Navigation Points: Firefly lake It was a sleepless night for the girl as was most. But she never seemed tired even in the slightest. She had been rather depressed lately but it wasn't due to lack of sleep. She felt rather lonely, she needed friends or at least something to lean on. Her and Tyranis were starting to become better friends though sometimes his emotional outbursts set her back. She was intrigued by a slight glow fading in the distance, but somehow it surpassed her mind as she was lost in thought. She came to lake outside her pack lands and sat down to look at the water. FFireflies danced around her and landed on the brush but she wouldn't take even a second to actually notice them. She just stared down at her dark reflection and just fed herself to her somberness. Walk "Talk" Think

Kanja was restless. She'd found a nice place down by the lake to curl up for the night, but several minutes of laying in the reeds had proven futile so she'd abandoned her resting place in favor of wandering. Maybe a little more exploring would cure her of her restlessness. She'd spent the better part of a day wandering around these parts, but there was still a lot to see. The banks were chocked full of waterfowl and small game. If she were the pack type - and the idea was a laughable one but if she were - this would be the kind of place she'd want to live. There was access to the beach, freshwater and an uncountable variety of prey life. It was a place to grow fat and sassy.

A bright white spot nearby contrasted sharply with the darkened grasses at the shore and drew Kanja's gaze like a moth to flame. The shape was immediately recognized as belonging to a wolf and, not being one to pass up a chance to pester a fellow creature, Kanja made a beeline for the stranger. Even from a distance she got the impression that the woman was a little down in the mouth. That wasn't going to stop Kanja from teasing her, though. "I can't quite tell..." she called as she approached, "Is this a staring contest or are you waiting for it to do tricks?

She jumped slightly to the voice of the stranger, but gave the girl a small smile before looking back at the reflection. "What kind of tricks do you think it could pull?" She questioned with a sigh in thought. "Maybe it will turn me into something different..." She tried to make sound like a hare, or a deer, or maybe even a bear. But in her own mind, she wanted it to change who she was; not what she was. "Oh, I'm Aranea by the way." She looked back to the older girl as if she were going to respond back with her name, but wouldn't be offended if she didn't want to throw it out there. She seemed rather nice at least as of now. A little joking was never something Aranea found offensive no matter how rude the comment. "I'm from Abaven, do you live near here? It seems like a very wonderful place if you ask me." Though this was how she truly felt with the dancing fireflies, it was noticeable that she was holding a weak smile in front of her internal struggle. But perhaps the energetic girl would be enough to cheer her up. OOC: Up to you if you want Kanja to be in Abaven or not yet, Aranea didn't notice her/Ash all that much ^^ Walk "Talk" Think

"What kind of tricks do you think it could pull?" Before she could respond with something sassy, the stranger went on to say something about her reflection changing her into something different. One of Kanja's ears briefly flicked back as she felt equal parts disappointment and uncertainty. Maybe the woman was mopier that she'd thought. It was no fun to kick someone when they were down and giving advice wasn't really her thing. "Or maybe it will just drag you in." She quirked a brow at the woman.

"Name's Kanja," she said unceremoniously. The woman then went on to say she was from Abaven which immediately grabbed Kanja's attention. She studied Aranea and tried to decide if she'd seen her in the meeting. Kanja squinted at her. Maybe? It was possible, but she'd been a little focused on Ashmedai's pretty, pretty princess to pay much attention to the peasants.

"I'm actually in Abaven temporarily." Emphasis on temporarily. She was going to do her time, collect her debt, and then run for the hills. "This place is wonderful," she conceded. "And it's places like this that make me glad I'm a rogue. I get to sleep in a new beautiful place every night." She'd get bored staying in the same den night after night, and walking around the same territory day after day. Honestly, she didn't know how the packies managed it without losing their minds.

"Oh, Really?" she was surprised she hadn't seen the girl herself either, but it seemed like a lot of them blended together in their dark colors where as Aranea stuck out like a sore thumb. But this Kanja girl had stated something Aranea could relate with, just not entirely. "Yeah, I like to travel too. It's like... amazing to find yourself under a waterfall or sleeping out under the stars." Her mood was getting lighter to her back track of between when she went from her old pack to Abaven. She loved being in a new place every night. She just wanted someone to share it with... As much as Aranea would have been a sucker for love, she did have a strong affection towards boys, it was only the companionship she desired. Who would be there to back her up in a story? Or to hold her, even like a sister, when the times got cold or scary? It was something she craved undeniably, and she usually came out talking about how much she wanted friends, ALL THE TIME, and it was probably annoying. "Have you been far?" She questioned with a chin tilt, wondering if she could tell her of any places she should go. "I've been to some places past that land bridge." Walk "Talk" Think

Yes, really. Kanja was a little put out that this woman didn't remember her. She'd worn her best bitch face to that meeting. It was one thing for her not to remember the faces of the Abaven wolves, but it was another, she felt, for them not to remember hers. Who could possibly forget this face?

