Walk | Talk | Think As much as she considered this place home, there was no shaking the newfound distrust Gale felt for the ocean. She had never really taken to the water the same way that her sister Locha had, not even the fresh rivers that provided their pack's source of drink, but losing Illume had only made it worse. It made up a considerable portion of the pack's border, a front that was meant to keep the pack safe since they were liable to never be attacked from that side, but that was a delusion. Their safety, she realized, was only dependent upon their ability to swim, and the bright blue girl's disappearance had put that into greater perspective. Gale was not the strongest swimmer, and the ocean could not be trusted. But there was another fear too. Her niece had never been found, had not been recovered. They had combed the shoreline afterward, seeking and searching for any sign of her, but had found nothing. Not even Locha, the fish among them, could see her anywhere within the water. Patrolling the border was usually such a fun and easy going activity, but here, along the shoreline as she padded swiftly across the black sands and stayed well away from the water, Gale cast only quick glances toward the water's edge. She dreaded more than anything now spotting any hint of brilliant blue against the dark of the ocean and sand. It was not fun, but she did it. Duty made her trot along the border, casting furtive glances from the corner of her eye toward the rolling waves simply to say she had. And as she sighed heavily to herself, eyeing the area she knew the border to end somewhere up ahead with her ears uncomfortably pinned, she could not wait to be done with it. OOC: Setting this along the border so no one gets in trouble. xD

The waters from black island and back to the beach were rather cold but not too harsh thanks to the thick coat of fur Malus had. His white fur and black tipped tail glistening with the drops of the freezing water. The journey to the island was a dangerous one and the trip back was just as dangerous but he was determined to retrieve some items from the black island and examine them when he got back to a slightly safer location. However upon getting up and shaking himself off there was another wolf one that seemed closer to where he was and on the other side of the border. The sight shocked him slightly not thinking that there would be someone else all the way out here right now let alone a pack wolf from what he could tell from the faint scents he picked up from her. Taking pride in this fluffy fur he would once again shake off what he could and proceed to be closer to her location but still remain on the outside of the pack lands border. What could he do he thought to himself nothing of love at the moment but out of respect he would fish around his bundle of goods trying to figure out what he might give to the stranger as a token of good will and maybe earn him a little bit of good faith from the pack should he meet more of them.

Perhaps though the stranger might have caught a glimpse of him approaching from the water anyway so it wouldn't be such a surprise and maybe it would be respectful of him to make his presence known if she hadn't so he could give the gift over to her, "Hello there miss I apologize for being this close to your land but I thought I would give something out of good faith in case I do come around this way again for another trip to the black island its a herb I picked up but I have little to no knowledge about them so maybe you might know someone who might have a use for it" and like he said he would Malus would pick up one of the herbs he gathered and move closer to where he seen her and drop the herb on the pack land side of the beach only having his head cross the imaginary line so the herb was closer to her but he wouldn't move closer than that out of respect for the pack territory.

Watching carefully to see what the stranger would do now only hoping she wouldn't chase him off. He had more items he could give but some of which was for himself and the various projects he planned on working on when he returned to his ever changing home else where also known as constantly moving when a pack moves into a area he settled in. Depending on how this meeting went over might determine if he could try to join this pack. Sadly with how the weather was and the need to constantly switch where he was living he might not get the chance to after this so Malus was determined to make the first impression the best he could. Getting into a pack meant he would have a more stable home to stay in and in turn he could maybe put his own talents to use. With a gentle smile he spoke once more, "I hope you can find a better use for this herb than I can the only thing I would use it for would be a trophy to say I made it to the island across the way from here and back" with a slight chuckle Malus would sit and listen patiently not bothered too much by the wintry weather.

