Morningside Cuesta Fishbones ain't wishbones
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@Pheiros 

Things had been on the lean side for Merlin during the past few days, therefore, when an opportunity presented itself to chase down a snowshoe hare across open landscape, he put 100% effort in the hunt. Hunger is a powerful motivator, so is the will to survive. Both were engaged in this metaphoric fight for a few very intense minutes, until the hare out-manoeuvred Merlin and the boy was left watching it disappear in the direction of the forest, while himself fought to regain breath.

Oh well, at least he had been in the wilds long enough not to be a sore loser, though he did feel a little disappointed that yet another day would go by with no food in sight. Now more than ever his thoughts returned to joining a group for winter, which would be the most practical thing to do, but his stubborn, youthful self had not yet gone through the phase, where he still wished to prove the world (and himself) that he could do it. Joining a pack now seemed like giving up at the moment.

Therefore he swallowed that loss, reminded himself that there will and must be another hare just waiting to cross paths with him and the either later today or tomorrow he would get lucky.
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Pheiros' reason for being outside the borders today was not food related; he was on the search for plants. Without a proper medic to teach him, his caregiver skills so far had been completely trial and error. This meant that poor @Haunt had been forced to suffer through his stumbling around her wounds as he tried to figure out how to help her. He wasn't sure he had actually helped her one bit, but he stored away the knowledge to refer to it as what not to do—bark from just any tree would not help pain. 

His search was paused, though, by the sudden appearance of a copper and white streak in the distance. The golden boy trotted forward towards the stranger, curious as always. He stopped a respectable distance away, hoping not to startle the other boy, and offered a soft chuff in greeting. Maybe they were up for conversation?
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Merlin was not one to get startled easy (unless it was an angry, sleep-deprived bear chasing him - true story - or a creaky-grumpy bachelor wolf woken at the least suitable moment) and he enjoyed company of any kind, even if he wanted to maintain that "I am tough and I do not need anyone to survive out here" bravado. He greeted the other fellow amicably (as much as the social distance between them allowed to do it), then took notice of a familiar scent, he had caught during two other encounters. 

"Hey!" he began the conversation. "Watcha you doing outside, when yer pack is just over there?" he beckoned at a random direction and just happened to be right by pure chance.
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Pheiros was happy that this stranger was so friendly, which probably showed in the lifting of his eyebrows and the wide smile that spread across his face. His tail began to wag behind him, and he trotted forward a little more. It was then that he really noticed how handsome the other boy was, which added a layer of shyness to his approach. 

Hi!, he said in return. I'm just looking for plants, he answered with a small shrug of his golden shoulders. What are you doing out here? A quick inspection of his scent told Pheiros that he did not belong to a pack, but he seemed about his own age. He wondered how long he had been on his own and if he was looking for a new place to live. Many questions flitted through his mind, but he waited for the other wolf to answer his first one, not wanting to look weird or dumb.
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"Plants?" Merlin cast a superficial glance around the meadow, which appeared to him as a regular barren winter wasteland and wondered, what kind of plants could this guy actually find. If he was looking for plants, that is. He furrowed his brow, but decided that he did not care, if the fellow lied to him or not. He wanted to talk and there was ... guy, who wanted to do so.

"I don't think you will find anything useful here," he pointed out, remembering dimly now that he too once had something to do with plants. Exactly what - he had no idea. And no longer cared either. "What is your name, kid?" he asked and only then realized that he had not replied to the earlier inquiry. "Nah, nothing much. Chilling here and looking for lunch," he shrugged.
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He grew even more interested as the other boy mentioned that he might not find anything useful in the field. Oh, do you know about plants? he asked, his eyes widening a bit. I'm trying to learn. How lucky would he be to find someone out here who could teach him something?

I'm Pheiros, he answered with a smile. Have you found anything good yet? he asked, even though it was obvious he hadn't—Pheiros had a habit of asking obvious questions when he wasn't sure how to respond to things.
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"No, I know nothing about them. Except that common sense says there is hardly any use of dead plants. I suggest you try again in spring," Merlin said, though it was possible that a skilled plant-man would find useful stuff in all seasons and under all circumstances. Then it dawned upon him that there was another thing he could share. "And moss is good for... some stuff I do not remember and that's the extent of my knowledge," he shrugged. 

