Aurielle Adravendi

Spring was gradually beginning to take over in the West, and Aurielle was getting her first sights of green shoots peeking through slowly melting snow on the plains. It all meant two things, maybe more, to her. One, her training would begin in earnest, which excited her greatly! Two, her father would be calling a pack meeting, hers and Aramis’s first meeting and first real exposure to the entire pack. She and her brother would sit on that boulder and look out on the faces of the rest of the pack as Regulus introduced them. Oooo, that part was less exciting. She would be the one in the spotlight, for certain, right? She wasn’t entirely certain she wanted the spotlight. The thought was downright scary, and she had nightmares that she would grow up and never be the powerful leader her father was, or that the very founder of the pack this one had been based upon had been. Cairo. All she and her father had were stories, passed down from Erani, who had known the male so personally. But she wished she could meet the great brown Adravendi Patriarch. But Spring also meant another thing. She was deemed old enough to venture through the Plains mostly unaccompanied. However, she wasn’t alone. Her father had returned from his explorations up north with two large mountain lions. They were still smaller than her father, of course – none could match him in size, her young mind was certain – but it had been a startling experience to meet them. Instinct warred with her father’s reassurance that these cats would not harm her. However, she’d warmed quickly to them after a day or two. But it was Aelloshir, one of their several litters, that she had warmed to most after his parents had left for a week and returned with him. He’d bonded quickly to the small, shimmering white wolf, and now shadowed her every move. He was ranging around her, now, pale ice blue eyes ever vigilant as she padded across the plainsland. Today, she was ‘patrolling’. Aelloshir was a year old, but had already received training from the elders of his clan, and dropped back to her side as they drew nearer to the wall. “You remember your father’s orders, yes?” The young Future of Celestial nodded, but continued questing onward, following the wall’s inner curve until they came to an opening, about thirty feet wide—one of the passages for prey. Soon elk and other large prey animals would be migrating through as the plains grew lush and verdant, and hunting would begin, as well as Paladin’s fascination with preservation of resources. The child stopped, gazing out at winter-dead old grass that she was still too small to see above yet. So far as her young mind was concerned, if she couldn’t see anyone, there was no one there, but her father’s lessons prevailed, and she took a sniff of the wind, trying to study the scents there. Plenty of the pack members, of course – the border’s scent was laid strongly here – and some prey she hadn’t learned the names of yet. There were of course the scents of loners, but they were old and stale. Her slim, dirty brown muzzle remained raised, tasting the wind before Aelloshir took pity on her and scooped her up to rise onn his hind legs and set her gently on top of the wall. By now, the efforts to widen the ‘walk-way’ had begun to show fruit, and there was room enough for her and the mountain cat to fit, if somewhat cramped for him. She stared out over the plains that lay beyond the borders, sapphire and sky-blue eyes wide with young wonder. “It’s so much bigger than I imagined. Loshir, how big is the world?” The cat chuffed softly, a snort of laughter. “Very big, little moon child. With many dangers.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He'd been traveling all over the place since he'd turned a year and claimed his freedom. Much of the south had already been somewhat familiar to him, so now he was extending his playground and making himself familiar with lands beyond the scope of what he'd already been wandering in. Thus far, he'd not come across much. A much more dry climate than what he'd just left, though it appeared to be greening up with the slow arrival of spring. Today in particular, Amos found himself wandering, aimless and growing bored. It was strange, going from having his rambunctious brother Rogdar around all the time and his parents and Feliecien to just being on his own. No one to talk to unless he found a stranger and struck up conversation, but so far he hadn't really messed with that since he wasn't sure who he'd run into and he was still recovering from having met his uncle for the first time. Now that man was an interesting one. Not that Amos had an intention of chatting with Cerberus again any time soon. The thought made him nervous. Speaking of interesting things though- what was that? Up again, in the middle of the grass, a... wall? Who'd put a wall out here? The boy was more than happy to go investigate and find out for himself just what this was and why it was here. Trotting through long, dry grasses as they rustled and brushed against his slate grey coat and paler, ashen legs, he hummed softly as he approached. A tune he'd gotten stuck in his head, which by the time he got to this curious structure he'd found the words to and found himself singing softly under his breath, "Little red riding hood, you sure are looking good, you're everything a big bad wolf could want," voice coming out soft and low as he failed to notice he wasn't alone. He was just far enough away from the young girl and her companion for them to be in his peripheral vision as he inspected the wall from a safe, respectful distance and canted his head a bit trying to figure out it's purpose. After some consideration and noticing the pack smell, he figured it held a pretty smart alpha somewhere on the other side. Lot easier to keep trespassers from being a problem if they can't even get in. Laughing and shaking his head again, he set to humming again softly and scratching behind one of his ears for a moment as he decided where to go next since hanging around here might not be a good idea if he didn't wanna get yelled at by some pack wolves. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

