It had been a little while since she had been to Imperium, but with Rhythm's pregnancy not to far off she would feel herself being drawn there. She didn't cross over yet, preparing herself for what was to come she started t search the lands surrounding Imperium for appropriate herbs. Birthing was still a very new thing to the healer so her supplies in that regards where lacking. She already had ginseng root, it was difficult to find but after vigorous searching she had a few patches she could return to when needed. It was such a wonderful, healthy plant Ginseng, good for immunity, and stress and shock, something she might need if anything went wrong with Rhythm's birthing. She shuddered at the thought, pushing it away, her sweet nature unable to allow her to dwell on such atrocious, she would never lose Rhythm, her mentor and healer. She wanted Lavander, it was a gentle sedative and easy enough to find on short notice. She also wanted Motherwart, Valerian root, and Yarrow, through Yarrow again was in case of an emergency and she hoped she didn't need it. It was those three herbs she began to hunt for outside Imperium's territory and of them all Valerian Root was the one she was most worried about identifying, she had only been shown it once before. The vegetation of the Soulless forest was thick and she hoped to find herbal treasures among them. As per usual, she didn't notice the vanishing of the day as the evening became late and the shadows long, bringing the Soulless forest to life in a strange and eerie way. The young girl lifted her head to the noise of something scrapping against bark, looking back and forth until she saw the silent movements of an owl pushing off from a tree and taking to the night. She grinned sheepishly at herself, and continued her search. "speech"

Having made his return to Imperium, and feeling very much satisfied and happy with his present situation, the wolf had set about to explore the surrounding territories more. He’d set off an hour or so after midday and walked for a while, viewing this and that and sniffing it just the same with great pleasure. It wasn’t until the sun was set and he was deep within the woods [Soulless Forest] that he had realized how long he’d been out. Now, while he of course enjoyed the nighttime and all the beauty it had to offer, being one who wandered often, he was well aware of the dangers that came with it. He wasn’t scared, per se, but the forest did look a lot different at night…

Elegant and eerie trees now looked gnarled and cruel – their rigid figures emphasized by the darkness of night. Tangled vines looked like they held the potential for a plethora of tiny and scuttling beasts, and twisted roots snatched at Nagendra’s paws as he ambled along warily. ”Oh, oops!” he gasped to himself as he tripped for the second time since night’s stealthy descent. At least he knew which way was back; he had a good sense of direction. And even while his journey would be a bit… spooky, there was something that could be appreciated in that. It was a tad thrilling, and there was beauty even in eerie things.

He smiled to himself faintly as he walked, reassured until he heard something flutter ahead and saw a flash of something moving in the dark. What was that? The man’s eyes opened wide and he halted, his heart skipping a beat as fright stole its way in, inky and ice-cold. ”Hello?” he called, the two syllables gently parting the quiet. His tail lifted, his muscles tensing in preparation for a bolt. Nagendra had decided long ago in his life that in situations of fight or flight, he would always be one to flee.

It wasn't long before she was struggling to study the foliage before her, and she couldn't get lost in her work as easily as she had before. She could feel her skin crawling with the eerie sensations of the forest and when she felt the presence of eyes upon her, she knew she had to give up. At this point Abaven was far behind her, and she debated popping over to Imperium and denning with her Auntie for the night. She never got the chance to finish that decision before a voice reached out through the darkness to find her. She yelped and jumped, spinning on her paws, scanning the forest around her with a nervous energy. Her herbs ended up scattered out around her, unsettled by the thump of the earth from her jump. She tried to calm her beating heart, but it didn't help that she couldn't see the intruder. Where was he? The idea of ghosts trickled into her mind, but she shook it away, it was folly, there was a real person here somewhere, and that was that. “S-show yourself” she said, stumbling over the words even as she tried to reinforce them with false courage. "speech"

A voice pried through the darkness, sounding just as unsure as he was. Upon realizing this, Nagendra felt comforted, and even a bit amused. He exhaled softly, a grin spreading across his face. His ears tilted in the direction of the feminine voice, his muzzle turning so that he might face where he thought the stranger was. ”Were I able to, I surely would. However, it is dark and I do not glow,” he said, matter-of-factly and with an amount of humor. Although she might not have seen it, his company would most certainly be able to hear his smirk in his tone.

He squinted in the dark, holding still while he scanned the area in front of himself. Now, it wasn’t completely dark, but when you didn’t know exactly what you were looking for (and when it itself was rather shadow-colored, though he did not know it) it made things more difficult. ”Oh, I think I see you,” he said aloud, his brow furrowing a tad. ”Promise not to eat you if you promise not to eat me,” he said with a soft, melodic chuckle as he focused on a dark shape. The looked kind of like a wolf up ahead. Or maybe it was a bush.

