The day was waning and night was slowly taking over. Prime time for Iolaire to be out and about. In areas like this were the sun sweltered down, it was best for a black pelted wolf to make herself scarce. She'd spend the day napping and would spend the night learning this place. She would catalog the flora that she found and come back once her garden had been set up if she deemed anything to be of use. Twas the time of nocturnal beasties. All around her she could hear creatures rustling beneath the rocks. The woman settled herself atop one particular rock. From above, she could see a small track as though many small feet walked it regularly. Hunched down much like a cat, she watched and waited, the tip of her tail twitching slightly. The instant that the mouse broke free of its den, Iolaire launched herself forward. Front paws landing square upon the rodents spine. She killed it instantly and wasted no time in eating it while it was still warm. Being a very small wolf, most of Iolaire's meals were rodents and rabbits. "Speech"

Venom was beginning to take after her mother, she preferred the nighttime hours to be most active. Her white gloved paws carried her forward from the den after her mother sent her away. They had been practicing runes and sigils. They bother shared the gift of cat claws, so learning how to write them was a fun activity to share with her mother. Zee came in and bothered them though and she was made to move along.

The Empress asked her to go find her sister, but she wasn’t sure where to find her. Still she’d make an attempt. The young girl made her way forward in search of Pestilence. She crested a big rock and found the form of a wolf she didn't know. She paused, frozen as lilac gaze watched the events unfold. Suddenly she moved and with a startled squeak the rodent met its end. ”You strike so fast.” Venom stated with admiration as her forked tongue flicked out from behind pale lips. She didn’t make a move to come any closer, but her purple and pink eyes were full of curiosity.

The dark woman had been so preoccupied with consuming her meal that she hadn't even heard the child draw near. The girl's voice pulled Iolaire's attention to her, skull swiveling upon her neck to stare at the purple eyed child. A compliment was given and the older wolf chuckled softly. "Lots of practice. You learn to be fast when you don't have a pack. You either make your kill or you go hungry." Turning completely, she faced the child, but made no move to go closer, lest she scare her. She wondered why the girl was out on her own. Not being one that was around children frequently, she couldn't even gauge the age of the young one. Not that it really mattered, she supposed. "I'm Iolaire. Who might you be?" She tilted her head slightly, waiting for an answer. "Speech"

Her ear flicked in irritation from the spider bite she’d gotten earlier. She tried to ignore it as the small adult turned to face her. She spoke about the harshness of living outside the pack, something Venom hadn’t experienced. In fact the princess hadn’t been forced to go without anything in her short life. She trained hard and worked for her accomplishments, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t spoiled.

Venom didn’t know the woman, but Seer’s scent was all over her. There was no reason to fear this one, the young pup didn’t scare easily. ”Pleased to meet you, Iolaire.” The Princess replied as she remembered her manners. ”I’m Princess Venom Klein Abraxas.” The youth offered with a proud tilt of her head and swish of her tail. SHe couldn’t help the flick of her tongue as well. ”Who are you though?” Venom inquired deeply, her gloved paws bringing her towards the other she wolf. ”Why are you here?” Why was she talking of being a loner, but walking around comfortably in Ashen lands?

Io noted the flick of the ear and the slight look of irritation. She wondered if there might be something wrong with it, but wouldn't ask until she was certain. If the girl continued to flick the same ear, then she'd ask. The girl introduced herself, title and all. Titles meant nothing to Iolaire, but the child didn't know that. Hell, she was a princess herself if you wanted to get into it, which she didn't. "Good to meet you, Venom." She gave a chuckle. "No need to be so formal. It's just us ladies." Forelegs slid outward and Iolaire deposited herself upon her stomach, legs hanging over the edge of the rock that she was seated upon. Venom questioned exactly who Iolaire was and the tri-colored dame fixed her gaze upon the girl. "The newest member of the Ashen Armada. Healer to Sirius." She continued, "And I'm here because it's not safe to return to the claimed lands yet. Volcano business." They would return eventually and Iolaire would be able to get to work. Damn, did she have a lot of work to do. "Speech"

Her ear flicked again as she finished introducing herself. That stupid spider, next time se saw one she was going to kill it just to make herself feel better. She was distracted enough to not think too heavily on it as her pleasantries were returned and she was told not to be so formal. The young girl wasn’t sure what to think about being so relaxed in front of a stranger, but she tried to adopt a similar pose and speak less rigidly.

