Everything had been going so well, and now, this. Urgh, it made the Archer-Lyall sick to her stomach, a tightness in her chest and the feeling of a thousands tiny bug bites underneath her fur. She might think herself infested, except she had already checked and there were no fleas to be found. She had even gone so far to find what she thought looked like chamomile and rolled in it to no avail. Her lips were pulled tight in a grimace as she dragged her flanks along the trunk of the nearest willow, oblivious to the fact that this was just her heat cycle, and while it was an itch that could be scratched, if she so wished, it wouldn’t be as straight forward as dragging along a suitably rough surface (or would it? -badum tish-).

She continued to curse beneath her breath, suddenly hot among the tingling, a growl growing in her chest along with the building... whatever this was. It was all utter deershit, and she was not impressed.

Her usual patrols brought her by the edge of the Armada's territory that bordered the Weeping Willows and just by chance she noticed a scent that crossed from their territory and out into the forest of willow trees. That wouldn't be all that unusual of course, but it happened to he a scent that she wasn't familiar with. There was also a very distinct note that she was all to familiar with at this point in her life, but that wasn't really what drew her to follow it. She had been trying to make a point to get to know all of the wolves in the Armada and if there was a member she hadn't yet met then she wanted to make sure she did that.

She made her way out into the willows and the sound of a growl made her ears perk. A bit of worry twisted in her stomach and it made her hurry her steps toward the sound. She knew certain males could get a bit pushy with females when they were in heat and if that was the case for one of her pack mates then she wanted to be there to help protect them. However, when she arrived, she saw that wasn't the case at all. She stopped in her tracks when she found the young woman simply rubbing against the trunk of the willow tree, very obviously bothered.

Tamsyn cleared her throat to get the gray female's attention as she padded closer, raising an eye brow at her curiously as a slight smile touched her lips. "Are you alright?"

"Speech" Thought

The words caught Sedna off guard and a lip pulled tight on the edge of a snarl before her nose caught up and her whole body sagged in relief. At least the wolf that had found her smelled of the Armada, and while she wished she could make a better first impression, it was what it was. At least this one seemed normal at first glance too. A black wolf among willows was a more familiar sight to the younger wolf than the stranger would ever know, and her relief would be visible in the sag of her shoulders, tail waving low in submission while silver eyes peeked up from a respectfully dipped head. “It feels like I’ve got the worst flea burden of my life, but I can’t find a single bug anywhere.” She tried to keep the whine of distress from her voice, but by this point it was beyond a joke. There had to be some trigger, and if she could figure out what that was, then she should be able to figure out how to make it stop. “Pangur, I hope I’m not allergic to the grass.” It was a sign of her desperation that she would invoke her father’s god over those of both her mothers.

She could tell she had caught the woman off guard, but at least the stranger had very quickly realized that she wasn't a threat and immediately relaxed. Tamsyn smiled a bit then and walked a bit closer with her head tipped slightly to the side with curiosity while she listened. Fleas? Grass allergy? She looked the woman over briefly and confirmed that there were no visible insects and from what she could tell there was no sign of rashes or anything of the sort peaking through the thinner portions of her fur. The only thing she could immediately pick up on was the very obvious scent of her heat - and that was when it suddenly dawned on her.

The older woman smiled again and gave the girl a sympathetic glance as she settled on her haunches. "First of all, my name is Tamsyn - it's a pleasure to meet you. Second of all... Do you know what it means when a woman is in heat?" She tried to think of a way to ask this that wouldn't sound condescending or rude since she certainly didn't want to embarrass the young woman. Her parents had been terrible in every sense of the word, but at the very least her mother had given her all the information she needed when it came to how a woman's body worked. Of course, women had only been good for producing pups in her old home so it made sense that it would be the one topic she would have been taught about.

"Speech" Thought

The silver woman’s ears turned back in embarrassment, “Sedna,” she offered, mortification only passing her face for the briefest moment. Her ears turned forward again to take in the dark woman’s next words, the chagrin was quick to return as the words sunk in. A silent ‘Oh...’ hanging on her lips as her face began to burn beneath her fur. “That would explain... much.” She had ceased her incessant rubbing against the trunk of the tree, considering. Her own mother had been ruthless in her attempts to suppress the heat of her subordinates, in fact, her insufferable domineering was what had pushed her daughter to challenge her in the first place, but what if there was more to her motivation than what she had thought? It would be something to ponder later... or not at all. That life was behind her now.

