Into the Woods! {Artemis}

[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/stephers1995/Aneirin---MIDDLE.png] Contrary to what most people believed, the water of a swamp was surprisingly clean. It would stain your fur like tea for a little while, of course, but beneath that almost opaque surface was a sweet mahogany fluid, strained clean by the cypress roots. Aneirin half waded, half doggy-paddled through the winding ways of the swamp, eyes mostly scanning at head level as he went, ripples pooling languidly out behind him. The bars of light that made it through the heavy overhead canopy were golden, taking on the warm orange tones of the water, and he enjoyed watching the swirls of midges illuminated by this light as he passed through--though not having to duck his big head through the cloud and snort them back out of his nose. As his head swayed from side to side, he took in careful account of his surroundings. He was rewarded with the sight of one of his goals: swamp hibiscus, blossoming in the shallows quite close to him. He collected as many of the bright red blossoms as he could while still keeping his vision clear to swim forward; while normally he was more careful of cultivating his resources, the swamp was out of the way for him, and, despite its beauty, rather dangerous. He was trying to gather the more rare herbs before winter set in, so he wouldn't have to venture here again--and hibiscus, though hard to find, had a common enough purpose that he was sure to need it: curing sore throats. The big, salt-and-pepper gray pulled himself up onto the island at the center of the swamp, setting his bundle down before shaking his coat dry. He looked up for a moment, and let his heart thrill in the joy of nature's beauty. Most wolves might find a swamp ugly or distasteful, but he never failed to be bowled over by such great trees as this one--its trunk, rippling with wood boles, rose impressively above him, older, lower branches also of great girth, winding and twisting close to the main body of the tree. Higher up, the long tendrils of the willow hung down, graceful as falling, drifting snow, but warm: and the yellow sun shone through them, too, patterning his coat like the golden willow leaves that fell upon it. A flash of a different yellow caught his eye--THERE! At the base of the trunk! Lady's slipper! The orchid-like plant was snugged up right at the edge of the water; he wasn't sure how he'd missed it, but was overjoyed to see it. Above the hibiscus, this was what he'd come here for; the antispasmodic effects of the roots would be perfect for Annie. Heedless in his sense of accomplishment, Aneirin loped forward to the plant--and froze. Coiled in front of it, in a patch of warming sun, was a water moccasin. The snake was a big one, its long, fat body muscular beneath the striped black scales, and as Aneirin crashed through the grass towards it it had suddenly reared and coiled, displaying its vicious fangs. The soft-hearted grey backed himself up towards the tree, but soon found himself trapped. He knew the snake meant him no harm--he'd only startled it--but he also knew it would bite and possibly kill him if he came closer. The bobbing heads of the lady's slipper danced tauntingly behind the serpent, and Aneirin barely suppressed a low, frustrated growl, thinking of how much the pup-wolf in Enchanted could use that help.

[xFenris.Fenrirx]

