The sun was setting, casting the land in an orange hue, as if the world was burning. The surrounding slopes looked as though they were coated in lava, spilling over the ridges and the edging close to his paws. Askan would never admit it aloud but he'd always liked this time of day, that even when the sun was retreating behind the horizon it still had the strength to be so bright and intense. A firm reminder than no matter how long the night, it would always return.

He should've continued on, he had things to do and places to be, but no matter how much he fought it he couldn't resist the urge to just take a look. With a little shake of his head he trotted over to the nearest slope and began clambering his way to the top. It wasn't overly tall or steep but he had no doubt that it would still provide him with a beautiful view of the setting sun. His legs ached as he climbed higher and higher till he reached the peak. Then with a long exhale he settled on his rump, his tail curling around his side as he set his gaze skyward. It was kinda nice, peaceful out here. Sort of what home used to be like for him, before he'd gone and messed it all up.

Shika noticed how the sun was setting, knowing that she needed to find shelter for the night. She had found herself within the southern parts of Boreas once again, a place that she seemed to like a bit more than the north. The wind was still cold but she didn’t have to deal with a damn blizzard when she was over here. She let out a soft sigh as she searched for some sort of den, and that was when something caught her eye. Up ahead, there was a dark figure up atop one of the surrounding slopes. A stranger, she wasn’t alone here, and now she wondered if she should even stick around. Should she spend the night when there was somebody else around? She decided that she would simply go and investigate. If she was intruding on something, she’d make due and head elsewhere. However, from what she could tell this was no pack land so she wasn’t exactly trespassing. She would make the trek over, nimble on her feet as she leaped up a few rocks and calmly approached the stranger. “Hello,” she said, “I hope I’m not intruding,” she added, she was behind the new wolf but she kept a respectful distance away so she didn’t startle him or make him uncomfortable. "speech" | thoughts

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Askan heard the soft footfalls of a stranger approaching but made no move to get up or address them. The only sign that he'd noticed their presence at all was the slight twitch of his ears, the tensing of his shoulders as he sat up a little straighter, more proper. He figured that if they wanted something they'd make the first move and sure enough a moment or so later the soft tilt of a womanly voice reached his ears.

Was she intruding? Not really, but that didn't mean that he wanted her there either. For a moment he was tempted to get all territorial, to huff and snarl and claim the sunset all for himself, but even Askan recognised how unwarranted such a reaction would be. Besides, for once he didn't actually feel like shit. Maybe the intensity of the setting sun was warming his frozen heart? Or something equally as dramatic and cliche as that. Askan snorted at the thought.

"Not really." His words weren't quite as sharp as they usually were, but he wasn't exactly rolling out the welcoming mat either. "Why?"

Surely she'd sought him out for a reason, cause he couldn't figure out why else she would've climbed the slope. It was only then he took a moment to look at her , to take in her features and come to the conclusion that she wasn't the strangest looking wolf he'd seen. The tail marking and mismatched eyes were certainly out of the ordinary, he would have never seen a wolf like her back home, but the rules he used to live by clearly didn't apply here. A fact that still bothered him, regardless of how much he liked to pretend otherwise.

At first he didn’t really turn to look at her, but he told her that she wasn’t intruding. That was actually quite a relief for the woman, it meant that she could stay the night with no problems. He however inquired why she was asking, and then he finally turned to look at her. The blazing sun highlighted the outline of his dark form, and she could see his amber gaze then. She blinked for a moment and then decided to explain herself. “I’m a mere traveler,” she told him, “With the sun setting, I’ve been scouting a place to spend the night. I was going to stay within the gulley but I saw you and I didn’t want to cause any problems,” she simply explained. That was all really, she meant no harm or anything but she truly didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble. The last thing she wanted to do was get on somebody’s nerves and end up with a few cuts and bruises. Especially because she was not a healer of any kind, and then that’d probably force her to seek help in the end. Something she wasn’t very fond of. Her nares detected no pack scent on the man, so she safely assumed that perhaps he was a traveler too. Which then made her think, perhaps he had been planning on spending the night here too. It was an assumption, but if so, she still just wanted to check and make sure. Maybe it wasn't the case but she wanted to stay on the safe side anyways. “I’m Shika by the way,” she introduced herself, not really one to stay strangers with those she conversed with. "speech" | thoughts

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A mere traveller huh? That was a shady way of putting it, all whimsical and fluffy, like she had something to hide. He pursed his lips as his ears flicked back a little, a slight displeased tilt. Whatever, he didn't really care whether she was hiding stuff from him or not. Sure he didn't like being lied to, that always got a rise out of him, but her story was her own and if she didn't want to till him then it was no skin off his snout. She then went onto explain, all smooth and eloquent, that she was simply looking for a place to settle for the night, bla bla bla. Askan yawned.

Then like a right proper lady she introduced herself. Askan could imagine it now, Shika being one of those fancy-smancy ladies that his uncles lined up in front of him. All pretty and proper but utterly unremarkable in that almost too good sort of way.

"Askan Selwyn" He rumbled, his gaze wandering back to the sky once again.

She had a point though, before long the sun would set and he'd need to find a place to lay low. As tempting as it was to pull an all nighter he knew that he really ought to at least try and get a couple hours of sleep. He was cranky at the best of times and insufferable at the worst.

