"hmm..." he'd utter, wondering outloud as he stood at the base of a tree. this could work fine. it was on pack land, but far enough so that he was comfortably away from the bulk of the community. it made it more secluded and private if he ever got patients. no reason for everyone to stomp their way into his den and crush his herbs. the base of the willow tree had an opening he could dig out more and fit comfortably inside. he expected the depths, bending forward to paw at the earth. inside was a naturally forming rooted cave. he just had to clear the entrance. footfalls would sound behind him as he worked. Holland paused, not looking up from his task but acknowledging the other wolf all the same. "hello... Kairi, was it?" her scent was easy enough to remember considering she was the first wolf of Lirim he'd met. he wondered what she even wanted with him. the healer wasn't exactly the most sociable guy. it was clear when they met at the border a few days prior. but he was trying here. trying to get along with the people that'd be his practice dummies. er. patients. yes. patients.

She'd been out on patrol, checking the perimeter and marking where it needed to be refreshed. With her brother's pups on the way any day now, she tried to pick up some more work so that he didn't have to do it. Honestly, she was happy that Torin managed to find a mate and even have kids. It was well deserved, and she hoped he would be happy. After all that strain on their family between their mother leaving and their father just closing himself off and being all dickish...that at least, was on the mend. And just in time, too. She breathed in some fresh air as she continued her route, and just as she thought about going to bug her dad for nothing, she spotted that familiar grump butt she had met at the border a few days ago. She wondered if he had found a place to settle, or maybe he was super picky about where he wanted to put his den. She was a good distance from him still and his back was to her. A smirk spread on her lips and she decided she was going to surprise him. She crept forward, lowering her already small figure to the ground and carefully approached. What she didn't take into account was the breeze that blew towards him, the woman always forgetting about that one element that would always give her away. Thinking she had the element of surprise on her side, she stalked forward like a cat on the hunt until she was but a few feet away. Okay...now she was in range. All she had to do was jump out and surprise him. Easy peasy. Her rump wiggled a bit as she coiled her hind legs, ready to spring. "hello... Kairi, was it?" Just as she was starting to spring, his acknowledgment of her ended up surprising her. She stopped mid-pounce and dropped ungracefully back to the dirt, the woman stumbling as she fumbled for words. "Wh-how did you know I was coming?!" She uttered in disbelief. She thought she was sneaky...or maybe her dad just pretended all those times... "Speak"

art by Birmapus

he'd turn his head, staring at her neutrally. Holland could be a jerk at times, but she looked so miserable that he had smelt her that he didn't know what to do. his biting remark died on his lips. eventually settling on ignorance, he'd go on. "luck, I guess?" that and the wind had practically gave her away. but she didn't need to know that. maybe it wasn't good to baby her, because if she snuck up on an enemy like that she'd have lost the element of surprise and got ambushed or something. but he was really trying to keep civil. "did you... want something?" the young man asked, raising a brow as he twisted his body to face her properly. she wasn't exactly ugly, he supposed, but she was definitely older than him. Holland wondered why she was sneaking around trying to play with others if she really was older than him. he decided against asking. "if you aren't busy. you can... I dunno, help me gather herbs." again, trying here. it was really the only thing that excited him. plants. foliage. gods, he was boring.

"Luck I guess?" She frowned, a quiet "hmph" in her mind. Lucky huh? She felt the slight tug of the breeze and realized the direction it was going. Of course...she had, once again, failed to remember the wind direction. Her father had warned her about that, but she always forgot. She never really considered it since she wasn't the ambush fighting type, but she always thought she did a good job sneaking up on her dad when really, he pretended to be surprised. "did you... want something?" Bi-colored gaze focused on him, the question making her think about why she had come. She...didn't really have a reason. She didn't want anything from him, and she had been so focused on trying to sneak up she hadn't even thought about why she had decided to bug him. Now she was forced to think of something on the spot, and the best she could think of was..."Er, I uh...was just checking to see how you're settling in is all," Lies. But he wouldn't know that, right? "if you aren't busy. you can... I dunno, help me gather herbs." Help gather herbs, huh? She wasn't sure if that would be entertaining at all...it sounded boring, but she had never looked for herbs for personal use. She wasn't a healer by any means, but she did know where to find them. She spent her whole life navigating the lands both inside and outside of Lirim, surely she could at least show him where they were. "Well...I just finished patrolling the borders, so I'm not really busy anymore." She mused, wondering if there was someway she might be able to get out of actually gathering them...would he catch on? Or would it go over his head? "I can show you where to find what you're looking for." She flashed a grin at him, her gaze sparkling with a hint of amusement. "Speak"

