Wandering to the island had seemed like the obvious decision. Having failed to find much alone time for a while, Mara figured a nice island with a barely-there land bridge was a good start to her search. Plenty of prey animals had made a home for themselves on this little scrap of land. It was relatively quiet, a good sign. Yes, this place had promise indeed.

Moving over the rough terrain, she hoped it would prove to be worth the effort once she found somewhere to claim as her spot for the day. It wasn't too irritatingly warm, sometime she appreciated. Parts of the lands down south were getting a pinch toast for her liking. Slowly, the slate colored woman came to a halt, orange-yellow eyes narrowing at what she'd spotted. Half-crumbling structures seemingly made of fallen trees stuck together. At first she was confused and uncertain what to make of this sight, but then one thought overwhelmed the rest - this was a good place to turn into a den. She could nap here. With that, the wolf trotted towards the odd structures, still cautious in case something was amiss.

Inside, she found objects beyond her comprehension or interest, most of which looked old and beyond usefulness anyways. Moving from one chamber to another, Mara inspected the place and was pleased to find another creature had apparently spent some time gathering bedding materials of their ow here. She'd promptly curl up there, not caring if another creature had made it's home here. If anyone challenged her now she'd be more than happy to tear into them, wolf or not.

Zephyr had never been much of a swimmer, but he was doing something he seemed to be getting pretty good at lately... running away. Not actually running away, but certainly running away from his thoughts. Things with Caelum were just so easy when they ignored the harder things that they needed to eventually conquer, from focusing instead on the present moment instead of the past. Today he felt like getting far away from everything familiar to him, so when he saw the sliver off land off the coast - definitely within swimming distance, he decided - he figured he might as well go exploring somewhere new. Once he reached solid ground, which had taken a bit longer than he'd expected, his chest heaved from the exertion. He vigorously shook some of the water from his thick coat, hoping he might dry off quickly despite the fairly cool day. Though it was summer, the sea breeze made the day seem quite chilly, as did the more northern location of the island. Hopefully the sun would warm him up quickly, he thought, as a shiver crawled up his spine. His attention moved to the terrain, as he wandered deeper into the island from the shoreline. He hadn't seen anything like some of these crumbling structures, and his interest was briefly captivated by the scenery. His nose wrinkled as he caught the scent of another on the air, surprised that someone else had made the trek here. It was hard to tell if this place could sustain anyone long-term, and the lack of scent markers here only further confirmed that belief. His gait was relaxed as he wandered, only stiffening when the figure of another entered his vision, curled in one of the structures. His hackles raised instinctively, eyes narrowing -- wonder why someone else had chosen to explore here. "Strange place to make a den," he commented dryly, maintaining a decent distance from her still. "Talk" "You" Think

Please go away, please please pleaaase... No such luck. Damn. The sound of paws hitting the dirt just continued to approach, despite her best efforts to simply will the stranger out of existence. One day that would work - she could hope. Drawing a paw up over one side of her face as if blocking bright light from hitting her face, Mara hunkered down lower to the ground.  Ugh. "Strange place to make a den," the man called in the most vexingly dry of tones. Who was he to comment on what she did? Sudden yet smooth, Mara slid into a standing position and glided towards the man with narrowed eyes, inspecting him from ears to paws and finding little of interest. Geez, why was everyone so boring? Stopping maybe closer than was comfortable but still out of reach she purred, "Who the hell said it was a den?" Staring at him a moment, she'd add, "Strange place to be waltzing around by yourself, hm?" he seemed to smell vaguely like another wolf, though she couldn't be sure why. The swim here probably washed most of whatever it was off. "Talk" "You" Think

Why had he come here, anyway? He really didn't have an answer, and hoped that it wasn't a question anyone was going to ask him. At least this place seemed mildly interesting, if nothing else. Exploring it would be a good way to pass the day, and he figured there were enough trees to make a makeshift den for the night if he didn't feel like swimming back to mainland. For now, though, his attention was captured by this female curled in some kind of temporary shelter near him. Her words elicited a faint snort from him. His expression wasn't particularly amused, but clearly contained some sort of interest, however vague. "Does the act of sleeping in something not make it a den?" Zephyr asked, pursing his lips slightly and furrowing his brows. Geeze, who woke her up on the wrong side of the bed today? "Doesn't seem that strange to me, and it must not to you either. Don't think you'd be here otherwise." Sound enough logic, it seemed like to him. A single brow rose as he eyed her inquisitively. "Talk" "You" Think

"Ah, but you see, I didn't get a chance to sleep in it because someone came waltzing across this island and decided to strike up a little chat," she growled, voice containing just a touch of amusement beneath the normal thick layer of irritation. That was nothing new, Mara was always annoyed. She always figured she wouldn't be if there wasn't so much to be annoyed by. Other wolves, the weather, how many flowers were growing that day. The list was both entirely subjective and excessively long. Some might say she wanted to be grumpy all the time. Hell, maybe they'd even be right. Cocking her head to one side she eyed him a moment. Perhaps a sound enough argument, but she wasn't one to just let things be. "Fair, though I spend my time alone, wandering is to be expected from someone with nothing better to do. You though, you stink of at least one other wolf. I thought those that lived with others liked to not be alone, unless I'm mistaken." Seating herself, Mara yawned far louder than was polite and then resumed her staring at the man, orange eyes half lidded with thinly veiled boredom. Sniffing the air, she recognized the smell of a female thick on the others fur. "Talk" "You" Think

