Another Warden for the Flock

"Bad remembers?" she asked curiously, wondering what had her new friend so upset.

"No, no wardens. Little cubs." Kassina said holding her hand at like knee height to show she meant small children. "Just come with big tall warden human. White wolf ask for Fremmy. And Cat... Cater... Cat person. And Soapie? You know?" Kassina realized she should have gotten Calliara to describe these other two and she did not know them and certainly couldn't remember the names she had been told.

Fremelda combed her hair with her fingers. "Yes... bad memories." she said and then when she was told it would not be the new wardens she let out a sigh. "So she wants me to babysit. Great... do I look like the kind of person who takes care of children?" she muttered to herself. Then smiled a bit at Kassina's attempts to pronounce names. "That's Sophia. So-fee-ah. It's not far off from pronouncing your own name." She said.

"Chil... dren. Yes. Children. Dat word!" Kassina said, happy that she had been understood.

"So.. fee.. ah. Sophia! Yes. Need Sophia. Fremmy know Sophia?" Kassina was pretty sure she had seen and smelled every member of the warden pack, but there were still many smells that did not yet have names. "And Cat name lady."

"I don't think anyone really knows Sophia. But she knows a lot about me. More than I'd like for anyone to know. She makes me uncomfortable and yet, she seems like the only person who'll listen to me." She sighed, shaking her head. "As for Caterina- I think that's who you mean-, I don't know her that well. I don't really talk to people in this group." She said and sighed.

"But know smell? Or how look? Kassina know all smells but not name smells all yet. Need find fast. Left cubs Dartmoor."

She stood up and began to bounce on the balls of her feet, anxious to be on her way. "Why no talk? Pack nice. Except Ra... rak... mean big human. Try kill Kassina." She said with a big frown.

She furrowed her brow. a bit, trying to sort through Kassina's odd speech pattern. "Yes, I know what they look like. Sophia is slender, with short black hair and she wears ribbons on her arms. You'd like her I think, she tells stories. Lots of stories. Caterina is tall, and has short white hair and darkish skin. I'll come with you and point them out." She said, taking Kassina by the arm. She smiled at the mention of Rakot. "He's a man. They're all thick headed. Men are only really good for two things."

Kassina was more used to recognizing things with her nose than her eyes so it took her a moment to put Fremelda's words to the images of the wardens she had seen while patrolling over the last few days. Caterina definatly sounded familiar as she was the only one around with white hair other than Calliara. She wasn't so sure about Sophia, but she was pretty sure she remembered seeing someone like that, someone who smelled strongly of magic.

Kassina flinched as Fremelda took her arm but then forced herself to relax. "Two things? What things?" she asked curiously as she walked with the other woman.

She chuckled a bit at Kassina's curiosity. "Following orders and sex." She said and shook her head bemusedly. Kassina she felt like she could be open with, due to the girl's inquisitive nature. She didn't come across as annoying as Maghai, despite being an elf. The Queen of Thorns was slowly defrosting from the friends she was gaining.

"Sex? Like mating? Noises in bed?" Kassina asked totally innocently. She had noticed a fair bit of that kind of thing going on in camp and she wanted to know more. It wasn't a topic most people seemed very comfortable talking about though.

Kassina continued to walk with the redhead while keeping and eye and nose out for the other two she had been sent to fetch.

Fremelda nodded. "Exactly right." she smiled and tapped Kassina on the nose. "If you're curious about it, I'd be more than happy to show you some time." She said, winking a little bit to put Kassina at ease. She could tell the elf was cautiously prodding her for information, albeit in a naive, innocent way.

Dice sat up and yawned stretching as he spotted two women walking through the camp and stood up taking a deep breath. He noticed the red head and chuckled thinking she was kinda cute. He turned around looking over at a tent that seemed to have a lot of people coming and going and decided to walk over and see what it was about.

Kassina had to restrain herself from biting as Fremelda tapped her nose. She really had to get used to these human gestures involving physical contact.

"Kassina see much. Hear much. People no notice owls, rabbits, eagles." Suddenly Kassina stopped in her search and let out a few barks. A moment later a wolf ran out of the bush toward her. Kassina conversed with the wolf quickly describing the look and smell of the two she sought. The wolf dashed back into the forest on it's mission.

"Kassina, Fremmy go check cubs. Wolves hunt for others, bring here." Kassina said, pulling Fremelda after her toward the main fire and Dartmoor's tent where she'd left the cubs.

When Bowen came back from... well, private things in the bushes, he found out that Dice had disappeared. The Nevarran looked around curiously, and saw him walking towards Nygozy's tent.

''Uh-oh'' He muttered. Calliara would be furious. At him for not keeping an eye all the time on Dice, and with Dice for not obeying. At least there were more people there...

Wolfram walked over to Bowen, after seeing this unknown man walking towards the Commanders tent. It was an idiotic move at best. At worst, Kai would cut him down the moment he entered. He choose Bowen because he seemed to notice the same thing. "Who is that and why does he think he's going into the commanders tent?"