"Well, that good just ran for the hills, so I am left quite alone," he replied. "Do you have anything good to offer? And name's Merlin, by the way," he dipped his muzzle, acknowledging Pheiros.
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Well, it was becoming quite apparent that Pheiros was not really the brightest, and he had little common sense, so he hadn't considered the fact that he might not find anything useful during the winter months. How did a healer help with injuries and sickness during those months then? He had so many questions, and he was desperate to find the answers, but it was difficult to do that with no experienced healer around to guide him. Yeah, that makes sense, he answered, his heart sinking a little in his chest as he realized how dumb he must have sounded. But the stranger offered a small bit of information about moss. That had been the one thing he did know, but he he wouldn't admit that; he'd rather pretend the other boy had offered him something helpful than point that out. Oh, okay. Thanks, he offered with a small smile. I'll remember that.

Nice to meet you, he returned. Um, well, I have some stuff back home, Pheiros told him. He wouldn't be opposed to sneaking something out for him. He was probably hungry, and the golden boy was happy to help, especially if it made him look less stupid.
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The other guy seemed to feel a little sad for the fact that he had gone out plant-hunting with not prospects of getting lucky at all. Merlin, who was a good soul inside, thought he should say something to cheer Pheiros up: "Don't worry. What do I know - I never said I was a healer or anything. If you found a guy or lass, who knew the deal, I am sure they could tell you, what to collect in winter too."

"You do?"
Merlin's interest had been piqued. "What kind of stuff it is?" he asked, as if he had no idea, what they were talking about.
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Pheiros nodded, his smile widening. It didn't take much to dash away his negative self-talk, at least temporarily, especially when it was reassurance from a friendly, handsome stranger. I've had trouble finding anyone who can teach me, he admitted. Do you know anyone I could talk to? 

Merlin seemed interested in his offer, which made Pheiros happy. Well, there are probably some rabbits...maybe some parts of a deer, he answered, looking up in thought. Do you have anything specifically that you want? Maybe they had that too.
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Merlin was about to exclaim that he does know people, who could teach him, but the light of recognition dwindled as soon as the realization hit in the he had no idea, who they were. It was odd - he was sure that he knew, that feeling was very real opposed to the spells of hallucinations he had suffered from months after his injury. But no faces or names came forward. Completely blank.

"Sorry, no," he shook his head. The offer of food was so very tempting, he felt his mouth water at the thought of a meal right within his reach. But then his pride stepped in and accused him of cheating. If he had survived this long, he had to keep on going. Even if it meant going hungry for few more days. And only after all of the options had been exhausted, he would remember the offer. "Nah, thank you! That does not go well with my... complicated belief system. Eating food of others - that is. No offence," he shook his head. 

"But we can go look for something - maybe if there are two us, we might get lucky?" he suggested.
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Pheiros had been hopeful that this new wolf might know someone who could teach him things, but it turned out he didn't. That's okay, he told Merlin. I'm sure I'll figure it all out. So far, he had done a pretty terrible job, but he was hoping that with time and practice, he could get better. 

He turned down his offer of food, which was fine. Pheiros mostly just wanted to help him because he liked for others to like him, and that was the quickest way to achieve that. So, when he offered to go look for something, the golden boy nodded. Okay, I'm up for that, he assured the other wolf. I'd be happy to help you find something. He at least had more skills in hunting than he did in healing.
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"Cool," Merlin replied. After a little deliberation he decided to follow his inner compass somewhere-wards and hope that they came up onto something. He did not say anything for a while, keeping up with Pheiros and shooting some curious glances over at his unusual looking companion. He found the floppy ears of him especially adorable, but, since only few men - in his experience - responded well to compliments on their looks, he did not say anything. 

"You smell exactly like two other wolves I met recently. One was... called Pig, if I remember incorrectly," he grinned, "and the other... I named her Coon Assbite, because she tried to jump me even before saying "a hello" and "how do you do", but I for the gods cannot recall her maiden name. White chick, fairly young looking - ring a bell?" he asked conversationally.
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Pheiros honestly wasn't sure who Merlin was talking about. Young and white sounded like Arbiter's daughter, but he wasn't sure who Pig might be. But he got a sudden spike of anxiety in his chest at the thought of admitting that. What if he thought he was lying? Or stupid? 

So he just nodded and said: Oh, um, yeah it does. If he didn't ask anymore questions about it, then all would be fine and they could move on. 

To help move things along, he quickly added: I think there might be something to hunt this way. As he spoke, he turned and headed down the soft incline.
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Pheiros acknowledged the fact that he was familiar with the girl Merlin had mentioned and with no further questions asked about the meet-up, the young man rolled with that. He was - in fact - interested more in finding food than having lengthy discussions about head-hunting girls.

"So - Pheiros - plants aside, what else interests you in life? Hobbies? Any glorious adventures you want to share?" he asked with a friendly grin. They talked amiably with each other for a while and then left on mutually good terms.