Aelloshir heard the stranger’s voice before Aurielle did, but she was swift enough to catch on by the last few words. She felt the cat stiffen behind her, but her gradated sapphire and sky blue eyes had spotted the other wolf and watched with curiosity as he moved along the wall. He was older than her, definitely, and since he wasn’t inside the wall, she supposed that maybe he wasn’t a member of Celestial. Thus, caution should be had. However, caution warred with curiosity, and the latter won—by a hair, at least. She compromised with both by staying on the wall, out of general reach of the stranger, calling out to the fellow in a low, polite voice. She hadn’t quite learned yet how to make her voice carry without raising it to a shout (or a squeal, in her case), and her young shyness restricted some of her volume. “Hello, sir.” Behind her she felt the vibration as Aelloshir grumbled and shifted carefully to gather his haunches beneath himself, ready to spring down on the male if he started anything. Should she have called out to the male? Probably not, but it was done, now. She’d followed the rules, after all. She was inside the border – on it was more the correct term – and she wasn’t talking to a stranger without a guardian with her. Pup logic. Go figure. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Sitting and humming softly to himself, the boy was very much in his own world. Thoughts of where to go and when he ought to get to hunting were filling his mind so he was quite surprised when he heard a soft little voice calling out to him in greeting. Straightening up and looking for the source, he found an interesting sight awaiting him. A child sat on top of the wall, and by her side a rather large, black feline who eyed him in a way Amos wasn't quite sure he liked. Raising an ash grey brow, Amos replied politely, "Greetings, little miss. I take it this is your wall, then?" Moving in a semi-circle so he could sit down and face her more directly while also moving a bit farther from the wall in the hopes of being a bit more out of range of that mountain lion she had there. When he sat down in the grass, he looked up at her with a curious mis-matched gaze and smiled gently. "I'm Amos, what's your name?" the rangy yearling asked with genuine interest. He hadn't had anyone to chat with in way too long. This growing stuff wasn't all that great if you asked him. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

Her tail tapped against the stone wall beneath her rump as he spotted her and responded. The movement was reserved, shy, but her answer was good-natured enough as she responded, a little more loudly, “This is the wall of Celestial, my Da’s pack… I suppose it’ll be mine someday, but the whole pack’s had a paw in making it.” Her head tilted as she watched him move to sit at a respectful distance, and both the movement, and likely his own shift in location sent that ethereal shimmer of colors rippling through her coat, more pronounced as she lifted her head a bit higher as he introduced himself. So far, he seemed pretty nice. Her gut instinct wasn’t screaming at her to run in a blind panic, so she answered quite readily, “My name is Aurielle Rhiannon Marie Adravendi—but please call me Aurielle… or ‘Rielle.” Each syllable and ‘r’ she spoke as she introduced herself bore a lyrical lilting quality, musical and rolling, but her voice took on a pleading tone as she begged of him to just call her by her first name or nickname. Even at her young age, that long name was a sticky point for her—after all, Aramis didn’t have such a long name, so why did she have to have one so long? She hadn’t had to introduce herself to anyone before, but she’d been taught how to do it, and at her young age, she assumed that was how you always introduced yourself, regardless of setting. Curiosity replaced that pleading expression, and her eyes locked onto his mismatched gaze with that same intensity her father was known for—as though Amos were the most important thing in the world right now and every word would be taken into account as she asked, a soft note of fascination taking hold, “Are you a loner?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

His jaws slackened slightly so his lips were parted and mouth slightly agape as he took in the information and raised both brows as he reexamined the wall in question. It sure seemed like one hell of a task to build such a thing. "Well, that must have been quite the project to undertake! Can't say I've ever seen such a thing anywhere else, that's for sure. Though, I have heard of one somewhere up in the north. Or at least a part of one. Not sure if it's this impressive or not but I think I might have to go look at it now that I've seen this one." He had to say her fur was pretty for being white. Not that he had met enough wolves to comment on who was prettiest anyways though. But when he caught the shimmering that came off her fur he had to hold in further surprised brow raises. Sure was an interesting girl, that much no one could deny. Then she introduced herself and he gave her a big grin and dipped his head slowly, "Boy, you sure got saddled with a heck of a title. All I am is Amos Allantide. 'Rielle it is. Pleasure to meet you dear princess of Celestial," he chuckled, his smile reaching all the way to his bi-colored eyes which narrowed slightly in a warm expression, tail tapping the ground gently. He couldn't help but laugh at the intensity with which she asked her question, dark muzzle parting to expose ivory teeth as he let out raucus laughter for a moment before replying, "Sure am! Never met one before, I take it?" Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

