Never in her life had she been forced to leave somewhere. She had left home on her own accord and she had traveled around freely until she joined Threar. And now here she was, homeless. She couldn't say that she was terribly torn up about the whole thing. She had never really felt that at home in Threar anyway. She had never really made any particular connections to her pack mates with the exceptions of maybe Frith and breifly to Felician. She had really been toying with the idea of leaving anyway before this whole challenge thing happened, but it turned out a decision on her part wasn't necessary. If anything she felt bad for Frith and his family, but that was about all she could honestly say she felt about the whole thing. She made her way down the beach, following the sound and scent of the ocean as her guide. Once she got to a point where she could feel the water lapping at her forepaws she took a step back and settled onto her haunches. The water barely touched her forepaws as it lapped at the shoreline, but she made no move to escape it. A sigh passed her lips and she tried to sort through her thoughts. What really bothered her about all of it, she decided, was not knowing what to do next. She knew Neith was somewhere in Alacritis, but how would she track her down? Did she want to go back home to her father and Eta? Another sigh left her and she tried to let her thoughts get drowned out by the sounds of the waves. Speak

These lands had belonged to a pack once. Recently, too, it seemed. Their scent still hung plainly in the air, though their markings were slowly becoming little more than remnants of what once was. Curious, perhaps a bit morbidly drawn to a territory that was no longer under the pretense of 'ownership,' he found himself traveling closer to the bay.  He had never been terribly fond of the idea that some wolves somehow had ownership of a place while others were not allowed there. The massive brute's nostrils flared as he moved lazily across the land.  One particular scent was familiar here, weaved naturally among the various odors that surrounded him. Quite intrigued, he continued forward, aiming toward the shoreline.  His mind wandered as he moved, in conjunction with his paws. The summer heat was not terrible here, but it was not the most pleasant weather ever - he was grateful for the cool ocean wind against his face. His tail swayed happily behind him, his ears flicking as the caught another hint of that familiar scent. Wondering who it might be, he followed it for awhile, coming closer to the shoreline. It wasn't difficult to recognize Kalliope's familiar form, and he found himself grinning as she came into view. "Oy!" he'd call out, his voice suddenly quite chipper as a grin spread his lips. "What's a lovely lady like yourself doing here?"

Kalliope sighed as she let the sounds of the ocean wash over her and enjoyed the cool ocean breeze ruffling her fur. The waves gently washed over her forepaws again and again in a steady rhythmic pattern and the sand was warm under her. There was something about all of it that was very soothing and distracting at the same time. She had been so distracted in fact that she hadn't noticed Aki's approach until he called out to her. Her ears perked with a slight surprised jump and her head turned toward his voice. His voice and his scent were easy to recognize and once she got over her initial surprise a smile spread across her muzzle. She didn't know how they kept running into each other like this, but she was happy about it either way. She chuckled softly and shrugged to his question. "I can be anywhere I want to be can't I?" she asked with a grin, her usual sass showing itself without shame. She chuckled softly and added, "I don't know if you noticed the lack of a pack over there, but I'm officially homeless again. Someone challenged my old alpha and she lost. Obviously." She shrugged again. "I can't say I'm too upset about it though." Kalliope smiled a little and asked, "What about you, huh? What's brought you out this way?" Speak

The guise of ownership had always kept him away from packlands in general. It wasn't that he was afraid of trespassing, not necessarily, but it simply wasn't worth his effort. There was enough land to go around for all of them; he couldn't be terribly concerned over a few territories here and there. But he was interested in the new freedom than he could find here, and he was curious as he padded toward Kalliope. There was little care in his gait, his tail swaying lazily behind him, a grin adorning his rough features. "You can be," he replied to her rhetorical question with a soft chuckle. "I'm just surprised to find you here, in the exact direction I happened to be traveling." Perhaps he might not have drifted to this exact spot if he hadn't caught her scent, but it had happened and he was content to think it was no more than by choice that he'd stumbled upon her. He grinned toothily at her again, and though she couldn't see his expression, his voice was full of jest. His ears twitched at the talk of politics. "Think you'll stick around here without the pack?" he'd ask conversationally, moving to settle down on his haunches near her, eyeing her for a moment before glancing toward the horizon far across the ocean. "Or will you return to your wandering ways, like yours truly?" It was an off-handed way of answering her question, but it worked.

"With as many times as you happened to be going in the same direction as me, I feel like you'd stop being surprised," she commented with a grin. "But I'm glad you stumbled upon me again. It's good to talk to you again." Her words were sincere even though it was out of the ordinary for her to be honest with her feelings. It almost felt like Aki was her only friend here in a way so whenever they bumped into each other she was very comfortable around him. His question was one of the many she had been pondering since Threar became no more. She hummed thoughtfully and her head tipped to the side. She heard him settle onto the sand beside her and she let her head shift back to looking out over the water again as well. "I don't know. I don't think so. It's just hard to decide cause it feels like I don't know where else I would go. I could go back home I guess, but I feel like I'd be... giving up almost to do that." She paused and added, "If I had a reason to explore or someone to wander with I'd be more than happy to." Her tone was that of a casual, passive comment, but she wondered a little bit if he might have some kind of solution for her. Speak

He snorted out loud at her comment.  "Perhaps I just want to think you are unpredictable," he would laugh out loud, joyfully.  "When in reality, you are an open book." His grin seemed to stretch from one ear to the other, though softened a bit when she admitted it was nice seeing him again.  "Likewise," he admitted quickly, not at all ashamed to say he enjoyed her company. There was no shame in admitting he cared for others and valued the time he spent with them.

His brows furrowed as she spoke, head cocking to the side. Pondering, he would slowly bring himself to all fours again, taking a few steps into the cool water that lapped at the sand.  "You're welcome to tag along with me, for awhile," he would suggest after a moment, feeding off what felt like a slight suggestion from herself.  He had no concept of what 'awhile' was - whether a few days, or a few months - but he supposed he could cross that bridge when it came to it. The idea of forever companionship was unappealing to him, but he wouldn't deny that it sounded enjoyable to have a partner to tag along for a bit. His paws carried him a bit deeper into the water as he splashed around, waiting for her reaction.