Halo was aching as she pulled herself from the sea. The swim had been long, and really, she wasn't in the best shape for it. Had she gotten lost along the way? Probably. Can you get lost when you don't know where you're going in the first place? Likely not. Still, Halo had no idea where she was. The tenderhearted creature moved carefully, cautiously. While it didn't smell like she was intruding on someone else's home, but you could never be too sure. Her gaze was tentative, but curious. In the afternoon sunshine, she let go a shake, ridding her coat of sea water as best she could. It was spring, but there was still a bit of a chill in the breeze. From the shore, Halo moves inland. The pale creature moves to the side of the lake, grateful for the fresh water. She was tired. Ever alert, Halo dipped her muzzle to the cool lake. A chill hit her stomach, and her tail wagged at her haunches. It would take her some time to get her bearings here. Still, it seemed that Halo had all the time in the world.

The Warlord had made his way towards the Eatern territories, not too far from home. His slow and steady scouting told him what he had already begun to guess. The last traces of the ‘ooze’ were vanishing from the land. The occasional appearance of an infected beast was an outlier - one he put down quickly, and burnt. They never had learnt how the disease had been transmitted.

His paws crunched gently on the spring grass as he arrived at the lake. It had been a long time since he had been here last, but a quick glance told him of the absence of fireflies. A natural phenomenon that appeared at night, telling him this place had also returned to normal. With a pleased grunt, he considered his next objective, and then paused.

His eyes caught on the panther that stalked slowly through the grasses by the lake. Its attention not on the towering Warlord, but the much smaller, paler creature lapping at the waters. A searching glance found the shape of crystals growing from its fur, a creature infected with the ooze. He snarled, the sound deep and vibrating in his chest. “Watch out!” he called, as he raced towards wolf and panther.

"Sirius Fatalis"

Halo knew not of the ooze. Ignorance is bliss, right? Maybe not so much. There was no knowledge of the plague on this place, a disease that had racked the populations of Boreas. Ignorance too, of the fact she was being stalked. Being watched. Halo's soft gaze was trained on the lake, and the land beyond. Maybe she was naïve-- absolutely she was. It was a sense of wonder that had taken her over. The start of her new life. Just the thought of starting over was exciting and terrifying, all at once. The call that shattered the silence of the afternoon sent a chill down Halo's spine. Her heart pounded in her chest. The girl's ears flickered, head snapping up and gaze around to-- woah. For a heartbeat, Halo was frozen in fear and confusion. Had she trespassed? What did she need to watch out for? With her mind racing, the girl's gaze tracked to where the stranger was running. A high whine rose in her throat as she realized the gravity of the situation. Panic danced across her features, realizing that she wasn't fast enough to run from the panther, especially with her fatigue from the swim. She had to stand and fend it off, but at least she wouldn't have to stand on her own. Still, she's far out of her depth. Halo braced herself and moved forward, teeth flashing, growling at the predator-- nowhere near as fierce as the man that had come to her aid. Fear coursed in her system, and it took all of her self control not to freeze. "What do I do?" It was a soft question, more to herself than the stranger.. He was faster, with longer legs and confident steps, already closing in on the panther. On autopilot, though, Halo kept her head low and throat protected as she approached.

The Warlord took in the girl's uncertainty as he raced towards them. She was no fighter - which made it strange that she would be out here alone, with no protection. “Hold your ground” He advised, knowing if she ran, the half-maddened, infected creature would chase. He wondered if she was brave enough to do so, the panther had saliva dripping from its chin, crystals littered across its cheeks. It looked half starved and crazed, a creature from a nightmare.

Then the Warlord was there. Slamming bodily into the stalking panther, and knocking it off its paws. The Warlord was almost twice the height of the panther - which stood almost head to head in height to the pale wolf. He didn’t drag out the fight, he dug his teeth into its neck, and ended its life as quickly as he was able to. He let it collapse at his feet, and turned to the stranger. His eyes sweeping her up and down for signs of injuries. “You can’t fight?” it was half a question, half accusation.

"Sirius Fatalis"

The tenderhearted creature quivered where she stood. Hold your ground his voice came, and she nodded. Halo was tense, reaching the panther a moment after the stranger. Still, it seemed that he had the entire situation under control. He was far larger than the beast, strong, and knew exactly what he was doing. If she hadn't been afraid, she would have been awestruck. Halo wouldn't let him put all the work in, though she would have been concerned about getting in the way if she had time to think. Don't think, just go. With a flash of teeth, the girl sunk her jaws into the panther. It was a ripping and tearing, less effective than that of the man beside her. He made quick work of the predator. Halo stumbled back as it fell, gaze flickering shyly to the stranger. "I'm sorry I--" Her head hung low, trembling as the adrenaline subsided from her system. You can't fight? Oh no. Softly, she shook her head, swallowing hard. "I was never taught." Her voice was quiet, and the tenderhearted creature felt extremely small. "I'm sorry I panicked," her gaze cast down. "Thank you for protecting me, I don't know how I can repay you." The words were soft, and Halo didn't make eye contact. She was nervous, unable to chase the quiver from her voice. The fear wasn't gone from her system, not yet.

