Pushing boundaries
Gossy
Faith had been emboldened a bit by her journey past the pack lands, though she'd barely dipped her toes into proper exploration it had at the very least proven she wasn't going to just be immediately struck down for leaving the pack lands. Today she was going to move towards the opposite side of the shrine, she knew here at least that it was not unheard of for Ashen and Armada members to move over the pack boundaries with no real pomp and or circumstance and she had to admit to being curious exactly how it was that the mortals in the armada lived.
So it was that the tall young woman would over the borderline, tall grasses tickling at her chest. She took a few hesitant steps and then scanned the field with dual toned gaze, suddenly not really sure what else to even do now that she was here.
Knight
Anatomist
Gossamer was out on patrol. Now that she was a warrior in training she started setting a patrol schedule for herself to see if she could maintain and meet it. She felt it was important to challenge herself so she'd be ready to defend her pack if needed. Usually her patrols were uneventful but today she came across a pretty yearling crossing into their territory. Pretty or not Gossamer's fur bristled and she was prepared to strike until the wind brought the scent of Ashen to her. Gossamer hesitated. She wasn't really sure what to do about the Ashen wolves, as far as she knew Ashen and Armada wolves could just cross over each others boundaries when they felt like it. She wasn't sure she agreed with that rule but that's how it was.
Gossamer approached clearing her throat. "Hey there, I'm Gossamer Fatalis. Can I help you?"
To be honest Faith didn't have a particular opinion on the loose border policy between Ashen and the Armada, outside of how often it brought heathens tromping through the holy grounds that were the shrine. But as she continued to try and understand the way the uninitiated lived their lives she would just have to accept that those who did not revere the lands as she did would walk upon those hallowed grounds.
And so she could sort of understand the edge to the way the other young woman approached her. Faith blinked slowly at the other girl, slowly taking her in. Though she looked a bit older than herself Faith was an inch or two taller, and she was a bit bulkier than Faith was though not as much as some of her cousins' she'd seen. Ultimately it gave her a rather nice and balanced look, in stark contrast to Faith's more fragile, dancer-like build.
The young woman spoke and Faith filed her name away in her mind. "Faith Abraxas." She said and gave a dip of her head, "And to be honest I was merely curious." Her voice and words were the carefully curated tone and formality she'd been taught from an early age though there was a sort of nervous undertone to her voice, Gossamer while not as brilliant as even some of her own siblings still had her own charms and despite it all was still only the second wolf Faith had met outside of her family. "I've not had many chances before now to explore much beyond where I grew up." She cleared her throat suddenly self-conscious about it, though she knew why her mother had been so careful with them. Suddenly she felt she'd been staring too long at the other girl and very suddenly she had to look anywhere but the other young woman, feeling her face flush a little.
Gossamer listened as the girl introduced herself as Faith as while Gossamer had never met the girl before she did recognize the surname and she knew there were a fair few Abraxas in Ashen. Faith explained that she was merely out exploring. "Oh, ok, well welcome to the grasslands… we have lots of uh, grass." She wasn't sure why she was feeling so awkward around the other girl and she had the sudden need to look at her paws but she fought it. Such behavior didn't fit a warrior-in-training of the Armada. "Is there anything you like to do? Maybe I can help you find a place to suit your interests."
Despite the anxiety and the nerves she was developing Faith couldn't help but laugh as Gossamer spoke, a high clear giggle, part nerves and part genuinely finding her offhand comment, well funny. She felt her face flood as she laughed, lifting a forepaw to cover her mouth with her wrist while she giggled. "That you do." She said as the fit fizzled out.
Gossamer asked what she was interested in and Faith mused for a moment, taking the chance to look away as she thought and fought to push down the warmth in her face. "I myself am interested in herbology, in the usage of plants in medical, recreational or even harmful situations." But also plants were plants were plants, she could easily find something or nothing here and in the end know that it probably existed beyond the scope of the Armada's lands as well. No, she was more interested in learning how the other wolves here, how the mortals lived. "Though if I'm being honest I am more curious about the differences between my experiences and other's." She fixed her gaze on Gossamer then, feeling that creeping heat once more. "Would you mind being my guide and showing me things you enjoy?" It felt somehow too forward, but Faith could shake it off as simply genuine curiosity about how this mortal lived... and nothing more personal than that.
So that's what she told herself.
Gossamer felt a little bit better as the girl, Faith, laughed at her comments though her heart was still thrumming in her chest. As Faith mentioned herbs her ears perked up. "Really? So am I! I'm training to be a healer." Well, at this point she was basically a healer and she was also studying fighting. Curiously, the girl was more interested in what she liked to do. "Sure, I'd be happy to, though I don't know how different my experiences are. I'm training in both healing and fighting but since we're both interested in healing let's go herb hunting. You can find many herbs in the plains here." She started walking deeper into the territory, pausing to make sure Faith was following. "What makes you so interested in other's experiences?"
There was something thrilling about the other girl's... Enthusiasm? She blinked a few times, gaze flitting between Gossamer and anything else. Her face flushed but she couldn't help but smile all the same. It felt good in its own way to feel like she'd helped to make the exciting outburst happen. Gossamer basically invited her further into the pack lands and Faith followed after her, moving a bit awkwardly as she didn't want to overtake the slightly smaller young woman but her gait was slightly larger and so it took a bit of shuffling to find a way to follow after Gossamer comfortably. To be honest she was happy with the idea of herb hunting it would be nice to see what she could find she wasn't used to in Ashen. But her new acquaintance asked why she was so interested in others.
Faith picked up her pace a little so she caught up and could continue walking abreast of Gossamer once they started moving again. Faith wasn't really sure how to answer this one, she was very secure in her, well faith, but knew well enough that mortals might shirk away from her conviction, the Shogun hardly seemed a fan and some part of the young woman really wanted to be liked by this otherwise total stranger, it was illogical. Faith cleared her throat, looking out over the horizon when she finally found her voice. "My family has strong beliefs and traditions." She said cautiously. "Part of what we believe does ask that we go out and see and interact with others, and frankly I've had little chance to actually see how others live outside of what I've grown up around, even without I guess my ulterior motive, I'm curious."
Gossamer kept her attention on Faith though every so often she'd glance aside to see if she could scout out any useful herbs and also to stop herself from staring at the other girl. She was doing her best not to be completely awkward.
Faith explained her family had strong beliefs and traditions and that was what drove her out to learn about others experiences. "Sounds interesting. Well, I can try and answer any of your questions but I guess its hard for me to imagine we live too differently. With Ashen and Armada being allies and all." The packs had been allied closely ever since they were formed and so there was going to be an understandable bleeding of cultures.