Returning from her recent venture out into the wilds to cultivate a variety of plants to dry, Audra made her way through Hallows pack lands. Several decent-sized vines were draped across her back and her neck pouch was stuffed full with strongly scented leaves and flowers. Nearly overwhelming, her nose was tilted up to the sky to avoid being put to sleep by the calming scents. Happier than she had been in days, she was excited to show Avantika all of her bunches. Not that the fighter-oriented girl would know anything about what Audra would knowledge dump on her, but Tika always obliged anyway. Wagging her tail happily, she passes through the gardens with only a few sniffs at the roses and daffodils. Pulling herself away from the temptations to pluck them all for decorations, she moves her way up into the cool interior of the castle. Gently smiling at anyone she passed, she hoped that Tika was back from whatever duties she had been given for the day. Turning only a few corners, Audra let her nose guide her to the quaint room that they would now share. The thought of them being close still made her heart patter erratically but it was a welcomed feeling now. Taking a deep breath before entering the room, she smiled. "Tika, I'm back with plants!" Audra exclaims, her tail wagging excitedly as she looks around for her one and only.

Audra had officially joined the pack! Avantika had been smiling non-stop since she'd heard the news, she thought. Plus, they were sharing a room now. That was important for a few reasons. One, it meant that she'd had to move--well, actually, very little of her stuff; she didn't own much. Two, they were spending a lot more time together. They slept in the same bed every night. And that was the really important thing. It wasn't that important, but somehow Avantika couldn't get the notion out of her head.

She wasn't going to think about what sharing a bed meant yet, though. Audra would probably have to initiate for her to do anything. Avantika didn't want to bring it up until she knew her girlfriend wanted it.

She'd luckily just gotten back from a patrol when Audra entered the room. She was lounging on the bed, but she got up fast, moving to Audra. "What did you get?" she asked, head cocking in curiosity. She wasn't all that interested in plants, but Audra had a way of making them seem interesting. Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to learn some basic healing practices, just in case she ever needed them.

"Speech"

Audra's smile grew bigger as she watched Tika excitedly leap up from her lounging position on the bed. "Oh, you didn't need to get up!" She scolds in a tender way. It still made her heart melt as the larger girl sped over to her. Before she could even think of dumping her collection on the cool stone of the floor, she closed the space that was between them. Brushing her cheek up against Tika's neck, she stood on her toes as much as she could. Their height difference was obvious, but not too much so that she couldn't still plant a quick kiss upon Tika's cheek. "I missed you. How was patrolling?" She asked as she pulled back. Tail still wagging happily, Audra moved over to the side of the room where a small table stood large enough to host her growing pile of herbs and medicinal needs. Leaning her shoulder so that she could drop the vines and few branches from her shoulders, they thudded quietly against the dense wood. Looking over her shoulder so she could smile at Tika one more time, she placed her hind end on the ground to sit and pull the pouch off from around her neck. Giving her pelt a good shake off before emptying the contents onto the table, Audra eyed the variety she'd collected. "Are you ready to listen to me drone on? Maybe you should get comfortable," she teases as her one honey-gold eye sparkles. Bringing a paw up to place it on the table, she rustles the plants so that they're more spread out and ready to be dried out. "Maybe we can go hunting sometime? I'm not any good, but I do need some pelts for bandages," Audra is purely babbling now as the excitement courses through her. Between having a home, having a girlfriend who she shared a bed with every night, and a purpose in life, she was happier than ever.

Avantika grinned as Audra scolded her for rushing over, and accepted the soft kiss. She was taller, but she admired her girlfriend's dedication. 'I missed you.'"Aww," she teased. "You're such a baby." It hadn't been long since they'd seen each other last, but Avantika had missed her too. They just seemed to fit together, like two puzzle pieces that needed no others. She didn't have to pretend that they were more dramatic or powerful than they were. She could simply relax into the sublime feeling of loving and being loved. "Patrolling was as usual," she said. Not much to do but move and think. If someone did try to break in, though, Avantika would be ready for it.

Audra dropped her vines, branches, and pouch onto the table before emptying it. Avantika walked closer and sat on the floor, glancing over the plants. Audra suggested going out hunting, and she stiffened. Only slightly so, but could Audra see it? Avantika didn't like hunting. She didn't like hurting anything that couldn't fight back. Still she smiled, and asked, "What size animals?" She could fight a bear or something.

