Walk | Talk | Think He had never really been one to venture beyond the boundaries that separated Ludiael from the rest of the world. Until now Requiem had never seen a point. His own adventurous streak was almost nonexistent, his desire to see new places even more so, feeling content enough with what the Mangrove, the Hot Springs, and the Falls had to offer him to think of leaving home. The passing of the meeting - and subsequently his frail brother - had changed his views. Descant may never have had the same freedoms as his siblings, but his presence still felt as if it haunted the lands, reminding Requiem of his loss and spoiling his attempts at moving on. He wanted - no, needed - to get away. Just for a little while. Nothing had been said about where he intended to go - truth be told, he did not know himself - though he was sure his slow path and his trailing scent would lead any concerned parties to him. His concern rested more in going as far as he could while he still had the nerve, traveling much further than he ever expected to. The lands around the Springs had given way to tall, stubborn grasses, and those had given way to marshy woodlands full of trees unlike the familiar ones that took root in the mangrove field. His tired teal-green eyes, still heavy with sadness, blinked slowly as he turned his head to either side and looked around, the black, v-pointed markings on his brow giving him the look of wearing a permanent frown when he no longer felt as if he could emote. He felt empty, lost, desperate for answers, and quietly the boy stopped beneath one of the many willows to think. It had not been the sickness. As easy as it would have been to blame Descant's deteriorated health on that, or the cure brought by the divine power's agents, Requiem knew he had been sick from the moment he was born. It was an old disease, a disease that had waited nine long months to finally claim him, that had finally drawn him from his body. Req's gaze went skyward, up into the boughs of the tree. Where was he now? What did the divine power have in store for him? He hoped he would finally be allowed to rest, peacefully and comfortably, no longer at the mercy of the sickness he had never been able to shake. The tree above became suddenly blurred and the mottled brown boy blinked his eyes free of the tears that had collected there with a sigh, and as he lowered his gaze and took in the unknown yet strangely calming woods a new idea occurred to him. If ever he got the chance to speak to his brother again, ever got to see him again, he needed to be ready. He needed stories of what life was like out here in the world, the things he had never been able to see and experience for himself. Just like when he had lived inside the den. Heartened by his decision, Requiem felt himself begin to smile for the first time since the meeting, feeling as if he had finally found his purpose.

She on a pursuit, her mind lost in thought as she moves into the familiar woods with ease. She slithers among the dampened and dying foliage on silent paws, volcanic eyes sliding from left to right as she burns everything that crosses her vision with a spiteful glare. Emotion is vacant from her features although her mind is racing, elongated tail flicking irritably behind her swaying hips as reclines onto her haunches to rest her ebony legs. She has come in search of the ivory woman, Atremis, whom she had found herself growing rather fond of despite having been kidnapped by her. Velveteen nostrils quiver as the scent of another is carried in the breeze, and although it is not the woman she is looking for she hopes some sort of excitement will cross her path. She'd hate to have her morning completely wasted. Instead of waiting on the stranger to seek her out she would pursue their trail, nostrils turning downward as she follows the evident scent trail. A few moments of silent traveling pass by before the boy comes into her view, and immediately the carmine beauty freezes, crimson glare falling upon his figure as she waits for him to address her. "Speech"

Walk | Talk | Think His teal-green eyes continued to wander about, more content now than before, and his smile remained quietly on his lips. Closure. That was what he felt, a peace and understanding about what had happened and where he would go from here. He missed Descant, would always, but that was as it should be. For the moment, everything felt better, everything felt tolerable, and Requiem felt as close to normal as he thought he was going to get. Until she appeared. The soft, muted colors of the woods were suddenly interrupted by red, and the brown, arrow-marked boy did a double take. His breath caught in his chest, his gaze wide with disbelief and awe as he stared. A red wolf. Not the red wolf - the woman who had brought the cure to Ludicael had been older, and therefore bigger - but another, smaller, possibly even around his own age. She wore the same red pelt, even possessed eyes of a similar shade, and the haughty look about her face spoke of distinction, of power and superiority. She could have been no other than what he thought, what he had grown to believe when the cure had been brought in answer to his prayers. This was one of them. An agent of the divine. How? How did she come to be here? How did he become worthy enough to be approached by one? He had always supposed his voice to have been tuned out in favor of those older, more experienced than himself. Maybe he had been heard after all. Maybe he was finally gaining recognition. Or maybe... ...it was his own wishful thinking. Realizing he had been holding his breath, Requiem made a quiet gasp, finally breaking out of his awestruck stupor. He began to speak, stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again. "Are you real?" A part of him was so very tempted to touch her, to feel her solidness and know she was real, but that felt like overstepping his place. It was bad enough that he questioned her existence; he did not want to cause anymore offense than he already might have.

The boy does not acknowledge her at first, his breath seeming to catch in his throat as he blankly stares at her with unwavering eyes. Silently the nymph stares back, emotion vacant from her inhospitable features as she aims to keep her gaze locked with his. She was not used to staring at someone so... softly colored. She was used to her family's vividly bright pelts, not the hues of soft brown and aqua. He was a rarity to the girl no doubt. The boy would exhale his breath, and the carmine beauty would resist the smirk that dared to play across her velveteen lips. Had he really just held his breath this entire time? He would try to speak, and would stumble over his words, but would finally manage to get his sentence out. "Are you real?" Jaws would slacken as amused laughter bubbles from her core, her volcanic orbs viewing darkness as she clenches her eyes shut. Was this boy mad? Her eyes open, and she looks directly at him, her features morphing into an antagonistic glare. "Do I look fake to you, boy." Venom laces her words, mischief gleaming within her magma hued eyes. She waits for a response, her mind reeling as she wonders why this boy is questioning her existence. "Speech"

Walk | Talk | Think She laughed. The sound was so unexpected that Requiem blinked his green and teal eyes in a moment of surprise as the sound slipped from her muzzle, watching the way her vibrantly colored eyes closed as she gave herself over so wholly to her mirth. Beneath his brown fur, the boy blushed. She must have thought him foolish for his question, for doubting her and showing his ignorance in such an obvious way. He wished to take back the words, to say something else, anything else, that might paint him in a better light, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Requiem simply hoped he might be able to redeem himself before she departed. His jaw had slackened uncertainly, trying to think of something to say that would be less harmful than his first comment, when the divine agent's laughter ceased and her expression changed. All amusement fled to be replaced by animosity, her red beauty accentuated by the severe look about her. She did not sound amused anymore. The laughter had only been a ruse that had successfully caught him off guard, and his answer came quickly and simply, "No." No, she looked very real, as did the scorn within her gaze. Some wonderful first impression he was making. He was going to be lucky if she did not simply disappear right there and never make another appearance again. Suddenly afraid that she might do just that, he tried again to speak, his tail flicking anxiously behind him. "I just... I never thought I'd get to meet one of you," he lamely explained, pressing on in case his point had yet to be proven completely. "A red wolf came and brought my pack the cure for the sickness that was going around. I never got to meet her, but...she saved my brother. And some others." Did this young emissary even know of the one who had come before her, or the striking similarity she posed with the woman? Faced with a curious thought - did emissaries have personal identities? - Requiem found himself asking very tentatively, fearing that he might again look an ignorant fool, "Do you have a name?" He hardly knew the proper title to address her by, and a name would have been very helpful. Especially when he tried to relay these events to his mother later on.