The Valley was the perfect idea of serenity and abundance. Prey was everywhere, there were birds chirping happily, and the sun made the blades of grass gleam as they swayed. Anyone looking at the lovely place Nature had made, they wouldn't think anything could disturb the peace and bright light that resided there. Oh, how that was proved wrong. Prowling in the grass near the farthest corner from Valhalla was a wolf. Golden fur that was brushed by the breeze and eyes that shined like green pools scanned the vast amount of the valley near her. It seemed to stretch for miles, with hardly any other signs of life aside from the prey. This was in her favor, and with a smirk she made to herself, the fae began to set out. She left the shade and safety of the trees, silently regretting leaving the dark and cool floor of the forest behind. It was only temporary, but she still didn't like it. The hunger in her stomach propelled her to search for the food that she was craving. She stalked across the valley, leaving a winding trail as she walked through the grass with ease. After a couple of minutes, Maija got closer to the ground and silently watched. A few yards away was a family of deer. Why they were grazing so far away from the trees was beyond Maija. She assumed it was because of the bountiful amount of grass that spread far as the eye could see. With that assumption made, she then continued to focus on the task at hand. Body crunched even lower as her silent paws carried her downwind to the pair of grown deer. Tail twitched behind her once, keeping her balance steady as she got closer. Ears pinned to the base of her skull, then she was off. Her tactic for spooking the deer worked. They chose different directions to run, the fawns racing after their mother. The buck stayed behind, horns lowered and rearing to fight Maija's oncoming form. She dodged him and a snarl escaped her curled lips as she increased her speed. Back legs hit overdrive and sent dirt flying as she was now chasing the doe and her children, along with being chased by the protective father. Her amble form looked smooth with her long strides, legs rising and falling to hit the ground with light treks. A golden bullet across the valley, she got closer and closer to the fawn that was slowing. A look of triumph flashed in her eyes as she opened her jaws to clamp upon the fleshy hindquarter. Her bite to the fawn was met with one from the father himself. His strong teeth met her own left hind flank, in an attempt to distract her from her catch. Maija's grip tightened on the struggling fawn, bleeps from its small frame making his father work even harder to bring the golden wolf down. She gruffly kicked back against the buck, her hind paw meeting the crown of his head. That small push was what she needed to conquer her lunch. Maija's body went up and over the fawn, giving her the opportunity to clamp down on the fawn's throat. Teeth met the windpipe and the oxygen was cut from the fawn's body. As he went limp in her jaws, Maija regained her footing and raced away from the buck. She did her own forms of zigzags to flee faster as she heard hooves beating against the ground behind her. The chase soon ended as Maija saw a nearby tree with low hanging branches. Like a cat, she leaped to the first one, climbing closer to the trunk to avoid the deer's leering antlers. Lucky for her, the buck's headset wasn't as tall as an elder's was, so she simply glared into his gaze with a look that said, "Don't worry. I'll kill you too, someday." He raced away from the tree to find his small family, probably intending to be extra careful from then on. Maija snorted through her nose and quietly descended from the tree. A pain shot up from the bite on her left hind flank as she landed on the soft grass. She briefly ignored it as she padded to a more secluded part of the valley. Gracefully, she lowered her kill to the ground and then took a glance at the damage. Blood seeped through her fur, leaving trails of bright red rivers that became dark from the exposure to the air. The bite wasn't deep enough to cause muscle or nerve damage, but it was enough to smart and make a usual cold woman wince. Sending up a trail of curses in Romanian to the sky above her, Maija sighed and looked away. Her gaze searched for a body of water, something to help her ease the pain that was settling in from the bite. A whimper - a sound that never came from the woman - escaped her lips as she silently lowered her whole body to the ground next to her catch. The damage that had been done was minimal, but it still made Maija temporarily lose her appetite. The question in her mind was, 'How am I going to get unstuck from this?' Although she was usually confident in her abilities as a hunter, the healing part wasn't her favorite outlook on a wound. speech here

