With the predators driven out and the land mostly quiet, Artorias stood amongst the thicket of trees that made up the Wildberry Grove. Songbirds sang in the canopies overhead and warm summer sun filtered in golden rays to the lush grasses below. The sweet fragrance of ripening summer berries filled the air, and with the fighting done, the lands were surprisingly and delightfully tranquil. A small smile touched Artorias' lips as he gazed around the small woods they would soon be able to call their home. Tipping his muzzle to the sky, the Aegis let forth a gentle call, summoning those of the Hallows that wished to explore and tread the lands that would soon be part of their home for the first time. This was an exciting time for the pack as a whole and he wanted everyone to share in the expansion of their home. There was much to see and discover and explore, and the territory was quite large; he was going to need some help if he intended to cover all of this ground!

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

From the day he began to fledge, nearly all of Zephyr's time was spent on the daunting task of becoming flight-ready. The castle offered a multitude of surfaces to dive off of or leap between, providing not only a safe and secure location to build up strength in his wings, but to improve his confidence and courage as well. The more he began to learn, the further out from the courtyard he'd venture. It was rare that he'd see a Hallowed wolf head out past the border and not aim to chase them down, and it was no different as Artorias headed northeast.

His lesson in hunting had clearly shown where the young raptor needed improvement - everywhere, really - and so his trailing doubled as an exercise in stalking. There was no subtlety to the heavy beats of his wings, nor the fluttering of feathers as he hobble-scurried across the earth. To follow his Aegis unseen would require him to tuck his wings away and walk, slow and steady, and a good distance behind.

By the time he reached the wildberry grove, Zephyr had lost Artorias' trail entirely. He paused at the tree line, craning his vulture-like neck up to observe the maple trees and the canopy they formed. His father was in there somewhere, but running blindly would accomplish failure. Artorias would smell him long before Zeph could catch sight of his bi-colored fur. Being a bird was hard.

Cautiously, he approached the trunk of a nearby maple tree and clasped his beak firmly around a low-hanging branch. Finding it could hold his weight, he fought hard with beak and talon to scale it's rough bark as high as he dared. It did not open up as good of a vantage point as simply flying might, but it did enable him to see past the thick shrubbery that littered the ground. There was a place further into the woods where the trees appeared to thin out, but before he could consider what that meant for this particular grove, the gentle call of his Aegis sounded.

Target acquired.

With a well-practiced hop, the young raptor leaped from his branch with wings extended. Lofty glides were all he was capable of in this stage of his lessons, but the distance from him to where the summoning howl had originated was short enough that Zephyr was sure he could manage it. Threading through the sparse maple branches, he swooped down through the air toward his 'prey,' sounding a shrill, playful call of warning as he neared his blue-furred guardian.

He realized a moment too late that he'd really not practiced much stopping. Artorias was incredibly forgiving, but that only made the concept of barreling into him even harder to stomach. A brief expression of panic replaced the thrill on his feathered face, and then suddenly Zephyr found himself lost in foliage. The landing had been soft enough, but also... squishy? "Hi." He gave his father a sheepish grin. Hanging suspended in the smushed bush, he craned his neck around to see what exactly it was he'd landed on. "Berries!"  

"Zephyr"

Since chasing off the predators from the soon-to-be Hallows land, Fern has found herself spending more and more time out among the berry bushes… and today is no exception. Puff, the gray girl’s small stoat companion, scampers about in the underbrush, her small reddish-brown head peeking out from time to time to smile at her friend. A chuckle is given to the stoat as Fern continues to walk, her blue gaze turning to look up at the trees. Large, broad leaves rustle in the gentle summer breeze, causing shadows to dance upon the ground as they move. The sweet smell of ripe berries fills the air, causing the gray girl’s stomach to rumble in hungry anticipation.

The call of her Aegis summoning anyone that wishes to explore the new land reaches her dark tipped ears. Calling to Puff, the pair begin to head in the direction that the howl had originated from when suddenly, a strange, loud sound that can only be described as an excited bird trill fills the berry grove. Intrigued, Fern follows the loud noise (and the accompanying sound of a bush being crushed) until she finds Artorias and a very happy (very large) Zephyr sitting perched atop a squished berry bush. Casually, the gray girl strolls toward them, happily saying, “Wow Zephyr! You have gotten so big! What are you two up to? Learning how to make wine with the whole berry bush?”

Fern’s tone is light and teasing but there is no real bite to her words as she joins them, offering her help to get the large bird out of his impromptu landing spot. Puff bursts out from the underbrush and rushes up to where the group is, shaking her small head at Zephyr while tutting worriedly at him… much like a concerned mother might do.


