There was snow. Quite a bit of it. Hani's coat wasn't built for extreme cold, but it could handle a bit of snow fine. She was happy she decided to settle here and not in the colder places on account of the fact that she would probably literally die. Literally. She didn't actually choose to live here, it just kind of happened, and well, she stayed. It was becoming a decent home, though it was a little scary at first. Hani was getting better at communicating and not being overall super awkward. It was almost a place to call "Home", 'Which begs the question... Why am I not home now?'

Herbs. Oh, yes. Hani was looking for herbs because that's what healers do. She hadn't found any, 'Well, duh, it's like snowy. Stuff doesn't grow in the snow. Well, it's early snow, so I can probably still find stuff. Besides, some things do grow in the snow. But not most herbs. Well, it's worth a look!' Hani shook herself of her thoughts and began nosing through the snow around the trees. The snow stuck to her nose and caused shivers to run up her spine, 'Ugh, I am really just not built for stuff like this...' Hani sneezed a few times, 'Great, am I getting sick or is it just the snow in my nose?'

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Long legs would carry the slender boy easily through the snow, had the ground not been covered he might have seemed to glide. Snow fluttered gently from the sky, dotting the black areas of his coat in white. He needed to get out of Valhalla for some time, the overwhelming stench of sickness permeating the air. He had decided to go in search of his brother, who was still gone; still missing. He wasn't straying too far yet, looking in the surrounding areas. Valhalla was the only home he had and he wasn't about to lose it again and he certainly wasn't about to wander back into the grasp of Glaciem because he wandered too far from the pack lands.

The willows had not given away his brother's hiding spot though, only irritating him as the wispy branches brushed against him, no doubt mussing up his pelt. The damn things also blocked much of his view as they bent to the ground. He had been unaware there was another wolf here at all until he caught a glimpse of her through the branches. He peered at her for a moment, a slight fluttering in his stomach starting. Then it felt all sorts of wrong to be watching her like this, hidden by the willows as he was. He gathered up his courage and pushed his way through the branches so that he was in clear view. Unspeaking as he looked at her.

talk, think

Well, this was going swimmingly. Snow was in her nose and she was going to catch a cold and no herbs were even here to show for it. Some healer she was. She'd have to remember to ask Natalya where to find herbs in the snow later. She'd been idle too long now, and the cold had begun to sink into her coat. She started to shake herself, but heard the crunch of footsteps, causing her to stop suddenly, her legs splaying to stop the momentum from knocking her over.
Who was this? What were they doing here? They didn't look like they wanted violence, but did they? Hani's eyes surveyed the wolf. It was a male, by the looks of it, who looked all black up front then suddenly not on his rear, which poked out slightly from behind his shoulders. His eyes held curiosity, with two swatches of white under them. Hani had never seen such a marking before, and decided it must be a bit odd to have, though she didn't dislike it. Hani's eyes locked with the brute's dull golden ones. No thoughts came to mind except the rushed feeling of, "There should be thoughts here" Her maw parted to speak, but no words came out. Her muscles tensed, and it took a while for her to find the ability to softly sway her tail. She swallowed hard and stiffly fixed her posture. Slowly, softly, she spoke, "... Hello?"





speech

Soren wanted to say something, but he could not seem to find his voice. Instead he stood where he was, mouth opening and closing lamely as he struggled to speak. They both stood in awkward silence for some time. Finally she seemed to break what ever spell was over time.

"Uh hi..." He finally managed to choke out, voice cracking ever so slightly. He cleared his throat and took a hesitant step towards her. "I'm Soren Ad- Adravendi." ge stumbled but managed to recover. "It's um... Nice to meet you." He blurted out, realizing only to late that she had not yet introduced herself.

talk, think

The male stepped forward, and Hani felt inclined to do the same, closing a good bit of distance, maybe too much. Was it too much? Hani didn't talk to a ton of wolves. How did you talk to a wolf that wasn't above you in rank? Hani's tail swayed as the male introduced himself, claiming it was nice to meet her,
"Yes! You too!" she stated a little too eagerly while trying to play off a calm and friendly demeanor. A breathy laugh escaped Hani's lips at her mistake. They were making fools of themselves. She had to stop it!

"Seen any good herbs around? Sure is hot- cold. I meant cold." Hani shook her head. SHE was hot from embarrassment, despite her coat and the snow. Why would the male even know anything about herbs, 'Stupid, stupid, stupid Hani!' Hani shook her head again, breathing out loudly. She risked a glance at the male before focusing on the ground again, "S- sorry, Soren I- OH!" Hani's widened eyes quickly met the dull gold ones of the male, "My name! Oh geez, I'm sorry! I'm Hani! Hani Haust." Her eyes dropped to the ground again, still opened fully in embarrassment. How could she forget to mention her name? That was basic! Hani's skin warmed again and her heart pulsed. Why was talking to others so HARD?


"Speech"
'thoughts'

Soren was all too concerned with his own awkwardness to notice that the female before him was having issues. He pulled his attention back to the girl as she spoke, not failing to notice her over exuberance; laughing nervously along with her. Oh they were a mess. He was pretty sure any one walking by at this moment would have been knocked clean off their paws by the second hand embarrassment.

"Seen any good herbs around? Sure is hot- cold. I meant cold." He was very much aware of her stumble but wouldn't comment. "No, I'm uh, not a healer, I can hardly tell weeds and grass apart." He chuckled nervously. What the hell was going on? He had been about to ask for her name when she spoke up again, apologizing and then offering him her name. He smiled. "It's nice to meet you Hani." He trailed off feeling his face flood with blood. ?"I've ah, already said that?" God what a mess.

talk, think

This was awful. Hani didn't know what to do. All her thoughts were eerily quiet. The moments built up and so did the shame. Hani felt her head was going to burst from the amount of blood in it. If she turned and ran, would the brute follow, or just let her go? What if they met again? No matter what, Hani's options seemed limited. Hani shifted and the snow crunched under her paws, her mind spinning to find things to break the awkwardness. The only thing that could come to her mind were questions. She hated to pry, knowing he would expect answers to be returned, but she really didn't have another choice.

"So, Soren, uh, where are you from? If you're not a healer, you have to have another duty, right?"


"Speech"
'thoughts'

Soren had no idea what exactly had come over him, certainly he had never really been all that articulate and socializing wasn't second nature like it seemed to be for Kismet but he had always at least been able to speak without this level of failure. That was when he really noticed that his face felt hot, blood filling it with a slight ruddy color beneath his pelt. In fact now that he was aware of how hard he was blushing it was he could focus on. Dammit, what the hell is wrong with me? Finally her tones once more cut through his confused mind.

"I'm actually from a, ah, pack a south of here. Valhalla." Then he found himself stumped by the second part of her question. "No actually um, I don?t." He chuckled nervously. "What about you Hani?" Soren noted the way her name tasted on his tongue, the way it lifted itself from his lips like a bird taking flight.

talk, think