The young Future nodded in agreement at Amos’ observation, adding “It’s still being built, even now. Da wants it to be tall enough to keep out even the biggest wolves.” Though none could be larger than her father, surely, and this wall already stood so much taller than himself, at least by a foot. Had the other wall Amos spoken of been built by another pack? She’d love to see it, but admitted that she would have to wait until she’d grown up. If the world was so huge, a child as small as herself could get lost in no time. And she’d been warned enough times by not only her parents but Paladin and Aelloshir and his parents, that she should never ever wander beyond the borders until she was a year old, and even then, she should take someone experienced in fighting with her. His observation of her name brought a huff, visible in air that Spring hadn’t yet warmed enough to hide the fog of breath. “I know… My brother only has one middle name.” Then again, Aramis wasn’t the firstborn… Maybe that was why she’d gotten an extra name in there… She smiled anyway, nearly mirroring his own as she added, as if testing the name’s flavor on her tongue, “Amos Allentide… It’s nice. And it’s nice to meet you, too.” Her tail tapped the stone a bit harder at his easy laughter, her head canted to the side as she shook her muzzle to either side. “Never. I was born in Autumn. I haven’t really met the rest of the pack yet, either. Just M’ma and Da, my brother, and cousin Paladin. I’ll be meeting them all soon, though…” Some of the cheer left her features, long upper canines hiding a little further behind her lips as the smile slipped. Over time, she’d be taught how to hide her emotions and thoughts behind an easy-going, unflappable mask, but now, being the child that she was, it was clear the thought was a bit frightening. But even her Da had been afraid, he’d said, so she would master her own fears. And that resolve showed just as clearly on her features as her eyes returned to his face. “Where do you come from, Amos?” Again, that bright intensity locked onto him, her ears perking forward, hungry for any knowledge the older wolf might bring with him. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He couldn't imagine how tall it'd end up being by the time it was done, after all, the thing was really impressive as it was. Giving her a wry smirk, he said, "So if I ever visit here again I'll have to crane my neck up even further to talk to you, huh? sounds like it'll sure be impressive, then." Geez, he might just have to stop by again someday to see it. He dipped his head again in thanks and beamed, "My mother picked it. Only name da' was allowed to give me was my surname." He still wasn't sure why Mara hadn't allowed any of them to carry her surname instead of their fathers, but he figured maybe someday he might know. The boy suspected it could have something to do with that uncle of his. The guy wasn't exactly pleasant to be around. "I see. Well, I hope I'm not a disappointment. You know, you're actually the first pack wolf I think I've ever met. I've met a few strangers growing up who came from verious places but I don't think any were from packs. If they were they didn't mention 'em so it doesn't count anyways." He winked, amused by the fact that she'd really only met a few wolves so far. Kid had a ton to learn, and a lot that she'd yet to see. Even when he was her age he was racing all over the orchard and venturing into nearby lands to explore them, unable to be contained for long. His mother and father were never too far off though. He supposed you got a lot more opportunities to do that stuff though when your parents were loners and didn't exactly care to restrain your curiosity anyways. They weren't perfect, but they'd been good parents. Blinking a few times, he took in her expression and visibly softened as he asked, "Not excited to meet the masses? Can't be all that bad, huh? Bet they'll all be excited to meet you 'n stuff." "I mean, kind of all around but when I was born and until I was a bit older than you I lived in the Orchard, in the south. Lots of bit, pretty fruit trees. Yummy apples and pears to pick if you can reach the low branches. It was awesome. Mom did a good job picking a spot to raise us, I guess." He sat and thought a moment, then added, "'Course now I've left there and I just kinda go where I want and I don't stay any one place in particular. I was just thinking about where I ought'ta be goin' next when you started talking to me." Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

His comment about craning his neck to talk to her brought one of those shy half smiles to the girl’s features as she gazed down at him. “You do have to look way up, huh?” She glanced up, craning her own head to peer at Aelloshir, but the cat feigned oblivion, mutely refusing to help her get down to ground level within reach of the wolf he still deemed a stranger and not worthy of sharing his charge with. She clicked her tongue against her teeth slightly before lowering to her belly on the stones, as though that might help her new friend’s neck craning issue a little. Her head cocked as he spoke of how his father had only been allowed to give him a surname, but she didn’t pressure him for information. Her ears took in the admission that he’d never officially met a pack wolf, and she smiled, glad they were at least similar in this respect—neither had met a pack wolf, and she’d never met a loner. Until now, of course. “I’m not disappointed at all. You’re nice. I know not everyone is, though…” Why else would her family warn her so firmly to be wary of