To say she was a bit frustrated with her own failings was to tell a lie. She was downright disgusted with herself. She had soaked up her time with her family enough, and while she and her father had kept up with patrolling, she ached to catch up with Amos, who she hadn’t had a chance to track down – and he’d been unable to catch her – in… well, it felt like years. Did her friend think she’d abandoned him?

So, the shimmering white female set out through the plains, head down and nose casting for his scent. When she found a fresh trace, her heart leapt hopefully, and she studied the ground for prints, turning to follow the direction he’d taken.

She took her time, practicing her silent movement through the summery plains. When she found him, a quick grin of mischief flickered over her muzzle before she surged forward with a playful leap, aiming to tackle the male from behind with a bark of friendly menace.

”Amos!” More than a little joy lifted her tone, tail echoing the pleasure with great sweeping wags.

Please don't hate me...

Morning patrol was uneventful as per usual. It seemed like no one was interested in poking around the borders these days, which was good because it would suck to have intruders wandering in on a regular basis, but also made for frightfully boring morning patrols. Heck, he didn't need to have another wolf show up, any unwelcome predator or aggressive prey animal to liven things up was acceptable. But, alas, it was business as boringly usual today so he was forced to carry on his way and try to find another activity to occupy his time.

Honestly it was pure luck he caught the faint sound of her long fur making the grass rustle softly behind him. It was far too easy to get lost in thought, but the moment he heard her there was a glam in his eye and a smirk already tugging at the corner of his mouth as he began to slow, turning his head ever so slightly to look out of the corner of his eye right as the shimmering form came leaping up at him. Amos pivoted, turning his front end to the left a bit and planted his legs firmly so she couldn't knock him off balance. Seeking to partially wrap around her, Amos growled playfully and reached out to gently nip at her shoulder.

"Haha, Aurielle, how are you faring these days?" Amos asked, his smirk growing quickly into a wide smile as he beheld his friend. Suddenly, he aimed to bump her hard with his hip, hoping to knock her over while he did his best to look totally innocent. "I think you might owe me an adventure, it's been ages since we went diggin' at the beach you know. I could waste away from this critical lack of fun."

Aurielle spotted the slight turn of her best friend’s head and had a brief moment to think Oh, he’s heard me— before he pivoted and she crashed into him with all thirty inches and flying mane and tail. Her barked greeting turned into a mixture of Amos and Oof and she draped briefly over his back with one foreleg before sliding to all four paws on the ground, laughing breathlessly in amusement at his growling nip to her shoulder.

There was a swiftly suppressed expression of relief on her face that he might have caught as he looked at her, replaced with a look of apology at his question.

“It’s been… Quiet. I’m sorry—“ his hip bump interrupted her and a giggle escaped with a soft squeak before she nodded, eyes dropping to the ground at her paws as she agreed, “Yeah, it’s been way too long. I’m sorry I haven’t been very…”

Her head tipped, ears lowering slightly as she murmured, “I’ve not been a very good friend or leader, lately.”

His own ears fell to the side, brows furrowing as she grew somber and apologetic. Despite his efforts, she looked pretty unhappy just then and her expression was about to break his heart if she wasn't careful. Maybe he was just youthful and idealistic, but Amos really couldn't stand to see that look she had. She'd been busy, had a lot on her mind, whatever. As far as he was concerned she hadn't done anything wrong and he was happy to forgive her without her gloomily offering an apology.

Reaching out, he gently sought to nudge her cheek in a comforting gesture. "None of that, now," he murmured, light-hearted smile returning to his lips as he fixed her with a stern expression. "All's been forgiven already before ya' said a word, so don't go gettin' all gloomy or you're goin' to make me sad." Not that he was opposed to getting emotional in public, it just wasn't his preferred activity. Dealing with life via humor in any and all circumstances seemed like the better option.

Ooh, boy, were his cheeks that warm before he'd leaned in? Pulling back slowly, he let his tail swing merrily, likely swatting at her side once or twice. For a moment he tried to think of how he could turn the whole situation into a game but frankly the closeness of his face to hers had sort of left him a little light headed and he was trying to recover.

A smile twitched onto her shimmering white features at Amos’ nudge to her cheek and attempts to reassure her that all was fine. She just hoped the rest of the pack would be as forgiving. She had to admit that his closeness had warmed her, and some tension in her chest loosened as she cocked her head and grinned.

“And a sad Amos is a frightful thing, surely!”

His playful swatting was answered in kind with an amused flick of her own tail as she turned away, not quite noting his own light-headedness, long tail hair aiming for his shoulder as she tossed over her shoulder with a teasing chuckle, “What shall we do? Wrangle another tiger? Track down endless treasure? Puzzle out how to crack the log we found last time?”

She fired away with suggestions as she trotted along the wall, though at a pace that he’d easily be able to stay abreast of her if he wanted.

“I’d ask Aramis if he wanted to come for an adventure with us but… Well, he and mother are still recovering.” Again, some of her chipper attitude faded into a slight frown before she gave Amos a smile. “But two’s enough to take on the world, isn’t it?”

"The worst, really. Saw myself sad in a pond once, nearly scarred me for life," the man chuckled, eyes shining a little brighter now that he had his friend around to joke with and simply enjoy her company. Smile holding as she ran through the various options for their activities that day, his eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to determine what sounded the funnest. "Hmm..." Lots of options. Standing by Rielle at last, he felt like they could handle whatever came their way.

A pang of sympathy bloomed in his chest when she mentioned her brother and mother, but that was just more motivation to help cheer her up, right? "Two is plenty to get into all manner of things! I'm happy to go wherever you want to go." More like he was totally blanking on any ideas of his own. Luckily Amos was pretty sure Rielle didn't need much help to come up with a plethora of ideas.

Aurielle Adravendi

A snirk of laughter escaped as he jested about seeing himself sad in a reflection, and she switched her tail in a flick to send the hairs brushing his shoulder as they padded along. His thoughtful sound sent her ears swiveling to listen to whatever ideas he might conjure. Her head cocked as she pondered her own ideas. They could always spar, she supposed—she could use to practice. She was certain they both could use to work their skills—as far as she was aware, he hadn’t gone sparring since the one she’d Witnessed on the Field. But she didn’t feel like calling for a witness today. She wanted to spend time alone with her best friend. She slid a glance at him and grinned slowly, decision made. “Let’s...” And suddenly she spun and launched herself at him for the second time that day, aiming to send him staggering before she broke away and pelted off like a shimmering comet through the plains, mane and tail streaming as she laughed over her shoulder at him, eyes glinting with challenge. “Chase!” It wasn’t just play. This was an initiation of sorts for a custom she wanted to bring into the pack. She hoped that not just pups would enjoy it but grown wolves. Perhaps it would help morale for the members to simply relax and play before going back to the daily duties. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think