Home Sweet Home

^^Highvalley Hollow. The Headquarters of Windmere. Not quite home, because Coop firmly believed that it was people that made the home, and not a location. Soon, though; soon, Coop would know all sorts of things about these strangers, and he would soon look to them as his brothers and sisters.

And he could not wait for that to happen. Despite coming from the reserved pack of Mythmount, Coop was an open book and loved to get to know other wolves. And until that happened, Coop decided that he’d go exploring, but also gathering.

So off the collector fishman went, stopping every few moments to check out a neat looking rock, or a herb that might be useful for later. Come to think of it, did Windmere have a herb wolf? He supposed he’d find out soon enough and grabbed the herbs as he went on exploring and secretly looking (and hoping) for a river.

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Elowyn had been exploring their new home as well, she had been looking at the natural fauna and plants. She wasn't a hunter by any means, but sometimes the type of prey could also say something about the vegetation. That she did know. There was a large variety which meant that there had to be different types of animals around. She also went to look for medicinal plants she knew, but not all were familiar yet.

When she looked up she saw Coop walking in her direction. Elowyn's ears fell back, hesitant for a moment. She hadn't really spoken much with the man and yet he had pledged his loyalty to her as his Queen. It was still strange for her to have that title. She stepped forward towards him, really wanting to make an effort. But she was also hesitant and unsure, because with her old back she hadn't been allowed to spend much time with unrelated males. They didn't want her in love or liking a male and then get married off to another. In which she felt they had a point.

When she got closer she noticed that the male carried some plants. That perked her interest. She curiously stepped closer. "Hi, Coop," she greeted. She realized then she should probably carry her head higher. "Do you like botany as well?," she asked, wondering about the plant.
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^^Coop, too, liked to keep eye on the fauna that could be easily seen within their new territory. He was far, far too clumsy to be a hunter, but he liked watching them and studying their habits. He liked to inspect them and what they liked to eat, as to lure more to their home for farming purposes.

He liked plants, too. He liked how pretty certain ones were, and liked to smell the other ones. He hadn’t really been paying attention to who was around - another reason he would make for a bad hunter - but lifted his head up from inspecting another plant when his eyes fell upon Elowyn.

He hadn’t spent much time with her, or anyone really. He took a moment to look at her. Memorizing the features of her face and other details that would help him remember her. And then, of course, he dipped his head respectfully. She was his queen, after all.

“Oh, Queen Elowyn! Hello!” Coop wagged his tail, smiling at her softly. “Yes ma’am, I do. They look lovely, and can be very beneficial to have around, especially for pollination and prey purposes. What’s your favorite?”

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The other male did look happy to see her, and that comforted her a little. Even though they hadn't talked a lot the male didn't really help for any grudges. Now he didn't seem like the type but for someone that was insecure it was just nice to see that someone was happy to see you. Then was the matter of her title. The female was still not used to her title that the male called her. She didn't feel like a Queen but she wouldn't correct him. She could hear her mother's words: 'Never correct a male, especially one of higher function.' Now was Coop technically not really one of higher fiction but still a male.

She offered him a soft smile. Elowyn looked around and nodded. There was a lot to discover here. She had to agree with that. "I think I like marigold the best," she admitted. Since it had a lot of medical uses. "But I like Lavender too," she admitted and smiled. "Do you have a favorite plant?," she asked curiously.
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^^Despite the way he was raised, Coop was overall a joy to be around. He didn’t like to talk about himself, and would always go the extra mile for anyone else. He liked to help out, too, which is why he knew a little bit about everything. A jack of all traits, his pop had called him.

He smiled back at his queen, glad that she seemed to want to get to know him. He gave her secret brownie points for remembering his name, not that there were many of them to begin with. He dipped his head, nodding as she told him what her favorites were. “I really like lavender, too, and also lilac.” He grinned with the wag of his tail. “What other interests do you have?”

