ooc:  sorry you got a wee bit of an emotional Raba  xD  But she cheers up quick

Finally the rain had stopped! Karabela stuck her head out from under the ledge she’d been sheltering under when the sudden rainstorm came and went just as suddenly. Cautiously she stuck her head out from under her shelter and eyed the sky as if to make sure it wasn’t waiting to dump on her the second she stepped out from her sanctuary. One paw out. Then the next. Ok, then… she shook out her coat and carried on her way up the mountain. ANOTHER MOUNTAIN UGH! Was she crazy or something? Yes, yes she was but OH WOW-

Karabela’s breath caught in her throat as she took sight of the view, the morning sun stretching over the horizon as far as the eye could see. Ok… definitely worth it. Taking a seat she let her tail wrap around her muddy paws and she took a moment to be still. “Mother… Aksel… I could really use some guidance,” she whispered, “please… what is it I’m here for? I need to know why I was spared please I need to know…” She let her words hang in the air as she quickly wiped at the tears. She could almost here her mothers voice in her head Stay…. stay strong girl. I have taught you all… a great many things. This lesson… may be heavy burden…. but you will be stronger… for it

Stronger… right. She would be. Taking a deep shuddering breath she stretched her limbs then started back up that mountain. Like hell the world was going to keep her down for long!

"Speech"

There were only scattered memories left in these caverns. Why he had come back, he didn't know. Oh, I remember this place! Let's go look inside! One hell of a ride down memory lane it had been. As he began to trace his scent back to the surface, feeling his fur brush against the narrow stone passageway, the nostalgia flooded his senses. He could almost catch the faint scent of the mysterious girl he had found deep down in the many chambers; the adventure that she had spun at their encounter. A small grin tugged at his lips at the thought. Tinaro, the charmer, searching for an opportunity to live on the edge. That was who he used to be. Who was he now? The ground was damp underfoot - it must have been raining while he had carried out his subterranean explorations. Then another scent drifted to his nose, belonging to a very familiar face. What was she doing out here? He rarely caught a glimpse of his pack-mates outside of the territory. Curious, he began to scale the mountain, until his emeralds landed on an ebony and alabaster figure. Somewhat excited to see her, he jogged the rest of the way to catch up with her. He let out a short bark, tongue lolling out of his jaw. "Funny seeing you here, Raba." "SPEAK"

Karabela ignored her bleeding paws and the cut that ran down her right foreleg. She was going to make it to the top of this mountain if it killed her. Yea… she should've paced herself but this was not the time to be meandering about aimlessly. She'd done enough of that lately. Raba allowed herself a moments pause to catch her breath. Reaching down she cleaned up the loose trails of blood from where scabs had dislodged. She could pester a healer about them later if she felt the need though they weren't really that serious. Mostly a nuisance on her quest for glory and… well, whatever it was wolves quested for.

Funny seeing you here, Raba.

Karabela turned to see Tinaro and a grin spread across her face. "Hey Tinaro! Yea, I just decided today was a good day to climb a mountain, ya know? Care to join me? What brings you out this way?"

"Speech"

As he called out to her, she halted, and began cleaning the blood from her paws. Only then did he realise she was bleeding, and as he approached her, he was tentative to avoid the faint red stains in the ground. Either she was pushing herself too hard with this mountainous climb or the terrain was truly rough. Maybe both. He didn't really see why she would want to climb the mountain in the first place; he had only done so himself after discovering her scent. Perhaps he needed the adventure, the adrenaline, and someone to share it with. "Sure! That's what I was thinking of," he replied with a nod, waiting for her to resume her walk so he could walk alongside her. "I was just exploring the caves below. Haven't been there since I was a yearling, I reckon." The time just flew. It brought a pang to his chest. "SPEAK"

A few more good licks and Karabela was satisfied with the work she'd done. There! She was clean enough for now. Her tail wagged as Tinaro agreed to accompany her up the mountain. She was happy for the company. Exploration was always more fun with a partner to share in the adventure. She had yet to really dig into the caverns. She'd skirted about them but had yet to really go spelunking though it was on her list of things to do and she was a touch jealous that Tinaro had beaten her to them. Oh well!

Grinning Karabela resumed her hike, taking deep breaths of the thin mountain air and moving with sure and steady purpose. "You've been here before? I haven't been in the caverns yet. I nosed my way into one of the entrances earlier but I'm saving that for later. I didn't want to burn all my energy in the caverns then try to climb the mountain. Not that I mean to go all the way to the top just… high enough." High enough for what she couldn't really say. High enough that she felt like she'd accomplished something?

