Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He padded through the Valley, glad for the warmth of the sun on his back through his armor. Now that the days were actually becoming days, Spring was belatedly showing its colors. The warmth was only a slight balm to the losses. He and his family, and Valhalla, would heal in time. Grief left scars, but time healed such scars… or at least made them sting a little less. He’d grown into his last few inches of height and though his weight was a bit spare thanks to the plague, that would come back with good food and hard training to strengthen the muscles that had grown wan during quarantine. Lyr wheeled above in the sky, occasionally dipping and tumbling in the air in playful swoops. He was enjoying the sun as well, and as Ardyn leapt to the top of a large boulder nestled against the banks of the river, lounging and watching the river beneath his linked forepaws, the raven drifted to land beside him, bi-colored beak preening through the young man’s long mane. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She found herself in a beautiful lush valley, full of soft grasses on the rolling hills, perfect for feeding the many herds of larger prey, as well as the groups of smaller prey. There was no apparent lack of food resources, and even the water itself seemed like a nice spot to cool down on a hot day. She could see herself staying here for a little while to admire the scenery, plus the easy access to food was a good hunting prospect for her. Maybe she could work on her hunting skills in trapping smaller animals that were normally to speedy for her to catch. Her desire for a quick splash was interrupted when she spotted one beast of a wolf laying atop a boulder lining the river, a raven beside them. To go with the size, she could very visibly see the longer fur on the neck and tail, and in the soft breeze it seemed as if some of the fur was glowing, not all too different from the incandescent nature of a burning flame. To say she was intrigued was an under-statement. In fact, she was quite enthralled! As if a moth to a flame, Inoki made her way over to the wolf, eyes widened to soak up every aspect as she gazed upon them where they lay. "Has anyone ever told you before that you're absolutely gorgeous?"

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

They weren’t alone, and the heir caught sight of the slim – and small – figure in dark fur approaching. She was small, indeed, although admittedly bigger than Aoife, his reference for tiny in the world. And the bright blue eyes were wide, taking him in. His long-digited forepaw lifted to tickle Lyr’s glowing white patches of plumage as the raven hopped to stand under his chin, though the bird’s head cocked and Ardyn’s brow-points lifted in a subtle blaze of light at the young woman’s first words. Had they? Aris had taken obvious delight in the friction-based reaction of his coat, and he hadn’t minded all that much— he’d seen other glowing wolves, but none he’d ever met actually seemed to glow when touched or buffeted by wind. Tel could control hers, and was brightest when happy, flickering and dim when upset or afraid, or ill. His mother was a constant bright being, and he’d known her no other way, though both parents assured him and his siblings that she’d been born without any light in her coat. Taliesyn’s light was more akin to Tel’s. A faint smile twitched over the young man’s features as he reached the end of his quick consideration, responding genuinely, “My mother, I suppose.” Rich with a rumbling depth, his tone was faintly amused, ears flicking to the side in a near shrug as Lyr fluttered with a croak to his withers, claws clutching the folds of his cloak hood where it bunched against the base of his neck and the slope of his shoulders. Ardyn's head tilted as he regarded the small woman, introducing easily, "I am Ardyn Adravendi of Valhalla, by the way. And you?" Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The other wolf was silent for a short time, as if thinking deeply about her words, and all the while she stood there, gazing at the glowing fur with a look of pure admiration and fascination. Oh, she wanted to touch it so badly, wondering if the fur would feel warm under her paws, or if it was purely just for the eyes to look at. The wolf, a he as evident by the low rumble of his voice, finally spoke, and his words seemed genuine and even a bit amused. "Then I can assume I'm only the second wolf to say the same?" Inoki was with a grin, coming closer to the boulder he lay upon. Her front legs lifted up to rest against the boulder so she was standing on her hind paws, looking up at the gargantuan-sized male. "That's a bit of a shame, more should speak the truth." Now that she was closer, Inoki could see the longer than usual upper canines poking out from his lips, and let out a soft croon of delight. Was there nothing average about this wolf? How fascinating! The bird was all but unnoticed as she stared at the male, listening intently as he introduced himself. "Inoki Piere, no affiliation as of now." She was as alone as a lone wolf could be, but it didn't bother her all too much. She then raised her right front paw, flexing the toes a little as she waved it closer to to him even though he was still far out of her reach. "May I touch your fur?" Inoki all but whispered, her tone almost reverent as she spoke. He was the most unique wolf she had ever seen, and she would not leave this encounter without doing her best to understand what made him so special, even if her requests were a little odd.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

