All Welcome. Dalhousie University. 379 wc.

It was convenient that the most southern tip of Dahlia de Mai butted up to the borders of Halifax. Nayru wasn’t even out of her own pack lands when the first buildings rose before her, towering more impressively than the ones that lined the streets of Wolfville. The sun hung high overhead and the pavement was warm beneath her two feet and Nayru was in a glorious mood as she walked along the streets, cherry eyes peeled and watching. There was no destination in mind, for Nayru had never been through the city before, so she simply traveled south. Building after building went by; some were almost crumbled to nothing, some were still standing though looking far from cared for and a few rare ones seemed perfectly preserved in their abandonment. Whatever the condition of the buildings they all stood unnaturally silent, concrete and wood, brick and glass and nothing else.

Although there were buildings she saw that surely contained items not found in Berwick or Wolfville, none really caught her attention, or not enough for her to stop and enter any of them. Nayru made mental notes of some of them, to come back to another day, because she knew that she truly had the rest of her life to explore these ruins if she so wished. She could explore the empty cars that were scattered in the streets, the looted shops and the forgotten homes, but she could do that all later. She could do that whenever. Today the piebald girl was simply pleased to stroll through the city, and that is what she did for nearly fifteen miles until she came upon the old university grounds.

The old brick buildings with their creeping ivy caused her to pause, although why here and not anywhere else she couldn’t explain. Perhaps she was only tired of wandering, or perhaps it was a feeling that there was something here for here. Whatever the reason, once in the middle of the grassy campus surrounded by the buildings from another era, Nayru floated down to the ground. Picking a particularly sunny spot the seven month old girl stretch out, her hands behind her head, and closed her eyes lazily to the world. She’d explore, a little later, after a quick rest.

Not at all! It’s an Alli!! 476 Wc.

The female’s voice drifted down from above and off to the right of her and Nayru’s eyes slid open. A light slumber had taken her but Nayru’s internal clock told her she had only been napping for a half hour at most. This was perhaps unwise to sleep so blatantly out in the open, someone could have come upon her, and indeed that was the case. This wasn’t Dahlia de Mai and safety was not assured, yet the voice that called out to her sounded friendly and Nayru never even debated her actions. Nayru sat up, her head and upper torso effectively popping up from the long, flowing grass. The young girl’s eyes sparkled like the garnet stone on the anklet she wore, and as they met the eyes of the other she broke into an easy grin.

Hello. The voice was soft and pleasant, like a loud whisper, and Nayru bowed her head low in greeting. Never before had she met someone off of Dahlia de Mai lands, and just how one should interact outside of one’s pack eluded Nayru. The cow colored girl imagined it was much the same as meeting non-pack members at the borders and that such situations were handled with tact and respect, but perhaps here they met more as equals than if one had the home field advantage. Always the youth believe her elders to be wiser than her, though the fact that she taught them as well did not escape her. Still, she could tell this woman was older, and so she reacted to her as she would to Conor or Bris, and any of the others she had come to view as teachers and superiors.

529.

Anu of Crimson Dreams. Nayru smiled at the warm introduction and the answer to her question. So that was the scent of Crimson Dreams. Inferni, Aniwaya and Crimson Dreams were now known to her, if only through other canines she had met. The other packs still were shrouded in secrecy as far as the young girl was concerned but bit by bit she was mapping out the lands she lived in now, expanding her knowledge past Dahlia de Mai. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Anu. Her words were sincere and strong, it was almost always a pleasure to meet a new face, and Anu seemed especially nice.

A pleasant day indeed, I’m afraid the nice weather has lulled me into sleep. Nayru smiled sheepishly then, admitting that the woman had stumbled upon her snoozing. Well, what had already happened couldn’t be undone, but Nayru wouldn’t do so in the future. No, it was indeed unwise to nap outside of the pack if one could so easily come upon her. The young girl was a master at stalking and sneaking herself, but that helped her little when she was unconscious. Had she been awake to catch her unaware would be a rarity, but Anu had done it so easily. Nayru couldn’t let that happen again, even if everyone whose path she crossed was as kind and calm as the woman before her seemed to be.

