with the unknown surprises that each day seemed to bring, nymeria was intent on keeping her inventory fresh and plentiful, on the off-chance that someone may require her assistance. though she was intuitively a little more hesitant to offer her help to the foreigners, she knew herself well enough to accept that she would not be able to turn a blind eye, should she witness them in need of aid. and so, airy, graceful steps carry the nymph forward, gaze scanning the horizon as she moves towards the northern edge of the badlands, trying to remember where on earth that cluster of trees had been a few months prior.

relief settles along the smooth contours of her expression when she spots them in the distance, pace quickening as she nears the acacia trees and a brief, fluttering smile adorns her features. "there we go," tones whisper briefly to herself, rearing back on her hind legs so that she stood, front limbs reaching up towards the acacia gum that clung against the crooks of the branches. and it was there nymeria would remain, a single, unsheathed claw working to separate the medicine from the bark, leaving it to tumble to the earth below.

Unlike the lovely Nymeria, Soren knew sweet FA about herbs. Anastasia had done her best to make sure that her children at least knew what plants to avoid touching, or - god forbid, eating - but beyond that there hadn't really been any extensive tutoring. Besides, they'd been more interested in scrapping, and exploring; while he couldn't exactly speak for Artie and Rus, nor would he presume to, Soren accepted the fact that the fine art of healing had escaped him. In truth, it was probably for the best. Fighting was something he knew he was good at, after all. So when he stumbles across the High Sovereign, stretching her lean form up to scrape at the bark of a nearby tree, he cannot help but stop and observe - merely to sate his curiousity, of course.

That's definitely the reason he's watching her. Totally. 100%.

After a prolonged moment or two of just standing there dumbly, it occurred to him that he may look a little odd if he just lingered around without saying anything - especially if she spotted him doing it. Shit - don't look like a freak, stupid! So he cleared his throat gently, waiting to see if the lioness would choose to acknowledge him. "Um, good morning Miss," the Rurik offered, almost painfully polite. "Can I ask what you're doing? And... do you need any assistance?"

there is a slight hum to the air as she quietly plucks away at the hardened sap. but it is not until a sweet, curious voice catches nymeria across the air that she realizes that she had company. instinctively does her head crane, arching so that the dame could cast a glance over her shoulder and pinpoint the source of the baritones — and ah, there he was, draped in a seamless canvas of ivory and steel.

"miss?" she muses at first with a small smile, if not a bit teasing as his politeness, albeit the fact that it was much appreciated. thus far, she had managed to engage with a variety of the newcomers — and the were all so differently, vastly contrasting one another and shattering the majority of her expectations. she was not naive enough, however, to assume things would stay this way, nor did she intend to be taken for a fool by them. smiling still, nymeria would look to drop herself back to the earth, pivoting lightly upon her toes to better face the man that now stood before her. "you can call me nymeria."

his questions prompts a small quirk of her brow, however, though it does not cloud the other demureness of her expression. she could not tell if it was a question posed out of common courtesy or genuine intrigue — but nonetheless, she would oblige. "collecting; the sap from this tree is useful for healing — here, come a look." she hums, tones a mix of honey and molasses as she gestures him forward with a brief flicker of her tail.

The Rurik had always been the polite sort, especially around pretty strangers, but the whole 'Miss' thing was a little too formal; it felt odd on his tongue. So to learn a name - Nymeria - was a relief. The frosty-pelted male cracked a grin and relaxed a little, nodding his head. "Alright then, Nymeria - my name is Soren." His name was nowhere near as pretty as hers, but given the background he'd come from that was hardly a surprise. The Rurik fought the urge to crack a chuckle at the thought of his parents scowling over the idea of giving their children pretty names. The native woman's next words would wrench the rogue out of his own thoughts and back into reality; there was an invitation there, and the man would gladly accept. Moving slowly to her side, Soren would peer at her handiwork before looking down at what she'd gathered so far. "So you're a healer?" Ah, that made sense - he couldn't think of any other logical reason for a lion to scrape at bark and root around in vegetation. "What does the sap do?"

curious gaze watches him, and she relaxes as a grin creases against the rugged angles of his face, lightening up his features into a warm array. cute, and even better once she had a name to put to it. "pleasure to meet you, soren." nymeria puts a little bit of emphasis on his name, letting it roll across her tongue and familiarize her voice with it, before their topic of conversation shifts back to her current task.

the druid's tail lofts idly behind her figure as @Soren draws near, noticing only when he was a few breaths from her side that she was tense. this was the closest she' been to any of this rogue foreigners thus far, and she had no company of her kin or pride nearby -- so, rightfully so, she was a tad nervous. she tried not to let it show too much, however, toes flexing against the earth as she regards his question with a brief nod. "i am, my parents taught me the importance of living off the land. there's a lot of useful things hidden in plain sight, if you know where to look for them." she would explain, shifting her gaze between him and the small pile of herbal remedies, smile still ever-so perfectly placed upon her lips. "the dried sap is good for colds and inflammation. it works as an antidote for some poisons, too -- though, hopefully we won't be needing it for that anytime soon." a pinch of coyness slips in towards the last part, wondering, absently, if these new lions would bring such sorts of calamity with them. Only time would tell.

finding herself a bit jittery with a moment too long of looming silence, which was disrupting her often cool demeanor, the woman would shift her weight between her paws, settling her eyes on him once more, before asking: "when did you get here?"