She came a little closer, and Ardyn’s head tipped in slight affirmation of her assumption, an amiable smile settling on his features. “If you think I’m spectacular you haven’t met my mother. Or a stallion named Taliesyn. He’s huge.” His front paws lifted, spreading wide and high, long digits stretching apart to emphasize both breadth and height as he grinned. Taliesyn had dropped weight with illness, too, but there was no diminishing the powerful height of the horse, or dimming his glowing coat, though Ardyn had been in no state to check in on the horse, and might have been shocked at the sight of the horse in the depths of illness. The young woman introduced herself, and Ardyn nodded, paws tucking back to the stone. “Pleasure to meet you, Lady Inoki.” The honorific came without mockery or assumption. It was simply part of his upbringing—until given reason otherwise, women were to be respected. The next question came as less of a surprise than one might think, and the Heir didn’t take the question at all badly, simply shifting to flick his tail so the long ink-black hair fell over the boulder in a flurrying flash of fiery light and shimmering reds and golds. Most of his frame and haunches were hidden away under armor and cloak fabric, but he flipped the drape of the close aside. It had taken hours to get all the mats out of his rump fluff from all the aggressive oozing, and he was glad to have the hair clean again, if a little less fluffy. “I don’t mind. You’re not the first one to ask that.” The last remark came with a faint chuckle. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She couldn't imagine a wolf more spectacular-looking than Ardyn, but she supposed she would just have to take his word for it. After all, he would've had to get his unusual characteristics from somewhere. "Maybe you'll have to introduce me to her then, so I can see for myself." Her words were light with a lilt, not wanting him to think she was actually asking him to take her to meet his mother. As for this Taliesyn, she'd heard of horses before, but hadn't actually seen one with her own eyes, and the idea of a creature even larger than the wolf in front of her was a bit mind boggling. As a decently small wolf she was accustomed to the idea of everything being large to her, but there had to be a limit to a creature's size, right? Inoki giggled softly when he called her a lady, delight lighting up her facial features. She'd never been called that before, but it had a nice ring to it. He also seemed to not mind her odd request, and she watched as he flicked some of his long tail hair over the edge of the boulder so it was within reach of her short limbs. Her outstretched paw gently ran through his long strands of fur, another delighted giggle escaping from her as the strands blazed in fiery reds and golds along where she touched them. It was fascinating. "Was your fur like this when you were born?" She asked him, her eyes briefly lifting up to his face to show she was paying attention, even while she continued to delicately paw at his fur. Inoki had so many questions for him, but she kept her mouth in check, not wanting to overwhelm him.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

Her words were answered with a grin, and a cheerful, “Of course. Should you venture further south through the red rocks, there is a wide plainsland encircled by a stone wall, with a large hill at its heart. To the direct east is a land shrouded in mists almost year-round, also lined by the same wall. Those lands are claimed by Valhalla. My mother is Aurielle. If you ever care to meet her, call for her at the border. You’ll know her when you see her.” His teeth flashed in a wider grin. To her question as she experimented and stroked the long hair of his tail, Ardyn nodded. “From the very first. It’s made hunting interesting, but there are certain times of day where I blend in, or I use this cloak to hide my body so the light is less notable. A lot of times, I just build traps, which is a lot easier with these.” The Heir wiggled his front paws, claws currently sheathed to give the appearance of no claws at all unless she were to look closely at the unusually long, nimble toes and dew claw, dropped to become a thumb. “I can braid with the best lemur or monkey, and I’m thinking of putting beads and feathers in my mane and tail in a bit. Lyr here’s been gathering them for me for a while now and I’ve got a lot of feathers.” Mismatched eyes twinkled in amusement as he glanced at the glowing, piebald raven who shrugged his wings slightly, unabashed. The bird had been quiet for the time being, probably waiting to pelt the woman later for any stories from her travels. Speaking of which, he turned back to Inoki, head cocking as he asked, “What brings you to Boreas? Have you always lived on the continent or are you a traveler?