Kiela's journey to Boreas had been a long one, but it had no doubt been rewarding. Leaving her family's tribe was something she'd anticipated doing since she was a very young child, but when the opportunity struck, she had difficult finding reasons to stay. The group was strong, and the herds back home were faring well, well enough that she didn't feel obligated to stay. It wasn't a secret that quite a few members of her family had made a home elsewhere, on a continent known as Boreas. The northern lands supposedly weren't all that different from their homelands, and boasted a healthy herd of caribou. Tending to one single herd for the rest of her life wasn't an agreeable thought for her; while the Jarvela and their allies were of a healthy number, it only made sense to extend their reach and go elsewhere. Her departure wasn't a particularly sad affair. Coming and going was a natural part of life, and she bid her family a warm farewell before starting her trek. Now, after weeks of travel this was where she'd ended up. Her paws were badly in need of rest - actual rest, not just a few hours of fitful sleep. Her journey up the side of this treacherous mountain had been a feat in itself, but her soul felt as invigorated by the climb as her paws felt tired. There was no way she could reach the peak, at least not that she could see so far, but the impressive waterfall she'd encountered was good enough for her. Her mood was pensive as she slowed her pace, the giant female coming to recline on her haunches near a column of jagged rocks, just near the base of the falls. She was grateful for a moment to stop and rest, and hoped she might find somewhere more permanent to stop before nightfall. Orange eyes locked onto the slate grey cliffs as she examined them from a distance, watching the way the water crashed violently over the cliffside before pouring down into the bowl below.

Leaving Valhalla had been surprisingly bitter sweet. He was eager to get back out into the world and finish the trip to find his siblings again, but the last few weeks had reminded him of what living with that side of his family was like. They were all so friendly and welcoming and kind - almost to a point that Casso just couldn't quite comprehend. The solitude and quiet that he found when he went back out into the wilds toward the north were welcome and freeing and it began to make him wonder if he wanted to join a pack at all. He knew that a couple more weeks of this would probably change his mind, but after spending so much time with his overly worried aunt made him savor this. He loved his family, but he liked the open spaces as well.

His path to Winterfell wasn't as direct and firm as it probably should have been, but the sheer cliffs and rocky mountain sides drew him in like a moth to a flame. Growing up in the mountains had made him a bit more confident than most as he crossed the uneven terrain. His large paws curved and gripped with careful, easy steps. Occasionally the rock would crumble a bit under his weight, but he easily shifted his stance to compensate and redistribute it to more stable ground. The sound of crashing water filled his ears as he got closer and closer to a water fall, the stream of crashing water soon coming into view. The slight breeze coming off the cold water and drifting down the mountain ruffled his coat, feeling the chill more clearly in the exposed parts of his skin where his scars kept the fur from growing. He knew a good portion of wolves wouldn't agree with him, but he quite liked winter and the chill it brought. Only time would tell if he still thought that after spending a winter in the north, but the cold air helped him focus.

His dual-toned eyes shifted away from the water when a wolf's scent caught his attention, his gaze falling on a female that was covered in swatches of gray and deep russet hues that seemed to be examining the falls in the same way he was. He paused for a moment, considering whether or not he was interested in having company or not. After spending so much time around wolves in a compacted amount of time part of him said no, but there was something different about meeting a stranger for a short amount of time compared to living among them. With a rare flash of a desire to be social hitting him, he padded forward so that he could stand along side the young woman, leaving a comfortable distance between them as he looked back up at the falls. "That's quite a drop, hm?" he commented, his tone a calm, deep rumble as he left his attention on the scenery.