she just wanted to see how he was settling in? well... he hadn't really expected that. nobody had bothered to check on him yet, so he supposed that was kind of her. "oh" because that's what packmates do, duh. it wasn't like she wanted to go out of her way to see him. flustered, he'd look away. "thanks." she had eyes. she could see that he had found a den and there was little point boring her with that information. especially since Holland was pretty damn sure he had bored her with his offer. in an effort to "fit in" with the group - whatever the hell group this was - he'd awkwardly laugh as he hung his head a bit. "patrols. not as exciting as herb gathering" which was untrue to him, but at least he admitted most wolves wound find it dull. Kairi seemed to be one of those warrior type deals. a guard or something. he used to be like that until he very much preferred not to die in senseless wars his people made him fight. Holland wanted to say he could find the herbs himself by smell but realized that'd be quite rude when he had invited her. his ego as a healer was still new so he'd shut up and take the help. she knew Lirim's lands better than he did. "thanks." he felt stupid, thanking her all the time. say something else. anything. rising to all fours, he'd walk toward her. "if you'd rather do something else, we can" Holland added in quickly. she didn't need to be polite just to make him feel good about himself. he wasn't that type of guy. he got a small idea just then. "I mean... you could show me where the herbs are, and... maybe the rest of the territory?" that wouldn't be so boring to her then.

This guy seemed....awkward at best. Most likely because he was still new and wasn't sure what to do around here, and likely the fact they were strangers to each other. Or maybe he was the antisocial type, and didn't like visitors. If that was the case, oh well. Kairi was pretty sociable and she tried not to exclude anyone. Some were an exception, if she felt like she just couldn't get alone with someone, she would be respectful, but she wouldn't go out of her way to hang out with them. Hollan, however, she was curious to see what kind of guy he was. So far...he reminded her somewhat of her dad. All serious and stuff. He commented that patrols weren't as exciting as herb gathering, and she opened her mouth to protest a bit but...then she realized he was right. Nothing exciting ever happened at their borders..."Well...you're kinda right, actually. I don't think anything exciting has ever happened around here, much less at the borders." She sounded disappointed, and she was. What good were the warriors if they didn't have anything to really do? Torin wasn't the type to go around raiding, as much fun as that sounded...and nobody ever really trespassed, except for that one weirdo recently. "if you'd rather do something else, we can" She tilted her head to the side a bit as she thought on it. Had he been able to see through her facade? Her little attempt at trying to get out of gathering herbs? Part of her felt rude for having done that, so when he spoke again she nodded. "Sure! I can show you all the good herb spots! I...don't really know what they are, but I'm sure you'll find something useful!" She grinned as she perked up, tail lightly beating the ground just before she hopped to her feet and started heading off. "Hope you can keep up!" She called over her shoulder as she started trotting ahead. "Speak"

he was shrewd, he'd give himself that. Kairi was easy to see. easy to read. at least... that's what he was going to think. don't get him wrong, a less intelligent wolf couldn't see through the facade. her expressions may be hidden, but he could tell she found herbs and plants boring. maybe because he used to as well. maybe, just maybe, they had a few common things in, well, common. that didn't make him feel better though. it just meant what she found interesting was what he felt was dull now. they really didn't have anything in common outside of Lirim. Holland felt it was best to keep a neutral footing in this land. Torin had said they didn't raid or attack without meaning. but the woman seemed to want more exciting things to happen. and sometimes he couldn't blame her. "I'll, uh, try" Holland replied to her at last, allowing Kairi to bounce away with him at her heels. he kept a healer's eye out for any spot she may wish to pause at, trying to catalog everything he saw at once. it made his head hurt but at least there'd be respite eventually. "how long has Lirim been around?" he tried to make her focused less on the actual gathering and more about what she knew. the woman was Torin's sister. she should have plenty of juicy gossips. not that he was a gossip. just... curious.

