Svala worked her way southward through the stone steppe. Up in the distance she could see some unusual rock formation and she hoped to arrive there before nightfall. The steppe itself was considerably flat, the soil rocky but there was enough grass covering the landscape to make for an easy and pleasant walk. She eyed the sky and frowned. Clouds were starting to move in, cutting across the sky and heading toward the sunlight she'd been enjoying an hour before. The clouds were dark and heavy with rain. Seeing them made her pick up her pace. The last thing she wanted to do was get caught out in the rain without any shelter. Hopefully there'd be some up ahead at the rock formation. She slowed her pace as she came to a shallow, dried stream bed. Deciding this was as good a landmark as any she unrolled the piece of hide that was to be her map. Carefully dipping her quill in a little hide pouch of walnut ink she lightly sketched in this part of the dried river bed, using a broken line to indicate it was dry and not a full stream. Packing away her things she kept on hiking. "Talk" "You" Think

Kiela had spent most of the early spring studying the reindeer herds in the north, figuring out where they liked to graze and what their travel patterns might be like. In the fall she'd need to see to it that they weren't picked on by any predators as they moved to safer locations for the upcoming season, but in summer... well, they were less requiring of her assistance. What she needed to do instead was to explore the surrounding lands, to stray a bit further from the north, and to continue to get her bearings. Meeting other wolves in the process, as well as practicing the native language of these lands, would no doubt prove beneficial to her too.

The sight of rain on the near horizon made her pick up her more leisurely pace just a bit. Getting caught out in the open in the midst of a storm wouldn't be ideal, but she'd made due. Her attention was mostly on the sky, not the strange structure up ahead; so far these lands were proving to be more interesting than she'd ever expected, and it was starting to not surprise her much anymore when she came across oddities such as this. That didn't mean she wasn't any less curious and eager to explore, though. Picking up her pace a bit, Kiela broke into a steady trot, only slowing when the silhouette of a stranger came into view. Though she often kept to herself Kiela wasn't the least bit shy when it came to interacting with others if she thought they might have information to offer her. "Ah - hello," she called out, her voice somewhat gruff from lack of use these last few days. "I am not from here. Do you know where to find shelter? From..." For a moment she forgot the word, and instead gestured her head sharply to the darkening sky above.

Svala slowed as she heard a voice call out. She turned to see an incredibly tall woman approach and speak to her with a heavy accent. "From the storm?" Lydia asked. "There are some ruins up ahead, I hope to find shelter there. My name is Svala." She gestured to the ruins and started walking in that direction. A cool breeze was coming in from the north and with it a few solitary rain drops began to fall. Svala picked up the pace. Fortunately they weren't terribly far from the ruins. The ruins were strange, large stones seeming to jut out of the earth and on a few a stone stretched out across. Svala quickly took shelter under that one. It wasn't the best shelter but it would have to do for now. She eyed the stones, wondering how they got to be the way they were. "It's very strange here." Eyeing the rain clouds she unrolled her map, swiftly marking the strange ruins. She hunched over her project to try and shelter it from the rain til the ink was dry enough. Once it was she rolled the map up and quickly put it back in her bundle. "What brings you this way?" "Talk" "You" Think

Kiela nodded in answer to her question. Yes, storm. Myrsky was the word in her native tongue, but she'd have to remember that word in case of scenarios like this in the future. Storm. Quickly enough the stranger acknowledged that there were some ruins up ahead, which she didn't fully understand, but she hoped that she wasn't leading her astray. Regardless she would persevere and survive whatever storm was rolling in - she'd dealt with far worse - while maintaining her distance in the meantime. She trailed after Svala as the two of them headed toward the ruins.

Before long she could see them, jutting stone structures, some of which were long-since crumbled and eroded. Others stood tall, looking as unyielding as even the strongest mountains she'd climbed. There was a particular beauty to these old structures that Kiela had been exploring, and she swore she good feel the very spirits of these stones as she approached, vibrant and full of life. For a moment she was silent, even after Svala spoke, heading over toward her. Their proximity under this specific stone was closer than she'd like, but she'd keep an eye on the stranger and deal with it if she proved a threat. Svala was considerably smaller than her, after all, as well as older. Both of these facts made her relax, certain she couldn't easily overpower her.