strangers? Her intense eyes darted aside at his astute observation, and she shook her head. “I’m scared, but a strong wolf admits fear, and faces it. That’s what my Da says, and he’s the best leader in the world.” Childish certainty filled her features. Of course, given her short life, she’d not been given the chance to see others leading packs, so she had nothing to go off of or compare to. She simply viewed her father’s pronouncements that he needed to be a better leader as modesty on his part. In a softer voice, she added, “I have big paw prints to fill. That’s all.” She listened, worry again dashed aside, enthralled at his stories of where he’d been born and grown up. She’d never seen a fruit before, and determined that she would have to go to the Orchard and see these trees for herself once she was old enough. She smiled, offering, “My twin brother and I were born in our parents’ alcove in the family Seat. It’s a cave that goes waaay back into a hill with lots of trees on it. There are a bunch of chambers and alcoves. It’s really quite pretty. The walls are black, and yellow sparkles flow through it like… tree branches. Da says it’s black marble and veins of gold.” Her head cocked as she studied him with that childhood wisdom before she asked, quite honestly, “Is it hard? Being alone?” Leave it to a child to ask those tough questions. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

"Jus' a tad," he confirmed, shrugging. As the girl glanced at the feline who seemed to be the acting adult here and recieved no help, he figured he'd not push it or let 'Rielle be tempted to either. If they ended up friends they could just hang out when she got bigger, right? So no worries, then. "It's allright though, I don't mind ta' much. Probably best for you to be up there, huh?" Wagging his tail gently, he hoped she'd be content with the arrangement. Plus they hadn't been talking too long so his neck wasn't aching quite yet. That's happen eventually though. He nodded at her words and breathed out a sigh, "Tell me about it. Some of 'em are great, really, but then there's the one's that go 'n ruin the world for the rest of us." He shook his head, meeting with his uncle still weighing on his mind. He wondered if Cerberus treated strangers kids the same as he'd treated Amos. Probably. If he couldn't be nice for family he'd be an ass to everyone. "But, so far from what I've seen most wolves are nice. Or just wanna be left alone is all." he shrugged. His upbringing must have been so very much different from hers. He nodded in understanding. He'd be a bit nervous to have to go meet lots of strangers if it were him. But he would also recover quickly. He liked being the center of attention, it could be really fun. "Wise words, indeed. Probably would help to think of things in a positive light too. When you get scared, just thinking of why what you gotta do is important, or a good thing. Makes stuff easier for me when I gotta do something that makes me nervous." He paused, smiling hopefully at her and wondering if what he said might be helpful in some way. "Well, you've got plenty of time, though, right? I think you'll do fine, you seem pretty smart, and if your da's the best then he'll do the best possible job of teaching you so you got nothin' to worry over!" He slipped into a bow, tail swinging and smile encouraging. She seemed like a real good kid, he hoped she would sit and stew over silly worries about things she needn't worry about. That'd be no fun at all. He pricked his ears as she described her home, listening with interest. Flopping onto his side and gazing up at her he commented, "Sounds pretty! Can't say I've ever seen such a thing in my life. I lived in a den dug under a tree. It was okay. Sometimes dirt fell on my head." he chuckled at the memory. The old den had been an interesting piece of work. Mara did the bare minimum to make it habitable. Gosh, all these memories of home were gunna make him sad at this rate, he better quit. He grew quiet for a moment at her question, not really sure how to answer her just yet. He supposed it was funny that he'd struggle to put it into words when this had been a subject heavily weighing on his mind lately. "Yes and No. I mean I'm a pretty good hunter so getting by  okay by myself isn't really an issue for me, at least not yet and now that we're going into spring it'll be better. I'd be lying if I said it didn't get lonely though. My brothers both went off in their own directions when we all turned a year, and I haven't seen my parents or... surrogate grandfather. So, basically I spend lots of time by myself. That gets a bit lonely. It's a big world out there so there's no guarantee you'll even run into anybody to talk to for long periods of time, you know?" He was a pretty social creature, he liked having someone around to talk to so being alone sort of sucked. What could he do, though? Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

Aurielle’s head tipped in thought, but she caught the slight loosening of Loshir’s muscles as the cat accepted the mute reassurance that Amos wasn’t going to cause trouble for his shimmering charge, and nodded. “Probably, yes.” She listened with that intent gaze as he agreed about not everyone being nice, asking in her turn, “Have you met someone like that?” She seemed to soak up what he said like a sponge, taking it all in and storing it in her mind to review further later on. Part of it was her father’s subtler training. Be observant, listen closely. She enjoyed learning the subtle nuances of communication, and watching her parents and cousin interact was always fascinating. She’d picked up on Amos’ tone when he’d spoken of those that would gladly ruin the world for others, and delighted in that sign that she was learning. It was clear his suggestion made an impact on the