Azra Far out, beyond where the breakers crested endlessly and flung themselves ashore, something was bobbing above the waves. It drew nearer to the mainland gradually, almost imperceptibly, but eventually made it's way past the break, and began to fight its way ashore. The thing was a wolf, fur soaking with salt water, a look of grim determination set on her features as she concentrated on her goal: keep your head above water, and reach land.. For too long, she had wandered from one puny island to the next, none of them containing enough of anything to hold her there for long. Azra travelled by instinct, trying to leave behind her homeland and find somewhere worthy of starting fresh, somewhere no one who knew her would ever be likely to follow. When she'd finally seen the great mass of land, writhed in mist and dipping it's roots in the sea, she dared to hope she'd found such a place at last. Now, if only she could reach it... but just when she began to think her lungs would catch fire, and her limbs lose all sensation, she felt something - firm, solid, blessed ground. Or, well, churning sand. Close enough. Dragging herself from tide's edge, she took a few dogged steps up the beach and collapsed on her side on the hot sand, panting. What a mess I must look right now, she thought, like a drowned rat... but even as she let her strength recover, her eyes were bright with life. At last, she found herself somewhere that seemed promising. First, she would need to find water, and perhaps something to eat. Then she could get started.... "Speech,"

This was the farthest the man had ever wandered from his birth place, or at least that’s what he figured. In truth he was so unfamiliar with anything beyond the eastern area of the continent he was more lost than anything else. Not that it bothered him too much, it was always an adventure for Hymn when he was out and about.

This place reminded him some of the mangroves of his home, this trees were more thick though, solid. He lounged along their roots, soaking in the heat of the summer sun as it beat down upon the shore line, the water was pulled back right now, low tide revealing sandy ground usually underwater.

Bright ceruleans watched the water for some time, birds wheeling above the glimmer surface, sometimes diving to catch a fish just under the waves. Slowly he had begun to nod off, the cool summer breeze stirring his fur gently. The large Destruction wove in and out of sleep, occasionally awoken by the calling of the gulls or a louder cresting wave. It was during a moment of bleary wakefulness that he finally became aware of the wolf moving through the water.

Slowly bringing himself to the present he watched for a moment, unsure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. But as the form made its way to shore it became clear he was indeed looking at another wolf. A sense of urgency filled Hymn and he shook the last vestiges of sleep from his frame, hopping off the tree’s roots and making his way towards the stranger.

As he drew closer the picture became clearer, the wolf in question was a woman; smaller than him though most were. As he drew closer he allowed a friendly smile to paint his face, and despite himself he couldn’t help the joke that fell from his lips. “That’s quite the swim.”

He stopped a little aways from the woman, she was no doubt tired and weakened and he didn’t want  to scare her off by being too close. He lowered himself onto his stomach and dipped his head, looking to meet her eyes as he spoke again. “Are you alright?”

—  hymn

I gotta whisper
'cause I can't be too loud

Azra Quite a swim, indeed. Half a smile colored her features as she heard the words - they were as surprising as they were amusing.  Her head craned so she could get a look at the man as he approached. She was tired, and he stopped at a polite distance, so she didn't bother herself with standing for a more proper introduction just yet. She did push herself to face him, rolling into a more presentable lying position rather than the dead-fish-flopped-on-the-beach pose she'd been in at first. "I'll be fine," she panted. Her tail stirred in the sand, swaying a couple of times both to reassure the stranger and to confirm to herself that she still could. "I just need to rest... for a moment." Azra was no stranger to swimming as of late, and the hop from the last isle to this shore was neither the longest, nor the most treacherous she had undertaken. Still, she was very tired. Perhaps she had grown a bit weak from living off seabirds and lizards. She was growing weary of it, certainly. Hopefully that was all over now. When her heart had stopped pounding and her ribs were no longer heaving for breath, she slowly rose on still-tired limbs and gave her pelt a shake. The tall, dark stranger was right to have stopped where he did, or he'd have risked being in range of the cloudy girl's deluge. "Sorry," she gave him another half of a smile, apologizing for any stray drops she might have sent his way. "So, are you from around here?" she asked, wondering what had brought him here to witness her being washed ashore like a piece of storm debris. Perhaps she had run into some luck, and the male could tell her a thing or two about these new lands. "Speech,"