Cael Amestades

So close, yet so far. Cael and his brothers were still on the hunt for their sister, Claire. He could feel deep in his heart that she was close by, but they had yet to lay eyes on her. He sighed and sat back on his haunches under one of the many trees that lined the huge, grassy field, his two-toned gold and sapphire gaze fixed on his forepaws. The breeze tugged at his thick coat, bringing the many scents of the nature around him to his nose. He could smell the delicate scents of the herbs and flowers, slowly naming off each one. Lavender... Tansy... Mint... Sage... The field that laid before him was clearly vibrant with life, as was the woods he was currently resting in. There were all sorts of animals around and the scents of the plants around him were too numerous for him to even name. This place made the druid content. Being so close to nature was where the ivory wolf felt most at home. Suddenly the pounding of hooves in the distance broke the silence of the day, the snarling of a wolf soon following. "Someone out for a hunt, perhaps?" He had spotted the family of deer earlier so it didn't surprise the druid one bit. He pulled his thin frame up to his paws and padded over to the edge of the tree line and watched as a buck went stampeding toward the tree line. He saw a flash of fur along the top of the thick grass and realized that the deer was chasing after whoever is was that had attacked his family. The pair disappeared into the trees and then there was silence. After several moments the buck came trotting back out, heading back to where the doe and the remaining fawn remained. Cael didn't see any blood on the male's antlers, so he guessed that the wolf had escaped the worst of the damage, but the healer in him still wanted to go see if the hunter had been injured and see if his help might be needed. Cael trotted off in the direction that he had seen the wolf disappear into. Along the way he took a slight detour to pick a good bunch of sage leaves, mint, and lavender, thinking that there was a good chance he was going to need them with how that deer was going after the hunter. He gave a silent thank you to the earth before taking off again. With a mouth full of fragrant herbs, he hurried on, going on the search of the mystery wolf. The sound of a whimper caught his attention, his ears perking up as it reached him. He hurried his pace a little and soon enough a golden-hued fea came into his view. The blood on her hind leg told him that his hunch had been correct. He hurried over to her and set his herbs on the ground and dipped his head to her. "Hello, miss, my name is Cael. I noticed the deer and I thought you might need some assistance," he said in his Irish accented voice. "I'm a healer. Would you like for me to take care of that for you?" Thought Speech Others Companion

Maija was still mulling over the pain from the bite when Cael made his rounds. She was getting aggravated, thinking of the hunt she had just carried off by herself and almost to the point of being scathed by the buck's horns. If she hadn't moved like she had, then her guts would probably be laying across the grass at that moment. She shook her majestic head at the thought and snorted. The horns would have probably punctured the muscle at best, but only strike her internal organs if she had just laid there and taken it. Maija never laid down for anyone, not even Dragomir. That thought was a lie in itself. Dragomir, yes; Rotterdam, hell no. It was when she was thinking of and despising her husband's alter ego that Cael approached her. Eyes swiftly shot up to the white stranger, taking in his eyes before she gave a snarl and a snap with curled lips. Her ears flattened, the leaf green opts narrowed, and she rose on all fours, intending to defend her food and herself. Cowering close to the ground, she slowly backed up on bent legs, preparing to either fight or run. All intentions on her part were then pushed aside when she stepped on her left paw, putting weight on it and the nip that pierced her flank. A fresh wave of pain shot up her leg and made the proud lady falter in her defenses. She looked down to her hind leg, keeping it raised so it wouldn't touch the ground. Maija tested it, placing it on the soft soil and then adding some of her weight -- the result was the same pain that she already despised. Failure for dealing with it like a woman made Maija's heart harden as a result, but then she ran the words of the stranger in her mind. '"I'm a healer. Would you like for me to take care of that for you?"' Slowly, she raised her head and looked up to the male, standing where she had left him. He didn't look like someone who would be out to hurt her. The way he held himself and the plants that were beside him were two points of judgment that proved Rotterdam wouldn't have had any involvement with him being there. After all, the large brute could find her if he really wanted to. In the end of that short span of time, Maija decided that she could use help for her small - and annoying - wound. The golden-furred dame padded back towards Cael, eyes remaining ice cold and glassy. She held that unreadable stare with him until she reclaimed her previous spot of ground. Maija took her time lowering herself to the ground, watching him until she was on her right side and was able to let him see her left leg. The bite was revealed as she flicked her tail away from it, having her tassel rest on the ground behind her. She allowed a bit of wariness show in her leaf green eyes as her front limbs remained bent to keep her upper body from laying down. If there was any funny business, then she would be able to quickly respond. Silently, she wondered if it was a good idea to let him try and treat her bite, but that small good in her only Dragomir had ever seen told her to give the stranger a chance. For now, Maija only watched. Words of gratitude - oh Lord - would be given if everything worked out for her. speech here

