It felt… Odd to be this far north. Black leathery nose twitched as he took in the passing scents. It seemed this area had seen a lot of traffic recently, which in and of itself was odd. He may not have known much, but he did know that different packs didn’t seem to mingle like this unless there was a reason. Maybe a party? He might even run into someone from Valhalla there!

With all the cocky confidence of someone who had never had to suffer any consequences for his actions, the boy blindly leapt over the partially collapsed portion of wall… and promptly caught his foot on some rubble, tumbling to the ground in a tangled heap of limbs and a cloud of dust.

He took a moment to blink before letting a small "Oof," leave his lips. Maybe he was getting a bit too old for these shenanigans.

"speech".

running around like a clown on purpose

She had been scouting the area to help ensure that the missing members of Menagerie and other folk weren't still alive. If she was going to potentially claim a spot for a pack of her own, the petite woman wanted to make sure she had the all-clear. In retrospect, it sounded pretty fucked up for her to do it this way, but gotta get your bone when you can, right? So Celeste wandered a bit south of the Pines, away from the bloody massacre to the north to look for others. Following the wall's path until a singular male scent caught her attention, Celeste stopped to glance around. Squinting her aquamarine-colored eyes to get a better look, she saw a lump of a wolf laying on the ground. A light gasp left her as she hoped the wolf was alright. Hurrying her paws toward him until her paws had to skid to a stop in the dirt, she looked not quite down at him but almost straight on. She was pretty small, mind you. The scent of blood wasn't noticeable, thankfully, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Oi, what are you doing laying around like that?" There is a snippet of concern at the edge of her tone as her eyes rove over the boy. A little older than her and quite the looker, Celeste took a step back before sitting down. "You're not hurt, are you?" She asks as she tilts her head to the side and wraps her elongated tail neatly around her haunches.

It was just his luck that someone would come on him like this, a pretty girl, no less! He quickly rose and shook the dust from his fur, tongue falling from his mouth in the process. He may or may not have bitten it in his haste to pull it back behind his lips. "I was-uh, just restin’!" Cool as can be, no he wasn’t a clutz, no way!

Something else that she said took a moment to come back to him, as the familiar clatter of Arvid’s approach set his tail to wagging. He kept forgetting his legs were so much longer than the little warthogs. "Arvid’s a friend, not food.” Arne warned in advance with a lopsided smile, that quickly slipped away as he tried to force himself back to being serious. It really didn’t suit him. “Why would I be hurt? Does that happen a lot around ‘ere?"

"speech".

running around like a clown on purpose

Celeste had to let out a little giggle. Bringing her gloved paw up in front of her lips to muffle the sound of her laugh, she watched as the boy scrambled to pull himself together. Releasing an mhm sure you were sort of hum as he declared he was only resting, she shook her head gently. Before she could really get into why he was laying on the ground, the clatter of hooves approaching drew her aquamarine gaze toward the approaching companion. Raising a brow, she looked back at the tusk boy with an interesting look. "I don't plan on eating him," she responds, a coy smile wrapping around her lips as she looks him over again. While he didn't appear like Kuroki, his mannerisms were similar. Laid back, relaxed, nothing close to serious. In all honesty, it helped her own self not be so rigid. When he questions why she asked if he was injured, her expression shifts to concern. "A few wolves were murdered not far north of here," Celeste is careful with her words as she wonders if he just happened to be walking by and had nothing to do with the recent events. "I've been wandering around to pick up loners and stragglers to bring back to my pack since one of the wolves taken was an alpha," she draws her eyes over him once more, the smile fading as she feels uneasy.

Murdered? Now that wasn’t something that happened every day and Arne’s ears laid back along his neck for a moment in shock before he gave himself another shake to work off the building tension. He really didn’t handle serious well at all.

Her next words were interesting though, that she was gathering wolves to join her pack. Brave if one of the ones that had been killed was an alpha. Did she do it so she could start this pack of her own? Nah, he didn’t think so. She looked too pretty to be a murderer. He should probably try to make sure she didn’t get murdered too though, right? "I’m a loner," He declared, his tail taking up a lazy wave at his heels, "An’ two of us are less likely to get murdered than one right?" Smooth boy, real smooth.

"speech".

running around like a clown on purpose

She could tell he felt uneasy about the news given to him. That was understandable. Murder was not an easy topic for anyone and it made her own stomach twist. Eager to remove herself from the mess that would forever taint the pines for the new alphess, Celeste was glad when the boy offered his protection. Quickly pushing away the idea that she would get murdered if she stuck around too long, Celeste nodded as her smile returned. "You're darn right," she chirped with her own elongated tail swishing behind her. She wouldn't deny he was easy on the eyes either so maybe adding him to the pack would benefit her in more ways than one. "I'm Celeste, I don't believe I caught your name," the woman said sweetly as she turned toward the southwest. "We'll be heading this way, toward the west," she nodded her chin in the direction of the oasis before starting their journey.