matched my table to yours XD Post dated to the 4th (Nayru should have her new rank by now, pfft). SSWM: 450

Nayru was a whole year old. The earth had orbited around the sun yet again and Nayru had entered into existence during this time and stayed in existence. How many souls were born but did not live to see their first year cycle Nayru couldn't guess, but she had, and she felt blessed. Nayru also had acquired a new rank. Jager futhrer. Slowly she was climbing up, but she scarcely knew that. Nayru thought of the hierarchy in a very simple way. Conor, everyone else and then there was her. The only time she thought of herself as having authority over anyone else was if they were outside of Dahlia de Mai's borders and she was within them, even then the fae should everyone nothing but respect. Still, she knew that with higher ranks came more responsibilities, more rights. And it seemed that every time she gained a rank she simply added to her jobs, rather than switched them. Although she hunted, and had always hunted for the whole pack, she continued to scout the borders, even if the wahrer rank was no longer her's. Still she practiced her skills as a warrior, defending Dahlia de Mai was also a priority. She would protect them, feed them, love them and whatever else was required of her.

It was on one of her scouting missions that the call from Liliana came and Nayru recognized the voice right away. How long had it been since she had visited the woman in Aniwaya? Quite some time. She had not been a child any longer, but still had not been quite the adult she was now. Well, then they had some catching up to do, and Nayru was eager to see how her friend had fared in the time they had spent apart. Her strides were long and her gait quick and quickly she spotted the woman and the horse in the distance. Nayru then thought of Niro, who had also come on horse back and Nayru could see the benefit in the hoofed beasts now. Optime was her favorite form, but it was the slowest. Horses solved that, and perhaps went even faster than one would as a secui.

Coming up towards the woman Nayru did not bother to hide the smile that spread from her face. Raising a hand when she knew Liliana could see her the girl's soft voice picked up as much volume to call out to her friend. “Greetings Liliana!” She hurried to her side, her speed and breath slowing, her voice dropping to its natural pitch of just above a whisper. “Hey,” and to the horse, which she laid a gentle paw upon, “hello Grace. How are you two?”

SSWM: 640

Nayru nodded and smiled as Liliana explained she had meant to come out to see Nayru. Nayru felt a bit guilty, as traveling outside of Dahlia de Mai for any reason hadn't occurred to her much lately. She had only ventured out to retrieve Saluce, and that had hardly been for her own enjoyment. The girl realized how much time had elapsed since she last saw Liliana only when Liliana's words made her stop to think of their last meeting. She had been younger then, and younger still the first time they had met and Nayru wondered how much she had changed. The Aniwaya female seemed not changed at all, and even Grace was exactly how she remembered the gentle creature, but they hadn't been almost still children then. They had been fully formed, molded, and now Nayru was among their ranks, fully an adult.

Ears perked at the news Liliana delivered, and Nayru smiled at her friend, mirroring the joy she saw on the woman's face. Mated? Nayru still could not fully comprehend all the feelings that others seemed to express in the presence of their mates. To be so fully absorbed in another seemed odd to her, to be so emotional over the moods and actions of another seem strange. She had never felt so passionately about anyone, never so bonded, and couldn't imagine herself doing so. Gideon was the closest thing she had, a best friend, her closest companion. Nayru knew that he made her happy to be around, and that idea of him hurting was unbearable, but she didn't ache when he wasn't near to her. His presence was comfortable, familiar. Yet something was different about Gideon the past few times they had met. Lately, he had been acting just a little strange. Looking at her differently, treating her differently. She fingered the necklace he had given her, and an anxious but pleasant feeling formed in her stomach. That feeling was foreign, and she wondered where it stemmed from.

“That's wonderful Liliana! Tell me about him?” Really she had never asked anyone about why they wished to be mated to another, about love. Saluce had loved Layla but the man did not speak about her any longer and Layla had seemed sad at the Hibernal feast, which Saluce had been absent from. Conor and Bris seemed to care for one another, they had a child together, and it seemed natural but Nayru had never properly analyzed that relationship, didn't know how Conor felt, how Bris felt. It wasn't her place. Rarely did she question others on their personal matters, only when they shared them openly as Liliana confided in Nayru did she ask any question. Only when she thought it would be helpful to get answers did she ask questions. There had never been a reason to ask anyone about mating or love or any of that, it wasn't part of Nayru's life. Lately though, she wondered. What was she missing out on?

