Walk | Talk | Think

Summer baked the earth with its sweltering heat, and because being directly beneath the sun's burning rays with a coat that was dark as pitch was almost agonizing, the thin, leggy wolf sought out the shade. Her spindly grey legs moved slowly, sluggishly, and without purpose as they carried her beneath the trees that grew here, her paws almost dragging the ground. With her head low, Callisto's silvery blue eyes were half lidded, a mixture of boredom and lethargy allowing her angular features to fall slack with disinterest. Even her ears had ceased turning atop her head to listen to the quiet noises around her, and more pointedly they were trying to avoid the interruptions posed by her unwanted companion.

"I don't know why you traveled this way," the scrawny black cat remarked, "There's nothing out here." Not for the first time, Callisto felt her fur on the back of her neck threaten to rise, the surging need to chase after the mouthy feline returning with fervor. As if that damned cat knew anything. As if she knew that here was quiet and peace and plants that she had never seen before. They grew sparsely now, but with time the healer woman knew they would eventually bloom in abundance, providing plenty to pick from and make good use when the need for them arose.

But that sort of thing had been above the cat's comprehension when Callisto had tried to tell her the first time, and she was not about to repeat herself. Nor was she going to point out that this particular trip was merely one of needing to keep moving but with a direction that was shaded from the unbearable sun. "If you don't like it here, then leave," the wolf grumbled, her irritation and impatience clear. But she knew the cat would be unperturbed. She had tried too many times already to get the cat to leave, and none of them had done the trick. She was like a weed, suffocating and aggravatingly resilient.

From somewhere behind her the cat's voice piped up on a sigh. "I've got nothing better to do." Right, Callisto mused sourly, nothing to do but bug the hell out of me. That seemed all the feline was good for. But for the moment she fell into silence and black and grey wolf pretended she was not there, continuing to walk about only half paying attention to her surroundings and wondering if she ought to drag any plants back with her before she left to start rebuilding her lost herb stores.

Though Ara would be leaving soon to go south, to search for her parents and her youngest brother, she still felt the need to wander. Perhaps she wanted to ensure she was strong enough to make this journey (though she knew she would have no problems), for she didn't know how far they might have to travel. Or maybe she was just restless, slightly afraid of what she might find when she did find the missing members of her family. Would her parents be doing well still? Or would she find that their health had deteriorated even further? How was Steel doing, taking care of them? The thoughts flooded her mind as her paws carried her away from home. The scent of the young forest was refreshing as trees seemed to sprout to and fro, the land shifting as she moved. The air seemed fresh and clean here, with an air of youthfulness that she found refreshing. The trees, though clearly young, provided adequate shelter from the sweltering summer sun. Though she was used to the heat, having lived on the flat range for most of her childhood, some days still seemed impossibly hot -- especially in the middle of summer. Her jaws unhinged, tongue lolling from her mouth as she panted softly as she journeyed onward. It was surprising when a familiar scent found her nose. How was someone that she knew here? Slowly she would tilt her head to the earth, testing the scent more thoroughly. It took her a long moment to recognize it. It was a girl from her childhood. She remembered her as someone interested in healing, and though they had only met once, she had left an impression on her. Ara wondered if she had grown to be a healer after all. With her nose twitching gently, she trailed after her scent, spotting the woman a good distance away. She was significantly older now, though was familiar nonetheless. "Hello?" she'd call out warily, curious as to why she was here, and surprised she had ran into her without meaning to, and after so long too! "I'm not sure if you remember me," she began a bit hesitantly, her ears twitching, her stance carefully poised as though she might flee if the girl did not want her around -- or didn't remember her at all. "But we met once, when we were much younger. I was collecting lavender." Would the mention of the plant spark her memory? She couldn't help but hope so; she'd felt a sort of connection with her, and though they had just been kids, she hoped the connection might still be there.

Walk | Talk | Think

The cat let the silence be and Callisto hoped it would stay as her lazy paws dragged her well within the shade offered by the young trees. She might still have had a look of utter disinterest on her face but the dark nose at the end of her muzzle twitched occasionally, a subtle indicator that she was still making her own quiet inspection of the territory as she walked. The last time she had been in this area, she was sure it was before the trees had sprouted, and she had no idea what plants might have started to bud around them. She tried to sort through the scents of green, seeking something of significance.

What she found - or rather what found her - was not at all what she had been anticipating to find. She heard the woman's voice, and only because she was really too hot in this weather to care did she not jump. Dulled senses had her ears turning after she had already turned to look at the wolf, her sluggish steps ceasing, and just a little her gazed focused more fixedly when something akin to recognition stirred in her. There was something familiar about the black and tan coloration, the gentle manner the other addressed her with. A lot had happened in recent years to keep those old memories at bay, and for a while Callisto could not place her though she felt strongly that she had seen this wolf before. Her little cat stopped beside her feet to glance upward at her face with a similar disinterested mask as the one Calli had been wearing during their walk, and glanced at the strange wolf a mildly puzzled tilt of her head though otherwise said nothing.

