A lifeless terrain lay in front of the detached lonely male. A light ebony color of his fur blew swiftly in a light breeze. Normally this place had blistering winds that drove wolves away, but today there was only a slight wind that left a comfortable feel inside anyone that went by. Rum was on hi way to Valhalla to regain his family name. He abandoned Valhalla as a small pup, near the age of one year. Of course in the beginning of autumn he would turn three years old. He hadn't been far from home for too long. But it was long enough for others to think that his soul was released. The brute smelled of ash and thick black smoke, but from underneath the musty smell, there was a thin scent of an old alacritis land long lost under the molted lava that rushed across a land that he once called home. It was a harsh land he came from, somewhere his home was lost; somewhere where all these wolves once called home, it was gone. It ceased to exist. But everything he had done was left behind him. Everything he did to survive he tried to erase, he locked it away somewhere it wouldn't come back. The brute walked with his head aligned with his back. He swayed back and forth, he was not ready for what Valhalla would do to him when he approached them. He would be honest if the one who talked to him didn't know who he was. He would tell them that he abandoned Valhalla, but if they didn't want him back he would demand to see his mother, to see his sister. An if they wouldn't let him see them, he would trespass, even if it meant taking someone down on the way there. Even if it meant being held captive, being a prisoner. Rum stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. He needed a break to gather his thoughts, what is to come of me ? Walk "Talk" Think

The deadlands of the west known as the Sycari Strip were gripped in uncharacteristically hospitable weather this day, and so conveniently it was this day that the two trailblazers named Nurra and Shini reached this place in their ongoing adventure across Alacritis. The pleasant winds blew clean through their fur and scales and kept the heat of the sunrays from staying long at all after striking their black forms. The earth looked incredibly beautiful now, rugged ridges and cuts of the land's scars weaving a mystical design stretching to each horizon, and at least one of the wandering two was admiring the sight. The amethyst-eyed wolf loved the experience of finding new places, especially magical and stunning territories such as this one, and nothing could hope to tear the smile from her face. As she eyed the maze of cracks all below her, a childish part of her mind suddenly possessed her to make a game of hopping over each one and made a sudden sprint downhill, shouting back to the snake that took residence on her shoulders, "Hold on！" A startled and confused Shini called back, "What the he-" cut off as she nearly took a plunge from her mount, saved by a quick reaction to clutch a mouthful of fur into her tiny maw. Nurra bounced and dashed across the landscape, bounding over large and small fissures, from this chunk of earth to the next, her graceful paws never faltering. She giggled like a pup, enjoying immensely this simple entertainment and the soothing gusts flowing through her dark fur, but her friend was terrified at the wild ride she was made to endure, being tossed around with each hop, and may have been screaming if her jaw wasn't clamped shut on her lifeline. She was saved, though, as something distracted the excited wolf away from her game. The shape of another wolf suddenly intruded into her vision, nearly missed as she was focused on the ground below her. This stranger looked similar to her, wearing black upon his back that faded lighter below, but that coat wrapped around a much larger, impressive masculine body. Still huffing and grinning wildly from the excitement of her playful bit of exercise, she strode quickly up to the stranger, wasting no time before announcing her presence with a greeting, "Heh, hello stranger！ What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" Mouse over Japanese speech for translation and pronunciation!

A maroon an icy eye looked down at the dry and cracked earth surface. He moved his paw to dig a little bit of the loose dirt from his paw. He twisted his leg just a little as of he were putting out a fire. As the sound and scent of another wolf approached, his maroon eye took control and his head turned to the right. His eyes looked at the wolf as soon as she started to speak. To a swift 'hello' his rump turned around his body now facing the dame. A blank but puppy face looked back at her. Rum had been anti social his entire life, even when he did live with his family. So he didn't know how to act around others. "I'm....on my way home." Not another word came out of his mouth. He eyed the little snake that was relating on her shoulders, maybe eying him as well. But he looked back at the dame with his maroon and neon blue eyes once again. Walk "Talk" Think