She listened intently, bright cranberry eyes remained curiously upon the healer. She knew that her mentor was making a pack, so Io would be much to Sirius as Lucretia was to her and her mother. ”Yeah, I miss the palace.” It didn’t really occur to her that Io might not know where or what the palace even was. ”I hope it goes back to normal soon. Volcanoes don’t erupt all the time, do they?” Of her short life, half of it had already been consumed by the eruption and its devastation. She flicked her tongue as she internally shied away from thoughts of the volcano and how it had taken her father.

It was a relief when the young wolf shook off a bit of formality and made herself comfortable. Again she noticed the flicking ear and now she couldn't help herself. Motioning with a pull of her skull towards the affected aud, the woman spoke.  "Is your ear feeling okay?" She would do what she could to aid the child of there was an issue. It could have simply been a nervous tick, however. Venom admitted to missing the palace and Iolaire nodded in understanding. "It's good to miss your home when you're away. It shows that you truly care for it." While Iolaire had not been to the palace, she'd heard of it when Sirius had explained the workings of the Ashen Empire to her. No doubt she would see it some day. Hopefully soon. The girl also asked if Volcano's erupted all the time and Iolaire gave a soft laugh, the corner of her gold and green eyes crinkling. "No, not all the time. Most make a bunch of noise and then go to sleep for a long, long time." She hoped that the volcano would quiet soon and that its aftermath wasn't too severe. "Speech"

She should have figured when she said she was a healer that the woman would notice the spider bite bothering her. ”Ah..” Her eyes looked upward, as if to catch a glimpse of her afflicted appendage. ”A spider bit me.” She told her honestly, tongue flicking as her ear did so again.

Iolaire was sympathetic to her yearning for home, but tried to point out a tiny lining. She knew she loved it because she really missed it. Venom would think about it, but for now pushed the thought aside. What if they left? She was relieved when she was explained that volcanoes do not erupt terribly often, and if Venom didn’t see another eruption for the rest of her life she wouldn’t complain.

Her thoughts were never far from the loss of her father, and speaking of the volcano was never easy. Though she didn’t cry her bright eyes became misty as she held back her emotion. ”Good. They’re terrible.” She stated with absolute conviction.

Venom admitted to a spider bite. An easy fix.  "Let me help. I'll have that ear feeling better in no time." Nosing into her pack Iolaire picked out a bit of chamomile. Taking the plant in her mouth, she crushed it between her teeth, chewing it and mixing the mash with her own saliva. She explained to Venom as she worked. "The enzymes in your saliva mix with the mashed plant and help break down the lining so the helpful inside can work faster." Stepping up to the girl, Iolaire pressed the paste on either side of the affected ear. It was a relatively dry mixture with just enough moisture to stick to the area. It would dry, harden and fall away. "Chamomile will soothe the skin and reduce the swelling that's making you uncomfortable. Once it dries and falls off, give your ear a light wash." Her job finished, Iolaire settled back into place across from the girl. Venom had a hatred for volcanoes, it seemed. She knew nothing of the girl's father and so she couldn't understand. "They do terrible things, this is true. Afterwards, however, the land is born again. The soil becomes rich from the ash. Plants and animals thrive once things begin to grow." A light shrug was given. "There's usually a little bit of good to every bad." "Speech"

The woman offered her a quick kindness, she could take care of her bite with ease. Venom perked as she watched Io dig through her satchel. The woman gently explained what she was going to do, what to expect, and what needed to be done later. Venom nodded, flicking her ear a couple more times before Iolaire took her ear. She tried not to flick it as the healer worked, so her tongue did instead. ”Okay,” she offered in acceptance of the need to wash her ear when the mixture fell off. She’d need to go to the Oasis, maybe she could get a lesson from Sirius while she was there. If he was there. Her mentor had been busy building the Armada, and hadn’t had as much time for the young Princess.

