Zeph was settling in well within the castle, growing quickly and eating as much food as he could convince Lia to provide. While he thought he was as healthy as they came, Artorias had explained to him the importance of check-ups and sent him on his way toward his first. The growing raptor was happy to oblige his guardian's request, there was very little he would not do for the wolf who had rescued him and given him a home beyond the fireplace.

He'd already had a run-in with the east wing of the castle, where Zeph realized how little fondness he had for baths. The infirmary was adjacent to the wet room of death (which, to Zephyr, was obviously a design flaw) and he made his way there cautiously, careful not to navigate to the wrong room. The door was ajar, and Zephyrus poked his beak through and around the corners before venturing deeper. "Hi, Gwynevere?" He called out. "I'm here for a check-out."

"Zephyr"

Gwynevere had been out in the gardens just outside of the pack's borders taking advantage of the fresh spring growth that had begun to blossom thanks to all of the rains they had endured through the Auster winter. It had been difficult to get out and collect many herbs through the winter with the near constant onslaught of rain so now it was time for her to catch up and restock their stores. She hoped that perhaps she could plan another trip to see Ysmir as well now that the weather was nicer, but she kept that at the bottom of her to do list for now. She knew it was still technically the viking's turn to come see her instead so she tried to hold off as long as she could, but it was becoming difficult.

She was distracted by her own thoughts while she sorted through dandelion roots, boneset, motherwort, and ginseng, among other herbs, on one of the tables in the infirmary. Because of that she completely missed the toddling, gray bird that came through the door toward her until she was greeted by a voice she didn't recognize. She looked up from her work with a soft "Hm?", her lavender and sage eyes landing on the unusual guest. Her eyes widened and then blinked with surprise, taken aback by the large but still clearly young bird that told her that he was here for a "check-out" which she eventually translated to "check-up".

It was rare for her to leave the infirmary for more than just her meals or to sleep—and even then she would at times do either in this place as well—so missing new additions to the pack wasn't new for her, but missing the addition of a bird wasn't something she expected. "Um... Okay, sure," she replied with a bit of uncertainty as she turned to face the fledgling, her usual calm, soft smile lingering on her lips as she moved toward him. She settled on her haunches in front of him and while she scratched her head over the thought of giving a bird a physical she asked, "What's your name?"

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Zephyr had barely crossed through the door and already the environment had seemed to change so drastically. While his sense of smell was weak compared to that of wolves, it was hard to miss the various herb and medicinal-smelling scents that seemed to have been permeating the room for longer than he'd been alive. There were high up tables like the kitchen, but none of the tasty smells that he'd come to associate with them. His face scrunched up in displeasure, but he continued toward the medic wolf regardless.

She did not seem to be expecting him - in fact, she didn't seem to know a bird had taken residence in the castle at all. Zeph deflated slightly in embarrassment as her uncertain tone reached him, but returned her soft smile. "My name is Zephyrus." He answered promptly, blinking up at her as she sat before him. Was this what an examination was? To help out the somewhat confused-looking healer, he offered a bit more. "Artorias says I'm a raptor."

"Zephyr"

Gwynevere gave Zephyrus a small nod as he introduced himself and then smiled and nodded again when he explained that Artorias had declared him a raptor. "Yes, I do believe Artorias is right about that." She was far from an expert in things related to birds so she couldn't specify much more than that other than a guess that he was perhaps some kind of vulture or eagle, but that would only be an educated guess at best. Just as she reached out to lift one of his small, down colored wings with her paw to examine it, Eilwen came down from her perch in the rafters and landed on Gwyn's shoulder, the white raven's inquisitive gaze peering down at the young raptor. "Zephyrus, was it?" Eilwen asked in her typical matter of fact kind of tone and once Gwyn gave her a nod to confirm the raven nodded approvingly and added "Well! About time we got some more avians in the castle! Ezra's bird is so dull and I can only take small doses of Corbin. He's been insufferable since he got those fancy eyes of his."