"Fern Lark"

After lending her paw to identify the many varieties of medicinal herbs and fruiting berry bushes around the grove, Syanna had begun to feel a little more like her old self. Putting her knowledge and skills to work for her pack gave her direction and purpose, kept her mind occupied, and filled her with a sense of accomplishment that she'd been lacking over the past half season since her incident. Nobody was forcing her to do these things; she just did them because they made her feel good. So Syanna would help put her other talents and skills to use to help expand the Hallows into the Wildberry Grove. The vixen-furred fae was a seasoned navigator, able to traverse all sorts of terrains and make accurate and detailed maps in her brain for later use. It came from her lifetime of rambling after she'd been exiled from her birth pack, and was fostered by her love of adventure and the outdoors. Now she would use it to help her new family. Ezra would be so proud of her.

Meandering through the dense grove of trees and shrubbery, Syanna drank in her surroundings with eager emerald eyes. Everything was so vibrant and lush in the Austral summer, and the sweet fragrance of ripe fruit and blossoming flowers hung like a delicate perfume in the air. For the most part, the terrain was pretty flat, with the only real variance or obstacles coming from the plant life itself. At first, Syanna had thought maybe she was out here alone—until the familiar call of her alpha rang out from the other side of the grove. Turning and making a beeline for the wolf, Syanna emerged just in time to watch the ever growing Zephyrus come divebombing from the sky to crash into a dense berry bush, hanging at an awkward angle while Artorias just laughed and Fern approached soon after. The woman smirked and giggled as she approached the trio, joining in their group. "Well, I thought it was a very impressive display of how your gliding is going, Zephyr," she remarked. "And look! You even found a raspberry bush in the process!" As if proving her point, Syanna popped one of the deep purple berries from a snapped branch and swallowed the ripe fruit. "So, what're we all doing?"

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

Artorias wasn't left to wait long for others of his pack to show up. The first came in the form of his growing raptor son, who the Aegis hadn't even noticed was airborne until he heard the shrill cry of the avian from behind and above him. Brows furrowing in confusion, Artorias turned around—and saw the massive shadowy form of Zephyrus swooping down towards him from a steady glide just overhead. Were he a slower wolf, he would have easily been tackled by the divebombing bird, but thanks in part to his training and to his sharper eyes, Artorias' reflexes had been honed to wicked sharpness. He dropped low to his belly on the soft summer grasses while Zephyr swooped over his head, a look of panic on his face while he careened out of control as the raptor attempted to stop himself midair, only to find his brakes in the form of a dense raspberry bush.

The crashing and crushing of foliage was heard behind him, and Artorias quickly rose to his paws to hurry to check on Zephyrus. The sight he found was as adorable as it was hilarious! The Aegis found his son hanging lopsided in the brush, suspended up like it were a plush leafy cushion, the bush very obviously squished beneath the giant bird's weight and size. Zeph looked as startled and confused as he felt, but as worried as he'd been that Zephyrus might have been hurt, he was put at ease by his son's casual greeting and enthusiastic declaration of finding berries. A wide smile slowly split Artorias' lips, a chuckle starting in his throat that turned into a full belly laugh at the ridiculousness of his ward. "Almost got me this time, Zeph! But you're gonna have to be quicker than that to catch your dad off guard." Artorias padded closer to offer his ward an affectionate nuzzle. He was still teaching Zephyrus a lot of wolf customs and culture, such as nuzzling to show affection, but the young raptor had been learning everything so quickly and he was very impressed.

Fern's voice caught his attention, followed by Syanna's, and he greeted both women with a smile and nod of his head. Syanna asked what they were doing and the Aegis would explain. "We're going to be walking the grove today, mapping out the land and making note of what we can see, any special features of the land. We're going to be claiming the grove for the Hallows and we need to know everything about the newest land in our home. We can all take a look around together as a group," he explained, then added with a teasing grin, "Once we get Zeph out of the bush, that is." Artorias moved towards the raspberry bush and leaned into it, using his weight to help bend the bush to lower the giant raptor back to the ground.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

More wolves arrived quickly, each offering the young raptor their own compliment in turn. It did help to lessen the sting of embarrassment (and the more tangible sting on his backside) and with his father's help, Zephyr was untangled from the bush he'd crushed. He glanced over his shoulder at the thing almost apologetically - would it continue to grow berries after being forced to suffer his full weight? Zeph sure hoped so, he'd yet to find a species of berry that wasn't delicious. Turning back toward the gathered wolves, he gave a proud little wiggle. "I am getting big." The fledgling raptor affirmed, outstretching his colorful wing and realizing that he'd picked up a new color in his crash. Preening himself later would be quite the task... but likely a tasty one.