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Elowyn noticed she was relaxing more now they were talking about a topic she knew. She was familiar with plants and their uses. She could talk about them as much as she wanted while getting to know the male. Elowyn offered him a soft smile. "Do you know if lilacs have a medical purpose? Or do you find them just pretty to look at?," she asked. The female couldn't even phantom that it might attract wildlife or have other purposes. She was only trained in the medical size of plants.

When he asked the next question she paused of a moment. "Umm," she started and thought about it. "I'm working on finding that out," she admitted to him then. "I've been trained to help, whether it was medicinal or around the birth of pups, and be a good wife. Other than that I haven't been able to explore much about that. I like to help, and heal." This was by far the biggest adventure she had been on. It was scary but also kind of exciting. She wouldn't dare to admit to him that she wanted to learn to protect herself, learn the art of defense, but that was a very manly skill to have and she wasn't sure if he would approve. "What about you?"
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^^Coop had been around plants his entire life. Well, that and fish. He liked to lure in animals for the pack to hunt. If he couldn’t hunt them on his own, he might as well contribute another way, right? Sometimes, Coop felt useless for not knowing how to hunt.

“Lilac can lower fever and help with tummy issues. They also smell good. Deer don’t like them, so we should plant a little lilac farm somewhere away from where we want to lure the deer, for your hunting team. I like to help, too! I also like to fish, and to collect shiny rocks. I want to invest in plants that our prey likes, to keep them nearby. ” Coop paused, to glance to her, wondering what she thought about that.

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Elowyn gave a quick nod. "If you can show me lilacs one day. I can harvest them for my medical collection. I am gathering plants and other herbs for if one of you gets injured or unwell," she explained. She didn't have something for tummy ache yet, so that was a good thing if she could find some Lilacs. "Farm?," she asked when he mentioned something she wasn't familiar with.

"We will have to ask Anteon where the deer resides the most then. So we can do this... farm?," she offered. Coop seemed really knowledgable in that aspect. "And I think he would like to know more about these plants that lure the prey to us. You should tell him that," she told him. Anteon was the hunter of them all. She would try and help if they needed her but other than that she had little to do with the food supply of Windmere.
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^^It felt so strange to have the queen talk to him like he was of equal level to her, when she was above him. It was a good type of strange, though, and Coop smiled with the nod of his head. “Oh yes, I would love that, m’lady.” Coop wagged his tail excitedly. “I’m going to find the biggest lilac and lavender bush and plant them closer to home, maybe in the courtyard, to have around for both medical needs, but also, to smell good.”

And then she asked about farming, and Coop smiled. “Farming is when you harvest from plants, like, uh, collecting berries! And also when I use plants to lure food to our home, to kill them later. ” Coop smiled softly, nodding his head at her suggestion to tell the king. “Oh, that sounds like an excellent idea!”

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Coop's enthusiasm was contagious. She liked his energy. He wasn't dominant or too forward. In fact, she got a really friendly vibe from him which actually made her more at ease around him. Her brothers had always been rather serious, where Coop almost came across as playful. Her tail wagged. "I think that is an excellent idea," she agreed. She would love to see how he would relocate those bushes. She didn't know what she could do that. "So that would mean you could make me a medical garden, all the herbs I might need in one spot always fresh?," she asked curiously. As a healer that sounded even better than a dried stash that Anteon had suggested.

"Oh! So like collecting then?," she clarified. Elowyn was amazed with all that she was learning from him. "If you ever get injured or feel unwell, please come to me, I might be able to help if you don't know what is wrong. I've been trained as a medic by my mother," she told him. Maybe it wasn't common knowledge but the Queen really wanted to help the pack where she could. "Anteon can better help you with the hunting," she admitted.
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^^So would that mean that you could make me a medical garden, all the herbs I might need in one spot, always fresh?

Coop had ideas; ideas that he wanted done around their little mountain, about which herbs to plant where. Ferns and grasses on the mountain itself, to attract mountain goats; marigolds, lavenders, and roses to attract bees, and make the place smell nice, and then an array of assortments in his own den.

