A heavy sigh fell from Ásvor's lips as she paced quietly through the rows of rubble, avoiding the sharper pieces with measured precision. The last thing she needed was to limp back home, bleeding like a fool and earning worried questions from Valdis over a simple misstep. No, instead she was cautious as she navigated over the flat terrain, head held low to the ground and eyes peeled for anything of interest. Her tongue lolled from the side of the mouth as she panted to cool herself off. Summer was already making its presence known loudly to the continent, and Ásvor wasn't quite sure how to feel about the sudden arrival of heat. The warmth of spring had been pleasant, even refreshing, but today the afternoon sun felt almost stifling to the northern-raised Finnvi. Occasionally she stopped to nose through a pile of discarded junk, but mostly to see what herbs might be growing beneath the mess. Somehow the strongest plants managed to grow in these fertile lands no matter what obstacles lay in their path, and she'd already seen more than one plant peeking through the piles of sharp, gleaming metal. Nothing that she was looking for, though, so she redirected her course and continued on, feeling determined despite her lack of success so far today.

Aramis was nearly a two day journey away from home now. This was definitely the farthest he'd dared to stray. He knew he should turn around and head home soon, but he'd noticed a handful of new herbs lately and wanted to see what else he might find if he kept going. The farther he got from Valhalla, the more unfamiliar the herbs became. But that made sense. They were herbs he'd seen once or twice before, in lessons taught by his beloved mother. But then, they'd been dried and preserved. These were fresh. They looked different, smelled different. Fortunately, he still knew enough to know which ones to avoid. But he'd never seen this one before. Aramis trotted along, careful to avoid the strange scraps of metal jutting up out of the ground, when a cluster of white flowers caught his eye. He padded closer and lowered his head to have a sniff. No, they didn't smell familiar. No warning bells were going off in his head, shouting poison! poison! so he decided to take a closer look. Maybe they had medicinal properties he didn't know about? Or maybe they were just your usual, bell-shaped white flowers? After all, they sort of looked like morning glories. Aramis looked around for a sizable leaf, and placed it carefully in his mouth to serve as a barrier between himself and the plant as he leaned down and plucked a few from the earth. Maybe he could find a way to bring these home and ask his mother about them. Maybe giving a lesson about herbs would lift her spirits. Just like old times. He carried the plant carefully and trotted onward, blue eyes scanning for herbs he actually knew to be medicinal. Moments later, he saw another who seemed to be doing the same. He paused and watched as she nosed through some rubble, looking for herbs that might be growing underneath. Smart. Maybe he could ask this woman what sort of plant he'd found. Aramis picked up his pace to catch up with her, and when he was within a reasonable distance he carefully set down the plant and let out a friendly bark. "Excuse me," the boy began. "If it's not too much trouble, could I ask you about something?"

For the first time ever, she was finally a year old! And the world was now her oyster! Sure, she had gone outside of pack lands before she turned one, but she wasn't supposed to. And it was only for a few minutes on a couple occasions because she was bored, but she'd run back to avoid getting in trouble. Her excursions had also been few and far in between, but now? Now she could go where she wanted without feeling bad about it. She sucked in a deep breath of air as she headed straight back to the strange, metal ridden land she had visited once before. Except that time, she hadn't the chance to explore it, but now she could! Bounding forth with endless energy, she enjoyed the time away from pack lands. She felt like she'd never grow up fast enough to go out on her own whenever she wanted, and now it was happening! She was far too excited, and it showed. She reached the plateau and immediately set to exploring it. With summer finally here, she was sure she'd manage to find some herbs that she had yet to see. Not that she knew many of them because her mom had never been around to teach her, so she would just have to figure it out herself. As the yearling girl sniffed around the base of a large, rusted metal thing, she heard a voice nearby. Curious, she crawled under the metal tank until she saw eight legs ahead of her, which meant two wolves were standing just beyond the thing she was under. Though curious, she was also shy. She hadn't interacted much with wolves outside of Lirim, and she wasn't sure if these ones were friendly or not. She didn't have a good view of them other than their legs, so she remained quiet until she was sure it was safe. Speak