“I had actually forgotten... I mean, I knew but mother was so dominant it was usually enough to suppress the other women, well apart from her partners... I guess somehow my brain just, forgot it happens. Is it always this bad?” Her smile carried a hint of shyness to it that was uncharacteristic on the Archer, it made her look closer to her age, less hard around the edges.

"speech".

good lord turned his back on me

Tamsyn smiled a little when the realization colored the woman's expression. Well, she was glad that she didn't have to explain how all of that worked. She would have done it if Sedna somehow hadn't known anything about the topic, but she wouldn't have to worry about that now. It made her think back to the conversation she had with Resin about her possible desires to be a mother and somehow this felt like the perfect example of why she wouldn't he a good fit for it. Having to have that conversation with multiple pups and then have to be around to help them through it the first time... that didn't exactly sound like an enjoyable time. She chuckled softly and gave a shake of her head when she was questioned on if a heat was always this unbearable. "No, I do think it gets a bit easier with age... or maybe I've just grown used to it. Either way, it doesn't bother me much any more. There is actually a herb you can take to help with it though if it gets too frustrating for you. It's called motherwort - it's all green with kind of spiky leaves. I'm sure one of the healers would have some they could give you. A much better option than rubbing against trees, I assure you." She grinned a little at her gentle teasing, her tail wagging gently behind her. Of course she didn't want to be mean, but she always felt like a bit of humor helped these sorts of situations. "Talk" Think

The mention of green and spikey brought an image to Sedna’s mind of pinappleweed, but it couldn’t be the same. Pineappleweed was best given after birth... as far as she knew. "I really should introduce myself to the healers, I know a little from home, but the plants here all seem to have different names, and others I simply don’t recognise for what they are..." She knew if she started on medicines, she just might talk the other woman’s ear off on a topic that may not interest her at all, and that simply wouldn’t do.

"I might wait until this is over though, it’s a bit embarrassing wanting to rub up against everyone and everything." The skin over the ASrcher-Lyall’s shoulder rippled like a sandfly had buried into her fur, and she leaned ever so slightly back towards the trunk of the willow. "Only other thing that seems to help is fighting, and I can’t do that all the time. I almost wish there was a coyote around just so I’d have an excuse to chase something." She chuckled. It had been a while since she felt protective enough of a place to run off scavengers. Maybe she would take herself off on a border patrol once her companion left.

"speech".

good lord turned his back on me

Tamsyn gave her a nod of agreement and encouragement once she mentioned talking to the healers here to get a better familiarity with the herbs that grew around here. She didn't know much about healing since she hadn't really retained any of the teachings her mother had tried to impart on her, but she did at least notice that many things were referred to by different names here and there were certainly things that she had never seen before coming here. "We are lucky enough to have some very talented healers in the pack so you're definitely in a good place to learn. Iolaire is our lead healer. Meadow is still in training, but I've personally been treated by her before and she certainly knows what she's talking about." Hopefully that would at least point her in the right direction if she hadn't already known their names. She wanted to do her part to make sure everyone felt comfortable and welcomed here and hopefully make it feel as much like home to them as it did to her. The idea of just chasing around a coyote as stress relief made her laugh lightly and grin in response. "Well, if you ever just want someone to fight with feel free to come find me! I'm the General for the pack so anything dealing with fighting and training is in my wheel house. I always love a good spar." It reminded her that she needed to get the Students together at some point so that she could actually gage where they were at in their training now that she was settled into her role, but that would have to be something she addressed at a different time. For now she kept her focus on the wolf in front of her. "Is fighting your focus? Or is it healing?" he asked out of curiosity and a desire to get to know her new acquaintance better. "Talk" Think

There was that name again, Io, Iolaire, she would certainly have to track the other wolf down under less embarrassing circumstances, Meadow was a new name she would tuck away in the back of her mind to try and find later too. The Archer-Lyall grinned eagerly at the offer of a spar, her head dipping ever so slightly in deference to the other woman on learning of her rank. She was yet to be tested by Sirius, and so wasn’t quite sure where she would stand when it all shook out. "I will definitely take you up on that next time," Her grin was genuine.

