Misha sat on the dark black obsidian sand spanning across the beach. It was a truly beautiful sight, especially in the blazing sunset that set the beach to seem as if it was on fire. And the fae's red brown on her pelt casting a firey blaze against the scene as well. She was a sight for sore eyes, and her name was Misha. Nothing special about her, nothing extraordinary to watch. And her trust issues had always made it hard for Misha to socialize with other wolves. Especially males. The fae had been lonely. Lonely since her father ever passed on as a yearling. She never had the influence of a mother, for she had died early in the female's life as well. All this wolf really needed was love, and to feel accepted into the world and not feel like a mistake.

Dayton's earthen pelt was gleaming with the fiery colors of the sunset. It was beautiful here. His amber eyes shined brightly as his small paws brought him across the ebony sand. His feet brushed the grains aside carelessly, for today he felt confident. The delicate, fragile male had finally begun to think of himself as something special again. Something to be noticed? Perhaps not. But something that at least deserved a chance. His tail even swayed a bit as he walked, a rare thing for Dayton. He almost never showed signs of happiness, mostly because he never had any happiness to show. Not since the incident when his father... The young boy shook the thoughts from his mind once more. Never think of it. If you ignore the memories, ignore the pain, eventually it will all go away. Of course Dayton knew that wasn't true, but he let it slide for today. He was finally happy. Why spoil it? Suddenly, as the boy was gazing across the beach, his eyes caught a figure sitting there. Undoubtedly a female figure, resting on the beach under the ochre rays of the sun. Dayton seemed to notice her beauty only as an observation, and he did not linger on it, as he could not bring himself to. Instead he approached, very slowly, and called out to the young maiden. The boy was changing. That much was clear. The old Dayton would never have called attention to himself like this. He would have bolted, hidden in the woods, and never seen the pretty girl again. Yes, something was changing within him. "Excuse me, my lady. Would you care for a little company?" Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha spun behind her and panted an anxious breath. There was another wolf here. And it was a male. Misha shook her head and widened her blue gray eyes. 'Oh.. Oh no,' Misha thought to herself whining softly. She dredded the whole socializing thing. Misha dropped her head to the ground. She finally looked up and smiled softly. A fake smile, of course. For she could never be her true self in front of the other wolves, because she would be called a freak. "Hello," Misha said softly, looking at the male.

The small male was a bit alarmed by the girl and her reaction. She whirled and seemed to catch her breath with fright. He watched as emotions battled in her eyes, and she dropped her head before plastering an artificial smile on her maw. Dayton heard her greeting, but by then his eyebrows had furrowed a bit. Had he upset her? At that moment he seemed to realize how similar they were. On a normal day, he wouldn't have reacted much differently. Of course, he had felt more confident lately, but did that make them separate beings? Deep down, he was still afraid. Even of himself. Dayton felt his expression soften. "I didn't mean to startle you. It's unlike me to just walk up to someone like this... I'm sorry, I didn't..." and his voice began to die away. Now this was more like Dayton. Stuttering and awkward. His amber eyes pinched together for a second. How could he recover? "I'm Day." The boy blurted out, stepping back after he realized what he had done. This was strange. "What... um, what may I call you?" Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha glanced up as the male spoke to her, looking him over and around. He was a handsome wolf with those earthy colors and that type of body. But.. Why would he be staring at Misha? She was a plain looking wolf with less markings than him, matching up to only three. Her gray paws shuffled in the dirt anxiously; blinking twice. "M.. Misha," She said in a softly weakened voice, avoiding eye contact with him, her tail tucked between her legs in a submissive position. She always knew it was better to be safe than sorry, and coward down instead of being brave and getting possibly attacked.