girl, as well, some of the underlying anxiety smoothing away into those childhood features to be replaced with a soft, laugh-panting grin baring those canines of hers with a gleam. “I think you’re right. I’ve got two years.” Then her head tilted slightly, studying him with that intelligent stare before she asked in what could have been thought a coy manner if she’d been older, “What have you done where you were nervous?” His shift to flop on the ground brought a tiny smile to her features as she agreed, “It is. My great grandmother was the one who made it home. She was the Lead Healer of the pack Valhalla, and the best in the land in her time. Her name was Erani. She birthed my grandmother in the same alcove I was born in. Da wasn’t born in it, though… A bad pack had taken over here when he was born. But my uncles and aunts from her next two litters were born there! And then Aramis and myself.” In all the stories her father told her, he was careful to tell them honestly, exactly as his grandmother and mother had told them, and so he recounted them to her knowing that she would never have a truly overly inflated view of her heritage. What childish, innocent views she had now would eventually fade with experience. So, she stated the history of her den with easy confidence. And yet managed to leave out enough to pique interest. “The cave’s hidden at the end of a long ravine that’s grown over on top of the walls with vines. And some of the caves have openings in the ceilings. I had a rock fall on my head exploring one of them.” She fell silent, listening to his description of being alone with a silent, contemplative look on her features. “Have you ever thought of joining a pack someday? You wouldn’t be alone, then…” Those gradated eyes studied him thoughtfully, head tipped to the side. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He let out another sigh as he thought back over it and considered his choice of words. He hadn't had to actually tell the story yet so just how to put it into words was something he fought with himself over. That, and he didn't want her to think things were all scary out here. They weren't, and he'd only had the one bad experience in his whole year of life. "I have, recently. One of my relatives, actually, my uncle. I wasn't aware I had one until I met him but he looks very much like my mother but... darker, and not in color. Mom likes fighting, for sport because she's relatively good at it and it makes her happy- but Cerberus. Well, I just got a really bad feeling from him. He wasn't exactly kind and I'm not sure he fights others for the same reasons." Amos shook his head a bit and turned to gaze at the sky a moment, finding his breathing coming faster for some reason. "I think he's bad and I don't plan on seeing him again if I can help it. I just... Hope I never end up like him. That would be pretty terrible." He turned back towards her and offered a weak smile, nodding, "You surely will do a good job when the time comes, I'm positive." He hoped she'd learn to have lots of self confidence and not worry. Amos was nothing if not a sweet guy, after all. Chuckling, he answered, "Oh, plenty of things! See, I grew up a loner so it's not like there were very good borders for us to stay inside of. So I wandered lots from an early, early age and ran into all kinds of strangers. Initially I wanted to talk to them but I got a bit nervous, you see. But eventually I just wanted someone new to talk to so when I wanted it enough I worked up the nerve to talk to some of the other loners who passed by. They were mostly nice, although! There was this one lady, her pelt was super pretty. Black as night, but with these colors! Bright colors, that swirled through her fur, and little stars. She looked like a crazy colorful night sky. Of course she was grumpy cause I guess she didn't like kids and I was a real curious kid who asked lotsa questions..." he shook his head at the memory. In retrospect maybe he ought to have taken the hint quicker and gotten out of her fur sooner. "That, and sometimes Felicien would give us fight training growing up. I used to get stage fright having to practice in front of my brothers. Mostly 'cause Rogdar teased me all the time. But, learning the basics was super important to me cause I wanted to be like Felicien and Mom so I had to decide that the good outweighed the bad and work though it." He listened to her story intently, nodding and smiling a bit more. "Sure sounds like it's gotta lot o' history, then. That's really cool to be able to live somewhere important to you and your family." He wondered briefly if he'd ever have a place to stay that meant that much to him and any future family of his someday. It would surely be nice to be able to share that with his family. A certain connection not just to each other but to the place they lived and spent time together would be amazing. Food for thought, he supposed. "Then you gotta show the rock who'd boss. Throw it or somethin'. I used to gnaw on sticks that tripped me sometimes. Your home sounds really cool though! I'll have to try and explore cool places like that eventually. Maybe see the wall in the north, and then I heard that there's another continent to the south and I really wanna see it." So much to see, so much to do. No one fun to do it with. Ugh. He grew thoughtful at her next question, rolling onto his back and thinking for a moment about it. "You know it never crossed my mind, to be honest. I suppose you're right though. Could be cool to be able to have others to talk to all the time. Talking to you has been nice. Hm. I dunno. I'd have to think more about how I felt about that before I decided if I really wanted to actually do it or not. But, I think being a loner wouldn't be as bad if I just had like, an exploring buddy. I dunno." Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

