It was early, the sun had only risen a few hours ago, but the fox-like wolfess was up as usual; though today her paws led her further than the pack borders, today her duty was not patrolling, it was foraging. She had come far since joining back in winter, her knowledge of plants was wide now, thanks to @Nina and she knew which herbs to pick when out on her patrols. The lands of Secret Woodlands had become deeply familiar to her, and she knew of each plant present within it and where to find it. But the stores were already stocked with those, there was no need to pick anymore at the moment, so the young healer had set out to find some of the medicines that did not grow in the thicket.

She had planned to go north east, where the forest seemed to be thinning - the area was mostly unexplored as far as she'd heard, and a small zest of her old adventure lust had awoken in the slight dame at the prospect - so she had started going north, when the alluring scent led her astray. The perfume was deep, sweet, sharp, a flowery aroma that overpowered her senses more than anything; BLACKBERRIES! She of course knew that the fields to the east were dotted with blackberry bushes, it had been her first stop after entering Relic Lore, but she had been able to keep away over the winter, occupied with other things, almost forgetting the existence of the bushes. But now their scent was more pressing, more overpowering than in the death of winter; they were flowering!

Aideen was only half in control of her own body as she sprinted through the woods, lunges gasping for breath, drawing in more of the alluring scent. It drew her, begged her like the call of an old friend, a lost sibling, a mother. As the trees cleared, she didn't pause, didn't even hesitate, but ran straight out into the field, almost throwing herself straight into the thicket. Only an extreme force of will in the last second stopped her in front of the bushes, their thorns were cleverly disguised under dark leaves and white flowers, but she knew they were there, she had stung herself many times on them as a pup. So she held back, stretching her neck to get her snout as close to the flowers as possible, taking deep breaths of the sweet scent. Her heart quivered in her chest. Secret Woodlands had become her home, here she had friends, a new family; @Coal ... But standing here, over these bushes, she longed for her birthplace.

Word count: 442

As usual the mother was up before her pups, the sun had barely just risen and Minka knew that it would only be a couple of more hours before @Noble and @Kova would awaken and need feeding. At a just over a month old the children still fed solely on her milk which meant that the Lagina woman needed to be close by whenever they were awake. So this morning she had been careful not to jostle them as she rose and exited the den, her destination already in mind as she made her way easily through the territory. While when they first arrived the pack had spent some time getting caught in the thorns of the bushes that were plentiful the fae now moved with grace, easily avoiding being pricked.

It didn't take long until Minka crested the hill that marked where their territory began on the northern edge of the blackberry fields. In the early morning the dew still hung on the buds of the plants causing the sun to reflect and glint like fireflies. The golden eyes blinked a few times adjusting quickly to the new lighting and flicked across the scene. The alpha had come here for a purpose; to track the herds. Since the berries began to blossom deer had began to congregate early in the morning in the fields to feast upon the sour fruit. Without a designated hunter Minka had taken it upon herself to check upon the status of the beasts regularly, knowing that soon they would begin to birth their young and that would make hunting easier.

This morning however instead of the white tails meeting her gaze Minka saw another fae, who seemed to be a little....over enthusiastic about the berries. Chuckling to herself she watched as the rusty wolfess pulled up just short of burying her face deep into the thorned bushes. It brought back memories of the young woman she had met in the late stages of her pregnancy, she had been just as excited at the sight of the fields and had gorged her stomach on the sweet sour taste of the berries. Laughing allowed the memory there was joy in her voice as she called out, "I see you share a love of berries with the deer who come to feast often enough." The golden eyes twinkled happily and her posture was friendly as she perceived the stranger as no threat to her or her family.

She was deep in the grasp of memories as she breathed in deeply to fill her snout with the sweet scent, eyes closed and ears laid back to block out the world around her. Still, the call reached her over the berry bushes, making her head jolt up and around, eyes opening to look at the stranger over her shoulder. It was a female wolf, standing atop the nearby hill, watching her. The woman was slightly bigger than Aideen, her pelt more golden - though with hints of red too - and her eyes deep amber. She was smiling down at the younger fae in the fields, seemingly happy enough to meet her, despite the scent of pack that the wind was undoubtedly carrying up towards her.

The fox-pelted girl returned her smile, equally happy to make a new acquaintance, and answered the laughing question in a loud, joyful voice; "Yes I do, though not so much the taste, but the smell!" She laughed lowly, as a pup she had indeed tried eating some of the sour fruits, allured by the sweet scent, and the result had been less than pleasant. Looking up at the stranger, she confessed: "It reminds me of my childhood." There was a hint of longing in her voice, her thoughts turning to her family far in the north; how were they fairing? Had they made it through the harsh winter alright? They're s far away... It was beginning to get hard imagining them, had her brothers grown strong? Where they still with the pack? And what about the others? Yami, Cal, dad... Mom? Her mother was old, this winter might have become her last...

Shaking her head lightly, the petite wolf returned her attention to the present, still smiling, all be it a little shakily, up at the tawny stranger; "I'm Aideen Smoke, of Secret Woodlands. Nice to meet you!" Her tail wagged lightly, it had been awhile since she'd met a new wolf.

Word count: 329

The bigger wolfess replied with equal joy as she confessed a certain infatuation with the sweet perfume herself, though adding that the taste of the berries hardly lived up to their flowers' scent. Aideen grinned at that, remembering all to vividly how she'd tried to eat some of the dark fruits in early puphood; that was not a mistake she'd make ever again.

While her mind was ensnared by the memories of home, the other made her way closer, sitting down at a respectful distance, her lightly waving tail encouraging further conversation. The flame-pelted girl was happy to follow suit, and lowered her own hunches to the dew-latten grass. She hardly noticed the golden eyed woman's reaction to the introduction, as her own presentation fell shortly after, and Aideen's ears perked, head tilting to the side as she looked curiously back at Minka; Black Thorne Downs..? The name was unfamiliar to the tri-colored lass, not one of her pack's allies to the south; "Black Thorne Downs..." She said slowly, feeling the name out; "You're the new ones up north, then?" It was more of a statement really, though she put it as a question.

Continuing to smile at the tawny dame, Aideen lifted her snout slightly to breath in her foreign scent, getting to know the mark of this new pack. The air was heavy with the flowery fragrance though, so it was hard to separate Minka's scent, especially since it contained an element of the blackberry perfume as well. A faint heat rushed to the reddish fae's face and she looked around them quickly before looking back to the Downs wolf with embarrassment in her copper eyes; "Or maybe not so far north..." She said, ears falling to the sides bashfully; in her eagerness to reach the sweet-smelling bushes, she had failed to notice just how far north she'd trekked. Now she smiled shyly at Minka and added: "Well, I think I can guess where you got the name from." In an attempt to brush off the awkwardness.

Word count: 339