Making his way back towards the south a bit after wandering quite far through the north, Ignatius was appreciating how damn exhausting walking around this much was. Especially when he'd reached the mountains here and started encountering rough terrain. These were some of the steepest paths he'd encountered so far and the backs of his legs were seriously burning! He would have stopped by now but it was beginning to rain again now that he was reaching lower altitudes again and not only was the path a bit slick but there wasn't actually a lot in the way of places to rest nearby so he just sort of kept walking. Before he had been pretty sure that distracting himself from all that weighed on his mind wouldn't work, but honestly this continent and all it had to offer was managing to be more intriguing than his thoughts were painful. Well, most of the time anyway... Before he even noticed his expression was changing from neutral to scowling. His paws started to slip on the wet rocks and Ig made sure to keep his attention on the loose gravely path ahead of him rather than on his sulking. Ears fell back against his head as he sighed miserably and the rain picked up. It was starting to turn to sleet and he was starting to get fed up with the weather. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

She hadn't tried to go north in a good long while, so why not do that today? Cael had been taking a break from... well, everything. All the things. She didn't really do runs in the morning for the last couple weeks because everything sucked and she wasn't in the mood. Maybe in time the hole that her parents left in her heart would begin to repair itself, but for now she was doing the bare minimum in life and just letting herself figure out how to deal with things. Probably without fighting anyone else. After starting shit with that stupid Archon groupie Cael had been at least somewhat humbled. Enough not to pick more pointless fights for a little while anyway.

Early that morning she'd been wondering why she felt like trash. For at least four or five days she hadn't left her den or the Abaven territory. That had to be it. She'd needed to get out and do things like normal instead of sit and rot. What better way to kick off a new series of adventures than by going back up towards the mountains. The old pack border that had been here was so faint... Hm. Whoever had lived here was probably long gone. Since she didn't know the ex residents Cael couldn't say she felt bad either. Nah, she was excited to go explore a new place!

Flouncing up the steep paths, humming and singing to herself all along the way, she looked a lot more chipper than she had in weeks. Even at the rain began to soak through her pelt, Cael pressed on. Adventurers had to go out in all weather, after all. One couldn't very well turn their nose up at exploring just because it was a bit rainy! So happy was the spunky young woman that she failed to hear or see the grumbling, walking pillar of flame until they'd crested a hill from opposite sides and nearly slammed face first into each other.

Ok, they did. They did run into each other... Rubbing her suddenly sore nose with one paw after being knocked flat on her back, Cael looked up at the stranger would jaws agape. She'd seen colorful wolves before, Asharya for one, but this guy, he looked like he was actually, really made of fire! "Woooah, hey there!" she said after a moment of gawking, a friendly smile replacing the stunned look.

One minute he was walking, huffing and puffing his way up the hill in peace, minding his own business, then BAM, this girl came out of nowhere and smashed face first into him. Ig apparently had been more aware, or at least kept his balance better because the girl also nearly fell right back down the hill when she landed on her back. As soon as she started gaping at him with those wide eyes and that slackened jaw Ig immediately began to feel entirely uncomfortable. Yeesh, did they really not have anyone colorful here? Would he always stick out like a sore thumb? Case in point, the girl before him was clad in a plain brown gradient with a few small white markings. "Woooah, hey there!" the girl exclaimed, still looking rather fascinated by him. Lovely. Watching as she finally righted herself, Ignatius' brows knit together as he finally answered by huffing, "Hey. Do you always introduce yourself by ramming into people? You should be more aware of your surroundings." Not like he'd been doing any better, but still. Girl needed to look where she was going. Just then the skies really opened up and sheets of rain began pouring down on them. Cool. Yeah, that was fine, not like he wanted to live when he tried to descend the slopes here and carry on his way. This was just his luck. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

Wow, for someone so pretty this dude sure was a cranky pants! Probably don't call him pretty though... Cael pulled herself up to a sitting position and opened her mouth to complain about what a crabby guy he was turning out to be when the heavens opened up and suddenly she was significantly less dry than she'd been the previous moment. Hmm... this did put a bit of a damper on the exploring. Grinning at her own mental joke, Cael met the stranger's gaze and shrugged.

"Ehh, you might be right. How bout let's get out of the rain and I can practice on the way?" Normally she might be a bit put off by the guy's response but she'd spent too much time in a less than stellar mood. Going back to being upset over a snippy retort didn't feel worth it. Coulda been worse anyway.

