-island hopper-

Deluge stepped cautiously onto the barren shores of the desolate island, her senses immediately assaulted by the harsh, unforgiving landscape that stretched out before her. The air was heavy with the scent of salt and decay, as if she had accidentally stumbled into a predators den. The whole atmosphere put the girl on edge.

The island was almost entirely devoid of vegetation, save for the occasional stunted, gnarled trees and scrub grasses that somehow managed to eke out an existence in the poor soils below. These hardy plants twisted and contorted themselves into unnatural shapes, their roots clawing desperately at the rocky earth in search of sustenance.

Flat, rocky outcroppings covered much of the ground, their jagged edges resembling the overlapping scales of some ancient reptilian beast. Deluge could almost imagine the island itself as the back of a massive creature, lying dormant beneath the harsh glare of the sun. As if only formed to shelter its offspring, large lizards scuttled across the barren ground, their scales glinting in the harsh sunlight as they hunted for prey amongst the rocks. Snakes slithered through the crevices, their sinuous bodies disappearing into the shadows as they pursued their elusive quarry, but it was clearly the crocodiles that truly ruled this desolate realm. She hoped they were more focused on sunning and digestion than attempting to hunt on land. This wasn't their element after all, though it did make her wonder just how she would get back to the mainland unscathed.

“Speech”

Well this was weird. Admittedly, Ronan wasn't quite so accustomed to nature and all the strange formations and shapes the natural landscape could take. He was used to concrete and steal, rectangular shapes and things ordered in what probably used to be neat rows. Not how calloused the dried ground felt under paw, jagged and course like a cat tongue. Of course above all else, he could smell the salt of the ocean, but the life that called the island home was notably of the cold-blooded variety. Which begged the question, how had they gotten here? Crocodiles he could understand, but snakes? Those weird spiky lizards? He wasn't quite so sure, they'd set up a colony but unless they somehow swam over then that would imply they'd been here before the island was an island. Which was...hm, possible, he supposed. He wasn't alone in his musings either, he glanced over at the other wolf as she picked her away across the landscape, being every bit as careful as he was to not step on something she shouldn't. "Think they're venomous?" He hadn't eaten in a long while and a city wolf like him made do with whatever he could get his jaws on.

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How she had missed the guy, tall as she was with imposing wing and vivid blue and red markings, was anyone's guess. Then again, even now she still kept half an eye on the sunning crocodiles, her other senses on high alert to the slithering of scales over the abrasive surface beneath their bellies. “Snakes? Probably, I'd avoid th' brighter coloured lizards too, usually means somethin' isn't worth eatin', yer might be the exception though...” She lifted a brow teasingly and chuckled at her own remark, unable to help herself, though her attention was fleeting and clearly focused on their surroundings.

Her head tilted towards the crocodiles, “I don' think it'd matter ter those ones, best ter keep yer distance, if they drag yer inter th' water yer done for.” Her warning was delivered in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

Watching where she placed her feet, some of these cracks were big enough to lose a leg in, and she was sure they were full of more unpleasant reptiles. Didn't it ever rain here? Then again, this far west, it probably didn't.

“Speech”

Ronan hummed in affirmation, he honestly wasn't used to this level of wildlife so even though he was slow to trust strangers it felt safe enough to take her word on it. It made sense at least, even if her little sly comment about his own markings wasn't exactly appreciated. He followed the woman's line of sight, to the larger creatures of the island, the crocodiles-he knew well enough to give them a wide berth, after seeing first hand that yearling nearly got snapped up just the other day. There was some plant life here, shrubberies and a few spindly trees. He had no intention of sticking his snout in to find out, but he made an educated guess that he'd find a bunch of smaller lizards hiding within the bushes. Staying well out of sight of anything that might want to eat them. It seemed for the most par the reptiles that called this Island home weren't exactly sure how to respond to the pair of wolves who were just casually picking their way across the terrain. None were outwardly hostile, as far as he could tell though that didn't make them any less deadly. Wondering to the closest edge of the island, he watched the water for a long and lingering moment and spotted a dark grey shape beneath the waves. A shark too huh? Ronan Bo-Bonan

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Not a talker huh? Well, she didn't mind a challenge, but she preferred to have fewer hostile distractions to keep her busy if she was going to try and charm her way into someone's good graces. She eyed off the patch of water towards the middle of the island, wondering if the crocodiles would mind her taking a closer look? Some were small, some of the bigger ones had birds picking scraps out from between their teeth, their jaws opened wide. Well, the avians had bigger balls than she did and she wasn't afraid to admit it.

She tried to keep her appearance casual as she strolled on by, the first kept its eyes closed, all good, the second let loose a low rumbling growl that was answered by one in the water, the trembling of it's neck fat causing the water to splash and ripple in response. The water erupted as the second crocs challenge was answered by one that had been floating nearby, the pop of jaws clamping shut as the two sparred enough to send her strolling rather quickly back to her unwilling companion. Even here, the water seemed to drop right off. She spotted drag marks of seals, though they must all be out hunting at the moment.

Her companion seemed distracted by something in the water and she sighed as she spotted what he had. “Well fuck eh, looks like we're stuck til th' seals come 'ome.”If in fact this was their home, and not just some forsaken spit of land they jumped on to dodge the sharks.

“Speech”

"Great." He groused, about as pleased as you'd expect. Of course, the waters below were rife with a wealth of sea life. He could see the colours of the coral reef not too far off, the dark brown shape of a turtle lazily paddling by under the surface. The smaller reptiles didn't have much of a choice, they were born here and were bound to die here, but it made sense the crocodiles chose to make this their base of operations, of a sort. He wasn't much of a fisherman, but even he knew that food was plentiful, for those who were agile and had sharp enough teeth. Turning his attention back inland, if you could even call it that, he noticed the lady had gotten the larger of the beasts all riled up. Or maybe it was just bound to happen regardless of what she did, their presence not a welcome addition to Scaled Island. A seagull landed briefly, only to squawk in alarm when a crocodile immediately went to lunge for it, leaving a few panicked feathers flitting about the uneven surface.

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