Delphi supposed she was getting better at this healing stuff. Well, she wouldn't consider it stuff, more like a business. Something for her to actually be good at. Having small paws and a brilliant mind made the learning and the doing come easy. While she didn't have fingers per se, she was able to manage mixing and squishing and stripping, and palpating objects with more ease than others with rather large paws. In a way, Delphi took pride in the fact that she was excelling in something other than fighting or hunting. At one time, she thought she had wanted to be a great hunter like her mother, but chasing down animals was either too difficult (for multiple reasons) or she simply wasn't strong enough to craft traps capable of taking animals down. Which is probably why she was enjoying fighting more. Fighting, while she was actually terrible at it, was fun and she had a higher chance of winning.

Healing though? Oh, she was great at it. Making bandages, creating salves and teas, and exploring for different herbs around Heidinn's lands. Which is exactly what she was doing on that wintry day. And wintry it fucking was. Snow drove down in sheets from the dark sky as a strong wind came billowing in from the east. Honestly, she could barely see five feet in front of her, but she was trying her best. Each tiny paw picked up to her chest and belly before plummeting back down into the deep snow until her chin was resting along the surface of it. Every inch of her was shivering as she made her way further north. Didn't quite make sense since north meant colder temperatures, but she was going off of a tip from some birds that had the most delicious-smelling mint. They'd mentioned finding it close to the borders of the packs, but couldn't quite tell her which packs. Stupid birds.

The girl would still try though because the mint they had in the stores was getting stale and didn't always taste quite right. It would be better if she could find some fresh stuff then maybe Strai would be impressed with her tea! Hope twinkled in her frost-encircled eyes as she continued to try and bunny hop her way through the snow drifts. What little light she followed was growing dim fast until she almost couldn't see right in front of her face. Swear words, in both the common tongue and Swedish, fell from her lips as she paused and squinted, trying her best to get a good look around. From what she could tell, she was almost to Elysium lands, the lake shouldn't have been that far off...

Tilting her nose upward, Delphi tried to scent the gusts of wind that whipped by her. A myriad of wet wolf, plants, and other animals made everything so confusing, but if Delphi was anything, she was persistent. Pushing forward toward what she believed to be a small outcropping of trees, she let out a sigh of relief when her paws touched pine needles and dirt. Giving her coat a shake, she peers into the darkness, her nose twitching when she finally gets the scent of fresh mint. Yes! A hoarse whisper before she tumbles forward, paws nearly frozen, as she lurches toward the large bush of wintergreen mint. There was so much of it that she was surprised she hadn't seen it before! Grabbing as much as she could, Delphi stuffs her worn satchel full.

TLDR: Delphi travels to the northernmost point of the Stone Steppe to gather Mint when...

Her muscles begin to warm as she hurries to fill her bag full. Night was upon her sooner than she had realized. Had it really taken her this long to venture toward the outskirts of the steppe? Stripping a few prickly leaves from the branch, Delphi pauses to take a sample of it. As soon as the greenery touches her tongue, her mouth is alight with a fuzzy electricity that is almost... spicy in nature. Mint wasn't supposed to be spicy, was it? Or was it that cold and refreshing after growing in such a frigid climate? Unsure of how the plant could have such properties, the girl knew she had to take as much as she could. There was no leaving such a good tasting mint behind!! Then she got the brilliant idea that maybe she should try to grow the plant up on the mountain! Completely distracted by her endeavors to now dig up some of the mint plant's roots, she didn't hear the shuffle of someone approaching her from behind.

As her worn satchel began to fill to the brim, Delphi settled on it being enough. Leaning back and letting out a few pants after such tiring work, she smiled to herself. Proud that she had trekked all this way to gather something she heard of on a mere rumor! Taking another leaf out to give it a good chew while she finished cleaning up the area, the stranger behind her finished their approach. Seconds stretched into minutes as the young girl stood and began to turn. At the last moment, the much larger stranger pounced. Delphi's startled screech echoed into the night air as she struggled to fight back. Her saber fangs pierced thick fur and flesh as her small paws smacked and kicked and tried to escape their embrace.

The growing pup caught wind of Delphis scent and decided to plot a little ambush. He made a wide arch around the place he estimated her to be. Working his way through the snow laden foliage as he sought the best ambush spot. It took him a little time to find her with his eyes, but when he did, his head shot up.


He stared in astonishment as another wolf finished their approach from behind. He didn't recognise the wolf, but then he didn't know many from the pack. His own choice. He couldn't catch their scent from here, but something looked off. It didn't look like mere play. "Delp-!" He started to say when the stranger attacked.


He wasted no time charging through the snow. He was still a pup, gangly and small. But that didn't stop him from attacking Delphis enemy. He launched himself at one of their forpaws, digging in with his claws as he fought to loosen their grip on Delphi.

Shortly after Strai, Bylgja arrived. This wolf, grown, furious, lunged towards the wolf accosting Delphi, and unlike the gangly pups, she had more weight. A ferocious scream tore from her as she sought the stranger's hind leg with her teeth; she yanked hard on the joint once she caught it, and she dragged the wolf backwards, toppling them into the snow. There came a crack-- a horrible breaking bone sound as Bylgja jerked her head from one side to the other. The wounded wolf screamed. They turned, trying to wriggle free of Delphi and Strai to bite at her. Bylgja met their fangs with her own; the wolf's broken limb dragged uselessly as they struggled. What had been a kidnapping attempt had now become a desperate struggle to survive. "Bylgja"

Úlfr patrolled his usual route around the Maw. As usual his ravens accompanied him, bickering and chattering as they swooped and dived. He was enjoy the cool bite of the air, the way it stung when he breathed in. There was no doubt he was alive, that his body was feeling. He felt less formless, less aimless. A cry rang out, echoing through the mountains and bringing him to a sudden stop as he realized it was Delphi. Shit. What now? "Galinn, Glámr! Find her!" The birds croaked back and took off, diving down the mountain side with their agile wings as Úlfr scrambled after.