The girl was eager to ask about Nayru's life, and Nayru smiled, trying to think of any exciting news she could tell Liliana. It truly had been a while since she had seen Liliana and while Nayru had done a lot, she felt very little had changed. “I have only been here, protecting the borders, hunting… serving Dahlia.” She shrugged, realizing how little of her time she spent on her own life, on her own emotions. Was that normal? She wasn't sure, but it seemed natural to her. Then she laughed, her crimson eyes shining at Liliana, remembering how much time she had spent fixing up her home, finding plants to bring in for the winter. That had all been for her, but it had been while ago she nearly forgot. “I made a greenhouse my home. Would you like to see it?”

SSWM: 607

Nayru let the words of Liliana soak in, turning them over and trying to imagine the man that would become her friend's mate. Perhaps one day she would meet Nayati, be able to compare the image she came up with to the real man. Whoever he was, surely he was a good soul for Nayru trusted the judgment of Liliana. The woman only had kind things to say about her future mate and Nayru then tried to compare the traits Liliana listed to those Nayru knew. Gideon, Saluce, Aro, Conor. Were any of them handsome? Nayru had never considered it, but she suppose none of them were bad looking. No one she knew was bad looking… Nayru had never judged another based on their physical appearance before, never thought of her own. Was she beautiful? Did it matter? Nayru did not care if she was or not, did not care if those she had in her life were or not. That had never mattered before and it didn't matter now, she let the thought go and went on to the other traits. None of the people she thought of were traditional, but all were kind and caring, and none were particularly funny. Fun, Aro and Gideon were both fun, but in different ways. Yet no matter how many times she went over them she did not think she felt for any of them the way Liliana felt for Nayati. Perhaps she would only understand when it finally happened to her.

“He sounds wonderful Liliana, I'm really glad you've found someone to share your life with.” And have children and make a home. Nayru did not think she needed someone to have children with, she had Range and Melee in her life and they were enough. And she had a home, by herself, but it was her's and she loved it. And the girl was pleased when Liliana expressed interest in seeing the greenhouse, explaining that she didn't even know what a green house was. Nayru smiled, remembering when she had showed Liliana the vineyards and the garabage dump. So accusomted to Dahlia de Mai's lands the girl took for granted others did not always know the wonders that the human population had left on this earth. She was eager to share it with her AniWaya visitor. “Alright. I would love to show you, but it's across the packlands, all the way on the eastern border. You don't mind walking do you?”

Of course Liliana could ride Grace, but the idea did not cross Nayru's mind as she turned east, looking over her shoulder to make sure the pair was following her, They would have to move through most of Berwick, part of Wolfville and over all the lands between there and the garden. Liliana would see the woods and the springs and the fields of Dahlia de Mai and Nayru was happy to share more than just the remnants of the human land with the woman. Dahlia de Mai had so much to offer and Nayru never grew tired of wandering her home. “If you'd like to stop and rest or look at something, just say so. I live on the eastern end because no one else does, and I like to keep the borders over there secure. Plus it's a little more secluded and I enjoy the quiet,” Nayru smiled, admitting her solitary life style, All of Dahlia de Mai knew she was a loner, among them but mostly as a shadow. Liliana would only know because Nayru shared this with her friend, but she said it with joy, there was no resentment in her loneliness.

SSWM: 680

Nayru nodded and set off in the direction of her home. The were soon in the heart of Berwick, the decaying houses rising up on either side of them. For a long while Nayru let the silence encompass them, it seemed natural. They had both just admitted they liked solitude and quiet and the trek from one end of Dahlia de Mai to the other was long. They would have enough time to talk. For the moment Nayru let her eyes drift over the old and empty homes of Berwick, and through the few official and business buildings that were left in the town. It was not so crowded or congested as Wolfville, but it was interesting to take in all the same. Liliana had seen only bits of it before, their path from the vineyards to the dump on her first meeting had taken them only along the out skirts of both the human towns and and now they made their way through the dead center. When they came at the other it was trees and fields and soon streams and Nayru was never bored by the quickly changing landscapes of Dahlia de Mai.

