It was Dread's first big trip on his own. Now that it was spring and he was a yearling, it seemed like it should be a right of passage or something. Should be, but he wasn't so sure. Frankly, Dread hated traveling. The very first time they'd gone away from home, heading all the way down to the Hallows, mom had gotten sick. She'd gotten so sick that she hadn't come home. It was enough to leave a sour taste in his mouth when it came to leaving their cold northern home. If he left, who was going to keep an eye on his siblings? What if someone needed him? But Halo had sent him. Halo needed him, and this is what she needed him to do. It seemed that one of her more finnicky specimens had failed to thrive, and they'd run out of the dried stores from this past winter. With his companions in tow, Dread made his way through the Fern Gulley. Areas of partial sun drew him in, gaze trained on the lush grasses as they grew. He was after boneset, and allegedly it should be growing here. Mid-afternoon sun around his shoulders, the boy kept his head low as he hunted.

A familiar scent had caught her nose, causing her eyes to narrow with concern. It stank like bog-boy (who was a man, and always seemed to show up at the most inconvenient times, like that time he left her stranded as a baby). She snorted the mingling scents of flora and fauna away and lifted her head to the breeze, focusing on those familiar unpleasant notes that defined bad memories. Hana and the way Sparrow was so sad when she left. The trauma of the younger pirates being born in the middle of a brawl, being marooned on that tiny speck of fucking sand... She stomped with purpose towards the offending scent, lifting her head high in defiance and allowing her mottled coat to stand on end. There was too much grief at the plunder with the passing of Pyralis for her to allow him to upset the pirate king more.

But the wolf that she saw wasn't the one the Sparrow had traded ear tips with and she paused for a moment, tipping her antlered head ever so slightly. He didn't seem that far in age from herself, and holding his scent against him made about as much sense as any other wolf attacking her for her affiliation with the pirates. "Yer a long way from home, aren't ya?"

"Speech"

He wasn't planning on being alone out here, it just sorta happened that way. Or did it? From the corner of his eye, Dread could see Basil stiffen. Though the cat was well hidden and giving the young man space, each knew the other was there. Each was acutely aware that they were no longer on their own. Someone was upwind of him, Dread could hear them. His head lifted, keen gaze flickering across the world around him. Certainly not alone... no. Her voice was rough, a dead giveaway. As close as the girl was now, Dread could smell her too. Pirate. Though his eyes narrowed and his posture remained stiff, there was nothing outwardly aggressive about Dread. Honestly, he was more awkward than anything else. He's not great about the whole social interaction thing. "What's it to you?" Not that one pirate could hold him captive, but what if she wasn't alone? Dread hadn't gone looking for trouble, but he wouldn't be all-together surprised if he found it. While Dread's guard was up, he was maybe curious too. She was around his age, tall, and maybe not that different from him. Maybe.

As the other yearling asked what it was to her, a lop sided smile pulled at her lips and her short tail twitched briefly in a playful wave. "Nuthin', nobody owns this place after all." She stepped closer, dropping her head to glance at one of the ferns and wrinkling up her nose. This really was more Sakana's thing than hers but she had been picking up bits and pieces there from the kid. "Jus' the only ones o' you lot I've ever seen this far south are Hana and her smelly husband." She pulled a face at her own description of Azure. "If yer not here t'fuck with my pack, there's no reason I can't lend ya an extra set of eyes. I usually come here with a kid that tinkers in healin'."

After all, why else would someone be squinting at leaves? "Unless yer lookin' cos yer hungry an' y'dunno how t'hunt?" She teased with a sly grin on her face.

"Speech"

She didn't look offended by his suspicion. Dread could pretend he wasn't glad about that particular fact, a lopsided grin hiding among his typically serious features. Just a little twinkle in his eye as he caught the wave of her tail, taking a half step forward of his own. At the mention of his brother's smelliness, Dread couldn't stifle a chuckle. "Our head healer sent me on an errand, and it's nice to get out of the cold sometimes." Spring had come on much more comfortably here than it had up north. To think, the Armada used to be down this way? Where they had early springs and fair winters? Dread couldn't say he wasn't jealous. "You're the one that looks like they don't know how to hunt. Do the pirates even feed you?" It's an appraising look at the finely built girl, Dread's tone teasing. It wasn't hard to take shots at the Pirates, though his tone remained light and joking. His tail wagged loosely at his haunches, the picture of confidence. Dread took one jaunty, playful step forward, as if to dare her. Dare her to what? He wasn't sure. But maybe she'd take it, and he'd find out.

Still high on her victories in the raid against Valhalla, Deluge held herself with a casual confidence when the boy stepped closer. "When y'drink an' fight an'..." maybe she had seen some things at the finge of firelight that didn't need sharing "party like we do yer metabolism burns faster," she shot back without missing a beat, no longer trying to contain the wave of her tail.

He seemed to be easing into this as easily as she was and she shook off any lingering concerns about an Armada wolf being so close to home. "B'sides, tough talk when we kicked yer packs butts last time we raided," she teased, taking the bait of his jaunty movement as she closed the gap between them, allowing her shoulder to shove against his own before dropping down in a play bow. "I can give ya a live action replay if yer want." she challenged with an unvoiced laugh lacing her tone.

"Speech"