The next question though, threw her for a bit of a loop. She liked both skills for very different reasons, and yet they complimented each other so well. Her face was thoughtful. "I don’t think I could pick one over the other..." she finally confessed. "Fighting exercises my body, healing exercises my mind... besides, if you know how to put someone back together, it makes it easier to know how to take them apart, where the soft parts are, what is going to cause the most damage when you need it to." The conversation may have been taking a darker turn than she intended, but her tone was surprisingly light. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of letting her pack mates see her as she was. "What about you? Is fighting all you do?"

"speech".

good lord turned his back on me

Tamsyn listened with interest as Sedna explained how and why she valued both of her skills. It did make sense and Tamsyn could certainly appreciate wanting to be proficient in both skills. She liked how the woman tied the two studies together and used knowledge from her healing background to help with her fighting. It made her want to keep a closer eye on her moving forward once she began to hold trainings and such for the Armada's Students. If nothing else it showed a strong willingness to learn and think outside of the box which was definitely something Tamsyn liked. She nodded in approving agreement. When the question was turned back to her she answered, "As far as what I do for the pack, I would say so. It's been a big focus of mine since I joined. I do really enjoy exploring and learning the patterns of the stars and weather as well, but for the most part that's just been a hobby if anything. It did help me and Sirius navigate out of a really bad snow storm once, but that's about the only practical application I've had for it so far." She shrugged a little and grinned as she added, "Though I don't guess all skills have to have a practical use. They could just be for fun as well." Of course fighting had been getting almost her entire focus since she earned the General position since she felt like that's what her position called for, but at some point she would certainly like to get back to exploring more. Maybe she'd see if Natha would still be up for some more adventures one of these days. "Talk" Think

Stars and weather were well worth keeping an eye on and the girl nodded her appreciation along with the other woman’s words. Despite her discomfort, the restlessness that crawled under her skin and tingled along her spine, the Archer-Lyall readily found herself relaxing in the presence of another normal wolf. Mort’s wings and his father’s imposing height had thrown the girl for a loop on her first entry to these lands, but knowing she wasn’t the only one of average stature (well, average by her standards), was reassuring, and here among the willows, so much like the place she once called home, well, it almost felt like things might not be so overwhelming after all. She would never openly admit to being off-balance, or even slightly nervous about being out on her own with a yearling to babysit for her eldest brother... Never.

Skills for fun had the girl smiling, that was almost what fighting had started as for her, as a youngster she had a nose for mischief and quickly learned her mother wouldn’t always be close enough to spare her butt a hiding if say, she just happened to get caught crossing a border with clear intentions to raid a cache and replace the contents with spoiled meat... She was always just slightly too heavy to be the fastest wolf around. "You can’t work all the time, you’ll stop caring if it’s all you do." She agreed with Tamsyn easily, a plan formulating in her mind as readily as her words came forth. "I only briefly managed to look around on our way north from the castle, across the landbridge, so I really am quite lost too far beyond the borders... Do you think maybe sometime, when you aren’t busy of course, that we could go for a bit of a wander together?" Her tail gave a small wave, "I like to go gathering sometimes, and while I’m not sure if the plants I am familiar with would be found here, I know what sort of terrain they are usually in, I’d just hate to find what I need only to not be able to find my way back." She was unassuming, knowing full well that General probably came with a slew of additional responsibilities and expectations, but her offer would at least give them both an excuse to do something they enjoyed, or at least she hoped it would.

