Meadow bounds through the tall grass of her home. The stalks are long and tickle her belly as she moves. Right now, they are not the exceedingly tall height they will get when summer reaches its peak but they still pull a giggle from her lips as she passes. Rigel flies overhead, keeping his eyes out for any dangers that might lay in her path. Already Meadow loves the bird and cannot imagine life without him. Rigel is special to her and the fact that she found him with Mort makes him even more wonderful. She wants to show Rigel off to everyone and tell all who will listen the story of how she and Mortis found him. Slowing her pace, Meadow tries to think of who should be the first wolf she will share the tale with. Resin is out on patrol and Iolaire is off doing important things and, while Hanako might like Rigel, the colorful wolf is probable busy. Then it strikes her, Sirius might like to meet Rigel and hear about how she and Mort are bonding. Since her return, Meadow has wanted to try and spend more time with Sirius in the hopes of getting his approval. All she wants is be helpful and liked by both Alphas and this seems like something that might win over the big wolf. Mentally patting herself on the back, she increases her speed toward the obelisk, hoping that the Alpha might be near there. Rigel flies overhead, no sound is heard as he flaps his wings and keeps pace with Meadow with great ease. "Meadow"

The mountainous Warlord drew his unsheathed claws along the skin of the mountain goat. It’s thick, soft coat would be cured and added to the supplies of bedding. Its horns and sharp hooves to the weapons pile. Sirius did not believe in waste, and every kill added to more than just the kill pile. Hanging the coat from the portable rack set up near the cellar, he got to work parting the meat. Chewing on some of the meat as he worked. The rest of the tough goat meat would be softened by fire, and smoked, preserved for later consumption. He was just preparing to transport it to the beach, and hang it in his small smokehouse later, when a petite pale wolf appeared. He placed the meat carefully on the ground, and smiled at the woman. A certain young wolf had come home the other day crowing about his newest Auntie. Sirius was glad she was fitting comfortably into the family they were. “Hello Meadow, what can I do for you?” "Speech"

The small wolf finds the huge Alpha by the cellar. Rigel hoots from the air and circles down to land near the potable rack that holds the coat. Skidding to a stop close to the Warlord, Meadow first bows her head in respect to the leader before straightening back to her full height. Eyes dance with happiness as legs begin to move when Sirius asks what he can do for her. She begins, “Sirius! I want to introduce you to the newest member of our pack.” Chest puffs out slightly, before she quickly adds, “Oh don’t worry, I didn’t recruit anyone. I just meant my owl, Rigel! I met your son Mortis in the woods, near here, the other day and we were playing.” She has to pause to take a deep breath, her excitement spilling over into her actions and words. The flood of speech continues, “Mort pretend to be a bird and this owl appeared! He flew down to him first and then me. For some reason he likes me. I think Mortis had a paw in that…” voice trails off as she remembers the way it appeared like Mort spoke to the owl before it flew down to her. A laugh bubbles up and out and she finishes with, “Anyway… I let him pick the name and Mort picked Rigel. I like it personally. He says it is the name of star.” Stopping to pant a little, Meadow finally asks the question she came here for, “So um… Can I keep him?” Tail wags slightly, hopefully as she looks at the Warlord. Meadow looks to him for approval. The obelisk that has the rules of the pack on it clearly states that Sirius and Zee’s word is law, so she will obey whatever the Alphas tells her. Even if it breaks her heart. "Speech"

The Warlord looked upwards at the sound of a bird’s call. He would study it for a moment, and find it unfamiliar. He didn’t know of any wolves with such a companion in his pack. For all of a moment he thought ‘spy’ for many wolves employed birds to aid them where their own eyes couldn’t go.

At Meadow’s words, he laughed softly and understood. So this was Rigel, the newest companion of Meadow. Mort pretended to be a bird? his heir could have such strange notions at times. “Of course you can, all wolves in my pack are encouraged to have companions” he promised her. Indeed, he had purchased a few here and there from traders for the benefit of his members.

