ooc: omg! It's a lil piggy!

Truth be told, the lone Issor was growing tired of tending to all the animals on her own. It wasn't as though she resented having them, in fact she was glad to have them for the pack to establish another quality to the Family's lifestyle. But there was only so much she could do, and her sight only travelled so far when it came to watching over the mixed flock. The livestock were kept in the dens for the most part, wandering aimlessly as she failed to conduct them into so kind of order. And what was worse, the interior was beginning to stink of excrement. The animals would grow agitated with each other and the alphess knew no rest without her fellow leader to help her.

And his gift to her....

If she could even call it that, was hell bent to terrorizing the already frightened fodder. He never pecked at them, but was insistent on sharing the same space, staring down the poor animals with its intensive gaze. Watching...waiting for one to fall dead with fright. X'yrin was nearing her wits end. And more than once had she considered calling to the ancestors for guidance. But she was determined to overcome this difficulty even if it drove her mad.

And so she awoke in the morning with determined spirits and a new resolve, walking into the common area now temporary home to the livestock. She began her daily inventory making sure each animal was accounted for. All the cows and the ever hormonal bull. The mild-mannered sheep, the annoying chickens with the rooster again sitting on top of one... the lost looking piglets- but one was missing.

"Noooo..." the she wolf groaned in dread. She had done so well until then. In a panic she charged out of the den running on two legs. While it would have made sense to assume a swifter form, she only thought of catching that little investment before it got too far out of her reach...

ooc:

The longer she ran without sight of the piglet, the more she was beginning to believe she had lost it. A traded good gone because of her negligence. Gone because she had yet to fashion a way to keep the livestock secure. By the ancestors’ will; how was she going to explain this to Jaden…provided the pair were even talking at the point of his return.

It seemed like a fruitless effort. Obviously with its taste of freedom the little thing would have gone long off by now seeking a new life or inversely had become a meal for a wandering predator. The conditions did not bode well for the tiny creature, but still the Nomad clung to hope that she would find it, preferably alive. How far could a hog piglet get on its own?

Obviously far if she was running toward the border and still hadn’t found the little thing, but her ears drew forward to a soft squealing in the distance and the indistinguishable footfalls of the chase. X’yrin could only assume the worse until she could better see what was coming her way. The soft snorts of the frightened animal grew louder causing her to slow her pace to keep an eye out for and run into the elusive piglet. She watched the tops of the long grasses as they were stirred by panicked steps and quite literally danced on the tip of her paws in an effort to keep in front of where the animal was headed. She had caught a glimpse of its ‘attacker’ before it was within sight at her feet and she swept down to grab it. Her grasp was firm around its wriggling body but kept it at arm’s length in precaution to keep from getting hoofed in the chest. She tried easing the frightened animal down as best as her soft vocals would allow, tuning an ear to its erratic squeals in the hopes of offering something in comfort by her own tones. Gradually it calmed but was still kept at arm’s length and remained suspended as she properly addressed the familiar face.

“Oh Asgeir, sir. Hello again!” she breathed, attempting to catch her breath from the morning excitement. “Surely the ancestors are kind to have you herd this little escapee back to me.” Lowering both her head and ears, the female smiled bashfully. “Thank you so much. Are you in need of anything today? It would be my pleasure to help.”

ooc:

As he rose to greet her, the etiquette of her culture demanded a humble posture in his presence of which she obliged without hesitance. Undoubtedly it would have been perceived as odd given the roles commanding respect were reversed, but in her mind, the rank she held was irrelevant.

She hadn't looked at his plaid band with significance until he fixed it around his eye again, which led her to assume there was something impairing about it. But as she recalled, he had worn it on their first meeting but believed it was nothing more than an accessory like she had seen on other of their kind that adopted accents of the like. Herself included.

"Really sir," the she-wolf smiled bashfully whilst lifting her head. "X'yrin is fine." But her look of shyness was dabbed a little with concern. He had declined her offer of assistance, and though she could assume he was a capable man, having travelled many a season alone with his steeds, her offer to help was of the upmost sincerity. Not only for him, but for herself in an effort to give her something other to tend to thank the unruly animals. But pressing the matter further was halted by a raised finger.

His attention to the little piglet and his escaping act lowered the woman's ears a tad. She would have corrected then (to her embarrassment) that there was no pen for the 'oinker' or his friends, but thought better of it and simply waited for Asgeir to return.

In the mean time, she talked to the tiny piglet, whispering assuring words to keep it calm whilst she held it. Feeling brave, she brought him to her chest to hold him close, unknowingly swaying gently as she spoke to lull him to rest. The act itself was practiced when holding her latest charge, no doubt still waiting for her return in the den. It was not a moment later in remembering the pup that the elder merchant returned sat on the back of his stallion towing cart and all behind. Her ears perked up attentively assuming immediately he would take her offer after some thought. But her ears received more than an acceptance of her assistance.