"Speech" Thought

lumi thread

Though Kiela was quite focused on the scenery in front of her, she was never so engrossed in her surroundings that she wouldn't notice the approach of a stranger. Though she was young and still naive by most standards, she was unwilling to let her guard down completely, especially in a place so unfamiliar to her. Keeping herself safe was as important as anything else to her, and she wasn't planning on starting her journey off by getting ambushed. The wolves in her homeland weren't exactly the friendliest sort, but most tended to not concern themselves with the affairs of others... she knew things here could be quite different though, and until she figured out just how different, she'd be cautious of those around her. The sound of the crashing water was loud enough to drown out Casso's approach until he was too close to ignore, but once she heard something unusual to the side, she twisted her head to search for the source of the sound. Though not entirely opposed to company, Kiela hoped this stranger wasn't here to disturb the tranquil mood, though she doubted someone would've come all this way just for that purpose. His approach was cautious, something she appreciated. Kiela was definitely the slow and steady sort herself, unless the situation called for more quick action, which most did not. "It is," Kiela replied slowly, after considering his words for a moment. Her voice had not yet lost its trace of youthfulness, though was laden with a heavy accent. She'd learned much of the tongue of this place before embarking on her journey here, but she was far from completely fluent, and her northern accent was thick and impossible to ignore. "The mountains - I enjoy," Kiela offered, her words slightly unevenly paced, after another moment of thought. The mountains were certainly a landscape she adored. There was something thrilling about climbing these cliffs that looked impossible to scale, and for a view like this - her orange gaze briefly fell back on the clear, no doubt frigid water of the falls - it was well worth the energy exerted. Slowly the large female turned slightly to face the stranger properly. Her gaze was scrutinizing, though not in malicious way. He was nearly as large as she was, with eyes that were different colors. It was hard to tell much else about him at first glance. "What of you? You live here, maybe?" Perhaps he was merely passing through, or perhaps he called these mountains his home - despite her solitary nature she was curious about him regardless.

Her response was simple and short and certainly not something that Casso minded. He wasn't someone that felt that the silence always needed to be filled with words and the falls were doing a fine job of filling the air with sound as it was. He could hear an accented tone to her words and it made him a bit more curious about her in response. He left his dual toned eyes on the cascading water until she spoke again, mentioning how she enjoyed the mountains. He gave her a glance, considering her for a moment. He could hear that heavy accent more clearly as she spoke in longer sentences where he was able to hear more of that unusual cadence. He didn't mind it at all - in fact it only helped to solidify his intrigue around the stranger.

"I enjoy them as well," he replied thoughtfully as he glanced back up at the cliffs. His relationship with mountains was a complicated one, but it still seemed to be his favorite type of terrain all the same. He felt the most himself when he was picking his way up a mountain side and it was calming to have something like that to focus on with every step he took. At the same time, they tended to put him in a mind set that he typically tried to avoid since it often let his thoughts run wild. For someone like him that was a dangerous thing to let loose, but ever since he met Elizabeth and had been following the recommendations she had given him, his mind had been far more calm. There was still a lingering rumble somewhere in the distance that was sometimes louder than others, but it felt manageable and right now that's all he could hope for.

His full attention turned to the red-marked woman beside him when she asked him a pair of questions about whether he lived here or not. He gave a small shake of his head and replied, "No, I don't live here exactly. I'm on my way to a pack that my uncle leads a bit further north so I'm just passing through. Growing up, I lived in a mountain range to the east so I still have a bit of a soft spot for the mountains." He smiled a little, that charismatic side of him coming to the surface more and more as he spoke. He enjoyed learning about the wolves around him so he was pleased to see that she seemed to be willing to chat for a little while. He still wanted to reach Winterfell before dark, but there was still some time left to enjoy. "I'm Casso, by the way. What's your name?"