"Can these ones make wine?" The general concept of how the liquor was made was something that went above the bird's head, but there was disgruntled disappointment in his tone as he realized the implication. He wasn't allowed wine. He'd have to share the deliciousness of berries with the adults who enjoyed their odd, mind-altering drink. Syanna gave him a name to the sort of berry he'd crashed into, and he hopped closer to the bush in question to observe it and place the name firmly in his mind. Raspberries were edible, that much he knew. Plucking an uncrushed one off the branch and crushing it in his beak, he tasted the spoils of war he'd earned. "Mmm."

Artorias had explained that they would be exploring the land and claiming it for themselves, a prospect Zephyr very much enjoyed even if his arrival here was playful and without purpose. "Do you think there will be other types of berries here too?" He queried, his talons leaving the ground briefly in a series of excited hops. "Oh! oh! Are these trees the types that have food, too?" Oranges, apples, pears and a dozen more fruits he could name all grew on trees. This grove's sole special feature (in Zeph's mind) was that it was a food-place, it only made sense to the eternally hungry bird that the food would be in vast abundance beyond berries itself.

"Zephyr"

A happy grin is on full display as Fern looks to haphazardly hanging Zephyr, blue eyes dancing with joy as she steps forward to help retrieve Zephyr from his crushed berry bush. Once free, the gray girl leans in to give the huge bird an affectionate nuzzle before stepping back to lean toward Syanna. Fern moves to give the smaller woman a happy bump of greeting, her blue eyes sparkle with joy as she straightens to look around the grove. When Zephyr asks about how to make wine, the girl feels a smile tugs up one side of her mouth as she looks to the small fox-colored wolf that accompanies them. She remembers how they had come out to pick berries fr the flavoring of wine in preparation for the wedding and says, “Why don’t you ask Syanna? She is great at making and flavoring all types of wine.”

A wink is given to healer before Fern looks back to curious bird, watching as he pops a ripe raspberry in his mouth and crushes it. Some of the deep red juice spills down the side of his beak as Puff suddenly appears in front of the big bird. Small stoat eyes inspect her friend before shoving a small paw up toward him. A huge grin is on Puff’s face as she offers Zephyr a fat, ripe black huckleberry, saying, “I like these ones. They are very sweet. Here! This is one is for you!” With that, the small stoat tries to give the berry to the tall Zephyr, standing on her tippy toes to stretch up toward him. Fern gives her head a small shake of her head, an affectionate smile on her pale lips. Looking to Art, Fern says, “Well, guess we are ready!” a chuckle bubbling up as she speaks.

Puff quickly climbs onto Fern’s back and she falls in step with the rest of the group, eyes scanning the pack’s soon-to-be land. The large maple leaves that hang overhead seem to know that fall is on the horizon as some are beginning to change colors. Looking around, she makes mental notes of the different types of berries that seem fit to burst on the heavily laden bushes that litter the grove.


"Fern Lark" | "Puff"

As soon as they had righted the crashed Zephyrus and the group had banded together, Artorias explained what they were doing here today. Mapping the land, making notes of landmarks or useful sights. Syanna nodded her head; that task was simple enough for the once-adventurer. She'd already been through the grove once before with Gwynevere's group as they scoured the land for beneficial herbs to use as medicines, and she had been here a time or two with Ezra before, so she wasn't wholly unfamiliar with the dense grove, but if they were going to make it part of their home, it did behoove them to become as familiar with the territory as much as they could. It would be easier to navigate, cultivate, and defend if they were.

Zephyr seemed surprised at the notion of using the variety of berries to make wines, and Fern pointed the fledgling raptor in her direction, to which Syanna staunchly shook her head. "Oh, no, that's all Lady Briar's passion. I just help with the gathering aspect of it. She's our resident sommelier when it comes to crafting the flavors and recipes," she replied with a humble smile. The avian seemed extremely excited at the notion of many kinds of berries growing in the grove, then hopped about in a near frenzy while he asked if the trees grew fruit as well. Syanna peered up around the branches above their heads, and while many of them seemed to be red maples—which would come in handy if they decided to harvest and refine the sap to make syrups—she did indeed spot many an apple, cherry, even peach trees!

