HENBANE AERIS Well, she'd been alive for a whole what-- like fifteen minutes now? Longer than that. Not that Henbane had any concept of time. Or patience. Or waiting. Or really any of the above. Not that she needed to. Everything had been pretty much instant gratification from the get. She wanted something? She made it happen. That would become a common theme as she got bigger, bolder, older. Bold as brass from the day she was born and bound to make that everyone else's problem, Henbane was a handful. Dad said they could explore, and she took that to mean she could be pretty much anywhere she wanted as long as she was home for dinner. It was late morning when the cryptborn strode out into the sun and made her way out for an adventure. What an adventure it would be, too. Every step was confident, one foot in front of the other. Had Henbane learned from her run in with the coyotes a couple weeks back? Absolutely not. The girl was out and she was already on the hunt for trouble. To the trees! There was a strange sort of fog that seemed to wrap its way around them, and she just had to find out what it meant. Henbane bounded towards them, and then into the spooky forest she went. How fucken cool was this?

Audra traveled rather frequently. Now that she wasn't necessarily tied down by anyone, she was free to scout the territories. If she were to come across anything, it would end up being valuable information for Artorias. So after she dropped Thorn back off at the castle, the petite fae grabbed her faithful eye-seeing companion, Mack the bobcat, and started their journey toward southern Boreas. Across the land bridge, through the fjord, and into the gulley, Audra made her way toward Buffalo Knolls. There was word that a newer pack had taken residence there and they were all about farming, craftsmanship, and trading. This interested the femme as she ensured her medical pack was secured tightly to her shoulders.

Fog began to surround them when she could have sworn this area didn't have any. Weren't they supposed to have traveled through some hills? Why was it looking forested and swampy? Her brow furrows as she glances at Mack. "Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Audra asks softly as they pause near some gnarled trees. The feline scents the air as his own brow furrows and his lips crease downward. "We must have taken a right instead of a left when the fog started," he responds in his typical gruff tones. A soft hum escapes her as she glances around. "If we begin to head west, we should reach the knolls on the other side of this forest," she adds before freezing midstep.

A scrambling noise causes both of their pelts to bristle. Mack flashes his purple crystal-coated fangs as a flash of a small creature runs past them. Audra blinks her one good eye a few times to make sure she understood what she saw. "Was that a pup?" She whispered to Mack as he nodded back to her. "I wonder if it's lost," her voice trails off as he gives a we don't need to get into trouble look. But what good would she be if she didn't go after those in need?

"H-hello! Y-you, pup! W-wait up!" Audra calls after the bleach-spotted pup as she picks up a quick trot. Mack trails behind her before taking to the trees himself. The bobcat would rather stay out of sight most of the time and only come out if she were in danger.

A U D R A

HENBANE AERIS She was one with the trees, she was one with the fog. She was one with nature as it coursed through her system. Baby's first religious experience? Something like that. Hen couldn't help herself-- it felt damn good to be out here. Damn good and so damn cool. Cool as hell. Rad as hell, actually. Henbane feels rad as hell, as a matter of fact. She peered around with large, wild, brilliant red eyes. Brilliant and wild, Henbane is ready to take on the forest and whatever was inside it. Hell, she'd already taken on a whole pack of coyotes and come out on top... leaving out the fact that it was mostly circumstance that had made short work of the predators. Nah. It was in her blood. Hen had this. A voice called out as she romped through the trees, as she explored through the fog. It was calling out.. for her? The girl paused, tilting her head to one side first, and then the other. Trying to pinpoint the source of the sound before swinging in that direction. Henbane was trying to think, trying to process. Gaze wild and curious, she made her way in the direction she thought it was coming from. Wait up, she asked. "What?" Manners weren't necessarily her strong suit. Still, Hen moved to meet her. "Are ya lost?" Henbane would keep a safe distance in the trees-- what if it was a trap? But close enough to take in the woman. A slight creature, Hen could tell that much. Tucked into the safety of the trees and the fog, even if she was in danger, she could slip away easily enough. Still, this one seemed... not so bad. Not so bad as far as Henbane could tell.

The woman could have sworn for half a second that the pup wasn't going to stop. Her good eye squints with concern as she holds her breath. Through the dense fog and gnarled branches, Audra wonders how the pup can even navigate so quickly. Even her own petite stature finds difficulty keeping track of where she's going in such a shadowed and nasty place. Yet, the pup slows and acknowledges her presence. In the dim lighting, Audra has to squint slightly to see better. The gleam of her glittering eye can be somewhat obnoxious at times. But as the pup moves closer to her and asks if she is lost, Audra gives a small shake of her head. She can see the pup is dark in color with bleached markings. An interesting look. "N-not often a p-pup your age is a-allowed t-to wander h-here alone," she says in response as she continues to glance around the creepy forest. Typically Audra would avoid this place as much as possible on her travels but today she is glad if it means helping a lost pup.

HENBANE AERIS Bold and confident, Hen's curiosity wins out. She slips free from the shadows, taking one step... then another, then another towards the stranger. They are long steps, and her gait is already strong and thundering as she approaches the woman. Curious, bright eyed. Wild eyed, but not rabid. Not right now, at least. A strange creature in the woods, greeting a stranger, being strange. Yeah, that's pretty on brand for her. Wrapped in the fog and the shadows of the forest, Henbane is in her element. In the low light, the stranger's eye seems to... glow? Glimmer? Hen doesn't have the right word for it. Still, she's drawn in, a moth to a flame. She's got something to say about her age, which sets Henbane's ears flicking backwards. "Ain't gonna be allowed to not do nothin'." It doesn't strike Henbane that what she's just said doesn't actually make sense. They come out in a jumble, wrapped in a crapshoot of an accent. "Dad says we don't take orders from no one, anyway." A triumphant sort of look in her eye, at least that bit came out right. "Who're you?" It occurs to Henbane now that she's talking to a stranger. Not that she's been told not to, but if this was a stranger then she had to have a name... right?

Audra regards the pup as she slowly slinks from the shadows. There is a wild hesitancy in the pup that Audra is familiar with. Not necessarily the wild aspect of it, but the hesitancy. Unsure of the world, unsure to trust anyone, Audra understands. She stays still as her companion slinks farther back into his own thorny shadows. The pup is spontaneous and Mack is not fond of those interactions. Safer to watch while hidden, Audra allows her companion to do so. When the pup speaks, Audra’s brow rises. Her head lilts to the side as she continues to regard the bleach stained creature. Well, at least she had some sort of parental figure keeping an eye on her. Yet, who would allow such a small and young babe to be wandering around in this tangled and dangerous mess? It reminds her of Bramble, the Carpathian princess and how protected she is. With her mind reeling about how to respond to the girl, Audra lets out a small chuckle as she is questioned as to who she is. Maybe she should play a small trick on the girl… “I am a God by the name of Odin. I do not always appear in the shape of a wolf, but today as I walk the mortal realm, I have assumed this form,” her voice drops only slightly deeper as she trains her one glimmering golden eye on the pup. “I see all that lives and appear only when someone is in need,” Audra takes one step, two step, a third step closer to the girl as her head lowers slightly and she tilts her face back slightly the other way so the girl can start to see the emptied eye socket. “And who may you be, little girl?” Audra lowers her voice to a hoarse whisper as she raises her head back up and transitions her expression to a more thoughtful and stoic one.