Looking about at the brown buildings that rose up, dotted here and there amongst the tall grass and cracked sidewalks and parking spaces, Nayru shrugged. I just wished to see what was south of Dahlia, it’s a nice area here. Halifax, she thought, had been pretty too, in a strange way. It was interesting to see the human’s work fall into ruins and succumb to nature, bit by bit, but she saw that in Wolfville and Berwick too. Slow decay, it captivated her, but it could only hold one’s interest for so long. Yet Wolfville did not have anything like this, she wasn’t even sure what she had stumbled upon, but Anu seemed to have come here with purpose and Nayru suddenly wondered where she was exactly. Can you find books here?

’Tis no problem! Bah, not a great post from me. 459.

A school? Nayru’s eyes narrowed at the building. She knew and understood the word, but the concept still seemed silly to her. Humans had taught their young by gathering them all in one big building and talking at them. How was anyone to learn anything that way? One learned by doing, by experiencing, by making mistakes and then fixing them. Bris taught her to read, Saluce taught her to fight and use weapons, and often she just taught herself, but in all those cases she was actively learning. Never did she just sit and listen, Nayru did, or attempted to do, whatever it was she was learning. To learn in large groups meant that even if they practice their skills, the teacher would have to split time between many students. No, one on one was best, and Nayru was blessed to have so many willing teachers within her life. Still, Anu was right, a school meant books and at this Nayru grinned and readily followed the Dreamer.

I’m just learning to read. Nayru admitted this freely, finding no shame in any lack of ability she had. Certain souls might be born with more potential than others, but if one did not work hard to build and refine those skills it all meant nothing, and Nayru knew this. My friend, Bris, is teaching me. And if she learned that then a wealth of knowledge was at her finger tips. So much information could be found in books, and reading unlocked it, although she would still have to train herself to effectively use such knowledge. Reading how to perform a surgery was the same as someone telling her how to, she would have to actually perform it to understand how and why body parts worked and how to fix them. Although, Nayru had no plans on perform surgery, that was better left to those who had experience in such tasks.

As the came up to the building she turned toward Anu, the kind woman seemed to not to mind speaking with her and Nayru felt at ease to ask any questions that popped into her head, which was always a lot. How did you learn to read? It had never occurred to her to ask Bris, or Saluce, or anyone how they had come about the skill, she simply imagined others had taught them, as Bris taught her, but then who was the first one to learn? Was it a skill some taught to themselves, slowly decipher the strange symbols into an understandable language? And why do you read? The latter question was tack on as Nayru opened the door, the stale air rushing at them, crimson eyes trying to adjust to the reduced light and still focus on Anu’s face.

329.

The answer Anu gave Nayru surprised her. The girl had taken it for granted that most adults knew how to read, and it was only she, coming up quickly into their ranks, that lacked that skill. Smiling then, Nayru was quite pleased with the Crimson Dreams woman. To better her children rather than herself was quite a noble goal, and a practical one. Creating creatures, intelligent and healthy, was key to ensuring a pack’s or family’s continued existence and success. Whether the Dreamer did it out of love for her boys or to build a brighter future Nayru wasn’t sure, but certainly Anu had the right idea. That’s very wonderful, how old are your boys?

Nayru let the older woman take lead but as her words had prophesied it was not long before they came upon a store of books. Shelves lined the walls of the room, and the smell of dust thick in the air. There were books littered on the ground, on tables and chairs, as if others had come through hunting for books and had not bothered to clean up after themselves. Certainly there lacked a librarian for many years and the neglect showed. Yet there were books, and that’s all Nayru had hoped for. She went to a stack, scanning the titles and only making out some words. Easy words. “The” “And” and one long word she was proud of “Yellowstone” but many of the titles eluded her.

You know, you could learn to read, if you wanted. It’s not so hard. Bris was patient and Nayru practiced by herself often, sounding out words, trying to figure out meanings of words she didn’t know. It was slow progress perhaps, but not taxing, at least not physically. Grabbing a thick blue book the girl opened it, her eyes focusing on the words, picking apart the sentences, trying to make sense and once realizing it was not a book she desired she set it down once more.

407.

They were young, the children and already Anu was planning such skills as reading and writing for them. Nayru considered this and wondered what her life would be like had she stayed with her parents. Would they have felt it right to steer her towards certain skills or would they have left her to make her own choices, as she did now? The girl couldn’t decide, her memories of her parents were fuzzy and out of focus, their personalities were only reminiscent of loving and warm. Had they been protective? Intellectual? Spiritual? Nayru didn’t know, but she did not wonder these things with sadness at not knowing them, only a curiosity that slowly died off as she picked up the next book, thumbing through the pages, her eyes scanning the pages and replacing her thoughts with words she recognized.