The presentation itself set her heart aflutter, reflected by the elated sway of her tail. She opened her mouth not once but twice with smile adorned as she grasped for words to respond. "Oh...Asgeir sir, I would be glad to have you! But... I must ask; what of your journey? Your trade?" Cradling the dozing piglet on her arm, she gestured with her left to his two horses and cargo. "Will you continue?" Carefully she lowered her hand to take his right still holding tight to his spear in an effort to guide him to stand.

ooc:

It was exciting to entertain the prospects of joining, but not without a level head. Regardless of what help she needed, or how wonderful it would have been to have an experienced member as a part of their family, she could not in good conscience let this come to pass without understanding his feelings.

To part from the wandering road was no easy feat, knowing full well the heartache and longing it stirred to return. It roused an insatiable urge that a packlife could not wholly abate. At times it could be diffused with simple tasks to keep the mind distracted, but that longing would never truly be gone. It would forever sit in the back of one's mind rearing its head once in a while when the distant spires and great plains were too tantalizing to ignore. It was the silent call of true freedom, to live on the land and make of it what one could. It was a walk not all were meant to take but those that did could not part from it without a kind of tether keeping them to it.

She looked to Asgeir as he offered her what she could only take as his truth. It was strangely warming to hear he wouldn't give up his wandering, but at the same time was a little bothered by what that could mean. Though she would not confess it, she needed his help and what knowledge he could offer. She needed another stable hand to keep the foundations of the pack secure to build upon. In asking for something so small as help with a pen, she felt she would have been asking the world of him. So she did not elaborate on his correct assumption, she simply nodded in understanding and unconsciously drew the piglet closer.

"...well," she voiced softly after a moment, smiling faintly as she looped her arm through his own. "I hope that these lands will become a home you will return to should you set out again when 'business' comes along. But I can promise you, I won't let you leave without a fuss-" as her smile grew, she glanced to the elder male from the corner of her eye -"even if it is to handle business." She emphasized her point with a slight tug to his arm as if steering him away from an unseen trade deal, but it was all for show to lead him into the territory; his home.

The smile upon her lips was nothing short of radiant as she found new reason to smile despite the dilemma that awaited them at the common area. She was happier than the little piglet that had had his first taste of freedom. Perhaps more so in knowing she would receive help in keeping the tiny critters and their other companions in some kind of order. It was so exciting, she couldn't help but beam. "To be fair sir," she began quietly. "I should tell you of the danger you're walking in to. My companion- our other leader- made quite the trade for animals recently but there is no place for them other than the dens right now. That is...except for the horses which seemed behaved enough to wander close by." With her hands and arms occupied, she gestured with her muzzle instead toward the great mountain. "I have been keeping all of them in there. Sheep and a ram, piglets, cows and a bull, chickens and a rooster and one vulture..."

ooc: Permission granted to PP Zeus

Getting the communal area back into the control of the family was a feat the she-wolf was beginning to fear was too far out of her reach to achieve. But in hearing Asgeir's words she was rejuvenated with hope and released a deep breath of relief, with her smile growing all the more brightly. "Yes sir," she agreed. "It will be nice to wake up for once without a chicken or a nosy piglet posting around the rooms." No doubt these invasive creatures were setting her new charge on edge. Had she been without sight in a strange place as the dens were becoming, undoubtedly she would have woken with in a fright each time. And it was a small terror she wanted to spare the blind pup from. Knowing he was alone in her quarters waiting her return quickened her pace considerably, nearly dragging her companion with her.

Her thoughts were on the child, until again the merchant's voice graced her ears. Looking to him, she noticed then how lengthened her strides had become and quickly fell back into a moderate pace, sharing a little smile of apology before replying. "Yes sir... he is not here. He and my Nomad brother left to speak with other packs that we knew of. They have...been gone for quite some time." Perhaps to a stranger information of the like would have been disadvantageous, or even threatening to the Family for another to know of its weak standing. But she took comfort in confiding in the either male. Afterall, he would be made as part of the family. And his actions conveyed his willingness to accept this new concept.

Silent worries she had had were answered in the concerns he voiced. How he would handle his longing for the Endless Path then return to the lands he would call home. Her tail swayed merrily along, finding it near impossible to be anything but happy regardless of the obstacles they neared. "We do not yet have a merchant," she admitted. "But I suppose if one were to inquire about it, the role would be assumed.... especially by one that has extensive knowledge of trade routes and a comfort in being on the road. So long as he returned home."