Walk | Talk | Think Nothing. Almost a whole new scan of the shoreline and no sign of the young girl that had been lost to them. Gale felt relieved, though was instantly guilty for it. Finding Illume and returning her to Voltage should have been a miracle she wanted to happen, to give the grieving father some closure at the very least, but she did not pretend that she was strong enough to do that. It was an odd, uncomfortable mix of emotions, but as she approached the last bit of the territory's stretch of shoreline, knowing she was almost done, Gale was ready to move on to other things. She thought at first the white shape within the waters was just a piece of rolling tide, nothing more than froth, but as she did a double take she realized it was not water but wolf. Not the fragile figure of the girl - thank goodness - but someone else. The grey and lavender Aertus eyed the stranger as he exited the waters and pulled himself ashore, slowing her gait momentarily. It was unusual to see anyone along the border despite the patrols being meant to catch anyone nearby. Gale was used to making the same rounds without interruption. And yet here was someone, awfully close to Donostrea's border. If he had gotten pulled perhaps even a little bit further along by the water's currents she was sure he would have ended up in pack territory. Again, duty won out. She marched forward with every intention of telling the stranger that he was treading dangerously close to pack territory, would be trespassing if he was not careful. She noted absently his height - could he possibly be as tall as Glacier? - and the fluffy quality of his fur that remained evident even after his swim. Before she could get a word out to him, however, he addressed her, silencing the words that had been forming on her tongue as she stopped on her side of the border. Oh. He knew about the pack, knew he was treading the boundary, and offered an herb he had collected as an apology. Gale watched, a little dumbstruck as the stranger eased forward to set it on her side of the border, eyeing the plant as he stepped back to sit fully on his side once more. She had not a clue what it was, or what it could be used for, but she figured Rocky or even Sunshine's little sister could find a use for it. Her grey-green eyes suddenly shifted upward to peek at the male again and then back at the plant, muttering a quick, "Thanks," as she stepped a little closer to it. Hmm. Nope, still no idea what it was. Leaving the plant lying at her paws, Gale let the large white wolf take her full attention, puzzled a little by his friendliness and generosity. She was quite unused to it, though it definitely made for an easier interaction on the border. "For not trespassing too," she added, and then continued as she remembered, "though I'd be careful next time. Coming into shore this close to the pack lands, one shift in the water and you'll end up on Donostrea territory." Did he know the name of the pack? Well, he did now at any rate. Putting aside the oddness with a smile, Gale offered a quick wag of her tail. "I'm Gale, by the way. Gale Elementas, Aertus of Donostrea." It felt nice to get to use her full name and title. It made her sound important, and that somehow suited her just fine.

Ah so his thought of her was correct in thinking of Gale as a pack wolf. That was good to know and even better that she mentioned which pack the land on her side of the border belonged to. With a friendly smile he would bow his head to her, "I appreciate the information Aertus Gale Elementas, as for the tide I understand that and would offer more than just that herb had the case came to that as I do not wish to disrespect your pack's ownership of the land miss Gale... would you be willing to stay and talk with me for a little bit before I were to take my leave back to my temporary home near here though it is further away from the borders of Donostrea I've been attempting to retrieve a great deal of things and study what is on the island that is known as the black island... if I may still come close to but not past the borders I would be willing to trade what I find there with Donostrea?".

He wanted a chance to have a conversation with Gale for a little bit. In his head to Malus, Gale was absolutely beautiful and her voice sounded like it came straight from a angel but he would refrain from making such comments till another time if he ever got to meet this woman again. Light brown eyes scanning Gale's side of the border to see no one else was there or if there was he didn't notice them. Malus realized he was being rude by speaking without introducing himself, "I apologize miss I almost forgot to introduce myself, my name is Malus an Chaomhnóra but please do not think badly of me just because of my name's meaning and I'm a sort of inventor so to speak I work to make life not only easier but better for those around me so I have been making my way around the lands to possibly make things better for those who reside within even though what I can do is limited to outside a packs borders".

Once more however he would stand to his full height and give a full respectful bow to the woman. Malus would again sit and wait patiently for Gale to speak. He was after all the stranger here and would not be upset if the woman wanted him to leave and not speak any further. Hopefully that would not be the case and he would get what was sought for just a simple and polite conversation. The thought of potential trade was also a great deal of importance to Malus if he could obtain items he sought after while providing items to Donostrea that they might see useful in the gathered items from black island would be amazing and would give Malus a reason to stay close but not too close to their borders.

Walk | Talk | Think There was such a formality to the white wolf's speech that Gale found the edge of her smile quirking upward in something akin to a smirk. Was this customary for him, or was this all because she had spoken about the pack and his close call with crossing the border? It was hard to tell, impossible really, though her almost-smirk broadened into a grin as she tried not to laugh regarding his comment of offering more plants if he had indeed accidentally trespassed. "Can't always buy your way out of trouble," she gently warned him through her smile, shaking her head slightly for an added emphasis. As much as it would have been nice adding a nice new plant stash to whatever it was that Terrae and Lior had hidden away, she doubted her elder brothers would have taken too kindly to a trespasser, accidental or not. He surprised her by requesting that she remain for a time to speak with him. Was he desperate for conversation now that he had found someone to speak with, or...was it her? Gale knew she had pretty looks - she was not so modest to deny it - but it still struck her as odd when her company was singled out. Choosing to believe the reasoning was the former, the little grey wolf tilted her head slightly to the side in a curious sort of gesture as she took a seat, continuing the watch the stranger through eyes colored with intrigue. He spoke somewhat of his home, or lack thereof, his salvaging missions to the Black Island, and his interest in making deals with her pack. Her head righted itself at that, and she tried not to smile outright. "I'm afraid I don't have the power to negotiate things like that," she stated matter-of-factly, still offering a courteous smile, "it's something you'd need to speak to the alphas about." As much as she liked to think she had the power to bend her brother's ear, she doubted she could, in good conscience, make such a call on Glacier's behalf. After a belated pause, the white wolf appeared to recollect her earlier introduction and thought to offer his own, though the apology he tacked on puzzled her. Name's meaning? She had to think a moment, try to repeat the name over in her mind, until it seemed to click. She could not remember the proper translation, but she assumed that his first name did not exactly translate to something very friendly, something that would give the best first impression. Or perhaps just expressed more clearly what type of background or culture he came from than anything. After all, Gale knew of no other wolves who named themselves after aspects of the elements the way her family did. She would have commented, but he gave her no room to, instead pressing onward in what sounded like a rush as he divulged his interests in inventing and making different aspects of life easier. That sounded fairly interesting, her brows raising curiously over her eyes as she pondered to herself what exactly it was that an inventor did. "How do you make life easier?" she asked, buying into his story and curious to know what it actually meant. It was new to her, and she liked learning of new things from these strange natives that lived on this continent.