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She would do her best to remember the directions Ardyn provided her with, but there was no guarantee it would all stick after a few weeks, or even a few months. But she would absolutely remember the name of the pack, and his mother's name, should she ever come across her in the future. The grin he gave her was returned enthusiastically, and she could only imagine the beauty of his mother to have produced such a handsome wolf. "I look forward to it." Her head cocked to the side as he explained his fur, studying the strands a little closer with keen eyes. Maybe if there was a particularly orange or red sunset, he could blend in a bit, but the glimmering was so eye-catching she was sure she'd spot it from miles away during the night or a clear day. The cloak was a good idea though, and she could understand the necessity of it when hunting. A soft squeal of delight left her lips when Ardyn wiggled his toes, allowing her to see the strangely elongated digits, and the extra claw that was positioned lower down to form another toe. It looked very similar to the hands of primates, and she could understand now why he was so good at making these traps. "You should definitely do that, it'd be a good look on you." With his longer mane and tail some decoration would really bring attention to them, and accentuate them in a way that'd be eye-catching for sure. Her gaze shifted only momentarily to the bird at his side, taking note of the also glistening feathers and offering a grin at it, but for the most part she was focused on the wolf. Inoki took a few moments to think about Ardyn's question. "I'm a traveler, I only recently found my way here. I came here in search of knowledge, particularly about herbs and such, and to broaden my horizons and meet new wolves and see new places." She was a free spirit, going wherever her heart and mind wanted to take her, so she didn't want to be in one place for too long at a time. At least not for a little while.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

His muzzle dipped at her words, acknowledging them, lips twitching with a faint grin. He listened with interest as she spoke, confirming she was a traveler recently arrived, and from the sound of it, an aspiring healer. As he glanced over her, he found no satchel, so perhaps she hadn’t yet come across one or crafted it. “Healer’s work is definitely interesting. I have decent training in field medicine—I actually thought I might become a healer when I was a pup, but I went with hunting in the end for my secondary calling. Either way, everyone in Valhalla is expected to learn basic first aid at the very least, even if they aren’t interested in healing, themselves. You never know what might happen when you’re out alone, and knowing how to stop bleeding or treat a bad cut, or save someone else is a valuable skill to have when you don’t have a trained healer to howl for within earshot.” He stretched around, long digits nimbly unlatching a pouch and flipping up the flap to dip in and come out with a small pouch, sealed with beeswax against leakage and wet. He unsheathed one curved, sharp black claw and broke the seal, plucking out a strip of dried venison and offering it to Inoki with a nod. “Hunting has been a good one to learn, too. Processing the carcasses, from skinning to drying the meat and cracking the bones for the marrow is an interesting process. Seeing what edible herbs make the meat taste better, too. These were treated with basil and thyme, and soaked in honey before they were dried in smoke.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Inoki was intrigued at the decision to have everyone in the pack learn at the very least the basics of healing. It made sense to her, everyone should know how to clean and bandage a scrape or stave off a sickness, but she hadn't heard of all the pack members being required to learn that knowledge. It was simply fascinating, and she found herself wondering if perhaps she might pay them a little visit in the future. She was very much a free spirit at heart, not wanting to be tied down to one place for too long, but perhaps she could be persuaded to stay to learn some things for a time. "Who in the pack decided everyone should learn at least some form of healing?" Surely the alpha, but was it his mother, or another wolf he hadn't mentioned yet? She was distracted when Ardyn pulled out a strip of dried meat, feeling her mouth begin to salivate at the sight and smell of it. Inoki hadn't eaten anything that day yet, so the morsel of meat was as tempting as an entire deer to her in that moment. But being a gracious and somewhat respectful woman, she gently took the offered meat with her front teeth, taking care to chew with her mouth closed