Getting settled into Ashen had been easier than he had originally anticipated. The fact that he already had a friend here in Ike certainly helped. Still, he didn't want to just be here simply because he wanted to be with Ike. It was his motivation for joining, but if he was going to live here then he wanted to make a real life out of it. Part of that included getting to know the wolves of the pack he was now living in. It had been a very, very long time since he had lived in a group of wolves anywhere close to this so he was probably going to be rusty at the whole getting to know new wolves thing, but he certainly had to try.

He made his way slowly through the pale trees of the Alabastrine Shrine, his ruby and emerald gaze taking in the forest around him. It was odd how everything was so light and alabaster here—even the vines that draped over the branches. He'd never seen anything quite like it during his various travels and that was certainly saying something. Eventually he found himself at the pool that the shrine got its name from and he paused at the edge of it, looking around at the etched stones and the water that gave off a pale glow. What an unusual place indeed.

"Remus Armada"

Maverick was making an earnest and sincere attempt to get to know his new home better than just becoming familiar with the insides of the royal palace. Not that he minded spending most of his time tangled up with Venom in the privacy of their shared quarters—quite the opposite, in fact!—but if he was going to be a functional member of this society, he might as well make an attempt to be more than just an accessory to the Empress' life. The snow and sky wolf wandered through the ancient birch forest, gazing in wonder at the alabaster trees surrounding him that had initially caught his attention to this pack, and inadvertently to its lovely monarch as well. With Venom busy with official empire business, Mav took it upon himself to learn the land some more. After all, he was still an adventurer at heart, and nothing thrilled him more than a good hike across some undiscovered lands!

Making his way through the thicket of pallid trees, Maverick emerged to a large pool of water amidst a clearing in the woods, its placid waters seeming to give off a faint glow. Surrounding the pool was a circle of etched stones bearing markings Maverick could not identify. There was already another wolf sitting here, so Maverick approached him. Naturally, he bore the scent of Ashen on him, so Mav's bold daydreams of being forced to chase a trespasser out to make his lady swoon would go unrequited. "Hey," he called out to the other brute who matched him in size and stature, greeting the stranger with a crooked smile. "Haven't seen you around Ashen before. Newcomer?" Not that he was really one to talk, but the stranger's scent was particularly fresh.

"Maverick"

Remus was taking in the pond in front of him, watching the fish within swim about and noticing how their movement triggered the bioluminescent algae to give off this weird glow, when someone approached him and drew his two toned gaze up from the surface of the water. His attention landed on a blue and white male that pretty much perfectly matched his own height and build. It was pretty obvious that he was another member of the pack which worked out well for Remus in his attempts to get to know Ashen's lands and wolves. He offered the other man a grin and nodded at his greeting and the question over whether he was a newcomer. "Yeah, I am. I just got settled in a couple of days ago." He had been lingering around Ashen's lands for a lot longer than that, but he hadn't been in the lands themselves for very long so he would definitely still call himself a newcomer.

Turning away from the pool for a moment, he shifted to face the other male and added, "I'm Remus, by the way. Nice to meet you." He let his new acquaintance introduce himself as well, stowing his name away for later. He didn't know how he was going to remember all of these names as he slowly met everyone in the pack, but he'd figure out a way. "I was actually just getting to know this area a little better since I've mostly been out toward the islands since I got here. This place is really unusual, huh?" He looked around at the pale trees that surrounded them, adding, "In a cool, interesting way though, not in a weird, creepy kind of way... I think."

"Remus Armada"

The other wolf looked up at him with an easy grin as Maverick came up to the edge of the glowing pool, gazing down in the faintly rippling waters and watching the way his reflection shifted and distorted. Maverick didn't exactly know much about algae or how they worked; his interests were far more physical, like fighting and exploring. The glow remained a mystery to him as well as its machinations, but it was pretty all the same. The stranger confirmed that he was indeed new to the pack. Well that explained why he still smelled so fresh. The wolf introduced himself as Remus and Maverick replied by lifting a paw to his own chest with a casual smirk on his lips. "Maverick. Nice to meet you too, Remus."

With their introductions done and neither party strangers any longer, the idle chitchat could begin proper. Remus explained how he was trying to get to know the land a bit better since he'd moved into the pack. Maverick breathed a sigh and nodded in understanding; yeah, he could empathize with the young brute. "Yeeeah, Ashen's got a lotta islands to learn, not to mention just how big Boreas is in general," he said assent. When Remus began to speak of the pallid trees of the shrine, Mav chuckled and nodded again, teal eyes slowly gazing around between their tall white trunks and interlocked branches. "Yeah, they're definitely unique. It's actually what brought me here in the first place was how weird it all looked." The man laughed as he remembered back to the day he'd met Venom and how she'd chased him through these very woods. "Well, that, and I was being chased by the Empress through these trees too."

"Maverick"

A little snort of laughter escaped him when Maverick mentioned how the Empress chasing him through the trees was part of what brought him here and Remus genuinely tried to imagine the very proper, serious woman he had met briefly with Ike chasing someone through the forest. He didn't know Venom very well yet, but it was kind of hard to imagine her letting loose or having fun. He wanted to ask about it since it seemed Maverick knew her better than him at least, but it felt kind of awkward to ask about the Empress of the pack and the mother to his girlfriend like that—well, potential girlfriend, he supposed. They hadn't actually made anything "official" as of yet even though moving into a pack for her did feel pretty official to him.

With a chuckle at the whole train of thought, Remus got to his paws with a small shake of his head. "Well, I guess I should keep looking around so I can get used to the lay out of this place. It seemed smart to get comfortable here before I start exploring some of the near by lands." He was about to say his goodbyes and head on his way until an idea came to him and he gave Maverick a curious look, saying, "Hey, you seem like you like taking in the sights like I do... Want to do a little trip through some of the neighboring lands with me? No pressure or anything, but always good to travel with another set of eyes I feel like." Ike would probably go exploring with him if he asked and she was certainly always game for a hunt if nothing else, but he should get to know more wolves in the pack than just her so this seemed like a good chance to do that.

"Remus Armada"

Remus chuckled at his tale, and even Maverick had to admit that it founded pretty humorous the way he described it. Sure, it was less funny when you realized Venom had been chasing him out of rage and an attempt to eat his toes. Part of him wondered if that would ever not be a part of their relationship, the toe maiming? The other dire wolf rose to his paws and began to make his farewells, explaining how he intended to keep getting a lay of the land. Maverick was about to bid goodbye to the other wolf as well when Remus had a second thought and invited him along in his explorations. It had been some time since he'd done some real exploring with a partner, so Mav was quick to smile and rise of his paws as well. "Sounds like a good time to me!" With a wave of his paw gesturing to the world beyond, he added, "Lead the way, Remus the Intrepid!"

"Maverick"