Aerndis watched the thick cover of clouds move across the late evening sky, wishing for rain but knowing it was unlikely. The clouds were tempting her! While winter gripped the heart of Boreas, summer was alive and well within Auster. She wasn't quite sure why she'd gone so far south. She felt like she'd been all over Boreas and she wondered if there was a chance her mother had gone south for the winter… like… really south. Hear ears flicked forward as she continued toward the clump of oak trees that had caught her attention. It seemed as good a place as any to set up camp and hopefully the thick branches would shade her during the heat of the day.

Staying gone long wasn't really an option with the pups so small, but Razi needed to stretch her legs and get some fresh air, so she'd left Seiran and Shilah in the care of their older cousin Ashiel. The mental image had her snorting softly. Ashiel babysitting, what a sight that was. The help was much appreciated, but she'd still laugh at his expense; it would be too difficult not to chuckle at the serious young man looking over the tiny grunting puppies. In any case, Razi was free to roam for a bit and roam she would! The sun was hanging quite low in the sky when she found herself treading a faint path between the monstrous oaks.

Gazing up at the trees as she walked, Razi sighed contentedly, pale gold eyes scanning over everything. It was a peaceful setting, one Razi found enjoyable to pass through as birds chirped overhead while settling down for the night. If it was a little closer she'd almost contemplate claiming the land.

Catching a scent, the ebony and gold woman paused her traveling, gazing through the foliage in search of the source while taking in more of the stranger's scent in an attempt to learn more. Young female, yearling? Hm. Curiosity was not something she was inclined to leave unsated, so the woman would move off in search of the wolf. When she caught sight of the brightly colored shape ahead of her, Razi's first thought was of Asharya. This girl wasn't fiery enough in color to actually be her, but the galactic markings with the little star spots certainly were similar. "Hello there," Razi called in an unusually light tone. She was happy to be out and about and the unusual yet familiar patter of this girl's coat was enough to have Razi interested for now.

Aerndis stepped gingerly over a carpet of ivy and into the grove of massive oak trees. They were pretty incredible, though not as staggering as the redwoods of the north. She leaned over to sniff one before shifting her weight back onto her haunches and stretching herself up the tree. Rats… the lowest branches were still to high for her to feel comfortable trying to climb up the tree, especially not when her last adventure up a tree almost brought her nose to nose with a porcupine.

Returning to her four limbs Aerndis set off in search of a good place to bed down for the night. She was scratching around a particularly gnarled oak when an unfamiliar scent caught her attention. The scent was swiftly followed by a voice and she turned to see a stunning black and gold woman standing there. Aerndis smiled. "Hello! Do you live here?"

The young woman noticed Razi and offered a greeting of her own. At the question Razi would shake her head. "No, I live in a pack close by. It is a lovely place though," she mused wistfully. There were probably lots of good herbs here and the trees were as impressive as her godly heritage. She needed to focus on lands near the canyon that she could claim though, so the woman let her tail swing gently back and forth as she added, "My name's Razi Abraxas, what's yours?"

Glancing at the darkening sky through the massive branches, she knew eventually she'd need to head home. Not yet, but sooner than she might like. By the time she was ready Razi was certain the desire to be with her children would be overpowering her, but until then she'd be enjoying ever last minute of free adventuring she could get. In fact... "I wouldn't want to interrupt if you're looking for rest, but if you're interested I'd enjoy company while I continue doing a little exploring around here."

Her ears perked forward at the mention of a nearby pack. Aerndis had no interest really in joining a stationary pack anymore. She needed to stay mobile and agile so she could continue to keep an eye out for her family and she wasn't sure what Jupiter would think about joining a pack. The woman introduced herself as Razi and she was swift to return the greeting. "I'm Aerndis Aeris-Imperialis. Nice to meet you!" Despite her rather awkward first meeting with her father she still felt the need to include his last name. There was always a chance that someone would recognize the name and be able to direct her to one of her parents.

Aerndis' tail began to wag at the mention of exploring. "Oh, I'd love to!" She trotted over to fall in line with the other woman so they could walk together. "So are you an explorer to? What are some neat areas around here?"

"Aeris" she repeated, head tilting a hair to the side as she muttered, "Why does that sound familiar?" Ugh, even after having her kids she still had a bit of that baby-brain going on. She'd be glad when it stopped so she could enjoy little things like thinking coherently once more.

Oh, hey, wait a minute. "You wouldn't happen to know an Iskra, would you?" she asked. How it took her that long to connect two starry-pelted wolves was beyond her. Maybe she was over-tired and hadn't realized it. In any case, she doubted it was a coincidence that the two wolves looked so similar and were both Aeris.