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[atrb=background,http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac192/fireb4ashes/Firki-MIDDLE.jpg] The smell of the land was consuming. A marsh was something that stood alone when it came to appearance and air. Many thought these types of lands were unholy and tainted by the evil of souls long passed. The sounds echoed with the songs of frogs and other swamp dwelling creatures. It was almost like a strange music that rang through the watery lands. Then there was the sick sound of a larger creature treading on the soaked earth. It was faint however. The red devil knew what she was doing when it came to moving through unknown lands. She was a loner through and through. And a skilled hunter. There was a certain beauty that these lands held, but she would never let her guard down knowing what other being lived in these lands. Many of them small but dangerous. Swiftly, she bounced from dry land to dry land making sure not to land in the water that looked unsafe or like sink holes. Her firey hued pillars were soaked in the marsh water. It clung to her fur almost like a parasite. Perhaps later she would clean it... Though most likely she would just let nature take its course and let the grass clean it as she wandered. She was a beauty that was for sure she had been told it before. Though she was not vain about it in any way. Looks were only on the outside and if everything in this world were based on looks nothing would get done. No emotions would ever be truly felt. Above the smell of the land there was the lingering scent of another beast. A wolven just like her. Brute. A small growl rumbled through her vocals for a short moment. Barely even being able to be heard. She was protective over herself and would not be taken advantage of by some other creature. Though, she was curious. It had been a few too many moons since her last real encounter with another of her breed. Lifting her maw towards the heavens, she took in a deep breath. Taking in the surrounding lands she turned to where the smell of the brute was coming from. As she drew closer to the unknown brute she studied him from afar. Why was he just standing there staring at a flower? Then she saw it. The snake that eyed him back. Slowly she moved behind the place where the devil lay. What was so great about this planet this brute was willing to get bit over? She had seen that snake attack before. It would slowly kill its prey with an evil toxin that took over the body. She had killed them before as well. Seeing as this beast was staring at the male wolf she thought it would be a safe thing to take advantage of being a hunter. Stealth. Finally she was only a few steps away from the scaled one. She could hear it hissing at the brute that stood before it. For a split second she took her eyes off the prey and looked at the male. Handsome features. Though she had smelled him before. A pack lander. Normally she would leave them to die. It was their own fault for running off to these untamed lands. Survival of the fittest, right? She shook her head and let out a small growl. Quickly, she lunged at the scaled serpent. Her ivories dug into the flesh of the creature. Instantly, she knew she had made a mistake. The tail. She was stupid she grabbed the tail. Not high enough to kill it in one blow. She was in danger. Her eyes widened in horror as the beast whipped back and bit her in the chest. Its sharp teeth easily tore through her fur and flesh. She let go and quickly bit it again and tore it off her. Killing it this time. Letting out another growl at the fallen creature. She would not show she was scared of this turn of events. Her icy pools danced to the unknown brute. "That pretty plant better be worth all of this..."

[/i] she said with a small laugh.

