Whitefish River up and down, and all around

patrol thread for merc trade!

Dorian lifted his head, calling out to the pack. Kaistleoki had to be awake by now right? It was the friggin' afternoon! He had bounced around all morning, waiting and watching. Now it was time to act. He'd do good on his promise to Hiero; he'd try his best to be a good member of the pack.

This time he wasn't goofing off. Dorian wanted to patrol. He hoped that a more experienced member of the pack would come show him around. He could use good company and a good grasp of the land he found himself in now. So much of the River was unknown to him. Light on his feet, the man paced around.

He hoped someone would come soon.

A howl from the borders could only mean one thing for the healer: someone was injured. Although, they usually called for her specifically, but she recognized the call as being from one of their newer members and wondered if maybe he didn't know. Regardless, she left the plants she had been inspecting and headed for the edge of the territory. 

When she arrived, that man did not seem harmed in anyway, and she offered him a brief look of confusion, followed by a warm smile. Is everything okay? she asked. I'm Speedy, Kaistleoki's Chamberlain and healer. She dipped her head. Usually a call from the borders means something is wrong, and I wanted to make sure my assistance wasn't needed. If it wasn't, then that was even better. She was happy to spend time getting to know her new packmate now that she was here.

Oops. Did he do a bad? A call at the border is... Shit. His ears flattened briefly. "I was gonna patrol" he proclaims, wagging his tail. If he seemed perturbed by this news, he kept it to himself "and I don't rightly know anyone much" there, he could explain things "so I thought to keep it open, y'know?" Hence the call. Hence his idiocy. 

Speedy. The pack's healer. Noted! "I'm Dorian!" he burst out, tail wagging more energetically "I know you're a healer, but you wanna join me? You can point out all the cool places along the way" he grins at the woman, hoping she'd accept the invite "but if not, that's cool. No fur off my back." he adds with a nod of his head.

She nodded her understanding. Oh, okay, she told him with a warm smile. That makes sense. I'm just glad no one is injured. As much as she enjoyed helping her packmates, she did not enjoy seeing them in pain. 

Her smile grew as he introduced himself and then asked if she would like to join him on his patrol since she knew the territory. Speedy nodded. I would love to join you, she said brightly. I've lived here for a long time, so I know all the ins and outs of the territory, she explained. 

The healer began to walk, offering him a friendly smile over her shoulder to indicate that he should join her. They couldn't patrol while standing here, and she was excited to get to know Kaistleoki's new member.

"I'll be the first one to tell you if I get a splinter" he half-jokes, grinning as she joins him. Speedy had lived here a long time, just like the other wolves by the river. Dorian nods, deferring to her judgement and opinions. "why's your name 'Speedy', by the way?"

He turns his head to look directly at her. Curiousity plagued his eyes. "Can you run really, really fast?" it was an innocent question. As he fell in step with the healer, he just wanted to know about his pack mates. "if you can, we can race sometime!" he adds with a chuckle.

It was a question she got often: why was she named Speedy? It was also a story she had told often, but she never minded. I was born first in my litter, before my dad could even get back to the den. When he arrived and saw that I was already born, he said 'Well, that was speedy.' So my parents decided then that my name would be Speedy. She smiled and chuckled a little as she told the story. She missed her family so much, and that story always made her think of them.

I can run pretty fast, she told him. Then a grin spread across her face. Let's race to the river, she suggested, sprinting forward and taking off without even waiting for his answer.

Running was on the agenda? Speedy sped away, leaving Dorian in her wake. His mouth dropped open before laughter filled the air. Okay, he may be a bit personal asking her about her name but... she got the drop on him easily. All females did.

"I'm not going to lose so easy!" he proclaims as he charges after the woman. His paws felt like air as he sped along the border, the escort forgotten about in the process of a good run. He caught up to her but she was still ahead. Dorian wasn't a sore loser though.

He caught up to her within moments, his words reaching her ears and making her grin. She also wouldn't give up easily, and she had no plans on going easy on him. 

It didn't take her long to put some more speed behind her sprinting, and she pushed ahead of him more, unable to keep from giggling in the process. 

The river was soon in her sights, and she pushed herself to run faster—she was dead set on winning.