ooc: Navigation the orchard

Yona hummed to herself as she approached the orchard. Not sure where she was going to go next at the moment. She lived her whole life moving around so staying in one place she wasn't completely sure of. Though it wasn't as if she wasn't open to joining a pack of some sort. Yona had to think for a moment, maybe she should have stayed with her mom. However she didn't have the bond that she saw with her aunt and her mother. That was years of history the two very much well had to catch up on. Yona flicked her tail and smiled - regardless she lived how she wanted and that's how it would stay. She stopped for a moment as she raised her head. She was lost a bit, wishing that she had someone to show her around but she would do just fine on her own. How many expeditions did she take in the nomad tribe whenever they reached some place new. Her paws spread into the earth, yellow grass hiding her black tipped paws as she sighed again. Yona couldn't wait for winter to come. "Talk"

*Navigation - The Orchard

The north was starting to grow more and more chilly, and the gray woman found herself missing the warmer lands. Abandoning her recent adventures in the north, she headed back towards the south. It was like revisiting her old haunts, except this time she turned towards a land where she hadn't been before. The smell of permeated fruit got her attention, her ears perking up as she twisted herself in that direction. With rotting fruit all around her, maybe her heat-scent will be swallowed by that. Mm, seemed like a good enough idea to her! With a skip in her step she walked towards what she could only assume was an orchid, her bells ringing out with every step she took. It didn't take long for the perfectly lined up trees to appear, making the gypsy pause. She could look down one row and see all the way through, a gentle breeze rustling the dry leaves. Her ears pulled back somewhat as the wind blew her scent all around, but there was little she could do to stop it. If she truly wanted to remain unnoticed this season, she would have to hide. But... that was rather unappealing. With a huff she weaved between the different trees, doing her best to avoid the rotting fruit below her. The normal song of her bells filled the area, calling out for all to hear. Pausing by a pretty tree with red leaves, she hopped up on her hind legs so that she could stretch towards an apple tree. There was still fruit on this one, and she wanted a taste. Trying to lean upwards as far as she could, she strained her muscles to reach the lowest apple she could. Her tail swung behind her in excitement, her bells picking up in tempo. No matter how far she reached, she just couldn't touch it. But Jaelle wasn't one to give up. Determination filled her eyes as she stood on her tippy toes, swatting at it with one of her front legs. Her scarf clung to the branch, scraping up against the rough surface as fibers grew lodged in it. Right now, she didn't care though. All she wanted was that apple. "SPEAK"

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Her time was soon interrupted by the sound of another. Yona turned her head to look, under a tree was a rather curious looking woman. Her tail was giving off a strange noise - and she could have sworn she had seen things like that in some of the caravan's she and her mother passed from time to time in her youth. A small smile appeared on her face - seemed like the scarfed girl was having a bit of trouble. If she helped her get the apple, perhaps she could convince her to be an exploring buddy. Approaching carefully, Yona inspected the tree. The bark wasn't the right to climb so it dawned on her that this girl could use Yona as a ledge. "You can stand on me to get the apple if you want." Yona barked out loud as she stood there on all fours. Keeping a fair distance though as to not make the other nervous or perhaps scared if that was a possibility. "Talk"

Her jaws were so tantalizingly close, it simply was not fair. She had half the mind to give up and look elsewhere, there seemed to be plenty of other trees around that she could look for fruit on. Just as she was about to dismount, the voice of another brought her mixed gaze away from the red fruit. Quickly she saw a black and white female standing a little ways away, offering for her to stand on top of her to get at her prize. A hearty laugh left the female, lowering herself down so that she was once again on all fours. The pale woman was the exact same size as her, so it wasn't like she was going to have any more luck at reaching it. "I'd squish you flat if I stood on you, but thanks for the offer," she said with another laugh, her bell wagging as her bells sang out again. "But if you like, you can help me look for some more. With all these trees here there has to be something better!" Yes, better. Casting one more look at the low hanging apple, she sighed and nodded her head firmly. Yes, moving on would have to be exactly what she needed to do. Twisting herself back around to the stranger, a small smile twisted her lips upwards. Without waiting for an answer, she trotted off and made her way down the row of trees. It really was something, how they grew so straight. What would have caused them to do that? Maybe there were walls of some sort that cut them off, only to have broken down over time? Knowing there would be no answer, Jaelle abandoned the thought. Pausing for a moment, she looked to see if the other woman was following. Finding her with her brown and blue eyes, she tilted her head to indicate her to walk at her side. It was odd how wolves here always liked to give their space when meeting someone. She wasn't fond of biting, so it wasn't like she was going to hurt her. Maybe it was the scent of her heat, sometimes woman went crazy during their season. "I'm Jaelle by the way. It's always nice to have company while you explore, don't you think?" She asked, humming softly after the question left her lips. If they searched together, she had no doubt that they would find some sort of fruit to eat. Stepping carefully, keeping an eye out for exposed roots was a must with her. Since she was so clumsy she knew that her paw would find any little bump to send her flying onto her face. Wouldn't that be quite the introduction? It would be very Jaelle like, though. "SPEAK"

