It had been about a month since the tiny egg had hatched and the sooty grey ball of fluff looked decidedly more bird like now, even if it was the smallest bird Morganna had ever seen, kinda like her dad's owl but in miniature. Her raven's had been quite approving of the little birds attempts to leave the nest, flapping her tiny wings and even managing a small glide. It was an attempt to help the little bird learn her wings that had Morganna tromping through the brush towards the sound of running water, muttering under her breath about ungrateful little orphan eggs and keeping a weather ear out for the puppy like chirping the little bird liked to make.

They had been at the Armada for quite a while now and she knew her mum planned on taking them back to Tojo before the first snows fell and got them stuck there for the winter, so she was making the most of her time in the north to check out new scouting opportunities. Sure she had maybe been gone for more than a night now, but she was sure her dad was somewhere nearby and Chips or Kuzu hadn't showed up to rawk at her to get home yet. It was fine, right?

What she hadn't noticed was that she had stumbled clear over a well-marked border in her search for her little owl. With the light failing and the glow of a newly sprouted mushroom obscuring her sight in one eye, the sound of distant falls in her ears called her closer. She had been far too curious to see what that sound was all about, while she had all her hearing. The mushrooms seemed to grow worse in the fall, she could only assume they would do the same when spring finally rolled around. She hadn't actually managed to see one yet.

"speech"

It wasn’t a patrol so much as roaming a portion of the pack border, enjoying thoughts of the past and plans for Valta’s future. Soon darkness would fully envelop the land but for right now shadows were taking to dancing about the landscape.

Kotori’s nose caught the scent of a wolf, one that was not part of his pack. Quickly he headed toward the scent, slowing a few strides in as the scent of pup came to his nostrils. Some ki had forgotten proper manners it seemed. This wasn’t something Kotori could just approve of but it didn’t seem likely it would be a dangerous enemy either.

When Kotori spotted the pup he felt a different sort of revelation. He’d been young when the mushroom issue had seemed to fill the map. Those days were gone and yet here were the leftover reminders of what had happened. Some things apparently couldn’t be forgotten so easily. Kotori had several bittersweet memories pass through his mind before shifting his full attention to the pup.

With a confident step, Kotori moved towards the young child. Regardless of age, surely she should know the laws of pack boundaries. What parent had let her out of their sight if she was to be so foolish? Kotori stopped in front of Morganna, head arched to add to the effect of looking down on her. She’d also grow up large but for now, she was still just a small child.

“Child, do you know where you are?” The words were formal and tight. What to do. What to do. An adult wolf would have been attacked first and then asked. So, he was already being nice.

"Kotori Fatalis"

The voice caught her by surprise, but she was still worried about her fledgling owl and craned her neck to peer into the underbrush behind the confident adult that had put a halt to her exploring. Her head tipped as he asked her if she knew where she was, "Umm, Boreas? Mum bought us up 'ere so she could help with Halo's birth, but we're from Auster..." It was a vague answer, about as much detail as any young kid could be expected to retain.

A distant sound high and somewhat distressed chuckling had her ears turned forward, "I 'ave a little owl that I hatched from an egg, she's jus' learnin' how ter fly but she's not very good," Anxiety had her torn between trying to hold her place and be respectful to the adult and tearing off into the trees and towards the water where the sound was coming from. "Do yer think I could bother yer ter help me find 'er?" She still hadn't cottoned onto the fact that she was trespassing.

"speech"