Gwyn chuckled and went back to what she was doing, holding up Zephyrus' wing and gently folding and unfolding the feathered limb to test the mobility of it. "Be sure to check his talons as well," Eilwen hinted, nudging the side of Gwyn's head with her wing. "We want to make sure they're growing in nice and sharp! A raptor is only as good as their talons." Gwynevere nodded and after checking his other wing she settled down to lay on her stomach, which caused Eilwen to hop down to the floor from her shoulder, and she used this new vantage point to take Zephyrus' feet one at a time and flex his long, clawed toes in her paws. "Everything feel okay? Anything hurting you?" she asked, her swirled lavender and mint gaze glancing up at Zephyrus while she worked.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Gwynevere gave her agreement toward Art's assumption and Zeph simply nodded - well of course Artorias was right, he was always right. Perhaps this medic wolf simply hadn't learned how infallible their Aegis was yet. Her paws moved toward him to begin the examination, but before he could voice his confusion about what was going on there was suddenly another bird present. It would have alarmed him, but so many wolves seemed to have avian companions that Zeph was beginning to expect them now around the castle.

"Zephyrus, yes." He nodded to the bird, noting its odd absence of color but politely holding his beak. He had not yet heard one of the Hallow's members speak unfavorably about each other or their companions, and Zephyrus did not want to become 'insufferable' himself to this stark white bird friend. "Corbin has fancy eyes?" The chick questioned further with a tilt of his head, barely glancing back as Gwyn lifted and maneuvered his wing.

The companion bird voiced his opinion on the examination and Zephyr looked between them with wide and curious eyes. At the mention of his talons his beak tipped back down to regard them, picking one limb up from the floor and examining its sharpness himself before offering it back to the healer. "Nothing hurts." He chirped cheerfully in reply. "Do they look good? Am I a good raptor?" If a raptor was only as good as his talons, Zeph was determined to make sure his were the greatest of all.

"Zephyr"

Eilwen gave a little chuckle and nodded at the young raptor’s question over Corbin’s “fancy” eyes. “He certainly thinks so at least. After the Long Night he developed this gemstone like sparkle to his eyes and can see farther than ever… Pretentious little thing.” Gwynevere chuckled and gave a little shake of her head at her companion while she continued her exam. “Corbin and Eilwen have never liked each other very much,” she told Zephyrus quietly, letting him in on the joke and the drama. “Artorias and I grew up with them around and they’ve always bickered.” Eilwen scoffed, giving an offended little ruffle of her feathers as she added, ”Well if Corbin wasn’t such an uptight know it all then we wouldn’t have this problem!” Gwyn gave Zeph a look that just said “see?” and moved on with her exam with a smirk.

Gwyn was glad to hear that there was no pains or aches to worry about. She had seen a couple little spots that looked like healing scratches when she was shifting his feathers around, but they seemed to be sealing up just fine on their own. When Zephyrus asked if he was a good raptor she couldn’t help but smile. They hadn’t really had any pups or young creatures around the castle since the litters that were born around the same time as her were the last ones to have been in The Hallows since her mother had decided to raise her newest litter in the wilds. She didn’t really know what to expect, but Zeph was really quite adorable. “Of course. You’re a very good raptor. These are some very sharp talons!” she insisted and Eilwen nodded from her perch on Gwyn’s shoulder, confirming the fact. ”The finest raptor I’ve ever seen!” Perhaps Eilwen was hamming it up a bit for the youngling’s sake, but she didn’t see any harm in that!

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

While the atmosphere of the clinical area was less comfortable than he'd expected, Zephyr found his discomfort lessening the longer the chatter went on. He gave the healer an eager grin as she filled him in, glancing back and forth between the bird and its master with fondness. Questions of all sorts swam in the depths of his mind, but one in particular came forth. "What's the Long Night?" He'd heard of night obviously - and it did feel rather long sometimes - but how did this other bird acquire fancy eyes just in the absence of the sun? And more importantly, how could Zephyr?

The compliments brought a happy wiggle to the hatchling's lower half, his tail feathers rustling against each other noisily. "Really? The finest raptor you've ever seen!?" His talons tapped an eager rhythm beneath him, though he managed a brief glance of hesitation toward the albino corvid. Craning his vulture-like neck upwards, he directed a hushed question toward the wolf. "Is Eilwen a raptor too?" It wasn't fair for Zephyr himself to be labeled the finest raptor Gwyn had ever seen, if another fine raptor was currently in the room.

"Zephyr"