Cael Amestades

Cael's ears flattened to his skull and he took a step back from the fea as she snapped at him, backing away from him with a snarl. He was taken aback by her reaction, never having come across a wolf that was so hostile. Even still, she was injured and he had the skills to take care of her so he held his ground. His gold and sapphire gaze watched her warily, seeing how much her leg pained her when she put weight on it. He waited quietly while she seemed to process her situation and finally return to her former spot and sink to the ground, leaving the wound where he had easy access to it. He gave her a silent nod, acknowledging her accepting his help, and bent to snatch up his herbs once again to walk over and take his place next to her. He noticed that she had positioned herself to run if needed and wondered what had happened to the fea that would make her so untrusting of others. He took a closer look at the wound, seeing that it was most certainly a bite and not a stab from the deer's antlers. He definitely needed to get something on it before infection set in. "This will probably hurt," he warned her before he set to work cleaning the wound. He ran his tongue gently over the wound, lapping away the excess blood. The metallic tang coated his mouth as he lapped away, doing his best to be gentle. Once he was finished to turned to his pile of herbs, picking out a couple of the mint leaves and leaning over to hand them to her. His Irish accented voice was calm and even as he said, "That is mint. Chew on it, it will help you fight off any infections from this bite." He turned his attention back to the bite. Taking one of each of the sage and mint leaves and several of the lavender buds into his mouth, he carefully chewed them into a pulp. After he was satisfied with his medicine, he started carefully pressing the herbs into the wound with his tongue. The herbs coated the bite, creating a green patch on the feas golden coat. Once he was finished he sighed and checked his handy work, a slight smile touching his muzzle. "Hold still until that finishes drying and once it does try not to get it wet for several days at least. It will fall off when your wound begins to heal," he instructed, turning his two-toned gaze to her face. Thought Speech Others Companion