Nayru noted the smile and shrug and felt the hesitance, as if the skill was out of reach of the older woman. Nayru only smiled back and turned back to her books, her ears perking when a question was directed her way. What was she looking for? There had been nothing in particular when she had first entered, but now ideas swarmed her. Most any knowledge could be found in books, and what did she want to learn? What would be useful to her? Oh, I’d like one on plants I think. You know humans used plants for many different purposes and I think I’d like to learn how to use them myself. Maybe not just for medicine, but food or to make things out of. Or even just to know the names of the flowers I see.

Short! 331.

Nayru nodded absent mindedly. Yes, knowledge of plants would help her pack, she was sure, but there were already so many who seemed to know plants better than she. Would Dahlia benefit from yet another wolf striving to fill the co-rank of apothecary? Or to cultivate plants for food? Or even to make things out of plants, although she couldn’t think of anyone off hand who did this. Nayru felt that with so many others who already were so many steps ahead it was best to look in another direction and her interest in plants was purely personal. The young female did wish to discover some niche that would profit Dahlia de Mai, but what that was she wasn’t sure. They had warriors, herbalist, crafters… and of course those who did not know what to do hunted or patrolled borders, neither of which interested Nayru greatly either. All in good time. The voice in her head seemed to come from nowhere and Nayru flicked an ear to rid herself of it.

You must stay very busy. Leader, mother, and a horticulturist? It was a full plate and Nayru envied the kind woman. Nayru still had no abilities or responsibilities that Dahlia de Mai demanded of her, and it was this that at times made her feel lost in her home. What do you do with your plants if not use them for medicine? Perhaps there was something with plants that she just hadn’t thought of yet. Another book she picked up, leafing through the pages and a smile spread across her face. There were small diagrams of plants and leaves and trees, though the text was small and hard for the girl to read. Over and over she read the title of the book, sounding out the letters slowly in her head before she hesitantly tried it out loud. En-cy-clo-pe-dia of Fl-ora. She held up her prize to Anu and grinned, content with the one and only book she had found.

Just decorative? Nayru hadn’t considered spending time on any one activity for merely pleasure; everything for her needed a purpose. However the girl wouldn’t accept purpose without passion, and it was this roadblock that caused her such conflict in deciding her future. Nayru glanced down at the anklet that adorned her left limb, and smiled. Bris had made it because she enjoyed it and it was beautiful, and Nayru wore it because Bris had given it to her and it was beautiful, but Nayru didn’t think she would spend time to create beauty. There was too little time and too much else to do and think about. Although, at times, she would sing and dance, but neither of these were real hobbies she perused. They were only what she did when she was alone and often while doing other activities or thinking. No, beauty was perhaps important, but her contribution to Dahlia de Mai even more so, and Nayru dismissed the idea of cultivating plants for decorative purposes. Perhaps beauty could be combined with what she did, but it could not be the sole purpose.

A favorite plant? Her voice was low and contemplative. Truly she liked many of them. The grape vines in the vineyards, the morning glories that grew by Nereid, the ivy that covered many of the houses in Wolfville. I like vines. Anything that climb. They take over anything they can, opportunist. They can strangle other plants, but they do it so slowly and they look so striking while they do it. A morbid answer perhaps, but it was the truth, and Nayru saw no reason to hide this from Anu. Do you have one? A favorite plant? Nayru thumbed the book somemore, her crimson eyes sweeping the room once more but having found her prize, found little incentive to search it further.

319.

Pumpkin. Nayru repeated the word as she followed Anu’s eyes to the door and readied herself to leave the room. Grasping her book she moved toward the hallway, and as she entered if she looked back over her shoulder at Anu. I have never seen a pumpkin. They sounded intriguing. And they had vines! That meant they were a hardy plant. They would grow at any opportunity probably, most vines did, and Nayru thumbed her books happily, knowing she could look up the plants when she returned home. The encyclopedia was a good find, and that she could use it thanks to the teaching of Bris was even better.

Emerging into the outside world once again the crimson eyes dilated as they adjusted to the lighting. More golden than ever Nayru knew that sunlight was limited and they had spent a fair amount of time combing through the piles and shelves of books. Nayru’s trek back into Dahlia wasn’t too far, but she did not know how long Anu had to go. And while a large, though manageable pile of books. Well, the woman would certainly understand why the young girl did not offer to assist in the transport of them, she was old enough to be out here but perhaps not yet old enough to stay out or wander too far.