Ouroboros Spine strawberry's my favorite

The four-and-a-half-month-old girl waited loyally for Sialuk to finish her errand with Moonwoman, like a proper squire. However, with a short attention span, Seal found herself wandering through the Spine’s meadows until she arrived at Aumauttuk Grove. Though Orborous Spine and Moonspear were in the same range, their topography was quite different!

Not only that, but their flora looked different too. Alaris had been an excellent teacher when it came to gardening – but the young girl spotted a plant she did not recognize. Small red berries were like tiny jewels among a three-lobed dark green leaf.

Can I eat them? she wondered.

Massaraq had traveled around much of Moonglow's lands, but he found as he grew seemingly by the week that it was comforting to traverse those familiar paths and find new ones. His sister still had not returned, but he was slowly learning tracking and realizing that his talent for it was somewhat diminished. Though his body was learning to move with strength and the beginnings of grace and he tried his best to decipher all the hidden information in the tracks he did not arrive at the correct answers as much as he would like. He was still learning.

But the tracks in front of him were that of a wolf and not one of Moonglow. An intruder? His pace quickened and he followed the scent further to find a young wolf looking at some bright red berries. "Greetings." He announced his presence with a friendly bark of hello, not betraying the tightness he felt in his muscles.

Massaraq’s voice, no matter how friendly, caught Seal by surprise. She had been so interested in the foreign plant, that she hadn’t heard him behind her. With a squeak, she spun around with a crooked smile like she had just been caught red-handed in the cookie jar.

“Hi,” she said bashfully. At first, her posture was loose, friendly, and submissive like a golden retriever… or a wet noodle. Yet she quickly forced herself to stand a bit taller. She was an ambassador of Moonspear, after all!

But, then she recognized Massaraq. “Oh! You were at the meeting… when the Moonwoman shared stories.” They had even played together! “Uhm… my name’s Seal. What’s yours?” she asked.

Massaraq recognized her from better with her voice and as she turned around. Instantly he relaxed, recognizing her as a friend, if a new one. "Massaraq." She had been looking at the plant so intently it had piqued his own curiosity. He had seen strawberries before but never occasioned to look at one particularly closely. Did they taste good?

"What are you looking at?" Despite the forthrightness of the question his voice was open and curious and he stepped forward slightly leaning to get a better look his posture loose.

Seal offered a genuine smile as she committed the boy’s name to memory. He had an unforgettable appearance too: an inverted monochromatic pelage with light sky-colored eyes. Based on their equally large paws and awkward legs they must have been about the same age, Seal concluded

The girl stepped to the side. “This plant,” Seal explained with a light Scottish brogue. “Ah’ve been learnin’ about plants, ye see? One of the grown-ups keeps a garden at Moonspear. But… I’ve never seen one like this before.” Moonspear’s high elevation and cedar forests weren’t as hospitable to strawberry plants as the Spine. “Alaric says that some berries are tasty and some are poison! Do ye ken what it is?” she asked. Maybe the native Massaraq would know.

Her voice had a distinctive lilt to it that had Massaraq's ears canting towards it to catch the dips and curves that were unfamiliar. "That's cool." He knew some wolves in Moonglow who learned about plants and it always seemed so interesting to him, to know so much about the world. Even if he spent more of his time letting the world pass around him in a blur as he explored the land forgoing the details.

Massaraq shook his head sadly. "I don't know, but mama didn't warn me about it so it's probably safe?" His voice was somewhat unsure. While he did not want anyone to get hurt and knew plants were dangerous he had not studied them for any real length of time. If he had been a few months younger he might have simply eaten the brightly colored berry out of curiosity but he was slowly learning caution.

Despite Seal’s wide-eyed idealist attitude and pollyanna naivety, she also maintained very black-and-white rules in her life. A healthy respect for the herbalist, Alaric, meant she followed whatever information he had told her. If there was a fifty percent chance the berry was poison, it was not a risk Seal was willing to take.

“Probably?” Seal said in disbelief. She thrust one arm out as if to shield Massaraq from the plant and his own curiosity. “Then we shoulnae touch it,” she decided with a surprising amount of authority.

Massaraq tilted his head, amiably taking a step back. "Okay." He was not sure why his statement had elicited such a full body response, but he was not so curious as to offed the new wolf. Casting about for an easier topic that was perhaps less liable to bring put them at odds he righted himself and asked, voice bright and open. "Then would you like to see the plants by the lake?" Fire mother might be too far a walk, but he knew that luscious verdant greens sprouted up on the riverbeds and shores. A few of those plants he had nibbled at before in young abandon and knew would not do harm.

The young Massaraq tactfully changed course with ease and picked a topic Seal just loved.

She sucked in an excited breath. “Oh yes please!” Seal exclaimed as her eyes became big and sparkly. “I would love that!” Maybe she could bring something back for Alaric and make him proud!

