she was not a strong hunter, but she could at least do this. sitting on the banks of the area where to participate, Heloise peered down to the depths. it was night and rumor surfaced that a golden fish was within these very waters. she would like to see it at least once before the festivities were over. either by her own paws or by another's. everyone else seemed to have a fishing partner, and she was left quite alone. above her, Kresnik hung on a branch. his beady eyes looked down at his mistress every so often but he said nothing. a soft 'hum' escaped her lips before a paw flashed out to test the waters. it wasn't as cold as she thought, yet she was quite used to the cold. around her, around all of them, the fireflies provided atmosphere. she thought she saw Dragon a few paces away, yet she did not wish to bother him. it seemed someone else had walked up to him. other than the older man, she did not know many of the people participating. staring back at the depths, she would try to hook a fish this time. a paw dipped into the waters, hoping for something of value. "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara

Fished!

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

A particularly fat and juicy looking firefly had caught Álarr's attention. He took after it without really thinking. One firefly wasn't as worth as a bunch of them but part of him thought that maybe he might get a special prize or something for a really big one. Ok, maybe he was just being a little boy and he wanted the biggest bug! He was so focused he didn't see the pale woman and barreled straight for her. Behind him, his companion Afi was trying to catch up and the cat had yelled something out but he didn't hear it. This bug was his!

she would look up from her newly acquired fish to see a boy a few paces away. well, in actuality she had noticed him almost colliding with her. Heloise jumped back just in time to see the youth catching fireflies. "careful" she chided gently, a smile upon her otherwise calm features. children were always a blessing upon the earth. Heloise could not remain angry for him having fun. in fact, she was far from angry. she had already fished for a try and got something. the only thing remaining was his safety. "you would not want to fall into the water." "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr looked up at the woman sheepishly. "Oops, sorry about that!" He glanced down into the water and shrugged a little. He supposed she was right but he'd been fishing off and on and had already gotten pretty wet. "I guess so, it would be nice to dry out a bit. I went fishing today and I got all wet! My name is Álarr, what's yours?" He glanced back along the shore and noticed a swath of peat moss near one of the boggier parts of the water where it had likely flooded during the summer. He bounded a few paces away to sniff at the moss for a moment before he started gathering some of it. He carefully snipped away at the plant until he felt he had a good amount of it.

she supposed he was rather waterlogged now that she could get a better look at him. Heloise chuckled at his remark. her attempt at fishing yielded results so far, yet she did not have a partner for it. so she would wait to find one later. for now, she would socialize with this young boy. "I trust your time fishing went well?" she asked of him. he seemed to be finished catching fireflies and went to investigate some moss. leaving her fish by the shore, she'd follow a bit after him. he introduced himself as Alarr, though she could not make out his pack's scent. pushing such thoughts aside, the woman bowed her head to him. "I am Heloise, of Winterfell" she angled her face to the snowy peaks before looking back at the boy. "we live in the northern region of Boreas" she informed him before adding in; "would you like some assistance collecting the moss?" two sets of paws were better than one, after all. "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr nodded. "Yea, I think I did pretty well for being so young." The woman introduced herself as Heloise of Winterfell. He tried to remember if he'd heard of that pack before but nothing came to mind. Really the only other pack he was familiar with was Abaven and even then he didn't feel he knew all that much about them. "I'm from Legion, we're in the south part." Grabbing more moss he trotted back over to his pack and shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm good! I just want a little of it to use as bandages." He squinted up at the sky. It would be easier to dry them if the sun was out but he'd just have to make do. Álarr settled down and started tearing the moss into various sized clumps. He wanted a good variety for the various wounds he might encounter.

"it is good experience, fail or succeed" she would chime in reasonably. he would gain the skillset he needed to survive if he could catch fish. it was a stepping stone to fast reflexes and a killing bite. though Alarr did seem to be more interested in the moss. he would introduce himself as a Legion member; the first one she would meet. frankly, she hadn't heard of the pack until now. "are you an apprentice healer in Legion?" Heloise asked, settling near but not close enough to touch. her icy gaze was on his work as he ripped the moss. "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr took the bits of moss in his mouth and began laying them out on various rocks to dry, even adding a few on top of his pack. He didn't expect anything to come along and steal it. It was just moss after all. He shook his head at her question. "Not yet. I'm technically still just a pup but I hope to apprentice soon and my aunt's been helping me with a few lessons. What about you? What do you do in your pack?" He guessed that she probably wasn't a healer but all the same he was curious about the various roles of pack wolves.

