Pestilence had been accepted, it was amazing and awesome and wonderful and amazing. She saw the territories with brand new eyes now, admiring each feature that she could now declare to be a part of home. For once in her life she wasn't a princess, wasn't an Abraxas. It was an incredibly freeing realization. She'd lived close enough for most of her life that the Range was something she saw often in passing, though once welcomed across the borders immediately decided she needed to check out the structures she'd eyed from afar. Broken machinery, a torn down barn, Pestilence had to discover it all. She skipped across the range humming a happy tune, her tag beginning to wag slowly behind her as she attempted to climb an old tractor. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Spring had put Álarr in a much better mood. Fireside had made it through winter unscathed and now that plant life was bursting up through the earth he had plenty to keep him busy. Brynhildr was finishing cleaning out the storage den while Afi napped in the sun. Álarr headed deeper into the range to check on a few areas where healing herbs grew. He hadn't gone far when he spied a familiar black and white form trying to climb his father's tractor.

He stood still for a moment then broke into a dead run. "Pestoooo! You're here! Did you get accepted? Be careful with that tractor, my dad lives under there." Was Valentine home? He wasn't quite sure but he took a flying leap to scramble onto the front of the tractor in front of the windshield, his claws clicking and scrapping on the metal as he got himself situated.

Pestilence puffed up in alarm as Alarr's call came from behind and she scurried the rest of the way up the tractor, not wanting to be caught with her back open for attack. It took a few moments before her body began to relax, and she breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw it to be only her good friend. It was an odd feeling being in a new territory and hardly knowing any of her pack-mates, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd do something wrong and get herself in trouble. He climbed up upon the tractor's windshield, and as his warning came Pestilence's head shot down to look between her feet as if a wolf might crawl out from beneath. "Oh, shit!" Her legs tensed and her paws stilled as Pesto tried to make as little noise as possible upon the metal machine. "Is.. is he home?" She didn't know why it surprised her that Alarr had a father, but somehow she'd pictured him as an orphan or something similar. He'd never spoke about who it was who raised him, she'd only ever met Valdis and now Tyrian. It should have been something she'd expected, but now Pesto found herself worrying what kind of wolf the father of her best friend was and whether or not he would like her when they'd eventually meet. He lived here, so they'd eventually meet, right? Her anxiety rose again and she shoved it down, swallowing, trying to regain her easy confidence. "What would you do if I said no, I'm here to steal your preciou sheep?" She teased him with a grin, her tail beginning to wag. The rules had been explained to her, intruders should be attacked on site and often even maimed or claimed. Hopefully Alarr would get the hint that she was kidding and not actually think she was intruding. Pesto did not think she had it in her to fight back for real against her friend. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Álarr giggled at Pesto's surprised reaction then leaned over the tractor, peering at the entrance to his father's den. "Dad? Hey, dad you in there?" In all honesty it was hard to say if Valentine was in there or not. He probably wasn't but Álarr wouldn't put it past his old man to be sitting in the den in silence hoping the bratty kids would get bored and leave.

"Naw, I don't think he's in right now. If he is he's ignoring us." Álarr would have to introduce the two at some point though if they had another meeting Pestilence would be able to meet most everyone in the pack.



Álarr grinned, his tail wagging lazily. "Well, then I'd have to fight you!" He balanced on his hind legs and made a few playful swipes with his front paws. "Do you want to see the sheep? I think Tyrian has them grazing on the southern pastures right now."