"Speech"

Her laughter filled the room as she gave her head a soft shake to Tika's teasing. "Yes, but I'm your baby," she teases back with a quick poke of her tongue out of her mouth. It was almost too easy to be her true self around Avantika. A hum left her as her eye turned back to scan over her plants. "Nothing interesting happen?" She asks out of pure curiosity and to let Avantika know that she really was interested in the day-to-day business. Picking her paw back up, she notices from the corner of her eye that Tika had come to sit by her. Smiling quietly to herself, she shuffles some more of the plants around so they looked neater all lined up. The tenseness of Tika's body at her mention of hunting went unnoticed to her as she became focused on looking at her plants. Looking up from the table with a few blinks of her honey-gold eye, she looks over to Tika. "Oh, small things. Squirrels, rabbits, rats. We can use traps if it's easier. I'm sure there's some running around the grounds," her shoulders shrug as she sees the uncertainty on Tika's face. "I don't like killing things either, but I can't make bandages out of much else. Hides work too well at keeping infections out of wounds," Audra's lips turn down softly before looking back to the table. She feels slightly guilty now, but how could she expect to ask the pack to hunt for her?

Audra clarified that she did indeed need small prey: squirrels, rabbits, rats. Avantika's face fell before she could even try to hold it up. She suggested traps, and her head shook a soft 'no'. Traps were worse. Maybe some of them were faster than a normal kill, but she couldn't be sure, and anyway, the prey seemed to deserve at least some sort of skill in their death. Plus, she didn't know how to make traps. It would be bad if she messed up some little thing and didn't kill whatever was trapped instantly. She'd heard of animals gnawing off their own limbs to escape traps, and she didn't want to be the cause of such desperation and pain.

"I can do it," she answered, resolved. She was strong, right? It was rough to find out that she actually had some pretty serious vulnerabilities, and she had no choice but to overcome this one. She wouldn't allow herself to fail. What Audra needed, she would provide. She cursed herself for such sudden sensitivity.

"Speech"

Messing with the pile on the table a bit more, she looks over sheepishly to Avantika. "We don't have to go now. Just a thought," she smiles in a small manner as her shoulders slump a bit. Oh, why did she have to go messing things up all the time? Closing her eyes briefly, Audra let out a sigh before resolving to change the subject. Inhaling deep, she shook her head to get rid of the pit in her stomach. "Anyway, plants, yes. I know you care so much about what I gathered," Audra says with a laugh. Scooting over so that Avantika could get a better look, Audra began to fiddle with the different leaves and plants. "See, this here is Dandelion, it helps increase appetite," her paw hovers over the bunch of yellow flowers that could be seen growing almost anywhere in Auster and Boreas. "This here is Lavender, it smells so good and is great for anxiety," Audra's smile grows bigger as she sniffs at the Lavender. "Oh and this is lamb's ear! Isn't it soft? If I grind it into a salve, it helps small scrapes heal faster," her paw brushes over the fuzzy leaves as she looks at Tika and motions for her to feel it as well.

Audra's shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Sorry," she said softly, bumping her girlfriend gently with her shoulder. It wasn't her fault. It was Avantika's, for being so sensitive that she couldn't kill a damn rat. She wished that she was stronger, and could just say, 'Oh, yeah, I can kill some up for you in a jiffy, don't you worry, love of my life.' But no. She had to be all nervous and weak and... and....

Luckily, Audra changed the subject to herbs, a simple, easy topic. Avantika couldn't mess this up. She couldn't have any problems with plants, and she definitely liked hearing Audra talk about them. Dandelion for appetite, lavender for anxiety--"Hey, do you think that could help me?" she asked, half-'serious--and lamb's ear for small scrapes Lamb's ear seemed like it might be useful after a fight, for little things. Lavender might be helpful for her in particular, too, although she wasn't sure if she liked the idea of something changing the way she thought. Her worries helped her know what she should work on. Even if they were sometimes illogical, she couldn't prove it really

"Speech"

In the middle of her rambling off the different plants she had strewn across the table, Tika asked if she could help. Her ears perked up and her one good eye glinted with interest. Though she wasn't quite sure what Tika meant at first, she could help but smile. "Of course I want to help you," Audra chirped as she bumped Tika's shoulder back playfully. "Is there a particular effect you're looking for?" She asks curiously as her gaze goes back to the table. "Just so you know, most of the stuff I find is pretty mild. It's really to help subside, but not completely numb," her voice is informative as her paw fiddles with the different plants. "The kind of stuff that really messes with your mentality I don't like to keep with me," Audra's chin trembles at the thought of accidentally eating something poisonous or hallucinogenic. Looking back over to Tika, Audra wondered if there was something she hadn't been told yet. Was there something that made Tika worry too much? Or a pain she had been ignoring?