He really loved that Elowyn was open to all of these ideas, and didn’t once tell him that plants were stupid, or that his goals were dumb. No. No, in fact, she did the exact opposite, giving him ideas and his eyes sparkled with excitement. It was like watching a flickering light bulb turn on and stay on.

“You know, I hadn’t thought about a medical garden, but that sounds like an amazing idea! Tell ya what. I’ll make this garden of yours, in exchange - if I may be so bold to ask - that you share your medic knowledge with me?” Coop would stop and smile, with a wag of his tail.

After all, he didn’t want them to be at a loss, should something happen to her, and the more useful he could be for the pack, and his eventual wife, the better.

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She seemed to have motivated the male, and that was a really nice feeling. She wished to encourage and support. It was nice that she was able to do that here. A smile had stayed on her face. "You can make me a garden?," she asked in amazement. She didn't know that Coop had the ability. This was amazing. "I'd love a garden," she admitted in amazement. "Of course I can teach you. Actually that is one of our values of our pack. To teach and share knowledge," she returned.

"I can show you how to clean wounds and care of them to prevent infection," she returned. "And of course how to treat someone if someone is feeling unwell," she offered. She hoped that no one would feel ill or awful but it would give an opportunity to learn for Coop. "It isn't bold to ask you at all," she assured him kindly. "This way we can help each other."
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^^It felt really weird to be asking a female of something, and also, the queen of something, knew he barely knew her! Oh, but she smiled so lovely at him that he wagged his tail and would do anything for her, because that’s what it meant to be a queen, right? And thankfully, she hadn’t found his request to be out of line, or bold, and Coop smiled at her.

“Oh, that would be lovely! Thank you. It’s a date then.” Coop grinned with bark of laughter. Pausing, he pressed his lips together. “A… friendly date, between two friends!” Coop coughed, awkwardly, and then grinning some more. “I admit, I love to learn. I like… being useful. S-so, uh, where would you like that garden? And what plants would you like? Could I make my own garden, too?”

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Elowyn blushed a little when he called it a date. However, the male seemed to realize his own fault too. Elowyn was not offended though. She knew the other didn't mean it in that way. Actually, now she thought about it, it was a little funny. She offered him a soft smile. Elowyn had the feeling that Anteon would not be eager to share her. She would not know what to do if he was open to that, she wouldn't want that. He seemed so close with Genevieve. Maybe he wanted two wives. Elowyn's face turned at that thought. She quickly reeled her mind back and tried to school her features after her thoughts caused it to frown.

"Somewhere central, i think," she offered. "I would love marigolds, though I have not found them. Lavender and your lilacs of course," she offered to him. "I'd like something for colds, and poppies, though I know it is pretty late in the season for that. Isn't it?," she tried to rack her brain for more kinds. "Maybe slowly expand to see what we can put here. I know moss tries out in a big open space."
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^^If Coop had noticed that she was blushing, he did not act like it. In fact, he might not have noticed at all, as he was doing some internal panicking - though that settled when she didn’t seem to react negatively towards his use of the word ‘date’ in conversation. He’s brows, though, perked as her face turned and therefore, his panicking returned. “I didn’t mean to step on any toes!” Coop immediately apologized, though nodding his head as she went on to tell him about her gardening desires.

He really liked the thought of a medic garden and then a garden-garden. “Okay, great. I’ll see if I can find them for you - though that might need to wait until the spring time. Should we head back?”

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Elowyn shook her head to him. "You didn't, truly," she assured him. The female could understand that some plants weren't available now, and that they would need to wait after winter. "We will just see what is available now and what we can plant," she offered with a nod. She figured that did make the most sense. She wouldn't force him to put a certain plant there when it wasn't even available. That wouldn't make sense.

She nodded. [b]"Yes lets. Thank you for helping me, Coop," she spoke with a quirk of her lips.

End

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