Rawr! Set your defenses! Attack like you mean it! Squawk, squawk, squawk. Integra had had enough of Dægmar and more than enough of fight training. Thankfully, with her own pups to raise Dægmar's attention had finally turned away from the Armada pups and to her own spawn. That gave Integra some of the freedom she'd been craving to take on her own studies in healing which, without a teacher, had been fruitless. Living in a pack of meat heads made it difficult to find instruction and she was tired of waiting. Time for her to do something for herself for a change. Integra was going to find a tutor. The young woman strode right out of the packlands and into the wilds, trusting fate and the spirits of her parents to guide her. She was certain they were watching her right now, applauding her pursuing her desires against all odds. For a long while she'd clung to her siblings but in some ways it felt good to be on her own. She felt so much pressure. By virtue of being born first it was like she was expected to look after and raise her siblings but that wasn't fair at all! Besides… she'd already failed at that. She couldn't even lead them into the den when the bear attacked. Some surrogate mother! Integra wandered in no particular direction until she came across a border of an unknown Eastern pack and a beautiful, if buggy, lake. Hmmm…. there were some interesting plants here. Maybe this pack had a healer? Integra bit her lip as she debated howling. What if it was a mean pack? What if they tried to hurt her? The girl looked around, examining the terra and constructing an escape plan before she tipped back her head and howled. "Speech"

A youthful voice called from the border, and Kassander - who had been gathering herbs and so had a mouth full of the fragrant things - tilted his head to the side in curiosity. A problem, since his mouth was full and he couldn't close it so he'd begun to drool slightly, and the liquid leaked from the side of his mouth down his neck when he tilted his head. Ick.

Setting off for the border of the lake region, he stopped and stashed the plants to leave him mouth free before continuing again the short distance. Interesting, the young girl who stood at the border was alone which, for a pup that looked around six months old despite her size, was a bit unusual. Kassander was cautious, but friendly as he approached her. She looked... oddly familiar, though he couldn't fathom having seen her before since he really didn't know any pups. There was, however, just something indefinably familiar about both her appearance and her scent, and he studied her with interest. "Hello. I'm Kassander. Can I help you?"

Save your tears for the day when the pain is far behind Integra could feel the trepidation building inside her, swirling in her gut like boiling bile. This was stupid. What the hell was she thinking? She was going to killed or worse for being this gutsy… maybe… maybe she should just turn around and run home before someone showed up. No, no she couldn't do that! She had to learn to heal so that she could protect her siblings or at least help them when they got hurt. Their sickly sister was looking worse every day… she wanted desperately to find a way to save the other pup. This was her only chance. Integra mentally psyched herself up. She was six months after all, that wasn't a terrible size and she was quite a large wolf in her own right. She trained with Dægmar and while she wasn't fully confident in her ability to fight she had paid attention and studied hard, if only for those fleeting words of praise and acknowledgement. Movement. Integra's gaze focused on the large approaching male and she swallowed sharply. Well… here we go. He approached cautiously and didn't seem terribly mean. "I'm Kassander. Can I help you?" "I'm…" her voice hitched. Shit, shit, way to make yourself look like an idiot. Integra took a deep breath, puffed out her chest and widened her stance just slightly. She was the daughter of Drashiel Armada and Roman Armada. She was royalty dammit! "I am Integra Armada… and I want to be a healer but my pack is all warriors and my sister is sick and I… I just… I'm looking for someone to train me. I don't have much to give. I can hunt decently and fight ok…. please, do you have someone who can help me?"

She was adorable.

Had he been so earnest and eager when he'd first gone to Elsa for training? Probably. She was awfully young to be all alone on a strange pack's border, too, which was probably why she looked so nervous. Her name pricked up his ears in surprise.

"Armada?" he repeated gently. "Are you by chance related to Drashiel Armada?" He kept meaning to go find Drashiel - what with his pack having dissolved for whatever reason, he was a hard man to find and... if Kassander admitted it to himself... he really wanted to see him again.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "It happens I am actually a healer myself." He hesitated a moment, but the sudden realization that the scent she bore was Imperium - Valentine's pack - and the fact that she'd come a long, long way in search of training, decided him. "If you really do want training... I'd be willing to train you. If you want." The idea of teaching someone what he knew was... frankly, exhilarating. To pass on what he knew the way Elsa had passed her knowledge to him, to help someone grow and blossom into a healer...

Integra could barely breathe as she waited for a reply.  Surely he wouldn't turn her away?  Her jaw dropped slightly as the male mentioned her father.  He knew her daddy?  She felt excitement bubble up in her gut, if Kassander knew her daddy then there was no way he could tell her no!  She nodded eagerly.  "Yea, he's my daddy!  But… well, he had to go help my momma rule a kingdom in the sky so we have to look after ourselves and make him proud so some day we can take over for them."   Oh, what luck!  This male was also a healer!  Her eyes tipped to the sky for a moment as she grinned warmly.  Thanks dad!  Thanks mom!  They were looking out for her right this minute, she was sure of it and it only strengthen her conviction that this man had to teach her what he knew.  And he agreed! Integra yipped in excitement, tail wagging.  "Hooray!  Thank you so much, Kassander!  What should we do first? I'm ready for my first lesson." "Speech"

Kassander's ears pricked up in surprise and interest when she said she was Drashiel's daughter, but almost immediately flopped down to the sides in horror as he realized what the only thing "rule a kingdom in the sky so we have to look after ourselves" could mean. He couldn't, for the moment, comprehend what she went on to say, the excitement of the moment drained from him. "Integra," he said gently, but insistently. He had to know. "Your father... and your mother, are they... dead?" He tried to keep his voice at an even keel, but it threatened to waver until he forced himself to straighten, to sit tall and project the aura of competence Drashiel had held and had taught him to hold in those brief moments Kass had actually spent with him. How odd to think that the wolf he had looked up to most he had only known for such a short time, and that he'd died so young. How? And why? But what a turn of fate, that he would have the daughter of the wolf who'd had the greatest influence on him here before him, looking eagerly for instruction from him. Would he make as big an impact on her life as her father had on his?

He rallied, and his voice was stronger as he spoke on what their lesson would be. "I could teach you to begin to recognize certain of the basic herbs and their uses."