Kaina

"...and I swore off quail, ever after that." Finishing up the tale she'd been describing on their way here, the little female laughed softly, and perked her head up again, having to raise it fairly high to see over the sprouts of grass that stood nearly as tall as, and in some places taller than, she did. Relatively abandoned. Nothing in sight for miles but birds. This is perfect. She'd deliberately suggested this outing, thinking to herself that Starscream could stand a little time away from the packlands, with the many injured and tense wolves there to take his attention... she'd noted he was stressed and tired, and figured a change of scene would be just the thing to brighten his mood. The need to be nearby in case something else did happen at the grove kept her from guiding them far, but she'd drawn out of immediate range of the voices of the pack with the definite intention of giving them some quiet time, with no distractions. She stepped daintily over a puddle that stood at the very edge of the grassland, not muddying the tiny silver paws in the smallest measure, and offered Starscream a smile that invited him to follow. "Anyway, my brothers always teased me, after that. Aaaand then something odd or sticky would 'find' its way into their fur and they'd get stuck with an extra long bath from Mom. And you know how males are... they whined like they were really suffering." That was a joke as she nudged him playfully, not really trying to incite a wrestling match or anything since they were both still healing, but mostly just enjoying the lighthearted nature of the talk.

Starscream

The route from the Aspen Grove to the edge of the prairie was not a long one, but of a good enough distance that Starsceam's stiff limbs had loosened up, and he was loping at an easy, unburdened pace by the time the forests of their homelands gave way to the grasses and flowers of the prairie. It was mainly his neck and a wound on his flank that bothered him, but even these were now free of infection, partly due to Kaina's diligent ministrations, and hardly concerned him today. The alpha closed his eyes and pinned an ear back as he ducked beneath the arching canes in a blackberry patch, letting their curved thorns slide harmless past his fur before looking over to the female at his side, "Ha, is that so? You'll have to ask Keap about his experience with the turkey hen when he was a yearling. Not quite as funny as your stint with the quail, but you'll get a good rile out of him." Scream snorted softly in amusement, but didn't elaborate on that tale. He bypassed the same puddle Kaina had, taking an extra wide step to avoid muddying his gray paws, and followed the she-wolf with a flashing smile to answer hers back. It was a soft smile, handsome enough on his regal face, and yet not flaunting in the way it was often want to be. For once, he was more interested in enjoying the peaceful day, and a calm, sociable walk with Kaina rather than something more... frisky. The nudge he got from her tweaked his smile a little broader, and he reciprocated the gesture with a nip at her ear and a follow-up nudge against the side of her cheek. "For all the brothers you grew up with, you should know better than to start something." Despite the comment, he didn't try to turn the nudge into a bought of play; with both recovering from the fight and the mudslide, neither were in the best shape for roughhousing just yet.

Kaina

Obligingly, the silver ear he'd nipped at flattened against her head, and was accompanied by how her own smile broadened, and it didn't fade when he turned the nip into a nuzzle. Indeed, she leaned subtly into the caress. In other circumstances, she might have turned this into a motion to ram his shoulder playfully with hers, but she wasn't looking to make this a tussle either. She was just enjoying his companionship, and rather than shove him with her shoulder, she brought it to meet his instead, letting their fur mingle as they stepped over and around the puddle and began to disappear into the foliage around them. "Au contraire, my friend... that means I'm prepared." Again, this was a place where she might have taken hold of a mouthful of his ruff, or perhaps slipped a foot behind his ankle to trip him, but instead she merely made it a tease, and then returned the nuzzle, flattening both ears and running the top of her head up his chest to his shoulder. A few feet ahead of them, a pair of blue jays took to the sky, startled from their foraging for seeds by the sudden presence of wolves among them, and screaming 'thief, thief!' as their kind was wont to do. Not wanting to press her ankle, though it had been feeling much better recently, and also not wanting to leave Star behind, she didn't succumb to the impulse to chase them just for fun... instead, she went on, "You have such a lovely family. Keap's a little harder around the edges maybe, but he's very smart. And Darling is such a gentle soul... she gets that from you."

Starscream

It was early enough in the day that the sun was not at its peak, and the prairie not sweltering under its intensity, yet late enough that most of the morning dew had already evaporated. The swaying grasses brushed easily past their light summer coats, hardly making more than a soft 'swish' as the pair traveled through them. "If the both of us weren't a mess, I'd test that theory." He returned with a flash of a soft grin, but like Kaina, there was no nip or rough nudge to follow his remark. The big male briefly closed his eyes when she turned her muzzle against his, enjoying the simple, gentle touch. As she was turning the top of her head against his chest, he was extending his muzzle to run alongside her neck, and planting a lick on the side of her cheek that had nothing to do with grooming. When the jays took the wing, screaming their alarm and annoyance, Starscream gave them little more than a flick of the ears to account for the sudden noise. "They're a lively bunch, for sure. I'm not sure how much Darling gets that from me, but-" The alpha smiled faintly, "-she's a good one. And I think my mother is approving of you, so that's always a plus." There he was joking, to a large extent, just to keep the mood light. Whether or not Cortinarri approved of Kaina, it was ultimately Scream's authority to keep her in the pack; but then it made things infinitely easier that his mother did take a liking to the small wolfess.