Moving along Nayru steered them north a ways, as to avoid the Demon Trail that hugged the southern edge of the borders. Although it would have been fun to show Liliana she didn’t think Grace’s long legs and heavy body would do well on the steep and dangerous slopes. Rather they cut through the springs, and it was here Nayru opened her mouth to speak, hoping her guest was not too bored by their so far silent journey. “It’s strange. Most all of Dahlia de Mai lives west of this point. A few live near to the springs, there are a lot of dens here, but no one lives as far east as I. Most of them make homes in Wolfville or Berwick, or the vineyards. They use old human homes and live in them. I guess I did the same, but with one of the only buildings on the eastern edge.” It only had seemed strange to Nayru lately, who had witnessed these living arrangements from the time she was accepted into Dahlia de Mai. Yet as she considered their roots, their canine instincts, it was weird that so few of them slept in dug out dens, or out under the stars.

They passed through more fields and the wooded areas of Dahlia de Mai. It was in one of the thickly forested parts Nayru slowed down, before coming upon a high stone wall. To the untrained eye the wall seemed completely solid, grown over with vines so thick that even in the dead of winter and lacking their leaves they covered any sight of stone underneath. Yet Nayru knew where she was and with trained hands felt under the vines, found the door handle and pushed open the door to the veiled gardens. “My green house is in here.”

The gardens were covered in frost, but the decorative trees still broke up the landscape. The large oak tree and the swing that hung from it were close to the entrance, and Nayru smiled at the small playground with its merry-go-round and monkey bars. Her crimson eyes turned back to see what Liliana thought of the gardens as the moved quickly and passed the koi pond, and went even further past the tool shed, fallen in and down now. Then the greenhouse was visible to them, rising up in the back of the gardens, the windows that had been repaired by Nayru obviously a different kind of glass than the panes that had withstood years of neglect. Pointing she smiled at her friend, pride swelling in her for the home she had fixed up and all the plants that grew within. Soon Liliana would see them, feel the heat of her home, and Nayru was glad to share it with someone, for so rarely did anyone visit her in the gardens and she wondered how many of the Dahlians even knew she lived here.

SSWM: 494

Nayru watched as Liliana took in her surroundings, her eyes lingering over the playground and pond as they moved past them. Nayru tried to remember what it had been like to first discover this garden, Gideon had brought her here in their childhood. It had been exciting and exhilarating and private and peaceful. It had been theirs and theirs alone, and still very few other sets of paw prints were ever found in the snow within the enclosed walls. Yet it wasn’t right to keep it to their selves, not forever. Nayru could claim the greenhouse, but she could not claim the entirety of the garden, it was too big and vast for just one wolf to enjoy. Gideon understood this, surely, and would not be angry that Liliana, not even a Dahlian, saw now what once only their eyes had seen. Sharing it did not take away from all they had shared between the two of them, it only made those memories more precious.

“Very few people come into this garden.” Nayru laughed lightly as she looked into her own home, the vines and leaves of the various plants blocking out some of the view. Yet her home truly was a glass house, visible to anyone who cared to look in. No one ever did. “But I made a smaller room in there, out of some wood I found. An old table and some other pieces. I filled it with hay and sleep in there, no one can see through those walls.” She smiled, thinking back on how long her unskilled hands had taken to create the crude construction. It was big enough for her to lay in in her optime form, but she could only sit up in there. Still it was a safe place to keep her books and other belongings when they were not with her. “Want to go inside?”

Nayru moved to the door of the green house and then turned and smiled sadly at Grace, not really knowing if the horse understood but Liliana spoke to the creature as if she did, so Nayru did the same. “I’m sorry Grace, you’re not going to fit through these doors.” As it was a door built for the human frame the width would not clear the horse’s shape and Nayru went inside, holding the door for her friend. Inside the air was heavy and humid, many degrees warmer than the winter’s air outside. The plants sat on old tables, the floor and hung from the ceiling, growing it seemed without much trimming or training. Almost as if they were wild but potted. In the corner of the greenhouse, mostly designed by more plants the wooden dog house sat there, small but intricate carvings on the outside of it. Nayru smiled at Liliana, her hand sweeping the air and indicating the space inside the greenhouse. “This is my home Liliana, and I am very glad to share it with you now.”

