She had learned her lesson from the last time she went to the mangroves - do not go through that creepy, misty forest to get around the pack that came after she got around the river. That nice wolf had helped her find her way out the first time, but she wasn't sure she'd get quite as lucky the second time. Besides, even if someone did show up to help her navigate the darn thing, did she really want to be spending time in that weird, foggy place? She certainly didn't think so. Instead, she angled her path a bit further south so that she ended up in the orchard. Of course now that she's gone this way she'd have to figure out a way to get all the way around this pack and some how avoid the other pack that was right next door to them so she could keep heading north... But oh well. She'd figure that part out when she got there. Pale, dainty paws carried her with a light skip to her step while she passed by the numerous fruit trees that dotted this place. This was much more pleasant than that other forest and it kind of amused her how two such drastically different places could be so close to one another. Who cared if this was going to make her trip longer by a day or two? It wasn't like she had to be anywhere. The only reason she was going toward the north in the first place was because she hadn't been there yet and if there was any time for her to do it then it would be the spring and summer. Gods knew she didn't want to be there in the fall and winter - far too cold for her tastes. It was insanely sweet smelling through here with all the fruit trees fully in bloom and she couldn't feel a bit whimsical in such a place. She hummed softly to herself as she moved, tail swaying with each sauntering step. Eventually she came to what looked like the largest apple tree in the grove, at least from what she could see and she peered up at the branches with a wishful sigh. If only it were closer to the fall so there might actually be fruit here for her to enjoy. She'd certainly have to come back through here after her northern adventures so she could do just that. "Talk" "You" Think

Tyrian was taking a quick jog around the Orchard to see if it was clear before he and the herders brought the sheep and goats out to graze.  The grass of the Knolls was good and green, but as the saying went, variety was the spice of life. The sheep would enjoy the change of grasses, the goats would enjoy the chance to freely browse bushes and shrubs, and the fruit bearing trees would benefit from the plant-eaters droppings and having their bases freed of the seedlings and vines that sought to choke them out. In turn, next year those inclined to pick from the Orchard might enjoy a better harvest. In other words, provided they weren't besieged by raiders or some other unsavory would-be thieves, it was a win-win situation.

A spot of red at the base of a massive apple tree caught his eye. The young king slowed to a walk as he studied the striking figure. Her expression wasn't easy to place but at the very least he was willing to call it thoughtful. Briefly he wondered if he should let her be; after all he may have been a king but he didn't rule this land. He had no authority here. After a moment's thought he decided that no, even though he had no claim on the land that didn't diminish his duty to investigate any as the Orchard was both a neighboring place and a place he very soon was going to fill with livestock. He had nothing to lose by investigating.

"Hello there," he called as he approached. His stance was friendly, if a bit haughty, and once near enough to converse without yelling he would make a point to stop so as not to invade her space. Though the context had been different, his father had made a point to teach him the old idiom about catching more flies with honey than vinegar. It was a lesson he hadn't forgotten. "Forgive me for intruding, I couldn't help but notice you seem a bit...put out. Are you lost?"

A voice she didn't recognize called to her and it made her ears perk as she turned her head to see who it was that had come to interrupt her oh so important musing about apples. Her sapphire gaze landed on a large, steel blue man that was approaching her and she gave him a curious look. She wasn't often approached out of the blue like this, but she couldn't say that she was displeased about the surprise company. It also didn't hurt that he was quite the handsome man - well built with an interesting hue to his fur and simple markings that framed his similarly blue eyes. A smile pulled to her lips as she turned to face him, moving with a particular grace that she had been practicing. "Hello," she replied as he got a bit closer, her head tipping gently to the side as she listened to the inquiry he had for her. Lost? No, she actually knew exactly where she was for once. Since her return to Boreas she had spent quite a bit of time cross crossing back and forth around this portion of the continent just for lack of anything better to do. Now she might be a bit lost once she got further north, but for now at least she was fairly confident that she could find her way around without much trouble. "No, unfortunately I can't offer to be a lost damsel in distress this time," she teased with a bit of a grin. "Actually, I was passing through and wishing that there were more options for fruit here this time of year." She glanced up at the apple tree in question with a disappointed sigh. "A little sweet treat would have been the perfect travel snack." That's when she realized his scent heavily carried the same scent as the pack she had spent most of the day planning her travels to get around. She looked to him again with a raised brow and a flick of her tail. "Oooooh you're from the pack near here, aren't you? Your pack is very much nestled in the middle of my path, you know. Both times I've come this way to visit the mangroves I've had to go around your borders." There was still a playful lilt to her tone and she couldn't help but smile to show that she really meant to ill will in her jesting. "Talk" "You" Think

A hint of a smile touched his lips as the woman quickly shut down any avenue he may have had for setting himself up as a knight in shining armor. She did not need or want his help and she'd made it very clear in a way that he could find no fault with. Kudos to her. He couldn't help but be endeared by her swift and definitive decision to assert herself. If he regretted anything it was that he wasn't quite versed enough in playful banter to counter with something worthy. There was something to be said about sweet treats, he knew that phrase was ripe for the picking, but Tyrian was at a loss at how to use it. "Ah, this'll be a nice change of pace then," he said with a lazy, dismissive sniff. "These woods are just full of distressed damsels. I was just thinking to myself the other day how nice it would be to go for a walk and not have to rescue one..." As he trailed off the corners of his mouth rose in good humor.

