Dragoncrest Cliffs Ammolite
Did someone say plants?
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All Welcome 
after @Wildfire returns? i was hoping (:

portia didn't really know what had happened. she knew that wildfire had gone into heat, and then disappeared. she knew that she herself had acted up upon jealousy. she had admitted her love to dio and then felt robbed, though she wasn't sure what of since she did not want children herself. in truth, she had acted childishly, and she scolded herself every day that wildfire was gone, because she blamed herself for it. had the bandrona merely left? did portia scare her off-- did she feel threatened? she didn't know, but she scoured the territory looking for both herbs for her cache, and the redheaded woman.

as of late, however, wildfire's scent was back in the territory. she sought the woman with a smooth bone in her jaws, ears pinned to her head. she looked to apologize, and maybe make nice, if the heda's wife would have it. she followed the strongest scent she could find, praying that it would lead her to the fiery girl.
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She hadn't slept or eaten much while away, so Wildfire had some catching up to do. She knew she should join the others in the cave but, instead, she sought out a hollow log in the forest atop the cliffs and snuggled down inside it. It took a while for her to doze off but when she managed, she slept for hours. When she woke, she was cold and stiff. Climbing out of her makeshift nest caused her body to creak all over.

She braced herself as she let reality wash over her, as it did every time she woke recently. Her chest pinched when it all came rushing back, particularly the news of her parents' death. Wildfire breathed through it, then made to begin walking to coax some warmth and limberness into her muscles. She hadn't gone more than six steps before catching sight of a white figure approaching through the trees.
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portia hadn't known about what had happened while wildfire was away, and if she had she would have brought poppyseeds with her. if wildfire chose to share, she would still offer some herbs. but she did, for now, do her best to be chirpy and polite, her tail wagging. "wifi!" she yipped, padding up to the redhead, a smile on her face. she did, however, notice something off right away. her smile faltered, and she stared (almost rudely) as she tried to decipher what was going on. realizing what she was doing, the skayona dipped her head and lowered her tail, a silent apology. "wildfire? are you okay, hun?" she asked, placing the bone down. she'd offer her the gift, but not yet.
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The figure quickly took on the familiar, distinctive features of the pack's Skayona. Wildfire bit absently at her lower lip, not sure how Portia would behave toward her. She still remembered that awkward confrontation on the beach. But she needn't have feared; the medic greeted her warmly and then with concern coloring her expression and tone.

"I'm—yeah," the Bandrona replied a little haltingly. She was doing all right, all things considered. She was still affected by her parents' death—it would take a while to truly process and move on from it—but Wildfire didn't necessarily feel like talking about that with anyone besides Thuringwethil. And she definitely didn't want to touch on the subject of her unproductive heat, although she wondered if Portia was secretly happy it hadn't worked out for her.

Pushing that thought from her mind, Wildfire caught herself zoning and blinked to clear her vision. "What's that?" she asked stupidly, peering at the bone by Portia's paws.
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wildfire nodded, claiming she was alright. portia eyed her quietly for a moment, skeptical, but unless she came clean herself the skayona would not probe her further. she dipped her head respectfully-- to both her rank and her answer. truthfully, portia was happy about the lack of coitus between her mate and another woman... but that did not mean she felt sympathy for the other. wildfire had really wanted this, and she knew that. it did not, however, stop her from bringing it up. she still felt it was her fault, and wished to cleanse what could be a tainted relationship after that interaction.

"a bone," she said, dipping her head to nose it forwards, "a gift." she said with a small smile. hesitantly, her ears splayed slightly, and she glanced away before eyeing the redhead again. "it's an apology-- i hope it was not me who caused you to leave... my actions were not my own that day, hun, and... well i just wanted to apologize."
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Portia said it was a gift, then offered an explanation and apology to go along with it. Wildfire blinked at her, lips parting in surprise. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "Dio didn't tell you?" The instant the words left her mouth, she felt a burning heat in her face, neck and down her back. "Never mind," she muttered in the very next breath, gaze dropping to her paws. She still felt extremely conflicted about that encounter. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet with her own mate, much less anyone else, and especially not the Skayona.

"Um," the Bandrona said awkwardly a minute later, "thank you, though. I mean, it's unnecessary but thank-you." She grimaced at her own discomfiture. "You had nothing to do with it," Wildfire had the presence of mind to add, stifling what would have been a windy sigh. She dearly hoped these past two encounters didn't permanently harm her friendship with Portia. She really liked the woman and didn't need another pack mate she avoided completely due to awkwardness, as she did with Hush.
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dio didn't tell you? the words caused her cheeks to burn, and her ears to perk. dio didn't tell me what? she wanted to ask, but clearly whatever was going on made wildfire uncomfortable, and she was suddenly questioning if dio had been able to do what they'd asked of him-- just before wildfire ran off. she stared, questioning silently but not stupid enough to verbalize her questions. wildfire moved on, awkwardly, and portia let out a heavy breath.

