note to self: takes place a lil after valhalla threads

The sun was only just setting, casting the desert in shades of soft purple as Hanako waded into the oasis. She let out a pleased sigh as the water enveloped her fiery paws and stepped forward till the water reached her shoulders, her paws only just touching the bottom. Her companions remained by the shore, Toshi spilshing around with his little paws as Ruri gave herself a well deserved bath. It was easy for the Wraith to complain and moan about her problems but she knew that her friends were having a bit of a tough time too, but even then it was reassuring to know they'd follow her to the ends of the earth if she asked very very nicely. And for that she loved them with all her heart and more. This was just as much a treat to them as it was her, a merry moment before they had to head back home.

Something about this place felt familiar though. She'd never been here before, the swaying palm trees and dusting of greenery were completely new to her but...Oh! Was this the place Nolan had spoken of? She remembered how they'd met on Obsidian Beach, the way the sand and stars had sparkled for them and that he'd mentioned an oasis very similar to this one. If not the same. She felt a pang of guilt that she hadn't asked for him before, she'd been so busy with Wraithy, diplomat stuff that she didn't have the time, but now all was quiet all she could think about was the promises they'd made.

A set of curious, wandering paws took him out toward the oasis. He hadn't done a ton of wandering and exploring since his last big trip away from the pack besides the trip to the north with his mother, but that trip alone had fulfilled most of his desire to wander for quite a while. Plus, they had the festival that had occupied a good chunk of his time as well. Now that things had calmed down a bit, he had gotten that itch to go exploring again. He thought about the oasis that he had heard about several times from wolves around the pack and realized that he still hadn't gone to see it after telling Hanako about it during their chance encounter on the obsidian beach. His ears flicked with a bit of guilt when he realized that he was going to go explore it without her, but he also hadn't seen her since then so perhaps fate had decided that they wouldn't cross paths again. He didn't really realize how wrong he had been until he trotted over to the pool of water that looked incredibly refreshing with the palm trees positioned all around it and spotted the exact woman he had just been thinking of. He blinked with surprise as he stopped at the edge of the water and spotted the orange and black speckled form almost fully submerged in the oasis. A friendly grin spread across his muzzle and his tail wagged gently behind him. He certainly hadn't expected to find anyone else out here, much less Hanako, but here she was and it seemed like maybe they'd get to explore the oasis together after all. "Hey, Hanako!" he greeted as he padded around the edge of the water to be a bit closer to where she was. "What are you doing out here?" he asked curiously, though his slightly goofy grin never faded. "Talk"

Ruri croaked in warning as the stranger approached and took roost up in the closest palm tree, leaving Toshi to glare after her with a look of pure and utter betrayal. Hanako on the other paw didn't see what all the fuss was about and turned to greet the stranger, an easy and welcoming smile already gracing her pretty features. Her companions were a little cagey about strangers, considering that they were so far from home, but the Wraith found it kind of endearing that they were so insistent on looking out for her, even if it was all rather unnecessary. Sure, it could have been a loner, dangerous and unpredictable but they weren't far from Valhalla she assumed that- Oh. What were the chances? She'd only just been thinking of Nolan and there he was, standing before her like a desert mirage. She blinked, worried that he'd be gone when she opened her eyes but there he remained, smiling as if he couldn't be happier to see her. All sense of propriety dropped from her form as she charged through the water to meet him by the shore, her tail wagging so fast her whole form shook.

Ruri honked in amusement and Toshi stared at Hanako as though she'd let out the loudest belch he'd ever heard, thoroughly unimpressed.

"Nolan! Omigawd it's so good to see you!" She danced on the spot, her excitement running its course before she settled a bit to answer his question. Her response was suitably glum, after all it wasn't just a social call. "Our Reaper just...vanished one day and it's all paws on deck to find her. Sirius sent me this way to ask around and see if anyone had seen her."

Maybe this would be a good chance to ask for a bit more info, to at least find out why Cairo had taken such offence to her presence. Haughty piece of work that he was. At the very least Nolan liked and cherished her company, didn't treat her as though she was evil incarnate for asking some very reasonable questions. His lack of trust still stung, like he would have chomped down on her if he could have cooked up a good enough excuse. Not that it would've saved him from Sirius, but that was neither here nor there.

"I figured we ought to rest a bit before we head back, and I didn't want to overstay our welcome..." She winched at little at that, as if the bruise was still sore and aching. But she was quick to push that aside, eager to be happy and bubbly with him as she'd been last time. "So here we are! What about you? How'd you know I was here, hm?" She moved in close, her brows comically raised. "You been spying on me?"