"There's plenty of room, unless you get under my paws there shouldn't be a problem." As in he had no intentions of canoodling, getting all cuddly to share warmth or something equally as repulsive.

She couldn’t really tell why, but just from his facial expressions he didn’t seem very impressed with her answer. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she decided to just ignore it. He yawned then, her tail flicking then as she noticed how dismissive he seemed to be. He introduced himself, his name was Askan Selwyn. She’d make sure to remember that, in case she ever saw him around again. She wasn’t sure what the chances were, but it was at least good to know. He told her that there would be no problems, as long as she didn’t get underneath his paws. She nodded then and offered a small amused smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to,” she told him. They didn’t have to share a spot, that’d be much too awkward. She just wasn’t sure if he was the territorial type. She looked around for a moment and then glanced back over at him, “Maybe we should scout out the area together,” she offered, “We can both find our respective spots for the night and we’ll be out of each other’s fur,” she added. She wasn’t sure about him, but Shika was a bit of an explorer herself. She always found it useful to truly understand her surroundings, to know good and safe areas, and to take note of the resources that were around, if there were any at all. She wasn’t really expecting him to say yes but, she decided that the least that she could do was bring up the idea. "speech" | thoughts

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Askan would take her word on that, after all she hadn't really given him a reason not to. Sure, he didn't know or trust her but in the grand scheme of things it was rather petty, inconsequential really. Shika glanced around, thoughtful, but Askan didn't follow her line of sight. It was only when she spoke again did he look at her once more, like she was an unwanted distraction. The sky was so much more prettier, though even Askan knew he shouldn't say that to a lady.

Again she had a point. Aside from a cursory sniff or two Askan really hadn't taken the time to check out the area. The cost looked clear enough, the top of his little hill offered a good view of the area, but who knew what dangers could be lurking out of sight? Despite his cushy upbringing even Askan knew that looks could be deceiving, that he shouldn't deem an area as safe until he knew for sure.

"Fine." With a huff he clambered to his paws and shook out his coat. "We'll start this way and work our way back." Askan motioned north with a wave of his snout. "Look for a place to sleep as we go." He didn't mean to come across as so bossy, it just seemed like the right way to go about it.

Clambering down the slope Askan looked to the north. There were a series of hills ahead, but he figured they didn't need to climb them at all, just have a nose about make sure the area was clear and see if there were any good hidey-holes.

"Which way did you come from?" He asked as he led, giving her a brief glance over his shoulder, wondering if she'd noticed anything on the way in.

To her he seemed a little reluctant, but he would agree and he got to his paws. He would however take the lead with things almost immediately. She didn’t really care though, she’d simply listen as long as it meant little to no problems. He would make his way down the slope, and she would follow after him. Her pale paws were light on the various rocks and grass as she would make her way back down towards the gulley. She didn’t falter as she made her way down, as she wasn’t really concerned about falling. The terrain didn’t seem that bad, if anything it could be worse. Her ears however perked up once he spoke again. He questioned which way she had come from, and he even glanced back at her. “I guess I’ve been finding myself in the southern part of Boreas,” she began, her mismatched gaze however shifted from his form and to her surroundings. “I met a warlord, that was a first,” she began, as she had not realized back then but apparently she had been a bit close by when it came to Sirius’ borders. “His name was Sirius,” she added, not that Askan had asked but she just wanted to add more to the conversation. “He seemed alright,” at least for what she thought a warlord would act like, he seemed pretty easy to converse with at the time. She fell quiet, but that was because she was beginning to focus. So far, thankfully, she had caught no scent of any other predators. Prey seemed a bit scarce too but that was probably perhaps due to the winter season. So far… Nothing had caught her eye either, unfortunately. Maybe Askan would have better luck though. "speech" | thoughts

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Askan's ears flicked back and tilted sideways. She'd met a Warlord? Surely there couldn't be more than one, what were the chances of that? He couldn't imagine Sirius wanting to share that title with anyone, that he was no doubt all pompous and territorial over a few letters smushed together. Shika then went on and confirmed Askan's suspicions and then said something really really stupid.  

Askan snorted so hard his throat burned.

"I think not." He was quick to rebuke. "He's a right prick."

Looking back his meeting with the Warlord hadn't amounted to much, they didn't even speak that long, but for how intense Askan's reaction was it no doubt seemed as though they were mortal enemies. That Sirius had committed a grave grave crime against the Selwyn, that they were mortal enemies bound together till the end of days. When in reality Askan had just taken a disliking to his attitude, that's all it really boiled down to. He was just being petty, clinging onto the offence as though it was his shield.

They continued on and Askan had to agree that the place looked quiet enough, or at least that was the case till he saw about 7 maybe 8 prancing figures in the distance. He squinted to get a better look and realised they'd stumbled upon a coyote party, a bunch of youngsters from the looks of it, playing and leaping as though they didn't have a care in the world. They dropped down into play bows, butts wiggling as their tongues lolled from the sides of their mouths. And then the ruckus began and Askan's ears twitched in annoyance. In typical rowdy youth fashion, they barked and yapped to one another, completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. Askan offered Shika a wry side glance, as if to say "are you seeing this?"