Alarr seemed quite mature for a child. Heloise could relate to that; she had always been a very serious young lady, even as a pup. though she did not have the proficiency for the healing arts, she honed her body to become a fighter. she was not aware if Legion or other packs trained children at this age. it was good to know no one was utilizing child soldiers however. "I am a squire in Winterfell; an apprentice knight" the woman would say to the boy. "though sometimes I desire more. perhaps even my own pack one day." she spoke of her secret ambition freely to the other wolf, as she did not expect him to judge her for it. "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr wasn't sure what a squire was but he knew that knight's were fighters. "Neat! I want to learn to be a great fighter to some day. Maybe if you get your pack I can come visit some time." His eyes traced the banks as he just looked around, taking in the sights. A plant caught his attention. He recognized it as Figwort. Afi had pointed it out to him once before. Maybe he ought to gather some while he was here. He walked over to the plant which was growing in the damp soil by the edge of the water. This was a good sized plant, with an angular, reddish stem standing about three feet tall. He knew the leaves had uses. The stem was pretty but he wasn't sure that it was good for anything.

He had wandered away in search of better hunting grounds so to speak. And that's when he caught both the scent of one of his pack mates and what sounded like someone pretty young. The little hellfire changed course to head towards them, slowly walking in the shallows so he could maybe try and snag a fish on the way. He lunged into the water in an effort to grab one, then shaking his head to clear the water from his eyes as he continued his path. With a wagging tail he approached Heloise and a pup he'd never met before. "Hi Heloise! Is it okay if I join you?" He asked politely, not wanting to tell her it was to stay away from his mean sister. He turned to the other pup, the young boy curious about em. "I'm Incendio, who're you?"

Attempt 9

"I would enjoy that, Alarr" she spoke warmly to the boy at his offer. the thought of obtaining a pack was so very far away, even if the idea was fresh. Heloise had some objectives to meet first before howling to claim a land. she required to meet others that would join her, and also speak to Acere about leaving Winterfell once she obtained everything needed to create a pack. that would be difficult, for she had only just been accepted in. watching the boy as he collected more plants, the voice of another child would make her attention shift. Incendio. he came walking toward them, greeting the two of them politely enough. Heloise's attention went back to Alarr, wondering if he would mind the extra voice. her head would slowly shake though. "I do not not mind if my young friend does not" she spoke kindly, though considerate of Alarr. "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr stepped back and lifted his head to try and reach the leaves, craning his neck up he started to chew on the base of the fronds where they connected to the stem. He supposed he could just chew the stem off too but this way the plant would be ok and could still offer more leaves to future healers. He pulled one frond off and set it down then reached up for another when a strange boy came along. Apparently he knew Heloise. The boy introduced himself as Incendio. "I'm Álarr. Nice to meet you and sure you can join us." Reaching up he pulled down another frond of leaves.

Once again, lots of wolves she had seen before. She was getting tired of introducing herself, truthfully. There was one of the Legion Valentine puppies that she had been utterly oblivious to, and then fire-boy and now a white wolf. "Helloooo~" she chirrupped cheerfully as she glided through the water into the shallows with him, completely NOT asking if it was alright to join them, but rather just assuming it was. "Nice to see you two again," she chuckled at the pups, shaking her head. So many wolves at the festival, and she kept running into the same ones. That was no biggie. She nodded to the other adult quietly, before turning to the water and attempting to catch a fish in her normal method: taking advantage of her mutation and spearing the crap out of them.

lyra 11, hunter bonus

I'll tough it out, I won't give in

Álarr directed his attention back to the Figwort. He shifted his weight back into his hind legs and tensed his abdomen as he again stood on his hind legs. Reaching his head up he pulled down more leaves until he had a neat little pile. Satisfied he shrugged off his pack, picked an empty pocket and then gently eased them inside. He couldn't wait to bring everything home and start going over how to use it with Afi. Álarr slipped his pack back onto his back. When he was sure it was settled he froze as a brightly colored woman suddenly appeared. He realized in a moment that it was his… cousin? Is that what they had decided? He was still lost by all the family stuff. "Hey there!" He turned back to Heloise and Incendio. "It was nice to meet you guys. I better get back to my dad before he starts wondering what's keeping me."

-exit-

with the last of the fireflies now dying down, Heloise was loathe to admit it was time to go. Alarr's abrupt departure reminded her that there was still time needed to return to Winterfell. that in itself would be a trek back. "farewell" she said as the boy departed before rising from her tasks to go to the prize booth. was it open yet, she wondered? her eyes trailed to the crowd of wolves before lightly nudging Incendio. "I will see you back in Winterfell" she told the other boy as she gave a nod to the cosmic colored woman who had been late to arrive. without another word, Heloise would depart. / EXIT "SPEECH"

art + code by Kara