As much as the smell bothers her, the hot springs are a nice place to relax. She's spent too much time worrying lately, stressing over herbs and whether her heat will come this year. She hasn't skipped one before, but she knows it could happen — and it is getting awfully late in the year. But right now, she's trying not to think about that. Her only focus is enjoying the warmth and relative quiet.
Evergreen isn’t a huge fan of the springs, he mostly avoids the place like the plague on the stench alone. But with his renewed position of Count, rotten eggs won’t keep him down from exploring the territory neighboring his home. It has the added plus of being warm at least. Much to his surprise, however, the bearish wolf spots a familiar face; the medic who helped him after he clumsily broke his toes—which have since healed.
Hey, uh,...
Evergreen realizes then he never quite caught her name. His smile turns sheepish.
A familiar voice interrupts her before long, but she finds she isn't entirely displeased with it. She glances up, a little surprised to see the man approaching her. Most people she's helped in those sort of situations duck and run when they see her after the fact; she can't really blame them. She offers a smile and a dip of her head as she turns to greet him. Aibreann,
She fills the blank easily, too used to formalities. It's nice to see you again, Evergreen. Do you live nearby?
Awkward as the unfortunate circumstances were, Evergreen is used to having to face others who have witnessed the… worst of him. Fortunately the woman—Aibreann—is kind, greeting him with open arms.
Aibreann… it’s nice to see you, too.
His grin widens, showing the fullness and how round his cheeks are. I, uh, yeah. My home is just over there
—he gestures with a paw—alongside the river.
His head tilts in silent question if she does, too. She doesn’t reside in Kaistleoki, and doesn’t seem to belong to their direct neighbor either.
Mine is in the opposite direction, not far,
She responds, amused by their apparent proximity. It seems we're neighbors. Neverwinter Forest; have you heard of it?
She'll be surprised if the answer is no, given how close the two packs are. But perhaps there is an opportunity here; if the rest of Evergreen's pack is similar to himself and his partner (she assumes), perhaps they'd be the sort to want an alliance. She isn't sure how Mal would feel about that, but she knows it'd be beneficial.
No… is it new? I’ve been, uh, kinda cooped up at home for awhile so I haven’t gotten out much until now.
He rambles, trying to save a bit of face with his lack of knowledge. While he hasn’t directly introduced himself as Kaistleoki’s leader, it probably wouldn’t look good if… it was mentioned now and he’d been so out of the loop a pack popped up without the bearish boy even noticing.
His reaction strikes her as odd, but she doesn't give it much thought. I don't believe it is. It seemed fairly established when I joined not long ago,
Curious, she continues. Will the proximity be a problem for your pack?
Well shit.
Oh, uh, no? I don’t think so, we aren’t the troublesome type and… if Neverwinter Forest isn’t either, we should be, uh, just fine.
From the mannerism of Aibreann, he doubts it, but… could never be too careful now that he thinks about it.
That is good to hear,
She responds, finding the reaction a little odd but deciding not to dwell on it. Perhaps a meeting between our leaders could be arranged sometime.
It seems like the logical next step, but she isn't Mal, and she doesn't know the leaders of Evergreen's pack — so she can't really say if it'd be a good idea. It seems like one, but that's under the assumption all parties involved will be reasonable and open to it. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen as often as she'd like it to.
With Rusalka brewing as their direct neighbor, there’d been tension heating up—Kaistleoki, however, determined to keep it’s original claim. Evergreen isn’t certain if they’d necessarily fight for it, but… defend it? Yeah, likely. Especially with kids on the way. So it would be wise to check Neverwinter Forest out soon, scope it out more and get a feel for it like Aibreann suggests.
Well, uh, count me in then. I’m a leader of Kaistleoki, it’s Count, the uh, Alpha I suppose.
He knows not everyone is familiar with their different naming system, so he makes sure to add the tidbit in. He flashes a grin then. What’s the name of your, uh, leader?
She hadn't thought of Evergreen as the type to lead a pack, but it doesn't shock her overly much. He's charming in his own way, polite and warm; the sort of person others would trust. She trusts him, at least — as much as one can trust a near-stranger. His name is Mal,
She supplies, unfazed by his revelation. I'm certain he'll be pleased to meet you.
The conversation doesn't last long past that. She promises to bring the news to Mal, and they part ways on friendly terms.