Glancing around, Cael did her best to try and see any sign of shelter through the curtains of rain that were obscuring her vision and drenching them both so thoroughly that she was pretty sure they were both going to be shivering for an hour. He started to speak and she cut him off with a sharp, "Shhshshshshhh! Shush. I'm concentrating." To which he simply grumbled quietly enough that she couldn't really make out the words.

After a moment she just sort of picked a direction and struck off. She didn't actually see anything, but moving somewhere would make more progress than going nowhere, right? "I see something this way," she lied. You know, like a liar. Skipping over the large, somewhat loose and prone to crumbling rocks on a path that existed only in her head, Cael attempted to lead the stranger to... something. Ideally shelter but most likely just more discomfort and eventually the realization that she had no idea what she was doing.

That miffed look he got from her reminded him of a certain someone just a little too much. The good humor and brushing off the whole rough introduction was a lot different though, and much appreciated after Ig stopped bristling. Since he didn't have anywhere better to be... Ah, what the hell. "Can't be any worse than staying here, I hope," he responded at last. "So, what's-" "Shhshshshshhh! Shush. I'm concentrating." Suddenly that feeling of familiarity was back. But, after a bit she said she saw something, and he wasn't keen on challenging her since he was so drenched he may as well have just been swimming. This stranger - who had yet to allow him to initiate introductions - was a hell of a lot more sure footed than him. She pranced right over the rocky slope with ease, meanwhile Ignatius was pretty sure he was one wrong step away from injuring three out of four paws. He kept falling behind, which made him question why he was following her in the first place, but every time a great big raindrop hit him in the eye he'd stop questioning and pick up the pace a bit. Eventually she led him to the side of a cliff where an upsettingly small overhang provided minimal shelter. Would they even both fit? Fixing her with a skeptical look Ig found himself laughing. "You can't be serious." One of them was going to die of pneumonia or something, cause there was no way they were both staying dry here. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

Caelestis was honestly super proud of the fact that she actually managed to find something when she could only see a few feet in front of her. The fire dude looked astounded, but like, not in a good way. Rather than appreciating her success, he appeared to be wondering what possessed her to think this might actually work. Cael gave him an irritated glance and huffed, "Oh, I'm sorry, is some shelter not enough for you? You're gonna be picky about it? Fine. I can keep it all to myself then."

Scampering into the narrow space, Caelestis had juuust enough room to lay down and stretch. They could probably sit side by side okay, but if he wanted to be a grump he could sit out there and be grumpy in the rain some more. Flopping down with her eyes closed, Caelestis felt pretty damn good.

It took a few minutes, but eventually she heard an exasperated sigh from the crimson man. Grinning and opening her pink eye the girl chuckled as she made room and asked, "Gonna quit being crabby now?" She got a face full of water as he shook out his pelt beside her, but she wasn't too annoyed by it.

Yes, for one wolf the shelter was alright, but it was not in any way ideal for sharing. Naturally, his hesitation was met with teasing and the girl unceremoniously flopped down, taking up the whole space. Meanwhile, Ignatius continued to get positively drenched. Thunder crackled faintly, the sky seemed to be getting even darker, and the glow of his pelt was becoming more noticeable as the light of the day was snuffed out by the angry looking storm clouds. Well, this wasn't ending anytime soon. "Fine, scoot over," he muttered. The girl lit up instantly and eventually made room for him to sit, pressed a bit uncomfortably close to her side. As penance for her teasing, Ig shook until he was basically halfway dry, sending water splattering across her though she didn't seem to mind too much. "Okay, now that I have you cornered and I'm not 'crabby', how about introductions?" After all, she might be a manner-less heathen but Ig wasn't, despite of Sephira's corrupting influence. "I am Ignatius Agnivo. I only recently arrived in these lands with my sister. And what's your name?" "TALK" "YOU" THINK

Caelestis shrugged. Sure, names were a good thing to exchange. Although it would be entertaining to repeatedly yell 'hey you' whenever she wanted to get his attention. Maybe 'mister' or 'dude' when she wanted to mix it up. One white-tipped ear swiveled to focus on him as he introduced himself. Ignatius Agnivo. Now that was a cool sounding name. He even had a last name, like the Destructions. Hmm, well, he was interesting to say the least.