"well, hun, if you're sure," she said with a shrug, staring quietly at the bone. feeling the same way as the other woman, portia straightened her shoulders a little, which had drooped from confusion. she gave a light smile and tilted her head slightly. "how do you like the territory so far?" she asked, tail curled around her paws. that was less awkward, maybe.
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If Portia felt as awkward and conflicted as she did, she didn't show it. Wildfire shot her a quick, grateful glance and nodded as if to reply, I'm sure, even if she wasn't. She wondered if the Skayona would grab the opportunity to take off then. Instead, she squared her shoulders and posed an unrelated question, clearly trying to make conversation. Glad for the distraction, the yearling lifted her eyes and managed a wan smile.

"I do like it here," she said. She didn't bother mentioning her discomfort with the caves, since it was a personal problem that would hopefully resolve itself in time and there was nothing anyone else could do about it. "I miss Sleeping Dragon though," Wildfire continued, her already small smile fading, "as well as Freyja and the others." As far as she knew, there was no news on that front. If search parties had been sent out in her absence, they hadn't found anyone. The Bandrona herself hadn't magically crossed paths with their wayward members while out on the road, either.

Shaking her head lightly, she asked, "How about you? Do you like it?"
Did someone say plants?
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portia smiled, glad that wildfire interacted rather than simply shoving her off. "i do miss my den," she agreed with a shrug, "oh! and all my herbs! my poor plants all dead with the dragon." she frowned, remembering how her den had collapsed, causing very few of the plants and herbs she'd spent so much time collecting to be completely unsalvageable. oh well. she sighed, shrugging. "i haven't heard anything about them. i worry, but i feel that hvitserk and freyja can handle themselves... perhaps it was just their time to leave," she suggested rather sadly. she wished they would return, but at this point felt that it was, perhaps, a useless to hope for.

"but i do love it here," she continued with a wave of her tail, "i always feel safer among trees, and these redwoods are gorgeous."
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She frowned in sympathy over the news of Portia's collection. They had really lost so much that night, though their efforts to rebuild were going well enough. Wildfire's expression grew pensive, then a little sour, when the Skayona mentioned it might have been the growing pups' time to leave. Freyja was supposed to be their godmother, she thought, swallowing around the sharp lump it put in her throat. Wildfire didn't need to think about all of that—all of her hopes, dreams and plans crashing and burning right along with their former home—right now.

Drawing in a deep breath and holding it in her chest, Wildfire nodded at Portia's mention of the trees. After exhaling, she agreed, "They are. There's actually a fallen one west of here that I like to visit. It's sort of like a cave, only somehow more open and airy. I could show you sometime," she offered with a good-natured shrug.
Did someone say plants?
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the mention of the fallen tree made portia's ears cup forward, her head tipping to the right. "please," she nodded, tail waving, "i bet it's gorgeous... and it'd be useful for lots of things in the future." she added the last part vaguely, for it really could be used for lots of things. for one, a hideaway. if drageda was ever attacked and the caverns were at risk, the tree could potentially be a good place to hide children and some of her herb caches, in case they were raided.
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The Skayona seemed interested in visiting the tree. Despite having just offered to take Portia there, Wildfire felt an unexpected feeling of possessiveness well inside her. She ignored it, though. She was happy to share her discovery with others. And it was probably safer to use the buddy system while visiting, after what had happened the last time she went there.

Although it was a bit of a non sequitur, the Bandrona suddenly said, "Hey, I know it's not the right time of year for it but if you lost most of your collection, do you need some help foraging for supplies?" The implication was clear: she would be happy to assist. While keeping one ear out for a response, the Bandrona fetched the bone and stored it inside the log, then turned back to face her pack mate.

I figured you could fade it from here! :)
Did someone say plants?
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her ears perked. "yes, actually, hun," she replied with a smile, nodding a bit. she stood as the redhead stored the bone-- a bit happy at the sight-- and glanced off for a moment. "i usually find some herbs growing just on the border of the redwoods-- closer to the lake," she explained, tail waving. the skayona fell into a quick explanation of why they might've grown there and how they would find them, since they were mostly covered in snow.  she motioned respectfully for the bandrona to follow her before trotting off into the woods with her, beginning a quick informational lecture on winter herbs-- unsurprisingly.
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