SSWM: 436

With pride Nayru watched as Liliana discovered the strangeness of Nayru's living situation. The spotted lady could see the wonder in the other woman's face as she contemplated the living plants, plants that should have been long dead so far into the winter season. A smiled answered Liliana's exclamation of Nayru's luck. Perhaps it had been luck, or chance, that Gideon had discovered this garden and no one else had laid claim to the structures inside, yet much hard work had been put into fixing the glass panes, finding the plants, caring for them daily. It was more than luck, but as in all aspects of life luck had indeed played a key role. Nothing could happen if the opportunity for such events did not present themselves. Nayru was indeed very lucky that she had gotten this opportunity.

“Ah well, it's the glass that keeps it so hot in here.” Nayru looked up at the glass ceiling, noting that the winter's summer wouldn't be out too much longer, but long enough for Liliana to gaze up and understand the concept of Nayru's heat source. Lifting her hands she indicated to the glass above and the sunlight that shone through and fell on the faces of the two friends, “The sun shines in and gets trapped in here. I'm not sure how it works exactly but I had to replace some of the glass. Before it did the cold got in and the heat got out.” Nayru had no trouble admitting her ignorance in why the glass kept the room so warm, but she explained the science the best she could.

Nayru smiled as Liliana spoke about the plants and without explained Nayru moved over to her self-constructed dog house and pulled out the book. Bringing it over to Liliana she flipped it open to a page already read over several times. Pointing at the page and then at a plant she smiled, the picture of the book matching that of the plants Nayru indicated. “This one is hemlock, it's very poisonous.” Nayru handed the book over to Liliana, indicating that several pages had been bookmarked. “I don't know all the plants, but I am learning them. I brought them all in from outside, but some of them have died off because I wasn't sure how to care for them properly. There is a well in the garden I can draw water from and I drowned some plants and dried up others.” Nayru laughed at her own horticultural failure. There were more plants, and it was just a hobby, to lose some hadn't bother Nayru a bit.

SSWM: 572

Liliana spoke and Nayru nodded, knowing that some of the plants she had did have medicinal properties. Nayru didn’t have a clue about how she might utilize them, nor did she care to. The woman was far too busy scouting, hunting, training. It seemed that was all she did and keeping the poor plants alive was actually low on her list of priorities. Perhaps if she could only grow them someone else in the pack would wish to use them, could come gather them and make their existence useful for Dahlia de Mai. That would have been ideal, but as it was so few wolves even knew of her greenhouse, the plants merely kept her company in the late evenings and early mornings when Nayru was up and awake and alone in her home.

“Well, it’s just as hard as anything else. After a while taking care of them just became habit. Sometimes I slack though, when I don’t find enough time. I forget to water them or pull the dead leaves.” Rose colored eyes went from plant to plant, feeling a little sorry for her less than perfect care of them and a little guilty for still admitting it out loud. “They are hardy though, well at least the ones that have made it this far.” Nayru laughed again and snapped the book shut, placing it one of the rickety tables holding up an assortment of potted plants. Perhaps the greatest benefit of the greenhouse, aside from the consistent warmth, was the air. It was always so fresh and clean. Never musty as some of the dank and damp houses of Wolfville or Berwick could be.

“Oh, come! I have something else I want to show you.” Her eyes danced merrily as she moved over to the wooden dog house, built from scraps of tables and whatever else had been lying about when she discovered the greenhouse. The inside was lined with hay and the outside had been sanded smooth. It looked world better than when Nayru had first built it, but as the two woman came upon it Nayru crouched low, running her fingers lightly over the figures she had painstakingly carved into one side of the structure and about the opening. The idea had been born from her memories of the Aniwaya tree and Nayru wondered if Liliana would recognize that.

Yet the idea was not the same, not exactly. The Aniwaya tree had spirit guides and they were burned out when the members passed on. Nayru’s house was covered with faces of wolves, the ones she knew well. Gideon’s had been the first and easiest to carve, she knew the details of his features far better than she knew anyone else’s. The figures of Bris and Conor were close to one another and the most recent carving, much smaller than the others barely resembled little Eclipse at all, but Nayru planned on adding to it as the girl grew and developed. Liliana’s own likeliness was on there too, along with Aro and a strange figure that Nayru believed was Razekiel, though she hadn’t planned on carving the coyote man into her home. Saluce pouted from the further corner and there were others, their faces unrecognizable yet but Nayru knew that soon enough these pictures would have life too. “I’ve been working on these for a while now. They aren’t very good I’m afraid, but they are getting better.”