Thus far Asvor's journey had been relatively peaceful, though eventually out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of something moving in the distance. She was content to keep her distance - though Asvor wasn't exactly shy by any stretch of the word, she often preferred to keep to herself simply because other wolves were often more trouble than they were worth - but apparently this stranger had other plans. She was slow to react to his approach even as she saw him moving out of the corner of her eye, her posture stiffening just slightly in his presence. The way she tilted her head and slowly twisted around to face him made her slight annoyance obvious, if he was paying attention, but almost immediately she felt her expression shift as she caught sight of something familiar near his paws. Asvor quirked an eyebrow, rather intrigued and fully willing to set aside her own aimless searching in favor of.. whatever question this male had for her. "Afternoon," she greeted him before bothering to acknowledge his question, voice brimming with bemusement. "I can't guarantee I'll know the answer, but I'll give it a shot." At the very least, her interest had been piqued, and.. what was that? She heard the movement of something nearby and cocked her head, swinging out to see what it was. Asvor thought she saw a slight movement of fur, but then it stilled, so she disregarded it. "Do you think we have company?" She asked, sounding vaguely amused now as she tilted her head back towards Aramis. The thought of being ambushed didn't settle well with her, but this male seemed young and friendly enough that she didn't think it an actual possibility, but she was still wary.

The boy waited patiently, the wind softly ruffling his fur and bringing out its iridescence in the afternoon sun. It was a lesser known fact that Aramis was quite good at reading other wolves. He often knew, more or less, what they were thinking or how they were feeling. His father used to say this skill would make him an excellent diplomat. At the time, Aramis hadn't known what diplomat even meant. Now that he knew, he wasn't sure how much he would enjoy a job like that. It involved a lot of talking. And a lot of risk. All this to say, Aramis easily picked up on the annoyance that seemed to roll off the woman as she turned to address him. He wasn't upset by it; he knew he had disrupted her and she was likely the type that preferred to be left alone. He would make his question brief, so she could be on her way. "Thank you," he said. "I found these..." but then, movement nearby. Aramis felt his ear twitch and he, too, looked toward the sound and caught that glimpse of fur. His present company asked about the additional company they seemed to have, and Aramis chuckled once. "I believe we do," he said. This was a tricky situation. He had no way of knowing the intentions of the woman before him, or of the wolf who lay hidden behind the tank. From what he could sense, the woman before him did not have the kindest of hearts. She seemed sly, and not entirely benevolent. Maybe not benevolent at all. Again, it was too soon to tell. For all he knew, this wolf behind the tank was part of an ambush. Aramis took a couple steps back in order to widen his vantage, keeping both individuals in his line of sight in case they tried anything. His heart was definitely beating faster, and he tried to keep his mind fiercely focused on the present, even as it tried to drift back to a similar situation with his mother at his side... but no. He was not going to be kidnapped. Not again. "You can come out," Aramis said, keeping his voice calm despite the fear that was attempting to curl its fingers around his mind. "It's safe." Perhaps that last part was for his own benefit.

She watched from the shadows, trying to be as quiet as she could as the pair spoke. She thought she had been doing a good enough job at hiding, that is, until she heard the woman say they might have company. Her ears flattened to her head and she tried to scoot back a little, but each movement brought the sound of scuffling earth beneath her, so she stopped and remained still. Wary of the strangers she was watching, she pretended like she hadn't heard that...until the masculine voice called out and told her it was safe. Darn...she hadn't been as sneaky as she thought she'd been. But at least it was safe...right? Hopefully the two wolves didn't have any intentions of harming her, and if they did then at least she could probably retreat beneath the thing she was under and hopefully make an escape that way. She carefully scooted forward until her head poked out from beneath the metal thing she was hiding under, wide, doe-like eyes looking from Asvor to Aramis with a sheepish look on her face. Her eyes settled on Aramis for a moment, mystified by the deep blue hues of his coat, but the woman was equally interesting to her. She hadn't met too many strangers outside of Lirim, so to find others she wasn't used to seeing was fascinating to her. The woman looked older, stronger, and all around pretty. And the boy had a curious look to his fur. She was used to seeing rainbow coated wolves, but she thought they were exclusive to her pack. And yet, here she was looking at someone else who didn't live there. Were there other wolves like them? Like him? That lived in their world? "Hello," Her voices was shy, and she was ready to dip back under the tank if things turned out to get hostile. "Speak"

