Always moving, always busy. For a young, awkward boy he somehow always kept himself moving, always knew exactly what he should do. At home he was fight raining and healing and on his days off he'd go out to find more herbs for his store. Today was one of those days. He didn't have anything planned, didn't have any lessons so he decided to go out and find a place. He didn't know what place exactly, but he would find it, and it would have something new that he could bring home and study. So that's exactly what he had chosen to do. He ventured off in a direction he hadn't gone in a rather long time, and when his eyes fell on the ocean he knew he had found his place. Something about the ocean was great for herbs. Perhaps it was the water, or even the salt air. Things just grew differently here. So with a gentle grin he trotted trough the delta, searching for something new, something interesting, wondering what he'd find today. "Burn Baby Burn" | "Italian"

Karabela stretched along one of the rivers that forked into the delta. The soothing flow of water easing her mind and helping her tired body relax. She'd been traveling almost non stop, fighting with strangers and exploring with others and yet despite all that she still felt no closer to finding an answer or a course of direction for herself. The only thing she was really certain of was that she couldn't head back, she had to keep moving forward but what next? She wished more than ever that she could run into her sister Falx about but it seemed the other girl was far more interested in wandering solo than even Raba was. She knew she'd never see Sabre again…. and she knew it wasn't their fault. They were all grieving in their own way but she still felt abandoned and painfully lonely despite the confidence and carefree attitude she normally tried to maintain. Up and down. Up and down. She wished her mood would just…. stay constant for awhile.

Golden eyes started to close but paused as she caught the scent of a strange male. She turned to eye a lovely young man scouting through the delta. Karabela moved slowly with cat-like stealth as her legs bunched underneath her. Her tail twitched a little before she launched herself at the male, aiming to playfully nip his right haunch and bound away before facing him in a play stance, regardless if her nip was successful or not. She needed a good distraction. Why not have a little fun with this one?

"Speech"

Starling had his nose to the dirt, mind far too focused on searching to notice that someone...had come right up to him. He yelped loudly as something pinched his right haunch. If asked later, Starling would say that it was due to surprise than anything else, but...well it was kind of childish, wasn't it? He spun widely, quickly turning his rear away from her, his tail pinned beneath him. He swallowed slightly as he looked at the girl, sky blue eyes wide and ears falling back. Should he fight? Should he...run? He just stared at the girl, sensing..playfulness from her look. There was no aggressive in that look. He swallowed slightly, quickly stepping back. "Wh-what did you d-do that for!" He said in a pitched, embarrased voice, hoping this wouldn't come to a fight. "Burn Baby Burn" | "Italian"

Success! Karbela bounded away into a play stance after her fangs successfully nipped the strange boy. She giggled, head tilting to the side as she gazed at him. He was fairly good size though still no match for her and seemed to be of a slighter build, not striking her as any sort of warrior. He yelped and turned to stare at her before stuttering out his sentence. "Why? For fun of course! Say, how come you talk like that? You're not scared of me are you?" She stood and straightened herself out, back sloping in an easy, languid stance.

Ears flicked as she turned to stare at an egret. With a sudden battle cry she charged, splashing into the water as the bird took off in a squawking panic. With a grin she maneuvered back onto land and shook out her coat. "I'm Karabela but you can call me Raba. Who are you and what are you doing out here?"

"Speech"

Starling would blink at her. This was new, strange...he didn't understand it too much. He had never experianced someone like her, so he didn't much have a reaction for her, or a card. He merely blinked as she commented on his stutter, his way of speaking. It wasn't....normal for others to comment on it, and it made him shy. Ears would pin then as he quickly looked at the ground, licking his lips slightly. "I=I always u-umh...t-talk l-like th-this..." He said softly, clenching his jaw slightly and shifting on his paws when suddenly...she was off, chasing a bird. The young destruction would squint slightly at her. This girl...was very weird. When she ran back towards him (well, onto land at least) he quickly took a few steps back, sky blue eyes wide. "Oh...I..umh..." He cleared his throat slightly, glancing away from her before lookng back. Was this a good idea? "M-my n-name is St-starling...I...uh, I-I'm a h-healer, so..I-I was h-hunting...f-for herbs.." He whispered then, fidgetting slightly. "Burn Baby Burn" | "Italian"

Karabela felt as though she could almost sigh in contentment at the feeling of the warm sun basking across her cool coat. The boy was amusing to her and she continued to grin cheerfully at him. Apparently he always talked in that weird halting way, it was almost endearing in an odd sort of way but she found herself curiously wondering if there was a reason for it. Was it maybe a different sort of language? It was completely knew to her.