Training or not, she had bravery in her heart. She hadn’t run. She had taken control of the fear, digging her own claws into the panther's flesh. He knew that even if he hadn’t been here, she would not have gone quietly.

He pushed past the panther, and crouched down beside the smaller wolf. Her youth and vulnerability was visible through her lowered head, her trembling apologies. But he hadn’t forgotten the bravery she had shown just a moment before. He reached out a paw to touch the underside of her chin. “Have pride, little one. You're courageous, if not experienced” he said. It was that spark that he looked for the most in the wolves around him. Those that did not give up easily, that pushed on even when the world itself was against him.
After a moment, he dropped his paw to the ground again. “Is there family I can return you to? The world isn’t safe right now, you shouldn’t be out here alone.” brave or not, the world wasn’t kind at the moment. He wouldn’t relish the thought of seeing her life extinguished by the dangers out there.

"Sirius Fatalis"

It's not until he touches the girl that she realizes just how truly massive the stranger is. Her eyes went wide. She'd become unused to physical contact. Halo was in awe of this man, who'd been so fierce moments ago, and now was so gentle. As she took in more of the man, studied him more, there were so many strange things about him. He had fangs, and a mark that looked like scarring over his eye, though Halo didn't want to look too long-- that would be rude. Couldn't be rude, especially not after he'd saved her, especially not because he was a stranger. That, combined with the man's hulking size, left her thinking that he was perhaps the strangest looking wolf she'd ever met. The compliment leaves Halo standing a little straighter. A meek smile flickered across her lips. As the touch recedes, she doesn't drop her head, though she does drop eye contact. Halo still relaxed to a degree, looking up to the much larger man. At his question, the girl shook her head. Family. "They sent me to go out on my own, now that I'm grown. I just got here," she felt sheepish explaining, really. They wanted her to go, and she went. Being out here on her own had been her only option. "Safe... what's happening?" Halo was curious, and her gaze landed on the panther. She cocked her head to the side, looking carefully at the crystals where they grew on the predator. "What are those?"

She kept her head up this time, though she seemed to struggle to meet her soft gaze to his piercing blue one. He leaned back, giving her a little breathing room. He had determined at that point that she held no injuries. She had dug her teeth into the ooze-infected creature, so perhaps he would need to keep an eye on her yet. He didn’t want the strange infection to gain another foothold into his world.

“Your family sent you away because you were no longer a child?” he raised his brow at this strange tradition. The Warlord was a man who liked to keep his family close. Indeed, holding on too tightly had caused him some grief in his long life.

Her newness explained her confusion over the crystal-infected creature. Where to start? It almost seemed like a dream, now that the long night had passed. “Something infected the living creatures of this plant - plant and beast both. It held its grip for a season, and then seemed to have simply… lifted. Through the infection still lingers on some creatures, clearly.” He indicated towards the panther with a tip of his chin. “Return with me to my pack. I would like to keep an eye on you, to ensure you don’t catch the infection.” it was a request, but barely.

"Sirius Fatalis"

He was gentle, but imposing. Halo was easily overwhelmed... and he seemed to understand. The tenderhearted creature relaxed by degrees, and she was able to steady herself further as she got a bit more space. His intuition was something that she couldn't help but he grateful for. With an immense world ahead of her, Halo didn't really know where to start. The question of her family left Halo nodding softly, a light sigh in her chest. "When we turn two they decide who stays and who doesn't," she paused, offering a meek smile. "We already had an experienced healer in our band, they didn't need me." Halo felt the need to clarify. She hadn't done anything wrong to be expelled, but she'd been a burden. They didn't need her or want her. It wasn't like Halo didn't know that it was coming, but the judgement they passed stung all the same. With careful steps, Halo approached the lifeless body of the big cat. It was with curiosity and caution, head tipping to one side and the other as she took it in. A careful inspection, this time with the mind of a healer. An infection. The crystals were strange, and she was careful not to touch the predator. If there was an infectious disease on the loose, things were more dangerous than she ever could have expected. Despite the danger, Halo was ever so curious. "Do you know if anyone found the source?" It was a soft question, and Halo sniffed curiously at the cat. If the infection still lingered on the lands, she'd need to know just how to avoid it. For a moment, she's wrapped up in her thoughts. Healing was a passion, after all. As the large creature makes his request, genuine relief washed over the girl. It was dangerous, and she'd been alone... and now not alone. Her gaze was soft as it flickered back to the man, still a stranger. Halo is trusting by nature, and this moment was no exception. Still, she was sheepish. "Thank you, I just... I don't want to cause you more trouble than I already have ," after all, he'd saved her once already. Twice? And if she had caught the disease, they'd have to deal with her. After the encounter with the big cat Halo was more concerned than ever about being out on her own, but she was even more concerned about taking advantage of the kindness that had been shown to her.

