the other pack that resided in the northern part of the continent. Nox had decided to accompany her today and she walked with the large cat pressed against her side. The blind healer was enjoying her company, but her thoughts constantly shifted to Brutus. He'd been pretty absent of late - had he found his friend? She hoped so, but a small part of her missed his presence. He and Xephyris were her only friends in the pack. She liked Jaelle, but she hadn't noticed the woman around much either. If she was she certainly didn't want to bother her if she was busy. Her travels brought her to a spot with a bunch of animals. She could hear their trumpet-like noises and her ears flicked curiously. She could also smell seals, but overall she avoided them. The penguins gave them both a rather wide berth and she made no move to bother them. She and Nox had eaten that morning, but Nox was still eyeing the flightless birds rather hungrily. Had it just been Armai she probably could have passed right by them with no trouble. She liked the little creatures (even if she'd never physically seen one) but Nox not so much. She wasn't aware of the woman that was nearby. The scent of the birds and their sounds blocked both of her senses to the point all she could be aware of was penguin. Eventually she came to a halt a little ways away from the group. Ultimately she wasn't sure what she was doing other than wandering aimlessly. She had no goals in mind, no herbs to collect here, and nothing to do. Walk, "Talk" Think "Nox"