Dayton blushed a bit as the girl looked at him. She seemed to scrutinize his coat and body for a minute before tucking her tail and mumbling her name as a response. Misha. The frail earthen boy smiled, staring uneasily into her eyes. They were an odd, pale shade of blue that put a knot in his stomach. He wasn't used to seeing that look of submission in someone else. And never in his life had he been on the other side of it. Somehow, the male found his voice again. "Well, Misha..." he cleared his throat briefly. "I don't know why you're so afraid of me. I'm no bigger than you are, really, and you should know I'm not going to hurt you. I'm as scared as you are." This was true, and he knew it. Misha seemed to have some inherit fear of males, as was clear in her face as she studied him. And while their fears may not have had the same roots, he too was nervous around the opposite sex. His purity had been stolen by a male, and there was no telling what relations with a female would be like. Dayton gulped, pressing the thoughts deep into his soul. He willed them not to resurface again. It was troubling him too much. For the time being, he revealed a gentle smile and tried to convince Misha to have a little faith in him. She didn't have to be lonely on this gorgeous evening. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha gave a half smile and looked up at the male known as Day, coughing a bit. She shuffled nervously and stared at her paws, awkwardly shuffling her paws into the dirt. She was horrible at socializing, speaking, and being in another wolfs company. Especially with males. Day had told her that she shouldn't be afraid, but she always secretly had to be afraid, on edge, nervous, and anxious. All because of her past relations with males. She had somewhat felt betrayed by her father that day when he didn't come back for weeks, but she knew it was the bear's fault. And her old mate Ahote had betrayed her with the fake feelings of love as well.. This woolf hadn't had any good past relationship with males, ever. Except with pups, because pups were harmless to the world.

Dayton watched the girl silently as she shuffled her feet from side to side. Her sky blue eyes remained locked on her own grey paws, staring as they bunched up the dark sand around them. He studied their movement, distracted by the sudden quiet his voice had left in its wake. What could he say now? Should he make casual conversation and see if Misha warmed up to him? To see if he warmed up to her as well? Or should he just leave? The boy cast a wistful look over his shoulder, imagining how easy that would be. Just walking away. Not dealing with the discomfort of being around this female and having to figure out what to say to her. Not staring at her pretty little paws as they kicked up the dirt. But something in that thought pained him, so he decided to stay. Yes. He would stay here on the beach with Misha. Dayton seemed to nod to himself, securing the idea in his mind before shuffling forward a few inches. He came to rest his haunches in the warm sand, keeping the gentle smile on his face the entire time. Never would he let it leave. He needed to remind the girl that she was safe. And what was more, he needed to remind himself of the same thing. Now, to make a bit of conversation... ease the silence away... "So, what brings you here, my lady?" His young voice whispered, burnt orange eyes glinting in the light of the setting sun. Maybe things would get better from here. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha flinched and backed up a few feet when Day had only shuffled a few inches towards her. She mentally sighed and blinked twice, her gaze darting from the male to the black sand around her paws. Why hadn't he left her already? Why was he still here? Why hadn't he just left her? Misha wasn't much of a lady to spend your time with, especially with all her trust issues and all. She wasn't special; far from it, in fact. A pile of bird crap mattered more to anyone than Misha had ever did. Misha sighed and turned her gaze to the ocean, keeping her thoughts to herself.