He grinned, the other wolf's energy infectious. "It's this way." He took a moment to orient himself to the path he knew, perhaps there were others that would pass the scenery more quickly but he rather liked the little ways through the forest he had found.

Unwilling to allow the journey to pass in silence he gave into his curiosity. "What is Moonspear like?"

With a pep in her step, Seal tuned to follow Massaraq away from the might-be-poison-red-berry . “Ajei took me by the lake yesterday tae see a big flock of swans,” she told him. “They were sooo bonnie but I didn’t get tae get very close.” So, this was the perfect opportunity to investigate the waterfront’s unique flora.

He asked about Moonspear. “Well, it’s heaps different,” she explained. “It’s got really gran’ pine trees an’ the terrain is rockier. It’s fun tae explore an’ climb! The wildflowers by our streams are beautiful… but we dinnae have water as big as your lake,” she pointed out. “You should come visit us, sometime!” the girl encouraged her new friend.

Massaraq nodded with a wag of his tail. "Swans can be touchy." He remembered being chased away when he was little and he was fairly sure that even if he had grown since then he would still be run off if he tried to get close to a flock. Not as bad as geese, but still better left alone unless hunting. 

At the description of Moonspear Massaraq's expression lifted. "I'd like to! We have the stone faces here, but climbing sounds fun. What can you see from the high points?" The difference sounded interesting to explore and he was sure that there would be more new wolves to meet in Moonspear as well. Though he treasured the friends he already had it was sometimes exciting to meet new wolves.

Seal was excited that Massaraq might come to visit! She often thought of Raiyuk, who had moved to Moontide with her family. The idea of seeing her friends more frequently gave the girl something to look forward to.

“Everything,” Seal said with a long, drawn-out tone for emphasis. “The Caldera, the forests, and the glen… My m’am has taken me on lots of hikes. One day there was nae a cloud in the sky and we saw a wee mountain in the distance… she called it the Sunspire.” Seal’s voice was full of wonder and pride.

“If you visit, Orca and I could show you!” Then, she added, “Orca’s my sister.”

Massaraq's eyes widened, he would have to visit. He had wanted to see the sea, and also wanted to see outside of Moonglow, but it sounded like the view alone from the mountain would be an adventure. While he loved his family in Moonglow he missed Galana, he wondered if his other family would leave someday too. "Then maybe my brothers can come too! Arrluk and Kassuq. And Shikoba's children, Ajei and Chiteo." The sound of the river in the distance was more clear and some of the trees thinned out on the sides, although some roots would go to the riverbed.

“Yeah!” Seal cheered. “They’re all invited, too.” It was fun that their neighbor, Moonglow, had kids the same age. Already, Seal imagined the many adventures they could go on together.

The sound of water distracted Seal, who couldn’t hold in her excitement. She started to gallop towards the lake, but skidded to a half when a pale, purple bloom caught her eye.

“Oh!” Seal chirped. She took a good whiff of the lakefront plant. “This smells just like the mint back home.”

Not quite recognizing anything in particular that would catch her eye he nonetheless bounded after Seal at a gallop when she darted off.

"Smells very strong." Massaraq commented, taking a sniff of his own. While he was used to the blend of scents this one, upon closer inspeciton was rather strong. "What do you do with it?" He supposed it could be merely ornamental but he was curious if there was something more to the plant with such a distinctive scent, for however strong it was it was not unpleasant.

“Well…” Seal pondered. “If it’s anything like tha mint back home, Alaric says… You know when your tummy’s upset?” she asked. “Chew on a few leaves an’ it’ll make it feel better. Ye can also steep them in water… but that’s advanced stuff.” And Seal was certainly still a novice!

She looked around for any other curious-looking flora and asked, “What do you wanna be when ye grow up, Massaraq? Or... what do ye wanna do when you're older?”

Massaraq hummed thoughtfully. Sometimes his stomach did hurt, although usually that was right after eating something funny and he just avoided those foods after. But he nodded and committed the plant to memory. Its scent would make it easier to recall.

He thought about an answer to Seal's question before replying earnestly. "I don't know, I think I'd like to protect my family and Moonglow, but there's also so much to see and learn about the world." It was hard to choose. There was also the matter of Galana, he wanted to find her too.

Seal smiled fondly in admiration of Massaraq’s noble pursuits. Her sister, Orca, also seemed he share the same ambitions. “Och, you should definitely visit Moonspear, then. My m’am is a master ambassador! An’ my Da was sparin’ with Orca the other day… I’m sure he’d teach you too.”

Just then, Sialuk’s voice called in the distance.

Seal! Where are you? It’s time to go!

“Sorry, Massaraq I gotta run!” Seal chirped, eager to not waste any of her leader’s time. In a flurry, she turned and galloped away.