"Oh, I don't think you'll be disappointed here, Zeph," Syanna remarked and gestured with a paw up to some of the ripening summer fruits surrounding them. "I also see a few blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry bushes. C'mon, let's go check them out." The fox-colored woman trotted over to a cluster of blackberry bushes, finding a few plump, dark indigo berries and plucking them from their stems before offering them over to Zephyrus to sample. "Try these, and tell me if you think they're ripe enough to bring a few back home with us. Then we can check out some of the other berry bushes we find. We need to know all the different kinds of fruits we can bring back so our friends back home know what they can come get too."

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

To say that Artorias was a proud adoptive parent would have been an understatement. The Aegis hadn't expected to take on such a fatherly role in the young bird's life when he found Zephyrus was a pudgy little chick in the castle tower, but now he couldn't imagine life without the clumsy and golden-hearted lad in it. As Zeph expanded his full wingspan to show off how big he was getting, Artorias gave a hearty chuckle and also noticed the dark berry-hued staining on the fledging feathers his son wore. "Well well, looks like someone will be getting a bath when we get home," he teased Zephyr and gave his son a playful nudge with his shoulder. Watching Zephyrus grow and explore his world reminded the young alpha so much of his childhood, of days spent exploring and learning the massive world through the tiny eyes and wide imagination of a puppy. The nostalgia drew a wistful sigh from the Carpathian wolf; where had all that time gone...

While Zephyr and Syanna began their own little adventure of examining the berry bushes and sampling their fruits, Artorias meandered over to Fern, regarding his apprentice with a crooked smile. "He's young and enthusiastic, but he's also right—the grove has a plethora of berries and fruits we can use for food and cooking," he said, picking up an undamaged raspberry in the wake of the giant raptor's carnage and popping it into his mouth. The rich, sweet flavor burst over his tongue, followed by a brisk tartness characteristic of the dark red raspberries. "Mmm and they're ripe too. I bet with Auster's temperate climate, they probably grow year-round. We'll be able to make continuous harvests so long as we keep tending to the trees and shrubs."

Artorias tipped his muzzle to the sky, giving a soft call for his ravens. Corbin and Eira swooped down like a black and white streak to land gracefully before their master. "Could you both scout the area from the sky while we work on the ground? Anything that looks interesting or out of the ordinary, report to me. We'll handle the berry census."

Corbin gave a graceful bow and replied, "Certainly, Master Artorias."

Eira gave a much more casual salute with a wing. "Aye, we'll keep an eye out for ya!"

After a playful jostle to one another, the two ravens flapped their wings and soared into the sky once more to begin their aerial reconnaissance. Artorias watched until they were out of view above the tree canopy, then moved to join Fern while they surveyed the grove. The territory was large, and given that it was the first many a wolf approached when coming to Auster, he was glad they were the ones claiming it. The Hallows would be a good first impression to visitors of the southern continent. Fortunately, there wasn't too terribly much to explore. The grove was fairly flat, being close to the coasts, and it seemed like the fruit trees and berry shrubs made up a bulk of the content of the land. After sampling a few more of the berries and fruits, Artorias did a short lap around the perimeter, then called for his wolves (and bird) back. "Start making your final checks, everyone! If you find something worth exploring further, make a note of it and report it back to me. Once you're ready to go back home, come rally around me."

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

From what he was gathering from Fern and Syanna both - neither of who were the wine makers of the pack, apparently - Zephyr was finding new hope in being able to keep some of the berries yield for himself. If Briar was the only one who knew how to smush them into a drink, maybe she'd have less need to harvest all the berries. As wonderfully skilled his mother was, she only had two paws. Zeph considered this will barely contained excitement, and then suddenly Fern's generous stoat was addressing him with another gift. He clasped his beak eagerly over the berry, half-lidding his eyes in satisfaction as the flavor exploded across his tongue. "We should just live in here." He insisted with a decisive nod.

Syanna was addressing him next and eagerly the fledgling raptor hurried after her toward the new cluster of bushes she'd found. Unlike the raspberry bush he'd crash landed in, the leaves of this bush were smooth and not serrated. The color was different too, and the leaves appeared slightly larger. Taking direction from the orange-hued woman, he craned his neck in toward the plump berries and took a generous mouthful. "If ripe means delicious, they're ripe." He concluded with a grin.

Artorias instructed them to make their final checks and Zephyr bristled with excitement, eager to lend his own talon in working to expand their home. The playful mention of a bath had at first been something he had ignored (Zephyr hated baths) but as he considered it further, a new idea came to him. "I climbed a tree to find you, and I think while I was up there I saw a river further east." He looked to Artorias with interest. "But we're so close to the ocean, will it be water that's okay to drink?"

