Sleeping Dragon Topaz

@Dio (: but AW as always

The pale girl had a goal today. Usually she wandered the territory in hopes of coming across something new-- a new place, a new plant, a new person, a new rock... anything really. As much as she was living Drageda, she felt so trapped. Her feet begged her to travel, but she urged them to stay. Meet people, make friends-- a family even, although the last part sounded far from anything she'd ever believed in. Settling down? it always seemed like a waste to her. And although her mother always said she just hadn't found the right guy, she never was one to listen to her mother.

Today, however, she wanted to find the familiar face of Dio-- the male she'd met while attempting to remember a specific plant. He was friendly and seemed intelligent enough to hold a conversation with. Maybe, if but for a little while, he could calm her desire to roam from the rocky slopes of the Sleeping Dragon.

The quiet of the borders recently did bring him a certain sort of satisfaction, but he had yet been swayed enough to not keep patrols at a high -- even for himself. Often, he'd simply sleep somewhere in the shade along their base, then resume as soon as he was able. All of his hunts done on their edges and just because they crossed his path. But, he was, truthfully, a little peeved by the aggressive monotony that was bringing lately. He reasoned his could break his schedule long enough to go spend some time with the puppies, or mill around somewhere else for a change and not only carve deeper pathways into their borders.

After a long drink he turned his path elsewhere, and proceeded on whatever random whim pulled his nose forward. He decided not to have any set plans and just roll with whatever came his way as he hiked the slopes.

When he laid his mismatched eyes on Portia, he continued moving closer. The gona's stance was mostly  neutral, albeit accented with a few small sways of his tail. "Hey," he greeted simply while trusting that feeling companionable was appropriate here.

Eventually, she found the tawny man, and her eyes gleamed with pride in herself-- good on you, you used your nose for something other than plants or sex. When he notices her, she gives a polite dip of her head, but he seems more neutral than demanding for submission, so her posture is more relaxed than it might've been-- her tail does remain lower than his though. 

"Hiya, Hun," she greets, her tail wagging in a friendly manner. "Up to anything new?" She asks, starting up the conversation herself.

He closed in on her immediate vicinity, and sees the relaxed neutrality she gives him. Dio has only spent a little time around her so he is not at full disclosure when it comes to all of her nuances and finer details of her preferences, but she has always seemed like a friendly sort to him. He's at relative ease around her, and familiar enough to be a little more personable than he may otherwise be towards the strangers -- who get him at his most staunch.

"Not exactly. Coming off patrol right now." He motioned in the direction he had come from, although just barely. "It's been keeping me busy, but staying quiet on my watch.  I can't exactly take issue with that," he detailed. It was a routine he was good at and particularly devoted to, but even he could see the benefit in temporary reprieve from the same general pathways and task day in and out, hour after hour. "What about you?" he returned and canted his head subtly towards the patched female.

Patrol-- somehow Dio did seem like more of the fighting type, not very interested in all her herbs last time. Regardless, she nods, humming a bit with curiosity as she listens. "Absolutely nothing," she then says dramatically with a quick roll of her green eyes. "I've been trying to find new plants, as always, but I haven't found a damned thing the past few days," she mutters, letting out a huff of disappointment.

"Anything worthwhile at the borders?" she asks him, her gaze flitting up towards him, lips lifted in a sweet smile.

She matched his sentiments in her own way, although with a healthy amount of dramatics that quirked his brow, although spurred a hint of sympathy towards their similiar outcomes. Hers seems much more tangible, though, and her not finding the plants she wants is a bit more detrimental to them as a whole than him not getting to rough anything up on the borderlands. Quite the opposite, almost.

"That's unfortunate," he rumbles with a soft shake of his head. Momentarily his expression takes on a furrow as he contemplates how this could be eased. Her question for him did well to redirect his train of thought, for a beat, at least. "The borders.. no, not in a while. Only the typical sights there. The Grotto wolves have managed to keep away, too.." he notes, or so it seems. He knows better than to let the guard go lax just because of some quietude. He doesn't trust any of their neighbors as far he could toss them, especially not with Gyda's puppies afoot.

"Have you done much searching just past the Dragon's slopes yet?" he asked while trying to dredge up all the places he knows plants might be of interest to her. With Gluskap and the Heda, they had gone towards the shores, so he wondered about a mention about that despite it not being what he felt was a traditional plant hunt. It had been more sea-based than he'd originally thought it was going to be. Although.. there could certainly be overlap in her instance.

To his next question, Portia hesitates to answer. The answer is no, easy, but her explanation as to why is a bit more complication. "No," she says slowly, ears flicking with uncertainty. She stares forward with a strange expression before she glances once up at Dio. "I'm a little afraid if I leave the borders I won't come back," she tells him honestly, shrugging in her walk. "I am a wanderer, you know," she adds with a chuckle, but a flat one at that.

His brow furrowed, re-weighing his options now that he knew her answer. Maybe she didn't want to go anywhere, and just didn't want to test it for herself. That he could understand somewhat and it would not be his intention to stir the waters for her. Even if she didn't want to go anywhere, that would be that. "Yeah, true.." he peers at her intently before pressing on. "If you ever did want to go anywhere, I could come too.. and make sure you do come back. And stay safe while out there," he added because he could suspect the Dragon's reputation was bound to precede them soon, and he didn't trust any of their neighbors anyway. "I went with Gluskap and Heda to the coast for his gathering not too long ago," he mentioned to cite his experience in that direction, too, in case that way interested her more than inland plants.