She continued to listen with that unswerving attentiveness as he told his story, ears perked to catch it all. Finally, she answered, firmly, “I don’t think you will be like him. You’re good.” Those eyes bore into his when he looked back, before his assurance that she’d be a good leader brought a smile to those stern features once more. Pupish authority fell away as he launched into more stories, of how he’d been nervous meeting others for the first time, or practicing training in front of his siblings. The story of the female he’d met piqued her curiosity, and she put in “You’d like my Da, then. He’s red. Like blood.” Not that she’d seen much blood that was fresh and not crusted upon the torn edges of prey she’d been given for supper and as a learning device. “My brother’s black as night, too, but he turns blue under the light.” The transformation in her twin’s coat always astounded her anew when she watched it, and she smiled at the thought of it. Her head tilted at his suggestion of showing the rock who was in charge, a half grin tugging at her maw, “I wanted to bite it, at first, but it’s such a silly thing to get mad over. It’s just a rock. If I lose my temper over a rock, how am I going to be the archangel my pack needs?” Such wise words for such a young wolf. She listened intently to his response, taking it into account before she fell silent for several beats. Then her eyes came up from the stone they’d dropped to, locking onto him as she found a solution that pleased her, piping cheerfully, “When I’m older, I’ll just have to help you explore!” She paused, then ventured, a little more tentatively, “And, if you like, I can ask Da if you could join Celestial someday if you decide you want to try life in a pack. Or when I’m Archangel, you can see how you feel then.” The slightest tap-tap of her tail against the wall announced her quiet hope that she’d said the correct words. The underlying message was he had a friend here in Celestial if he ever needed her. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He took a moment after listening to her response before nodding slowly and smiling once more. She was pretty good at cheering him up with relatively minimal effort. "Thanks, I try to be. Parents aren't exactly super good. Not bad, but not good good. I dunno. Sort of neutral. In it for family, but nobody else. I wanna be nicer'n that though." He found himself perking up at the mention of her father. Red? That sounded pretty cool! "Woah, really? Sounds cool!" He listened to her as she added that her brother also had a unique coat and Amos grinned easily at her. "Seems like you've got an interesting family there. That's awesome. Mine's pretty average." He laughed and shook his head at her, rolling in the grass as he giggled. "It's not such a big deal if you make it a silly game! You're very serious, you know." She wasn't really all that old but already so genuine and focused. Surely she had a good head on her shoulders, but she could stand to lighten up and be more of a kid, for goodness sakes. He'd just have to teach her someday, then. Whenever she got out of jail. "That would be fun! I'll have to make sure I know at least a few cool places to show you by then. And some I haven't explored already. Yeah, I think we could have some fun exploring around, seeing sights and stuff." He nodded thoughtfully, already plotting out possible ideas for places nearby to go to. And, later, father away. That might take even longer though depending on what her family was really like. They sounded nice, and sensible, but also far more strict than the boy was used to. His parents never really told the boys to stay safe or keep close. They just went a reasonable distance and when they were little their mom checked on them throughout the day. Seemed like he and 'Rielle were from pretty different worlds after all. "Well," he began uncertainly, not having expected this response but intrigued by it, "Sure, That sounds okay to me. I'll have to remember to think about it when I'm away so I know if I'm real interested when I come back. Thanks." He decided he'd make sure the thought lots about it, for her mostly. He found he quite liked the younger girl and thought she was pretty sweet. Maybe being in this pack could be cool. Wolves to talk to, a neat place to live safely inside the wall. He could hang out with 'Rielle, and whoever else was in there than might be fun. Yeah, that all sounded rather appealing. He'd consider it. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

She felt a warm thrill of pleasure as her words had the effect she was after, and he smiled in response, clearly cheered by her statement. They had been honest words. Young as she was, she was already listening to that still, small voice at the back of her mind, a voice that seemed directly connected to the feelings in the pit of her stomach. Her gut instinct. And it told him that Amos was indeed a good wolf. Maybe rough around the edges, but everyone had rough edges at first, right? She grinned down at him from her lofty vantage point, most of her reservations and shyness gone by now. “I know you can be, Amos! Helping others feels so good. Like when M’ma couldn’t find her stock bundle of… uhm…” She paused, sifting through the already quite inflated catalog of herbs she’d learned from her mother and Paladin, before she found the one she was after and beamed, “Calendula petals! They’re good for treating cuts. I found them for her.” It had filled her with that same warm sense of pleasure to track down the missing bundle and plant it at her mother’s paws as it did to cheer Amos up. She smiled widely at his remark about her father’s coloring, and of Aramis’ coat. There was clear familial pride in her eyes as she responded cheerfully, “They’re very