Reaching the softer soil of the dens' entrance, she slipped her arm from his and held up a finger to silently ask for his patience. The smell of livestock was strong even without being fully inside the common area, and did not help that some of the bolder animals were attempting to sneak out into the sunlight again. Rather than corral them all, she simply waded through the collected bodies, returning the little piglet to his friends, and went to retrieve her charge from her quarters. And as she thought, a chicken was on the verge of terrorizing her pup.

With a soft growl to alert him of her presence she carefully scooped up the little one in her arms, insuring his hide wrappings had not come undone in the move. Softly she told him they were going outside, while edging the chicken out of her room with her foot. Her steps were slow as she again waded through the numerous bodies mainly for the sake of the pup, but also to avoid stepping on any of the smaller animals...or what they left behind. She could not wait to get this problem under control.

With a relieved breath of the smell of the clear air, she cradled the pup against her with one arm and extended the other in gesture to the livestock crowded den. "To answer your question, I expect from you what I expect from all of our family members; dedication to your Family. Keep yourself strong to protect us, make yourself of value to your family. And of course... make yourself open to what these lands have to offer, be it nothing more than rest or purpose. Your role will be found with time, just as we all walk through life and find our places within it. But for now...Asgeir."

In all her exuberance and all her smiles, she could not fully conceal the weight of fatigue that pressed upon her shoulder. Relinquishing ceremony and would-be presentation, she lowered her head humbly with paw extended to the elder male. A Nomad gesture in placing a decision upon him. "Your family needs you and the skills you offer."

ooc: Permission granted to PP Zeus

It gave her joy to hear him call the lands his home even though the dens of said home were occupied by an invasion of animals. She knew too well that she was nearing her end in dealing with them on her own, and it was as if the ancestors looked upon her with merciful eyes as they had with the little on nestled against her, and granted her a saving grace. Certainly when night fell upon the lands and waking eye of her ancestors peered down upon her, she would have to sing her gratitude to them so they would know their grace was not squandered, but accepted.

And the woman was quite taken by the grace's hand upon her own, his posture assuming a more formal stance. She felt her heart skip several beats by the chivalrous act, ignorant to the cause of this anomaly until her mind surfaced a memory of a kind of occasion better left forgotten.

He had knelt like this before her with a paw behind his back to conceal an engagement gift she would wear proudly upon her neck. He had looked to her with such love in his eyes, determined, without doubt, the strong gaze of a male that knew what he desired and had every intention of keeping and making only his. And in her own eyes was a reflection of the same, a look of endearing possession. Of love, of want, of a happiness she desired more than anything to flourish and bear from it the fruits of their love.

It was in the elder male's kneeling form, the soft touch of his hand and the alluring tone of his voice, that she recalled her past love... a hesitantly pulled her hand away. "Our family is fortunate to have such a willing and determined soul," she spoke softly whilst nodding her affirmation, and in effect loosened the bangs than often concealed her eyes. So used to the obstructive veil, she peered through them as she looked into Asgeir's visible eye, then let her gaze drift to the dens. "Now then," as she spoke she began adjusting the loose furs that wrapped around the pup, fashioning a kind of sling to loop around her neck and arm but kept him securely close to her chest. "How shall we begin?"

ooc: Permission granted to PP Zeus

Hardly had she taken to using human instruments, but she assumed this was as good of a time as any to at least learn how to use something small that she could handle. The instructions were simple enough; pull back and forth across the wood where it was marked and eventually the form of the wood would change.

A seemingly boring task, but to the female this was something new entirely. Her nerves were a bit of edge when she took the saw and placed it against the beam, eying it purposefully because attempting to move. With a little turn she brought Zeus’ sling to curve across her back a little as she bent then brought a hand over the wood to brace it. Setting the teeth on top of the beam, she waited a moment to fight off her nerves… then pushed forward and began.

The sound was something new entirely, nothing like the pounding of those noisy birds against the trees or the rhythmic strikes of a paw against a trunk. It was like a song in a sense, it carried its own tune that changed as she applied pressure to the beam and forced the metal deeper into the wood. With several choice motions, the metal severed the wood leaving now two clean cut pieces and a fragrant aroma wafting into her nostrils. The woodlands…only stronger. She graced a curious claw over the smooth edge of the wood and found it came away a little damp, but enough to remind her that at one point this had been a part of a living, growing thing. And of it, something more was being created.

Setting aside the pieces (while minding Zeus across her back), she hoisted up another marked piece and began again with the saw singing its unique tune of creation within destruction. And oddly enough, as her muscles worked to push the toothed metal deeper into the wood in rhythmic procession, X’yrin found herself smiling and oddly content.