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[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/stephers1995/Aneirin---MIDDLE.png] If there had been a breeze in the thick swamp air, Aneirin's fur would have been the only thing moving on his body in this deadly face-off. As it was, the atmosphere hung humid and heavy over him, oppressing him as the buzzing rounds of limited choices ran through his head like the midges and gnats over the water. He felt foolish for being in this predicament in the first place. If he had just been more careful, less besotted with the wilderness, less sure of his safety as he was in the Enchanted pack lands he was growing to love, he wouldn't be facing these sad straits. The healer watched the snake, ironic sign of his practice, still coiling and bunching itself; its muscles made curvaceous lines beneath its finely layered scales in shades of gray. It moved sometimes smoothly, then in brief jerks as a bit of scale gave way and it rose higher, fangs still exposed, dripping, and lethal. There was a sudden hint of movement and color behind the snake--Aneirin's eyes refocused in surprise to see another wolf in the swamp with him. He might not have noticed her were it not for her brilliantly red pelt, illuminated to shocking brightness in the swamp's yellowy light. She was frighteningly close to the serpent, and--stalking it. He opened his mouth, ears flicking forward, trying to find a way to warn her off before she got any closer without alerting or startling the snake--but then in a spurt of movement too fast for him to follow she had sprung, a flare of red leaping onto his attacker. Before he knew it, the femme was standing over the snake's dead body, but not before he saw it whip back in terrifying clarity and strike her--directly in the chest. She looked at him, and he was surprised to see that her eyes were bright blue, much like his, striking against the vivid reds of her shining pelt. The broad, seemingly warrior-built brute lunged over to her. "That pretty plant better be worth all of this..." she said, giving a stoic laugh. He was impressed by her bravery in the face of all logic, but not enough to slow down his reactions. He hissed in a sharp breath. "No plant is worth that, milady. I need you to lie down." It was absolutely imperative that the affected areas be used as little as possible, even more so given that she'd been stricken so close to the heart, and the venom could easily get into the very center of her system. "I'll be back. Please move as little as possible." He took another quick look at her face, feeling a sharp pain of guilt at the thought that such a beauty might be snuffed out because she'd stepped in to help him, then was off. There was no time to waste in explaining. The tree itself provided his first tool--one of the long, trailing creepers was swiftly torn off with a snap and shake of his thick neck, and he pelted back to her. Working in swift silence, he drew the cord at an angle across her chest, pulling with his jaws and pinning it with one vast, pale paw, the line of the vine above the bite and pushing down, moving the venom away from her heart. When he was satisfied with the initial work, he dropped the end of the vine from his mouth and pinned it with his other paw, gasping a bit for breath. "I'm going to have to bite you." He looked at her in the eyes, trying to return a semblance of his usual serenity to the lake blue orbs. "The most important thing now is to get this out of your body. All you have to do is stay relaxed." He smiled a little bit, partially at the irony--stay relaxed when you've been snake bit--and partially to give her confidence. Taking a deep breath, he plunged his head down and applied his teeth, sinking them in on either side of the wound. He tasted the venom as it rushed out of the pocket it had gathered in, and though the taste was dreadful, it brought him great hope. It looked like he'd caught the poison before it seeped further. He released his grip, spat out the blood and venom, then returned his muzzle, silvery tip now slightly red-stained. He repeated this three more times before he was satisfied, finally releasing the vine and pulling his head away. Aneirin found himself looking into this strange female's eyes again at that moment, and quickly dipped his head to the nearby pool, taking a sip of the deceptively clean swamp water before very, very gently licking at the wound. The taste was clean. He heaved a massive sigh of relief, ruff fluttering slightly, creamy whiteness of his chest contrasting with the shades of gray that coated his back. The brute lowered his bulk down to the ground beside his new companion, giving her a broad smile, washed clean of her blood. "I'll need to find you some goldenseal, but you're safe for now. That was insanely brave of you." He grinned a bit more, now that he knew at heart the danger was past. "Really, insane and brave. Do you always go around rescuing brutes?" Aneirin actually felt a brief twinge of shame at that moment, imagining how he must have looked, regretting his role in bringing her to this point at all, and now making glib jokes in his own relief and glee. "I'm sorry, milady. My name is Aneirin." He bowed his head, indicating "at your service."

[xFenris.Fenrirx]

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[atrb=background,http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac192/fireb4ashes/Firki-MIDDLE.jpg] The situation was a serious one. She was only trying to play it off like it was not. Death was one of those things that she had accepted. One cannot run away from fate it seemed. And if she was going to go out she would have been more than happy to go out with helping someone to show that not everything in this world was evil and lost. There was only a slight twinge of fear in her body but not much. She did not fear dying. As long as it was not drowning she could deal with it. To die is the live as to live is to die. At least she would not be all alone in her final moments. A stranger was better than nothing. Right? There was a burning sensation that suddenly ripped through her body causing her to pull in a sharp breath and clench her eyes tightly shut for a brief moment. When she opened them she was face to face with the brute that she had rescued. He was speaking. His voice was calming for some reason. Normally she held a sort of hatred towards the males of her breed. They took what they wanted without caring who or what they hurt. Her eyes studied his for a moment. They were different. Evil did not seem like something he would be labeled as. Too bad she had not met him earlier in her life seeing as these would be the last moments she had to share with him. As he spoke she let another smile spread on her features. "Well then I guess I'm just a silly girl,"

[/i] she said laying down like he had told her to do.

The thing that was strange is it was as if he knew how to save her from this bite. There were little to no medical smart wolves left in this world and more were elders of pack lands that would only help their own. Maybe he felt obligated to help her because she had helped him. Though the last thing she would want was pity from someone. Her bodice felt like fire touching an icy ground when she rested on the earth. It sent a shiver up and down her spine quickly. Even though the situation seemed rather on the bleak side she could not help but notice the brute. He was handsome and warm. The stranger seemed like someone she would have been more than willing to get to know if there had only been more time.

