ooc: Immediately following his last tournament fight, on the very edge of the shrine near the border.

Cináed scowled as he sat down hard on his haunches with a sigh, making it all the way to the border of the territory before he finally decided that was far enough away that he wouldn't have to talk to anyone else. He ran his tongue over his sore chest several times, grimacing at the feeling of the sore, bruised skin under his fur. Walking all the way back north with this bruising was not going to be fun. He regretted coming all the way down here at all and almost wished his siblings had not wanted to come so that he'd have an excuse to not come too.

The first two rounds hadn't been fun at all, leaving him just sitting around and waiting, and then when he did get to fight he was beaten by a boy that didn't even bite him or anything. Instead he just kept hitting him in the chest over and over with his shoulder. What a boring fight. At least when he had fought Onyx she had given him a good fight so losing hadn't been so bad. He wished he had gotten paired up with her for a fight instead. He sighed and looked off toward the river that was near by, wondering how long he was going to have to wait for his other pack mates to be done with their fights so he could go home.

Cináed Praetor

Ikigai couldn't be everywhere at once, so she missed many fights, but watched many others. The young princess wasn't a fan of the barbarism of fighting, but it was expected of her to show interest, so she did. In between matches, the white and black child moved through the crowd, giving attention to those who wished for it and generally being a good hostess. This was but a taste of what would be expected of her as a wife.

As Iki moved through the gathering, making sure that all of the guests were happy, fed and comfortable, she happened to see the sulking form of a red shaded boy. He was significantly larger than she was, though they appeared to be around the same age. He looked rather distraught and, as a member of the royal party, it was her duty to see if there was anything that she could do to help.

Approaching the large boy, the long tailed girl made sure that she was in his line of sight so that it didn't seem like she was sneaking up on him. The elegant child dipped her crown in greeting before her practiced tones poured forth. "Hello, my name is Ikigai," she began, not giving her full name and title. "Are you okay?" Her brow crinkled slightly in concern, silver eyes watching the boys face.

Okiku Ikigai Ōritsu Abraxas

As he was staring off toward the river a figure came into view and his brows lifted with surprise when his golden gaze landed on the girl who appeared to be about his age, though noticeably smaller than himself. She moved so gracefully that she could have fooled him into thinking that she was older than she was and when she spoke to him, introducing herself and asking if he was okay, he almost questioned if she wasn't actually an adult that was just really tiny. She was incredibly pretty and graceful and polite, such a stark difference from a lot of the other pups he grew up with - his own siblings included.

A little grin quickly pulled across his features as he looked down at her, his mood noticeably brightening with this pretty girl giving him her attention, pulling his shoulders back to sit a bit taller even though his sore chest protested. "Of course, miss Ikigai. How could I not be okay with a girl as pretty as you checking on me?" he questioned, easily molding himself to match her decorum and turning the charm up to eleven. It wasn't that often when he met someone that immediately impressed him or caught his attention, but Ikigai managed and it made his sour thoughts begin to fade.

He gave her a tip of his head in return, adding, "I'm Cináed. A pleasure to meet you." He glanced back over his shoulder at the festival and tournament still going on behind him, looking back to her curiously. "Don't you want to be with the rest of the wolves at the festival?" Her scent matched up with the other strong pack scents around him of the pack that was hosting this whole thing so he was surprised that she came all the way over here to check on him. It wasn't like he or his siblings were invited to the festival itself, just to the tournament so it left him here waiting for them to be done so they could go home.

Cináed Praetor

Iki was a little shocked when the boy called her pretty. She'd never been complimented by anyone outside of her family. Your family was supposed to tell you that you were pretty and smart and all of those things, but a stranger had no obligation to do so. The compliment brought a little bit of heat to Ikigai's cheeks and she tried not to lose her sense of decorum. Admittedly, the compliment from this young warrior had thrown her for a loop.

