anyone lived in a pretty how town

@Archon @benry

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Without much ceremony or fanfare, the odd-trio wrested themselves from Little Haven and moved onwards, together. It was already Samhain, and it was already so late in the wheel of the year that the place she chose to rest her bones, would likely be her sepulcher for the entirety of frigid season. There was a nip in the air that pervaded the barren lands, heralding the last few climate shifts that proceeded the snows. If she was going to make moves, she must make them now. Though the midwife's soul within her ached to be beside her alphas as they wed, and with Meissa as she delivered her litter, Olive felt obligated to protect the young child and the golden cat more.

If Olive spoke her truth in these moments, she might speak of the uncertainty she felt in the plains. It was a land barren of both vegetation and pack competition, which made it a perfect respite for wolves who didn't care to be found; outlaws like those of Little Haven, and bitter, star-crossed wraiths; horses who respected nothing, not even the Gods, and nomadic packs that hoarded resources. Olive knew, in her bones, that she was meant to live amongst a more communal land, where packs were more plentiful and thus, were required to find ways to work together. The Gods needn't tell her this in visions, because she knew it innately.

Olive was eager for her small brood to leave the Plains, and pushed them onwards until the reached the beginning crests of the westward mountain range. She reached the crag of which she had become familiar with in her comings and goings, and there, the sylph encouraged the child and her keeper to rest. "We needn't rush now," she said, touching her nose to the shoulder of the boy, and then looking over to gauge the feline's reaction. "I cannot see what lies ahead for us," she explained, finding a small comfort in the mystery, "but I sense that we are getting close."

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^^It hadn’t been hard for Olive to recruit the boy, who often sat in the plains, staring longingly at the mountains as he wished to return. Living in the plains verus the wooded mountains that he knew, Archon had felt a displacement. How could he look for bones and Bam Bam to chew on, in the plains, where bones and sticks didn’t grow? And while sure, it felt like paradise away from whatever worries had chased Meissa and her crew to the Plains to begin with, Archon could take it no longer. 

In short, the plains were boring. It was open, flat land with no excitement - minus meeting Olive, and his two friend-cats, Archon had little friends other than Olive herself and the cats, and with no other packs nearby, Archon needed more. So when Olive proposed this idea of an adventure, Archon took it and went with it - though it felt almost wrong to abandon Meissa, though he hadn’t spent time with her since the beginning of Little Haven itself. 

He was deep in thought as they crossed into more familiar territory. Familiar, because it was a forest, and Archon took a deep inhale. This was already so much better than the plains. At the touch to his shoulder, Archon looked up with the wag of his tail, glad to have his favorite wolf by his side. “I’m hungry. Can we stop for a snack?”^^
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he didn't have much of an opinion on their move. his job was to stop olive from killing others and selling drugs and getting hurt. so, naturally, he had to be where she was. but as they journeyed from the plains to the mountains, he felt the buzzing in his head dwindle to a familiar, almost nostalgic buzz.

he regarded the brief exchange between them in his normal detached way, before injecting himself into the conversation. “yeah, snnaaaaaaacks.” he trilled, his eyes flashing back into alertness. “snack time. snacks fer baby boy.” it wasn't clear if he was talking about archon or himself.
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A smile spread across Olive's maw as her two companions immediately began trilling for snacks. Olive, too, was famished — she had become far too complacent with the availability of Little Haven's cache, and it was a far bigger job to feed three creatures of varying size, than one waifish shewolf. Now that the lands were plentiful, there was no reason not to schmooze a small bit. "Of course. Snacks are obligatory," she giggled, wondering how hard it would be to convince Benry to hunt something small for them all to share.

But, these were the forests, and that increased the variety of food options available exponentially. Olive made a show of lifting her nose and sniffing the air, as if looking for something that was nearby. "One of my favorite foods of this time a year," the sylph explained, "are bugs." The insect kingdom was vast, diverse and plentiful. They tasted great, and made for easy nutriment in almost all environments besides snow-bound and desert-like places. In Olive's mind, there was no reason they shouldn't indulge, a là Timon and Pumbaa in the Lion King.

Being surrounded by trees (and sticks), it didn't take long for Olive to locate a fallen log. "They're attracted to the leaf litter, and decaying trees," the druid continued, placing a paw against the side of the tree, but it was too big for her to roll on her own. She glanced knowingly back towards Archon and Benry, and simply smirked, waiting for her assistance to arrive.

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^^Olive’s giggle caused Archon’s tail to wag as he looked up at her with large, innocent eyes; nodding his head and almost drooling at the mouth as she went on about her favorite food this time of the year - up until she revealed that she enjoyed eating bugs. BUGS. Er... no thanks!

Archon’s ears flattened, his hackles rose, and Archon proceeded to attempt to throw up on the spot, to show Olive just how much he detested eating bugs as any sort of meal. Instead, all he managed to do was spit at the ground, and he looked up at her with a frown as he turned to nose Ben-Ben in his shoulder. “We’re getting real food, right?” Because clearly, Olive had hit her head and had lost her mind.

^^
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he shared a glance with the pup, happy that their request had been granted but— visible disgust covered his face. “eat bugs? like a bird? idiot?” he snapped. bugs were...disgusting. as a snack. like, he'd try it on a dare or to piss someone off, but as a recommended snack? he looked at archon. “mmyeah, man, you go eat your vegan-ass bugs, we're gonna get somethin' t'eat. like, y'know. normal food?” he walked off in a random direction. let no one know that he'd only ever caught food by luck.
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Unsurprisingly, Olive was the odd one out in this particular food fight. It had been a long time since the fae experienced embarrassment from her proclivities, as it was not their natural fare — but everything from bears to birds partook in insects, and when one got to trying them, they would find bugs were easy to find (if you knew where to look), and were full of nutrients. Isn't that what every animal wanted: the best meal, for the smallest energy expenditure? Olive dramatically rolled her evergreen gaze, as if her two travel partners exasperated her with their particularities.

"Fiiiine," the pale woman bemoaned in jest. She then watched with something akin to pride as Archon sought support from Benry, and they turned to go off in another direction to piece a meal together. Trotting lightly to catch up with the cat, she threw a glance over her shoulder to ensure the boy wasn't being left behind. "I'm guessing that means roots and moss are out of the question too?" she questioned of both,  then offered her service. "Craving anything in particular?"

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^^Archon took a sigh of relief as Olive’s secret boyfriend backed him up on the debate about bugs and critters, to which Archon was nodding his head behind him and closely following behind him as Ben-Ben walked off into some other random direction.

Olive was calling behind them talking about roots. Ha! Roots? This woman was indeed an idiot - whatever that was - after all, and it didn’t surprise Archon in the slightest that she quickly caught up with them. “Real. Food.” Archon said, firmly, ears flattening. How she had gotten this far without it, was beyond him.

^^
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As children tended to do, Archon took his next meal very, very seriously. Olive decided she would tease him no longer about it (although she honestly had been entirely serious about her offer of insects, and then of roots and seeds). "Real food, got it." the woman said with an astute nod, looking at Benry and passing him a small wink. With such different hunting styles, it would likely be better if they went their separate ways to procure a meal. No member of their party were astute hunters, so there was no need to team up on a larger animal, three-to-one. As far as 'real food' went, a couple smaller animals would likely suit them just fine.

Olive skipped away, kicking her heels up as she darted to go find her own offering of sustenance. Archon wanted real food? Well, real food he would get! "Don't go too far!" she called over her shoulder, as she wandered, unknowingly, deeper into pack-claimed territory.

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