A yawn slipped past the narrow jowls of the beast as bi-colored gaze slowly focused on the area outside of his temporary den. Mount Volkan, in the time of his puppy-hood, had once been a permanent home for him. He could faintly remember the days of joyful carelessness with his siblings when Tortuga had still been under the rightful rule of his family. First with his father and then with his adoptive brother, Kaien. He'd been but a boy then, promised the title of heir, and yet he remembered when everything changed. He could not remember what had happened to the pack but it'd disbanded and strangers came on swift wings to them. He could remember the day his father had taken them to meet these strangers. Glacias they'd called themselves and they'd claimed what had been rightfully the Jaeger's all along. Now the once wonderful kingdom was nothing but an old memory in the pale king's head. Gone were the traces of even his siblings and both parents were dead and gone. It left nothing but a bitter taste on the man's tongue as he thought about once was and what never may be again. This was not what lingered on the lord's brain this morning though. Instead he stared past the stony interior of the den to the misty exterior of what made up outside. A fog had rolled atop the volcano and the sun most likely wouldn't rear its ugly head today as dark gray clouds dampened the sky. He felt lazy as his gaze unfocused and everything became a blur. Another yawn snaked its way from his jowls and he stifled it with a growl. Was it worth it to leave the den today? He glanced around the small, yet comfortable, cave and sighed. Yes, yes it was worth it. Better than being cooped up waiting for the impending rain. So with a long stretch of his lanky legs he rose to his feet and exited his makeshift home. He temporarily contemplated breakfast but shoved it off as a thought for later. He wasn't overly hungry and there were far better things to accompany his time with than something as boring as hunting. So he set off towards the upper parts of the mountain. It appeared as though he was searching for something, though he wasn't quite sure what that something was. Walk, "Talk" Think

It felt like it was going to be a nasty day. The air was damp and cold, and not at all like the last time she graced this terra. The last time she'd come here the very ground beneath her paws had radiated warmth. The air had been been bone dry, and the summit hot. It amazed her how wildly the seasons varied here. Back home the changing of the seasons was a slow process. Nothing moved quickly and the changes weren't so drastic. Sabine was headed for the top for no good reason; she just wanted to; maybe to feel how the change in seasons was treating the lava flows. Her pace was lackadaisical, each step taken with a loose and predatory confidence that would make a lion jealous. The light drizzle that caused her fur to droop did little to dampen her regal bearing. As far as she knew there was no one to show off to, no audience to impress, but not for one second did she consider giving in to the miserable morning and slouching her way up to the summit. A scent on the breeze slowed her ascension. Sabine's head dropped further and brought her nose inches from the ground. Working slowly from side to side she snuffed at the leaf litter in search of the scent that had come her way. There was someone in these woods, that much she knew, but where? There. Her head rose, chin tucking as her neck arched and she regained her regal posture. Sabine's ears pricked forward as she turned to face in the direction of the stranger. She was unsure of the exact distance between them, but was confident that her voice could overcome it with ease. "Tell me, stranger," she simpered, "do you know how much farther it is to the top?"