So Fremelda was hauled off by Kassina to Dartmoor's tent and the red-haired assassin lifted an eyebrow at seeing two bundles of sleeping children on the ground. "Wait...they're actual children? Who's bright idea was it to bring children to a camp full of Wardens?" she growled quietly, not wanting to wake them up, but barely containing her indignation as well.

She forced herself to look towards Dartmoor, who was pleasing on the eyes like Kassina and sighed. "Right, I'm here to help I guess."

"Shhhh" she admonished as Fremelda spoke. "Warden Dice bring. Safe here. Why not cubs? Wolf cubs here."

Kassina checked to make sure the children were still ok and then went over to poke Dartmoor in the shoulder. "Wake up sleepy!" She whispered as she pushed him over slightly so she could sit down. It looked like he had moved and sat up while she was gone, but then fallen back asleep. "All sleepy today. All par... party? too much."

"This Fremmy. She warden. Friend." Kassina replied to Dartmoor's first question.

"Cubs come big tall warden. Dice. White wolf tell Kassina get Fremmy. Protect cubs. Cubs sleep, eat, play puppy." As Kassina spoke she wiggled closer to Dartmoor.

"Dartmoor no look good." She said with a frown. Without thinking much about it Kassina laid her hands gently on the sides of Dartmoor's head and closed her eyes. Magic coursed slowly through her hands and into his body, washing away the damage from the alcohol. "Why Dartmoor drink bad stuff?" She asked, head cocked to the side in curiousity.

Fremelda smiled at the sort of sexual tension she could detect from these two companions of hers. She nodded her head to Dartmoor. "Yeah, I'm Fremelda." she introduced herself. She folded her arms over her chest, staring down at the two bundles on the floor. "What in the world was he thinking, bringing children into camp..." she muttered in disgust.

"Would you rather they died in the woods, Fremelda?"

Two ribbon-wrapped arms slid around Fremelda's waist, a petite chin curving over the Queen's shoulder.

"Then again... maybe you're afraid that a camp full of strangers is more dangerous then the woods? At least there the beasts don't know any better." Sophia whispered. She smiled at the two strangers: a woman stepped in wolf-musk and forest-song and a man, equally steeped in a hangover that made her forehead wrinkle in sympathy. "No offense meant, little wolf. I was referring to other members of our little pack... in particularly one who's story has already tried to erase your own." A blur, a twist: the mage flipped over Fremelda's shoulder, suddenly nose-to-nose with the wolf girl. She tilted her head to one side, strange smile shimmering.
"... I wonder what stories a wolf would have to tell?"
Two wolves in so many days. One ancient, one young. The twin sides of the forest, eternity and rebirth... Sophia couldn't hold back a giggle. This was why she preferred to watch. Wait for long enough, and the song would begin to play itself.

A slight tremble from the floor recaptured her attention. Laughing, Sophia scooped the two bundles into her arms, gentle magics rocking the children ever deeper into the realm of sleep.

"So beautiful... two pristine stories, practically untouched." The sapphire eyes sparkled. "I wonder if we'll be allowed to keep them?"

Kassina looked up as she finished attempting to take Dartmoor's hangover away. A new scent had entered the tent and wrapped around Fremelda. Kassina started as the mage suddenly came nose to nose with her, a small growl automatically in her throat. She ceased it quickly and said, "Sophia? White wolf want you. Help protect cubs."

"Wolf stories 'bout food. moon. hunting. Like human stories better." Kassina replied as she watched the other mage with the children. "Kassina want cubs stay."




Edit: Admin edit: NOTE: the children are not babies, they are 7-9 years old. That's what Shade established before. Calliara

Takara awoke slowly and looked around her in confusion, not sure where she was. Slowly memories of the night before crept back into her brain and she smiled as she rolled over. The other side of the cot was empty and her stomach was rumbling, she must have slept later than normal.

The mage stretched and got dressed quickly in the cool morning air before heading toward the centre of camp. She was heading to her tent to check on Khael when she heard the voices from inside Dartmoor's tent.

She recognized most of the voices and decided to go investigate. "H... hello?" she called tentatively as she entered the already crowded tent. She knew everyone inside except the dark haired woman and what appeared to be two young children.

Takara hesitated and looked to Fremelda in confusion. "Wh.. where did the k... kids come from?" She asked quietly, seeing that they were sleeping.

Sophia suddenly popped in out of the blue like she usually did and Fremelda couldn't help but smile as the ribbon laced storyteller embraced her before swooping down towards the children, and calmly talking about them. Fremelda then smiled a little wider when Takara entered the tent. "Came in with that Dice fellow." she said. Then Dartmoor took charge and shooed everyone out, Fremelda gave him a scowl playfully. So they were to guard Sophia and the children? Fair enough.

Kassina giggled as Dartmoor got up and started acting like an alpha, ordering everyone around.

As everyone filtered out Kassina shifted to her new mabari form and curled up on the bed beside the sleeping children.

Takara picked nervously at the skirt of her robes as she followed the others outside. She grinned briefly when she made eye contact Fremelda.