Malus couldn't help but chuckle a little at her response, "Indeed I can't but I could always try depending on where I'm at and who it is I end up talking to" and surely he would get a few more answers from Gale after she sat down. Ah so her rank didn't allow her to handle trades and it fell solely to the alphas which was fair enough so what was it that she did herself he wondered. Gale didn't seem to be hiding her interest in what he had to say and the moment the word inventor came back Malus's face could have almost lit up like the sun finally he could talk about what it was he did and so without great enthusiasm he would speak, "Well as an inventor as I said I try to make life easier now how to achieve that I work on making stuff to help such as digging out a spot and then trying to get a stream from a creek for example to flow into it by digging a small channel of sorts. I would use a small log or a large enough rock to help control how much goes into the hole. I would have another channel that would hopefully get the water from the pool that was created and have it hopefully flow back into the creek without it backing up by using another log or rock... with how it would work it would may be used to have easier access to water to drink from without having to travel so far or possibly teach pups how to swim without having to worry about them being swept up by a angry tide and to be honest if my folks were able to use their brains anywhere near as much as they use their brawn maybe I would've turned out different and not so much of what I am now". Oh he had so much to say about what it was that he did to make life easier but that was just a single example. Malus knew though to not go overboard with it and hold off on continuing now it was his turn to ask and he was curious what Aertus meant, "So Gale now that I have divulged a little bit about what I do can I ask you what a Aertus does in Donostrea?" his own curious nature got the best of him and what better way to know about something you don't know about than ask someone who does. With her name and that rank he assumed it was something like a scout but he wasn't sure what it was perhaps his train of thought was far off the mark. Then it hit him the fact that he was a nerd clearly shown but who would have thought it a 42" brute like him being a nerd like that. "Speech"

Walk | Talk | Think Gale smiled and tried to mask the way his remark of buying his way of trouble rubbed her the wrong way. Integrity was important to her, as well as owning up when mistakes were made, and she hardly got that impression with thoughts of bartering to possibly lessen punishment. Perhaps she was reading Malus's answers incorrectly. He was still a stranger after all, just freshly arrived from the island that neighbored her home, so she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt as he went on to describe his self-appointed title of inventor and what that meant. What he described was rather fascinating. Creating things to make life easier? Water channels that could be controlled? She had heard nothing of the like before, and her grey-green eyes narrowed with intent as she listened and tried to make sense of it. "Sounds like a lot of work for something that's supposed to make things easier," Gale remarked curiously. Digging channels and fitting rocks and logs around it to control the water flow? It all sounded incredibly complex and complicated, beyond her comprehension. Maybe, she wondered to herself, it's one of those things that you need to see to believe. He surprised her by altering the subject at the end of his explanation, changing courses and divulging a little about his family. It sounded as if he had been the black sheep - figuratively, she was sure, since his drying coat appeared to be a pristine and snowy white - different than his parents that he associated with fighters. For a brief second, Gale's thoughts flew to her fiery sister, so unlike her she often wondered how they had been made from the same litter. She could understand, in a sense, what he said about differences, though she doubted her experience compared. She merely bit the inside of her lip, unsure how to respond to this stranger. She should have seen it coming, but his question about her job and position within the pack startled her. Oh, it was her turn now to give away who she was? Well...she had asked him first. The grey wolf glanced once over her shoulder, checking along the beach and border to ensure that things still appeared safe, before she returned her attention to Malus and answered his question informatively. "Aertus is our term for messenger. I'm the fastest of my siblings, so I'm entrusted with passing word between my pack and others." There was a slight touch of pride to her expression as she recounted her duties, though in a more neutral tone, she added, "I don't get sent out all that often though, so border patrols keep me active during downtime."