"Zephyr"

Fern chuckles happily as Zephyr takes the berry from Puff, the huge bird clearly happy that the Hallows will be taking the grove as their land. Syanna happily shows the large Zephyr more berry bushes and Artorias meanders over to her. As Art watches his ward, speaking with the love of a parent for a child, Fern looks to the tall Aegis with a wide smile. Gently she asks, “So Art… when are there going to be little puppies for Zephyr to play with?” She can see he is a great dad and, with his marriage so newly minted, surely, he and Briar have been trying to get pregnant. A chuckle escapes as she looks to her mentor mirroring his movements as he plucks a berry from the crushed bush and pops it in her mouth.

The sweet, tart juice coats her tongue and Fern savors the taste as Artorias brings up a good point about the climate. She suggests, “Perhaps we could gather clippings from some berry bushes that only grow up north and bring them here.” Art calls to his ravens and Fern looks over the land, mentally picturing what it will look like when they have carefully cleared and tended to the land. A smirk tugs at her lips as the birds speak, the juxtaposition of their two accents, mannerisms, and coloring make the two ravens seem like quite an odd couple. They soon fly off and she falls in step with the tall leader and teacher and student survey the land together. They banter easily, teasing each other like a brother and sister would while still keeping a careful eye out.

After a while, Art calls for everyone to gather back around and Fern waits for the others to show. Once everyone is gathered, the leader informs them to make their final checks and the gray girl dips her head before trotting off to do one more quick survey. Satisfied that this land is perfect for them Fern returns to the group, her lips stained with different berries juices. Once they are all gathered, the group makes their way back to the castle.


"Fern Lark"

Syanna had a tremendous soft spot in her heart for the young Zephyrus. Something about the tottering fledgling bird reminded her of a giant puppy with how playful, cheeky, and innocent he was. Maybe it was the newfound concern that she might never have children of her own that made her fonder of the baby bird, but she was really buying into this whole "raising a child as a pack" mentality. Zeph gobbled down a couple of blackberries and confirmed that they were not only ripe, but also delicious! Syanna giggled softly and chewed down a couple of the sweet dark berries herself as well. "It looks like there's a number of fruit-bearing trees in the grove as well. A whole orchard's worth, almost!" she remarked, pointing towards the cherry trees nearby.

At Artorias' call for them to make their final checks of the area, Syanna began to go around to the various berry bushes they'd found and gather up a few of the different types of berries to bring back to the castle with them. She couldn't wait to show Briar and Lia what they had in store for them out here! With all the kinds of fruits they had unlimited access to now, they could make so many new flavors of wines and fruit-based desserts for the Hallows to enjoy! After she'd gathered some berries, Syanna went around the trees and did the same for the fruits, grabbing some bright red apples, some fragrant peaches, and deep red cherries to add to her stash. Stowing all the fruit safely in her satchel, the vixen-furred wolf trotted back to rejoin the group, ready to head back home with their haul.

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

Artorias hadn't missed the way Fern was smiling at him, but he didn't understand where it was coming from until she asked her question. The startled Aegis sputtered a bit mid-chew on a blueberry, managing to swallow the contents of his mouth before looking back to his apprentice with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. There was no secret amongst the wolves in the Hallows who was coupling with who, and Artorias and Briar led a very active and healthy sex life together even before they were married. Matrimony had only intensified that habit for the two, if anything! Planning for pups was more of an inevitable eventuality than a maybe for the alphas at this point, so the question wasn't so far out of left field. Still, he'd been caught off guard; he hadn't expected it while out scouting the wild lands, that was for sure!

A chuckle rumbled in Artorias' chest as he led Fern back to rally the group so they could begin to head home with their findings. "Y'know, I'm wondering when either of our parents will start to ask that of us too," he mused with a humored smirk on his lips. It also seemed like an inevitability that either Tamsyn or his in-laws would begin to ask that same question. Briar wouldn't go into heat for a few more months, at least. The Boreal summer was still a ways off before her body became receptive to start growing their pups. "Briar and I haven't talked about that yet. We both want children, naturally, but she wanted to be married and mated before we even had that conversation." His smirk shifted into a full grin as he laughed, realizing just how close that time was getting now. "I'd say it wouldn't be unusual for us to start expecting some new Carpathians in a couple seasons, when the Austral winter comes."

As the group began to make their way back to the castle, Artorias led the way, making sure to keep Fern at his side while they walked so they could continue talking. "And what about you and Rudy?" he asked, turning a curious glance down to the smaller monochrome woman. "I'm guessing you both want pups someday too. And has there been any advancement in your proposal plans?"

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"