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

Tamsyn grinned and nodded when Sedna told her that she'd stop caring if all she did was work. It was a good point and something that she needed to keep in mind more often than she currently did. She really hadn't done any exploring or thought about her skills as a navigator since she joined and that was really a shame. She had done so much exploring when she first arrived in Boreas which had been incredibly helpful for when she was still getting the lay of the land for this place. It had also been a great way for her to meet other wolves and realize that not everyone in the world was as harsh and abusive as her family had been. It was how she had been able to meet Zee and Natha and what had eventually led her to join the Armada. Meeting Zee on that cliff all that time ago had completely turned her life around so really she had her love of exploration to thank for saving her life. Her ears perked when Sedna began offering to go on a trip of sorts with her so that she could explore while Sedna collected plants and the idea brought an excited grin to her muzzle. She of course knew that her duties around the pack kept her busy most of the time, she could absolutely make time to go wander with her for whatever reason. "Absolutely! I'd love that. Besides, I'm sure Sirius would prefer that you go wandering with someone else... you know, for safety," she replied, giving a knowing wink at the end. She was more that certain that Sedna could take care of herself, but Sirius was a protective man when it came to his pack and if she could use the excuse that she was going to go with Sedna to keep an eye out while she gathered herbs then it would be much easier for her to slip away. That was something even Sirius wouldn't disagree with. "You just let me know whenever you're ready to go exploring and I'll be there." She was sure Sedna would want to either wait until her heat had passed or at least until she got something to alleviate some of those more annoying symptoms before she went out on an adventure of some sort so she would let the scheduling of their wandering be left to the other woman's preferences. "Talk" Think

The wink wasn’t lost on the girl and she answered it with a ready smile. Sedna wasn’t sure how much safety would really be needed beyond the pack border but she had only been here for a very short time. Perhaps the Armada was as popular as the Scowle and had enemies on all sides outside of Ashen to back them up? Regardless, she was happy to provide an excuse for Tamsyn to get out and do something else she enjoyed other than fighting. Journeys always went easier with company. After all it was the only reason she had consented to her brother sending along his daughter with her.

The Archer-Lyall allowed herself a long suffering sigh and a roll of her eyes, "I’d take you up on it right now, but it’s probably best to hold off until..." She threw her head back towards her shoulder, her pelt rippling with annoyance, "all this is over, don’t need to attract any more attention that we would without it." And she was genuinely disappointed. Her paws had already begun to itch, the need to productive and contributing gnawing at her gut. with guilt. "What about something closer to home to start though? Anything worth checking out around here? or on the plains?"

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed

As she suspected the preference was of course to wait until after the annoyance of her heat was over and done with - something Tamsyn could certainly understand. She nodded in agreement and was already looking forward to the adventures they might be able to have once the season rolled over. However, it seemed like the adventuring itch had really set in with Sedna now that the option was on the table and the question came up of things they might be able to see or do in places closer to the pack's lands. Tam hummed thoughtfully as she started trying to think of things in particular that might be worth seeing. "Well, if you haven't had a chance to go take a look at the training area they have set up in the Sea's Plain it is certainly worth taking a closer look at. I spend a lot of time there, obviously, but it is quite smart what they've done there. There's also some hot springs that are just a little bit north of here. That might actually be a great place for you to visit now - I bet the warm water would be nice. Oh! At some point you should definitely go take a look at the Alabastine Shrine. It's in Ashen's territory, but they're our parent pack and there's no issues with us going to visit there if we want to. It's a really unique and beautiful forest - there's really no good way for me to describe it so you'll just have to experience it for yourself." By the time she got done listing off some options she was grinning happily and her tail was wagging gently behind her. Exploration and learning the land was really a passion for her that she needed to let herself enjoy more often. She liked fighting and being a warrior a lot, but there was other things to life and she had to remember that. "Talk" Think

Sedna would see the training area, whether she had intended to in her own time or not, when Sirius would summon her the next morning. The other locations, both within the borders and without did perk her interest. The only hot spring she had encountered previously was far too hot to swim in, so the prospect of a spring that could be enjoyed was more than appealing to the girl.

Her interest was piqued at the mention of Ashen. Her understanding of their relationship to the Empire was shaky at best. When she went to visit her family in the willows, she was expected to wait at the borders, to call, and be greeted and invited in. Was it the same in this case? "I would love to check out the shrine, but am I allowed to just wander on in, or are we meant to request an audience first? I’d hate to upset things by assuming..." Truthfully, she was so intent on not rocking the boat that she probably wouldn’t just waltz into Ashen without an invite anyway, but it would be nice to know for sure what protocol was.

"speech".

we wear red so they don’t see us bleed