“I’m taking this meat down to the smokehouse. You can come, if you like, and tell me all about your adventure.” He could tell Meadow was excited and delighted to have found a companion. The Warlord was not a greatly talkative wolf, but he was more than happy to listen.

Practically bouncing when Sirius tells her she can keep Rigel, Meadow smiles and bobs her head saying, “Thank you! Rigel and I will be do everything we can to help!” The owl hoots its agreement from the sky before circling closer and closer until he lands near them. Rigel hops closer to Sirius and appears to look him up and down before giving another approving hoot and dipping his head in respect. After his introduction is complete, the owl moves over toward Meadow and fluffs out to listen. That is when Sirius offers Meadow the greatest gift he can give her; he offers to listen. This time, she cannot contain her happiness and turns around in a tight circle before facing the Warlord with bright, happy eyes. “I would be honored to tell you! Do you need any help with the meat?” Although her frame is small, she wants to help and she moves toward the huge wolf, ready to lend her assistance if he needs it. Rigel takes flight once more to follow the pair. Moving to follow Sirius, Meadow launches into her story, “Well, it all started when I went to the weeping woods to explore. I mean, I have been there before but I have never really ‘seen’ it. Sure, I know the paths and stuff but I never know the way trees dance in the breeze. Like they hear some song that the wind sings to them. I stopped to have a dance with a willow and that is where Mortis found me. We joked about making a world with the trees and the birds would be our subjects.” She laughs at the memory, wishing that such a thing could actually happen. So, she tells the story. At times bouncing or acting out certain areas of the tale, other times her voice pretending to mimic Mort’s bird songs or what he said. Laughter follows her and she smiles as the words fall effortlessly from her lips. The fondness she feels for Mort is plain in her speech and every imitated action or word is filled with great love for the winged wolf. Only when she has told it all and everything is shared, does the silence fall once more. A smile rests easily on her face. "Speech"

Sirius knew the value of none-wolf companions at a wolf's side. He would never deny one of his members a companion. Still, he appreciated the small healer checking in with him. He knew she wanted to do right by this pack. The owl made his own introductions, and Sirius nodded in return the bird. His general placement of a companion standing in his head verified. Bast was like family, but oftentimes a companion was equal to a tool in his mind.

She offered to help with the meat, and he looked at the carcass. “Grab anything that falls off” he suggested. His superior height and strength meant he would be holding it high in the air. It would be awkward for her to try and get a hold on it as well.

“and Rigel decided to be one of your subjects? he prompted, talking around his mouth full as he nudged her to continue the story. She did so with little need for his encouragement, her voice light and soft for her parts, and adolescent and deeper for Morts. He chuckled at the mimicry of his boy's voice. This was where Mort’s strengths lay, in befriending and welcoming the wolves of the pack. Azure was stronger, and stubborn. He would be able to defend the pack, come what may.

He reached the smoke hour and began to organise the meat. “Say, Meadow, has anyone started you on basic training in fighting?” she was not a fighter but it was the rules of his pacl. Everyone must know the basics to defend themselves. Little Meadow especially, looked like an easy target if someone nasty out there decided to mess with her.

Nodding to the request from Sirius, Meadow moves beside him and, when he prompts her to tell the story, she eagerly launches into the tale. Maybe she doesn’t need to act out the parts or change her voice to mimic Mort’s but it makes the story come to life. For her at least. The way she almost dances as they walk, morphing from Meadow to Mortis and then Rigel and back again might seem like a dizzying subject to follow but Sirius is kind and listens patiently. Only after the last word leaves her lips and silence falls once more, does Meadow look up at him with a giant smile. The pair reach the smokehouse and Sirius begins to organize the meat, Meadow decides to sit close by and watch him work. His question takes her off guard and she fumbles her next words, “Oh… uh yes. Dunkan was kind enough to teach me some basic defensive stances and stuff. We even had a spar. I… don’t think I am a good fighter. He surprised me… a couple times.” Embarrassment fills her last words and she looks away from the big Alpha. The thought that maybe she doesn’t belong in the pack, quickly tumbles through her mind. Looking back at Sirius, she offers, “I can show you what I learned, if you want. Maybe you could give me a few pointers? I want to do my part and defend the pack when it is needed. It would do no one any good if I put the pack in danger by not knowing how to fight.” The words are filled with her conviction to not be a hinderance to others and her desire to prove her worth. Standing, head held high, she readies herself to show Sirius what she has learned, if he wishes. "Speech"

Once he had finished arranging the meat, he set it going, and stepped back from the heat. He glanced down at the ocean, where the waves lapped with gentle ease against the shore. The cry of a seagull marked is passing across the beach. Reminding him of the condor he had once slain to save one of his smallest pack members. Luckily, he had not seen one since.

