Lukina flopped down near the hot springs, pulling her tail up around her hind paws as she laid her head down on her fore arms. She didn't know what to do. Not only had her cousin Rœkia confessed to helping plan the coup that had killed her parents but then the older woman had abandoned her. She was alone in this strange world and it was beginning to show. She had some rudimentary hunting skills but it was still difficult to keep herself fed. Thankfully she had some companions to help with the hunting tasks but things were still difficult.

To make matters worse winter was around the corner and she doubted she'd survive. Perhaps that was what drew her to the hot springs. At least there was some modest warmth here.

What was it about the hot springs that kept drawing him in? The opportunity to float in water that was mostly algae free, and let the warmth seep into his bones? The steam clearing his sinuses? There wasn't one concrete reason, but the mud hued healer was becoming ever more fond of the warm pools that neighboured the mangrove. Today he was wandering in that direction with Bug clutching loosely to his spine. His mask dangled from its strap and thumped rhythmically against his chest with each lackadaisical step, brought along only in the event he decided to venture further away from home and needed the protection. Among the thin steam rising from the half-moon pools that made up most of the available open space, a pale shape nearly glowed in the sunshine. Excitement zipped down his spine, and he trotted around the edge of one of the pools to investigate. Had he stumbled upon another beautiful skeleton to add to his collection? Something this large would certainly provide plenty of bits and pieces to craft from nice tools and decor for the den. By the time he got a good look at the pale shape, he was nearly disappointed to realize it was a wolf. A very pale, pinkish wolf. Brows furrowing, he found himself standing stock still where he'd skidded to a stop a few feet away. What was he supposed to do now? He stared blankly at the long legged fae, and realized with a shock that she was merely a child. A very despondent looking one, at that. Why was this child so large, and so very sad? "Y'alright, pinkie?" he questioned gently, lowering his head slightly so Bug could more easily ascend the nape of his neck to peer out between his ears. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina looked up at the sound of approaching paw steps and saw a small, yearling boy staring at her. She wrinkled her nose as he called her 'pinkie'. "My names Lukina and no… I'm not alright. I don't have a home anymore. Who are you?" She didn't care to say to much more about her situation. Being homeless about summed it up. She supposed she could just pick a random pack to howl at but she was honestly scared to do so. Knowing her luck she'd pick a really mean pack and end up being sacrificed or something else horrible. Besides, after everything she'd just learned from her treacherous cousin she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be part of a pack again anyway.

Well, she couldn't be that sad if she took his comment to heart so readily. Baleful cherry eyes fixed on him, and the small healer tilted his head lightly at her. "My names Lukina and no… I'm not alright. I don't have a home anymore. Who are you?" the leggy albino quipped, leaving him to blink at her for a moment. Well, that certainly wasn't ideal. He dipped his snout in a small greeting gesture, before saying "I'm Bog, and this is Bug." He lifted his gaze upwards to draw attention to the large frog peering out from between his ears. Concern pinched his brows together, and he dropped heavily onto his haunches. There was no point invading the kid's personal space, she clearly wasn't in the mood for anything like that. "What happened to your home, pinkie?" he drawled gently, ever the softie. He didn't much care that this girl was probably closing on twice his size, or anything of that nature. All he was concerned about was a youngster who seemed to need a soft place to land, and a friendly face. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina listened dejectedly as the boy introduced himself as Bog and his frog companion as Bug. He then asked about what happened to her home. She didn't even know what to say, it was all so much. Finally she focused in on one word that she felt could encapsulate everything. "War." Civil war had started this mess and her cousin who should've been on their side wasn't and now she was just the most recent casualty. Stuck on her own with a strange muddy boy and his frog. She let the name 'pinkie' slide past her. She was just too tired to correct him and it seemed like such a small thing compared to the rest of her woes.