"Uh, I'm Caelestis. Just Caelestis." she replied lamely. Maybe she should just like, make up a cool last name? No, that would be weird. For a moment she chewed at her lip, trying to figure out which of the many questions she was already dying to ask should be the first one she asked. Oh! "Wait so where'd you come from if you're new here? What's it like there? It it cool? I really like going on adventures, that's why I'm here, I plan to see all of the lands here eventually. If I do that maybe I'll have to find even more lands other places." She was rambling, oops! Stopping before she went on so long he forgot the original questions, Cael smiled sheepishly and gave him time to respond while trying not to stare as his otherworldly glow became more noticeable as it got darker out. A flash of lightning lit up the space for a moment, followed by thunder so loud Ignatius had to wait until it was over to respond.

He couldn't be too surprised that she didn't have a surname. This Caelestis didn't seem like she was raised anything like him, as to be expected since she likely came from a very different culture. That was okay though. Ignatius never took issue with lower born wolves. "That's a good name," he said, hoping she'd appreciate the comment. It seemed like the name was a little more elegant than the woman, but honestly he just thought the irony was a bit funny. Her barrage of questions was something he wasn't prepared for, but really he should have been... Someone was going to ask those things eventually, and it shouldn't be shocking that it was this spunky young woman who pelted him with almost everything on her mind at once. When the thunder rolled through, making it impossible to hear, Ignatius waited patiently, using the chance to gather his thoughts for a response. When it was quiet, he smiled and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "A smaller continent to the east. Specifically, I lived in a pack in the southern lands, in a place that was once a human city. It was called Arae, and it's not nearly as 'cool' there as it is here." The lands back home were... well, quite barren and sickly looking when compared with all the beauty he saw here. He did wonder is anything like Arae existed here though. "Okay, my turn to as a question. Where do you come from, and what's it like there?" Fair was fair, if he was getting questioned so was she. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

Oh goodness. Her cheeks were getting a little toasty after that response. It wasn't even a very good compliment but, hey, he was handsome so sue her. His answer was hardly satisfactory, but it was cool to know that there were whole other continents out there. Arae. Somehow she doubted his idea of cool and hers were the same. If there were more wolves like him wandering around then it most certainly was cool. How crazy would it be to be surrounded by wolves like him? She'd look more plain than ever.

"Well, I come from a pack called Abaven, it's a bit to the southeast of here. It's a pretty good pack, we've... well, we've been through some shit recently but things are getting better I think? The uh, new alpha seems pretty cool. Her name is Shaye. I guess everyone's still kind of shaken by the stuff that's gone down, but it's a good place to live." she shrugged. It was hard to describe the pack without feeling like she might be saying too much, so if he really wanted to know more about Abaven he'd just have to go visit it. But now it was her turn again!

"Okay, uhm, tell me more about the lands where you live. You said it was cooler here but like, why? What's it look like there?"

Her answer was both helpful and a bit vague. At the very least, he now knew of another pack nearby. Abaven. He'd remember that name in case it was important later on. Hell, he'd already tried introducing himself at one pack border, why not another later if he managed to bump into this Abaven during his travels. "I am... sorry for whatever transpired. I hope your pack gets back on it's feet." He hoped that was a good enough answer. While Ig wanted to ask for more elaboration on the 'shit' they'd been through, he supposed she was being vague on purpose. Either because the memory was unpleasant or because her pack demanded she not say much on this topic. Both were things he could understand, so he wouldn't press the issue. "Ah, that's an easy one," he mused, flashing a thin smile and leaning slightly back so his back was against the cliff side. "All of the land there is rather barren. We don't have such plentiful greenery, and in turn the prey is quite scarce. There are two Kingdoms, very large packs, and have always fought over what food was available. Some of the lands are... toxic. They will kill you if you are there for too long, so while the continent is somewhat small, it's made smaller since some of it can't be lived or hunted in." He didn't particularly like getting into the reminiscing, especially since he knew what it would likely lead up to, but he was willing to endure for a bit if it meant he could learn more about this place. "Hmm..." Pausing a moment, he considered what his next question should be. Well, most important things first. Maybe she'd answer this one in a bit more detail. "What do you know about the other packs? I know there's one in the north but I haven't encountered any others and I'm not sure who to look out for." "TALK" "YOU" THINK