He'd been sick recently, and terribly so. But instead of calling for help from the pack, the stubborn man had left pack lands to try and recover on his own. When things got worse, a loner had come by to help him. Now after a couple of weeks, he was back to feeling his old, grumpy, miserable self. The large male walked at the edge of the bay, the sun warming his coat and the sounds of the water calming his mind...somewhat. like many others in abaven, he'd been scarce. It was like many of them had scattered to the winds, hell he was even missing the drama that everyone was getting tired of. Sighing then, the male heavily sunk to the ground, forelegs extending as cyan eyes stared out at the water. All this time in that pack, and still he felt no differentthen when he joined. Nothing has changed. He still felt like a stranger to himself, and to everyone around him. "Talk"

teach me gently how to breathe

Solveiga had done a ridiculous amount of traveling lately. Ever since her brother had left she had been traveling, but it had gotten worse when she had found that discovering new places could get her mind off of the pain of abandonment. Of course, Solveiga wasn't complaining. She had always been the type to love exploring, seeing new things. She was in a whole new region of this continent now, and that brought with it a whole new array of possibilities. Today she found herself on a lovely beach, with crystalline blue waters and magnificent little shells scattered about in the sand.

She had taken to counting them, seeing how many of a similar kind she could find. So far she had seen ten white ones, four orange ones, and two that had been shaped like tiny stars... suddenly, in her hunt for seashells, Solveiga discovered a set of footprints. Large ones, much larger than her own. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, a bit startled. What was she thinking, daydreaming and wandering about like this? Her brother would have been furious with her. He would have scolded her.

She missed that.

Just then her baby blue eyes landed on the stranger, sitting not twenty feet away. She swallowed nervously, but decided to approach him slowly. Perhaps he was friendly. And if not, she could always make a run for it. Solveiga was faster than a fox most days. "Hello?" she called out shyly, waiting for a response.

It was kind of...peaceful here. But he didn't know whether he liked it or hated it. Too much quiet gave him time to think about his past, where everything was so perfect before it went so wrong. He'd been such a good boy, hard working and loyal. Always offering his help. And now? He was slacking, rude, and pissed at the world. His parents had they still been alive, would be disappointed in him he was sure. He spread his toes out in the sand, watching the earth shift at his will. What was it like to lead others? To control them? To make them do whatever you wanted? Did Bass enjoy telling them all what to do? "Tch. Too much responsibility." He growled. Blue eyes sought to close, but not before a feminine voice spoke. He turned his head to look at her, a very small and feminine wolfess coming into sight. He very slightly narrowed his eyes at her, lip twitching for a moment. To scare her off? Or allow the company? She seemed frightened already, he heard it in her voice and could see it in her posture. If he stood up, would she run? The thought was rather amusing, but he'd never make friends if he kept scaring them all away. With much effort, he turned his head back to the water, a single word falling from his lips. "Hi." It wasn't too rude. But one could never tell with him. "Talk"

teach me gently how to breathe

Solveiga padded quietly through the sand, her tail tucked a bit out of habit as she approached the stranger. She had no clue of what this man could be like, so she needed to be careful. He heard her shy greeting and looked up, eyes narrowing and lip curling just the tiniest bit, enough to make her pause. Would he jump up and come after her? What would she do then, besides run? She was alone, with no one to help her if this man proved to be violent or greedy. The small woman shivered gently at such a thought and waited to see what would happen.

But then, after a weighted silence, the man turned to look out at the waves again and gave her a short hi in response. This did not upset her, after all she was a creature of few words and did not blame the man if he was too. It would simply make for a very dull conversation if neither of them said anything. "Hi," she said, again, and she cringed at her mistake. She wasn't exactly the charismatic type. "Um, mind if I join you? Solveiga asked finally, her paw scratching uneasily at the damp sand.

Another hi would be her response, the males ear twitching as he fought to keep from rolling his eyes. He thought for a moment on her request, and truthfully he was squirming with the decision. To tell her to leave, or let her stay? He wanted friends, wanted to let others in. But it was so damn hard for him, and he didn't know why he was still pushing others away. He bit his lip for a moment, head turning back to look at her before returning his gaze to the water. "Go for it. I don't mind." He shifted over a little to give her room on the dry sand. His body was tense, heart pounding as he took that first step into socializing again. He sighed as he waited for her to sit down. Blue gaze closing for a moment, allowing himself to calm down before he said something that might hurt her feelings. Granted, he didn't know her, but maybe an introduction wouldn't hurt, right? "Names Zell Valentine. And you?" He opened his eyes again, the words almost forced to be said as he fought with himself. He turned to look at her again, his gaze a little less hardened then it was before. He couldn't keep scaring everyone off, how else would he make friends? "Talk"

teach me gently how to breathe

The man seemed to lighten up a bit after his first callous greeting, and for that Solveiga was grateful. She really didn't know how to deal with the grumpy, antisocial type. She gave a small smile as the man shifted over in the sand and she came a little closer to sit beside him. But not too much closer. She didn't know him yet, and she need to be smart and always keep her guard up.

Just then he introduced himself and asked her name, and her tail swayed gently in the sand. "Solveiga Derus," she replied, being as polite as possible. But that came naturally to her, she was never rude to anyone, especially someone she did not know. "So, Zell, what brings you here today? she asked casually, looking at him. She was exploring, and this happened to be another land she had come across. But he smelled of other wolves. He smelled of a pack. Needless to say, Solveiga was curious. She had been looking for a potential pack to join.