His expression cleared and became interested as she focused on where he was from. So she'd been here before. That certainly made sense given her confidence in not being lost. He wondered about the significance of the mangroves. What was so special about them? He'd only been to the land in passing and he hadn't been much impressed with them, but he supposed, like the Knolls and the Range were to him, if a wolf had a connection to a place they made it special.

As for the teasing assertion that Fireside was in her way... "Why didn't you say something!" he asked in a faux incredulous tone. "For a non damsel we may very well have picked up and moved." After a beat he added with a cocky grin, "Or, you know, escorted you to the other side..."

She adored when her teasing jokes landed and whoever she was bantering with could quip back at her. She hadn't always been this witty and certainly was never this flirty until after she had her run in with Mercy, but she thought it was a change for the better. It was an easy boost for her usually thin confidence and ego and it just went to show that what Mercy had told her was true - she was a good looking woman and there was plenty of attention to be had if she went looking for it. It was a nice way to keep conversations fun and avoid all the hum drum, boring pleasantries. As long as she was getting some kind of reciprocation toward her flirting then it was easy to keep up this bravado that she had been carefully crafting over the last year or so. To his comment about always running into so many damsels she shot him a grin and chuckled before giving a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "Well, I'm so glad to be able to relieve you of your rescuing duties for a moment." What really tickled her was his response to her mentioning how his pack happened to be directly in her path. That pulled a full on giggle from her and a wide, amused grin onto her lips. "Well, why didn't you say so!" she exclaimed as she padded a bit closer to him, an elegant swish of her tail following each step. "As a non damsel I would certainly appreciate your pack moving to a much more convenient location. If only all packs were so understanding!" She stopped when she was just a few inches from him, peering up at him with a smirk lingering on her lips. "You must be the head hauncho over here if you can just up and move a whole pack for every non damsel you come across," she commented, her bright blue gaze looking at him knowingly. Of course she knew men could say a lot of things in the pursuit of whatever it was they wanted, but she had always felt like wolves that led packs had a certain air about them and held themselves a certain way. If he wasn't the alpha then surely he was at least some kind of high ranking wolf. With a slight grin her gaze drifted down to his paws and back again as she added, "You certainly have the looks and stature of someone that would be leading a pack at least." "Talk" "You" Think

"That's Fireside for you. Understanding is our middle name." Quite suddenly she was in his personal space. For a moment he was taken aback - no woman had ever been so brazen with him - but he quickly recovered. Somewhere under all of the inexperience were suave genes just waiting to be activated. Besides, it was hard not to be flattered by her behavior. Tyrian decided to lean into it. "Is it that obvious?" He struck a pose and smoothed down his fluffy chest with a paw as through preening under her intuitive gaze. "You caught me. I am alpha of Fireside. The name's Tyrian Understanding Imperialis."

It was his turn to look her up and down, and since she'd made a point to do it first, he took his time. The woman was as pretty as she was feisty and she had the red fur to match. Tyrian's gaze returned to her slowly, his expressive appreciative. "And who might you be besides the lady packs might be willing to move for?" He dipped his head in faux chagrin then amended with a teasing smirk, "I'm sorry, the non damsel packs are willing to move for."

She was glad when he didn't backdown or get uncomfortable once she put herself more into his personal space. She wasn't shy about her flirting and certainly wasn't nervous about getting up close and personal. She wasn't sure when exactly she started to be his brash and forward in her advances, but she couldn't deny that she adored the teasing banter and the attention she got from it. Although... that was kind of a lie. She knew exactly when she had realized how fun it was to lean into her tendency to flirt and she had to blame Mercy for that. She even enjoyed the way he eyed her up in return, clearly more open about doing it since she had done the same to him. She grinned a little and let him look. As far as she was concerned he could look all he wanted. She had opened the door for it after all. Elise grinned when he confirmed that her hunch had been correct about his position in the pack he had informed her was called Fireside. The pose he had pulled to emphasize it made her giggle, her sapphire eyes glittering with humor. She was enjoying talking with Tyrian quite a bit and it certainly showed in her expression. "It is indeed that obvious, but not to worry... you wear it very well." She was laying it on thick, she knew that, but it was just too much fun to resist. When he asked about who she was she was about to reply when he stopped and corrected himself to add in the teasing nickname that had come about during their meeting. It earned another fit of giggles from her as she gave him a little playful glare, her tail flicking behind her. "I'm Elise Non Damsel Adravendi," she replied, giving him an exaggeratedly deep, regal bow. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness." Her tail curved over her back for a moment as she grinned up at him from the play bow she had sank down to before getting back to her paws with a chuckle. "I'm so glad you made the time to come mingle with us peasants." Purely out of her own curiosity she turned her gaze to look toward the pack in question, just barely peeking where the orchard faded into the next territory where they seemed to live. "What's your pack all about anyway?" she asked, glancing up at him from the corner of her eye and letting another smirk pull at her lips. "What makes Fireside special besides having a handsome alpha?" "Talk" "You" Think

All he could do in response to her words was grin. She was smooth. So smooth he feared his inexperience was going to be his downfall in this encounter. He felt a bit like he was treading water; his head just above the waves. And yet, somehow, he didn't feel like he was drowning. No, the opposite. This was exciting. The threat of getting smacked down; outclassed and sent to the murky depths was exhilarating because while yes, that was a possibility, the reward was potentially just as great. If he could hold his own there was a chance he could walk away a schooled and more practiced man. In truth he wasn't thinking beyond that - which spoke volumes about his naivety.