As he spoke again about leaving and coming right back she looked at him for a short moment. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere,"[/i] she pointed out resting her maw on her forepaws. Even in the face of death she would not let that change her personality. Though as he bounded off another small whiff of fear danced in her eyes. She was alone again. She wanted the large brute to come back and keep her company in her final moments. At least she wanted to know his name and for him to know hers. She did not want to be completely forgotten in this world. Lost in the wind.

To her surprise he came right back. With another plant of sorts. He is a wolf trained in the medical ways... she observed silently. Her muscled felt tense in her body. Things were getting harder and harder to bare. The pain was intense though she would never show it. Then he spoke again of biting her. She almost laughed with the thoughts running through her mind.

"My dear... Looks like we skip the names and are getting straight to the foreplay. I like it..."[/i] she said giving him a little wink as in giving him the ok to bite her. When he did the pain was not actually that bad. It was nothing compared to the snake before him. Even though his teeth sunk into her flesh he was not harsh about it. There was no intent to kill her or blood lust in his actions. She just held her breath when he did it. It was strange however. She could feel him pulling out the venom in the wound. Maybe she would have to pick up a few pointers from this unknown wolf. If she survived this whole thing that is.

When he finished and pulled back she let the held breath out. The pain was not as strong though her body still felt very weak. Her muscles felt like they had gone through the blender. The blood that stained her chest seemed to blend with her fur. However, her blood stained his light maw slightly. Blood just did not seem right on him. Well the blood of his kind. She liked that. There was just something about him. She could not place it. A smile spread on her features again as she slowly stood. Her legs felt like noodles and she fell into his chest for a short moment. Mmmm... she thought as she sunk into his soft fur. He was warm. But she lifted off of him and looked into his pools. As he spoke she almost laughed.

"No, I only save the good looking ones,"[/i] she said with a smirk. "I find it works better than pick up lines."[/i] She spoke as though she had been with other males before but she had not. She was pure in the sense of the word. Though it had been hard over the years especially in the realm of being a loner.

She listened to him introduce himself. "My how proper you are. A handsome name to go along with a handsome brute. But seeing as you are being so kind to me and we are past the foreplay stage let me introduce myself as well. My name is Firki,"[/i] she said with a smile looking into his orbs.

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[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/stephers1995/Aneirin---MIDDLE.png] A delicate, warm body thumped lightly against his broad chest, sinking momentarily into the fur as its owner regained control of her legs. Aneirin's ears pricked up, and he felt his body stiffen slightly, though he enjoyed the contact. Almost against his own will, he sniffed in slightly, reasoning it away as a way to take her vital signs, and found himself enjoying the scent--faintly sweet, rather fresh, despite her recent travails, slightly heated. She pulled away again, and he was both relieved and disappointed. "No, I only save the good looking ones. I find it works better than pick up lines." Aneirin looked down, smiling a bit bashfully. He wrinkled his dark nose slightly, a friendly expression, and mumbled something at the ground about "Oh, just side effects on your vision, I'm sure..." Then he looked back up, a bit more keenly, forcing himself to man up and glance into her eyes again. Her tone was certainly spirited and cocky, but he sensed that maybe somewhere in there was a layer of charmingly fragile uncertainty. The idea made him relax a bit more, allowed him to smile more naturally at her, his shoulders dropping back down and his head rising to its stately position atop the column of his neck. "My how proper you are. A handsome name to go along with a handsome brute. But seeing as you are being so kind to me and we are past the foreplay stage let me introduce myself as well. My name is Firki." He chuckled, raising the pale marks above his eyes in surprise. He felt a tingling flush spread up from the base of his chest to his broad muzzle at her mention of foreplay, though whether or not it would be visible beneath the peppered fur was uncertain. "My, Firki! You certainly do recover quickly! Speaking of, you might not want to be on your feet so soon." Healing was where he felt most confident, and a modicum of his composure returned as he plotted out his next steps. "I'd hate for that coat or those eyes to lose their luster." His tone was warm now, and fluid. He moved closer to add action to his words, placing his head atop her shoulders and pressing down, gently but firmly, an encourager to rest. "I mentioned that I needed to find you some goldenseal; if that wound got infected it could prove just as lethal as if I'd failed. And I can finally pick that 'stupid plant' you nearly died for." He moved away, looking her in the bright azure eyes once more, and turned his head at an angle, eyes softening. "It wouldn't have been worth your life, but I promise you it's worth a lot. Do me the favor of waiting for me once more, and we can trade stories." The goldenseal wasn't difficult at all--he merely back-tracked to the tree, where the greatest concentration of solid, dry ground was, and found it nestled against the trunk. He returned with a bouquet of the broad leaves blossoming from his mouth, each with a bright red spot of berries in the middle, and laid them before her. "They'd compliment your coat quite nicely if I wasn't about to crush them." ((OOC: Augh, I feel like that was a bad post on my part. *hits self with the bad post brick* Forgive me! I think I'm just tired.))

