Qeya River Clover leaves and dandelions

Two children kept him quite busy, as he doted upon @Ash Star and her growing children who were becoming more and more mobile each day. They grew and so did their demands, and Ksura felt fulfilled to be taking care of them. 

He did not forget, however, about the wives who had also brought two litters into the world. He gave them space, but once before had left a slain rabbit in their vicinity, hoping they would accept it as a gift. 

He felt ashamed, for having not brought it right to them. He guilted himself for a day, and then slew another rabbit- and with a bit more boldness this time, he sought out @wren and @silvertongue, hoping they might be appeased with his offering.

ksura caught silvertongue as she was returning to the sunlit den against the qeya. "hola," she greeted with waving tail and appreciative glance for his offering. "i have just met with our neighbors," she said. "wealda and gavrel, of the rise. there are many of them. they offer us hunters. and i said we could help to train their healers." she eyed the man; bringing him into her council was important for riverclan, she felt, whatever they might become.

Silvertongue looked well, and effortlessly made him feel both comfortable and overwhelmed all at once. He’d figured there might be some stiff small-talk, and had assumed that once he’d given them their gift, he’d be kindly waved off so that he could go back to hunting. It seemed instead that she wanted to talk of the pack’s affairs with their neighbours, and he was surprised.

”Oh?” They would have hunters to help, but were expected to help train medics. He shrugged. ”’Fraid I personally can’t help with that much, but uh, I’m assuming one of you knows something about medicines, yeah?” Ash Star might, he thought- he knew so little of Silvertongue and Wren that he had no idea whether they specialized in that knowledge or not. 

Obviously, if she had made that arrangement, one of them must be capable. 

”I’d be glad for more hunters though. Where did you say they were from?” He asked, for clarification.

a laugh; "i know nothing of it, but i remember the basics. i can learn, i think," she said, her eyes traveling to the small white flowers and the tufts of dark green that interwove beyond the denmouth. "and i can teach." in the palace she had learned that ambition did not operate on hesitance. they needed hunters. silvertongue would ensure it. "northwest, i think. they just called it the rise." she considered ksura. "it is more open here in the taiga. i think — i think i am unaccustomed to the lack of shadows in this place."

It seemed perhaps she would not have much advice to offer; he wondered if the neighbouring wolves would be satisfied with the trade of basic knowledge for help with hunting. Surely, though, Silvertongue would not offer more than what could be expected. He chose not to question her reasoning- she seemed resourceful, and confident that their exchange would be fair. 

Some reason, he felt a twinge in his belly when she spoke the words ”And I can teach.” He was swift to dismiss the sensation, and felt lightly guilty for the path that his mind had gone down, even if only for a second. Silvertongue was an attractive woman, even if she didn’t intend to be noticed that way. 

She reiterated the location of the pack she had negotiated with, and for a moment, his expression went blank. He tried to recall if those were the wolves that the tongue-less woman had belonged to, but the name didn’t ring a bell. He suspected it was, but he didn’t feel it would be an issue. 

The woman hadn’t liked him, but she hadn’t really seemed to like anyone, anyway. 

”I kinda like the plains,” He said, with a light shrug as he tuned back into the conversation. ”I lived a bit in some foothills, near the mountains…It was pretty open there, but.” he shrugged again. Enough about him. ”You grew up in the woods?” He asked, curious to learn more about her.

a shake of her head; "the desert. the flatlands after that. the coast. the mountains." she flashed ksura a pretty smile. "i have been everywhere. this is my first time in the taiga. a new adventure." meandering a little, she glanced at him again, this curious man who kept close to ash star but remained rather unattached, as was her co-lead. "what did you enjoy about the plains?" the warmth here was glowingly welcome; she shut her eyes for a moment, leaning into the sun-rays.