Shaye tensed after uttering her wobbly challenge, waiting for a ghost to solidify against the inky blackness, despite her commitment to the idea that the person behind the words was a normal, solid entity. When the answer came once again in the form of a disembodied voice, her tensing stiffened further and she really debated fleeing, tail between legs, to her Auntie. Luckily for all parties, she waited the voice out and choked on a surprised laugh, one she quickly attempted to turn into a cough. She was realizing a step behind the stranger that they where two bodies in the same predicament.

The young girl titled her head, her petite feather flopping across her face as she scanned the darkness with more intensity now then fear. She blew against her adornment until it fluttered and shifted from where it obscured her vision. She startled when the voice spoke again, through she should have been accustomed to its disembodied appearance by this stage. He could see her? she scowled as she scanned the foliage, trying to look through and beyond the obstacles around her. She was distracted by his (the voice was definitely masculine enough for the male placement) words, and grinned easily, her teeth flashing white in the dark. “I think I can agree to that. Now I just have to find you so you can stop haunting me” she teased, for the first time since hearing him she attempted to move. He had spoken enough to give her an idea of where to head and her steps where carefully placed with each movement as she shuffled forward. The white that adorned his under chin would make her task easier, when a flash of white would show itself against the black. “Is that you?” she asked, her voice falling back to original worry, it could be the polite humorous stranger, or an entirely new third party that hadn't promised not to eat her.

She sounded more at ease when she replied, which was good. Nagendra never had any interest in upsetting anyone. He smiled as he squinted. Aha! Yes, it was moving, and when she spoke again, wondering of his position, he could match her voice to the vague shape a few meters ahead of him. ”I think so,” he said, grinning, unsure if she was looking at him or behind him. He took a step forward, offering the sound of a foot crumpling leaves as a better suggestion of location. ”My name is Nagendra Bahri, not a monster but a mere mortal,” he grinned. ”Might I know your name, Miss?” He wondered what she looked like? Tall? Short? Pretty and dainty? The stretching trees hoarded the moonlight away from his eyes, which so very much wished for that blessed visual relief. For now, she was a mysterious outline, surrounded by tangled branches and vines.

He wondered, was his sense of direction really as great as he thought? He knew it was good during the day, but… Here, in such a mess of a forest and in the growing dark, all his landmarks had been stolen from him. Was his present company maybe trying to get home too? He glanced to either side, peering at the nearest vegetation. He’d have to be careful of that while walking. This forest was full of lots of low-hanging branches and menacing undergrowth. It really was rather distinct from any other forest he’d been in so far. Most of the forests in Alacritis were quite unique.

His words where encouraging enough to ease the tightening in her chest that had begun when she laid eyes on the wolf that could be him. His movement caught her eye, and the white blob she had seen moved with it. There would be the soft sound of footfall on the forest floor, and her ears perked upward, twitching in his direction. Her paws stilled for only a moment, then she took another tentative step forward, and it was clear they had found each other and would be within easier sight in moments. He seemed utterly at ease with their situation, and his teasing words would brush the space between them once more. She stifled her giggle at his words, perhaps he was refuting the comment of haunting. “I'm Shaye Destruction, its a pleasure to meet you Mr Bahri – I think” she added, through her tone was light and teasing. She was still walking, abide with slow and cautious steps, towards him. Through the occasional flicker of moonlight that manages to wide its way through the tall thick trees that toward above them she could see the light reflective tones of his white as he could likely see of her own. “Oh, there you are” she said as her progress on closing the distance between them came to good use and she pulled herself to a stop a few paces away. She tilted her head to the sight, her little feather once again obscuring the view of one eye as she surveyed him. She would offer him a smile, through she couldn't be certain if he could see it against the dark fur that flecked across her muzzle. "speech"

The quiet of the falling night was peppered with the soft crackling of leaves and twigs and underbrush as the two found their way closer to their discovered company, each still a tad wary but easing up as amicable words and manners warmed the darkness. Nagendra stopped, shifting his weight to one side for comfort. His ears pricked as the female introduced herself. ”Destruction?” he piped with sudden recognition and inquisitiveness, his body straightening. ”You wouldn’t happen to know anyone named Rhythm, would you?” Surely this was a relative of hers; Destruction wasn’t a common name, as far as he knew, so strange to him as it was. And, how come the ones he’d met so far were sweet-dispositioned women? How did such a name ever even get bestowed upon such a line? He smirked to himself, a soft exhale escaping his nostrils in amusement.

Perhaps (going on the firm assumption that she was family to Rhythm) in Nagendra’s absence, Rhythm had brought more family to the pack. That would be nice. Maybe in that case, he could have someone to find his way home with, amongst all the daunting shapes of the forest.