interesting. There are still so many stories Da hasn’t told me yet. Some he wants to wait to tell us until we’re a little older—he says so we can understand them better and the morals behind them. I can’t wait! Like… how did Great Grand-M’ma Erani get to Valhalla? I know she didn’t start out in it…” Like her father and grandmother before her, she had clearly been bitten by the historian bug early on. She loved the stories and the history lessons just as much as she’d enjoyed her very first basic puppy lessons in fighting—defenses, the simplest of them. His response to her words about holding her temper tipped her head to the side as she grinned, “I do like games. Hide and seek is one of my favorites!” Her tail swept the stone wall almost constantly now, eyes sparkling as she listened to his suggestions and plans for their future adventures. “I’ve always wanted to see the sea. Da got to go to a place called the Bifrost when he was my age. They family were loners then, of course. He said the sand glitters with different colors, almost like my fur.” Her eyes flicked down to one shimmering white paw before back to his features. Her ears perked as he began to answer her offer, and clearly, she was content with it, as a smile bloomed afresh on her features and she nodded. “Alright!” Her head cocked as she gazed down at him, smile still in place. “So, are you a good fighter? Da’s been teaching me the very basics, but he says my training begins for real in Spring. It’s Spring now, so… soon.” And clearly she was itching to get started, based on that small wriggle of her rump against the stone wall. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He nodded, confirming her words silently and listened to her story with an easy smile. She seemed like a pretty good kid. Most parents wished their kids were so well behaved and helpful. Amos would be interested to find out what hers were like someday. For now he'd have to speculate as she continued to mention them off and on. "That's cool. I bet she really appreciated the help." "Seems like there's lots for him to tell you, hm? That's cool. Maybe someday you can tell me a cool story. I do enjoy listening." His dark tail fanned the air lightly. So far their conversation had been quite enjoyable. Amos liked getting to relax and chit chat with someone who had plenty to say. Normally he might be bored by now and let the conversation fizzle, but so far no such thing was happening. He decided to remember this favorite game so that perhaps if she ever got to make good on that suggestion of exploring with him that they could maybe play or something if she was up for it. It was a thought at least. Could be fun to surprise her with remembering that little detail. You know, if any of this happened at all. He too glanced at her pale fur a moment as she told him about the sea. When his mismatched eyes returned to making eye contact he gave her a wide grin and said, "If that's the case then it really must be pretty," whether or not he meant to compliment her with that statement was anyones guess, though it did kind of come off that way, "You should totally go there someday when you can. I bet it's awesome." He'd never been to the sea himself so he couldn't be sure, buut he figured he wouldn't be wrong anyways. With a dismissive shrug, Amos replied, "Well, I can't be certain, but, I dun' think I'm terrible. Probably not great yet, but thas' okay. I still could learn a lot, and Mom always said you don't start the real learning until you're big enough to spar with adults and fight someone more experienced than you. Which for me is about now. I'm almost done growing at this age so, I'll probably try to get in some spars while I travel. And, maybe I can hunt down someone I pestered ta' teach me in the past. Never know." He looked seriously at her and added, "Way down the line maybe you'll be able to spar me. It could be fun. I'll try to make sure I'm worth the time by then, haha." Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

Her tail tapped the wall with not a little pride as he remarked that her mother must have been glad for her help, nodding affirmatively. “She was. I think it made her less annoyed about me playing in the herb stocks… But… they just smell so nice! Especially lavender and jasmine.” Her smile was infectious as she piped, “So Da says that when the plants are growing in again, I can have my own stock of them to roll in whenever I want to!” It was obvious how much she looked forward to rolling in her own plants without getting in trouble for playing in the herbs. And at his comment about enjoying listening, she smiled. “I’d love to. There are so many stories connected to this part of the land, Da says.” His unerring compliment went unnoticed, for the most part, beyond a cheerful smile returned to him with a nod. “He says it’s where he found his necklace. Maybe I’ll find one, too. Maybe you could find one!” That shimmering paw pointed to him as she finished with a happy smile at the thought. She knew gems came in different colors. She thought maybe orange or green would fit him best, for his mismatched eyes. She listened with interest as he spoke of learning to fight, and where the real training began, nodding silently as she absorbed his words, then grinned at his offer, tail sweeping the stones as she answered, “I’ll take you on, gladly!” Her head tipped suddenly as a thought came to her, and she smiled, “I bet Da could teach you. He loves to teach others.