Cael Amestades

"Cael! Cael! Look over here!" The ivory brute turned his gaze toward his little companion, smiling softly as she spotted her hopping up and down excitedly. Having Elva around was like having a hyper active pup bouncing around him all the time. She was young, so he didn't hold it against the little arctic fox, but it did grow a bit tiring at times. She really only wanted to help though and he knew that. He turned and padded over to where his little friend was standing, seeing the small patch of sage that the fox had found. He nodded and gave her an approving smile. "Good job, Elva," he said as he carefully snipped the sage leaves from their roots with his teeth. It was a skimpy bundle of herbs at best, but this deep into winter it was more than he could ask for. With the war on the horizon, they needed every herb they could get their paws on. It had gotten to the point where Cael was traveling all over Alacritis to find warmer areas where some herbs might survive the cold. Never so far that he wouldn't be able to run back to Valhalla should he be needed within a day, but still farther from Imena than he wished to be. Thought Speech Others Companion

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She was away from home again, as was becoming her custom. Any minute she spent there was always spoiled by the presence of her brother clinging to her side and trying to get under her skin, always ready with a remark to bother her and always testing those limits to see when she might snap. As much as she tried not to let on that it bothered her, it truly did. All she longed for was some quiet time, a chance to enjoy things by herself, but he was always there, pestering, bothering, being an absolute nuisance.

It only made sense that she should be away as much as she was. With a wide open world out there for her to explore, there were fewer places for Severus to find her, and plenty more places for her to hide. So far she had only remained within the east, relatively close to home but typically in less densely populated and visited locales. So long as she could stay clear of others - and keep herself hidden from her brother along the way - she hardly cared where it was that she ended up.

Aimless wandering had brought her toward what appeared to be a hot springs. The wells of warm water seemed strange to the girl as she stared at them from afar, watching as the misty rise of heat swayed above and over the waters into the wintry air. How was it that they remained so warm when everywhere around them there was snow? It was puzzling enough to draw her closer, though the sound of an eager voice stilled her steps the instant that she heard them. Though it was thankfully not the voice of her brother, Callisto was still wary. Not typically one for conversation, she tended to keep to herself and avoid others if at all possible, a terrible habit that had so far earned her no new friends outside of the family. But curious, particularly if either of the voices that she heard - because there were two now - were from others who knew anything about the springs she had a few questions before she would depart.

What she found was not simply another pair of wolves. There was one wolf, yes, a taller, paler male, but his companion was nothing more than a young white fox, jovial and full of excitement. The overall cheeriness that radiated from the pair was rather off putting for her, at least until she noted what it was the male was doing. Standing before a small plant, he carefully picked at the leaves, somehow severing them from the stem and taking them whole. What plant was that? And why did he gather its leaves? "What are you doing?" she asked, the silvery blue eyes in her blank expression staring purposefully at the plant and back at him as her petite grey legs carried her small pup body closer. It did not occur to her that she was acting out of character, seeking conversation when otherwise she would have run from it. All she could think about was why the male and his little fox friend had taken an interest in that one plant.

Cael's pale ears flicked at the sudden addition of a new voice to the air. He lifted his head from his task, turning to look at the pup as she approached them, questioning what they were doing. He smiled, replying, "I am collecting these sage leaves. It is very helpful for healing several different ailments." He bent down once more to carefully snip away the last of the leaves, making a neat pile of them. As he did this, Elva interjected, "Yeah! And I helped find it!" Her little chest puffed out with pride and Cael teasingly rolled his eyes. "Yes, Elva. You found it. Why don't you run along and find something else?" With that the little, white fox darted off, eager as always to help. Cael sighed and gave the pup a smile. "She's a handful sometimes. What are you doing out here on your own, little one? Where is your family?" His two-toned gaze searched the area around them, wondering if there was more pups or her mother around. It seemed strange to him that a young wolf like her would be wandering in the wilderness on her own. Speech Thought Companion Others

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She continued to walk purposefully toward the larger white wolf and his little fox companion, far too interested in their task to give concern for herself and that approaching a stranger could have easily been a horrendous idea. But she had unknowingly chosen her target well. There was no mischief to his smile when he turned his head and caught sight of her, mismatched eyes bright though curious over the wandering youngster. Callisto noticed none of it, neither caring what he thought of her nor wanting his concern. All she wanted was answers.

And she did receive them. He kindly informed her that he was collecting leaves from a sage plant, proclaiming that they were helpful to have in order to treat certain ailments. Unfamiliar with the art of healing, the grey and black pup did not immediately understand what he meant when the stranger spoke of ailments or how the plants would have any impact, though she did slow to a stop near them as the fox piped up with her contribution while the wolf finished picking off the leaves.