Maija was a naturally wary wolf when it came to interactions with others. She was in the habit of being paranoid, only because she was alone for so long in her life. Just allowing Dragomir to break through her tough shell was a challenge for both wolves. Although she loved him endlessly and couldn't imagine her life without him in it, she knew that it was a temporary hold in this lifetime. If she was with him when they departed from this world, then she would know it was truly meant to be. Her thoughts about death and where her soul would go were pushed aside for later inspections as she focused on what the druid was doing to her wound. Cael forewarned her about the potential pain and she readied herself with her claws flexed and curling into the ground. Bracing her forelegs against the ground, she closed her eyes and waited for the rush of pain that would shoot from the source. Instead of that, however, she felt the gentle laps of a warm tongue caressing her bite. Maija opened both leaf green eyes, stony gaze slightly warmer than before as she saw how he took his time getting the excess blood and grime away from the opening. Ears slowly began to perk as he told her to eat the mint he offered her. Gingerly, she took them into her mouth and slowly began to chew, watching him as he continued to tend to her needs. The green paste he made to slather across her wound gave off the minty smell that she had moving around in her mouth. It was a different kind of taste, but she actually found herself enjoying the calming effect it had on her usual standoffish borders. After she swallowed the last bit of leaves that she had been offered, Maija silently continued to watch Cael and listen. His Irish tones made Maija's heart pace a tiny bit faster. Having only heard American voices so far on Alacritis, his different accent made her stir. It was nice to hear another culture, another part of the world outside Ala, but she didn't take it to heart. He spoke of holding still and staying away from anything that would make it wet too soon. Maija slowly nodded her majestic head, green eyes locking onto his when he looked at her. Kindness was something Maija wasn't familiar with, but she decided that the gratitude she was thinking of earlier needed to be addressed. The golden-furred beauty cleared her throat and said, "Thank you...I shall try not to move too fast after it starts healing." The Romanian tones that danced across her words were evident when she spoke; of this, she did not mind. The kind nature of this druid towards Maija was unusual in her eyes. She wasn't used to it, and therefore, the ceremonious conversation after being treated so nicely was an awkward ground to cross for her. Being courteous while talking to someone else wasn't something she preferred to do, but since he had shown no harm towards her, Maija lowered her defenses just a little. She still remained on edge, but the icy stare she had for him at first melted to reveal a small portion of her warm heart. Eye for an eye, after all. "What...will you do now?" she inquired, tones cool and peaked with a tiny amount of curiosity. Something about him -- perhaps his personality being different from Rotterdam's -- made her think that his company wouldn't be so bad. speech here

Cael Amestades

Cael's ears perked up with interest at the Romanian tones that came from the fea's mouth when she spoke. So far he had heard a similar accent from the wolves of Alacritis, his own accent and the accent of his brothers standing out as different. Her accent interested him, surprise flickering across his gaze. Every where he had been and everyone he had met so far since arriving in Alacritis had some sort of surprise for him to investigate or enjoy. "Oh, no need to thank me, miss. It's a pleasure for me to help." The druid spoke the truth. He was healer not by natural skill, but by his want to help others and his interest in learning. Any time he could test his knowledge while saving another wolf from their pains or sickness it was a good day for the ivory brute. Cael wasn't sure how to reply to the fea's question. He pondered it over as he spoke. "Well... I think I'll sit here with you till you're on your paws, if that is okay with you. I would hate to just walk away from you like this after all." He settled down onto his stomach, his forepaws crossing neatly. He made himself comfortable, ready to keep this new friend company for as long as she wanted it. His gray-marked head tipped to the side curiously as he asked, "What's your name, ma'am? I don't think I caught it before." Thought Speech Others Companion

Her gaze never left him as he spoke and then settled down in front of her. Mentally, Maija wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Usually, when Dragomir reclined to his stomach near her, she would automatically rise and settle beside him with nuzzles and affectionate words in Romanian. However, Cael wasn't her husband. He was a stranger who came by to help her in her time of need. She hated to admit it, but she considered her leg lucky to have had a Healer pass by her part of Alacritis. With a wary eye and heart, Maija took in his features. Cael was laidback, relaxed, and had a positive aura about him. She wasn't used to the goodness that was coming from him, but she decided that since most auras spoke true of the people they represented, he wouldn't be bad company. A soft snort escaped her nose and she slowly pulled her front paws back from the male, making their shared distance a tiny bit larger. He was curious about her name...how many wolves had she met like that? Not many, apparently, since she still didn't know how to respond to it. With a small feeling of resentment hanging in the thoughts of her mind, she answered his question. "Maija." Maija's eyes remained isolated, keeping the emotions she usually bottled up from another's reach. Her muscles tensed as she looked to the side and concluded with, "Maija Artenie-Milkos." Dragomir's last name attached to hers made her miss him terribly, even if he wasn't aware of it. Maija pushed such thoughts away and returned to the male in front of her. No point in talking to a stranger about her married situation. It wouldn't do any good anyway. "I suppose you have heard such names before in your lifetime." A flick of her tail confirmed her chiding comment, even if her tone didn't carry the humor that wasn't meant to be shown. speech here