The desert had probably been his least favorite place. Despite the few places that it held that were habitable. Especially those occupied by his Aunty Surreal. The white had always appealed far more to him then the orange and light sand color of this place. The spring made it not so hot, but still out of comfort for the male a he irritably moved himself along to explore and maybe seek out new wolves to meet. Although besides he was no navigator - simply finding new places to potentially call home. With his plans at least. Stopping at the Oasis, his head held high as he tilted his head. This place - he had to be careful with it. He wasn't sure what it was, but it gave him the creeps. Rivaxorus silently closed his eyes, ears listening as he prayed for his saftey to the gods. That way he could return home safe and sound, to those who waited for him and cared for him. He knew how life could be torn away at a seconds notice, he was young, but he was no stranger to physical and emotional pain. Opening his two different colored eyes again he looked at his reflection in the water. "Talk" "You" Think

At the other side of the oasis, Esarosa stood at the edge of the water, leaning down to lap at the water. The west was so much hotter than anywhere else, leaving her throat parched and burning. Once she'd quenched her thirst, she knew she'd have to rinse the wounds she'd received, thus she waded into the water. Standing hardly above her ankles in water, she realized she'd have to get right down to wash away the dried blood. Although tired and just wanting to make her way home, she couldn't deny that a good dunking in the water, however little there was, would feel amazing.

She flopped right down into the water with a loud splash; she'd dunk her head and then toss the water over her back, soaking her ebony coat. It would take several good splashes to allow the water to seep down to her skin, at which point she murred with delight, except for the sting in her wounds. But the relief from the heat was greater than anything. Deciding she didn't need to leave right away, she lay there in the water, reveling in the cooling sensation. Esa was so preoccupied, cleaning herself up and having a good time in the water, she hadn't even noticed the presence of another wolf just around the edge of the oasis.

If he hadn't been looking at his reflection, maybe he would have noticed her sooner. However it was the sound of water splashing on the other end of the Oasis that made his head rise. A pure black female seemed to have found her way here, she didn't smell of any pack that he actually knew. The ends of his tail flicked - while he didn't want to disturb her he felt it a bit rude to just stand here and wait for her to notice him. The large boy searched around him, deciding a pretty good sized rock would do the trick. Picking it up with his teeth he softly tossed it into the Oasis. Letting out a loud enough 'kerplunk' to alert the female that he was here on the other side of the oasis. "Seems to be an excellent day for swimming in the water." He called out with a bit of a smile. He was large, but didn't want to seem like he was threatening in the least bit. Sitting down again he let his paws hand on the edge of the water. Feeling the cool sensation throughout his paws. It wasn't extremely hot this summer, but this area would forever be hotter then the others that he tended to live in after all. "Talk" "You" Think

Esarosa looked up, slightly startled at the sound of a rock hitting the water. When she noticed a wolf not far away, the one who had thrown the fairly large rock, she stood up, water dripping from her ebony coat. Had he been trying to hit her with that rock? She lifted a forepaw uncertainly, wondering if she should leave quickly. But then the wolf called out to her, and his tone seemed friendly; he even offered a smile. Blinking in confusion, it finally occurred to her that he was probably just getting her attention by throwing the rock. Relieved, she shook out her coat and trotted through the water towards him - the oasis was not very deep, so it was only moments before she reached him. "It's a great day to be in the water," she said in agreement, nodding to him as she got closer, "It's very refreshing. Nice to get the blood out of my fur, too." She mentioned her wounds casually, like there was nothing odd about it. His scent told her that he wasn't from around here, so she wasn't worried about him asking any difficult questions or telling anyone about it (well, even if he asked, it wasn't a big deal, since he wasn't from any pack in the west). As long as she was able to hide the fight she'd been in from anyone she knew, it would be fine. "You're not from around here, are you?" she would then ask, with little pause between her words, "I can tell by your scent, you're from some other pack. But what brings you out to the west?" Her head tilted curiously, emerald gaze watching his expression, wondering how he had ended up out here. "Speak" "Listen" Think