When she introduced herself Tyrian made a point to look impressed. As though being introduced to royalty, he too bowed although not quite as deeply as she had. "No, my lady, the pleasure is all mine." It was all a bit ridiculous but he loved it. One of the things he feared most about being an alpha was life becoming too serious. Yes, he wanted to be taken seriously sometimes. Who didn't? What he feared was being taken serious always. He couldn't imagine a more boring fate. Feigning seriousness, he said, "It's good for me, you know. Peasants. Keeps me humble or something."

When she asked about Fireside Tyrian saw an opportunity to get closer to Elise. How could he resist? He turned to face the packlands as she was which brought him, quite casually, to her side with only inches between them. "Well," he said as he bent his head to hers and murmured, "See the top of that wooden structure there?" With a paw he pointed to the roof of the barn that was just barely visible through the trees. "It is full of..." he paused for effect and then whispered, "Sheep." Tyrian then leaned away as though expecting her to be impressed. In truth he wasn't. What was so impressive about sheep? Nothing. They were sheep.

After a beat wherein he hoped she was struggling to think of something nice to say, he chuckled and gave up the pretense of seriousness. "Alright, yes, the barn is full of sheep. Sometimes. Probably not today if we're being honest. And yes, they are part of what makes Fireside special. Instead of hunting occasionally to feed the pack, we control and care for herds of prey animals so that we never go hungry. Eventually I'd like to sell the things we make from them, but we aren't quite able to do that on a large scale yet. Soon, though. And now after saying all of that I realize that is a very serious answer and at odds with the tone we established before, but in my defense you did ask and alpha-mode for me just kind of," he made a helpless gesture before finishing wryly. "Kicks in." His tone self deprecating, he added, "Be careful what you ask or you might get me waxing poetic about barn raising or...oh, I don't know, the breeding practices of sheep."

His comment about mingling with the peasants earned him a grin and a quick bit of laughter while her tail waved behind her. "Oh, yes, of course," she quickly agreed, giving a very serious nod despite the amused grin that she couldn't keep off of her face. "It's good to remind yourself of the common rabble from time to time... Humbleness is close to godliness or something like that - I don't know, I've only heard the phrase once and it clearly didn't leave much of an impression on me." She was about as far form humble as one could be at this point. While she didn't exactly think that she deserved the world or anything like that, she was still full of confidence that was only built upon by each man - or woman, she wasn't picky - she met that showed interest in her and her looks. Did she sometimes wonder if perhaps she would find someone that was more interested in her personality than her looks one day? Sure. Did it really bother her enough at this point to care? Not at all. She smirked a little when he oh so subtly slipped into her space to stand beside her under the guise of getting closer to point out things in the distance. She most certainly didn't make a single move to shift away from him again - if anything she wanted to get even closer. When he leaned down to her ear to softly bring up the barn that was in the distance, she pretended to not be able to see what he was pointing out so that she could lean and stretch up on her tippy toes to get a better view, leaning toward him a bit in the process so that her shoulder would brush against his. It was a subtle thing, but it was the first contact between them and she was pleased with her subtlety all the same. For once he actually caught her off guard when he oh so dramatically whispered what the barn contained... freaking sheep. The answer was so unexpected and his delivery was flawless and it pulled a whole hearted laugh from her, complete with a small snort. It wasn't the cute, flirty giggling she had done before... no, this was real laughter that she didn't often do around others because she didn't think it was very attractive. He'd surprised her so much with his humor that it escaped her before she could stop it. For once the witty girl had been beaten at her own game and she was honestly impressed. How was she supposed to compete with sheep? There was no good response for her to give, but luckily he went on to explain how and why they kept the sheep and it was actually quite smart if she was being honest. Having a constant source of food and materials for things wasn't something she had heard of someone doing before so even though it had started out full of humor she ended up being quite impressed with this Fireside alpha by the end of it all. She chuckled and gave a small shake of her head as he finished with a jab at himself and the "alpha-mode" that he had fallen into. "Hey, everyone has to have a thing and if yours is sheep, who am I to judge?" she asked as she began to regain her composure and her sly grin returned to her muzzle. Although... a bit of actual, real curiosity creeped in on her and she tipped her head to the side as she added, "Wait, do you... actually know things about sheep breeding practices?" It made sense of course if they were eating the sheep they would need to replace those sheep with more sheep, but... that was some oddly specific knowledge about sheep. "Talk" "You" Think