Her mood shifted alarmingly quickly, annoyance fading into interest and a certain kind of feigned patience as she let her gaze shift to the herbs at his paws. He thanked her, eliciting a slow smile from her, his thought only half-vocalized before both of their attentions shifted elsewhere. Either Aramis was a good liar, or this wolf accidentally intruding on their discussion was, in fact, a stranger to him as well. Her posture stiffened, her self-preservation going far too deep to pretend she wasn't alarmed at the arrival of another so suddenly. Unoffended at his own wariness, she returned the hesitation as she spun around to better face the girl, taking a wide step back as well. Aramis invited her out, promising that it was safe, and she was silent and still as she kept her eyes peeled on the female as she scooted out from beneath the metal object. The nervousness that emanated over Fawn was palpable even from this distance, and a slow smile crept onto her features, an attempt to soothe the girl's discomfort. "He's right," she assured her, nodding her head slowly. "You're safe here." Which was true.. well, mostly, though it only mattered that the girl thought that. Her expression shifted into something more studious as she turned back to Aramis, eyeing the plant he'd brought again from an even greater distance now. "He was just asking me about this plant he'd found," she started, gaze drifting from Aramis to Fawn and then back again, despite the fact that he hadn't asked about it at all yet - she'd seen the curiosity in his gaze, mingled with some wariness. "That plant's known as boneset," Asvor lied easily, gesturing lightly toward it. If they knew anything about boneset, they'd either think she was lying or simply confused... but her gaze was unwavering, her brows furrowed. "It's a good supplement for your immune system. Helps you from getting colds," she continued on. "The leaves are bitter, but the effects are worth the unpleasant taste."

It was comforting to note that the woman seemed just as wary as he, which meant this other wolf was probably a stranger to her as well. That meant he most likely hadn't been caught in any sort of trap, but even so, he shouldn't immediately trust either of these strangers. Being too quick to trust another could lead to trouble in a world like this. He knew that all too well. So Aramis stood, alert but carefully composed, as Fawn crept out from under the tank. All at once, a wave of relief rolled through him. She looked innocent, and twice as nervous as either of the older wolves in her presence. He couldn't imagine such a sweet girl hurting anyone. Still, he kept her in his periphery as his gaze drifted back to Ásvor. She let a slow smile come to her face, as if she was trying to comfort the girl. Another good sign. At least she cared enough to do that. Aramis listened carefully, dark ears perked, as she addressed the plant he had found. She labeled it as boneset, which brought a furrow to his brow. Aramis still had a good deal to learn about healing, but he was pretty sure he'd seen boneset before. Suddenly, he was wracking his brain to remember what it looked and smelled like. Boneset had white flowers; he knew that much. But that didn't help much, considering the flowers at his feet were white as well. Something just didn't seem right... And yet, the woman seemed so confident. This was a real exercise in trust. And hadn't he just told himself not to trust this stranger too quickly? If Ásvor was right, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a bit of this "boneset" for himself. Boosting the immune system was never a bad idea. But he still needed to play it safe... "Boneset, huh?" he said, no trace of doubt or suspicion in his voice. He had an idea, but in order for it to work, he needed to play dumb. "I know a bit about herbs, but I've never seen boneset before. If it's as useful as you say, it would be selfish of me to keep it all to myself. It must be quite rare." He picked up one of the blossoms and leaned forward, dropping it in front of the woman. "Please, take one for yourself." If this plant was poisonous, she would avoid it. If it really was an immune booster, she would most likely take it and ingest it for herself. Better safe than sorry.