Valdís flopped down beneath the shade of the Orchard trees. The sweet scent of the blossoming trees hung in the air all around her. The sun was reaching its apex and between the heat and humidity she felt like all she could do this afternoon was to nap. For Úlfr it was a different story. The boy was healing well and with his healing came an uptick in energy. He was bounding after bugs, practicing his hunting. Valdís settled in, her front paws stretching out as she sat sphinx-like in the cool grass. Her left ear twitched to ward off an annoying fly before she let herself breathe out. One emerald eye glancing to the pup in between soaking up the richness of spring. "Talk" "You" Think

Úlfr crouched down in the tall grass. He was finally getting his sense of smell back as the congestion cleared. He buried his face in the grass for a moment before a large, fat cricket caught his attention. Prey! He crouched down in the grass and watched the cricket, silver-blue eyes tracking the movement. He coiled his legs beneath him and leapt for the cricket, but as soon as his paws came toward it the cricket jumped and Úlfr missed. "Awww, no!" His ears twitched as he eyed the cricket for another moment before springing again, only for it to leap away. He was supposed to be a mighty hunter! Why wasn't this working? He crouched down in the grass. Maybe he could sneak up on it…

WATCH YOUR TONGUE

The notion that spring was in bloom made Charm happy. It meant that she could hunt for some herbs to dry and store. It hadn't taken her long to find the old cavern her father had used in the mines to store herbs. While it was some trip she didn't mind going all over Boreas at least until she found a more suitable home. The north didn't sit right anymore and the scared woman didn't want to die alone freezing cold either. The Orchard was a sense of comfort for her. The scents and the budding apple tree's made her smile. The tiny wolf spotted two others though and she cautiously stayed put trying to make a sense of them first. A pup and a father... while in the previous years she would have taken that as already a given safety factor but wolves could become obsessive over their children.

Charm weighed it though, she best not waste her life standing off. If anyone crossed her they just might find something slipped into their food. Either way the small wolf would stay a few feet away but approach. Smiling towards the pup as she thought of him as cute. She always loved children after all - but she had no hope of having any of her own. At least she didn't think so. "Enjoying the spring weather are we?" she asked the pup as she stayed standing.

MADE BY MINNIE of BTN

Valdís let Úlfr continue his hunting practice as she rested. The sound of the breeze and the singing birds was a tonic for her soul. When she considered retiring these were the types of days she'd love to just soak in. Assuming she did actually retire. It was hard to imagine just laying about and soaking up ones final days. Her ears twitched at the sound of someone approaching and she quickly turned to look, seeing a small woman about her own age approaching. She seemed pleasant enough and asked if they were enjoying the spring weather. Valdís nodded. "Yes, I don't mind winter but I must say I'm glad to see spring is finally here. What brings you to the Orchard?" "Talk" "You" Think

Úlfr moved as slowly as he possibly could, taking one step and then another but it was just too hard to move that slow. He eventually got impatient and sprang toward the cricket, front paws diving down at the grass, but just as before he was too slow and the cricket bounded again out of his reach. Hmm… there had to be a better way to do this. He eyed the cricket perched on a branch when another woman approached. He glanced up, looking at his mother who didn't seem that bothered by the woman's presence.

"Hi!" He chirped, before turning his attention back to the cricket.

WATCH YOUR TONGUE

Charm had been mistaken, rubbing her nose with a paw she had realized that Valdis was a female. Slightly embarassed but considering she hadn't said anything of it she would move on. Asking her why she was here in the Orchard. "I just got done visitng my fathers grave. I'm heading farther south in search of some herbs I'm a healer." she smiled shifting towards the pup who was distracted by a cricket. He was cute and from the looks of it starting the makes of a true hunter. Charm thought to herself she had given up on the notion of having children. She was getting on in years and she'd been alone for the most part.

"I was born here in Boreas, but left to study for some time and now I'm back. The name's Charm Ancora." She introduced herself with a nod of her head. It was nice to have a bit of company. Charm enjoyed talking and interacting with others.

MADE BY MINNIE of BTN

"Oh? Who was he? I didn't realize there were graves here." Valdís supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Wolves had been wandering these lands long before her so it made sense that there were numerous burial grounds and individual graves. It was a sobering thought, one that had never occured to her. Where would she be buried when she died? "Nice to meet you Charm. I'm Valdís Thyre and this is Úlfr. I'm afraid I'm not much help at herb hunting. I'm a warrior myself." She could maybe recognize herbs that were shown to her if she'd seen them used on her own wounds but she really wouldn't have the vaguest idea where to search. "Talk" "You" Think

Third time proved to be the Charm. Úlfr used all the patience he could possibly muster then at the last moment sprang for the cricket. His mouth seized around it with a pop and a squish. He wrinkled his nose, chewed and swallowed. Bleck! Ok, that wasn't all that good.

