Swiftcurrent Creek and be known in its aching

her lope is catious, tread laced with uncertainty, as she roves the northern half of the territory. her body feels different, foreign, almost, and she treats it with the same distant suspect she might a stranger at their borders. it is the third day she's left the den, the third day she'd followed trails and probed at dens without making any sort of attempt at the prey that ran freely here. one advantage to a small pack was that the prey was more readily available, she supposed, though that was outweighed by the weight each of them had to bear to keep not just the able pack, but the young, afloat. 

instinct crackled to life at the same time the hare darted to the right, and for the first time in a long while, she responded. she drove to the right, extending herself towards the hare and snapping at its hindquarters. a kicking limb in her jaws, her momentum was too much to reel back in and so she continued along the rabbit's initial trajectory, tightening her grip and whipping her head around as she slowed. the hare's scream whistled past her ear and was silent, and in one smooth motion, she deposited the creature at her paws and tore into it, infused with a cavernous hunger the seemed to blink into existence only then.

The astronomer wandered along, happy as a spring lamb. The caches were full, there seemed to be no problems with pups and no attacks befell the borders. His priority was making his garden for study, he just needed the right place. The border should be good enough and he could patrol at the same time. 

He was roving around leisurely when he spotted Dawn, the ailed Mother, who looked much better in recent days. Especially today. He grinned, chuffing softly as she was eating. He didn't was to get too close. Avoiding eye contact he greeted her: "Feeling better, Dawn?" 
His tail brushed the ground softly, glad to have a job here.

she glanced up from the bloody mess at her paws to see the healer, who she'd decided she could bear a great deal better than she had Pema. "Sherigrim," she greeted, moving to tear at the rabbit and swallow a part of its haunch. already the creature was unrecognizable, little of it left save the tougher flesh and bones. flicking salmon tongue over her lips and glancing up once more, her muzzle twisted into a small smile. "I am." she confirmed, moving to stand. envigorated by her small victory, she glanced to him once more. "are you hungry?"

He grinned, as always. His face seemed to always be adorned with a grin unless the situation called for it to be gone.
"I'm very glad to hear. If you wouldn't be opposed, I'd like to check your children to ensure they are perfectly alright." He didn't want some slightly hidden, contagious sickness to befall the pack. It would ruin his days for a long time coming if it did so. He suppressed a shudder of contained horror at some of the things he'd been told.

"I think I'm ok for now, thank you." He didn't want to trouble the woman anyway.

she nods at his request, motioning in the direction of the copse she'd moved the children to recently. she can't bear to sleep in a den if it isn't required, and she thinks them old enough now, anyways. "walk with me, then?" she offers, adding a moment later, "how long have you been part of Swiftcurrent?" he'd helped her soon after the birth of her young, and yet she only knew his name. she'd grown sick of the distance she'd held herself from the rest of the pack during and after her pregnancy, and sought to rectify that now.

"Of course," He replied. He could keep scout for a good place for a garden whilst they did so. If he wanted to plant things he'd have to collect seeds and bulbs now, it was the end of the season for most herbs. 
He was glad she was open to him seeing her pups sooner rather than later; unlike Kavik. He should really insist soon.

He thought for a moment at her question. He hadn't really been keeping track.
"Uh. Probably about four months. Something like that." 
In that time he'd met Elve and lost her. He was used to loss though, yeah it hurt a little more than most but he wasn't devastated. Should he be?
For a man with such compassion and emotion in his heart, shouldn't he be feeling more? Looking for her, grieving. Something.
But he wasn't...
"What about you?"

she absorbed his answer with a nod, answering back easily, "about the same. perhaps longer." it is hard to think back that far, when it feels like so much has changed since. in the end, she's glad for them. 

"and how long have you been a healer?" she's more curious about the why, for she's tried to pick up some knowledge herself but does not have the aptitude for it, seemingly. perhaps it's something that needs to be picked up as a child, a role grown into.

Interesting. He liked Dawn, she was friendly and kind. She seemed to bounce back too. Besides, she was good company. "Since before I was a yearling. But not officially." He thought back on how to tell part of his story to pass the time whilst walking and give the woman an insight into his life.

"I took an interest to plants when I was perhaps nine months old, then a woman came to my pack and recruited me to be a Druid for Arenraith. They were my Family and my powers developed." He paused, looking to see what she thought. "I left them and found an elderly man who taught me about toxicology and medical ways. He was killed though, letting me escape from a pack that thought we'd cursed their children." He didn't want to go into too much detail for there was too much. Perhaps for another time, he could spin that story, but she'd get the idea for now. "I returned to Arenraith and wound up here, missing my pack through a snowstorm far North. The ones who made it through with me went back without telling me or moved on. So here I am." 

He gave her a soft smile. His past didn't bother him. Then he realised she'd only asked about him being a caregiver and internally slapped himself for being so self-indulged. Oh well, it would be good to get to know each other.

she smiled softly as he spoke, wondering what it would be like to have such an interest in something other than hunting, and scouting. the culture he spoke of was interesting, though her expression grew serious again as he finished speaking. "I am sorry - I know what it is to lose your pack, your family." they neared the den, then, and she called for Stone and Brook, who came rushing out of the thicket towards the stranger, Stone electing to stay closer to her and a little less excited to greet Sherigrim than his sister. She watched as the healer made his inspection, gaze soft as she watched her children and offered occasional words of encouragement. she did not know that she'd lose them all in less than a month. Eventually, Sherigrim took his leave, and she bundled the pups back into the thicket with the promise of hunting practice.