[xFenris.Fenrirx]

[/b] she teased looking up at him. "And as for being on my feet... I was always a quick learner. Staying off your feet when you are a loner could be a death sentence in many cases," she pointed out. "Though I do feel rather safe with you by my side..."

A warm sensation filled her cheeks. What was this? A blush? Perhaps he had not noticed the rose colour in her features yet. Quickly, she bit her tongue and made the blushing go away. She did not want to embarrass herself in front of him. She would blame the snake bite on the colour change if he were to have said anything. She was sure he would buy that. Right? Right... Maybe. Her heart skipped though as he continued to speak. So say such things she was not used to at all. It had been a long time since she had heard such nice words towards her. Damnit... she thought as a second wave of blushing crept up onto her features. One time maybe she could pass the snake bite off for the tone change but not a second time. She grumbled at herself.

She continued to listen to him speak. Sure she knew a lot about the world and how things worked but medical stuff she had never been trained to pick up. A flower was just a flower to her. Just like every other thing with a root. It made her feel quite uneducated. And that rarely happened. She nodded to him as he went and got this plant that he was looking for. When he returned, she watched him. The flowers were beautiful. Yet another thing that she had found no time for. Stopping and smelling the flowers. As lame as that sounded. She never could just do that. There was always a risk of being alone in the world. No one was there to watch your back. The only one you could count on was yourself.

"You sure do know how to make a lady feel like she is pretty. Though I am sure you do that to all the girls in your pack lands," she stated with a small smile. Yeah, it was obvious to her that he was not from the world of being a loner. The stench of pack lands clung to him like this swamp muck did to her fur.[/ul]