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He giggled at her reaction, nodding as she spoke. He didn't spend much time with herbs since none of the adults he grew up with knew much about them, so he'd have to take her word for it. "If you like herbs then I bet you'll love fruit. The fruit in the orchard can smell really sweet, and mom said so do the flowers that the trees grow before they turn into fruits." Shaking his head a bit he added, "Although if you wanna roll in nice smells you may have to stick to herbs." She was awfully silly. In a good way, of course. Amos could be silly too, he supposed. "Oh, a necklace sounds cool. Can't say I've ever met anybody who had one yet. Finding one could be exciting though! I'll make sure to wait to look until you can come outta there," he promised with an easy smile. Turning and rolling through the grass on his back, legs flailing about so he could stretch each limb, Amos huffed softly. Returning his attention to Aurielle he lifted his head which now had bits of grass stuck to it. He switched from laying in an awkward heap of long yearling limbs to play bowing as he called back, "Fantastic! I'll look forward to it!" After he spoke, he promptly fell back onto his side, tongue lolling out and expression relaxed. He became a bit more serious at her suggestion, asking, "Really? That would be amazing! I'd like learning from more wolves." Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aurielle Adravendi

The young Future’s head cocked as she smiled down at him. She knew about some fruits that were medicinally helpful – who couldn’t know when your mother was a healer and your father was firm about learning to heal, even if it was the rudimentary stuff? One of the tope things Paladin had been sure to add was that one should avoid consuming the pits of the soft fruits like… peaches, weren’t they? And that if the fruit was on the ground too long, it broke down and the juices had side effects. “There are fruits that help you feel better, I think. And Black Cherry bark is good for…” She trailed off, eyes flicking up as she trawled through the index of things Cherry bark was supposed to help with. A bright grin reappeared a few beats later as she finished, “Indigestion! And coughs. Willow bark helps with pain, though.” She smiled, glancing down at her unadorned frame. “Da says his is gold and sapphire. Great Grandm’ma Erani told him after he found it. Grandmother had a companion who had a necklace, too. A bird of prey.” On the subject of companions, her eyes flew open and she cast an apologetic look up at the big cat sitting quietly behind her. “Oh! This is Aelloshir, my guardian. His parents are my father’s companions.” She mouthed sorry up at the cat and looked back down to Amos. “He doesn’t talk much to anyone but the family and his own family. His sister’s my brother’s guardian.” She smiled, tail tapping happily against the wall, now that she’d finally remembered to introduce Loshir. A soft peal of chiming laughter escaped as Amos went from sprawled out like a fur rug on the ground to a playful bow, and she beamed at his words. “He’s a wonderful teacher, especially for offensive fighting techniques. Cousin Paladin is one of our best healers, a Cleric, and a very good fighter, but his focus is on defensive fighting and protection of a patients, but he’s a wonderful teacher, too.” She had, of course, been taught a great deal about the Nomads, both from her Da’s recollection of his grandmother’s stories, from Kavdaya, and what he’d learned from the nomads he’s tracked down to seek help for Surreal, and from Paladin’s own knowledge of them. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Listening as she talked about herbal uses and different things that were good for certain stuff, the boy found himself quite intrigued by the whole topic. He guessed it would be real useful to know those sort of things. If you knew the basics than you didn't have to panic and look for someone else hoping they'd take pity on you if you were hurt. Yeah, knowing these things was a really good idea. "That's cool! You sure know a lot of stuff. It's pretty awesome, makes em think I ought to learn some of these kinds of things. Hmm, I wonder how the first wolf to figure out each herb's use went about learning that stuff... Seems like it'd take a good deal of trial and error... And the error part doesn't sound fun." He grimaced at the idea of someone testing out various herbs in different amounts in an attempt to see if any of them worked on different ailments and how the worked best. The off-putting part was of course the thought of being the one they were tested on. No thank you. He listened to her describe the necklace and made a mental note to investigate these kinds of things. He wanted to see wolves who had these kinds of things! There were probably wolves with all kinds of cool things like necklaces and stuff out there. His tail thumped the ground softly as she introduced her companion. Speaking of... That reminded him of something. "Well, it's good to meet you, Aelloshir." Amos could understand not being talkative. His mom wasn't exactly chatty, after all. Neither was Torryn. It was Rogdar that couldn't shut his mouth. Gah, new topic, new topic! "You know, my da' gave me n' my brothers companions when we turned a year. A gift before we went off, I guess." He'd not thought of his companion for a while. He didn't enjoy the idea of being restrictive, and the creature was nocturnal so he felt it'd be rude to go pestering a sleeping bat. Her laugh was nice. Airy and sweet, surely better than his. Hell, he'd have been perfectly content to keep listening to her ramble if she was so inclined. There were worse ways to spend his days, after all. "You're lucky, then. A good teacher isn't always easy to come by. If you've got more than one I'd say you'll be winnin' fights left and right in no time if you're so inclined." Of course, he also figured that beneath the gentle, amiable exterior was a girl who could kick ass and take names. He wasn't sure why, he just got that feeling from her. It was always the ones you least suspected. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."