She checked over her shoulder to see if he was following, and to her delight, he was! She grinned before continuing on, her steps bouncy and her tail waving back and forth over her hips. To her, Holland seemed like the grumpy type. She could say she understood, considering she had been there not too long ago, but she hated every moment that the anger and the depression hit. She didn't like the way those feelings sat in her chest like a rock, so she did what she could to bring her back to her old self, and now here she was. Of course, rekindling her connection with what was left of her family had helped immensely, especially since that had been the main part of her emotional and mental downfall. "how long has Lirim been around?" She slowed down a bit to allow him to catch up, "Since I was a pup, so...about four years ago I think?. My mom started it not long after we were born. Then my brother Rory took over, and then Torin." She would neglect to mention how it ended up with Torin though...she wasn't quite sure if she was totally ready to talk about it, but enough time had also passed that it didn't bother her as much as it used to. She did still miss her mom and her twin brother, and Jaidah and her other brother, wherever the heck they were. Now, it was just her and Torin and their dad. It wasn't too bad she supposed, but the disappearance of her mother had caused a pretty big rift between the family that was left. "Speak"

so four years... Lirim was quite new then compared to other communities. he had no doubt that other packs were either older or newer. he didn't know enough about the land surrounding Lirim. he hadn't really walked around outside of it since he joined. too busy making a den and collecting anything he could find for emergencies... Holland hadn't done much in the ways of a wolf should behave. he was a bit shaken by the admittance of Kairi's age; she didn't look to be that old. three years maximum. so how old was Torin? he decided against asking such a personal question. "would you want the pack if your brother passed it to you?" Holland asked instead. if Kairi's brothers had ruled before her, would the pack get passed down to her if Torin somehow couldn't lead anymore? it was clear by his words he didn't mean anything by it; it was just general curiosity. Holland didn't know how packs really worked outside of constant raids and fighting. lucky for her, he didn't ask where this Rory or their mother was. it wasn't any of his business really. he supposed he should brace for questions she had too. Holland had seen the look she gave him when he admitted he had been banished from his old community. it wasn't terribly dramatic though.

She glanced at him, wondering what he thought about what she'd said. Truthfully, she still felt younger than she really was. And when she thought about it, she could hardly believe she and her siblings had all been born four years ago. Time sure flew pretty quick...but in quiet 'ole Lirim, it felt like it dragged on forever. That also meant her father was old, and she wasn't sure what she'd do when the time came to let him go. She couldn't properly grieve for her mother or brothers, because hell if she knew if they were alive or dead. She supposed she did grieve for them in some form, though she couldn't say it would be the same if she were to grieve for those close to her now. She could barely imagine what that would be like...but she didn't want to think about it now. She hoped her father, as old as he was, and Torin would live long lives. But even she wasn't sure how long wolves lived, or how long the oldest wolf lived to be. For all she knew, her dad could be at the end of his lifespan and wouldn't even know it. But he was still kicking strong, blind eye and all. "would you want the pack if your brother passed it to you?" His question surprised her and caused her to slow down until she was moving at a slow paced walk. She hadn't ever thought about that before, likely because she never thought it would ever be a possibility...Frostbite wasn't family, but he had led alongside Rory and when Rory left, Frost had been left in charge...and then he chose Torin to lead. Honestly, she wasn't even sure how the hell all that had happened. Or even why their dad hadn't been chosen for the job. "I'm...not sure to be honest. I think I could handle it, but...I don't think Torin would ever consider me," She frowned and sighed, "I don't think he thinks I'm mature enough, and honestly...I don't even know how or why he was chosen to lead. All I know is that my twin brother chose Frostbite to help him lead instead of our dad, and then when he disappeared, Frostbite chose Torin? Or something?" She shook her head as her frown deepened, "Besides...Torin has kids now, which means he'll more than likely pick one of them to lead." Which meant she knew for sure she would never get a chance. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood or anything. Just...nobody has ever asked me that before, I think you're the first to ever ask me anything like that." She looked at him as they walked, forcing a small smile as she realized this truth. The only thing she had ever really been asked is what rank she wanted or what position she was interested in. But that wasn't exactly personal stuff...she couldn't remember the last time someone asked her a question like the kind Holland had just asked her. "Speak"