[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/stephers1995/Aneirin---MIDDLE.png] Aneirin's ears strained forward in concern as he saw the subtle wince of the fae's body, one almost disguised--to any but his perceptive eyes, it would have been, but he had trained to see just these things. He moved slightly forward, ready to catch her if need be, but she seemed to recover somewhat, smiling at him. "It has been many many moons since another has come to my aid. Gives you bonus points." He gave a half-grin, wrinkling part of his nose. "It sounds as if you haven't come across many worthwhile wolves of late. But I'll take the points." Beneath her pale fur, even whiter than his mottled grayish hues, he thought he saw...no, surely not. A blush? On this cocky, spirited little femme? "Though I do feel rather safe with you by my side..." Now it was his turn to change colors, or at least cast his eyes to the ground, though still smiling. He focused his discomfiture on the plants before him, nudging them up onto a broad span of the willow root that was cleaner and firmer than the muddy ground below their feet. He began grinding the plants down with his paws, occasionally glancing up again as he worked. It was difficult not to. His eyes were drawn to things of beauty, and Artemis stood out in the swamp, as something alien, of a foreign loveliness, but still quite captivating. And he rather enjoyed the attention, to his chagrin. "I do my best..." he said quietly. "I'm a Healer, but not a warrior, I'm afraid. I know my way around most when patching up the holes others have made..." He saw her glance at the herbs thoughtfully, with a glint of longing, as if their colors and fine shapes were a rare solace to her; almost as if she hadn't truly seen them before. He paused, feeling slightly guilty for crushing them to a pulp, but then looked at her chest again, where the blood remained. He had to think of more than just her health at the moment--if she was to truly recover, it was necessary. Taking in a breath of their familiar, pungent smell, he continued in his work, the green sap spreading beneath his paws. "You sure do know how to make a lady feel like she is pretty. Though I am sure you do that to all the girls in your pack lands." Aneirin ducked his head briefly, a broad smile spreading across his water-dappled face, a chuckle starting up from within his chest. He raised himself off the tree-trunk that had served as his mortar, seating himself once more as he faced the femme. "Ma'am, the only girl I know in my pack is barely more than a pup." He smiled fondly. "Which isn't to discredit her. She shows more courage than I did at that age...and that fancy flower you nearly died for is to help her." He neatly dipped his paws into the water, as he'd done with his muzzle earlier, enjoying the gentle coolness in the humid heat of the swamp. He looked back to Artemis, withdrawing his paws, lest they become too inviting to the local fauna. "And anyway, it wasn't flattery," Aneirin finished, a look of frank admiration appearing for once. Damp paws serving as a reminder, he broke his gaze away from the femme, eyes darting onto the poultice that was sitting ready. "It's rather bitter, but you'll have to eat about half of it, I'm afraid. To keep from getting an infection." And then I will have to groom it onto your wound without blushing berry-red, he thought to himself, but decided to cross that bridge when he came to it.

[xFenris.Fenrirx]

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[atrb=background,http://i51.tinypic.com/9ucbvn.png] She listened to him intently and watched him. This whole healer thing was something completely new and strange to her. She wanted to know more about it. To think a hunter and fighter such as herself learning how to heal her own wounds properly? That would be an interesting concept and a knowledge that most would kill for. But that was not the only reason she listened to him so closely. She was actually interested in getting to know this strange brute. And strange in a good way. A smile threatened to spill onto her features as she watched him work. "I am quite impressed with you my dear," she said with a smile now forming. She reached over and nuzzled his chest for a moment in giving thanks. Her muscles were still tired feeling and she hoped it would soon go away. She hated the feeling of being weak and not being able to protect herself. For the time being though there was a small sense of relaxation that almost warmed her body. As she pulled away from Aneirin she looked up at him. "What can I say you are my knight in shining armour it seems," she pointed out with a small laugh. She had rescued him and he had rescued her. There was no debt to be repaid on either side. They were both square but she hoped that after this whole thing he would not just take his leave and that would be the end of it. As he spoke of the whelp her ears flattened against her skull. Not in anger though but because she was concerned. "Will she be alright once you get these herbs to her?" she questioned with a reason sense of concern in her tone. One thing she had a weak side for was pups. She would do anything to protect them even give her life. "You do not need to wait for me to be back on my feet if you need to get back. By all means I will be able to take care of myself while I heal... She should be on the top of your list of things to take care of," she added almost wanting him to leave her side to take care of the child. She could always seek him out again if he was interested. Now she felt a little bit better knowing that she had not only risked her life to save this male but also to save the life of an innocent child. It would have never bothered her to know she had died for such a cause. He was lucky that she had come along his scent other wise two wolves could have lost their life instead of just one. Speeeeech!