Kaina Now I didn't bring you here to break that open again," she warned, but it was an attentive thing as she rose from her position and offered the healing wound in his neck a very gentle nudge, and a few attentive licks that were more a show of concern than anything needed to keep it clean. With him standing, it was a bit of a stretch for her to reach it, but she managed by crowding her body against him and coming to a momentary stop. When that task was accomplished, she stood back where he could move again, and continued, "Trust me when I say that... Darling has many characteristics that remind me of you. This you. When you're not so stressed." Clearly, she was speaking her preference for this kind of activity with Starscream, which both of them were enjoying for its simplicity. "It's difficult for parents to see which characteristics their children take from them... my father always said that. In me of course, there's a blend of him and my mom; my mother always saw lots of him in me, and Da always saw lots of her. My sister always told me that a parent sees in their child the things they love about their mate, and that's why they don't see themselves as clearly."

Starscream

Kaina provoked no growl from Starscream this time when she turned her tongue against his wound. He followed her silent guide and brought his paws to a stop, where he held still long enough for her to turn a few cleansing swipes over the healing punctures and patches of rough fur that had yet to fill in. In the past few days, he'd given himself up to such treatment without a fuss, and had actually grown to enjoy such attention - now that fiery pain of the injuries and the ache of infection had dulled away. "Fair enough, fair enough. How's that leg doing?" After she stepped aside, he tilted his head and looked back to the limb in question, one which had no external wounds for him to tend to or even gauge. Of course, with her initiated the outing today that brought them beyond the boarders of the Aspen Grove, he pretty well knew that she was healing well and up for a long trek, but he felt the need to ask regardless. "I rather like being without that stress myself." Moving on to that topic, Starscream didn't openly acknowledge how his handling of stress wasn't always the best, but he didn't deny it either. With Kaina... he didn't feel the pressure to constantly posture and hide his negative qualities, and the more the talked, the more of his calmer nature was revealed. "I've always thought your parents sounded wise. And the apple didn't fall far from the tree; I'll take your word on Darling and Keap."

Kaina

The little licks and nuzzles faded as they began walking again, and he might note as they did so that her steps were smooth as silk, with not a hobble to be seen, so long as she remained at an easy stroll. "Well enough," she replied, as he turned a concerned question her way, and she paused for a moment to lift the delicate paw, considering it carefully. "I probably won't be too swift on it for awhile, but I'm more use for stealth, anyway." She flexed it briefly and then set it down again, continuing with their walk without the slightest show of discomfort. The next sound from her was a laugh, light and pleasant, and she nudged his shoulder again, in companionable joking. "Silliness suits you. You're far too serious most of the time. You need to take some time off now and then, have a good wrestle with your pups or take a nap in the sun with a friend... just because. Month or so of that, we'd make a new wolf out of you." Again, her muzzle ran through his darker-colored fur, this time along the length of his side, topped off with a light toss of her nose up into his face, just to make him laugh. His compliment caused her ears to lay back softly though, and her eyes to track to the grasses and small stones scattered around them. A field mouse scurried across their path with an alarmed squeak, but Kaina, who would have been blushing modestly if only she were able, did not see it. "I'm no prophetess... that was my mother. She had that way about her, that made you believe every word she said as though it were wind-breathed. I only follow and quote those wiser than myself."

Starscream

Starscream's stride was relaxed and easy as it carried him through the swaths of grasses and multitude of colorful flowers, with no need for a rushed pace or, alternately, a suave gait to highlight his grace and alpha-charm to Kaina. He was actually enjoying the day and letting go of all the stress and worry that had plagued his mind for the past week or two, and it was largely thanks to the she-wolf at his side, who worked to coax this out of him. "Good to hear it's healing well. Your sharp senses are your strong point too; Crow's got the swiftness to route prey." His thoughts had wandered briefly into the realm of tactics and pack health again, never able to fully push such things from his mind as an alpha. Bringing him back on track with their more leisurely discussion took nothing more than a bump on the shoulder from Kaina. "A good wrestle wouldn't hurt... and I'll admit, a nap in the morning sun doesn't sound so bad either. But I don't know about silly." Still, Scream couldn't help but laugh, and then rumble a playful growl and a nudge against Kaina's muzzle when she brought the nose up into his face. The nudge didn't escalate into enough rougher play, if only because they were both enjoying a lazy walk, and neither inclined to spend too much energy on rough-housing. Even if it was rather tempting. "You use her wisdom well then, I'll give you that."

Kaina

"I'll leave Crow to that, then," she replied smoothly, aware of the male's talent in that realm, perhaps not as keenly as Starscream was, but she was perceptive enough to have recognized the gift. She took the nudge of his muzzle, which in turn was a response to her joking gesture, with a complementary laying back of the silken ears, indicating not submission or fear, but enjoyment. "Nonsense, silliness is good for you. I have a special gift for silliness. Keeps you from turning into an old fuddy-duddy." She laughed again, because that was a joke of course, and continued their easy pace as they pushed between the high grasses. Soft wind whipped up, sending the tall stalks into a graceful, swaying dance, and blowing their fur in all directions, too. It made her think of the first day she'd met him; it had been hotter then, at the tail end of a drought, which had ended suddenly, dramatically... with a downpour whose accompanying thunder had put herself and Starscream into a very awkward position. The thought of it, and of the greeting they had gotten from Cortinarri - which justifiably was based upon the male's less-than-squeaky-clean record - quieted her for near to a minute as they continued their stroll. It had been such a strange situation she'd found herself in, but she smiled softly about it now. "So... you think your mother believes I'm not pregnant, yet?" That was kind of an off-the-wall comment, but it certainly wasn't meant to be a tease against his past. It was intended as a joke against the absent female, and she nudged him as she said it in order to make that distinction clear. "As much as we seem to spend time together nowadays, I suppose I can't blame her. She's really not so bad... she's just got a very certain way of doing things."