so as to not be rude. The sweet taste of honey was strong as she chewed it, and she closed her eyes in delight to savour all the different flavours. "Mmm, that is delicious! Thank you." Her head cocked to the side curiously as she looked up at the larger wolf. He had so many hidden talents to go along with his unique physicality, and she was slowly finding herself to becoming quite enamoured with him. The idea of making her way to Valhalla's borders was looking more and more promising the more she thought about it. "Does everyone learn how to prepare meat in this way too? Or is that an area of specialty for you?" Inoki grinned up at him, only the slightest of mischievous glints in her eyes. There seemed to be so much she had yet to learn about this world, and Ardyn apparently knew it all. That could come in handy later for her if she played her cards right.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

At her question, Ardyn smiled, head tilting in thought. “Initially, my great great Grandmother when she brought Valhalla of Old out of the ashes of a pack challenge the previous Queen, her adoptive daughter, lost to an enemy pack member. She was Lead Healer for a long time before then, and also felt that healers ought to learn to fight, as well, as one of her Craft Sisters was nearly raped, and then later was murdered by the same wolf. Erani kept that chip on her shoulder for a long time, from my understanding of the stories. And, since she demanded that the histories of Valhalla and her family, the Adravendis both blood and adoptive be kept true and unembellished, I’d wager it was pretty accurate. ” He nibbled at a strip of meat, adding, “It’s been a pack law since my great grandmother Surreal revived Valhalla as Celestial after Erani lost her own pack challenge—she was old when she revived Valhalla, and older when she was challenged. Everyone is expected to learn to fight, even if it’s only self-defense, and to heal, as I’ve said.” At her exclamation, his head dipped in acknowledgement, a quick grin flashing over his features. “No problem.” Her query he answered with a shake of his head, chuckling faintly, “Ah, not in the slightest. My fellow packmates have ways of getting around not having odd paws. Bear claws make useful knives. Not to mention, making friends with primates helps tremendously.” Another smile as he thought of Ayodele, and a surge of relief that none of the creatures that had chosen a number of Valhalla’s wolves had caught the horrid illness of the recent months. None that he knew of, at least. Perhaps he should ask around when he got home. “How did you fare the recent… events?” The question was posed with genuine interest as he studied her, wondering if she'd had as awful an experience as he and his pack had. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Inoki listened to his explanation as she chewed the strip of meat, looking up at him thoughtfully. It was a lot of information to take in, and she'd definitely be lying if she said she would remember all of it once they parted ways, but she picked up enough pieces to put together the story. "It sounds like a lot went down back then, your pack history must be full of amazing stories!" She was a sucker for stories and loved hearing them, and was open to telling some of her own, but she hadn't experienced much of the world yet and so didn't have any interesting ones to tell. Inoki also agreed with the sentiment that everyone should how to fight and heal, as those were the two skills she focused on the most herself. Another giggle bubbled from from her jaws at the mention of bear claws, and she turned her gaze to his paws to see them for herself. Now that she was looking closely, she could see that the toes were elongated and the dew claw dropped down to form a thumb, and as a whole his front paws looked similar to the hands of primates. No wonder he was able to do such amazing things with the meat. "Is there anything not special about you?" She said with a couple flirtatious, but teasing, bats of her eyelashes, grinning up at Ardyn. He was the most fascinating wolf she had ever come across, and she wanted to know more about him, but didn't want to push her luck at asking too many questions. It took her a few moments to realise his question was about the recent sickness that had ravaged the lands, and she set her head down upon her stretched out front legs as she spoke. "Better than most, I only arrived a short while before everything seemed to get better." Inoki was thankful for that, and that she hadn't gotten sick with it during the short time she was in contact with those that did suffer from it. "But I assisted another wolf in an attempt for a cure, and I think it worked?" Her words were accompanied by a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know for sure though, as very soon after the sun returned and everyone seemed to get better, but I think at the very least it helped with the symptoms." She was then quiet for a short bit, her mind wandering back to that day with the woman and the sick fox. "What about you? And your pack?"

