The heady smell of the orchard trees, which were now in full bloom, was quite interesting to the young girl. It was new for her to explore the lands adjacent to The Range, but she was growing curious and far more adventurous as summer droned on. Growing increasingly bolder, Astaroth was trying hard to pull on the reigns her parents had on her- it wasn't that she wanted to defy either of her mothers, it wasn't like that at all, but she just wanted to see more and more of the world. At the pace she wanted, too.

Nosing around a few fruits that had fallen from the trees too early, Astaroth wrinkled her nose at the smell of the fruit up close. It was acidic, not at all sweet like the ones hanging from the trees. Gross. Lifting a paw to bat at one, she watched as it rolled across the ground. Another caught her attention not long after, and before long she was frolicking from one tree to the next, slapping the fruits on the ground and seeing how far she could make them go.

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Watching her children grow and explore was the highlight of her life. Not even being handed Abaven topped seeing their eyes open, their ears unfurl, and they limbs grow long. It was so sweet and pure it made her heart ache to see it. She had known she had wanted this for so long, but the opportunity had never come... and now she was here, grizzled and grey in the muzzle, but raising a family with Thalia. At night, when they curled up to sleep in one big pile, she was still sure it was a dream that would dissipate with the morning light. But they woke each morning, again and again, and she felt lighter each day. The puppies had begun to explore more within the pack territory, within reason. Either their mothers or a pack member watched over from afar, though it was hard for Theory to have them out of her sight for long. Each time she saw them, she wanted to exclaim: I made you. I created you. You are the greatest project of my life. It was almost too much. Shaking off her tender-hearted meandering thoughts, she wandered through the orchard rows. A few of the pups were out here today, and they ran wild like you only could in the first blush of youth. Every day they grew so much, their muscles begged to be used. This was the worst part of being old - she could hardly keep up. When she catch sight of Asta flitting through the trees, playing with the fallen fruit, Theory laughed. "Hello! Did you harvest all that for me?" She teased. "Hmm... I'm not sure we can eat all that before it goes bad. Did you know there are things you can do with fruit to help it last longer?" "Speech"

Another slap and she hit the fruit squarely in the center, sending it flying across the ground. It was the first time she'd had any idea of her own strength and the realization hit her hard and fast. Moving a few steps forward to kick at another fallen fruit, her attention was disrupted by mommy approaching. The girl's ears perked as she took in the sight of her approaching, the slightest hint of a smile touching her lips. Though she was one of the more serious of Theory and Thalia's children, she still was just like the rest of them at heart- a child.

"No," she answered after a beat, being honest. Honesty, especially when it came to family, was an important value that had been instilled in her. "I was just seeing how far I could make them go. Oh- can you teach me how?" She moved from one thought seamlessly to the next, hungry for information, even if she wasn't quite sure how she'd use it.

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Theo chuckled at her daughter's sparkling, burnished honestly. It wasn't yet tarnished by the passage of time. Granted, some children were prone to lying (her mind flinched at the memories of her tainted brother), hers hadn't seemed to take to it. She was grateful for it. "It's always good to know your own strength," she conceded with a smile. Theory batted one of the other fallen fruits, watching it soar past some of Asta's earlier attempts. "It will only grow as you do." Her eager response to Theory's question warmed her heart. She had loved teaching other pack members healing skills and fighting lessons, but children were a different beast entirely. They needed to know everything, and she was glad to teach it. "Well, there are a few ways. The simplest is to lay the fruit out in the sun until it dries down. Without any liquid to spoil, it will keep throughout the winter even if it's harder to chew." "Speech"

When the world was laid out completely before her, begging to be explored and learned, how could she be anything but thirsty for knowledge? The young girl couldn't begin to comprehend just how much she didn't know, only that she wanted to learn everything she could. No subject was safe from her curious mind. Abandoning swatting at the fallen fruits, she met her mommy's gaze with wide eyes.

"I know," she agreed easily. It went without saying that she'd grow stronger as she got older. Astaroth nodded solemnly.

But she wanted to hear what her mommy had to say, about keeping fruit longer. Some of the fruit trees and bushes that could be found in the Orchard did bear some tasty fruit. Saving some for the winter sounded like a good idea. She explained you could lay it out in the sun, letting it dry out. "Can you do the same with other food? Like meat?" Meat was juicy too, not quite like fruit but she wondered if it was at all the same.

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Theory chuckled as her daughter responded with a resolute I know. She could see Thalia written all over this one - hungry for knowledge, outwardly self-assured. It would serve her well as she grew older. "Yes, other food as well," she said with a smile. "Meat needs to be treated a little differently so that it keeps well, but you have a few options - I'm partial to salting it, it adds a nice flavor and the meat will keep for months. It draws all of the moisture out to keep it from rotting. Anything that's juicy or moist runs the risk of spoiling more quickly if it's not handled efficiently." Theory took a look at some of the fruit still hanging low and ripe. "Would you like to try drying some fruit together? I always learned best by doing." "Speech"

One of her absolute favorite things about her moms was that they were always willing to answer her questions, which pleased the inquisitive girl quite a bit. Her eyes widened as she answered that other foods could be dried, and already her mind was racing. She knew sometimes food was more scarce, especially when it was cold, though she had the fortune to not really know what going hungry felt like. Maybe it'd be a good skill to have, just in case!

She drank in all the information like water, absorbing each and every drop as best as she could. Was salting it something that had to be done, or was just a matter of personal preference, she wondered? She'd ask more in a moment. "Yes please, mommy," she answered readily. Young Asta didn't want to pass up an opportunity to learn something new, from her mommy no less. "Can we start with this one?" Without waiting for confirmation she loped forward and hopped up, practically on her hind legs, trying to grab one of the lower hanging apples from the tree.

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She chuckled at her daughter's eagerness to learn, already grasping for an apple just out of reach. Theo indulgently plucked the one Asta had indicated and placed it in front of her. "The most important thing to keep in mind about drying food is that, in order for it to dry properly, anywhere that has moisture needs to be exposed to the air," Theory began, rolling the apple around in front of them with a paw. "For fruit like an apple, all of that moisture is held inside by the outside skin. We could try drying it like this, but the water inside might make it rot before its fully dry. What would you do to expose the moist inside of the apple to make sure it dries completely?" She posed the hypothetical to Asta, tilting her head to one side. The best way to learn, she'd always felt, was to figure it out on your own - but she'd always ensure she would be there to help her children. Always. "Speech"

Astaroth watched, fully engrossed, as Theory plucked the apple she wanted off the try. Her attention followed it, from the branch down to the ground, studying it carefully as her mommy kept speaking. For it to dry properly, she said, all of it needed to be exposed to the air... that made sense. Like when her fur got wet and needed to dry; if she was laying down her belly wouldn't dry like the rest of her, at least not as fast. All that made sense to her.

Theory posed a question then- how might she expose the insides of the apple to make sure it dried completely? Astaroth cocked her head to the side, her ears giving a little flick as she considered it for a long moment. Probably way too long for such a simple question, but she didn't like thinking before she spoke, before thoroughly going over something in her head. The question was tossed around like the apples she'd been batting at; she toyed with it for awhile before finally speaking.

"We probably need to get the skin off," the girl said, with an air of finality to her voice. How, though, was a different story entirely. "Maybe we could use our claws to dig into the skin? Does it all need to be gone, or would just a bit be enough?" She lifted a paw, moving to roll it across the apple, using her claws to dig into it and peel of thin lines of skin off the fruit.

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