Dayton flinched as well when the poor girl backed away. Something was wrong here. She was so frightened of him, and why? He was frightened too, but it seemed the only thing that was giving him confidence was the idea of a wolf being more fragile than he. Was she really more broken than him, though? Had she been raped? By her own father? Dayton squeezed his eyes shut so hard his ears rang. He had kept his barriers unsupervised, and they had let some of the horrid thoughts leak through. He bit down on his tongue to keep from whining. Whenever he thought of what his father did, he relived the pain... the pain that no male was meant to feel. Pain that was meant for females, whether it was fair or not. But he had felt it. And it was unnatural. And he was reliving it now. The delicate boy stepped away, backpedaling until he stumbled and ended up flat on his haunches again. He breaths were coming quickly now, his eyes were still shut. Blotches of hot white light appeared in his personal darkness. He let his lids fly open, the last rays of the dying sun blinding him for a moment. As his vision returned to normal, so did his breathing. The nightmare was over. He was here, on the beach. With Misha. Dayton's gaze moved over to her, warily. How had she reacted to his little meltdown? Did she finally understand how similar they were? He gulped as he waited for her response, his throat dry and cracked. Maybe now she would understand. They could break through their pain together. No one should ever be alone in this. After all, misery loves company, he thought. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha winced and huffed a sigh. "I.. I came here to watch the ocean and the black obsidian sand." Misha said, turning to the side and sneezing. "Whoa, excuse me," Misha said in a small cough. Stupid allergies always got to her. It wasn't that she was sick; it was her allergies and pollen. They were never extreme allergies, just a small cough and sneeze here and there. And sometimes headaches, but luckily they didn't get too painful.

Misha didn't seem to notice his outburst, but something changed because she began speaking again. She said she came to watch the ocean. Dayton's brilliant eyes moved to the water, intrigued by the beauty in its waves. His silence was interrupted when the pretty maiden let out a short sneeze. His gaze snapped to her, concern on his face. "Are you not well, Misha?" He hoped she wasn't sick, after all the temperatures would soon be dropping and it would not help her if she was in poor condition. "Do you have a home where you can rest? Do you belong to a pack, perhaps? Their healer could take you in." But what if this girl was a rogue? She wasn't about to let him close enough to smell her, and the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. But he wouldn't dare move to her other side. Instead he waited for her reply, if she was a rogue he could perhaps bring her to Tortuga for a short while and see that she get better before letting her go. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha smiled softly and looked up at the male, not wanting him to be concerned about Misha. "No, just a few allergies; that's all.." She said in a soft voice. Misha sighed and dropped her head to the ground and backed up a few more feet from the male just in case. "Yes, I recently became part of part of the Tortuga pack." She smiled softly at the thought. At least she had been accepted there. That's all Misha wanted in life, to be accepted.

Dayton saw the maiden move away again, making it all the more difficult for him to trace her scent. He tried to keep his attention on the waves ahead, eliminating any pressure on her. Finally her soft, cautious voice began meeting his ears again. So her sneezing was only a bout of her seasoned allergies. This brought a sigh of relief to his lips. Then she told him about her new home. His eyes widened, and he looked back at Misha. "You're a member of Tortuga?" he laughed lightly, something he hadn't done in a while. "What a coincidence, so am I. They recently accepted me into their ranks." He couldn't believe his luck. He'd be able to know this girl better, be sure she felt safe, and maybe even be her friend. The smile didn't leave his maw for a long time. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha mentally broke down. 'Oh no, oh no, oh no. Since Day was part of Tortuga, he would most likely sure tell the Tortuga pack and Queen Roman about Misha. About how worthless, pathetic, scared, not worthy of a rank wolf Misha was. Misha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding back tears. All she wanted was to be accepted. In any way or another, acceptance was keen to this wolf. Misha looked up and flicked her ears around. "So, Day. How is it around there? Is it fun?" The female known as Misha asked, fakely smiling up at him.

He could still feel the hope stirring in his chest as he watched Misha. Her eyes returned to the obsidian sand and he smiled. Yes, they could be friends. They could help each other survive in the pack life. Perhaps it was new to her as well. "I'm enjoying it in Tortuga so far," Dayton told her, responding to her sudden, nervous question. "So yes, I suppose it is fun. It will be more fun now that I have a friend." Then, on a whim, he threw a wink her way. Had he ever winked at another wolf before? The boy wasn't sure. He'd seen it done before, of course, and in that moment it had just felt natural. But now he blushed, his gaze darting to the girl and away, dreading her reaction. She was already so frightened, he didn't want to make it worse. "Well, um, I think I'm going to head back there now. Would you..." his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "Would you like to walk with me back to Tortuga, miss?" Walk. "Talk." Think.