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Yona had to laugh at what Jaelle said. Her soft giggle hidden by a paw as she raised it a little settling it back down again as she listened to the stranger. "I don't think you'd crush me we're the same height." she spoke out loud as she tried to settle herself. It was a habit, even in their nomadic pack they had others attack them for no reason so distance was a given until the other proved competent. "Yeah that sounds nice, I was actually looking for someone to explore with." Yona trotted forward then though. Skipping the whole stand offish thing. Now it seemed Jaelle meant no harm what so ever. So she followed alongside the other curious as to where she had gotten those beautiful bells. She'd seen them a few times during trades. "My name's Yona. It is indeed." Yona smiled for a second before lifting her head. Maybe there was a lower apple tree - she knew the occasional fruit wouldn't hurt. Even if their main diet was meat. "Where'd you get those bells from? There was a time my mom debating trading to get some for me but it never happened." Yona wagged her tail lightly at the thought. It meant she would have jingled wouldn't it. "Talk"

The smirk never left her mouth as she snickered, shaking her head sharply. They may be the same height but that didn't mean she would be very light on the wolf's back! She would feel terrible if she hurt the stranger just to get a single piece of fruit. In her mind, it wasn't worth it at all, not with all these other trees around. Her brown and blue eyes searched for more fruit -- apples or no. There was no way she would eat a rotten one from the ground, fermented fruit made a wolf very drunk. Wolves in the troupe used this to their advantage, using it in a recreational way. She would by lying if she said she hadn't tried it, but it had been the first and last time. Jaelle hated not feeling in control of her body, her head had spun and it was just not a pleasant thing at all. Her ears flickered when the female spoke again, saying that she was looking for someone to navigate the lands with as well. Her smile spread into one that was more genuine, it was hard to find a good travel partner these days. She had tried to convince Xephyris to come with her but he liked his rules and walls, while she much preferred the wind in her fur and wide open spaces. "Perfect, it's a date then," she said, winking her blue eye at the stranger. The younger girl introduced herself as Yona, and Jae tapped her bell-clad tail against her legs in response. It was nice to not be alone every now and then, she felt like she could truly relax beside a fellow traveler. "It's hard to find someone to go on adventures with. Everyone here seems to crave the whole idea of packs," her nose wrinkled up at the thought, even though she was part of a pack it was hardly her first choice. She was very much a casual member, only showing up when she needed to. But Xeph knew this, and if it had been anyone else she would have said no. She was more of an honorary member than anything else, she didn't even smell like Vyper. She glanced sidelong at Yona, wondering what she thought about packs. The monochrome woman didn't outwardly ask, but the question lingered in her gaze. It was open for discussion, it was always interesting to hear what others thought. When she asked about her bells, the woman paused to look behind at her tail, wagging it to let them sing out. "I made a trade for the bangles, and then um... decided that I needed the string of bells as an extra reward," In short, she had taken them. It had been fresh meat and herbs that she traded for her bangles, but she saw the string of bells hanging from the basket. While the woman had been distracted, she had shoved it into her bundle, the sound disguised with the ringing of the bracelets. She had gotten her scarf in an even less fair way, but it was just the way of the gypsies. Giggling softly, she took off at a trot and cut across to the next line of trees. The scent of rotting fruit was starting to hurt her head, the quicker they found the fruit the better. She saw a few different colours of apples around them, but none were hanging low enough for her to grab. With a snort she tried to sniff beyond the sickly scent of the fruit on the ground, but to to avail. It coated the inside of her nostrils, making it nearly impossible to pick up anything. "SPEAK"

