Standing on the creek's edge, Malleus gazed down at the water as if it were a snake about to bite. The water was cooler than he would have liked. It was just cold enough to give him goosebumps. He wasn't particularly fond of bodies of water anyway, but he found cold pools particularly irksome. It was just one more layer of annoyance. The other layers were less petty. In creeks such as this one the bottom wasn't always visible and with plants and rocks littering it as well there were countless crevices for creepy crawlies to hide. Give him a bear and he'd deal with it. A leech though? The idea grossed him out thoroughly. He sighed peevishly. If he wanted the cattails he was going to have to get a little wet. Thankfully they grew close to the bank so he wouldn't have to go far. Tentatively he stepped first one forefoot and then the other (once nothing bit the first) into the murky water. Unwilling to risk anymore toes, Malleus planted his hind paws on dry land. He stretched out his neck and tried to grab one of the cattails around the middle. Supposedly they were good for all sorts of aliments, but he'd never seen them used and since the creek was full of them, why not see if they lived up to the hype? He had a couple small wounds from a spar that he intended to try some new remedies on. All he needed now was a cattail.

Ooc// I forgot if this thread was for proserpina or kas xD so uh...here's a puppy lol

She was in her little hiding hole by the creek. She had made herself a club house of sorts within the reeds and vegetation that grew on the bank, spending most of her time there instead of the den. She liked her privacy and having her own room, and the sound of the creek helped her to sleep at night. She had a bunch of feathers made into a soft bed, but...She needed more.

Head shot up and ears perked at the sound of something outside. She sat quietly, listening for whatever or whoever it was. After a few moments of listening, she decided she wanted to know what thus someone was doing. She tried to move quietly within her little haven, the soft ground mixed with feathers and flattened grass beneath her feet did well to quiet most of her footsteps.

Peering through an opening in the grasses, she spotted a large male that smelled like an Abraxas, and looked similar to her uncle Amon. She didn't know who this was, but she couldn't help but giggle at what he was trying to do. "Watcha doin'?" She half stepped out of the vegetation, the rest of her body past her shoulders remained hidden.

So engrossed was Malleus in what he was doing that the little voice that piped up out of the reeds just about sent him into the trees. He fluffed up immediately, his hackles rising and his tail dropping protectively over his rump out of instinct. Almost immediately he calmed. As far as he knew, leeches didn't announce their presence before they attacked. Without completely abandoning his position in the mud, Malleus swiveled around to look for the speaker. There, in the reeds, was a little girl. He didn't recognize her, but she had to be one of theirs. To salvage his dignity, Malleus cleared his throat and smoothed his hackles down. "I'm," he cleared his throat again, "Picking cattails. For medicinal purposes," he clarified. "What are you doing out here?"

She couldn't help but giggle at his reaction to her presence, the little wraith offering a sweet smile as she watched him, listened to his words. So these things had medicinal uses? She wondered what for. She didn't know anything about medicine, but she was interested now. Her head tilted at his question of what she was doing out here, and for a moment she debates lying...but thought better of it. Her sister already knew about her little hideout, at least she was pretty sure her sister knew...She wasn't sure.

"The den got cramped, so I made a new one here by the creek." She looked thoughtful for a moment, eyeing him with interest. Without a word, she disappeared back into the reeds, following her marked trail back a little ways. If he was looking for cattails, then she could help, right? She had many here, some old and new. She decided she had enough to spare, so she grabbed up a few fresh ones she had picked earlier that morning.

Satisfied that she had enough, she made her way back through her makeshift tunnel until she had made it back to where the large male stood. "I have 'ese," She piped up through the mouthful of plants. Placing them on the ground, she eagerly looked up at him. "Will these help? I picked 'em this morning! I have a lot of 'em!" The plants rustled behind her as her tail wagged, head tilting to the side. "Who are you anyway? Are you family too?" She asked curiously. He had to be, the last wolf she met was her cousin Aaliyah, was this a cousin too?

The Easter Bunny hops on by!

On her way through, she drops an egg at the paws of Proserpina.

The answer she gave wasn't one he'd expected. He'd expected a child's response. Perhaps something to do with imaginary foes or obstacles, maybe a hideout where she could jump out and scare others. But no, she'd responded matter of factly and with a surprising amount of maturity. The den had been too small so she'd found a way to fix the problem. That showed initiative. For one so young it was promising. Before he could respond the girl disappeared down the tunnel she'd constructed. She didn't give a reason; just simply looked him up and down and took off. Malleus eyed the tunnel skeptically. Was it something he'd said? His gaze flicked to the water around him. Maybe he'd been wrong about her maturity. Maybe any second now she was going to launch herself out of the reeds at him just to mess with him. A few moments later Malleus was forced to admit that he'd been wrong as the girl reappeared in the tunnel. Not that he was going to complain. With her the girl had brought the very things he'd been after. "Ah yes, " he rumbled happily, "those are what I was after, thank you." She'd picked many of them roots and all, and those are the ones he needed. Quickly he shimmied back onto dry land. He wasn't going to brave the leech infested water any longer than necessary. The girl had done him a favor. As for who he was... "I'm Malleus. And yes, we're family." It was unlikely that some loners had taken up residence here without the pack knowing and he was sure he'd know of any recently taken slaves, so who else could she be besides family? "I bet we're cousins of some stripe. What's your name?"