The woman patrolled the river, occasionally thrusting her head into the snow to attempt to gain a stranger scent before spring backward with a huff, picking her way upriver before beginning the process again. There was a scent here, foreign and strange, something like the cats that had inhabited the barn, and yet more menacing. The howl had her abandon her investigation, ears flicking back as she recognized it's source. Something like dread began to curl up in her chest, but she pushed it away with forced optimism as she made her way towards the source of the howl.

She picked her way towards the woman, weaving through the trees. She'd grown quite good at navigating the territory and arrived not long after she'd been summoned. Her greeting came with a dipped head and lower body, seeking to display the submissiveness that wolves so valued. "good morning, miss. ma'am. "  Quite suddenly stuck on which title to use, she instead used both in a quick dump of words, cringing in the slightest as her tail wagged in (slightly nervous) appeasement.

She dipped her head quickly at the woman's offer, slightly astounded. Her mother had drilled into them the importance of calling respectable dogs by respectable names, and to this day the girl did not know the name of the aged farm dog next door; she knew him only as Mr. Sir, a title he had seemed fond of. A smile curved her muzzle as Valette asked of her life at Easthollow, speaking sincerely on the topic. "very good, ma- Valette. Everyone has been nice, and I've learned a lot. I think I've gotten pretty good at patrolling, too."  She offered, referring to the times now, in the morning, when she'd stalk around the fringes of the territory in a military type march, peering intently at every suspicious bit of movement and adding her own scent to the others.

Valette doubted her ability to patrol, and the girl's ears dipped a bit. She'd been nore interest in the vigilant guarding of the borderline, not the actual possibility that she might have to chase someone away. She pondered the possibility a moment, before responding, rather disappointedly, "well - not very well." She thought that she might be able to look pretty scary if she put in the effort, but if she was being honest, she doubted she was very much intimidating. 

Her ears perked as Valette mentioned herd watcher, and here she was quick to reply. "it was my job, but home, to watch the flocks and herd them. I was good at it, too - I just didn't think it'd be helpful, here. I'd like to be useful." She admitted, head canting a moment as she regarded Valette, wondering a moment if she might be very wrong indeed, and her real purpose might benefit the pack she was so eager to prove useful to.

Her bat-like ears stood upright atop her crown as Valette informed her that in this, she could be really rather helpful, and the collie grinned. "I could do that," she assured the woman, nodding sincerely.  "I used to watch sheep, and cows, once, but deer can't be too different" She'd taken her duty as flock guardian very seriously, even when she'd been locked into the chicken wire pen and could only watch them from afar, even when they began to die of the disease that had her master become angry. But this was different, surely, and there were no pens and no masters here, and her job ought to be twice as fun (and important). "I could report to you," She offered seriously, a cant of her muzzle as she considered the prospect. 

The alpha offered to have the sheepdog join her, and Poppy nodded eagerly, glad for the chance to learn from who she assumed would be the best at deerstalking. "I'd like that," Pausing a moment, she ventured, "when are you going?"  Poppy was quite eager to begin her lessons under the alpha, but doubted it would happen as quickly as she wanted it too; for surely Valette was very busy. 

Valette elaborated on what to look for, and Poppy nodded along as she went. Injuries, but ones significant enough to not be dangerous during a hunt. "what kind of injuries should I look for?"  She had mentioned that a limp on a bison hadn't made it weak enough to hunt, but what about a limp on a deer?

A smile curved her muzzle as Valette agreed to call for her next time she surveyed the herbs, and her tail wafted the air at her hocks. She'd surely be eagerly awaiting a summons by the woman, and did not yet know that coming events would waylay the call for quite some time. 

Again, she listened carefully, ears pressed forward against her crown. When the woman finished, she nodded a moment as she took in the information. For a moment she was silent, and then her next question rent the brief pause.  "how many fawns do you hunt, without harming the herd? do you hunt the pregnant does?"  She might be a tad slow in other aspects, but Poppy was good with herds, and hunting them was simply something else she must add to her knowledge.

She took in the information raptly, ears pressed forward as she listened. "they're like big, angry cows, then," she murmured, half to herself. When the woman finished, Poppy turned over the information once, before another question leaped to her tongue. Her jaw fell open and shut, thinking that it must surely be rude to continuously launch questions at the woman. Instead; "thank you, mi - Valette. for teaching me." The words were sincere, and her tail wafted at her hocks as she committed the last few words to memory.

Valette admitted to not knowing was cows were, and Poppy supplied a quick answer, thinking a moment of how best to explain. "they're like bison, but a smaller, with short hair and big spots. friendlier, too. maybe a little dumb." She finished, not exactly fond of describing things as dumb, but believing the description apt - there was a vacancy in their gaze and slowness about them.

She offered a final thanks to the woman, beaming happily a moment before she made her goodbyes, performing an odd little bow. She thought better of it a moment later - if Valette, hadn't liked the honorary titles, surely she wouldn't much like the bow - but deciding it was too late to do anything about that. With a final flagging of her tail, she girl departed, trotting back the way she'd come to share with Murdock her newly acquired knowledge that Valette wasn't quite so bad, after all.