Attor had been drawn west by the distant scent of other canines. At first, she had been travelling through thick woods, but soon emerged out of the green depths, and onto the plains. She swore there was the distant sound of occasional barking, but it did not perturb her. As far as she was concerned, there had been no territory markings, therefore she was in no danger.

After a half-an hour of travelling or so, the plains ended and the sand began. She knew the ocean wasn't far.
She had missed the ocean: its salty kiss and sticky humidity. The salty air clung to her pelt, and though it was not a good feeling to have her fluff weighed down, she welcomed it nonetheless. The she-wolf padded closer to the waves, her eyes scanning the shoreline, and ears swiveling.

Her walk was calculated, and she would often stop to swivel her head in case of any threat. However, now she was standing halfway between the forest and the shore-she was sure she stuck out like a sore thumb. Her paws ached from the blistering heat of the sands, and her muscles felt weak from her prolonged walk. However alert Attor appeared, she was tired. Attor planned to head south, as she could see another large plain area that dipped into a lush forest. She assumed that would be a place she was welcome to rest her sore limbs and tired eyes.

Attor continued her calm gait all the way until the waves licked her paws. She gazed out over the sea, eyes roving over the distant islands. Her stomach grumbled, and Attor realized she was hungry.

How long had it been since she ate? She rationalized that it hadn't been long, considering she was still alert and full of energy. She decided that she would move to find something to eat after she had enjoyed the heat of the shoreline and the cool water of the sea.

The sand was everywhere. Tangled in his coat, wedged between his toes, and even places he never dreamed sand could reach. He was beginning to love his new home, yet his days of a loner hadn't been that long ago and he somewhat still missed the freedom of it. Of course, as long as he stuck to his daily chores and errands, he could come and go as he pleased. With the winter days wavering in temperatures this far South, it was abnormally warm but it hardly bothered him.

Trekking through the Willows, his memory reminded him of the panther hunt with Sirius. He doubted another panther would linger so close with the scent of a fallen comrade near by, so he moved with ease and little worry. The armada had been providing him with more training than he'd ever been given before, so he was confident nothing would jump out and get him.

He hadn't made it far from the armada borders when he picked up on a scent wafting through the air near by. Curious, he followed it until his paws sunk into the sand and he saw the shape of another standing at the waters edge. He paused there, for a moment, debating on approaching. He was bored, so he shrugged and cautiously approached the other.

"New around here?" He asked as he approached from behind, wondering if they were looking for the armada or just wandering near by.

Attor was quick to turn her head, peering over her shoulder at the approaching figure. Bothered by the fact she had not heard their approach, she reasoned the crashing waves had drowned their steps out. The woman quickly moved so the figure was facing her right flank, her eyes roaming over the canine.

Her response was delayed, her tail lashing in soft unease. She was thankful for the space between them, and considered putting a little more.
Being the first canine she had encountered in a while, Attor was not put at ease by their simple question. Her eyes roved over the figure, and she assumed they were male, hearing their voice also helped.

Her paws wiggled their way deeper into the sand, the warmth soothing her high nerves. She opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it, deducting that being an asshole was not the way to approach someone with such a clear muscle advantage.

"New enough," she responded slowly, her eyes avoiding prolonged contact with him at all costs. She was not uncomfortable because of him, per-sey, but the unmistakable smell of others.

"Why, am I somewhere I'm not supposed to be?" She questioned quickly, her eyes finally pinning his. Her ears moved to attention, and she held her head a little higher. It was safe to say she had not interacted with anything other than prey in quite some time.

The woman seemed uncomfortable with his sudden presence, though he had hardly approached quickly and left some distance between them for comfort. He sat, hoping to quell her discomfort, as he studied her. He could tell she was female, though she was taller than him by a bit he thought. He was starting to feel short around here, but the thought hardly crossed his features as she began to speak, answering his simple question.

