Rose was snickering from Erik's way of walking. The brush of the vegetation below wasn't what he was used to and with the snow melted thankfully he didn't have to deal with pouncing in the puffs of white frozen water. He heard the owl on his shoulder snickering and gave a shake as she flapped her wings some and landed on the ground, having to beat her wings to keep up with the now prancing wolf. "come on, you look ridiculous walking like that."she hooted at him before flying up back on his shoulder once he slowed down for her to catch up. "these twigs are getting stuck and you know how annoying it is to get it out of my fur," he drawled at her lightly. She perched herself back in the nook of his shoulders, gripping his thick fur there with her small talons. "and that's why you have me prancy paws."she retorted back with a snap of her beak towards his ear. Erik shook his head a little and rolled his eyes at her. "next time i make us a burrow i'll bury you in it."he grumbled at her at the nickname 'prancy paws' She simply rolled her eyes and stayed silent after that, letting Erik trek about in the large forest. She wasn't the type to fly and Erik learned that the hard way when he continued to ask her to fly up and see where they were only to have her finally snap at him that she was afraid of heights. For months he had teased her about it but it soon fell short when she found out that he was terrified of small rodents. She couldn't stop laughing as the memory came to her in that moment, causing him to turn his head to barely see the side of her wing. he raised a curious brow. Without words she simply shrugged her wings. the trip was thus silent until Erik got tired and then sighed, waiting for Rose to pop off. As she did he sat on his haunches and gave a yawn. the previous night wasn't very relaxing and he had a slight twinge along his spine. he lifted his leg and scratched at his ear as Rose fluffed her feathers some. "I think i'm getting rusty..." he mused softly under his breath. Rose’s Speech Talk Thoughts

I SEE ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB BUT I GOT STAMINA

Warm southern winds beckoned Karabela to take her wanderings north where summer had yet to fully settle. The east was tepid and the air of the Maw still fresh and cool thanks to the altitude but it didn't stop her incessant wandering. Ivory Ridge had grown quiet again. She was getting used to the waxing and waning of pack activity and it might have bothered her if it weren't for the gathering she'd been planning for months with the leader of Fiori. A joint training and chance to meet new faces would surely enliven the small, trade-faring pack. Speaking of trading, Karabela was going to go through their stores and start the process of trading goods with their trade partners. She made a mental note to start going through when she got back, if she wasn't to tired.

Slipping through the tangle of trees Karabela sighed lightly to herself. Each new day her heart stirred with the urge to explore and each new day her paws took her farther and farther from her pack. She was beginning to wonder if she was really meant for a leadership role. There was one solace at least, her nightmares had grown fainter and her wandering had taken on a sense of peace, she no longer felt as if she were trying to get away from something.

Ebony shoulders rolled languidly forward as Karabela paused to stretch. Should she turn back? Eyeing the sun she decided she still had time before it was her shift to patrol the borders. Turning to head farther north she caught the scent of another wolf, male. Oh? So she wasn't alone? Curious she followed the scent to come upon a dark-pelted male and an owl. "Hello, there! Admiring the forest?"


"Speech"

The loathsome itch was back right behind his ear this time as his back paw moved and scratched at it rather mercilessly. Rose gave a feather ruffle before she caught some noise of the moving brush and stood up straighter to see what was there. Erik hadn't bothered to actually pay attention just yet as the annoying it was irritating him horribly now. "stupid itch! ugh i hate fleas!" he complained like a child. Rose gave a hoot and flapped her wings before the words of the stranger flew with the wind and reached Erik's ears as well. His back paw was in mid height and quite honestly he looked like a puppy in the position he was in. he quickly posed himself and stood, a charming smirk along his muzzle, tail raised a bit in a playful manner though it held itself at a low 45 degree angle down. "oh hello there lovely, the view just got a bit better now."he grinned even more, making sure he was showing off how well he looked with his rather large neck fur cascading and smoothing over the rest of his body. Rose gave an eye roll; she knew what he was doing. She gave his back leg a smack with her wing."you sleep outside if she doesn't fall for it." she hooted for him to hear. He gave a soft huff, but when he repositioned his stance, she knew he also accepted the terms. Rose’s Speech Talk Thoughts

I SEE ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB BUT I GOT STAMINA

Karabela bit back a laugh as the man turned to look at her, one of his hind legs poised mid-scratch. He looked so silly! She grinned at him as he quickly recovered from her intrusion. She wondered if he was having the same trouble as she was with the turning of the season signaling a change in pelts. He was a handsome man, nearly a foot shorter than her! Living around her aunt and niece she often forgot her height might be considered abnormal. Karabela's head tilted to the side as he straightened himself out and spoke to her.

"oh hello there lovely, the view just got a bit better now."

She chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to hear I haven't made it worse, I do have a tendency to block one's view altogether." She couldn't help it being so large but at least she wasn't built like her aunt. Birna was an absolute mountain of a wolf. Karabela seemed to be doing well finding the casanova's of Boreas and she didn't see any harm in playing around a bit. As a fully fledged warrior there were few opponents she couldn't tackle and anyway the man didn't seem to be particularly harmful. She gazed at the owl that slapped a wing against his hind leg. "My name is Karabela. Who might you and your friend be? Are you natives of this land?"