honestly, he expected Kairi to have ambition for leading. she seemed to want to do something, anything, away from Lirim's apparent lull. and secretly, Holland felt she'd be an amusing leader. not very serious and fun-loving. though he wasn't sure how he'd handle that sort of alpha, it was a good mindset. however, her admittance that she wasn't good enough to lead made him grunt. "it seems you're mature enough, if you come to that conclusion yourself." if the woman didn't think she was mature enough to lead, that was maturity showing wasn't it? he thought so anyway. she apologized for bringing down the mood, causing him to scoff lightly and shake his head. "n-no... I shouldn't have... asked anyway. it's not my business." he was new here, and he accepted Torin as a leader. he was just curious if something would happen, that their alpha would pass it to someone he trusted to ensure Lirim's survival. Holland naturally assumed that was Kairi. he just wanted to find out if Torin had a plan. winter was coming and it was often unpredictable. looking around them to distract him from his embarrassment, the young man saw herbs and plants aplenty. he mentally prepared to come back later. using his vocals was exhausting after such a long trip to Boreas. he didn't think he had the energy to dig anything up for use. "are you excited to be an aunt?" Holland's eyes drifted back to Kairi, his doctorly mood returning as he asked a simple question.

"It seems you're mature enough, if you come to that conclusion yourself." Her ears pricked slightly at what he said, but all she could really do was shrug. All her life she felt like others saw her as immature and childish because she liked to play more than others and was too laid back. But really, she was pretty responsible and she worked hard, even when she was never acknowledged for it. She doubted anyone even noticed, which in a way kind of hurt. But who was she to complain? She wasn't in a position of power or leadership. She was just a warrior, and that's probably all she'd really be in Lirim. If she was honest with herself, it kind of saddened her. "I guess," was really all she could think of to say. He really got her thinking now, and she didn't like the thoughts she was thinking. He sort of apologized after that, which brought her to shake her head. "No, I don't mind. Really. You're a pack mate now, and if we're gonna be friends, I prefer to be honest." Her mouth shut quick and she felt heat rise to her face then, "Th-that's if you wanna be friends..." She wouldn't be mad if he wanted to go it alone. Disappointed maybe, simply because she had been craving some new interaction for a while. Maybe that was why she decided to kind of follow him around whenever she saw him. He was...different. "Are you excited to be an aunt?" Whew, thank God for the subject change. She nodded slowly, though her doubts and insecurities began to surface. What if her new nieces and nephews didn't like her? She was always trying to do fun things, but what if they ended up like her moody brother? Granted Torin had his moments, but their relationship wasn't always the best...things had been getting better lately, but she couldn't help but feel that losing their mother had changed a part of them forever. "Yeah, I think so. I've...never had nieces or nephews before, so I'm not totally sure what to expect but, I just...hope they like me.." And if they didn't? Well...she supposed she'd find out when or if that ever happened. "Speak"

he wanted to tell her not to sell herself short, but felt it was too... dunno, formal? informal? how the hell was he supposed to know? all that he knew was it wasn't his place. he just met the woman. she was allowed to feel insecure and not sure of her place. he was. he was totally feeling like that too. "f-friends?" Holly felt his own cheeks fluster, gladdened by his darker cheeks in this moment. he cleared his throat, trying to act cool. "of course. we're friends. and packmates." he added in awkwardly, hanging his head in shame. Kairi looked so miserable at his questioning that he felt bad. pinning his ears back, he wanted to yell at her. about things. about nice things. tell her if she got him talking so much, she wasn't that bad. that she was patient with him. that she'd be a good aunt. she was a good friend, after all. but he said none of these things, feeling too embarrassed. "family is... complicated" Holland stated instead, frowning. his own had turned on him pretty quick. "its how you... live your life. make your own circle. that's more important." he went into the old proverb that you can't choose your family.