Audra smiled in that cute way of hers -- everything Avantika's girlfriend did was cute, but you couldn't blame her for noticing -- and asked if there was a particular effect she was looking for. "No, no, I'm sorry. That was a joke." But as she was saying that, she realized that maybe it wasn't. She had to think about it. "I'm anxious pretty much all the time, to the point that it makes me feel sick whenever something unusual happens. But I don't know. Maybe -- maybe feeling like I'm not enough all the time is making me better. Better to overcompensate than to be underprepared, right?" Her worries made her train her hardest. They were her friends, sort of. They kept her from stagnating and relaxing herself into weakness. "I don't know if I want them even to subside. It would make life easier, but..." But what if her home was attacked? She couldn't relax, or something bad would happen.

Something pricked at the back of her mind. Something that she'd wanted to ask Audra. "Hey, Aud?" she said. "This is completely off-topic, but do you think -- maybe -- that you'd ever want to have kids? Like, with me?" They were still young and there was still so much time, but Avantika had been thinking about it lately. What it would be like. But did she really need more vulnerable things to protect?

"Speech"

So, maybe asking Tika what she wanted wasn't the right way to go. Pursing her lips lightly, she couldn't help but laugh again. "No need to worry. The more you know about herbs and their medicinal properties, whenever you need something, you can ask," she smiles up at Tika before scooching closer to her. She reaches up to place a kiss on Tika's cheek as her own warms up. Before she had a chance to pull away and tidy up the mess she'd made on their table, Tika asked for her attention. Tilting her face up to look at Tika, her ears flicked forward. Suddenly, as the words tumbled from Tika's lips, Audra's stomach began to flip-flop. Pups? With her? Her eye widens as she freezes, unsure of how to answer. Of course, she wanted to have pups of her own. It was one of the things she desired most. Yet, how would they even make that possible? Scrambling for something to say, she swallowed loudly. "I wouldn't want anything more than that, one day," she whispered under her breath. Looking away from Tika as more thoughts crossed her mind, she couldn't help but frown. Quickly standing up to move away and over to the open balcony of their room, she inhales a deep breath. The tinge of salty air brings her clarity as her heart shatters. "How would we make that happen if we're both female?" Audra's voice is quiet as she stares out over the gardens of the castle. It was the only thing standing in their way.

Avantika waited on bated breath for Audra's response. Her question had come out of nowhere, she knew. Maybe she didn't even want kids. Avantika wasn't even sure if she wanted them. She hadn't thought of it much before. She'd had enough to worry about with herself. She still did. Still, she felt that she could handle it. Audra agreed, saying that she wanted pups as well, but also asking how they would manage it, being two females. "I'm sure we could figure something out." she replied. "We could find some guy willing to, ah, help, or we could just, like, collect any pups who don't have parents, or something. I guess that's probably what Resin and Tamsyn did." The second idea was much more appealing to Avantika than the first. She'd always pretty much known that men were absolutely unattractive to her. And she'd been adopted herself. She would love to do that for some other little kiddo.

"Speech"

She almost laughed. At a younger age, she had considered other males as possible suitors. Not that any of them had ever given her a second glance. It was their masculine and protective presence that drew her in. The idea of being wrapped up in someone's paws to keep her safe made her heart flutter. Yet, she'd found that in Avantika and that had finally made her realize that she never had to settle for the cruel and insensitive ideals of a male. Thinking about it now, she was more than happy to have fallen for the long-legged girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. Except, the idea of adopting wouldn't fulfill her heart. As much as that would make her happy caring for a pup, Audra had hoped one day she'd have one of her own. A wistful sigh leaves her lips as she looks at Tika over her shoulder. "Maybe the Gods will grace us with immaculate conception," she jokes as she turns back to look over the balcony. Resting her chin upon the cool stone, she thinks for a moment. "As long as it is meant for nothing but bearing a pup, do you really think we could find a man to agree?" Audra asks out of curiosity. "Of course, we could adopt, but where would we find an abandoned pup?" She knows the answer as she knows Tika had been adopted, but the thought of someone doing that to something so helpless tears her apart.