The Ermis found himself in Fern Gulley once more. It wasn’t his first time in the flowery meadow, and he breathed in the sweet smelling territory once more. Finding himself a flat place to spread out his blanket, he seated himself down and listened to the sounds of the territory.

It was the perfect place to work his craft, the serenity of it seeped into everything he did. As he pulled out the thin scraps of leather, the string, the sticks and the feathers he considered the best way to begin. It struck him how different it was to craft here. Doing the best he could with the resources he could gather. He would love a little bit of precious stone to weave into the feathers, but he didn’t know where to begin to start trading for it here.

Before he could get started, he heard the sound of pawsteps, and lifted a dark muzzle in the direction of the noise.


"Speech"

Tove has been wandering, the scarred woman exploring while Kotori works on his pack. The symbol of her allegiance to the earthen wolf hangs from a black cord around her neck, the polar bear’s claw thumping lazily into the fur of her chest with each step. It is a reminder that she has purpose again and that the world isn’t all bad. The gulley is full of flowers in the beginning stages of blooming as the galaxy colored wolf slowly walks through it. The scent of an unknown wolf reaches her nose and she cautiously approaches, stopping dead in her tracks as a tall male looks to her.

Eyes scan the blanket and the laid-out items before looking to the male. Scars litter her face and shoulders, remnants of the fight that left her brother dead and she knows that they can put others off when looking at her. Tove lifts her duel-toned eyes to the male, a brow lifting in silent question, as she nods toward him, asking permission to watch what he is doing. It hurts to speak and so the woman often prefers not to but she wants to offer this stranger an olive branch. Working her jaw, she points a paw at herself and says, “Tove.” A smile tugging at scarred lips.


"Tove Baade"

Looking up, he would see a wolf that could be a nebula. A beautiful addition to the stars above. A contrast to the Ermis’ own stormy coat. The silvery marks of scars that ran across her face and shoulders added age and wisdom to her form, and he gave her a deep, respectful bow as she watched him in silence. A light smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Friend, or foe? If she meant him harm, he knew he was at a disadvantage, yet he made no attempt to move.

It was clear when she uttered a rough word that speech was difficult for her. Her pointed stare and indicating paw told him both that the word was her name, and that she wished to intrude. “Please do” he said, shuffling to make room for her. “Name’s Mercury. It’s nice to meet you, Trove” He said, offering her a warm smile.

He indicated then with a paw down to the bits and pieces on the coat. “I’m putting together a dreamcatcher. My people believed that if you slept beneath them, they would catch and keep the brighter parts of your dream, so you might remember them on waking.” he explained. “Would you like to help?” she didn’t need to speak he was careful to keep his questions yes or no.


"Speech"

Tove looks at the stranger, curious eyes watching him intently. The younger male is polite, giving her a respectful bow that has the older woman bashfully waving it off with one of her white-dipped paw. A smile pulls at her scarred lips and she offers her name to which the dark male gives his own. Mercury reads her inquisitive gaze and shuffles to make room for her, the scarred woman quickly moving to join him.

Duel-toned eyes look over his assembled equipment as he explains what he is doing a wistful smile pulling at her lips as he speaks of the items purpose. It sounds wonderful, catching the brighter parts of a dream to remember upon waking. Tove’s dreams have mostly been nightmares since the day that stole her brother, Bodin from her.

Ah but this isn’t about her. Looking up to Mercury, a kind smile rests on scarred lips as she softly says, “Yes... please.” It has been so long since Tove has had a quiet, peaceful moment with another wolf and she is grateful that the tall, storm colored man is including her in. Seating herself next to him, she prepares to help with whatever he needs.


"Tove Baade"

He nodded his head, and passed over the feathers and wire to her. “Attach each feather to a piece of wire, there's a small hole in the shaft of each feather to feed it through” he explained. His own hands began to form the larger inner part of the dreamcatcher. The weaving that the feathers would hang from. With the leather, he crafted a small moon shape in the centre. It had been a long time since he had made a dreamcatcher, but he found his paws falling to the task with familiar ease. The task reminded him of home.

Seeing how the other wolf could scarcely speak, Mercury occasionally filled the silence with words of his own to entertain them both. “I came from a land far across the sea. It’s not there anymore, but if you like the dreamcatcher you would have liked my home. We had a tree filled with wind chimes, and many wolves had dream catchers above their beds.”


"Speech"