He nodded his head to Meadow’s words when she explained her small experience. He had expected as much. She was Resin’s sister, but there was also something sweet and soft about the healer. Still, he would have thought the old warrior would have given her a basic run down.

“That is actually exactly why I require everyone to know basic self defence” he explained as she hurried to offer up an example of what she knew. “Asla and Io set up some training dummies, let’s head down and work out some exercises with them” he offered. That would be easier than the tiny wolf trying to experiment on the mountain

Readying herself to show the Alpha what she has learned, Meadow is instead greeted by his words. Nodding embarrassedly, the small wolf wonders if she should have heeded Resin’s attempts to teach her basic fighting skills. It was not for lack of trying on her sister’s part, it is just… Meadow was always too busy chasing butterflies. Besides, Resin would always be there to protect her. Right? Truthfully, she had always thought that she at least knew enough to defend herself. Oh, how wrong she had been. Nodding at Sirius’ suggestion, Meadow moves toward the arenas that line the shore. Spying a ring with dummies set up, she lopes forward, eager to impress the Warlord with her limited knowledge. Stopping a short distance outside of boundary that marked the arena, the small healer shrugs off her bag and places it on the sand. Looking up to see if Rigel has followed, his reassuring hoot lets Meadow know that he there. Eyes fall to the dummies and she carefully steps into the arena and approaches one. Meadow thinks back to the lessons Dunkan had given her and she spreads her front paws wide, lowering her center gravity. Tail sticks straight out and her ears fall flat on her skull. Head lowers, lips curl and teeth are bared. Wiggling her paws, allowing her claws to dig into the sand for better traction, Meadow waits to hear what Sirius thinks of her stance. "Speech"

They made their way towards the training set up, and Meadow shrugged off her back and looped ahead. The Warlord stopped a few paces back. Taking a seat in the sand, he was content to let Meadow lead with her current knowledge. To see where she was at, and give her pointers based on it.

She began with her defensive stance, and Sirius got back to his feet, walking around her to see the full extent of it. “It’s good, keep your knees slightly bent, you need your feet limber. You're smaller than most wolves you're likely to fight, and with your build you're going to need speed above all else.” he lectured her, completing his circle, and finding himself behind her again. He took his seat again, “Alright, show me what you can do.”

As she stands in her stance, allowing Sirius to walk around and inspect, Meadow feels slightly foolish. What does she know about fighting? Reminding herself that this is exactly the reason she is here, she bends her knees slightly when he instructs her to. Nodding at his wisdom, Meadow stays still until he completes the circle. When he lets her know that he wants to see what she can do, the small healer stays still for a moment. She calculates, running though her mind the best angle of attack. Staying still, knees bent, low to the ground, muscles coil and she leans back slightly before launching forward. Low to the ground, she runs, darting closer to the dummy. At first, she approaches head on, running straight at it until the last minute. Feinting to the right before diving to the left, Meadow uses one last burst of speed to leap up at the neck, teeth latching onto the dummy. Dropping her weight, pulling all her force downward, eyes widen slightly as the dummy’s neck rips open and he bleeds straw. Spitting out the straw and cloth, she tries to recover quickly and go for the leg closest to her. After a couple quick bites, Meadow lowers herself to the ground and backs away. She does not turn her back to the dummy, something telling her, that she would never show a real enemy her backside. Once close to her starting position, she releases her coiled muscles and takes a few deep breathes before looking to Sirius, awaiting his critique and knowledge. "Speech"