"What are herbs?" He glanced at the woman who introduced herself as Charm.

However, it wasn't long before movement caught his eye. He moved toward the movement, moving low and slow as he approached whatever was in there. It was definitely bigger than a cricket. Just as he got close a startled pheasant burst from the thicker grasses and into the sky. Úlfr let out a yell and ran to hind behind Valdís.

WATCH YOUR TONGUE

Charm's heart hurt a bit. She had adored her father in her youth, but he was a coward with no honor. Regardless she wasn't even sure if his surname held any merit anymore. "Vereux Armada was his name. The grave's near the mines it's small I recently placed some flowers down for him." it didn't matter. There was nothing left for those who were gone. Only the legacy that they left behind. Regardless she didn't like thinking about it. She took more after her mother any despite her previous love for her father and the fact she was well into her years she had to let it go.

Charm perked at the notion of a warrior though with a smile. "I do a bit of sparring myself. Needed it since I was a loner for a very long time. Got this scar from a snow leopard back in the day. So if you ever need a spar partner I'm not too bad myself." she had grown to love the thrill of a fight unlike when she had been younger. When Ulfr asked about herbs she was about to answer but he discovered a pheasant and ran behind his mother making her chuckle. "Herbs my young boy are plants and other things that help when your hurt or sick." she gave a twitch of her tail. "Though some plants can kill you so it takes a bit of practice and much caution." that or use it to her advantage like she had in the past. She was a poison expert after all.

MADE BY MINNIE of BTN

Valdís spared Úlfr a glance long enough to see him eat a cricket. She wrinkled her nose but said nothing. While a cricket certainly wouldn't be her choice of prey she knew a pup had to start somewhere. She turned her attention back to Charm. "I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the name or the family but I'm still fairly new to these lands." Well, new after a fashion. She'd lived in these lands for over five years but much of that time had been spent as a loner. She knew little of the prominent families of Boreas. Valdís got to her feet and stretched at the mention of sparring. "Well, I'm always up for a bit of practice, though, Úlfr here is the one who could really use a lesson." She chuckled. Valdís had been trying to teach the boy but he was easily distracted. "Talk" "You" Think

At first Úlfr listened to the explanation of herbs with curiosity until she mentioned that some plants could kill you. His jaw dropped. "Really?" He knew about dangerous predators but not about dangerous plants. Now he was imagining plants with teeth, plants that could walk on their roots and sneak up on unsuspecting pups in the middle of the night.

He was distracted at the mention of sparring. "Oh, yea, I'm a great sparrer!" He bounded across from Charm, pinning his hears tight to his head as he fell into a play bow, his tail wagging excitedly.

WATCH YOUR TONGUE

Something of relief came over her when the lass had said she didn't reckognize the name. Something about the Armada name to her was cursed. She preferred the fact that she had taken her mothers last name. Of course the young pup was the one who needed training. Charm chuckled a bit, pups were the future. Part of her wished she could have a family but none had taken an interest in her and she was beginning to get too old for it. Perhaps it would be within her grasp if she could just meet the right wolf. Regardless as the pup enthusiatically asked about the plants she nodded. "The same plants can heal wounds, ailments and all the like. Others however can make you very sick, berries and leaves that can cause things to go wrong in your body." It would be good to be aware of certain plants to avoid.

It was then she fell into her own play crouch with the pup. "Oh yeah? Well then why don't you show me what you know then?" the woman's tone was playful. A bit of childish youth filled up in her as she grinned. The tiny lady was wagging her tail back and forth. Unsure if this was a play session or an actual spar though so she waited to see what would happen. Or even if the pups mother would be okay with such things.

MADE BY MINNIE of BTN

ooc: skipping Valdís for now to save my sanity xD

Úlfr listened quietly as Charm spoke of plants. For the most part he got what she was saying though he'd never really tried to eat plants before. He supposed if some could make you better than they might be worth it but from his experience chewing on grass plants were gross!

When Charm ducked into a play crouch to match his own he started to bounce with his excitement, his tail still going a hundred miles an hour. Valdís didn't seem to mind she settled down like a sphinx to watch with an amused smile on her face. Úlfr took a deep breath, a look of concentration flashing over his face as he pinned his ears to his head and tucked his tail. His fur stood on end and bounded forward toward Charm, jumping to his left as he tried to nip lightly at Charm's right arm. He hoped he was doing good. He was only just learning to fight and momma had insisted he just nip lightly for now and not full on bite anyone, not yet. That was fine with him. He liked Charm and didn't want to really hurt her.

Úlfr vs Charm for Spar
Round 1/?
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Large
Build: Medium
Companion 1: Raven, Male - Battle
Companion 2: Raven, Bale - Battle
Skills: Intermediate Hunter & Advanced Fighter
Specialty: N/A