"There is also a swampy area south of here that might be worth looking into. I would hazard a guess that it might have some variety," he reasoned. Of course he hadn't been there in a while, so it was all just speculation. Even the Maplewood and its surrounding areas could potentially provide something of interest too.

The more Dio speaks, the more antsy the girl gets. "A swamp?" she questions eagerly, her ears flicking forward. "Haven't seen one of those in ages," she mutters, glancing at the male. "Those are good for herb gathering," she adds. 

After a few moments of hesitation, she asks another question, her gaze flitting back to him. "Where is this place?" she asks, "Did you say?" Her paws ached for him to lead her there now! but she knew in her heart that she needed something stable in her life. A pack was stable, she needed it. She'd made a promise to Drageda, and intended on keeping it. Perhaps, with that mentality, she could leave... just for a bit, with Dio, too...

He had offered the suggestion almost hesitantly after knowing she didn't want to bait her wanderlust, but she seemed to take readily to it anyway. Dio nodded and couldn't help but feel pleased for his good call in bringing a swamp to an herbalist's attention. "Yeah. Granted, I haven't been since before the locusts ate everything, but it's southwest of here a little a way. Over the river and through the Maplewood would be the fastest route I know," he detailed, so it was not impossibly far and over terrain he had a vague enough map of to lend him confidence on the matter.

She nods slowly as he speaks, her throat sounding a low and cautious hum. "I've seen the Maplewood," she says to him, her tail swishing uneasily. "How long a travel is it?" she then asks, hoping for a more concrete answer. A little ways away could be an hour or a day walking, depending on how you looked at it. As she spoke, her body began leaning forwards-- she forced it to lean towards Dio, more than just away, but it ached to move regardless. To stop herself from falling forward on her toes, she takes a step forwards with one paw to balance herself-- then sits.

The locusts were the real reason she'd been forced to settle down-- her health had been less than mediocre. She really would've ended up doing so anyway, but the famine sped up the process a little bit. 

All of his wandering in his younger days had at least lent him a good sense of time and distance, for he knew to notice the subtleties around him. That, and haughtily, he may even call himself just naturally inclined when it suited him. "It really depends on how quick a course you make. If you leave here at dawn, and the river crosses easily, you can reach the Maplewood by early afternoon and the swamps are just on the other side. Maybe a two or three hours more at most if I had to guess. I've never gone straight from here to there." He'd never mapped the full detail of the forest either, but had never supposed it to be massive. With a steady course and a good cruising trot, any wolf could make good time. Experiences, namely traveling at a decent clip to the Maplewood moons ago to oust out any stragglers, could let him make a good estimate despite never before taking a direct path from this point to the swamps. "I've not gone deeply into the swamps either, so don't know how far in they go once there. I at least know eventually it turns to mountain-range." Briefly, he recalls the Sunspire and its associated string of peaks because he only knows them in passing.

This all went to say that in truth, it could be done there and back within the day. That was with a quick pace and no excess dallying, plus probably not delving into the swamplands very much to get the full exposure. But, perhaps, for maximum swamp plant experience, he'd suspect she may want more time than just a quick once-over. If timed well (for him, meaning that other guardians of the borderlands were present and not on their own duties abroad), Dio could devote a few days towards it without issue. If she wanted to.

Her tail wags more and more the more he talks, eyes shining like drops of dew on leaves in the morning sun-- oh how wonderful this all sounded. "Hun," she says quickly, smiling sweetly at him. "If you ever have any time I'd be honored to bring you along with me for this trip-- I could really use the trip," she adds the last part somewhat quietly, like she was trying to calm herself for being too excited-- a gentle reminder that this was a trip, not a life-long adventure. 

"Again, that is if you'd have the time," she adds, dark eyelashes fluttering.

His ears splay, and he soon steadies them with a nod. Her waving tail almost threatens to distract him. "I could be ready soon enough," he agrees with a small curve of a grin. He's a little hesitant to go right right away because of the pups, and knowing that Thuringwethil and Toxochelys have gone out recently. With Gavriel here too, he's a lot less concerned. But, because of annoyances like Larksong, he'd at least like to know where the others were for sure before he set out so he wouldn't be vacating a necessary post in the meantime. "There would be a few things I would want to make sure of before going, but that wouldn't take long to get in order," he added. "So long as things continue to stay quiet," Dio nodded and picked up a slow rhythm to his own tail. She seemed understanding of the nature of his duties here, making sure to mention that this was if he had time -- but it was his suggestion, ultimately. He.. appreciated that.

Her tail waves happily, head dipping slightly. "Wonderful, hun. If you ever have time just let me know-- I would adore a quick trip," she tells him, smiling sweetly. With a quick bat of thick eyelashes, she glances away from him. "Perhaps I should get back to work though-- I have a handful of things I need to gather," she adds, her august green gaze settling back on him. 

"It was wonderful to see you again, Dio," she chirps, reaching to nudge his shoulder in a friendly way. "I'll see you around, hun." With a quick turn, she begins off into the territory, her tail and hips swaying behind her. It was a good day, she felt, and hopefully would continue to be so. 

last post from me! <3

His tail flipped back then forth in a slow metronome. "Sounds good," he nodded. He had some duties to attend to himself and ends to tidy up in the meantime, anyway, so there were no objections when she spoke of getting back to work.

Goodbyes are given. Hers make his tail wave a little harder. He's already awfully comfortable around her, he knows it and chuffs warmly at her then he's on his way too. He'll see her later.