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

At Inoki's remark, Ardyn nodded. Valhalla had a long and storied history, and he smiled as he said, "My family and Valhalla have been in the Vericona Plains for several generations, barring one or two years at some point. At that point a pack known as Arcanum held it, and then were wiped out in a siege. Then another called Hellstrom held it for a short time before meeting the same fate. After that, it's been us the rest of the time." Her teasing words brought a soft bark of laughter and a shrug. "I'll die like any other in roughly ten years, or in battle. Or probably in a hunting accident. Rolled in carcasses as a pup, much to my mother's chagrin. Apparently she rolled in her mother's herb stock. And got in trouble for it." Her flirtation was noticed - his parents had been thorough in ensuring that he wouldn't be as oblivious as she herself had been, and her father before her, but he deftly played it off as having gone over his head. While she was pretty, he didn't know her nearly well enough to consider her an option. He listened as she spoke of her experiences, ears perking as she spoke of her attempt at a cure, and asking once she paused, "Do you recall what you tried? If this ever comes back again, with every condition, knowing would be good, especially if you can share that information with the packs." Movement and a rank stink that was all too familiar sent his head whipping to the side, rising to his paws in a fluid motion, a bear's huffing grunt drowning out Inoki's question toward Valhalla's experience. A grizzly had frozen, catching his and Inoki's scents on the breeze, and Ardyn knew from past experience what the tense of muscles a moment later meant as the bear locked eyes with him. The beast was gaunt, and angry, and now barreling toward the two wolves in a charge. Lyr rose into the sky with a croak as the Heir swung to face the bear on the boulder, poised in a light stance as the grizzly bore down. It was clear Ardyn wasn't going to back down, and friendly cheer had settled into cool calculation and expectancy of a brawl. The first swing came and he ducked, lunging forward to slash the sabers under the bear's guard, drawing the beast to face away from Inoki, giving her an opening to run as the bear turned to follow him, or join in. As he paws hit the ground at the end of his leap, Ardyn twisted in a tight rollback on his hind paws, noting the crimson streaks in the bear's fur as teh beast dove for him. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Se stuck her tongue out at him playfully as he mentioned multiple packs warring over and losing a single particular piece of land. "Are you not worried your pack will also be wiped out in a siege for the plains? Seems like a common occurence." Sure, it wasn't the most normal thing to make a joke out of, but she prided herself in pushing some boundaries, liking to stay on the edge of what was acceptable and what wasn't. Sometimes she did go a bit far admittedly, but she was learning each time she pushed, and lately hadn't gotten into too much trouble with her antics. A soft bark of laughter left her lips at the mental image of Ardyn rolling around in carcasses when he was younger; it was not too dissimilar from her own days as a young wolf herself. "Not as bad as being caught in the middle of the night snacking on the food prepared for the next morning's celebration breakfast." She considered it as one of her finest moments, though her parents would beg to differ, and she had definitely not learned her lesson even after being put in a time out. It was safe to say she hadn't been allowed anywhere near the food storage for a long while after that incident. It seemed as if her attempt at flirting had gone completely unnoticed by Ardynn, but she wasn't put off in the slightest. Inoki didn't really care if things went anywhere or not, but she would be absolutely delighted if they did, as she could only imagine what other surprises the male had hidden away. But he seemed very interested in knowing more about the potential cure she spoke of, and she nodded in response to his questions. She felt as if she could name at least most of what has been used, and give a description of the rest, but before she could actually open her mouth to speak, the musky sent of a grizzly reached her, and suddenly Ardyn had turned around to face it. She skittered back from the large boulder, eyes widened at the sheer size of the bear Ardyn was facing head on, and for a moment she considered just high-tailing it our of there. But then she steeled her nerves, took a deep breath, and told herself that she needed to be brave and help out Ardyn, as he had been nothing but nice and helpful to her. Inoki then darted around the boulder and took a running leap at the grizzly bear, aiming to squarely jump on top of its shoulders and latch onto the nape of its neck where it's teeth and claws couldn't reach her.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