The dejected youth fell silent for a little while after he'd asked about her lack of a home, and suddenly he found himself awkwardly regretting his choice to speak. His concern morphed into the slightest frown, dark lips pulled taught and then curving down at the corners. When the girl finally spoke again, she simply muttered "War." and was silent once more. A light grunt of recognition escaped the muddy healer, who nodded his head solemnly. "Can't say I'm too familiar with war, it's not really a thing with my family. It doesn't sound like it's done ya any favours though, pinkie." he said, auds tipping back towards his skull in sympathy. Mirroring her sorrowful posture somewhat, he slowly dipped down onto his elbows and curled his forepaws inward at the wrists. The dark nub of his tail twitched back and forth while he pondered on a solution to her struggles. It didn't feel right to leave an abandoned child to her own devices in the big wide world, did it? She looked more than big enough to fend for herself, but he'd begun to realize that being tall and imposing was kind of a trend everywhere else. "If you've got nowhere to sleep tonight, would you like to come stay with me?" the offer was paired with a small tilt of his head, and a pointed ignorance towards the discontented hair tugging of the frog perched on his neck. For some reason he'd been spending a lot of his evenings feeding strangers, and listening to their woes. Perhaps that was the path he was meant to take, who was he to turn down what the world kept offering him? "I can cook us a nice dinner, and you can borrow the spot I use for my patients until you figure out where you're headed next." he added with a lopsided grin, hoping against all hope he could wipe that horrible sorrow off of the girl's delicate, rose-tinted face. "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina lifted her head and stared in disbelief at the boy. How had he never heard of war? She'd heard about war ever since she was little, if it wasn't happening there it was happening somewhere. She swallowed hard and nodded. "It's terrible."

""If you've got nowhere to sleep tonight, would you like to come stay with me?""

Lukina perked up a little and nodded. "Yea, I'd like that. Thank you, Mr. Bog. I have some herbs I can share for the trouble." It was so nice of him to offer her, a stranger, a meal and a place to stay that she felt like she needed to offer something in return. All she really had was her herbs, well, and her companions though they were out hunting now. She was sure they'd catch up with her soon. As for where she would head next… she had no idea. What should she do next? Just start knocking on the door of every pack and see if anyone would take her in? Cross her toes that she didn't get a mean pack?

Blessedly, the youngster seemed to lose some of that horribly morose look on her face. The soft little nod, and the faintest glimmer returning to those sad cherry eyes. "Yea, I'd like that. Thank you, Mr. Bog. I have some herbs I can share for the trouble." she offered, which seemed so odd. This little one didn't seem to have much to her name, why offer up anything willingly? He took a half step back, giving the leggy youth some room to get to her paws. "Ah.. just Bog is fine. We'll play it by ear, how's that? Y'eat all my food, maybe I'll take ya up on that offer." he teased lightly, before turning on his heel to begin the journey back to the mangrove. It was a short walk, but it would take a bit to catch something for dinner. Especially now that he was feeding someone else, and that someone was a growing girl who would need to eat far more than he usually did. Speaking of which.. "What d'ya usually eat, pinkie?" he asked, turning to look over his shoulder at the tall girl. Wow, now that she was up and moving, she certainly was a big one. He hoped the mangrove's root systems were sturdy enough to carry her weight. The old, gnarled roots were quite strong, but he hadn't exactly been around all that long. "I make a mean catfish stew, but if you're more of a deer kinda kid I can probably as my mum what she's got layin' around." he added warmly, swinging his skull about to face forward once more. Bug laboriously clambered the rest of the way up his neck, and parked his damp little rump between the wolf's green ears. Leaning to one side, he made sure his mouth was very close to the sparsely furred inner ear on his right side so there would be no doubt Bog could hear him. "Stop bring strangers home. Big stranger eat Bog, definitely eat Bug. Leave stranger child be." the frog croaked quietly into his ear. A quiet scoff shuddered through dark nostrils, and the lichen-dappled healer rolled his eyes. As much as he appreciated having someone around to keep him grounded, and occasionally curb his more dangerous antics, the goliath frog was certainly an anxious creature. "Lookit how sad, she was, Bug. We ain't leavin' her all alone like that, it wouldn't be right." he chided quietly, doing his best to keep his voice low enough that the girl couldn't hear him arguing with his companion. Already the mangrove was visible through the treeline, and the soil beneath their paws began to transition to a looser, sandy substrate. As the sun went down, the water's soft glow would become more obvious, so if he was gonna start hunting, he'd need to start soon. --exit Bog and Lukina to the Lover's Mangrove?-- "speech" thinking "others"

Lukina offered a small smile to Bog as he teased her about eating all his food. She still wanted to help out and not be a burden on the smaller wolf. If he wouldn't take herbs as payment maybe she could help in gathering food or preserving it. "Don't worry, I can help if you teach me more about hunting. We ate mostly rabbits, birds and fish." As she was so inexperienced in hunting it was up to Rœkia to provide for her and that could be difficult for one wolf.

"I would love to try your catfish stew." She scrambled after bog. She'd never had fish in a stew, she just pulled the raw meat off the creatures bones.

-exit-