It was a strange system, foreign to the Warlord. He trained his children, raised them up, and let them work towards ranks in the Armada. The ones that left did so because they found a life outside of the Armada, not because he wished for them to go. He watched her as she walked towards the panther, inspecting the corpse with a critical eye.

“No.” he said, shaking his head. “As far as I’m aware, it acted resilient to medicine. It appeared almost simultaneously across the continent, and contaminant creatures without discirmination. Then it simply… lifted.” he shook his head. Give him a creature he could fight any day. Not a disease, something he could do so little about. “It killed one of my wolves, mentally and physically scarred others.” it had not been kind to them, that was apparent. One death, and two other wolves had fled his pack in the chaos.

“It’s no trouble, we could use more healers. You say you trained as one in your pack? That would be a benefit to me. In return, I will grant you my protection, and teach you to defend yourself.” The last was not a request, all in his pack must learn self defense. He had long since learnt the best was to defend what was his was to ensure they could fight for themselves.

"Sirius Fatalis"

Halo listened carefully, picking her way carefully around the panther. Resistant to disease, with no source... and then it simply disappeared. It seemed to defy science, and was fading from the land. As the man spoke of the loss of life, her gaze flickered back to him. "I'm sorry," the words were quiet, barely over a murmur. The physical damage was something that could be healed (depending on the extent), or otherwise handled... mental was more concerning. More difficult overall to soothe. It's no trouble, Halo's gaze flickered back to the stranger once more. It was soft, and she nodded once. "I'm still a beginner, but yes." She needed to make sure she was entirely up front with him, no false promises or narratives. As the man offered her the reassurance that she wouldn't be trouble, the girl finds herself able to relax. His offered his protection, and he's offered to teach her. Halo was grateful, so incredibly grateful. All Halo could do now was her best, and she wouldn't let him down. "Thank you." Carefully, the girl stepped around the panther, moving to the man's side. After a beat, she realizes that she hasn't introduced herself. "I'm Halo." She was careful, ever careful. So much had already happened today... and there was still so much to come. Careful, but Halo could admit to herself that she was excited.

He inclined his head graciously at her words. As a leader, losing a wolf was never an easy thing. That it was something the Warlord could not fight back against only made it harder, but he could not dwell on the loss. He had other wolves that needed him. He shook the thought of Memph from his mind and looked back at Halo once more. She had finished her inspection of the panther and was returning to his side.

She admitted to being a beginner healer, but he could work with that. He needed a dedicated healer in his pack, it seemed to be the rank he struggled the most to keep focused. Perhaps the fault lay with himself - he had always spent his time and energy on the fighting side of training.

“Hello, Halo” he said with a soft smile. “I’m Sirius Fatalis, the Warlord of the Armada. Shall I show you your new pack?” He said, offering his shoulder for the little lady to lean on.


"Sirius Fatalis"

Dedication was something that Halo had no shortage of. Helping others, doing her best to help them get better. Maybe sometimes she was more of an emotional support animal than an actual healer, but really, both had their applications. Especially with the trauma from the disease, they may need it. The idea that she could well and truly be useful to them put Halo at ease. The tenderhearted girl already felt safer by the man's side... he'd offered his protection. She wasn't alone in the world anymore. Sirius Fatalis, his name came. The warlord-- he was at their helm. It seemed to click for her, falling into place to truly make sense. He'd offered his protection and his home, and in order to have that kind of authority he had to be. Still, her eyes widened for a moment when she truly realized. The Armada, that was her new home. Her new family? Halo didn't want to get ahead of herself, or make assumptions, but it was such a comforting feeling. "Yes please," ever soft, but it doesn't conceal the soft excitement at the prospect. Halo was grateful for the shoulder, making tentative contact with his side. As the adrenaline drained from her system, the girl realized just how well she'd sleep tonight. "What's are things like, in the Armada?" Her gaze flickered to Sirius as they prepared to set off, a slight wag to her tail.