The moment the ravens arrived they dove into action, talons out, slashing at the face and eyes of the enemy before scattering back into the sky to avoid the retaliating jaws. Úlfr immediately locked eyes on the target, realizing he was approaching the wolf from behind. He saw a pack mate had hold of the wolves hind leg and was busy rendering it useless. The wolf twisted around to attack her and Úlfr's pale form emerged violently from the snowy haze as his jaws latched onto the wolf's face. His upper fangs sank into the enemy's left eye, piercing through into the socket while his lower fangs hooked under the left corner of the enemy's jaws. Úlfr bit down as hard as he could as the enemy screamed and thrashed. His forelegs wrapped around the base of the intruder's neck as he did his best to stabilize himself. He would not release this victim so easily.

Just when Delphi thought she would be taken, she heard a familiar voice call out. Her eyes widened, watering as they did, as she searched through the darkness. There. Distracted, the stranger's teeth grab ahold of her scruff. They are silent in their movements as they try to carry Delphi away. What was she to do? Even as Strai closed in, he was too young, too small yet. She screams again, hoping someone will come quickly. Twisting back and forth, she is too small and Strai's bites to the wolf's forepaw do little in way of making them relent.

"Just get out of here, Strai!" Delphi screeches before twisting herself around to see Bylgja roll up on them. Truthfully, the sight of the Viking woman screaming bloody murder and attaching herself to the stranger's hindleg was more terrifying than the wrongdoer who had ahold of her. Thanking the gods, Delphi feels a renewed sense of hope. Snapping and writhing around, the attacker released her when the echoing ring of a bone breaking hit their ears. Plopping down onto the ground, she lets out an 'oof' noise as she sinks into the snow. Her ribs hurt. Her whole body hurts.

As she tries to collect herself, she hears the swoop of Ulfr's birds diving for the attacker's face. Seconds later, Ulfr is upon the wolf. Delphi's heart races as she rolls onto her side, resting her cheek in the cold snow. Trying to focus on slowing her breathing, she keeps her eyes closed. Bylgja and Ulfr would easily be able to take the perpetrator down or he would soon go running - or at least trying to run. "Strai," her voice is weak as she lifts a paw. Why did bad things always happen to her?

"Fucking. Dreaming." He snarled at Delphi through mouthfuls of fur.  Did she honestly think he'd leave her to get taken? They were in this together, whatever that entailed. When Bylgja appeared, he knew everything would be okay. "Kill them!" He begged his foster mom. Delphi didn't need more demons in her head!


When he saw Delphi had been dropped, he released his own grip on the kidnapper. Leaving them to the adult wolves, as he rushed to Delphis side. He scooped her up into his forepaws, holding the smaller wolf against his chest. He could feel his heart hammering through his fur. "I'm here. I'm here." He told her, his voice gravelly and growly. "No one's getting to you."

Bylgja doesn't need to be begged more than once. As she's joined by a man she hasn't met yet, her head shakes from one side to the next. There's a broken leg, and the leg isn't going to do her any good now-- so she adjusts, moving up the stranger's body while Úlfr held their head in place. She's quick at it-- efficient in a brutal way as she grabs at her axe and swings the axe up, lodging it neatly between Úlfr's paws, sinking the head of the axe into the stranger's neck. The maneuver had taken a moment to execute; she'd needed to adjust her stance to permit the proper angle, but she did it. There was little left to do, afterwards-- the stranger gurgled and gasped. Bylgja reached for the axe, wrenching it from the stranger's body, watching blood pulse from the shorn throat. Úlfr was regarded with a grateful look. Bylgja dipped her head -- she could have done this alone, but this was much easier. "Thank you," she said, ignoring the strange wolf now, who went limp in Úlfr's grasp. Bylgja wiped her blade clean on the snow and tucked it back away, turning her head towards Delphi and Strai. "It's done." She didn't know what these wolves did with their dead. Back where she came from, the dead were harvested for parts-- broken down so that they would not be transformed by the foul creatures that stalked the land. But this place? Different. Very different. Bylgja wanted to harvest this stranger, sure, but she wanted to gauge the others, first. If all else failed, she'd break the body down in private and take what she wanted. "I will get rid of... this." A disdainful kick to the corpse. "Bylgja"

Úlfr held the attacker close in a deadly embrace, his fangs digging deeper, immobilizing the other's jaws with his own. From the corner of his eyes he saw his packmate grab her axe. Using his large form he adjusted position just slightly to give her better access to their enemy's throat. With a swing and burst of blood the deed was done and the intruder crumpled in a gurgling heap. Úlfr carefully released his jaws, licking the blood off his teeth as he stepped back and dipped his head to the woman. "It was my pleasure. My name is Úlfr."

He moved toward where the pups laid in the snow. "Are you two alright?" His ravens knew first aid and if needed he could race them to a healer. He looked over to the viking woman and nodded. "Aye, do what you will with the wretch." While he typically left such as that to the vultures there were those that would take trophies and it wasn't unheard of to place the head of an enemy on pike on pack border's to warn others. "Though, it might be worth bringing the head back to Vidarr."