Shadewood bones blood and teeth erode

Feel free to join! I'm working on getting a Caregiver mastery at some point, so I'm building up a post count for that! Injured wolves and those who need help are more than welcome!

Iksra wanders among the trees, the early morning light dappled like snow-powder across her fur and she delights in the simplest of pleasures-- finds joy in the way the sun winks in and out of view overheard, how birds she cannot name sing overheard, as creatures she has never seen before dart just out of sight as she moves. This place-- it's an entirely new world to her and Iskra cannot wait to find it, to delve everything from within it's secret belly and drag the truths of the world into the light.

The world is merely a carcass, full of truths and worldly lies and Iskra wants to force it all into the light, to find everything there is to know and explore and share.

So even this far from home, she finds the same truths buried in the soil.

Yarrow stalks poke at the edges of clay-silt enbankment that is still half-covered in dirt-tinged snow, and she is delighted to find it, the woody scent of clay-earth and bitter roots tangling in her nose and rushing forward with the weight of memories of home. She digs at the earth, brushing aside snow to dig with eager strokes against clay and grins wolfishly as her claws meet the roots below.

She's new to this world-- but already she can see her place here forming. Iskra wants to know she's found and she sees it forming in front of her.

maybe gwen could help look for herbs or something? or they could just discuss caregiver-y stuff haha

The ivory empress revelled in the peace of her home, where the birds seemed to sing despite the frigidness of the air, sweet tunes lulling the sky into a sleepy grey - snow would occasionally roll from the heavens to drape the earth in pearly white, allowing Gwen to whisk through the landscape with ease, pelt well-crafted and suited to winter's troubles. It was not simply the life blooming in the keep that helped soothe her harrowing thoughts, but the constant presence of Cry (or, with the new alias he'd allowed her to sip, Raziel). Her husband. 

Ebony pelt built of mystery and shadows, eyes of luminescent ice; he was so wonderfully perfect, and even the whisper of his name had her stomach rolling with butterflies.

Today the snowbird's nose had led her into the path of another, and her gaze wandered over the pale agouti before catching what had drawn her originally this way - the scent of her king, which now she could trace to this woman. Curiousity adorning her features, the Eruna strode forward with a sway in her tail, assuming that this was someone Cry had brought among them. "Hello,"

That sounds lovely to me! They could chat about herbs/uses for the pack?

Iskra had almost neglected to notice the she-wolf who approached, so frenetic was her joy in finding the yarrow and the sheer radiating giddiness that came from finding something long looked for. But as the ivory woman approaches, tail held high like a greeting flag and swaying in a clear sign of friendly approach, she turns from the half-dug circle around the yarrow root to greet the newcomer.

Or perhaps, as she tests the scent around the hoarfrost-white wolf, it was Iskra who was far more a newcomer, in the presence of the alpha female of the pack. It struck her, almost as a siddling fancy in sunstroke, that the pair were a good match. Each an opposite of shade and shadow, light and hue-- such a pairing could only be an equal and many-splendid thing.

"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you here on your lands! I am Iskra, Iskra Mindottir. Cry greeted me at the border and bid me enter your lands. It is good to find a home, in these southern lands." Iskra smiles, and shifts aside so the alpha female can see the small clump of yarrow. "It's a little early for yarrow to be truly growing, but I thought it prudent to collect it while it is available. Yarrow is a truly amazing herb!"

Sounds good :)

The woman spoke with polite enthusiasm, and a soft smile tipped up the edges of the empress' dark lips. It was good to have lively spirits among them, those able to urge a glimmer of hope from within the shadowed hearts of the others - that was what a pack was supposed to be. A group of individuals who aided each other, who helped shoulder the burden and raise one another's moods with methods of their own; silently she thanked her king for finding this girl.

"Lovely to meet you, Iskra. Welcome to the Keep - I'm Gwen," she uttered, smile growing a touch as her cerulean gaze flickered toward the yarrow that the pale agouti had acquired despite the frigid temperature. "It really is - works wonders with expelling poison. I have yet to discover if there are dangerous plants within the area, though; perhaps that will be a task for the coming days." There were of course other ways that a poisonous substance could enter the body, but it was a job ought to be carried out regardless - any future litters that were raised here would need to have assured safety.

"Lovely to meet you Gwen, I hope we can be friends!" It was encouraging to start to find a family, a group of wolves who would bond and fights for those who were more than blood related. There was more to life than their bloodlines and to encounter a pack who would hold merit above lines-- it was a true blessing and Cry was the origin of that grateful boon.

Iskra hummed in approval, as she turned back to digging up the yarrow roots. "It would be well-advised to scour the area for potential hazards, since it would always improve the health and safety of all the pack members. As the pack grows, it could become more and more of an issue, especially if young ones join our ranks." Edible plants were the easiest source of poisoning, especially for younger wolves and it drove the meat of prey sour with poison and tang. "And in the process of finding that which would harm us-- we can find the plants and flora that will aid us.

"I'm certain we can," came her response, fathomless eyes glittering with appreciation - it was exhausting to keep her silence, sometimes. Gwen was not an overly communicative wolf; not entirely an introvert, certainly not an extrovert, but sealing her lips became tiring and uninteresting, and she found it far easier to converse with lively spirits such as Iskra. 

She listened without interrupting as the girl made note of the dangers of failing to scout the area, and the empress' chin dipped into an approving nod. "Absolutely. Maybe me and you can take a walk in the next few days, perhaps investigate around a little?" The more time they spent within each other's presence, the quicker and stronger their bond would grow - the eruna desired to nurture all relationships within the keep, ensuring that though they were not related by blood, every wolf inside was as close as family. Strong ties were the foundation of a strong pack. It was key to their very survival.