Slowly but steadily the boy introduced himself as Starling, a healer hunting for herbs. "Ooohhh interesting. I'm a lone warrior…. I guess a mercenary…. or something." Her grin faded a little. What the heck was she exactly? She didn't really know what she was or where she was going. Everything she did seemed so aimless. Nostrils flared and she moved a few steps toward the boy before the familiar scent clicked. "Hey, you smell like Lillie! Are you an Abaven wolf to?"

"Speech"

Starling would watch her, blue eyes squinting slightly as he tried to catch up, tried to get that easy feeling. There was something about her energy he couldn't understand, couldn't wrap his head around...couldn't...He sighed softly, closing his eyes as he breathed in deeply, trying to gather himself. She was normal, she was just like any other wolf. Sure...she was oddly energetic, but maybe she got into some bad plants? She was normal, there was no reason to feel so nervous. When he opened his eyes again he gasped, eyes wide at how close she had gotten. His head suddenly lowered as he tried to catch up on the words that he missed. Mercenary? ...Abaven? He bawked at her, tilting his head. "Y-you k-know Lillie?" He asked softly, confirming her question. "Y-yes, I'm f-from Abaven...and th-that's really c-cool that y-you're a fighter. I...a-am trying t-to learn, but I-I'm not v-very good..." He said softly, glancing down again. "Burn Baby Burn" | "Italian"

She totally scared him that had to be it. Karabela's chest puffed slightly. She was a fierce and beautiful warrioress and the boy's reaction was perfectly understandable. Raba watched as he gathered himself, eyes widening at the mention of her former exploration partner. "Aye, we wandered a few terras in the west not to long ago." She giggled a bit. Wait, he was training to be a fighter? Huh, he really didn't strike her as the type but then good warriors could come from the most unexpected places. "Well…. I might be wiling to teach you but I wouldn't do it for free. I'd need something in return." She sat down heavily and pondered what that something could be. She didn't really need herbs and she was definitely not interested in healing. "Hmmm… I don' know what to trade. It's kind of hard with me being a loner. Maybe if I ever get hurt and I come to you you have to promise to heal me?"

It seemed like an option, the wind shifted and brought the pack scent to her once more as her smile faded and her eyes tipped skyward. Two Abaven wolves in such a short span of time. Was she being sent some kind of sign or something? Again she felt the lonliness buried deep her her chest, masked over by her anger and violence as well as her cheerfulness and energy. She felt so fucking lost. Eyes turned back to lock on the boys blue eyes. Could he be the key to a new start? "What's Abaven like?"

"Speech"

Train...she would? My, he had luck with teachers. He would lick his lips then, shifting slightly before nodding slowly. "O-of course I-I would o-offer something in r-return..." He said softly, slowly, hoping that it was enough to accept and confirm any teaching. He would smile softly at her then, calming down now that she didn't seem to be bouncing off the trees and doing cannon balls in the lake. "I-I'd heal a-anyone if th-they needed it." He'd say softly then, smiling softly. "I-it's my j-job after all." He'd glance at the ground then, shuffling slightly before the girl spoke again...Raba, was it? He'd hum lightly, lifting his nose to look at her with a tilted head. "A-abaven i-is pretty...gr-great!" He said with a gentle smile, remembering what Sonticus was like compared. He defintally preferred Abaven. "W-we have th-these Plains w-with snakes, th-that are p-pretty fun to ch-chase....w-with all y-your energy." He'd laugh at his joke then, smiling. "An-and these rapids...and w-we're a Mercenary pack, s-so if an-any of th-the other packs n-need help or w-warriors we c-can help out. W-we're a-all one b-big family, a-and we t-try to t-teach each other....th-though m-most everyone th-thinks Healing i-is boring." He's laugh again, a twinkle shining in his sky blue eyes "Talk""Italian"

Karabela nodded as he agreed to her offer, stating that he'd heal her in return. However, as she listened to him talk about Abaven she decided that she wanted to check this pack out for herself. She grinned a bit at the thought of chasing snakes all over creation with a friend. That was what she missed most, playing with her siblings and with the other pups of Imperium and getting into all sorts of mischief. Ah, yes those were the days! What the fuck had happened? Did growing up always suck this much? Her ears perked at the word Mercenary. Now that sounded right up the warrior's alley.

"Sounds great! I think healing is kind of boring." She let out a laugh and winked at him. "But that's why I trust wolves like you to take care of the warriors. You guys keep us lugheads alive and kicking and deserve our respect….. say Starling? Would you show me this pack? I um… I'm thinking of asking to join. Not for sure! Just… just thinking about it. I like being a loner and everything I'm just…." lonely. She let her voice trail off as she glanced back at the boy.

"Speech"