He grinned a little when Hanako came charging toward him through the water. Her excitement and energy was contagious and by the time she was standing in front of him practically dancing in place his tail was wagging nearly as fast as hers was. He hadn't really been sure if she would be as happy to see him again as he was to see her, but it seemed like she was. He knew they had only met the one time on the obsidian beach, but he still thought pretty fondly of that meeting so he hoped she did too. However, something quickly interrupted her excitement and he tipped his head to the side with curiosity and concern when she mentioned that someone in her pack had gone missing. He wasn't entirely sure which pack it was she lived in - the last time they met she hadn't smelled of any pack at all, so that must have been a development after they met - and he wasn't sure what kind of position a Reaper was, but anyone going missing at all was never a good thing. He frowned since she very clearly hadn't found who it was she was looking for yet and he just hoped that whoever it was turned up soon. Nolan nodded in agreement when she mentioned resting up here before they went back to their pack. He'd only just arrived, but he could tell this was a great place to do that. All the stories of the oasis he had heard were definitely true and it was even prettier in person. The way her sentence trailed off when she spoke of over staying her welcome didn't get past him and it made his brows pull together for a moment. Had she been by Valhalla without him realizing it? Or had she been by Lirim and had a problem? Either way he didn't like the sound of it, but before he could ask about it she jumped back into her happy, bubbly self. He blinked with surprise at the sudden shift and another grin pulled onto his lips. His own eyes widened with surprise by her suddenly close proximity, his pink eyes crossing a bit as he tried to keep his eyes on her as she accused him of spying on her. He laughed a bit with a very quick shake of his head. "No no no," he insisted, giving her his relaxed, goofy grin. "Are you kidding? I'm not nearly sneaky enough to do that. No, I just wanted to get out of the pack for a bit and go exploring and this place was close enough to come visit without getting too far away from home." His expression grew a little more shy with his grin turning bashful in his own silly way as he added, "I still hadn't come to see the oasis since I mentioned it to you before and the curiosity finally got the best of me." "Talk"

Hanako beamed, dropping her suspicious act with ease as flicked her paw to splash him a little. It was all said in jest, not for one moment did she suspect he was up to no good. As a Wraith she ought to stay on her toes, to be at least a little suspicious of those she met, but she'd said some choice words in regards to Valhalla being overly judgy. If she started to act as they had then she was just as bad, perhaps even worse. She knew Nolan was one of them but unless he started to treat her poorly then she saw no reason as to why they couldn't just hang out for a little while. At least until she had to head back home, for now they could enjoy the oasis.

"I'm just pulling your tail." She flicked him with water again, determined to make him just as wet as she was. If not more so."But I'm glad you happened by though, it's a long way back to the Armada and those two aren't great at holding conversations." She said, offering her companions a cheeky wink. Toshi grunted in disapproval whilst Ruri simply honked, taking it in her stride as usual. At least now her social meter would be filled, so to speak. And then she slapped her forehead with a paw. "Oh yeah!The white little thing there is Toshi, a tanuki, and that's my magpie Ruri! I got her at the festival...I hoped to see you there, to be honest." She wilted a little at that, her gaze lowering to his reflection in the water.

She'd had fun regardless but it would have been the perfect time for them to catch up, he could have shown her around and- well there was no use in getting all sulky about it now.

He chuckled and ducked away when she tried to splash him again, giving her a playful grin. When she told him that she was happy that he had come by, he couldn't help but grin with his momentary shyness quickly falling away. He didn't really catch the fact that she was mostly just referring to having someone to talk to rather than speaking to him specifically. His young, male brain took it as a pretty girl was happy to see him and that made his chest puff a bit with that feeling that only a headstrong young man could feel when he got noticed by an attractive girl. His attention got pulled to her companions when she introduced them both and look gave them a curious look before his grin returned and he gave the pair a little wave of his paw. He hadn't really thought about finding a companion even though he knew some of his family members had a few of them - especially Aurielle and her piece of their family. Maybe it'd be nice to have someone to travel with - even if they didn't talk very much. He gave her a surprised look when she told him about being at the festival and he was immediately regretful that their paths hadn't crossed during the festivities. "I hadn't realized you were there! If I did I definitely would have hung out with you there," he admitted truthfully, a small frown crossing his face. He hadn't spent nearly as much time at the festival as he had really wanted to and it had been so large and crowded that it was no surprise that he had missed her. "I didn't really get to spend much time at the festival... My mother came with me and she gets tired so easily that we left pretty early on." He had come back just long enough to attend the fighting tournament, but had gone right back to the dens to check on Baine again. He would never wish any sort of ill will on his mother since he knew he was lucky to have gotten this much time with her, but he was kind of looking forward to the days after she passed. She wouldn't be in pain any more and he would be able to go and do things without worrying about her. "Talk"