Liri trotted through the foliage, her nose low to the ground as she followed the scent of the other two pack mates she had yet to meet. She had heard some about the rather eccentric French woman and her ward,Claudia, but had yet to meet them. Thus, at the moment she was trailing them through the woods.
Unsurprisingly, she soon came upon them. She hadn't seen them upon entering the small clearing but she called out for them with a low howl. It was a friendly howl and held no hostile intentions in it. She settled in her haunches,waiting for them to respond.
she was snow and chocolate, the woman who called them. stifling a bit of irritation that so many women, each more and more lovely, now crowded aaron's ranks, for how was she to compete? yet claudia trotted alongside madeleine, who brought her swiftly before the stranger. "bonjour," the redfurred woman greeted her her usual cool appraising tones.
claudia stepped forth then. "i am claudia, and this is madeleine. what is your name, mademoiselle?" she would try to be polite, for aaron's sake.
Liri smiled warmly at the two before returning Madeleine's greeting. She was a red furred, green eyed woman who moved with grace and poise. Her charge was no different, being a petite snow colored female like herself. So many white furred females resided in Rosings, how odd.
"It's very nice to meet both of you. I'm Liri,"she intoduced, dipping her head respectfully to the higher females. It was surprising to her though, Claudia seemed barely over ten months. She had never met someone so young who held so much rank. If she had been Aaron she probably would have placed her within the youth tier.
upon greeting the pale woman, who gave not the reason for her summons, madeleine stood back to allow liri and claudia their own interaction, distracted as she was over the whole business of marriage happening in rosings!
She smiled at Claudia as Madeleine moved away. "Do you have a trade?",she asked politely. She always seemed to ask this question when meeting new wolves. Had to start somewhere right?
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to reply or wait for Claudia since they're both your characters :P
oh sorry! let's do liri > claudia > madeleine :D
the woman was very polite. claudia shook her head, glancing wonderingly to her guardian before answering liri.
"i do not, but perhaps i shall tend the pups in the springtime," the girl revealed matter-of-factly, falling into step alongside liri.
"what trades are there to pursue?" claudia piped curiously.
"are you yourself possessed of one?"
madeleine fell into step behind the pair. "i do not have a trade." and she did not intend to pursue one until she knew that claudia had been properly settled; she would persuade aaron if it took all that she had. in silence she paced behind liri and claudia, lost in her own thoughts.
"Oh there are many,"she assured as she walked alongside the pair. "Hunter,Caregiver,Mercenary,Chronicler,Naturalist,Counselor,and Scout." Those were all that she could remember at the moment, and she believed that those were all of them. Madeleine appeared to be lost in thought though as they walked. "Do you ladies have any idea what you would want to learn?"
claudia's eyes widened as liri isted off the trades that one could acquire in rosings. "what is a ... mercenary?" it was the most interesting word that the pale woman had said. the girl cast an excited glance at madeleine, but the redfurred woman did not seem to be vested in their conversation, and so she turned back to liri.
madeleine was quiet, but at claudia's questioning glance, she sighed, lengthening to her stride to walk at liri's other side. "she is full of questions, mademoiselle," the redpelted woman chuckled, warming to the discussion.
"That's alright, I don't mind answering,"she smiled at Madeleine. Claudia reminded her of herself when she was younger although she hadn't been as mature. She had been as curious as the petite pup. "They are warriors, defenders of the pack. They protect the pack's land and it's members or they may go into battle for their pack,"she tried to explain as best she could.
the woman explained, and claudia was pleased to see that madeleine joined them. "is that what you wish to do, mademoiselle liri?" the girl asked politely. "be a mercenary? i do not think that i would be good at it. perhaps a scout? what do you think?" she asked with a laugh. "what shall be my task?"
madeleine was silent, scheming. how would she ever devise a way to draw claudia out of aaron's intentions without upsetting the man terribly? so lost was the woman that she did not immediately join in the conversation with liri and claudia. however, belatedly remembering herself and her mannerliness, she rejoined with: "i think i should make a fine mercenary." a joke, of course!
She gave a soft chuckle, she was not made for warrior tasks. She could fight, Sure enough, but she was not very intimidating. She was small and dainty looking even for an arctic wolf. "No, I would not likely scare anyone in battle,"she admitted to Claudia.