"Oh no, you're safe here." He paused taking a moment to motion in the direction of the Armada, west from where they were standing. "There's a pack nearby, and another on the other side of it." He looked back at her then, wondering what brought her down here. Was she looking for the packs, or just wandering around?

"Speech!"

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Attor was a bit impressed by the other wolf's calm persona, and following his lead, she took a seat with her back to the waves.
She listened intently to his explanation, her brow furrowing in thought.

"Ah, I see," She began, her eyes moving to gaze western," I admit that I was drawn by the scent of others, but was unsure if there was a pack present." Her gaze moved back to the other canine's, her eyes once more giving him a look over. He was quite attractive, but a detail like that would not derail the woman.

"Assuming that you bear no ill will to me, you may call me Attor, if you would prefer that over 'she-wolf'," she added slowly, her calm drawl returning to her voice now that she was put at ease.

Her tongue moved to lap over the scars upon her maw as she stared back at the male, the look in her eyes unreadable. The sand in her pelt had begun to itch, so she moved to nibble just behind her shoulder, but failed to reach the aforementioned itch. She snorted in annoyance before her attention returned to the male.

He wasn't usually this calm, although the woman wouldn't know that. Being so close to the Armada, he didn't want to scare potential new recruits away with his usual bad attitude and cocky demeanor. Besides, the woman seemed to be hardly a threat to Ashen or the Armada, so maybe being nice for a change would work out in his favor... for once. After he'd taken the second to sit, she did the same and appeared to relax a bit more in doing so. It wasn't a surprise that she was attracted to the scent of other canines in that area, wolves were naturally pack animals after all and he knew from experience that the life of a loner wasn't always easy. Life in the Armada wasn't exactly easy either, but much easier than living alone. This way, he didn't always have to hunt to get a meal.

"Of course, and I'm Magnus." he paused a moment to laugh a bit at suggesting he might rather call her what she was rather than by her name. "We are closest to the Armada, a group of warriors and such that work for Ashen, the pack on their other side." Although he hadn't officially met any of the Ashen wolves, he supported them regardless and would fight for them if needed. He wondered briefly if the woman was in search of such a thing, or perhaps something else.

"Speech!"

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Attor was a bit confused by this admission. A pack that works for a pack? It was strange to her. However, Attor knew little about the pack life, so she knew she needn’t ponder it for too long.

She nodded slowly, her eyes briefly flicking the direction the male had mentioned. Her tail tapped the sand rhythmically, her eyes once again roving over the figure apprehensively.

“Well....Magnus...that concept is a bit odd to me. To work for another pack who you do not live with, but I can’t say I know much about pack wolves in general terms, anyways,” she drawled, her brow furrowing momentarily in thought.

“I was not raised by pack laws, and I have not experienced them, so I doubt I would be of any use to you,” she added, her eyes flicking down momentarily, as if she was ashamed. The woman quickly covered her momentary break of character by sweeping her eyes to peer at the shore behind them.

Magnus listened, head tilting as she spoke rather poorly of herself. One was only as good as they made themselves, and while they might not have been raised on pack laws like she had admitted, he simply chuckled a bit. He was raised on far different laws than the Armada and even Ashen, but he adapted well after many seasons alone and wandering as a loner. It wasn't until here recently that he found someone who he could get behind, and being his age and having left his home when he did, well it had taken a while. A primitive beast, Magnus is not shy to pilfering and pillaging, but perhaps this woman was different. Maybe one couldn't always adapt as well as he could. At the end of his thoughts, he shrugged.

"Well, if you ever see a massive man with saber teeth, he's worth giving a talk to." Magnus ended his prolonged shrug and stood, eager to get back to the Armada as he was sure this woman was likely ready to be on her way. "It's just over there if you're ever interested." He tossed his head in the direction of the Armada and then turned, beginning his short journey back. Maybe he'd get lucky and find a crab or two to bring back for a snack...

exit magnus unless stopped