"Oh? Where's your home? Maybe we'll walk there with you！" said the animated young wolf, quickly and quite loudly. Her blood was still pumping, and her paws pranced her around as the hype hadn't died down a bit. As another effect, she wouldn't wait a moment before throwing more questions at the poor thing, "Is it a pack that you live with? I'd love to meet them！ Oh！ And what is your name?" "Nurra！ Will you calm down?! You're probably scaring the guy - and me too!" yelled the bothered companion, barely recovered from the scare of the wild spin she was just put through, to the female wolf. Her response was to giggle and tell her friend, "Hush, Shini！" and then playfully shake her head, nearly sending the snake tumbling down, and so shortly after she had recovered from the last ride. The angered little thing opened her mouth to complain, but thought it better to stay quiet or face further turbulence as punishment... Despite the way the female wolf had dismissed her friend?s suggestion, it seemed to affect her anyway, finally giving the largest creature there a chance to get a word in. Mouse over Japanese speech for translation and pronunciation!

The wolf looked at the snake and how it responded to the swirled amethyst wolf. They must have known eachother forever, or maybe he was mistaken. "Valhalla. I suppose you could come." Hopefully this won't get me into deeper trouble than now. "I've been away for a while... My name is Rumble." He moved his eyes in an irritated way. Rum hated his real name, what kind of name was Rumble anyway? "Call me Rum." He demanded it, but his attitude stayed neutral. The male rarely ever had an expression, besides irritated or bored. "You plan on joining?" Walk "Talk" Think

The fuchsia-brushed girl, still a bit uncharacteristically enthusiastic, replied in an instant to the male's question, "Ah, yes! Great! We'd love to!" For a moment she lost herself looking into the other's interesting eyes, one colored blue, and the other a shade of red, both glinting in the light of the deadlands' sun. They reminded her of a place she had been to, when she was still a pup traveling with her nomadic pack - a crystal lake that glowed azure in the moonlight and collected the falling petals of the blooming trees that lined it, creating a mystical, beautiful sight of luminous colors, like his eyes... But a blink brought her back to the present day, and she realized how rude she must seem to have not introduced herself yet! "By the way, my name is Nurra!" "My name iss Shinibana... Call meee Shini." said the serpent, mocking their newest acquaintance, to which both girls shared a giggle. Nurra, however, felt a pang of guilt immediately after, hoping that Rum would take the joke well. She didn't want to put off this fellow, who she had a feeling could end up a good friend some day. So change the subject, she thought to do, "Hey, what is Valhalla like? I haven't heard of that one yet. Are they in this desert?" In fact, the duo hadn't heard of many of the packs of Alacritis at all, though they never thought to ask. Perhaps she may even ask about joining them, though if they did live out in the desert, she couldn't possibly stand it! Mouse over Japanese speech for translation and pronunciation!

Rum acknowledged their snickering easily. Why are they laughing? He lifted his head high and looked down on the two. The wind continued to blow softly through his soft and perfect fur. The brute did not take it offensively, he didn't even understand why the two were giggling at each other. But the dame quickly responded with questions. "I believe it's in the west. Valhalla has a beach... Some forestry... Rocky and open plains..." Boy, do I miss home. Rum couldn't wait to see his mother again, to see Pepper again. What was he supposed to call his mother? He hadn't seen her in at least 2 years. 'Mommy' wouldn't be appropriate. What if she had disowned him knowing he was still alive? Mom wouldn't fit there. Maybe he should just call her by her name, Morgan. What would she think of him knowing he was a traitor? I'm sure Pepper would forgive me. "There's no desert there... Must be beside the dry lands." Walk "Talk" Think

"Hmm, it's on a beach? That sounds really fun!" said the female wolf, relieved that she hadn't just signed herself up for a stay in the dry desert. The black snake countered, expressing her differing view, "I don't think so. I'm not a water snake..." "But I thought snakes liked sand, though?" questioned Nurra, more to just mess with her friend than because she didn't know. "Well I don't!" Shinibana responded, feigning an irritated tone to play along, though smiling too. But it seemed that the pair were the only happy ones here, as Nurra only just noticed. Their new friend Rum had been speaking in a slow, bothered tone, maybe a little bit worried, but the female wolf thought he ought to be happier to get home! "Rum, you don't seem very excited... Is home such a bad place for you?" Maybe this visit wouldn't be so fun, she considered, but maybe this male just needed her friendly presence to make the upcoming encounter turn out better! Mouse over Japanese speech for translation and pronunciation!