"Speech"

Though he didn't pick up the jealousy in her demeanour, he wasn't sure why she was this curious, if not obsessive, over the caverns. They were just caves - large tunnels and holes in the stone underground, if one could put it like that. And they weren't that extraordinary anyway. He took his time exploring, yes, as he always did, though he had never found anything eye-catching. It was dark nonetheless, especially in the chambers void of any light, so it wasn't an overly pleasant adventure. Always better with someone else, he supposed. "I can show you around the caves later, once we get to the top of this mountain. Only if you'd like to, of course," he proposed, turning his head to meet her amber gaze. Either way, he'd be satisfied with the turn of today's events. He had never climbed a mountain before anyway... "SPEAK"

"Sounds good to me, I'll take you up on that offer!" Karabela grinned at the man. She was definitely excited to go exploring in there as soon as they reached the top of the mountains that housed the caverns. Well… not top, not really top… just more… up-ish. Raba sighed quietly to herself. She could almost hear her mothers voice in her head berating her for not having a plan. If she used to much energy getting up she'd have a hard time getting down. "I just want to go up a bit farther I think." Planting her feet firmly she started up again, golden eyes carefully sleuthing out footholds and paths and she climbed. "So Tinaro… how have you been? How's your new rank treating you?"

"Speech"

She agreed with his offer, earning a broad, genuine smile from the male. Not that he was expecting her to turn his proposition down. Now that he thought about, she never seemed to decline anything. She was always positive and determined with this energy radiating around her. He wanted that same perseverance, enthusiasm. Nothing seemed to bring her down, unless there was more to her than met the eye. "Oh yeah, my rank," he murmured to himself, gathering his thoughts. He never thought about it much - being the Prima Guardia. He liked to remain humble about it - just doing his duties when they called. "It's pretty good. I feel relieved now that all my hard work has finally paid off." Had that come out wrong? Was it not modest enough? Was he showing off too much? "What about you? How have you been?" He quickly asked. "SPEAK"

Panting Karabela came to a stop, eyeing the narrow passage ahead that tucked away just under a ledge. Uff da! That was going to be a steep climb. Tinaro was talking and she giggled a bit at the subtle fluster that wavered off his voice. "I can understand that. When you're striving for a goal it must be so sweet to finally sink your teeth into it. I felt the same way when I reached Seconda Guardia after the siege. It's something to be proud of for sure! And… since I haven't said it yet, congratulations!"

She started up the winding path, pushing the right side of her body against the mountain as she gazed down the cliff to her left. That was going to be a hell of a drop. Best proceed cautiously. There was no way this would be harder than Fenrir's Maw, right? All the same best not to get over-confident. If there was one thing she learned from Dægmar it was that mother nature always had a way of knocking over-confident fools down a peg when they decided to test her.

"Me? Oh I've been doing good." Karabela paused both in speech and movement a sigh escaping her lips. "Actually… that's not all true." She glanced back to Tinaro. "I feel like I've plateaued. Like I'm not going anywhere and I'm not even sure where it is I'm supposed to be going. I feel like there is something important I'm meant to do with my life but I don't know what that is."

"Speech"

Unlike her, he hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings. That's not to say he was completely ignoring the mountainous trek. He was careful, taking note of the steep climb when they proceeded up the cliff, but talking helped distract his thoughts. If it wasn't for his encounter with her, he probably wouldn't have found the courage and determination to scale this mountain. Only when she halted would he snap back to reality, realising the strain he was putting his body through. But he wasn't giving up, not while she was still going. "Thank you," he commented a little breathlessly, falling slightly behind her as they travelled up the path alongside the cliff. A sheer drop, he knew, though he pretended it wasn't there. They were totally just walking on flat ground. "Hmm," he murmured to himself when she spoke again, confessing that she hadn't been alright as she would have thought. His brows pulled closer to form a frown. She didn't seem like the type to feel down, not know where to go with her life, but then again, there were many things he didn't know about her. Regardless, he wanted to give her some advice. That was what friends did, right? They helped each other out. He would have expected the same from her. "I felt the same when I was still sitting at Guardia. I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing." But it all turned around when he had picked himself up and challenged for a higher rank. Was he satisfied with being the lead fighter? For the time being, yes. "Maybe that something important is leading a pack of your own?" he mulled in a low voice, searching for her gaze. Everyone wanted to be a leader, and now that he thought about it, she would make an ideal alpha. "SPEAK"

They were getting close, she could feel it. There was a shift in the air and Karabela dug in and kept pushing on. Sliding her large frame around the mountains side. It was hard to resist the urge to look down but Raba fought it, determined not to look down and spoil the view before she got to the top of the mountain where she could take it all in. Tinaro spoke, stating he'd felt the same when he was ranked as a Guardia and then he stated that maybe her something important was leading a pack of her own. Karabela stopped then glanced back at Tinaro. She was silent for a moment then looked down and smiled. "It's funny you should say that. That's one idea I've been mulling over in my mind though I guess I've just been…" What? Hesitant? Scared? It was such a lofty goal to run a pack and with no leadership experience she wasn't sure what made her think she could do this. Part o fher knew she wanted to try it but the other part was wondering just how feasible that was. Perhaps, if she was honest with herself…. "I guess I'm just afraid to fail. I don't know if I'm qualified to lead anybody, Tinaro."

