Rudyard’s head was in the clouds, it seemed to be a frequent location for it these days.  It was amazing how quickly it had gone from depths of hell to sky-high after just a bit of time with Fern.  So much pain and yet so rarely cropping up now.

Rudyard made his way through his home, patrolling the castle, not on the lookout for threats inside but looking after those within.  He’d been in a coma, then been a victim and there was the ooze and plenty of things had happened while Rudyard had been injured.  He should have kept up on new members right away as he got better but he’d been hiding deep inside of himself with depression, and now he’d been putting all his time into Fern.

So now, today, he would put his mind back to work.  There was more to life than hunting and patrolling for the pack.  He needed to know everyone in his family and see that they were all well.  So on his rounds when he spotted a colorful wolf who seems to run a gambit of colors of a more fiery appearance.  How long has she been with the pack and ignored?  Well, time to start welcoming the new members and hope some hadn’t been around so long it felt awkward.

“Hello miss,” Rudy says with his best charismatic smile.  The motley wolf was always good with a fast smile, he use to smile all the time and has been doing a great deal of it recently.  The boy’s tail is mostly gone, a puff of it left where it had been.  Also, his one paw is always wearing its steel brace which fully covers the bottom of the foot, its been designed to give the semblance of toes for the two he lost. “I’m Rudyard, though most call me Rudy.”

Rudyard Carpathius

Lia’s first few days in the pack were rocky as she adjusted, and tried not to drown beneath all the changes. The gift of a healer's plot was her saving grace, and she threw herself into that work with gusto. She wasn’t accustomed to being idle, and didn’t want to start now. She was assuming what grew in the Hallows, and familiarising herself with the plants when a voice spoke up, startling her. She jumped a little, a spark of fear in her eyes before a mask of a smile took over. A delicate thing across her soft maw, as she ducked her head towards the other wolf.

“My Lord,” she responded, making the natural assumption that he, like most, was ranked above her. “I’m Idalia” she responded as her heartbeat returned to normal, a hint of her brighter nature returning. [b] “But most call me Lia”[/n]

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Rudy hadn’t intended to startle her.  Even as he kept his roguish smile on his face he felt a tickle of concern in the back of his mind at the fear he saw run over her.  This was a place of healing and that meant some that came needed it in ways that weren’t necessarily physical.  Rudy didn’t know a damn thing about how to heal the body.  He should for all the many times he’d needed his sister to tend to him but the healing he could do was in one’s heart and soul.  At least as much as the injured party would allow.

“My lord?” Rudy tossed over the title as if testing it, “Wow, that’s pretty nice.  I could like that,” Rudyard’s grin grew but there was playfulness tinged in it. “Well Lia, I do so love the title ‘Lord’ buuuut it probably wouldn’t work that well.” Rudyard let out a strained sigh, “See, I want everyone comfortable with me, and if I started prancing around with someone calling me ‘lord’ it would be hard.”

Rudy quirked a brow at her, “How about you just call me Rudy so that no one else feels too nervous about me, and I call you Lia cause it’s shorter and I can remember it better?”  He looked about at the surroundings then back at her, “Safe to assume you’re a healer?  Or studying to become one maybe?”  Healers and plants went together like fish and water or Rudy and sleeping in.

"Speech"

He seemed rather surprised at being called a Lord. He was a strange wolf, who wished for everyone to be comfortable around him. Another reminder of how different things here were. She supposed he was a little like Mortis. Big, but soft hearted. Not someone she needed to be weary about. She slave straightened from her bow, another small smile on her lips. “As you wish, My Lord” she said, through a teasing tone had entered her words. She felt it was safe enough to add it. Those that didn’t wish to stand on titles had never hit her for her brashness.

“I’m learning, in my spare time.” she explained. She liked to be able to patch up wolves. To be useful. Especially now that her main use was no longer needed. She needed to find other skills that encouraged wolves to keep her around.

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Rudyard smirked and winked at the lady for the title given a second time.  "I mean, I am a Carpathius so ya know, if I wasn't so modest I could go by that” he was the son of the family that first created the hallows.  Couldn’t that kind of count as lord.  “I’d tease you back and call you ‘my lady’ but I think I’d have explaining to do with a certain lady who has my heart.”  So what if he was always thinking about Fern dangit?

“Learnings great.  We like it when othrs take initiative on that.” Rudy wagged his tail, well he tried to wag his tail but yah it was just that puff. “You’ll find a lot of good instructors here and I doubt a single one wouldn’t be happy to help you learn.  Have you met many of the other healers thus far?”  Rudyard was mulling about how to find out what it was that had her nervous but for now was stuck with being friendly and trying to widen who she might be friends with.

Getting someone to relax was getting enough things in their life to focus on to not remember whatever had held them back to start with.  

Rudyard Carpathius

She blinked as he teasingly suggested calling her ‘my lady’ clearly, he didn’t know that she was the newest pack slave. Perhaps that was why he was being so amicable towards her. Best to get that out of the way as quickly as possible, to avoid any awkwardness. “Ah, I apologise My Lord, I did not introduce myself properly. I am Lia, Briar’s handmaiden” she explained. To her, everyone was above her station. A lord.

“I have yet to meet many people, I’m afraid” she explained, it was still the very early stages of her arrival here. She was interested in meeting the healers, however. She did hope to learn from them. Briar was very generous with Lia’s time.


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Rudy’s brows went up when she labeled herself as a handmaiden for his brother’s mate.  “So do you prefer going by Idalia or by Lia?  As to our stations, I’m one of the vanguards for the hallows.”  While Rudyard was quite determined to raise up in rank and take on a future role of leader he wasn’t going to associate Lia any differently than any other rank under has.  She was a member of the hallows, a part of his home.

“So, Lia? What skills do you possess?  What hobbies do you have?  As to myself, I enjoy hunting, fighting, and just roaming about.” He’d go with her short name to keep more casual at the moment.  There was no reason she shouldn’t be able to relax so Rudy would just have to try and find some common ground.  Maybe once they were done chatting and he had a better feel of her he might suggest others with interests similar to hers, assuming she had any similar interests with others he knew.  

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