Ψ · Mind Tap

Dated the first day they arrived - pre-heat.

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 She left the cave where Tavra and she had explored, paws taking her up onto the first "floor" of stone, its winding, mossy "staircase" tucked against the wall a wondrous and sturdy way up. Her nose followed the ridges of stone, brushing up against them as the ground flattened out and she realized that here, too, there were entrances into caves.

 Her eyes followed the dark shadows along the sides of the wall, wondering how many there were. Did they connect? Did they have tunnel systems taking them further and further into the belly of the earth?

 A familiar smell caught her attention and she turned, seeking out the shape of @Florence, wherever he might be.

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Florence hasn't had the chance to really explore this place - he'd only arrived today - tonight? Either way, he's wildly impressed with the towering caves around him, the water penetrating it. It's beautiful, and he wants to take the chance to see where the tunnels end up - after talking with Meissa and Flynn about it if they haven't already explored everything. Still, it hasn't been a whole day yet, he doesn't need to rush his way into things when he still isn't quite sure what's going on or what the plan is. Get far away from Elkshire, sure, but is that all? There doesn't seem to be a plan besides 'leave and figure it out' which... He finds is kind of dangerous. Florence does not want to undermine their decisions, so he didn't question it before... But if things get dangerous... Florence cringes inwardly.

One thing he's found good so far, is that he can pretty easily preserve plants. As long as it's far enough away from the waterfall so they don't get wet he can safely dry them, but the cold temperature from the water will keep them usable longer. It's going to take time to find the right distance, but perhaps he can ask Rosmary for help in that regard even if the other healer can't see. A blind wolf and a half-blind wolf should do just fine with the project. As long as Florence can describe the area good enough.

His plans and distracted thoughts are pretty easily disturbed by the familiar form of Meissa nearby, looking for him it appears.

"Did you need something?" He calls out - the sound echoing through the cave system - as he turns his attention to the woman.

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 Meissa's eyes traversed the mossy walls, wondering if any beast would be able to climb up or down them. Perhaps snakes... she would need to check for snakes in the future, ensure that any nests were eradicated before they could grow and become a danger to herself or her pack. She wondered at the upper shadows that told of tiny caves, too far up for wolves to reach from the earth.

 What lived in there? Bats? Birds?

 She looked over the rocky platforms and spotted the bicoloured man. With a woof of greeting, she hurried over to him.

 “I wanted to see how you were liking the place so far?” she asked with a smile. “It's pretty different from Elkshire, for sure.” Her eyes would trail up the walls again, up to the gray sky up above. Would it rain? Most likely, but what was nice about this place was that there were plenty of places to hide out storms. There was so much shelter whereas in the forest, they would have had to roam or try to tuck up under a bush or potentially a tree root.

 She liked it here.

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With her greeting, Florence approached quickly. Her question isn't too weird - she's forming a pack, trying to, anyway. Figuring out if the group likes the place is the start of it. He sees a lot of potential, at least. It's pretty, which might attract some unwanted strangers, but it also provides enough defense that if they got raided (which is a thought he's going to hold onto) there's so many caves they could get someone lost on purpose. He has many ideas for combat, actually - something he needs to mention. Florence also needs to take stalk of who they have here - he's still got no idea as to everyone. Meissa, Flynn, himself, Rosmary... Is there more of them or are they going to be left in the dark for the time being? Perhaps they should go searching for members...

"It's certainly something." He agrees. "Did you scout the place before bringing everyone over, or are there still places in need of exploration? I'd like to take a party out to look through some of the caves." He hums, giving a particular dark one a once-over.

He does wonder if the group - at this size - could completely sustain them on the animals that must live in this place. As long as they don't get surprised by something larger than them - a bear, for example.

"I have many combat ideas, actually. But that is something we can worry about at a later time, when everyone gets settled, if you wish." He doesn't think they should wait, but well, it's only been a day and this talk would require more than just the two of them. Someone more experienced at fighting than Florence, for one, even if he is pretty good for his size. Finding specific areas for specific things might be nice too - like healing for him and Rosmary, a place for Florence to store poisons so no one gets into it trying to find something good to use. So the healing and danger don't get mixed.

"The potential to find more dangerous predators in here is alarming." He brings up "but I've not seen sign of anything so far."

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 Their group was quite odd. There were Flynn and herself, two massive beasts when it came to most wolves. She had a lot more bulk on her than he did, but his long legs still somehow strode far faster than she could follow. Then there was Rosemary, a man of average height. Archon, a child who would surely grow tall but still was small enough to carry, and then the two shortest members. Florence was short and even smaller was Tavra, with her tiny petite frame and her starkly contrasting personality.

 It was a fun little group but their few numbers worried her about their future - even if they had taken most of Elkshire's fighting force, she recalled the brutes of power within Nightwalkers with a dread that filled her soul. Even Almight... would he come for her throat if his father ordered, under their alliance with Elkshire?

