A fire! A fire! She was going to build a fire! Dagrún pranced along the stream that ran through the Orchard looking for a good spot to build her fire. Álarr was in tow somewhere behind her and Sperla took the skies above her. She was excited for this was the first time she was going to try and build a fire solo. Once Dagrún found a spot she started digging a fire pit for the sticks and brush she'd eventually collect. She glanced around and did not see many rocks to use for a fire ring so she focused on digging her pit deep so the fire wouldn't get away. Luckily, it was a nice fall day and there was very little wind that might blow sparks from the fire into the brush and cause a mess. She'd never be allowed to build a fire again if it got away and burned everything along the river side.

Halla headed into the forest with the intent of seeing how the prey were doing now that winter was so close. So far the weather in the South was warmer than she'd expected so likely the prey would stick around. Still, she wanted to get a good feel of how the prey were moving and the sorts of animals that were available in the Orchard. With all the fallen fruit on the ground many prey animals traveled to the Orchard to eat and fill up before the winter arrived and she couldn't blame the for eating what they could while it was available. Her ears perked up as she caught the scent of one of her new family members. She'd heard that Valkyrie had had children but she hadn't met them yet. She followed the scent and arrived to see the girl digging away in the dirt. "Hello there, my name is Halla. Little one, what are you doing?"

Dagrún finished digging her fire pit and looked over as someone approached. She didn't recognize the woman, but she did note that the stranger smelt of Fireside and was likely a packmate. She looked over as the woman introduced herself as Halla. "Hi! I'm Dagrún and I'm building a fire!" Well, she wasn't building it yet but she would be soon. "Want to help me find some sticks?" She didn't wait for an answer and instead bounded through the Orchard gathering up any downed sticks she could find to build her fire. Whenever she found a good one she trotted back over to her hole and set the sticks down. She was only going to make an itty bitty fire. Once she felt she had enough sticks she started stacking them in the way Sperla had showed her with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on the top.

Halla watched the girl for a moment with a small smile, nodding as the girl asked if she would help look for sticks. A small fire would be nice. She wandered through the forest looking for larger sticks that could be used for the fires base as she knew the pup was too small to carry anything very substantial. Halla brought her haul back to the child's fire pit. She assisted in the construction of the fire before settling down nearby to see if the girl could actually start something. "You gathered good sticks, little one. I wonder, where did you learn such skills already?" Had one of her parents taught her this and if so was she not a little young to be learning about something as dangerous as fire? Not that Halla was qualified. As much as she might some day like to have children it did not appear to be in her future.

Dagrún grinned proudly and gestured to her companion. "Sperla showed me! Now watch this, I can get it started." She was eager to show what she could do now that she had an audience. Dag took a mouthful of dried leaves and deposited them on top of the pile of sticks to act as tinder for the spark she'd try to produce. Next she scooted a rock near the fire that was about as tall as her pile of sticks. She set down the piece of flint and held it steady with her paw. She then took a piece of steel in her mouth and swung her head to strike the steel against the flint. Nothing happened for the first several tries. She then got a few sparks but none of them took hold. She felt suddenly embarrassed. Why couldn't she do this when someone was watching her? Finally, a spark landed amongst the tinder and slowly it grew until she had a small fire going.

Halla watched with amusement as the girl explained that she'd learned from her bird companion. Well, that explained a lot. Halla had a lot of respect for birds of prey and she thought kestrels and ravens to be quite smart. She didn't know where her own companion had flown off to but she was sure they would meet again in due time. She watched patiently as the girl struggled to start her fire. "Have courage," Halla said, "I know this part is the hardest." She hoped her words were encouraging to the youth. Soon, with many attempts, the spark took hold and grew into a handsome little fire. She smiled at Dagrún. "Good job, you should show your parents what you have learned. I think they would be proud to see."