Shadewood One old man is enough

The youth bounded through the forest, it was a new day and she was excited! So excited just for the joy of being alive, and having a family. A family. The three moons spent traveling alone had taken their toll on her social aspects, and would soo quieten down to the same wolf she was before her departure from her family. But she was glad to just be running along the trail of the fabled bear, following the scent and pausing every now and again to look at a new bug or plant, registering it in her mind, before racing along again.

It was then she smelt the wolf she'd smelt upon Cry's pelt, salty and reminded her of home. The sea. She diverted from her original quest and followed the scent of the unknown wolf, @Kai. IT hadn't diverted much from the path on the bear, perhaps they'd made an encounter. She burst out from a particularly difficult section tangled undergrowth and promptly stopped upon the other side to look down and sniff at the print of the bear, finding it very interesting.

The naiad was not far from the glen where she'd offered game to the brute who shared their home. After departing from Kovertol's company she'd taken to the caches - checking them for rotten food. They were beginning to pile up nicely with stored game with the combined efforts of those Cry had begun to gather to his following. 

The wind shifted as she finished piling dirt back onto the cairn she'd opened, bringing with it the mingled scents of Cry and newcomer. With curiosity pricking her fluffy ears, the witch prowled through the woods in search. 

The golden piebald lady looked the true part of the wolf as Kai watched her sniff at one of Kovertol's prints with a white capped muzzle. The sea-found could only imagine what she must have looked like to the other - feral dreads, speckled coat, dye-stained in places, dirt clinging to her from the caches, cracked gaze, and a fisher upon her back. 

The witch chuffed softly to catch the woman's attention, tail wagging even as her ears lowered to her skull shyly. 

The youths head jerked up at the chuff and her sea-green eyes fell upon a rather tattered looking female; with the bird that had piped her interest peeking from behind her head. Her white-tipped banner waved in greeting to the other whom had Cry's scent upon her. She studied the woman for a moment longer, taking in the spots before calling out her greeting and bounding over, standing just shorter than the wolfess; but only because of her stunted growth.
"Hey there, you must be Kai," she grinned, eyes flitting from the woman to the bird and back to the woman, "My name's Phex. Cry said you knew about birds!" Her excitement built the air with crackling energy.

The youth would have to learn to control her energy if she truly wanted to study the animals living within the territories she's yet to explore.

The energetic she-wolf was a bit too much for Kai as her glass eyes widened, lips peeling back ferally as she skittishly back-pedaled a pace. Tula too seemed alarmed to have an unfamiliar wolf run at them, trilling loudly in response to the witch's distress. 

Her lips lowered slowly as the woman spoke, her ears flattening sheepishly. Of course it hadn't been an attack, the girl was just excited. 

The naiad was left blinking in surprise at the fact that Phex seemed to know who she was, at a loss for words. Finally, she reached around to allow Tula to hop onto her snout. Extending her matted neck, the fisher hopped onto the piebald shyly to settle on one golden shoulder. 

"Tula," she whispered, glass eyes curious as she watched them. 

Phex's tail wagged with enthusiasm, but when she noted her approach startled the woman she stopped dead in her tracks before again stepping forwards with more consideration for the other. She smiled sheepishly as if in apology before she wildly went through her greeting and glee built inside her when she found recognition hinted with confusion in the woman's face at her name being spoken from unmet lips.

Her excitement didn't lower, however, for she'd heard the bird again trill from the bird that confirmed it was indeed the same one. "Hey, that's a beautiful bird there," she stated with a quieter tone should she scare off the creature, "Do you know what type it is?" Hopefully, her quest to find the name of the bird would be fulfilled and she could return to her bear hunt; if not she'd find answers elsewhere. Or, perhaps, she'd name the bird herself. 

Royal little fisher bird sprung to her mind as she recalled Cry's words, but before she could speak again the bird had hopped over and was perched upon her shoulder, leading to Phex desperately contain her excitement at the interaction but then decided to question the woman's whispered words, if only to redirect the energy to something else, "So, uh, what'd you just say?"

"Fisher," she mouthed in her silent language. The girl was strange to Kai but decidedly nice. Kai investigated, sniffing the piebald's coat curiously. She smelled faintly of Cry, indicating her newness to the Keep. Kai brushed her jaw against the woman's golden shoulder - leaving her own wild, sea scent on Phex.

"Tula," she murmured, pointing to the bird again with her muzzle. Tula had explored her perch - hopping between shoulders to settle in the dip between Phex's shoulder blades to groom the girl's ruff with her long beak.

The youth only just caught the mouthed words, fisher, and related to Cry's description of feeding. It seemed such a simple name for the carefully embroidered bird, and decided that she would take it upon herself to think up of a name for it. 

It was a master of fishing, it seemed. That could be part of the name. Something to hail the bird with; a real title. She grinned at her own thoughts before feeling it tug at her fur. Not plush or long in any respect, but it did well to keep the youth warm; though that was probably just her young age and constant activity.  

"She has a beautiful name, Tula," the girl repeated it to be sure of it, "Did you name her?" 

Kai watched as Tula made herself comfortable on the girl's patchy back, grooming her carefully though there didn't seem to be much to find amongst the golden and white hairs. Still, the witch knew that her familiar liked preening her favorite wolves. 

It was surprising how quickly the fisher had taken to Phex, given her slow acceptance of Dirge and Cry. But perhaps that had something to do with them being male. 

"Ya'," she murmured, nodding her head once. "N-No w..word..s," she stuttered as she gestured to the bird again, as if to say that Tula could not have named herself without a language to call her own. 

The youth smiled and nodded, slowly tilting her head to try and glimpse the bird on her back. She wondered if any non-lupine creature could talk their language, and decided she'd set out to find one who may.

Her interest then turned to the woman, who actually looked more dog than wolf. Her features were more rounded and her eyes, Phex thought, held a softer gaze. Perhaps that was why she was so quiet because she hadn't grown up in the language she had. Her head canted in a crow-ish manner and took a careful step forward to sniff the woman, being very careful to not disturb Tula. She'd learned to be more aware of personal space, but that was still often forgotten; mostly in times in excitement. She sniffed about the trailing wisps of her plush coat, inhaling the salty scent of the sea. 

If she didn't pull back, Phex would softly rub her muzzle against Kai's cheek, marking her as a friend. 

The naiad fell still as she was sniffed and scent-marked by the patchy lady - the sensation unfamiliar but not entirely unpleasant either. 

Her matted tail sweeped against the ground, portraying her happiness at Phex's acceptance. A crooked smile graced her features as she leaned forward, gently brushing her own speckled crown against the fae's shoulder. 

Phex grinned happily, her tail waving furiously as she looked up slightly to Kai. She liked the idea that she was now friend; and family. "Can you teach me about birds?" she asked with hope in her voice, wishing badly to learn about everything in the world.

She sat down carefully, as to not unsettle Tula, and waited; mind starting to drift to the bear.