The girl accepted her offer, trotting over with an excitement that appeared rather quickly at the mention of the word 'exploring'. It was sort of endearing, really. "I suppose I am, it's a nice way to relax." Focusing on something outside of herself was her favorite way to recover from spending a little too much time in her own head. It helped that there were many beautiful lands around here to explore and enjoy. "To the north there's a lovely place called The God's Garden, with walls of rock that are crumbling around it and herbs of so many kinds it'd make your head spin to try and list them. Further to the northwest is a beautiful Castle, though I haven't explored it a great deal I've seen it and there's really nothing like an ancient structure." Perhaps she'd have to do more exploring of old places like the Castle, just in case there was something of interest to find. It would be nice to see if there was more of interest in that particular place than just it's looks.

Padding through the tall trees, Razi found she rather enjoyed this particular locations own special charms. The trailing ivy that swept over the ground and reached it's tendrils up the massive trees added that extra enchanting feel to the space. Ahead of them she spied something interesting; one of the fallen trees, as impressive as those that remained standing. It was easier to judge the great heights they grew to when one was laid out like this, so she'd head that way, intent on inspecting the toppled giant.

I have toured the endless starlight…

Aerndis continued to walk along with Razi as she mused over part of the girls surname. She cocked her head as the older woman mentioned the name Iskra but she shook her head. "No, it doesn't sound familiar. Who's Iskra?" She was pretty sure her mom had siblings but she couldn't remember much of them. She'd run across a grouchy pregnant woman who bore a starry pelt but they hadn't really talked. Aerndis preferred not to be ripped asunder by a raging pregnant woman.

She listened with interest at the mention of the god's garden. "Oh can we go? If it's not to far?" She wanted to see both the garden and the 'castle' though she knew they'd have to sleep at some point but perhaps if the woman wasn't to busy they could go exploring together. "What's a castle?"  She wove through the tall trees, pouncing on a fallen leaf before scrambling up the thick roots that travelled out from a particularly large tree.

The yearling didn't show any signs of recognition, shaking her head and asking who the woman in question was. Razi shrugged noncommittally before replying, "A rose-colored woman with a starry, swirling pelt not unlike your own. I've met her a couple times, she belonged to a pack down here once. She also mentioned her surname as Aeris, seemed like the odds would be pretty low that you'd look the same and have the same name without being related." Razi was more mildly curious about the connection than truly invested in whether or not this youngster knew or ever met the other celestial wolf. Mostly she just wanted to be proud of herself for remembering Iskra's surname and making the connection despite the hits her memory seemed to be taking lately. Not that this would be a terribly impressive success on her part...

"Hmm..." she paused to think a moment, trailing after the girl as she scaled the roots of one behemoth tree. Auster was smaller than Boreas, she could prooobably travel across a few territories. The garden was definitely more realistic than the castle anyhow. Oh, why not challenge herself a little? They could try and pick the fastest route there, might be an amusing way to kill time. "Why not? It's north of here, we can head that way." Altering her course slightly, Razi hopped up on the downed tree, walked a full pace, then descended the other side. These trees really were massive.

For a beat she had to consider how to answer the question. How to explain a castle? "Have you ever seen any of the old, crumbling structures around these lands? One's that don't look terribly natural? Some are small, others are like small mountains. A castle is like them, it's a great structure usually made of stone. Supposedly they were built by creatures that lived long before us and used as their dens. Castles have many more rooms than most other such places, and are quite tall. Some have walls around them, too. They're really quite interesting." As she spoke she continued meandering in the vague direction of north. She'd reassess her directions once she was out from under the canopy of the branches, though she was pretty sure she'd seen some moss growing on the trees and supposedly(Razi rarely took such little sayings as gospel very easily) it only grew on the north sides of trees. You know, except in places where it literally covered the entire tree. Then you needed a new tactic for navigating or you might be in trouble.

It was only by chance that she glanced up into one of the trees and spotted something of interest. Stopping, she tilted her head back to gaze up at the thing. It was... some sort of wooden platform nestled in the branches of one of the oaks. rotting pieces of wood were affixed to the trunk leading up to it somehow, though the lowest was a few body lengths above her own head.

ooc: should I start a new thread at the castle?

I have toured the endless starlight…

Aerndis leaned against a particularly rugged tree and scratched her left side for a moment as Razi described Iskra. Her ears flicked forward at the mention of Aeris. That wasn't a really common last name. Could this Iskra be family? Aerndis bit her lip as she tried to process this new information. It sounded almost to good to be true but she couldn't let the opportunity pass. "Do you know where she is or how I could find her?"

She was pleased that the older woman would take her to see what a castle was. She was still curious but the news that she might have family out there was starting to consume her thoughts. Aerndis tried not to get her hopes up but if this Iskra was family then maybe she'd know where Aerndis' mother was. Razi talked about crumbling structures that didn't look quite natural but Aerndis shook her head then suddenly stopped. "Oh! Yes, I saw something like those at the Stone Steppe." She bounded after Razi, anxious to see this castle.