She nodded her agreement to Aranea's statements about traveling. It was hard for her to wrap her head around staking out a territory and staying there. Permanently. How boring was that? Didn't they get tired of the same sights and the same prey and - above all else - the same wolves? How they weren't all bonkers was beyond her.

Kanja's ears perked at the mention of a land bridge and a land beyond. There was more? "No, not yet. This," she admitted, "Is the farthest south I've ever been." For now. She had every intention of wandering until the day she dropped dead. "Tell me, where is this land bridge? And what's on the other side?"

She wasn't too surprised that she hadn't been to the other continent. Regardless of how much this girl wanted to travel, finding the land bridge just came by chance to Aranea. Someone just needed the time and devotion to go down there. If they wanted to find out other herbs or the faint smell of the pack that she had scented nearby. "Well, it's pretty far west before going south from here." she explained, "It wasn't like here at all. Everything felt so... Magical." It was hard to explain. It wasn't that the land down south was the same. It felt tropical... Foreign. "I went somewhere where there were giant oak trees, wider and taller than any tree I've ever seen." She had only walked through a couple places, but found other places more meaningful for the night or whatever, "And there was this waterfall that had a pool of rainbow water at the bottom." She was starting to get excited about the southern continent. Her deary mood lighting up a ton now and it should have been well noticed by her company. She would have liked to go down there again sometime, but she felt like it would be hard now that she was in Abaven. Maybe Tyranis would have liked to go with her... probably not. Or Sparrow? She probably would be too busy to  go all the way down there, even just to visit the pack lands. Walk "Talk" Think

Magical, eh? Kanja's ears pricked forward as she listened to Aranea's description of what was beyond the land bridge. The giant oaks were enough to convince her she had to see that place. She couldn't imagine trees that big. But the rainbow water? Surely that was too fanciful to be true! A smile quirked up the corners of her lips. "I don't think I believe you," she teased. "That sounds too good to be true."

Kanja's gaze briefly left Aranea to drift around the lake. Speaking of beautiful places, they were standing in the middle of one. Sure, it wasn't filled with towering oaks or pools swirling with rainbows, but it had its own special kind of beauty. It was quaint and quiet, its beauty simple and undeniable.

Her eyes returned to Aranea. She didn't appear to be quite as bummed out as she had just a few short moments ago and it was for that reason Kanja decided to extend an invitation to her. "I don't suppose you'd like to walk and talk with me, would you? I'd like to hear more about this land over the bridge."

She kept that content grin on her face as she turned to the girl, thankful for her offer. "Yeah, that sounds good to me." And would raise herself up to look at her and wait to see where they would go. She would follow once the woman went, but didn't want to play the leader. She didn't think Kanja would be one to rip her into pieces behind her back after all. She may have been a little too trusting for a wolf she had just met. "I haven't been to many places down there but..." She thought a moment, still paw after paw beside the girl if she started to walk, "There was the scent of a pack just on the other side of the land bridge." She wasn't warning the girl, just stating for the knowledge of it. Though it would be a bad thing if someone just decided to waltz right up in there. Aranea almost did. As they walked about, Aranea would just watch their surroundings and of course the woman before her too. "It is getting late if you wanted to head back." She mentioned. It was the dead of the night when she came out here, of course it was late! But she thought she would offer anyways, regardless if Kanja stayed within Abaven or not. Walk "Talk" Think

Aranea took her up on her offer and off the pair went. Without a word Kanja took the lead. She was happy to continue her trek around the lake. It was serene place; the kind of place that somehow managed to calm her restless spirit. This time of year the fireflies were out and about, giving one final hurrah before the cold set in. This was Kanja's first encounter with them and she found their displays mesmerizing. Right now, late as it was, the little bugs were everywhere. Every which way she looked their lights dotted the landscape. It would have been easy to drift off to sleep as she watched them.

"I haven't been to many places down there but..." Kanja blinked. For a moment she'd gotten lost in thought and while Aranea hadn't been completely forgotten, Kanja's thoughts had drifted away from the conversation. "The land bridge," she reminded herself. And what lay beyond. That's what they'd been talking about. "Good to know - I'll be sure to avoid them." She paused a beat then said,  "It sounds like a fascinating place. I'll have to go there someday. See what kind of trouble I can stir up."

The view briefly pulled Kanja's attention away from the conversation again as she stared out across the lake. The moon was bright tonight and its reflection shone off the water with enough luminescence  to give the firefly collective a run for their money. It really was a beautiful place.

After a while Aranea spoke up again and once again Kanja blinked and came to the realization that she'd been lost in thought. "I think," she said slowly, "I'm going to stay here and sleep out under the stars." Her gaze darted to Aranea. "But if you like, I can walk with you back to Abaven."