Alarr called out to his father and there was no response from beneath the tractor. Pestilence allowed herself to relax, not knowing Valentine enough to realize that he might ignore his child's call. Whenever she had called for her parents they responded instantly, it didn't occur to her that the grouchy old man might be hiding beneath waiting for the kids to leave. "Good." She breathed with relief, though she still eyed the tractor below uneasily. He feigned some swipes for her and she rocked backwards, taking a dramatic ghost hit. "That just makes more work for you." The yearling laughed, lifting her paw to aim to prod him in the shoulder. "You'd be the one to patch me back up afterwards, and I'd bug you about any scars for the rest of your life."   Alarr offered to take her to see the sheep and it seemed like a very reasonable excuse to leave the supposed den site. Pestilence began to carefully descend off the tractor's roof, feeling miles more comfortable once all four paws were back upon the grass. "Sure! I should probably get to see where I'll be living now." While previously in life the ex-princess might have been offended at the duties of her rank, Pestilence held no grudge. It was a bit weird to think that she'd need to live with the livestock full time until she'd proven herself, but then again Fireside had it's fair share of weirdness so far that she didn't expect anything different. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Pesto prodded him in the shoulder and he chuckled. "Yea, ok. Fair point." She stated she'd like to see the sheep and he nodded, trotting toward where a number of the sheep were grazing. They were roaming about the knolls their white bodies and black points contrasting sharply with the brilliant green of the grass. There were a few goats and other test species mixed in but mostly sheep. Álarr settled on the edge of the range and the knolls, gazing out at the herd. "There they are! Our food for the winter. I don't know quite when Tyrian plans to harvest some but they are a valuable resource and a target for raiders so we need to keep a close eye on them. Not just raiders either, other predators like bears and coyotes will try to make off with them." Bears in particular were a concern with many emerging from winter hibernation hungry.

Pesto settled into a comfortable walk beside her friend, her lavender gaze roaming across the knolls and then back to him occasionally to hear his explanation. It seemed reasonable and easy enough, watch the sheep and don't let them be eaten by anyone who wasn't them. They were not the most important thing in the world to her, though Pesto could see their value. However she did not want to hang around them long, just enough until she proved herself and got sent out on the cool shit like raiding. Regardless of her waning interest, she did like to hear Alarr talk. It was for him alone that she listened intently and patiently, without her mind roaming to the better things there may be to do on the knolls. She realized when he finished that some time had passed and she'd not responded. Her head shook slightly and she blinked, pulling her eyes off of him and back to the sheep. "They're alright, I guess." Her response eventually came before she fell into silence once more. When had Alarr gotten so big? He'd always been taller then her, though somehow he seemed stronger and better built then when she'd last seen him. Pesto looked back over at him, unabashedly roaming his body with her eyes to see where else growth might have touched him. "You have pretty eyes." She complimented thoughtfully before turning back towards the grazing herd. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Álarr cocked his head to the side as he gazed back at Pestilence. She was staring at him and he immediately started wondering if he'd said something stupid. Did she think this was weird? It was kind of weird. He was used to wolves hunting their prey, not raising it. He was about to say something when she spoke. He grinned. "They're much better to eat than to look out that's for sure."

He followed her gaze back out to the herd, automatically scanning for any signs of injury or illness, completely oblivious that Pestilence was looking him over. He glanced back to her just as she spoke.

You have pretty eyes.

He blinked for a moment as the compliment registered and a flush of embarrassment hit him. "O-oh. Thank you." He wasn't quite sure what to say. No one had ever complimented him on his looks before. The most he got was maybe Afi telling him he looked less like a goat. He felt like he should return the compliment but his brain couldn't seem to decide what to say until he just took a few steps closer to her. "I'm really glad you're here Pesto." He really was.

Feeling suddenly awkward again he search for a change in subject. "I'm free this afternoon, you want to do something? How do you like to spend your time?"

Alarr's discomfort did not pass her notice and she turned her head away a moment to bite her lip in shame. Pesto didn't know why she was so hellbent on ruining things lately, first her relationship with her mother and then the one with Hari, now she was making Alarr uncomfortable and she just couldn't help herself.

When he stepped closer it was a surprise, and she allowed herself to glance back over to him in time to recieve his response directly. Pesto's tail swayed slowly behind her, a shy smile touching her lips. At least he wasn't mad at her for speaking so bluntly. "Me too, it's better here then sacrificed to a volcano." The joke was a bit dry, a sad attempt at helping him lighten the mood. "Maybe we could just get something to eat, watching them graze makes me miss real food."