Her words made him grin again, though the expression wasn’t exactly a kind one - but instead amused that she seemed so irritated at the interruption. ”Alright, I’ll redefine the word den for you, then. Let’s add the intent to sleep to that definition. Doesn’t matter if you’re interrupted or not. Still makes it a den.” His own lips twitched in slight frustration, as though on the verge of snarling, but he remained standing and eyeing her. Something about her was intriguing, though he’d probably not admit it out loud, especially to her, A snort echoed from him at her words. ”I stink?” Zephyr replied, mockingly defensive, his jaw unhinging slightly. If anyone in this moment stunk it was most certainly not him. And though his swim here had washed most of him clean, he had conveniently refrained from dunking his head into the frigid ocean water - and Caelum’s scent apparently lingered. ”I like being alone some of the time. More than half the time. But even someone as strong as I can’t resist the most beautiful of ladies. I’m sure you can relate, no?” Zephyr didn’t know the first thing about her. Didn’t know if she liked ladies or not, though he figured he’d bring it up - since he’d met some that did - and see if he hit a sore spot with her. He hoped he might. "Talk" "You" Think

Something between a laugh and a derisive snort left her lips as she gave him a half-hearted attempt at a smirk, "Well in that case with a definition that broad you may as well consider the entire world my damn den. I have every intention or sleeping anywhere I please whenever I feel like it." swishing her tail, she contemplated what to make of this ridiculous brute. It irked her that she wasn't quite sure. "I stink?" the man replied to her in his most ridiculous display yet. Suppressing her first instinct, which was to snap irritable at the fool, Mara opted to nod in the gravest of manners, as if confirming something truly terrible. He did indeed stink - there was just no getting around it. A shame, really. Focusing on his next excessive spew of words, she paused briefly to decide what if anything she would reply to. The bit about ladies broke the silence as she scoffed, though not as loud and rude as was the norm for Mara. "You ought to tell your lady about that beautiful shit, I hear ladies like that, not that I'd know," she muttered pointedly, eyeing the brute. "Talk" "You" Think

Damn, she was a feisty one, wasn't she? Zephyr furrowed his brows in vague annoyance at her words.  "You sure love arguing, don't you?" He asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question. Clearly she enjoyed it, or she would've let his point go already instead of dragging it on. He, too, was a stubborn creature and was happy to hold on to the point for longer than necessary.  "I suppose you could call the world your den. You won't seem like the brightest wolf when you tell people that, but that's your problem, not mine." His expression lightened a bit, a faint smirk toying with his lips as he eyed her. She nodded at his question, which forced him to roll his eyes indignantly. Zephyr was tempted to exclaim that she clearly had terrible taste in men, since he most certainly did not stink, but he refrained.. for now. Instead, he scoffed again at her words.  "How do you know I don't tell her that shit?" Zephyr retorted sharply, eyeing her and expecting a response.  "You sound a bit jealous that no handsome men tell you that sort of thing. You're about as appealing as a week-old piece of meat that's been left sitting out in the hot sun, so I can't imagine why they wouldn't..." Usually he wasn't so outwardly callous, usually being the keyword, but she was rubbing him the wrong way already. "Talk" "You" Think

Her chin raised a few defiant degrees as she proclaimed, "Damn straight." brow quirked, she practically invited him to keep it going. Sure it wasn't physical blows, but a good verbal back and forth could be just as satisfying for the pugnacious woman. Bring it. Yawning obnoxiously loud and gracing the brute with her delightful morning breath Mara eyed him with half-lidded orange eyes. Not the brightest was easily one of the nicer things she'd been called. Didn't really have the same impact as things like 'murderer' and 'you crazy monster bitch' but at least he tried, hm? A lopsided grin mixed with a snarl pulled at her lips, "Pft, obsessing over the opinions of others is hardly my style, but if you wanna be so concerned about it, suit yourself." Little did he know she'd sooner beat the living shit out of anyone who bugged her than concern herself with their perception of her intelligence. "I don't know a thing, just said you should. Ya got a real tendency to put words in others mouths, huh?" she mused with a chuckle. Man, this guy sure was something. "Oh, terribly jealous, how did you know?" she cried mockingly, rolling her eyes. Not a day in her life had she concerned herself with the opposite sex, she wasn't planning to start anytime soon either. "With a mouth like that you're no prize either, dear. Didn't your parents teach you manners?" that almost had her laughing. Manners, what a joke. "Talk" "You" Think