"Speech" Thought

It struck her suddenly just how little of this tongue she really knew. She understood it well enough, but speaking it felt infinitely more complex. Still, there wasn't much more she could've done to prepare herself - she'd always been the type to learn by doing things herself rather than merely observing. She was glad for a chance to be practicing now, with someone whose facial expressions and tone were unfamiliar to her - she couldn't use them to aid her like she might back home, with her kin. He agreed with her, and she nodded in understanding. These less hospitable lands were among her favorite. Here you were less likely to find weak-willed creatures; only the strongest could climb these peaks, and those who were able were gifted with sights such as this. Kiela found herself sighing contentedly as she watched the falls for a moment longer. As badly as she wished she could trek higher, these slate cliffs that made up the falls seemed far too steep to navigate... though she didn't mind taking risks, this one didn't seem like a smart one. "Ah," she responded quietly. So he was a pack wolf then - maybe not now, but it sounded like he might be one soon. Or maybe he was just visiting. She had no way of knowing, though, but she couldn't help but try to figure him out. She knew wolves here operated differently - they settled down, they claimed lands. It was nothing like the world she'd grown up in, and as eager as she was to explore the world she couldn't help but feel pulled toward her more traditional roots. Though she would be cautious in treading where she shouldn't despite her own beliefs about property and ownership, she couldn't help but wonder just how far that caution would extend. It was definitely not infinite. "My name is Kiela. I grew up.. far away. Though I believe some family come to these lands." These northern lands were allegedly home to multiple caribou herd, which was precisely why she was here. Her own expression was still neutral as she watched Casso, noting the way he smiled as if he was enjoying her company. Perhaps the wolves here wouldn't be too terrible, though she knew she could always find more desolate places to escape to if she became overwhelmed with anyone's company. "Have you seen any caribou, when you come this way?" He'd said he was just passing through, and they weren't too far north, so it was likely he hadn't yet, but she found no harm in asking.

Kiela. An interesting name for an interesting woman. He certainly wasn't surprised when she mentioned that she had grown up far from here - her accent and the uneven cadence of her speech was proof enough of this. When he had been younger he couldn't imagine how much more land their could be beyond the shores of Boreas and Auster, but now that he had traveled and seen more of it he had a better grasp of how much more unknown lands there were beyond the places they currently had within their reach. He knew there were wolves who craved to cover as much ground as they could and spent their days exploring unknown locations, but he had never felt the desire to be one of those wolves. He enjoyed seeing beautiful sights like this one from time to time and even enjoyed the time he had spent traveling from one side of Boreas to the other, but that was about the extent of his desire to explore.

Casso gave her a curious glance when she asked about seeing any caribou during his trip. "No, unfortunately I haven't come across them just yet. I haven't gone very deep into the north though so its possible I just haven't crossed paths with them yet." From what he knew about caribou he knew they were quite large with impressive antlers so the hunter in him was certainly interested by the thought. It seemed oddly specific for her to be asking about that one particular type of animal instead of just looking for a herd of prey, but she at least had his attention. "What has you interested in caribou specifically?" he asked curiously, his head tipping slightly to the side as he spoke. Was there something else besides just hunting that she could want them for? He knew some wolves crafted items from materials they got from certain animals so perhaps caribou pelts were particularly good for that and he just didn't know.

"Speech" Thought

Kiela wouldn't really consider herself interesting - in most ways she was the same as the wolves she had grown up alongside. Her values were the values of her kin and of her ancestors; without them it was hard to imagine who she was, but in a way she supposed her journey to these lands would help her discover who she really was. Surely her innermost self was partly made up of her beliefs, tradition woven through her very bloodstream, but she knew there was more to it than than. Now that she was old enough to stake her own path, she intended to find out just that. Of course, seeking out her precious caribou was more important than any introspective journeys she might want to take, which was the only reason she'd bothered asking Casso in the first place.

He didn't seem to understand why. A questioning look wouldn't have been enough for her to elaborate, but he asked her more explicitly why she was looking for them. "My family," she started, for lack of a better term. They were not all related by blood, the group that she originated from, but family described it just as well. "We worship caribou. As well as many other things." Kiela had never been in a scenario where she'd had to put her beliefs into words. The caribou were sacred in a specific way, for they directly gave them life - her ancestors had subsisted almost entirely on them - and ensuring their well-being was deeply important to her. But the very ground they stood on was sacred in its own right, but she wasn't quite sure how to explain that to this near-stranger.

"Our ancestors, always walked beside them. Helped to protect them. The caribou allowed us to feed on their old and injured. Never waste." To needlessly slaughter caribou would be the most abhorrent thing she could imagine. No, they were always particular and careful about who was ready to be hunted, protecting the herd to ensure they grew strong and prospered. She had no doubt that her family's vigilance in caring for the herd had blessed them in their own ways. It was a belief she owed her life to. "Things are done differently here, I know," she acknowledged, said matter-of-factly. Kiela was naive in many ways, but she knew she couldn't change the world, nor did she care to. She was solely concerned with her own affairs and her caribou, and so long as nothing disrupted that, she preferred to let others tend to their own matters.