She was promptly instructed to wander off in search of more plants, which left Callisto alone with the male. Her silvery blue eyes studied him intently as he answered in jest, unsmiling in her seriousness and answering his inquiry in kind. "At home. I wanted to get away from them." No tiptoeing around the subject, the girl told it like it was, and quickly added before the subject could completely be turned, "What does it do?" with a gesture at the pile of carefully picked leaves beside him.

The healer's brows raised with surprise at the bluntness of the pup's answer. It seemed like pups were growing up so fast these days, separating themselves from their families or, worse, separated from them and forced to raise themselves. He hoped that whenever he and Imena were able to start their family that their pups would be as close knit as he and his siblings were. The pup's question pulled his attention back to her and he followed her gaze down to the pile of sage leaves beside him. "They can be chewed into a paste and put on cuts and bug bites, eaten to boost a wolf's immune system or help with an upset stomach, or even let it soak in water and it can help with sore throats." He looked back to the pup, a little surprised that she was interested in his herbs. She seemed to be full of surprises. "What is your name?" he asked just as Elva came trotting back with a mouth full of mint leaves. Cale smiled at the fox and motioned with a forepaw for Elva to add the leaves to the pile. Speech Thought Companion Others

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Boldly, without invitation, Callisto began to step closer toward the pile of sage leaves at a slow pace again, letting her nose lead her along. Yes, this scent...it was somewhat familiar. She was sure somewhere in her memory she had run across something like it, if not this particular plant exactly before. And to think all she had known at the time was that it had a peculiar smell, nothing more. What other sorts of plants had she passed by without realizing their worth, their value, in the eyes of someone who knew how to use them? In that moment, she felt her curiosity growing in its intensity, causing her to peer around her at the other plants beside the hot springs as if seeing them for the first time. She was going to have to be more conscious of what she passed by.

He questioned her name and answering somewhat distractedly, the pup responded, "Callisto," and nothing more. Upon hearing the small fox returning, her mouth full of new leaves, Cael directed her to set them with the others. Callisto watched eagerly as they were set down, her nose twitching as she continued to sniff the air and the plants to determine their individual scents. This one certainly had a different smell than the first, strange and not altogether appealing to the picky young pup. Her nose wrinkled slightly against the strength of it before she turned her attention back to Cael with a direct look. There was a moment of pause before she asked, "What's your name?" It was not often a question that she posed - rarely did she find others that she cared to know longer than it took to leave their company. But here was someone with valuable knowledge, a skill set that she was curious to learn more about, and she was eager to make his acquaintance more fully to hopefully learn more from him.

Infinitely curious, straight to the point, and very grown up for her age. Very interesting traits for a pup. "Callisto." Her name, nothing more, nothing less. She had answered his question, but he was taken aback a bit by her personality. He was used to hyper pups, pups filled with attitude, the sweet, curious kind... put never wise beyond their age like Callisto seemed to be. He waited while the pup examined the mint leaves carefully, smirking a little as her nose wrinkled at the strong scent it gave off. Suddenly she looked up at him seriously and his gold and sapphire eyes blinked at her in surprise. She was quiet for a moment before asking for his name in return. Oh, was that all? He gave her a relaxed smile and replied, "My name is Cael and that is Elva." He motioned to the little fox and Elva dipped her head in greeting before running off into the trees once more, most likely to look for more herbs to take back home with them. Speech Thought Companion Others

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His answer came accompanied with a smile and Callisto's pale, silvery blue eyes traveled from his kind face down to that of the eager little fox who stood just beside him though she did not remain there long. No sooner had she made her bow she was gone, zipping off into the woods and leaving the strangely stoic pup to stare blankly in her wake. Such energy. She was far more accustomed to the quiet guardian-like ways of her mother's companion; this was something entirely new to her, as was the topic of herbs that had drawn her into the wolf's company.

And of course her attention could not stray from the pile of leaves for very long. She stared at it curiously again and then back up at Cael, another question sparking within her eyes. "Are those for healing too?" she asked of the newly placed mint leaves, not daring to step closer and indicate with a nudge of her nose because of the potent smell they held and her apparent sensitivity to it. Callisto only assumed he would know to what she referred. There were so many more things on her mind already - what other sorts of plants were a part of this healing that he had mentioned, which were to be avoided, what were all their uses, was it a difficult profession to get into - but she refrained from asking more, choosing instead to take things one piece at a time. And for right now, merely getting a name along with the first herb she had been introduced to would be good enough.