"I would like to be a hunter and a caregiver." She laughed lightly at Madeleine's joke, the slender red female was nearly smaller than she if it was possible. She had little muscle mass as well, more suited for a softer life than a warrior's.
"I think you would make a good healer. You have the demeanor of one,soothing." It was her voice, the soft soothing tone she used and her calm attitude that made Claudia seem like a good apprentice for the trade.
forgetting all what liri had said except for a suggestion of trade, claudia glanced with shining eyes between the two. "a healer? but i know nothing of botany." remembering herself, the girl smiled at their new friend. "i think that you would make a very good hunter. you appear to be fast. and the puppies -- well, they could learn something from you." claudia did not truly want to tend children -- she considered herself much above that.
madeleine warmed to their talk. "i agree with mademoiselle, claudia. you would make a fine healer. you simply need tutoring, and i am sure we can find you a teacher." she smiled at the pair. "truthfully, i think that i myself would enjoy discovering new territories. scouting. perhaps i shall do that." she was pleased now with the nature of their discussion, productive as it was.
"I know some rudimentary things about healing I could pass on to you. The wolf who bests knows botany though is Ammalyn",she confided. "She has taught me some healing, I hear that Aaron knows a bit of healing as well. His tendencies lay in sitting though. I'm more of a midwife,"she explained further.
She thanked the two for their kind words, her ears perking when she heard Madeleine's trade. "Ah, scouting is a good one. My childhood friend became a very good one, she was a necessity at times of conflict between packs. She became a spy you see,"she told them, smiling fondly as she remembered Orada, her best friend growing up.
claudia nodded politely at liri's mention of botany and midwifery, more interested in the latter. but it was the word 'spy' that truly caught her ear; her eyes widened and she glanced in surprise to madeleine before fixing her attention very pointedly upon the pale woman. "a spy? it is true? whatever happened to her? was she caught?" such interest she had that she did not realize she had focused a barrage of questions upon their newfound companion.
madeleine was about to speak, but claudia's enthusiastic voice cut her aside. she remained silent for only a moment, until a gentle "claudia" warned her ward to stand down and allow liri the time she needed for a response to all the queries that the girl had posed.
She laughed goodnaturedly at the sudden barrage of excited questions. It seemed she had caught the attention of the youngster, and smiled at her fondly. "No, she never was. She was very good at her job you see. She had even posed as a lone wolf for awhile so that she might infiltrate an enemy pack. She would have been killed were she found out but she never was."
She found herself wondering what Orada was up to these days, if she had found a mate and had children. Perhaps she was still a scout a still spying. She was one of the few who had not been claimed by the disease. She had been away with her mentor, learning more about the trade.
the girl's eyes widened; she gawked unabashedly. this woman of whom liri spoke! so triumphant in her dealings, and mysterious. "whatever became of her, liri?" claudia asked, dropping down the honorific from the other's name. she pranced at the side of the pale woman, casting a smiling glance at madeleine. it had been a very enlightening discussion.
madeleine too listened quite closely -- she was also interested to see what would become of the woman in liri's story. she had never aspired to such daring deeds, but it was very intriguing to hear of them. and so she walked alongside the pair, and listened.
A twinge of sadness and loss filled the young woman. She had no clue if Orada was even still alive. Her ears and tail dropped slightly,"I don't know. She was not there when the virus hit. She was out learning her trade with her mentor." She would never forget Orada who had been the first to call her the 'ghost in the woods.' At first it was because she had legitimately thought she was a ghost when she came out of nowhere but after it had been a compliment to her stealth.
"The virus hit when I was nine months old. It wiped out everything. Prey were even effected. It skipped some of the young ones but everyone else just died." She shuddered at the memories of a growing pile of bodies in her rather large pack. The smell of death had been an unforgettable scent.
liri's sadness was palpable -- claudia felt the brunt of it and her own countenance fell. virus. the child knew this word -- as always, she looked to madeleine with something like sorrow stirring in her gaze, and leveled empathetic eyes at the pale she-wolf at her side. "i am very sorry to hear of it," she whispered softly, reaching out to nuzzle the other in a gentle show of quiet affection. "perhaps she is still alive, however."
madeleine nodded. "if she was not there when the sickness took hold, there is a great chance she lives still. have you searched for her?" she queried softly, keeping apace alongside liri's other side. she did not mean to pry, however -- perhaps the pallid she-wolf did not want to speak of it any longer.