[Stardust]

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[atrb=background,http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn15/stephers1995/Aneirin---MIDDLE.png] Aneirin gave a lopsided smile as the female nuzzled his chest, and felt prouder and stronger than he had in some time. This brave, absorbingly beautiful femme seemed to think he was a figure of admiration. She drew away, and he suddenly felt his size, a fact he was normally unaware of. The healer rarely gave much thought to his physical appearance, but he found himself considering his body in a new, more flattering light. The fae's ears snapped back quite suddenly when he mentioned Annie, and he instantly read the concern on her features. "Will she be alright once you get these herbs to her?" He nodded somewhat contemplatively, beginning, "Well, there's no total cure, but--" "You do not need to wait for me to be back on my feet if you need to get back. By all means I will be able to take care of myself while I heal... She should be on the top of your list of things to take care of." The worry, guilt, and agitation were writ clear, emanating out from her body and her features--those deeply blue eyes, the body under her almost iridescent pelt bunched and uncertain. Aneirin was moved. He had been impressed by her bravery and gritty determination with the snake and its bite, but the compassion she displayed at the thought of a young wolf in trouble brought a heart-deep smile to his face. "No, no," he began, beaming. "She's sick, but not dying. It's just to help her be a little steadier on her feet." He shook his head, realizing he had a lot of explaining to do, and sat before the femme, still smiling. He gestured with a head nod at the green poultice he'd concocted. "Allow me to explain. Please try to get about half of that down; it would ease my heart to know you're likely to heal all the way, and it will give you strength. Annie is her name. I found her in my pack lands--I'm from Enchanted, have you heard of them?--a while ago. She had just lost her parents. They were murdered, in fact." His features darkened, and he glanced up at the beams and patterns of light in the overhead canopy, as if to remind himself of the bright sky that always hung above. When he spoke again, his voice was heavier, though it lightened the more he spoke of her. "She has a condition that makes her legs weak, and causes them to shake sometimes, out of her control. This herb calms the nerves and eases the shaking. If she was still out there unguarded, I wouldn't have dared to leave, but she's tucked away in my den, and I doubt anyone could find her there." The broad-shouldered male felt once again the strangeness of this land compared to where he was from, and where he had made his home. The heat here was sultry, but it was also oppressive, and the thought of his den made him eager for the cooler air, the dry bed of moss, the protective trees. "But where are you from? I've given you a lecture, and I hardly know more than your name." His ears perked back to their intent position on the top of his head, which was slightly tilted in curiosity, though his eyes remained gentle and...rather fond.

[xFenris.Fenrirx]

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[atrb=background,http://i51.tinypic.com/9ucbvn.png] Her orbs drifted down to the item he was nudging at her to eat. Cautiously, she nibbled on it taking in its flavor. Not something that normally tickled her fancy but she was beginning to trust this brute more and more. He had such a gentle tone. It was comforting to her. She doubted highly that he was, after saving her life, trying to poison her with this new thing. Taking a few more good bites, she swallowed the lump that had now settled in her mouth and gagged even so slightly. "Delicious..." she mumbled with a small smile flickering on her soft features. She listened intently as he spoke about the sickly whelp. Her heart seemed to melt. Not many would go out of their way to help an unclaimed babe. Especially not some brute. Most would just run them off if they were too young or just ravage them if they were in seasons. Neither of these things he seemed capable of doing. It was yet another comforting thought that made her smile. Then she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard him ask a question. She nodded slightly. "Yes, I have heard of those pack lands. I have also ventured past them. Not very often do I actually drift into claimed lands," she replied being honest. None had really felt like home to her. Nor had any been willing to accept her. Her eyes drifted off towards the direction his scent trail had left and she nudged her nose in that direction. "Would you like to head back there to check on her?" she questioned. Then her eyes fell to the ground. "May I at least join you until you reach your home lands? I do not want to intrude on anyone. Nor do I know what your alpha would think of my being there," she added with a small sigh. Her audits twitched at his next question. She actually had to think about how to answer it. No one had asked her such a thing in a long long time. Her eyes rolled back and forth for a moment and then looked back at him once she figured out how to answer. "I am from far away lands. My wandering has brought me here. I simply follow my feet," she stated with a small smile. "And please, do not feel like you were lecturing me. You have been very helpful with everything..." she finished with the smile still set on her features. Once more she pressed her head into his chest. "Thank you Aneirin..." she cooed softly. Speeeeech!