The boy gave his name and Iki smiled, the red corners of her silver eyes lifting. "Good to meet you, Cinead," she replied in kind. Her presence seemed to wipe the frown from his face and that was just what she had planned to do. Even if he'd lost, there was no reason to be upset. He had put himself out there and he had tried. Today just wasn't his day, that was all.

Cinead asked about the rest of the festival and Iki gave a soft laugh accompanied by a little shake of her head. "My family will see to the rest of the guests." She gave a little, not very princessly shrug. "I needed a bit of a break. It's tiring sitting so still for hours." Perhaps letting down her tail a bit would help the boy feel more at ease.

"Okiku Ikigai Ōritsu Abraxas"

He liked the way his compliment had seemed to catch her off guard. Seeing how others reacted to him was fascinating and seeing her smile felt like a victory, a sign that his efforts to make himself warm and friendly were working. His loss was at least temporarily forgotten now that he had Ikigai in front of him who was infinitely more interesting than whoever it was that he had just fought. Their name was already wiped from his memory, the fight itself so forgettable that he was almost mad at himself for getting so upset about it. He noted how Ikigai didn't look like a fighter as he admired her pretty, silky fur and long tail that went on forever. He couldn't imagine such a pristine girl doing something as brutish as fighting or hunting... But now he couldn't get the idea out of his mind of messing up this perfect exterior she had.

He enjoyed the soft laugh she gave to his question and listened with interest as she explained how her family would take care of the rest of the guests. Ah, so she wasn't just part of the pack that was hosting this whole thing, but she was a daughter of whoever led this pack. He grinned a little, even more interested in this acquaintance than he had been before. She was like him then, a child of an alpha - except her parents seemed to be more involved than his father had been as of late. He wondered to himself if she had siblings and if she did if they were as composed and well mannered as she was or if she stood out from her siblings in that way as well. He was aware of how elitist he sounded when he thought of himself as more intelligent than his siblings, but they hadn't given him much reason to think otherwise so until he was proven wrong he'd continue to assume he was.

He chuckled softly when she mentioned how she needed a break and how tiring it had been to sit still for so many hours, a charming grin pulling across his lips. "Well, I'm honored that you chose to spend your break checking on me," he replied with a tip of his head. He rose to his paws, giving his fiery coat a shake. "If it's sitting around that's gotten you needing a break, would you join me for a little walk? We can just go along the edge of the forest here a little ways." He gave a nod to indicate the direction they could walk along in the space between the river and the pale trees of the unusual forest, adding, "As long as your guests won't miss your beauty too terribly that is."

Cináed Praetor

The boy was charming, she would give him that. His reactions to her reactions were noted, but Iki didn't comment on them. She was terribly observant and had an unnatural sense of situational awareness. The girl often caught cues that others might have missed, be they physical or verbal cues. Maybe it was the way his eyes rested on her a little too long or a sudden glint of hardness in them as he thought, but she had a feeling and it wasn't a positive one. However observant she may have been, she was still a naïve child. Nothing could happen to her while she was in Ashen lands. Right?

Cinaed suggested that they go for a walk and Iki had no real reason to turn him down. There were eyes everywhere in Ashen. Nothing could happen to her here. Interspersed between the guests of the festival were Akitas; canines servants of Ashen. They were servants, but they were also guards, friends, protectors. And so Iki nodded, accepting the big boys offer of a walk. Another added compliment brought some heat to her cheeks, but Iki merely smiled and began to lead the way on their walk, knowing that Cinaed would fall in step beside her. Once he had, she would allow him to lead the way as a gentleman should.

"Did you come with a pack?" Iki hadn't been able to hear the fiery boys name and title when he had been announced as there had been loud cheering for another match at the same time. She was curious where he came from. "Will you head back after the tournament is over or will you stay for the feast? I'm told that there will be delicacies from all over Boreas and Auster." A little smile lifted her blackened lips as she spoke. Iki was quite proud of the spread that would be presented to the tournaments participants.

"Okiku Ikigai Ōritsu Abraxas"