With the arrival of winter, Áki was growing more and more restless each day. He longed for the bitter cold of the north - he wanted to see the land covered in fresh snow, like he remembered from his younger years. Having spent much of the summer and fall in the more southern lands with his son, he had decided it'd be best for them to head north again, and to show Kai the lands of their people. Finding a small group to track and hunt reindeer with sounded tempting, too.

Lazily he made his way across the flat terrain. The land was littered with strange boulders, spread about erratically as though placed there by the gods themselves. Curious, he padded between two larger ones, examining them carefully. He'd been here with Kai once before, though he'd been more interested in his young son's own explorations. He had more time not to examine his surroundings, nostrils flaring as he sniffed at the edge of one of the rocks, considering how it had gotten here - and how so many similar ones also had.

-- LORD SATCHEL. He never got tired of this shit. Nosing his way around the frozen wasteland he exhaled a frosted sigh. As usual he was taking his sweet time in settling down finding it no use to compulsively fallow the masses. Besides He earned some time off, after all. Out here it was mostly silence, relishing the chance to get lost inside himself. His heart beat stuttering inside his fickle chest, never content till the day he roamed no more. It didn't take long however to realize he was not entirely alone out here. He smelled him first, torn instantly between slinking off out of sight or giving in to overwhelming curiosity. He went with the latter of course, some things he'd just never learn. He crept towards the source of the disturbance, peering with caution around a rather large boulder. What a magnificent creature. The other male was a stunning ash color with vivid markings, and at first he was almost ashamed to be seen in such company. He himself possessed nothing more then a dirty white pelt and electric orange eyes. But he'd never been much of the shy type, and after a moments hesitation he emerged to embrace all possibilities. ' I hope your not as lost as I feel." he kept a respectful distance, head tilted as he gazed steadily upon the man. He hadn't seen such a handsome face since Zen, heart jolting once at the thought of the name. However Zen was long since buried, and he remained so terribly alive. Basking in the atmosphere between them, wondering how it ever got this way.

Lucky for him, Áki wasn't alone for long. It wasn't often that he truly craved solitude, despite his independent nature, and when he did he had enough mind to not come to such a flat terrain in search of it. There wasn't much room to hide here, unless he tried to duck beneath a boulder, but when he heard the shuffling of paws that announced the arrival of another he made no effort to depart. Instead, he angled himself toward the stranger, his lips quirking upward in a smile. The expression came easily to him, small at first but growing once he decided that Satchel meant no harm.

Not that he would've minded a scuffle. It'd been a good long while since he'd fought. He was probably growing soft, truth be told, but he had a feeling he wasn't apt to be testing his strength today. Instantly his eyes roved over the stranger's smaller form, admiring his simple coat and slender build. Aki had never been granted the ability to blend in, but he figured a pale coat might provided some useful camouflage at times, and for a moment he found himself envying his pale pelt.

'I hope you're not as lost as I feel,' the stranger said gently, and he shook his head, tusks swaying side to side as he angled his face toward him, taking a few slow strides in his direction.  "I wouldn't say lost, persay, but.. the word aimless fits a bit better." The man's grin broadened, a soft chuckle falling from his lips.  "I've been here before. I take it you haven't?" Since Aki had no real home, and no real care as to where he and Kai traveled, he'd never really felt lost, even when he had no idea where he was.  "The name's Aki, by the way," he added after a pause, as though adding an afterthought.

-- LORD SATCHEL. He wished he could say all of this was new to him. He watched the other man's reactions closely, but a few moments passed and he let it all go. Realizing lately it was his ego, a thought he wasn't sure how to dismiss yet. The man smiled at him, fighting the internal struggle to flinch. But it wasn't this beast fault, he didn't even know him. Poetry running free through his corroded veins, a hurt he never cared to summarize. So instead he returned the smile, as genuine as he could muster. To be honest, it was the best he did so far since Zen. Was this supposed to be fun? Well, he should try at the very least. He had caused conflict for so long, it was almost a relief to be this way now. Once upon a time, he might of stooped so low to hurt this beautiful creature. But for now, just accepting his company was more then he could ask for. Such beautiful reactions he assumed were beyond him, but right now he was not so certain. Feeling half way apologetic, he glanced towards the horizon for no particular reason at all. " Been all over the place except here" Admitting it out loud felt so good. Looking at the male once again, warming just the slightest bit inside. " You can call me Satchel." a slight tail wag, despite himself. Zen, might hate him, but Zen... was gone. Long gone. And he wanted more. Damn, he wanted more. " Where are we?" thinking of everything but this,a wonder if any one really did. but it was nice out here. Still smiling, this super nova was here and he didn't rebuke it. Hopefully, the same could be said the same for him.

The stranger was a hard man to read from initial glance, though truthfully he’d never been terribly perceptive in that way. Most wolves he’d met here seemed to think too much and worry even more - two things he didn’t do very often. The stranger before him seemed pleasant enough, but vaguely uncomfortable in a way he couldn’t place.

Áki watched as Satchel looked away for a moment before his gaze returned to him. ”Well,” the brute started, clearing his throat, ”This place is little different than the rest of them. It simply has more rocks,” he offered in his heavy accent, grinning broadly as his gaze swept over their surroundings again. ”I’ve heard this land is called Boreas, though I’m not sure what they call this particular area.” Names weren’t all that important to him, though they could make discussing things easier.

And this handsome man’s name was Satchel. ”It’s a pleasure,” his grin softened a bit, his attention once again shifting, to the west this time. In the distance he could see the tall peaks of Fenrir’s Maw, and to the east he knew the ocean lay. He hadn’t yet decided where his paws would take him next but he wondered if meeting this man had perhaps changed his course of action; it was too soon to tell though. ”What’s on the agenda today then, Satchel?” He asked after a moment, genuinely curious.