"Yes, indeed strange," she agreed after she regained her thoughts, settling into a more comfortable position. Her gaze followed Svala and her map she was marking, quite intrigued. "I am just getting used to these lands. Not from here." Her goals revolved around their reindeer, but in the summer they did not need her. She needed instead to learn the ways of this land, and to learn about the wolves that inhabited it. It was a lofty project but one she was invested in, even if it often pulled her outside her comfort zone. "My name is Kiela. What is that?" She asked bluntly, nodding toward Svala's map as she felt a few raindrops beginning to land on her nose.

The rain started to fall more rapidly and the temperature took a drive. Svala eyed the clouds for a moment, scanning the strange rocks that were stacked and leaning against each other. They'd clearly been carved to be that shape. She couldn't imagine rocks just happening to be so rectangular. She glanced at Kiela as the other woman introduced herself and asked what Svala was doing. "Oh, I'm just working on a map. I make marks to indicate things I see." She rolled out part of the map. "There's a river to the east of us. So, I can mark that on my map." She shifted her bundle, leaning around to pull out the stick that was stuck in the opening of her ink pouch. She then delicately made a little wiggly like not far from where she drew one set of the stacked stones. She put the stick back and looked to Kiela. "Just trying to remember where things are." She stuck her head out from under the stack of rocks as she noticed the rain beginning to let up. The clouds moved swiftly south with sunlight following close behind. "Well, that was a quick storm. What direction are you headed?" "Talk" "You" Think

What an interesting thought. Kiela hadn't been raised to do things such as that, but it sounded like a good idea. There was nothing wrong with marking one's journey in such a concrete way. In fact, she appreciated the thought behind it, and she supposed such ideas came with exploring these lands; there were plenty of strange artifacts that she'd started to encounter, ones that crafty enough wolves would no doubt find a use for. Kiela wasn't sure she was quite so crafty, though didn't think that such a bad thing either. Different wolves had different ways of thinking, after all. She was naive but even this was something she knew well.

She leaned over to check out the section of the map she was revealing to her. "Ah, very interesting," she murmured, appreciative rather than dismissive. Perhaps such a map might help her track the movement of the reindeer herds, but then again, she lived and breathed their migration - at least she had, before coming to Boreas - and she didn't need help remembering these things. She supposed a different kind of exploration might warrant such a map.

The rain started not long after they huddled under the stone together. Surprisingly it kept away much of the water, and seemed to let up before long, hardly even a storm at all. For a moment she wondered if these stones had housed a different sort of structure before, crumbled away by time, or if this was all they had been. Was it possible this was a siedi? Suddenly she felt foolish for not recognizing it before. Such stones were the talk of many stories of her childhood, but in her mind they seemed more ethereal than anything else. For a moment she was stunned, twisting her head up to let her gaze sweep over the underside of the stone structure above. "I do not know. What suggest you?" Perhaps Svala had some idea where she ought to explore next; Kiela was without any real direction currently, though she felt suddenly a bit lighter now that she realized she very possibility had encountered her very first siedi.

Svala shook out her coat, ridding it of some of the moisture that had started to accumulate there. With her items safely stashed away she considered which direction to pursue next. She'd been curious about the large mountain range in these parts for some time now. Perhaps now was as good a time as any to explore them. "I was thinking of heading into the mountains just west of us. I believe I've heard a particularly dangerous section of the mountains referred to as Fenrir's Maw. Would you want to join me?" Svala knew she'd feel a bit better exploring dangerous territory with someone to accompany her. Though, she also understood if the other woman had other plans and needs to fulfill rather than just exploring with a stranger. "Talk" "You" Think

While exploring alone was something Kiela was accustomed to, at least since arriving in Boreas, she knew getting to know the wolves that inhabited this place would likely be something that worked in her favor.. at least overall. Company was not something she always tolerated well, or for very long, but Svala seemed a decent wolf to spend a bit more time with. She was interesting, at least, and Kiela thought she might be able to learn a few more things from her. Her company was far from horrible, too. Kiela, at least back home, wasn't known for being very patient when it came to the company of others, but she was glad Svala wasn't yet pushing any buttons. Getting up and leaving would be easily done anyway.

Svala asked if she wanted to join her in exploring the mountains to the west. Kiela nodded after considering it for a moment. This place itself was interesting, but the mountains were the sort of terrain she was more accustomed to overall. "I will," she emphasized her answer verbally. It seemed an easy decision for her; as interesting as this place was, she would no doubt get more out of a trip to the mountains, both in terms of knowledge of terrain as well as personal pleasure. Finally moving to an upright position and shaking her fur of any stray moisture that had accumulated there - which wasn't much, given their ideal position beneath the stones - Kiela stood and waited for Svala to show her the way.

-exit-