The two continued to chuckle to each other, must have been really close I deed. They joked and they played, but Rum remained dead and silent. As the ebony female notices his down and serious mood along with his broken words, she caught on. "Home could be a bad place for me right now." Nothing else left hi maw. He looked down at the dry, broken earth beneath the 3 of them. His eyes remained there for as long as the brute could take it. He then once again made eye contact with the female that was still about, looking at her with those puppy eyes he has always had. He had never had a wok in presence for this long besides his mother and his sister. But not an expression lay on his face for the entire time they were connected. Walk "Talk" Think

The tone of this conversation had sharply turned much more tense over the most recent seconds. Nurra knew well what it felt like to be afraid of her own home, and felt some pity for the boy who may even be in the same situation as she. "Why is that?" she asked, but knowing how much she would hate to respond to that in his place, she retracted it quickly, "I - I mean - you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to..." Shinibana could clearly feel the terrible cloud of emotion forming, and suppressed her constant itch to talk, terrified that she would make it worse. And Nurra thought she already had made it worse, and wanted so badly to fix this and support him even more. "But I will help you if I can; stick up for you if you're in trouble or something. We will help you, right Shini?" said the wolf, nudging up a bit at her friend, who could only respond with a solemn "Mmhmm..." There was very little purpose in Nurra's life anymore, but she felt that she had to devote herself to this unfortunate fellow. She would follow him and defend him however she could, thoroughly driven to ensure he would not end up forbidden from his own home, as she was. Mouse over Japanese speech for translation and pronunciation!

Even if the brute had any feelings inside his head, the expression had yet to move. But Rumble did not feel hurt or intruded. He did not open up to others, but was this really considered opening himself to the female? He had his secrets and she had hers. The two were somewhat the same along with everyone else in the land of Alacritis, was there really any difference between the wolves? "I left... a while ago." The wind suddenly picked up quick and roared loudly through the brute's ears. The ears pinned themselves to his head and he lowered his head to keep structure from the wind. It now seemed that it was a bad day in the Sycari Strip, even though it seemed so perfect it turned out a disaster. The sky and blood eyes looked softly up at Nurra and her snake friend. Maybe it was time to head to Valhalla and see what was to come. The brute, and maybe even the dame would go to Valhalla and join the boy's home once more. Rumble motioned his head to where they would be walking, his puppy eyes once again taking over his body and looking almost sad. "Maybe we should head out!" The shout from the male almost sound like a worried cry for this dame, maybe she was brewing as his friend. But friends and enemies were never picked easily by Rum, most wolves were neutral to him. He mainly did not care for others, it took a lot to get on his good side, and a lot to get on his bad. But maybe the dame could be his friend, and it was under consideration. Walk "Talk" Think

On a dime the conditions of the Strip shifted from comfortable to inclement; the winds picking up speed quickly. Facing into it, Nurra felt like she was running again through the drylands, but she was still, and a not-so-pleasant stinging was felt each time a grain of heavier sand pelted her thin-coated spots. Then a sudden and terrible gust hit her, and it's force nearly toppled the two girls; Nurra inelegantly growled a curse at it, "ああ〜畜生!" This strange weather was growing worse by the second, and could even turn deadly soon. "That's probably a good idea! Let's go!" she shouted responding to Rum, for once he spoke otherwise than his serious and prosaic tone. The serpent with her thought to say something to poke fun at the wolves with softer skin who were so more affected by the weather than she, but then they were running again, southward and away from the raging sands. They were heading towards his homelands now, where he may just be in a bit of trouble and she was pledged to help him, so were they only running from one storm and into another? Exit Nurra Mouse over Japanese speech for translation and pronunciation!

Rum heard her shout, and turned to lead the way, it would be hard to run through this mess, so they shouldn't run too fast for their saftey. Rum was now heading home and he was going to see his mother. -EXIT RUMBLE- Walk "Talk" Think