Venom looked away as Iolare talked about how the earth would renew itself after the volcano. Her dark ears fell to her skull and pink purple gaze searched out the horizon. Her hackles and quill raised in agitation as her thoughts were brought again to Archon. ”Do you think…” She hesitated, this was a question for Obi or her mother, or even her father when she saw him in her dreams. ”Do you think my father could be reborn?” Her voice was scarcely a whisper as she barely asked the question.

The girl sat well as her ear was being tended to. She listened and agreed to wash her eat when the mixture fell away. If she did that, her ear would be good as new. Hopefully she wouldn't receive any more spider bites in the future, but if she did, Iolaire had shown her how to treat them.

Something was bothering Venom. It was clear on her face. Black ears flicked forward as the girl started to speak, stopped, and then started again. Now those ears pulled back against her skull for a moment. Iolaire sighed and shook her head lightly. "Unfortunately, no. We can't be brought back. Our bodies, however, go into the earth. We feed the earth and turn into plants and trees which feed all the animals of the world." It wasn't a consolation for death, but it was something. "I wish that we could bring loved ones back. There are three faces that I would do anything to see again." The adolescent faces of her brothers rose before her minds eye.

Extending one small paw, Iolaire rested it gently upon Venoms for a moment. A gesture of comfort. "I'm sorry about your father." And she was. "All we can do is grow up big and strong and carry their memory with us always."

Iolaire didn’t press her as Venom asked quietly her loaded question. The girl knew that she wouldn’t enjoy the answer, but as Io spoke she did her best to soften the blow. Venom’s father was gone, he would not be reborn. His body would nourish the earth as the ash, much like her own or any of those she cared for. Venoms gaze was shut tight as she felt the familiar ache of loss within her.

The gentle support of the woman’s paw upon hers opened her eyes and drew her gaze up into the woman’s bright golden eyes. She sniffled softly, having thought that she had long ago cried all her tears for her dad. She gulped back the emotion, ”I didn’t.. I didn’t think so.” She replied somberly, ears still pressed firmly against her head. She breathed in heavily and sighed softly. ”He was supposed to teach me so much.” She sniffled as the tears welled up in her young eyes. ”I hate that he left me. I want him back.” She knew she could see him in her dreams, she knew that Obi could summon the sleep to see him. She wanted him here though, in the physical world. She swiped the cat clawed paw not under Io’s paw at the dirt in her frustration. Grief was so hard to deal with.

She sniffed her tears back, realizing suddenly her behavior in front of the near stranger was not very princessly. She was half a year old now, she was going to start getting responsibilities and she had to learn how to better control her emotions. ”I’m sorry about your loved ones.” She offered, trying not to wallow in her own emotion when Io felt loss too. It was easy to think the world revolved around you when you were royalty.

At the pain in both the girls face and her speech, Iolaire reached out and patted her paw again, a sad, sympathetic smile on her face. "Loss is never easy. No matter how many times you go through it, it's always just as hard." It was supposed to be. If you cared for someone, you mourned their passing. If you didn't care for someone, death was nothing. Well, to Iolaire death was nothing. Some people felt the pangs of death even for the unknown. She wasn't remotely close to being that type.

Venom confessed that her father still had much to teach her. "You'll have to learn in his name, then. Hone your skills and make yourself the absolute best at what you do. Do it in his memory and make him proud." She had done something similar. Though she wasn't sure if her mother was dead or alive, she was trying her best to make the giantess proud.

Eventually the girl regained composure, going back to being formal. Iolaire exhaled audibly and shook her head. If she felt she needed to be formal... then she could. Iolaire wouldn't either way. Venom expressed sorrow for her loss and the small wolf nodded. "Thank you. It was a long time ago, but it still brings pain, as it should. Never forget those that have been lost." She would never forget her brothers just as Venom would never forget her father.