Can't stomp me out, you can't stomp me out,

@Jarilo perhaps?

Ara snuffed through the den, nose to the grind as she picked up every small scent that there was. Her nose picked up something, and she couldn't tell what it was, nor' could find it again. She smelled it once though, something sweet, something delicious, and yet when she woke up, it was gone. She was nosing herself through all that there was, even her siblings. Through protests that would be, she would try to bully, to bulldoze down. Through scuffles when she determined they were not the scent — Ara would move onto the next. She even smelled her mother @Hydra but alas, she did not carry the scent either.

Except what Ara didn't realize it, it came from her dream, and does not exist. If she were to try and describe, with what limited knowledge she held — she wouldn't be able to say. Though it was akin to honey and berries, and unusual scent that couldn't be described. It smelled delicious, and she was desperate to find it.

Upon realizing it wasnt within the den she sought out. Wherever a stone may be she would try to flip it over, and even to boulders. Though as a puppy that strength lacked, and she could only continue the hunt elsewhere. Unknowingly though her pathway continued further away from the den, and it was only the hope someone was watching her.

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As timing would have it, Jarilo was circling back around near the rendezvous area when one of the youngest went tracking on beyond. His nose wiggled at the wind first, already suspect. Now that the puppies had grown into a bit more freedom, he fully expected them to take advantage of it--as any curious young Ostrega might be inclined to. He was personally returning from higher in the slopes on his own mission of nosiness, curious to see how impassable the routes were now that winter was creeping in to get comfortable, and still feeling the itch to explore this unnamed mountainside thoroughly in all seasons.

Already much of the lower elevation plants (besides anything evergreen, that is) had been bitten back by hard frost, so the influence was everywhere already, especially the further up where snows were piling considerably. Midwinter must be getting close, he supposed. All of his investigations only further served to confirm this.. so, here he was, jogging down a well-worn route until veering off to track Ara was a worthwhile cause.

Jarilo slipped into a quieter step when he started to think he was getting close enough to warrant it, just in case he got a good chance to sneak up on whatever she was busy with. It slowed him down but he spied her eventually, head perking with a soft tilt. Even more careful now, but wanting the youth to spot him eventually, he trailed after.. only slowly closing the space between them. Content to stalk a bit, he tried to see what she was up to from here but so far, did not go well out of his way to interrupt just yet. Was she looking for something?

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She pawed the ground in a frustration, for nothing smelled like it had before. She couldn't name what it was called either and ask for the adults if they knew it was — and describing it seemed almost impossible. It was an annoyance that brought a growl to Ara in a frustration of a rolling, a mini-tantrum that it was. She just wanted to smell it again! It was delicious, it tickled her fancy and by Gods, she was very determined. Yet no leads meant there was nothing she really could do — even if she tried more to search. It wasn't as if she could go far regardless, for someone would swoop her up and lecture about going.. Or her mother, giving a swift discipline. 

Though in the distance.. There was Jarilo. She ran to him, an aggression to her, but rather then an attack.. Ara aggressively sniffed him.

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This one of the youngest did not give him much longer to creep along and spy. He knew he was noticed soon enough, and Ara made that quite clear by charging her way over. Well, as robust as charge as any cub was going to make but he also knew to never underestimate young Ostregas--they could be awfully sharp. He was interested though, and bright eyed.. subtly shifting his stance to make ready for her to pounce, or maybe worse, when she got to him. Jarilo was prepared to enable a brawl, if she did.

But instead she was nose first, busier sniffing him than finishing any real assault on him. He tilted his head down at her, tail swaying lightly in fond greeting. “Do I stink that bad?” he smirked, exaggerating his exasperation just enough, and rolling his minty eyes. Mentally he retraced his steps, wondering what exactly caught her fascinations so badly from further up in the heights.

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Ara shook her head. She didn't care for any smells, as most dirty and forested ones were now familiar and unbothered. Even death was starting to grow — though that only counted toward the smell of animal carcasses, for when the eagle would occasionally leave a carcass around, and left forgotten ; only to rot. They were gifts at times it seems, but in the end Ara wasn't really sure. She knew for certain he couldn't produce the scent though.

She looked at Jarilo and vaguely remembered.. "Uncle," she said, "I lost the scent," she scrunched her forehead and narrowed her eyes, showing an upset attitude on the matter ; and yet looked up at him, expecting him to be able lead her to where it was. Though Ara didn't know how to describe it, words that she did not know and lacked.. Didn't smell of wolf, nor' bitterness of herbs, the smell of prey and blood — but nice to the nose, and watered her mouth.