He suddenly seemed as shy and as embarrassed as she did when she mentioned being friends. It was totally unusual for her. She was hardly ever shy about anything. In fact, she couldn't recall a time she had ever been shy. She supposed she was sort of at this moment because Holland was new and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable with anything, but maybe she just had. She didn't know. It seemed she hadn't been so sure of anything anymore, and she was just now realizing that. "of course. we're friends. and packmates." Man, this guy was pretty awkward, wasn't he? Not that she minded. She was sure that she was being awkward now, too what with spilling all this random sad stuff on him. C'mon Riri, get it together! She'd mentally scold herself. "Heh, well if you weren't a pack mate now, I'd be inclined to punt you into the water too ya know? It's kinda part of my job," She joked and threw in a wink for good measure, referring to the unfortunate event that had happened to Rags. Ah, that felt better. She didn't like feeling all gloomy. She much preferred her old, joking self. "family is... complicated" She glanced at him, bi-colored gaze swimming with a moment of confusion. Well...he wasn't wrong. As simple and as boring as her life seemed, she had a whole assortment of family problems. Or she did. But sometimes she felt like it was still going on...and more than likely the distance that had been put between the family that remained still lingered, but nobody would admit it. Or maybe it was just her. She couldn't speak for Torin and their dad. "its how you... live your life. make your own circle. that's more important." Um...what? She tilted her head with confusion, wondering what he meant by that. "What do you mean by...'make your own circle'? I thought family was most important?" Was it really though? All her life she had sacrificed her ambitions and everything to stay with her family...so much that she wasn't even sure what she wanted. What her dreams were. Her ambitions. Her goals. Whereas Torin had a family now. A real, true family. She kinda sorta had her dad, but he was old...she knew she'd lose him in the near future...who would she have then? "Speak"

punt someone into the water? he resisted an odd look at her. "I can't swim" he admitted, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make. he'd... chuckle? yes, chuckle. just a bit. enough to let her know it was just a small joke. "I'd drown. you'd feel bad. then have to explain to Torin you killed someone via punt." which he hoped Torin would feel bad about too. he didn't know Kairi could punt someone - she seemed too small for that sorta thing. then again, most people assumed he was a fighter due to his tallness. it was a strange world they all lived in. she also seemed confused by his words, and he struggled to make sense to her. as much as he wanted to look away and say 'forget about it', he had said them. it would be, dunno, rude not to elaborate. "y'know... make your own family. y-you can't choose your family. by birth... if you're unhappy with them. or want to seek more. make friends. make close bonds. enough that they're... your family." he hoped he at least sounded wise with that advice. didn't matter if she didn't take it, cause it was out of the blue and random.

"I can't swim." Well, lucky him. Sort of. She wouldn't punt someone who couldn't swim into the water. She wouldn't have punted him into the water to begin with. Maybe. If he had trespassed it was a likely possibility, but also...she would have had to probably try to fish him out when she discovered he couldn't swim. He chuckled at what he'd said, causing her ears to perk as he joked about it. "I'd drown. you'd feel bad. then have to explain to Torin you killed someone via punt." He had a point there. Her eyes grew wide though at the mention of potentially killing someone that way. "I've never killed anyone that wasn't prey, maybe I should stop doing that..." Her mind quickly went to Rags who had been her most recent victim, not realizing that the woman had trouble with her legs and stuff. She could have drowned...but luckily, Kairi hadn't punted her deep enough to drown her. He elaborated on what he meant when she asked, bringing her to think more on it. She had never thought of that before...she always thought you were stuck with the family you were born into. Despite her feeling like an outcast sometimes, she wasn't sure if she could actually walk away from what she had to find something new. "I never thought I could do that..." She mused for a moment as she looked at him. He seemed to be pretty wise, at least so far from what she gathered. It was weird for her though considering he was younger, but maybe he had more experience with those kinds of things whereas all she knew was her life in Lirim. "Thank you." She wouldn't explain what she was thanking him for...she wasn't even sure, but she felt she should say it anyway. Sighing, she glanced around and remembered what they had come this way for, and as her gaze spotted the nearby plants, she wondered if any of them might be useful to him. "Do any of those look like something you could use? I'll help you dig 'em up if you want?" She wanted a distraction from the topic that had come up without warning. Despite them barely knowing each other, she had unknowingly found herself opening up to him. "Speak"

