Ankaios had taken his sweet time finding a suitable den. Having laid eyes upon the crumbling castle for the first time, he was certain this was the place but it had to be perfect. He had spent a good amount of time scouting the edges of the strange stoneworks, working his way within the courtyard walls and being careful not to settled too close to spaces that already seemed occupied. In many areas the walls had collapsed inward and he decided that they were not at all safe, and nowhere he'd opt to spend any amount of time unconscious. He shuddered at the thought of a good, strong storm rolling through. In the end, it came down to luck. He had been scouting along the castle's interior wall, digging a bit here and there to see if it might be worth it to excavate a den within the courtyard. There was plenty of space there, overgrown as it may be in parts, but that could be fixed. It was during this digging that his claws encountered something that was definitely not soil. He paused, head quirking to the side. Another explorative scrape and yes, that was definitely wood. Curiosity took over the man and he began to quickly clear away layers of dirt and debris. Buried beneath the humus and leaf litter was a large square section of wood, and mounted to it was a rusted bit of metal in the shape of a ring. Curiosity surging, Ankaios gripped the ring in his mouth and gave it a tug, fully intending to remove this odd trinket and examine it closer, but it was rather stubbornly attached. He repositioned his paws, placing them on a stone frame which seemed to surround the odd bit of wood. Another tug, and to his surprise the wooden frame below him seemed shift, pulling along with the bit of metal. Well well, what do we have here? Kai repositioned himself on the other side of the hatch, pressed nearly entirely against the wall of the courtyard. With one final grip and a heave, putting all the strength he had into lifting the heavy wooden construct, he was able to lift it upwards entirely. It fell back against the stone outer wall with a satisfying thunk, and Ankaios was left peering into it's gloomy interior. Trepidation held him for a moment, but he finally decided that if he had had such a difficult time gaining entry, he doubted there would be anything unsavory waiting for him down below. Stone stairs waited before him, and he padded down, one careful pawstep at a time. Ankaios marveled at the dug out enclosure below. Rotten wooden shelves lined the walls, some remaining upright but many others having crumbled. Bits of glass and pottery littered the floor along with the remnants of burlap sacks, crates, and barrels. Of course he could not put a name to any of these items, knowing only that they were strange and unlike anything natural he had ever seen before. Then again, he doubted this stone monstrosity Dragon had claimed as his own sprung up overnight either. All in all, the air was cool and pleasant, something else entirely from the misty damp which permeated the outside world. A grin spread across his face and he bounded back up the stairs, mind overflowing with ideas. This would be the ideal place for him to call home, and to store the various wares he would need to perform his duties to the pack. It was spacious, and he was already envisioning the shelves holding bundles of dried herbs, cracking open the remaining containers to see what was hidden away inside. Oh yes, it would be a long day indeed. "Talk" "You" Think

Emerald orbs glittered as the girl made her way down one of the main corridors, her tail high in the air as she pranced along. Oh, how she loved the castle! No matter how many times she explored it, she always found something new, whether it was a new trinket, or yet another undiscovered pathway that led to somewhere she'd never been before. Much as she loved exploring new lands, she found that this castle was still full of surprises waiting to be discovered. She paused in her joyous canter when she heard a sudden, noisy shuffling sound from outside the castle walls. Tilting her head, her brows furrowed as she wondered what it could be. She shimmied over to the nearest opening in the wall, lifting her forepaws up to rest on the edge of the opening so she could peer out. She quickly caught sight of a most peculiar wolf scratching away at the ground. His coat appeared to be painted with fire, and stars shining in a sun set sky, and somehow he looked like some sort of far off place in the galaxy that she would never see with her own eyes. It was truly fascinating.

Perhaps what caught her attention even more than his magnificent colouring, was his chosen activity. He was digging, and he had just dug up something. Curiously, she watched him in silence as he unearthed a strange, rusted metal ring attached to a wooden plank. She licked her lips, eyes fixed on what he had found. Was it treasure? An opening to somewhere new and hidden? Her eyes grew round as she watched him pull and tug fiercely until he pulled up the wooden plank and revealed what was below. But from her position she couldn't see what was below! Unable to contain herself as she watched him disappear into the ground, Sterling clawed her way onto the ledge of the opening she'd been watching him through, and pounced to the ground outside the castle walls, her paws now carrying her through the overgrown courtyard.

It was only moments before she discovered the opening the other wolf had disappeared into, and when she peered down into the darkness, she saw the stone steps that led downward. She wondered how deep it was, and where it went to. Excitement prickled through her body. What was down there? She couldn't wait to go have a look. But before she could even think about taking a step inside, the other wolf came back up, causing her to jump back in slight startle. "Woah!" she yipped, the hair along her back spiking up. However, she was much too curious to worry about being frightened. Instead, she shook herself off and looked to the starry-coated male with a big grin, her eyes gleaming. "So, what did you find down there?" she demanded excitedly, bounding over to the opening in the ground, "Is there treasure? Trinkets? Does it lead somewhere neat?" She glanced from the wolf down to the opening, a forepaw already reaching down to the first stone step, before she looked back at the other with her tail waggling, as though asking for permission; after all, he had discovered this entry, but if he denied her... well she was far too tempted to enter, she might just go in anyways.