He sighed almost quietly. He wasn't always like this, but ever since that accident before he came here, he was never the same after that. He'd managed to get on his alphas bad side, or at least...he had been. He wasn't sure if he still was now, but he didn't care too much at the moment to think about it. Returning his attention to her, he nodded as she introduced herself. Turning his body over to face her instead of keeping his back turned to her. "I may look intimidating, but I'm not going to bite you." He felt that he should make that clear, she seemed pretty nervous and shy as it was. His brow raised at her question, his head turning lazily to look at the water again. What was he doing out here? Peace and quiet? He got enough of that in the pack. When they weren't all arguing at every meeting anyway. "I'm not too sure. Some...thinking, and reflecting I guess." Was that really what he was here for? "Talk"

teach me gently how to breathe

Solveiga tried to chuckle a bit as the man said he wouldn't bite. Truthfully, she hadn't been sure at first, he seemed a little like the biting type. Still, to show the man she believed him, she relaxed her posture a bit more so she was lounging in the sand, her front legs flat on the ground and the damp sand just barely touching her stomach. She watched the waves roll in and out and turned to look at the man as he responded to her question. He said he was thinking, and maybe even reflecting. "Thinking is good," she said, but minded her own business and did not ask the man what he was thinking about. Still tugging at her curiosity was that pack scent on his fur.

"Would you mind if I asked you a question? she began, just wanting to be sure that the man would not be offended in any way by her curiosity. Some wolves, she had found, did not like when others started to pry. "I was wondering..." she said, looking down at her paws in the sand. "Do you belong to a pack? Is it near here?

Thinking was good...maybe for some. But it never really did anything good for him. He refrained from saying anything about it though. He did notice that she had relaxed some, which in turn made him relax a bit too. She was...too sweet. Possibly naive too, but he didn't know her well enough yet to judge that aspect of her. The cream colored male raised a brow then when she asked if she could ask something. "Shoot." He didn't mind if others asked questions. He had to admit, she was probably the first wolf to ask him anything. Not even his own pack mates stopped to ask him things that mattered unless it had to do with the patrols or something. "You're wondering why I'm such a stiff?" Jumping the gun as usual. It seemed, that wasn't what she wanted to ask. Instead, she asked about his pack. And he snorted in amusement. "Heh, sorry. I thought it was going to be something more personal." He smirkeda bit at her shyness. It was...cute. Different then the girls in the pack who mostly seemed to try and put on a dominant or know-it-all front. Cute and shy was a welcome change. "Yeah. I'm in Abaven, a pack not too far from here. To be honest though, they're a bunch of stiffs and the atmosphere there hasn't helped me one bit since--" His mouth quickly snapped shut. He almost told her. He hadn't told anyone about his life before going to abaven. And he doubted he'd start now. No...it was too painful. "Talk"

teach me gently how to breathe

The awkward tension between the two seemed to be slowly dissipating, but for now it was still there. Perhaps it would always be there, somehow. Both wolves seemed a bit withdrawn. Solveiga wanted to reach out and make friends, it was just that she had trouble doing so. Maybe that would change. Maybe it wouldn't. Only time would tell, she supposed. She let out a small laugh at what the man said, assuming that she was going to ask something personal, like the reason behind him being a stiff. She managed to give him a wry smile. "Why would I ask that? I'm clearly not the charismatic type, I would have no room to talk," Solveiga said. She continued to smile a bit as she listened to him talk about his pack, Abaven.

They were a bunch of stiffs, apparently. "You're certainly not in charge of recruiting, are you?" she giggled. As time passed she felt more comfortable, and was able to converse less awkwardly. That was a blessing in itself. "If you don't like it, why don't you leave?" the small woman asked. It was not an accusation by any means. She asked out of simple and innocent curiosity. The man should be happy. It was his life to live, in the way he wanted to live it.

She was sweet...a little too sweet. But it only fueled his hidden desire to be less of an asshole. Which was...weird. all he'd ever been was an asshole since being in his pack, and all the drama and stuff did not help one bit. He would shrug at her words, blue gaze finding her smaller form as he opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. Why would she think that? Because who wouldn't? It was what he showed others, mainly to protect himself from the hurt of losing what he loved. His family was a prime example. "Well, I'm pretty sure you're not an asshole. You're alot nicer then I am..." At least, he used to be nice. He still was...it was just harder for him to show it.

He glanced at her, her recruiting question one he dismissed with a scowl and a shrug of his shoulders. "Why would I want others to add to the drama and the chaos? I get enough of that as it is." He sighed, the man moving to a sitting position as he shook sand from his coat. She had brought up a very good question, but could he? He supposed he would have no problem leaving. But then he'd be a loner, and despite his grumpy attitude, he preferred to be around others then be alone. "Because...I don't have anywhere else to go. So I'm stuck here." His voice came out a low growl, though not directed at her.

teach me gently how to breathe

Solveiga could tell that this man wasn't happy. Maybe she was naive, like some innocent little child, but all she truly wanted was for everyone to be happy. She knew everyone couldn't be happy all the time, but she wanted them to at least have the ability. This man seemed like he hadn't smiled in a long time. And suddenly, Solveiga felt the urge to make it her mission to bring a smile out of Zell. But that could take a lot of time, and might not even work. She sighed a bit at his words and pushed herself up into a sitting position as well. "You're never stuck anywhere, take it from me," she said. "I basically became a whole new person during these last few seasons. It's never too late to make a new life for yourself." With this, she gave Zell a harmless nudge with her shoulder, smiling encouragingly at him.

"Of course, you don't have to believe a word I say," Solveiga said, shrugging and getting to her feet. She stepped forward a bit, submerging her front paws in the water and watching the waves push and pull at the sand underneath. "But I can tell you're tired of being miserable. So why not change it?"