It seemed Inoki had starch, as Ardyn spotted a slim dark figure flying to the bear's back in a leap. That was generally the place Ardyn took in a bear fight, but it was also one of the safer places for the much smaller wolf to be, so he didn't mind. The grizzly, however, minded quite alot, and snarled at the impact from behind, thrashing its head around as though fresh from a swim, and Ardyn used the distraction to his advantage, darting forward and swiping out with a front paw, claws unsheathing themselves to rake savagely over the bear's face, and the resulting roar rattled his bones, but as he danced away, he saw that he'd struck true, and the bear had clamped one eye shut in pain, glaring at him with the one remaining good eye. It had forgotten the littler wolf on its back; this one had just dealt it a much nastier, more painful blow and it was out for blood as it reared and lunged forward, swiping for the fiery black Heir. Despite his skill, Ardyn felt the sting as he swerved to avoid the blow, and a blaze of golden light in four fresh, ragged gashes in his upper foreleg told him in no uncertain terms that the bear had drawn blood. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Her leap was successful, and she dug all four sets of blunt claws into the bears' back as her jaws clamped firmly on its nape. She wasn't able to do much damage from where she was, but her idea had been to distract the bear from Ardyn so he could do the real damage. Inoki felt the grizzly thrash beneath her, and felt herself scrabbling with her paws as she was shaken roughly to one side, but managed to stay attached at its neck. While she couldn't see what Ardyn was doing, he had apparently done something that either pissed off or injured the bear, as it let out a roar that practically vibrated her entire body where she stood upon its back. She tried to see what Ardyn was doing, but through the thick fur her vision was mostly obscured, and as the bear suddenly lunged forward she felt her body tip forwards, and then she was falling head over heels right in front of the bear's face. Inoki toppled onto the ground, taking but a moment to catch her breath before jumping back onto all fours again and turning to face the much much larger bear head on, lips pulled back in a particularly vicious snarl. Her ears flattened against her skull as she leaped forward, aiming to grab its nose and upper mandible firmly within her jaws, and use her front paws to scratch desperately at its only remaining eye. If she could blind it enough in both eyes then hopefully that would give Ardyn an opening to either go for the kill, or scare it off. Inoki was also well aware that she was right in the danger zone, but with her small size it more more likely the bear would swipe her to the side than try and bite or swipe at her, especially if she had its tender snout grabbed between her strong jaws.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

A dark form sailed free of the bear with the beast's lunge, and he kept half an eye on the woman before she popped to her paws and dove back in, opting to go for the bear's face; risky, and so Ardyn knew to work quickly. He could take a hit and come out of it with some bruised or broken ribs, especially if the hit was over the armor. Inoki had no protection beyond her small size and agility. The bear made to ignore the smaller wolf until she bit down on its face, and then the attention was grabbed, and Ardyn used the moment to duck forward, lunging and clamping his jaws onto the bear's throat, sabers sinking to the hilts and then rending the jugular open as the Heir ripped himself free, letting the serations along the backs of his canines do the killing as he bounded out of reach as the bear tried to go for him before staggering. The beast was bleeding freely in heavy pulses, and Ardyn moved to sit on the boulder, letting the bear expire on its own. The beast collapsed heavily, and Ardyn checked for Inoki to be sure she'd gotten cleanly out of reach before examining the bearclaw gashes on his foreleg with a huff. "You alright?" Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