If he'd been a mind-reader in that moment he would've gone giddy at the prospect of being thought of as cute. Alas, he is blissfully oblivious, settled comfortably at a halt by her side as she explained herself. "I see!" You could tell it was something she was passionate about; the way her face twitched and her expression lit up in certain moments. The goofy smile lingered on his muzzle until she mentioned poison, but even then it only faltered slightly. A nervous chuckle followed. "Heh, I hope not..." Idly, he wondered if she'd come from the same place as the rest of them; he was sure he would've remembered if he'd seen her around before. "Only a few weeks ago, to be honest. What about you? Or-" he cut off then, rather abruptly, because the alternative hadn't really occurred to him until just now. Had she always lived here? How stupid of him, to presume that this place had been a completely clean slate until the refugees of Valoria had descended upon it like a plague of ants. "Have you.... lived here for a long time?" Clearing his throat a little awkwardly, he could not shake the feeling of seeming rather ignorant. Crap.

"i'm guessing you're not much of the healing type?" she muses, taking note of his intention to make himself seem interested in what she saying. and maybe he was, in all honesty, but nymeria knew from experience that those beyond the realm of healing usually did not care for it much. she takes the praise gladly, however, smile brightening somewhat as she reaches forward, prodding the small cluster of sap together atop a fallen leaf, opting to drop her gaze from his for a few moments.

"or...have you.... lived here for a long time?" she noticeably pauses at the question, muscles stiffening as the question settled in. her eyes remained focused on her small collection against the earth, mulling her response over in her head for a moment or two longer, before she turns her attention back onto @Soren. "i was born here." she admitted, voice dropping slightly, maybe a tad meeker than she had intended it to be. her gaze did not falter, however, as those pools of brimming opal settled along his own. "it's been a lot to take in." and that was, of course, a major downplay on nymeria's part. because, to be frank, there was surely nothing simply about dozens upon dozens of foreigners turning up at your doorstep!

Soren would shake his head animatedly at the query. "Oh wow, no - I know nothing about healing, truth be told. My mother tried to instil the very basics in us but.... It all went a bit over my head." Go figure. A lot of things went over Soren's head. His dawning suspicion is confirmed by Nymeria's next words, and his ears drooped slightly, apprehension and silent apology etched across his brow. "I bet. I'm sorry, @Nymeria - I hope you haven't had any trouble..." And then his thoughts would shift back to Caeso, the man from the shoreline; he'd been a native too! "I met someone else who'd always lived here, just a little while back-" Maybe it was silly of him to assume that all the long-time residents here knew each other, but it was too late to stop talking now, and so he would plough on with earnest. "Caeso. Kinda stoic guy, floppy red mane. Do you know him? He said he lived in a pride to the North."

Of course, he was totally unaware that he was talking to their leader.

the woman suppresses a grin at his sheepish response, tail lofting casually behind her as she gives another brief, absent nudge to her pile of acacia gum. "it's a good excuse to keep me around, i suppose." she offered upon a laugh, the sound fluttering and sweet, before the duo settled back into the more sombre topic of chatter.

nymeria was not quite sure what she expected from @Soren, who was still a relative stranger, all things considered. pity? sympathy? comfort? hardly, for she was rarely a woman of such feeble needs. and yet, still, she studied his face with intent and lingering curiosity, finding some sort of relief within his words. "no need to apologize, everything has its purpose." she would assure, before the name he mentions brings a natural spark to her gaze and a curl to her lips. "yes! he's family, engaged to my cousin." comes her explanation, thoughts swirling with how that conversation must have gone. "did he tell you anything else interesting?" somewhat of a sly remark as she takes on a mischievous smirk, opting to try and remove the grim tone of their conversation and return to something a little more lighthearted.

The man - soppy fool that he was - would have to suppress the urge to audibly suck in a breath at Nymeria's next words. Keep her around? Oh, be still his beating heart! It took all his composure not to bite the inside of his cheek so hard that it bled. Instead, he would chuckle, almost nervously. Almost. "Oh, I'm sure you'd be very useful in a crisis!" Not only did she seem to be skilled, but she also had the kind of calm aura about her that felt rather soothing to even a relative stranger like himself. Maybe he was just too much of an empath. She seemed to forgive him, at the very least, for any disruption he may have caused - the relief in his voice is palpable. "Oh, I'm glad." And, like a puppy, he would become even more excited at the confirmation that Nymeria did in fact know of the red-headed man from the beach. "Wow - small world! Do you have a lot of family here? I have a big family, but most of us are scattered to the wind." Mathias had sired several litters before coupling with Anastasia, and once Soren, Rus and Artie had become teenagers there had been more little ones on the way. Who knows how many more they'd had after they flew the nest, but that would just be something to maybe - or maybe not - discover himself one day. "I didn't want to pry too much, honestly - he seemed like quite reserved and I didn't want to be rude. But, I must confess, I was really curious." And then, offering her the most charming grin he could muster, Soren would do his utmost to see if Nymeria would perhaps be a little more forthcoming.

After all, who could resist that face?