It did indeed take the mention of lavender for everything to settle into place, and she knew now that her gut feeling had been right. They had met before, once, when she had been out hunting some plant and this girl hunting another. It had been Callisto's first introduction to the lavender plant, and she had quickly begun scooping it up along with the few other herbs that she knew about at the time. "I remember that," she stated with a thoughtful nod, "We were both out looking for herbs and you told me about the lavender you were collecting." Naturally the lesson had stuck, even if anything this wolf had said about herself had not. "I don't remember your name," she added, casting one quick glance downward as she spotted the cat move to sit and observe and hoping that she would not be a nuisance. She added, just in case it was necessary, "Mine's Callisto."

Briefly Ara found her eyes straying to the cat that stood at Callisto's side. A friend of sorts? She couldn't help but think of Novel's friend Elohim, who had been scarce for some time, and wondered if these two shared a similar relationship. She wasn't offended by the blank, vaguely disinterested look she was offered -- she remembered the same sort of demeanor from her when they'd met as kids. It was not at all unlike the look that Steel usually wore, she thought to herself, feeling a pang of sadness at the thought. She was grateful when a spark of recognition began to shine in the other girl's blue eyes. Ara would offer a small, encouraging smile to her, nodding in turn. It would've been impossible for her not to remember Callisto, though their meeting had been brief. Faces were not something she forgot easily; she was content that her life had been simple enough that she could recall their meeting with ease. "And you told me about not liking mint," she'd add gently, remembering. The day came back to her slowly, as she examined Callisto quietly.  "Lavender is still my favorite though," she admitted a bit bashfully. Perhaps because it had been one of the first she'd ever really collected, or maybe because it had always helped her father's pain and had helped him sleep.. and the scent was quite pleasant, too. Her head would dip again in a nod as Callisto reminded her of her name.   "I'm Ara," she'd tell her gently. "Weren't you.. in Ludicael then? As a child?" She remembered being told that, and it struck her was quite interesting now. Had the pack been ruled by Jupiter then, the same woman that had enslaved so many wolves here before her death? It was curious, and she tilted her head as she considered how the pieces might connect.

Walk | Talk | Think

The other wolf seemed to remember more than the Ebony healer did herself, though what she said almost drew out a snort of sudden amusement. Yeah, that did sound like something she would have said. Even to the present day, the strong scent of mint had always been a bit overpowering for Callisto's sensitive nose, and when she did have to bother with it she was always careful. Even at a young age she had been blunt with her opinions, at least when the inclination to be struck her. "And I still don't like mint," she added, and quickly logged away the name of this other healer. Ara. Nope, nowhere in her memory of their meeting. But did it really surprise her?

Her black cat was quiet beside her though it was obvious she was listening rather intently to the conversation. Callisto wondered if it had anything to do with the fact it was possibly the first conversation she had seen her make with a wolf that was not her pack leader and therefore required to speak with her on that account. But, as always seemed to happen, her interest waned, and Callisto felt relieved when the little feline lifted a paw to absently clean at it, for the time being possessing no need to interrupt.

She drew her silvery blue gaze up from the cat and back across at Ara as she questioned her living status when they had met the first time, but this Callisto recalled a little more readily. "Yeah," she answered simply, "my parents had moved us there, mostly my mom's doing. We stayed there for a little while before moving north again." It was all sort of confusing to think about, how much her family had moved within that first year, how much had changed between her relationship with her siblings, her mother, her father, in those first few months. If not for Lel, her life would have been so much steadier and comfortable now in the present. "I'm in Ebony now," she added, "one of their healers."

Perhaps it was because her life had been so simple that she remembered Callisto so easily. Ara couldn't help but think fondly upon those days, when life had been so much easier -- she missed when she'd romped freely amongst her siblings in Seracia, collecting herbs for her parents, roaming with Faolan and Jendai and Mercury.. And yet everything had changed, even though she remembered those days with alarming clarity. Those times would never return, even if all they reunited, and even when she found her parents again. Still she thought of her meeting with Callisto fondly, for she was one of the few wolves she'd met that had been interested in healing, even if they'd just been children back then. A gentle smile played on her lips as Callisto confirmed she hadn't taken a liking to mind even now, her tail giving a gentle but hesitant wag. She listened intently as she explained she'd lived there. "Did you live in the mangrove?" she'd probe gently, content to push the topic a bit more when she realized her inquiry hadn't been taken badly. "I live there now," Ara would add on absently. "The pack was called Ludicael before, but it's Fiori now. The old leader was... killed." The topic of death was unpleasant for her to speak of, though she hadn't known Jupiter at all, and didn't really care for her either given the fact that she'd taken her loved ones prisoner. "I know of Ebony too," she'd comment with another shy smile. "I was allowed there twice, when I was a bit younger, to collect some herbs. A man named... Vaughn let me in, if I remember correctly. And I met a woman named Katja too, the second time." The acknowledgement that she was indeed a healer forced Ara's tail to wag again in joy. "I am glad you continued to learn," she'd say, her voice soft but genuine, and brimming with the most subtle, subdued excitement. "It's.. nice to meet someone like me."