As she had hoped, Ardyn was quick to make his next attack, and she suffered only a single swipe in her direction before she heard gurgling. The grizzly bear shuddered beneath her, and took a few steps with her still firmly attached to its nose, before it swung its head around with a quick snap. Inoki released her grip and let herself be flung away from it, landing into an easy roll on the grass that cushioned her fall. From where she lay she watched as the bear stumbled, blood pouring almost like a waterfall from its throat, before it finally collapsed, its limbs twitching as it slowly bled out. Ardyn had somehow already gotten back on top of the boulder by the time she looked around for him, and her tail tapped happily on the grass at the sight that he was okay, albeit... glowing? There was a strange golden glow to one of his forelegs, and she absentmindedly let out an affirmative noise as her eyes stared at his wound. "Uh huh." She was fine, other than being a little winded from falling onto the ground twice in quick succession, and she was far more interested in Ardyn at that moment than checking herself over. Inoki clambered to her paws with only a slightly wince, and briskly moved back over to the boulder, gazing with the widest grin she could offer up at his foreleg. "You didn't tell me your blood glowed like the first bright rays of sunlight at dawn!" Her eyes had widened in wonder as she stared up at him, tail whipping excitedly behind her. Surely the next amazing thing revealed about him would be a magical pair of wings that only appeared when he wanted them to.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He studied her again as she came to the boulder, shrewdly noting the winces, but she seemed mostly fine, confirming it aloud, though her eyes were locked on his injury. His lips twitched faintly in amusement. "I usually don't mention or think about it until I'm actually bleeding. Once it dries you'd never know it ever even twinkled." He twisted and opened one of his pouches, pulling out the wrapped satchel and setting it on the boulder, unrolling it to reveal sachets and clay jars sealed with beeswax, painted different colors in Valhallan symbols, as well as several implements meant for suturing and basic wound cleaning. Luckily, there was fresh water nearby, and he tugged out a bundle of rich wood packed with flammable pitch, setting up a small fire and rolling a live coal from a bison horn into the nest of tinder he'd arranged inside a small teepee of the fatwood. It smoldered, and he blew softly, coaxing it until it kindled. He left Lyr to feeding the infant blaze while he pulled a small carved wooden bowl from another pouch and dropped to the riverside, scooping fresh water and placing it on the boulder before returning and cocking his head at Inoki. "Should probably get this cleaned up and poulticed, and maybe a tea for any pains you might have from hitting the ground a couple times." Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The way his blood glowed a bright golden hue was quite mesmerising, and she found herself drawn closer, with a small part of her wondering if it would taste as bright as it looked, or if it would still have that same metallic and coppery taste normal blood had. But she had no time to continue that train of thought as Ardyn began pulling out multiple items from his satchel, one after the other, with seemingly no end in sight. She sat back on her haunches and watched as he constructed some sort of fire atop the boulder, eyes glimmering with curiosity, but staying silent for now. He was the most unusual wolf she had ever come across, and seemed to always be one-upping himself with everything he did. The sharp smell of smoke made her wrinkle her nose as the wood began to burn, and she lifted a front paw to scratch at her muzzle, turning her head to the side and closing her eyes for a short time so as to not get the wafting smoke straight in her face. When her eyes opened again Ardyn was standing before her and placing a bowl of water on top of the rock by the fire. Inoki put her paw back on the ground, looking up at him with a cheeky grin on her face. "I'd offer to help but... you likely know more than I do." His kind offer to give her tea didn't go unnoticed, and she dipped her head gratefully, tail tapping happily against the grassy ground. "That is very much appreciated Ardyn. Would you like me to help in making the tea? Or I can assist in cleaning up your wound, it's the least I can do." While she had no dexterous fingers to use, she was sure her clumsy paws or teeth could be used in some way to help him with the tea, or maybe even holding something for him while he patched up his own wound.