Speech // thought // Serbian

Back home...
It sounded strange to her. She had been gone a while, she hadn't meant to be gone so long. This was certainly stretching the boundaries of what it meant to be a pack wolf. Mod *had* said she could wander as she wished... but Wenna couldn't deny she felt some trepidation. She didn't know if she had been gone too long or what.

She wasn't used to having a family or others depend on her, raised as a nomad she hoped Modesty and Deluge would understand. She did see Mod and Scald during her travels and even assisted in the birth of Scald's darling syndicate children. She had lingered some more though, down in the Red Bud nook, and some in the lands of Armada and wound her way around every which way on the way back.

The smell of the growing spring heather filled her nose. She picked her way through the tufts of grass over the moors. The mists felt like a welcome cloak though, swathing her slender form in a thin blanket of clouds. What made the minds cling to the earth here so long? Even when the sun was high, the mist persisted here.

She still didn't have a satchel to keep herbs and maps and trinkets. She recalled someone in the pack had such maps and even had some that highlighted locations for herbs! Who was that again? She should have been in to see them before she galavanted away to explore. She had never known a time when she needed a map, she just spent her time getting to know a place, getting lost, and then finding her way to a new place and connecting them with landmarks and directions, the sun's position, and the stars. Orienting herself around a singular place was still something new to her.

She crossed the moor, on a mission toward the ravine. She'd of course welcome an interruption on her way.

Druid's Moor, she had been here once or twice before. The most recent visit had been during Modesty's lesson in creativity. It was nice to be here now, with no specific goal. However, the girl would hardly ever be free from tense muscles and the anxiety that being idle threw upon her. She needed something to do. Felt bad. Every moment spent relaxing was a moment she could be doing something. A moment to become better.

Even now, the girl kept her head on a swivel, especially where she placed her paws in such tall grass. Still sore from her most recent encounter with an angry pronghorn mother. There was an eery mist low to the floor which bothered the young girl. Being as small as she was it was harder for her to see above the low-hanging clouds and she wasn't too fond of how it seemed to cling to her pelt and lashes.

Ever vigilant, her sharp ears would pick up the sound of soft footsteps heading towards her. The lack of urgency or care in them allowed her to assume it was not a threat. Just a casual walk. She looked up and a couple of yards away would be a she-wolf. Lyra took a deep inhale, trying to identify who she was. Her scent was not recognized although there was a faint familiar scent along her pelt that most pack-mates had. The she-wolf was smaller than most in Raider's Hollow which made Lyra feel a bit better.

"Hello?", she would call out to the strange woman, being sure to keep her distance till she knew.


"SPEECH"

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Morwenna paused, one delicate paw in the air as her ears flicked back and forth. A small young voice had called out nearby in a greeting. She lifted her nose up to scent it, the voice sounded uncertain. The mists folded in and out over the undulating terrain. The scents of pack members and maybe someone with milk breath were mixed among the heather.

"Hello!" Morwenna called back in a lilting timbre. Her singsong voice was high and friendly. She took a few more steps over the thick tumble of heather and grasses and that was when the mists revealed the natural toned child!

"Ohhhh! There you are! I couldn't see you in these mists!" She chuckled, my she had been gone too long, the girl was barely tall enough to reach the tops of the weeds! "It's hard to find your way out here. Want to walk to the treehouses with me? My name's Morwenna, what's yours?" She asked playfully. Slowing her pace to match the pup's. It would be easier to weave her way over the moorland at a pace with the little one. Morwenna had been raised in a polyamorous nomadic pack. Children were a constant feature around her as she grew. Mostly by forced babysitting as the parents scouted ahead for new places to set up the band. She could see the bright circle of the sun overhead, covered by the thick cloud along the ground but it was still visible.

The lady had a lovely and delicate air about her. Almost dainty. It was far different than the brutish and barbarous wolves she dealt with daily. Even the way she spoke to Lyra was different. Frankly, Lyra was unsure how to feel about the contrast in how Morwenna approached her. She addressed her as if she was a child- Which she was, but it felt odd to be verbally acknowledged as such. So far her life had been full of lessons, spars, and training. Something as simple and peaceful as a walk? Lyra would take a moment to think. She was watching the woman and studying her.

Morwenna even slowed down for her which was nice, usually, she was not considered and forced to push herself to keep up with the others. So what would be the harm in a little walk?

"Sorry, I know I'm short.", she said it as more of an explanation and less so as an apology. For the most part, her instincts told her it would be okay to trust this woman, "My name is Lyra Rum-Spice." Perhaps there was a more eloquent way to introduce herself but Lyra was being trained in the art of all things physical. Fancy words were often left behind.

"I guess I'll join you. Are you a part of the Raiders?" she would ask, tilting her head as she looked up at the woman. One ear flopping over in the gravity.


"SPEECH"

CODE BY SIN

Speech // thought // Serbian

She smiled down at little Lyra, taking her time and walking at an easy comfortable pace for the little one.
"Of course you're short! You'll grow though! I'm sure you might even be taller than me when you grow up!" She remarks with a small laugh.

"Lyra Rum-Spice! Such a wonderful name! I'm glad to meet you, Miss Lyra." The poor girl was probably pushed to all kinds of limits here. She didn't take the Raiders to be slackers in raising their young, not with progeny the likes of Deluge, Calliope, and Scald standing nearly as a testament to their strength. From who she knew anyway.

The girl asked if she was from the Raiders and Morwenna giggled, "In a sense, yes. I'm returning after being away for a while. I'm hoping to visit Deluge and Modesty. Who are your parents Dear One?" She asked lightly, enjoying the easy pace.