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He eyed her openly, and swayed his tail gently against his legs. Jarilo did not know this year's pups exceptionally well yet, not their finer nuances anyway, so never really knew quite what to expect from them when they were this young. He liked observations like these those because it did ease him better into knowing them as unique personalities, not just their outward appearances and basal Ostrega instinct.

“Hmm..” he murmured, ears falling as he exaggerated his disappointment for a lost trail. “Maybe we can get it back, though.” he baited to see how sticky her interest in it was. He kept his expression thoughtful, sniffing a bit too. “What did you think it was?” he asked, letting that decide if this was an option or not. Who knew what she had her nosy little nose on and if he could even replicate it elsewhere...

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"It smelled like food, but with flowers." The rank carcasses that were brought to the den were not the most pleasant of smells, but mouth watering nonetheless. It was food — and yet when she thought of that scent, which also made her mouth water.. It wasn't as putrid, it wasn't as musky, and it reminded her like that of flowers itself. Yet chewing them were rather disgusting, and smelling them too closely clogged her nose like a perfume some of the females may wear. Unnatural smells, some may have.

Ara though, looking at her uncle and expected him to know what it was, despite how vague the smell was.

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Food, but with flowers.

Not a particularly narrowed description--he knew a lot of flower smells, having stuck his nose in his fair share for as long as he could remember, and food could mean many things too, as a created of experimental tastes sometimes. He hmm-ed again Jarilo tried to think of food smells that maybe somehow reminded him of flora, or maybe it was leaning more towards a scent of decay, as he thought some plant scents to be along that way sometimes, or the sweetness of rot at least.

But, he also tried to think past this, more abstract. With pups, it might help. Or, only confuse them further. He'd find out. “Like a nice flowery-flower smell or like when flowers smell like meat that's been sitting in the sun for two days?” he asked, presuming she'd take something from his question but not holding out a lot of hope for much of a clue. Maybe she hadn't smelled enough flowers to really say for sure. Describing the differences was not easy though, especially to someone with but a fraction of the world experience as him. He would take what he could get.

“Where did you have it last? Maybe we could pick it back up from there?” this he asked with a glance in the direction she had come from. Maybe some momentum would help, if nothing else.

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"Nice flowery." Ara clarified. It was most likely the most she had ever talked, however, being one who chose little-words and preferring to show what she means. Yet she knew how to use them ; just tried the lack of with her mother who chose to.. Speak more then she would've liked. But the little daredevil felt comfortable with Jarilo, especially when she was very keen on finding what the smell was — a sweetness where her vocab lacked enough that she couldn't narrow down the words. 

Where did she smell it?

"When I woke up." Which was assumed to be within the late morning.

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Nice flowery, then. That ruled out a few things, at least, even if it didn't say a whole lot else. He didn't think Hydra would be feeding the kids fungus in wintertime, so he wrote that one off the list of suspicions too, since he would usually describe that taste as kind of floral if he had to--especially those orange ones that grow beneath trees late in the summer, but that was an entire aside. He nodded slow to Ara again, sort of wishing he had scoped out Dirge and Hydra's business this morning so he could connect this dot most effectively by knowing what they'd pulled out of which cache recently...

But, without that easy shortcut, he'd make do. “Well let's hunt some this way,” he reached towards her with a playful click of teeth, hoping to goad her into motion with him as he pivoted after to finish the gesture. Jarilo was going to have to make it up as they went, but he roughly knew about a cache off this way he had in mind--unless something more interesting captivated them between here and there. Most of all, he was happy to let company with her roam a bit and allow her to soak up some mountainside safe enough beside him. He thought it was a good chance, anyway. “If we don't find it, maybe we can sniff out something even better,” he baited casually on a conspiratorial look, then sprang off on a trot to be chased--or chase with, her call.

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Ara liked her uncle. He didn't talk in long sentences like her mother, but also didn't talk down to her like a child. She appreciated that about him, for the rest of the adults always talked down to her like in a slow monotone, as if she wouldn't understand. Disallowing her to do what she so desired under the guise of being a child ; Ara was getting sick of it, and it wasn't like she could properly vent so. She didn't know how to, besides a bit of rebellion here and there that was often, quickly and swiftly, over with. Her mother, was a scary woman after all.

So she often or not, Ara became a bundle of anger.

Even if the smell was something from her imagination, where words couldn't properly function to what was 'sweet,' she enjoyed the man who was helping her. A small tail wag appeared, as she nodded and followed him. Rather then the scent now, she was more excited to be on a 'hunt,' and away from the densite that she so bound to.

Her eyes shone as she looked up to her uncle, expecting something to happen, and to show her something amazing.

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