Holland didn't know the circumstances of Kairi's feelings toward her family, but he thought she sounded lonely. Torin had his mate, had kids on the way. he had assumed the two siblings were close from the border encounter, but maybe he was wrong. "y-yeah... no problem" she thanked him though, causing the young man to look away. he hadn't ever been thanked before for his advice. it felt odd. most people didn't want to get closer to him because he was outwardly anti-social, grumpy even. at least Kairi tried. she'd go on to spot a few patches of herbs, causing the healer in him to veer away from her to investigate. the small, thin purple flowers marked it as alfalfa. this was perfect for Torin's mate. it could stimulate milk for her pups. but not too much else it'd be bad. also good for the elderly residents of Lirim in its arthritis properties. "this" he stated if she came at his side "is alfalfa. I could use this. yes" he lowered himself to viewing position, sniffing idly at the plant. still good despite the heat. "can... you dig from that side?" he added in, gesturing to the other side of the plant. he'd been at once whether she agreed or not. his white paws worked effortlessly in the dirt, trying to dig a wide berth around the plant to pull it - and its roots - out.

Her tail flicked when he responded to her thanks. Yep, he was a little odd. Maybe too serious, but then again who wasn't around here? She supposed it was the norm. Maybe Lirim attracted those kinds of wolves. He did, however, seem interested in the plants they'd found. He said it was alfalfa, and of course she committed the name to memory. She didn't know what it did but at least she had found a useful herb. Moving over to the opposite side of him she watched how he was digging around it first. If it were left up to her to collect these herbs on her own she probably would have just dug, sprayed dirt everywhere, and probably flung the plant with the dirt and collect it that way. Maybe healers were just more careful about it. "What's alfalfa used for?" She asked, voice full of curiosity as she carefully started to dig just as he was. When she saw the roots were exposed, she figured it was okay to pull it out now, but she didn't want to damage it on accident so she'd let him take the first one out. She had never been a healer, mostly cuz there hadn't been anyone around reliable enough to teach her. "Speak"

"it stimulates milk" Holland said, working to dig under the plant now. he craned his long body, trying to slide under the remaining roots and cut them expertly. he snapped his jaws a few times against them, separating them from the ground. the plant moved to the side Kairi was on until Holland jerked his head back, holding the dirty cone of earth in his mouth. he applied pressure until it crumbled, leaving only the alfalfa in his jaws. he placed it on the earth in front of him. "and the leaf helps with arthritis" he didn't know if Lirim had many elderly wolves, but the milk stimulation would definitely help with Derecho's litter. he'd store it away for further use when the pups arrived. alfalfa was one of those universal herbs in regards to urinary and stomach problems. less so with bone problems; he'd prescribe something else for that if possible. feeling as if that was enough for now, he'd look around to spot more of the plant. this seemed to be a good spot for them. almost shyly, he'd turn back to Kairi. "do... you want to help get another one?"

She watched as he slid into the dirt to cut them away. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she observed him...and not so much the roots. He seemed to really know what he was doing, and she felt a little at odds with herself. She wasn't a healer, though at some point had wanted to be when she was younger, but there hadn't been anyone she could really learn from at the time. So she opted to learn fighting instead, but she completely sucked at that, too. He explained a bit about what the herb did, and she had to admit the first part was a little...embarrassing for her. It wasn't a bad thing. She was sure there were mothers out there who needed it, but she had never ever thought about anything to do with motherhood let alone herbs that could be used for mothers. Still...it was interesting. Especially the other uses it had. "If my dad uses this for arthritis, is he gonna start getting milk, too?" Clueless. Totally, and utterly, clueless. Was that how it worked? Or did it only work for girls...? She felt totally stupid asking such a dumb question, but...in her defense, she didn't know a single thing about medicine. "N-nevermind, that was probably the dumbest question you've ever heard," She cleared her throat and looked away in embarrassment, though only for a moment as he asked if she wanted to help him get another one. "S-sure, and uh...if there's something else you wanna dig up, I'd be more than happy to try and help you find it." Then again...the more of this..alfalfa they had, the more there would be for her dad and Frostbite and the other old she-wolf she had seen around. "Speak"