Her words were meant to be reassuring but to be honest, they were repetitive. How many times did she hear this? Oh just wait, you're still young. Yes she was young and she knew she was going to grow but that wasn't the issue. She wasn't growing as fast as the others and even if she was she was never their size to start with. She was one of if not the smallest pup out of both litters.

Lyra did not tell Morwenna this though, instead she smiled politely. It was what was expected of her. She quickly figured out that most adults did not care too much about what a young pup says, they only cared if you were a well-behaved one or not. Though it seemed the Raiders couldn't care less it seemed.

Morwenna would fill her in, letting her know that she was in some type of way... one of them. As well as her wanting to visit her older sister and mother. When she asked, quite sweetly, who Lyra's parents were she did not answer right away. Instead, she looked forward blankly, would it be safe? What if this lady was lying? What if she wanted to kidnap her? Lyra's nose scrunched up in thought. But Morwenna did smell faintly similar and her instincts did tell her that this was a safe adult.

"That's funny," she softly murmured, "My moms are Jael and Modesty." she would say a little quietly. She was a pup of few words so her voice was quiet and her throat was not familiar with the vibrations of conversation. But she didn't want to be poor company and she enjoyed having attention on her for once.

"Where were you? Before you came back?"

"SPEECH"

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The girl was rather quiet, which was fine for Wenna, she didn't push the girl to be louder or encourage her to speak up. The thick mists surrounding them were doing plenty to keep their conversational tones easy on the ear.

Wenna stepped over an ancient stone nestled in the grass, surrounded by thick clover as the girl spoke up.
"Oh, wonderful! I'll be sure to tell your mother how well-behaved you've been." Morwenna praised.

The healer glanced at a dainty flower popping up through the knoll briefly. A tiny sorrel mixed in with all the clover. She perked her ears at the girl's questions and she chuckled good-naturedly at the interrogation.

"Excellent questions for a border guard! I went a bit up north to explore! I had hoped to come back with some new information but honestly, your mother already knows the information I gathered. I was unsuccessful on my trek. Hopefully, she'll still keep me around, I'm growing rather fond of the pack!" She admitted half-heartedly. Was she? Was she really? Deluge had Dread, Scald had Elysia and his own brood now, and Calliope was... well... Cal... This place was nothing like the people she grew up and traveled with. They seemed to pair off and devote themselves to each other instead of the group as a whole. Would she be able to settle down with a single person herself?

She continued her trek with little Lyra, the mists beginning to thin as they neared the ravine.

"What about you Miss Lyra? If you were out traveling what kind of things would you bring home?"

Lyra was impressed with Morwenna's sharp eyes, watching her grab a herb she knew nothing about. Should she remember it? Probably not. Instead, Lyra would walk along with her, enjoying the peace. Perhaps even relishing the one-on-one attention that she rarely received from her mothers. Lyra wasn't sure why Modesty wouldn't keep her around, it didn't seem like Morwenna did anything wrong?

The young girl chalked it up to adult business, it must be one of those things she didn't understand yet. The mysteries of adulthood and whatnot. Lyra couldn't help but wonder just what information they both knew.

"Well, I wouldn't stray far in the first place. But if anything brings me hope, I must remain near in case my moms or my sissys or brothers need help.", the safety of her family was one of her biggest concerns.

"Well there is a lot of us. Gilgamesh isnt my dad but he is my siblings. Modesty birthed his pups, and my mom birthed Modesty's." she provided. It may be confusing to some but to the girl, it was her life and all she knew.

Morwenna noticed the girl wasn't as keen on going on adventures as she was. Pity really, there was so much to experience and explore! But it was commendable to want to stay close to her family also... Morwenna didn't want to linger on the idea of her own family. She hadn't thought about them in a long time.

"Well it's certainly nice to keep them in mind. How many sibling do you have?" She remembered Modesty was probably carrying about four pups, but she hadn't checked Jeal at all. The wolf dog hadn't met everyone in the pack anyway.

She tilted her head and furrowed her brow at the idea of Jeal's pups being Modesty's... Hmmm... She wasn't going to correct the child that it wasn't physically possible if that's the story her family wanted to repeat, who was she to say she was wrong? More than likely Gilgamesh was both litter's father.

"Ooo, lots of playmates then." She commented instead. Had Deluge had her pups yet? More than likely, she was on her way to Deluge and Dread's place.

"I'm off to see your older sister, Deluge. It was nice to meet you Lyra Rum-spice!" Morwenna bid farewell to the girl. It was nice to have honest conversations with the young of the pack. She hoped to run into more of the little ones. Perhaps she could give them a lesson in navigating or healing.

Lyra was much more enthusiastic to speak on her family for they were something she knew all about.

"Well, there is Corsair, Davie, Pythia... uh Sagittarius, Gilda... um... Korona..." the little girl paused, her eyebrows low and full of thought as she tried to remember, "Oh! Cutlass too! I might be forgetting someone..." Her family seemed harder to find nowadays. Often they could have been easily found but her mother Jael was hardly around from what she had noticed.

Lyra looked up at Morwenna and noticed her brows furrow... Did she say something wrong? However Morwenna did not speak on it if she had. Instead, the woman offered a nice comment and a quick farewell, which left Lyra confused.

"Well goodbye Morwenna! Thanks for letting me walk with you" and with that Lyra turned to head home. She knew Deluge was supposedly her older sister but she had yet to meet the woman and did not dare to branch out to someone new again. Especially uninvited to her home.


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"SPEECH"

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