"Speech"

It wasn't until when the space between them began to shorten that he realised how big she was. 'gods, she is one big girl..'he thought to himself before his grin only got wider and Rose was somehow intimidated by the size of her. She flapped her wings and went up to Erik's shoulders and dug her talons in his fur to secure herself there. Erik moved closer, a regal type of prance he gave to give himself more charm, or at least that's what he was hoping he was doing. "don't freight my lady, I am quite admiring the view even more so." he chimed while Rose, blocked by his fur for the moment, gave another eye roll. In her mind she was smirking at the thought if Erik got lucky enough to try and mount that. He broke the distance between them where now just a few feet were between them. he didn't mind looking up and his tail now rested but still gave a slight wag here and there from simply having the company of another wolf. For him it had been too long. He gave a short laugh and shook his head slightly. "We are not, simply travelers actually. I am Erik and this is Rose." Erik never actually knew where he was born, just that it was near the sea. Since his departure from his father's pack a year ago and a few months; he had been trying to find it again. Up close the scare was easier to see, and it was clear that he had one bad encounter when he was younger. Rose’s Speech Talk Thoughts

I SEE ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB BUT I GOT STAMINA

Karabela resisted the urge to giggle as the man stared at her. She imagined he was staring because of her height but he seemed quite intent on ensuring that he was enjoying the view so why should she fret? Karabela continued to grin. Goodness, was he flirting with her? She cocked an eyebrow at him but said nothing to discourage it. She didn't mind a little harmless flirting as long as the man was polite about it. If he'd strayed into pressing her she had no problem biting back.

The man introduced himself as Erik and his companion, an owl, as Rose. She dipped her head in formal greeting to the pair as her thoughts drifted to Chaos and his pair of owls. Erik stated he was not a native of the north but a traveller. "Oh? Fantastic! I'm a traveller myself or… well I used to be until I came upon another calling." Again she felt the tug of the wind against her fur as it beckoned her into the unknown and unseen lands while duty tied her back to Ivory Ridge. Karabela wished she could stop feeling like she was being pulled in two. "Do you have a favorite kind of terrain? Perhaps I can make a few suggestions for your next stop?"

"Speech"

Erik’s eyes continue to gaze at her, enjoying how she simply stood there for him to marvel at. His grin only widened when she exclaimed she too was a traveler. Rose even perked up a bit, wondering if this she-wolf knew the way to the ocean so Erik would quit his damn belly-aching. Though as the owl was curious of that, it was what Erik heard in her continued sentence that made his head give the slightest tilt in curiousness. Another calling? He was about to question it, finding a way to bring it out; whether he should bluntly say it or beat around the bush. What stopped him was her stating questions. Favorite terrain. The smile on his muzzle changed almost drastically. From a charming and perky grin it became subtle, soft and his eyes seemed to wonder as he could clearly see the crashing waves of the sea on the beach. Rose felt the muscles in his back beneath his fur change as his whole body relaxed. Rose knew he was back in his zen. ”The beach,” he said, his voice soft and almost whimsical. ”the sounds the water makes when it crashes along the sand, the shades of blue and clear splash when the sun shines down.” Slowly Erik’s eyes had closed. He could remember it all when he was pup. ”I grew up by the sea, marveled by its splendor, enjoying the smell and spray it would give my fur when i would wrong along the shallows.” His voice was still soft, stuck in his dream like state before Rose’s talon gave his skin a pinch to remind him where he was. He didn’t seem embarrassed that he had been caught off guard, remembering the wonderful time he had when he was there. He instead gave a soft chuckle and bowed his head again, one of his paws curling up as the bow itself was elegant. Rose mimicked this action atop his back, a wing out to help her balance. ”ah forgive me my lady, I do tend to get lost in the sea’s memory.” he explained and stood back up, his cheeky grin returning. ”I have been trying to find my way back to her,” he explained again as if the sea was a long lost lover. Rose’s Speech Talk Thoughts

I SEE ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB BUT I GOT STAMINA

Karabela watched the man's grin soften as a faraway look came to his eyes. She wondered what he was thinking about. Was he imagining scenes of home? Perhaps a place he'd always longed to see but had yet to visit? The beach. Ah, a terrain she wasn't quite as familiar with but she had visited several areas that had coastline though perhaps not quite as picturesque as the land he was describing. In her experience no where was ever quite like home but the least she could do was point him in a few directions.

"Think nothing of it, Erik! I know what it's like to lose oneself in nostalgia. I have been to the sea a few times. Once in the North I visited the Polar Sound, a fjord that cuts its way from the ocean into the shore. It is lovely with great waterfalls careening down rock though it is a rough place, a jagged place. The Kamui Delta far to the east is more temperate and easier to explore though there are no great crashing waves, the water meanders at a sluggish place. I've been to several of the eastern islands such as the Ibis islands, though I think I found Alias Island to be the most facinating. There are strange things on that island, remnants of human dwellings. If any of these fancy you I could give you finer directions."

She hoped to be able to help him. It was odd, but the mentioning of places of birth and the memories that came with them had her suddenly longing to visit the Buffalo Knolls again. How were the remnants of Imperium holding up after all these years? It was a silly question she knew, the packs scent vanished moons ago and the dens were surely worn down through the flooding and the pounding of hooves.


"Speech"