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The white woman would find herself enjoying Jaelle's company already. Another nomad much like herself and how she had been raised. It sort of filled her heart with joy as she giggled lightly at the wink she received. She couldn't deny Jaelle was fairly good looking. Essentially considering Yona preferred woman most days. "I feel honored to have picked up such a beautiful lady." she teased lightly, not in anyway was she serious as she kept up pace with the other. Keeping her attention on around them as well, the whole point of exploring was to take in your surroundings wasn't it. Tree's with fruits of all sorts sat around here. Yona wouldn't be surprised if they could get a few good uses out of them. "Yeah it's all a little weird to me. I was debating joining one myself but how can you stay in one place for so long. My mother was born here so I followed her for the adventure - but she stayed with my aunt up north in her pack." Yona spoke out loud as she looked at the sky. Could she even tie herself down? That would be something that was foreign to her. Regardless she made sure to keep up pace with Jaelle. All sorts of sweet scents filling up her nose - it would be hard to track much of anything with this. When Jaelle explained how she got her bells she had to laugh. She remembered doing things like that when she was little, however it was hard to get past the adults she had stolen things from the traders. So she never was so successful. "I always got caught stealing stuff - so I never really got stuff like that." her paws stopped for a second as he looked to where Jaelle was herself. Then she saw a tree near a rock a soft wag of her tail started. Pointing with her paw towards it with two shiny red apple with some yellow in them sitting on a low branch. "If we climb onto that rock I think we could get those two apples." Yona suggested, she didn't know how big that rock actually was but it was the best she got for the moment. "Talk"

Jaelle cast a side glance at the white woman as she offered her a rather pleasant smile. She was taken aback slightly, she had always thought of herself as quite plain. Compared to the others simple black markings, maybe she was a bit more exotic looking. But no, it was her bells and scarf that usually caught other wolves attention, not her mottled coat. This was true at least in her own mind, but she didn’t think that Yoma was being serious. While Jaelle was not blind to wolves who went for both or the same sex, she herself had never run into it before. It went over her head as she offered the younger lass a tender smile, a smooth chuckle rumbling in her throat. Her tone was teasing, so maybe she was just thinking far too much on it. Her ears flickered as the girl spoke of wanting to join one, mentioning the north where her mother currently was. The whole ideals of packs were lost on her, but it would seem that she wasn’t the only wandering soul who felt pulled towards the comfort of having a home. If it hadn’t been for Xephyris though, there was no doubt that she would have lived out the rest of her days as a happy loner. While it was nice during the winter, being stuck was something that she never wanted to happen. The mention of the north had her thinking though, and she let out a soft hum as she eyed the fruit trees around them. She wanted all of these yummy looking fruits, but none were low enough for them. "Well, my friend Xephyris runs a pack up north called Vyper. If you feel like tying yourself down, I’d go see him. Mention I sent you his way, it’s about time I start paying him back," she said with a faraway look in her eyes. She still hadn’t been able to repay him for helping him save her, him or the others. Yoma’s laugh made her grin, she was glad that she wasn’t getting scoffed at for stealing. It would seem that the gypsies hadn’t touched Ardent much, there were only a few who understood their ways. Apparently she had gotten caught, making Jae pause in her search to eye the other. "I am pretty much the clumsiest wolf around, it’s a miracle I was able to grab what I did," she woofed happily, her bells calling as her tail wagged. But then she saw the apples, and the hunt was on. She wasn’t one to give up on her goals so easily, stretching to try and reach them. When she was just so close, she was thankful to hear Yoma suggest the rock that was nearby. She looked between the stone and the younger wolf, a skeptical look on her features. She really had the worst luck when it came to balance, so she nodded the other woman up. "You would probably have better luck and I would. I will sit watch and make sure no one steals our fruit, mm?" she said in a joking manner, sitting at the base of the tree and looking down the perfectly straight line of trees. Honestly, how did they get this way? It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. "SPEAK"

Art by Pimsri