Turning back to the trail she noticed that it ended and a rockier outcropping lay ahead. She searched it, eyes picking out foothold before she leapt forward and scrambled up the rocky terrain to finally, at last, reach the top of the mountain. The world stretched out before her for miles so large and vast… Karabela sighed.

"Speech"

She stopped and returned her gaze. He liked the colour of her eyes - a yellowish amber that he could feel boring into his soul. It was a strange thought, earning a blush, and he was quick to inwardly shake it away from his mind. Such were the random thoughts of his head, popping up whenever they wanted. It was nothing, he supposed. Her voice brought him back to reality, agreeing that she had been contemplating the idea of leading a pack. Ash-tipped ears perked. Had he gotten something right for once? He had to be on a roll today. "I would follow you," he murmured before clearing his throat, speaking a little louder. "You could ask Bass how he does it. I'm sure he has plenty of alpha knowledge." Was he seriously considering leaving Abaven to join her pack, giving up his shiny, prestigious rank? Woah, he didn't even know if she would go ahead with it. It was just an idea, a possibility. "But it's worth a shot. You don't know how good you are at something until you try." And he'd support her, definitely. The path eventually came to an end, and he followed swiftly behind her, placing his paws in the same footholds as she. They climbed up the rocky outcrop, until...there was no more mountain to climb. He frowned before a broad smile spread over his features. They had reached the top! He looked back down the way they came before trotting over to her side, gazing out to the world below. "Totally worth it," he remarked with a nod, nudging her shoulder. "SPEAK"

Karabela's panting slowed as she finally caught her breath. Below her fog was rolling through the forests below from the passing humidity of the early rain. She couldn't wait for the sun to come out and set the world below her glittering with golden light assuming she was patient enough to wait that long. She would try though. The view was stunning but, as always, there was this tug for movement. A restlessness she could never shake. Stillness could only be tolerated for small moments before she was compelled to move again.

"I would follow you."

Karabela turned to Tinaro with a soft smile of gratitude. She appreciated the vote of confidence and replied, "I would be honored if you'd follow me though I know it would be hard to leave Abaven. Perhaps that is part of the reason I'm hesitating. Bass took me in when I was aimless and afraid to return to Imperium. I don't know if this is a betrayal but it feels… I don't know… just right." She glanced away, unsure if she was making any sense and she nodded at Tinaro's suggestion to ask Bass. She had pretty much made up her mind that she was going to do this at some point and it would probably be best to be upfront with Bass rather than blind-siding him after claiming her own territory.

"Yes… this view is definitely worth it." He would nudge her shoulder and she'd grin at him. "The days not over yet! If you still have the energy you should show me those caverns though we can always do that another time as well."

"Speech"

ooc: so sorry about the wait!

He had been entertaining the possibility for a while now: leaving Abaven. Not just for any other pack, but for a new pack led by a friend. Calypsei had once dreamt of a pack, and he had pledged his allegiance to the cyan-furred girl. But that was distant memory now, one that almost seemed to have never happened. He had been so long in Abaven, doing the same over and over again; it was only natural to desire a change in pace. But now with his new rank, could he afford to leave the pack? Would he be letting Bass down? Would he be letting Karabela down if he chose to stay? It was something to mull over. Not at the current moment but soon. When he arrived home after this day's journey, he would think. Weight out his options and come to a decision. From there it was finding his voice to ask Bass. If he chose to leave, that is. And if it was something he wanted, to be with Karabela in this new pack of hers, then he would certainly find the confidence to do so. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to owe you an exploration," he said with a sad smile, hoping that she would understand. "I promise I'll see you again. Who knows, maybe it might just be in this new pack of yours." "SPEAK"

ooc:  you're fine!

Karabela drew in deep, steady breaths of the thin mountain air.  The more she thought about it perhaps they would explore the caverns later.  She was already feeling a bit fatigued and was sure by the time they reached the base of the mountain again she'd just want to curl up and take a nap.  Thankfully she didn't have patrol til later that evening.  Raba yawned lightly as Tinaro spoke and she nodded.  "Perfectly understandable!  I was thinking it might be best to save that trip for another time as well.  I've been expending quite a bit of energy today."  Karabela got to her feet and stretched as she peered down the other side of the mountain before glancing out toward Fenrir's Maw. "I'll hold you to your word.  You have a good day Tinaro, I'm going to check out a few things before I head back to Abaven." There she went again, she never could handle staying still.  Scrambling down the backface of the mountain she leapt from ledge to ledge as she began picking her way down.

-exit?  felt kind of like a good place to end but let me know if you want to continue-

"Speech"