Rivaxorus was glad the woman decided to approach him, now his vision and scent could see that she was wounded. Of course he'd be a gentleman and wouldn't comment on them, sometimes wolves got into scuffles and fights it was nothing strange. She didn't seem hostile either, there was a lot about the west he didn't know. There was also the fact that he had never scented her pack before - it must have been new. The male kept a kind smile on his face as well, paws easily settling into the sand as he sat down. That way he didn't tower over her too much. She was sharp, well it was no surprise that she could tell he wasn't from here. "No I'm not from the west, I actually live in the east at the moment. Though I do have family that lives here in the west. I'm here exploring the lands, clearing my mind a little. " he thought it over. He had no desire to visit surreal - part of him didn't want to disappoint her. After all, he should have took better care of his mother. His two different colored eyes looked at the female. "My names Rivaxorus II but you can call me Riv, I'm from the pack Fiori." his tail flicked at the end. "Talk" "You" Think

As she spoke, her eyes scanned over him as he seemed to examine her, as though preparing his own response. Now that she was up close, she realized how truly massive the young man was. She supposed he had to be a large wolf to throw that big rock into the water. Therefore she was glad when he seated himself, further convincing her that he was no threat. She smiled back at him, her paws carrying her to the edge of the water and bringing her onto dry sand. As he began to speak, she seated herself in front of him, perking with curiosity as he began to explain where he was from. How curious it was that he was visiting the west when he lived all the way in the east - an easy thing to do if one was a loner, but more difficult when one resided with a pack. He was traveling to clear his mind a bit - from what, she wondered, but it was not her business to ask right now. However, as he mentioned having family out this way, it didn't seem so out of the ordinary for him to be so far out. Her family was situated many months of travel beyond the horizon, but she knew now that if they were closer, she would surely take the time to see them. It brought a small sigh to her lips and a sinking feeling in her heart - she would never see them again. Focusing on the stranger instead of her homesickness, she learned that his name was Rivaxorus II, and he was from the pack in the east called Fiori. Smiling, she nodded to acknowledge him. "Nice to meet you Riv," she said, making use of his nickname, "I think I heard of Fiori when I was traveling in the east a while ago... anyways, my name's Esarosa and I live here in the west now with a pack called Argead." Then it occurred to her - if he was in the west to visit family, was it possible he was related to someone in her pack? "Is your family in Argead?" she asked, then remembered the other pack out here, "Or are they from Celestial?" She supposed it was also possible that his family were loners out here, but it would be interesting to know if he had family in her pack, or in their neighboring pack. "Speak" "Listen" Think

He was glad his body language got through, he came across many wolves lately. Perhaps he was well off making conversation, even if words could only go so far. She relaxed herself in front of him and the conversation continued. This would give her fur time to dry off as well, her eyes were very pretty. As plain as some wolves could be they each had their quirks in personality, appearance and scent. "Esarosa, It's a nice name." he smiled tilting his head to the side. When she spoke the named of her pack, it was foreign to his ears. However once celestial came up his ears had perked towards her. She had hit spot on with that. "They're from Celestial, I haven't heard of your pack until now are they new? My relative runs celestial as the alphess." he answered her. He hoped that he would not disappoint her with saying that they were from Agread. It was nice to gain that kind of information though. Knowledge was power among all of his muscles and mind. If he could find out all he could that's what he could dig for. At least that way he knew whether to treat it as friend or foe situation at hand. "Talk" "You" Think

Esarosa tilted her head as he spoke, saying that she had a nice name. How charming. She smiled, winking at him. "Thanks!" she said to him, looking to his duo-colored eyes, "Your name sounds kinda formal, but it's really cool. I like it." She smirked, her brows raising as she noticed him perking to attention at her mention of Celestial. So he knew the name of that pack, indeed. It must be where his family resided, so she would fall silent and listen, wondering who he was related to, for she knew some wolves in that pack as well. Some were friends, others... not so much. She nodded as he asked about Argead being new. "Yes the pack is pretty new," she confirmed with him. When had it formed again? She paused to think for a moment, trying to remember exactly when she had first followed the call of Mithras, hoping to see her friend amongst the wolves gathered. "It formed right at the end of winter, I think," she said, tilting her head in obvious confusion, "Or maybe it was the beginning of spring. Anyways, it wasn't very long ago. But I think Celestial was kinda new, too." All she knew was that the pack was new, though she wasn't aware that Surreal's family had been living in that territory for ages before the pack was formally put together. "So Surreal is your relative?" she asked, ears flicking, "Do you know anyone else?" Of course she had to ask. Did he know Varda, her rival, or her friend Miksa? She also had to wonder who he lived with now in the east. It had been a while since she'd explored far and wide, or met anyone new from different packs, so it was good to meet someone now and maybe get a little update on what was happening in other parts of the continent. "Speak" "Listen" Think