Despite his annoyance, something about Mara was… mildly amusing. Perhaps he simply hadn’t met anyone quite so grouchy in a while, but he found himself feeling entertained by her attitude. Instead of arguing with his statement about her loving arguing, she agreed easily, and he very nearly smiled. Nearly - he caught himself before his expression came to fruition, and instead his lips merely twitched. He wasn’t sure if he was impressed with her or annoyed. Or maybe an annoying combination of both. Briefly he wondered if they weren’t that different after all - maybe that was why she rubbed him the wrong way a bit, as he’d never gotten along well with wolves that were too similar to himself - but he abandoned that thought quickly. This time though his grin grew at her retorts, reveling in the exchanging of insults. He had a thick skin, that was certain, and he was ready for more. Though not the kindest man, exchanging insults with someone who took them too personally, or - god forbid - actually grew offended by them wasn’t his idea of a good time. That got old fast.  "Mmm, at least I’m not putting other things in your mouth," he retorted, raising an eyebrow at the implication. Hey, she was the one that’d said it. Zephyr found himself admiring her ferocity; it was more impressive than unattractive, even if he scent wasn’t the least bit appealing to him. Still… he hadn’t turned around yet, though he’d be happy to claim that the journey back to mainland was simply too long to face again so soon after arriving here.   "And no, they didn’t, as a matter of fact. They taught me how to hunt, sleep, and shit. I grew bored of that life long before they thought to teach me manners. Clearly yours were lacking in that department, too.." "Talk" "You" Think

This was an interesting change of pace, that much she could admit fairly easily. Normally she'd have driven others off by this point. So, what now? Just keep at it and see what happened, not much else to do and her alone time had been thoroughly ruined anyways. She only made the effort to quirk a brow at his first comment. Yeah, okay guy. The next bit was what got her attention. "Sounds like an awfully shitty education, no wonder you go around striking up conversations with someone trying to take a nap." Mara giggled at the mention of her own family, cooing, "You bet your ass they were. Dearest teacher Feli had to try and get my lazy ass moving cause my parents were quitters who couldn't be bothered to spend time with their offspring." Maybe if it were someone else talking about subjects like that they'd have some kind of emotion behind their words, but Mara wasn't terribly bothered by the way things went down. In that pack there wasn't always a lot of close familial bonding, go figure she'd have little to no concern for her own parents. "Talk" "You" Think

At least her company was amusing, if nothing else. On one hand, she acted like he was being a bother, and yet she didn't care enough to attempt to chase him off - or even easier still, simply relocate himself. He snorted though in response to her comment.  "Shitty indeed," he agreed easily. He didn't have many memories of his parents, let alone feeling so nostalgia about them - he'd left young enough that he hardly remembered anything about them, now. Most of his education, so to speak, had been gained on his own. Her next comment though made his ears perk. Feli, eh? What a coincidence. It had to be one; there was no chance, of all the wolves in the world, she was talking about the same Feli he knew.  "Hm. I had a mentor of sorts named Feli too. Felicien, but Feli for short." he recalled, his voice a touch warmer now. He did care for Felicien quite a bit; he had brought him back to life, so to speak, when he'd had no will to live at all left in him. He'd taught him far more than his parents ever had, that was certain. "Talk" "You" Think

Mara was giving up on pinning down how to assess this man. All she knew was she didn't hate him, so that was good enough for now. The whole discussion of families was odd, but she did sort of like knowing someone else that had a less than perfect relationship with their parental units. Family was just... Well, it was something.

Suddenly she perked up at his next words, the irritable manner she normally maintained slipping away a moment in favor of curiosity, ears and eyes fixed on him. "You don't say..." she began, pausing a moment to fully drink in this information. There was no way that was a coincidence. "Félicien Desrosiers?" What an interesting twist this would be. If it was the same feli - though she had little reason to think it would be another - it seemed he'd managed to find himself at least one new student since he'd left the pack way back when.

His entire demeanor changed at the possibility that she, too, knew Felicien. No, not just knew - it sounded very much like he'd been a mentor to her, just as he had to him. Zephyr couldn't help but wonder quickly if she participated in the same line of work that he and Feli did.. or, well, that he had been doing, since he'd found Caelum again. Against his better judgment, but the decision to stay here with her was definitely in line with what his heart wanted. Stupid broken thing. When she confirmed it was, indeed, his Feli he finally let a grin break over his features. "And here I was, thinking I was his only protégé," he drawled, his voice playful as his tail swatted lightly at the ground. It wasn't much of a surprise that Felicien had taken a liking to this scarred up female. He'd always had a penchant for the broken ones, and it all made that much more sense to him now. And she suddenly seemed a bit less ugly than he'd originally thought. "What a small world, mm?" Amusement flickered on his features now, teeth revealed as he found himself grinning slightly still. "Talk" "You" Think

She chuckled at his words, shaking her head a little, "Hardly his only, the old man pretends to be so tough and harsh but he's incapable of passing up a chance to help someone." Oh, Feli... The man never did change, did he? The serious fighter with a steely exterior and a giant soft spots inside. She wouldn't have been at all surprised if he'd picked up another stray or two that neither of them knew about.

Feeling a little more at ease and significantly less irritable, Mara couldn't stop herself from asking after Feli, "Speaking of the old man, have you seen him recently? It's been a while since I bumped into him, and we never really discussed what he'd been up to anyways." She didn't really know much of anything about what he did after leaving their now fallen pack. Something that used his skills to their full potential, surely. It would be unthinkable for him to do anything else.