 “We sent Tavra on ahead to scout and Rosemary decided to catch up with her, so they've done the most of the scouting,” she said with a gaze that swept over the rocky terrain. She wondered where those two were off to. “There's plenty left to explore though, I think! Flynn and I found a good spot for our den near the lower falls. If you want to take a party out, you're welcome to! I think I might join in, too,” she grinned. There weren't all that many of them and she doubted Tavra would want to go exploring more than they had already, the girl seemed to hate the caves they'd gone through thus far.

 “I'd like to hear your combat ideas, actually!” she said, looking at him with her ears perked. “We haven't smelled any signs of bear or otherwise here so far but it's good to keep us prepared in case we need to defend ourselves... especially if Celnes sends her fighters and allies after us.”

 Oh, that reminded her, “We've discussed ranks a bit, Flynn and I - you would like to be a healer and poisoner still, correct?”

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Despite the ragtag group of individuals the pack is now, Florence is sure they will thrive, at least for now. They have some cunning minds, a skilled healer (probably moreso than Florence himself, his main knowledge is poison, even though he does know how to heal), the brute force of the pack, and a young wolf with them. And more to come soon, if his talk with Meissa before says anything about it. Florence, of course, still does not know about everyone.

Rosemary being a scouter still surprises him, but wolves with no sight tend to do extremely well in one or two other senses... He should ask the other wolf about it later. Rosemary would be a good wolf to bring to identify plants though, a good choice. Meissa approving of his 'exploration party' idea is good too, but they really don't have the manpower to send everyone out at once, timing is important.

"i'd be grateful if you could. Two is better than one, after all." He hums thoughtfully.

Florence smirks menacingly when she mentions wanting to hear his combat ideas.... but oh, there's so many! How will he choose?

"Most are... Defense, but we could still use them if we drew enemies in..." He pauses, glancing at an opening above them. "How easy do you think it would be to send rocks falling down on top of anyone here... Oh, what a sight it would be." Trapping enemies within caves that have no end... Their wails would coat the caves for days. They'd beg and beg, and beg to be let free. Only the pack wouldn't be able to let them go, no! They'd be stuck forever.

He doesn't shake himself out of it.

"Caves echo, sound can be an advantage. We could scare some away with menacing noise - gurgles of the dead and roars of the predators!" Less... Like the other one, but useful, at least. "Lead them to a room full of inedable plants... what will they do? If we hide within the many caves in the system... Ambushes will be easy." A bloody slaughter fit for a king!

Meissa's next words quickly snap him out of it, however, and he enthusiastically nods as if nothing happened. "Yes, that is the role best fit for me!"

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 She grinned, “Of course! Best we figure out our new home in full sooner rather than later.”

 Then, the topic moved on to combat and Meissa listened thoughtfully. She was at first surprised by his viciousness, looking up at the opening he had peered at. “I had been thinking of what the tunnels could be used for, how far out they go. How... hidden we might be.” Whether they could leap out to surprise enemies or simply use the tunnels as means to escape. Nevertheless, she listened on, nodding to the idea of cave echos.

 To use the cave systems as a means for defense... if they flooded them with enough of their scent so that they could not tell what was recent and what was old... She shook out her pelt and ended the motion in a nod. “Very good ideas. Anything we do, though, we want to make sure doesn't destroy our own home.” She didn't want to have to move again, not anytime soon.

 If poison had to be used, then at least it should be used against their enemies, not them.

 “Good. There was a rank, a secret one from the outside that we were thinking of. To the outside world, you would be considered a Druid - one of our healers. Inside, though, you would be considered a Botanist. A poisoner who aids the other ranks only known inside our walls.”

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They should figure out those things, sooner rather than later if Florence is being honest with himself. At least Elkshire will be distracted with Celnes' growing children rather than starting a war in the present time. He hopes they would be, at least. The mention of not destroying their own home... Yeah he should have thought about it. Still, if they really had to escape, those would be good options. They shouldn't allow the potential for danger to chase them from their new home, however, and Florence would also rather not break something down that they just found.

"You're right."

A secret rank... How many will the pack have? It definitely has his ego inflating, not that it needed to much more - still.

"Is there anyone else with a rank like that?" he questions, tail swinging lazily side to side now.

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 This thing, pack-making, it was difficult. There were so many logistics and things to think about. She had once been a beta and had assisted but to be a leader was an entire different story. Especially one of a newly formed nation that had no structure, no laws, no customs.

 They were flying by the seat of their pants.

 “For now, just you,” Meissa said to his question with a smile. “We figure on the outside we should sound like our name is - perfectly innocent.” Inside... not so much. From what she had heard coming from Florence's mouth, he would appreciate that. “We're still sorting out the ranks and where everyone will fall in, but I figured you'd appreciate this one.”

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