Woah. This place was... strange, Bronze decided. He perched near the edge of the forest for a long while once the long stretch of stone came into view, observing it. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, though its vastness (and stillness) reminded him a bit of the S.S. Antiox. It seemed otherworldly somehow, and he couldn't help but be wary of it. After a long time spent staring at it and waiting for something to happen, he decided nothing was going to happen at all, and that approaching was likely safe. Carefully the blue-furred boy crept across the tundra, taking short steps and taking in his surroundings before continuing. Finally he reached the edge of the wall, sniffing hard at the solid stone. He lifted a paw up, then another, stretching tall as he tested its weight. Though a nearby section was crumbling it was as sturdy as any tree, perhaps even stronger, and he lowered himself down and began to pad along the edge of the structure. He wouldn't go far, keeping an eye on the edge of the forest he'd come from in case he decided to flee back behind Incendium's borders.

Wolves weren't meant for climbing, koi-wolves least of all, but Kuroki tried all the same. His talons dug into the rock, clawing into the grooves as he sought out purchase. His companions watched him from the ground below, his akita wagging his tail in obvious amusement as his hog let out a snort, no doubt assuming this was going to end badly. Well Kuroki was determined to prove them wrong, just cause he could.. He kicked and struggled, knowing full well if his Sire wandered back and caught him doing this he'd be in big trouble. For acting so recklessly and for not showing grace or decorum. Kuroki had never been any good at acting like that, his siblings more than made up for it in that department. Perhaps it was worrying he was already acting out at such a young age, spite running thick through his veins, but it wasn't as if he'd hurt anyone. Not wanting to obey pointless, boring rules was one thing and being mean for the sake of it was another. He was harmless, mostly.

With a tired huff, Kuroki managed to scale to the top of the wall. Or rather a midsection, a slanting part before it really got taller in places. He shot his companions a smug, knowing look as they watched him from the other side and even stuck out his tongue for good measure. See? He was just fine.

Wandering along as far as the length would allow, Kuroki soon found himself looking down at a blue wolf. He didn't blend in much with the scenery but Kuroki supposed the same could be said for him too.

"Yo!" He greeted from on high, as if it were a perfectly natural thing to do.

Bronze had no idea what he was doing here and even less clue where he might go. He intended to explore a bit further down this stone wall, but he wasn't sure how far he wanted to go. Exploring on his own sounded interesting in theory but he was less sure about it now that he was actually here. This would probably be a lot more fun with one of his siblings. But it was too late now that he was out here and he figured he might as well just keep on exploring now. Occasionally he paused to scope out the wall to see if he could scale it, but it seemed pretty dangerous, but maybe he'd find a section he could easily climb if he went a bit further out.

He wasn't sure if climbing was his thing, but apparently someone was giving it a shot. Somewhere up ahead he saw another wolf climbing the top of the wall, heading toward him. Only when he drew closer could Bronze really see what he looked like. Most prominent was the horns sticking out of his head, as well as the long teeth sticking down from his upper jaw. Bronze tilted his head curiously, slowing his own measured pace. "Hello," he called out as nonchalantly as he could muster, despite being quite surprised to find someone else out here exploring the wall. The boy seemed about his age too; he wondered why he was all the way out here.

The greeting he got was pretty lukewarm, like a poorly cooked microwave meal. But even then it wasn't unfriendly and that was more than enough for Kuroki to latch onto. He offered the stranger a lopsided grin, too much tooth with his growing sabres making him look more than a little derpy. By now he was used to serious wolves, there were plenty of 'em in Ashen, and more often than not he made it his goal to see if he could chip away at their stoic exteriors and get a rise out of them. Anything would do, the little Prince wasn't fussy, after all some attention was always better than none.

Thus far Kuroki hadn't really mingled with wolves who weren't his relatives-big family and all- but he was quick to take it in his stride. Even now he was far more social than his Father could ever dream of being, no doubt taking after his Mother in all the best ways.

"I ain't from these parts." Which was obvious enough. "How 'bout you?"

Bronze had never seen teeth like Kuroki's before. It was hard to get a good look at them from this distance but he squinted, giving him a long look as he tried to study his features. Actually he'd never really seen a wolf that looked like him before, with those bright orange flecks and the horn things sticking out of his forehead. He looked a bit strange but not in a bad way. Just different. For a moment he wondered if he was giving a bad impression, but it was hard to force himself out of his shell. Talking to strangers was uncomfortable for him but he knew the only way for him to learn about the world was to talk to the wolves he met.

"I'm not from here, but not far away either," he explained vaguely. Though he was proud of his pack and where he came from, he wasn't sure how much information he wanted to share either. Bronze was a skeptical boy by nature and divulging too much seemed like it could be problematic. "I'm Bronze. Never been here before. It's weird," he observed quietly, just loud enough for Oki to hear him. "Is the view cool up there?" He asked after a moment, wondering if he could see more than Bronze did - not that he knew how he'd climb up even if he wanted.

Right, so he didn't know what this thing was either. Fair enough. He tapped his talons against the old stone, his tongue poking out a little as he scrapped out some moss from between a crack. It was easy for his young mind to cook up all sorts of stories and theories as to what this thing was, but he made a point of not getting too distracted since yanno, he had company. He peered down again and nodded as he took in the stranger's name, Bronze. It was a fine name and all but...Blue just suited him better in Kuroki's not so humble opinion. And so that's what he was gonna call him from here on out.

"It sure is, Blue." He nodded, very satisfied with himself. He crouched a little, talons digging in as he dangled his neck off the edge. Ready to grab at the scruff of his neck to help him clamber up. Touchy-feely, casual kinda kid he was. "Wanna get up?"

Bronze was quiet and patient as Kuroki shifted on the wall, tapping at the stone and scraping at it with his claws. He was curious about this structure but wasn't sure if climbing it was such a great idea, at least not from this section. Instead he strained his head as he took a few steps closer and examined Oki from down here, deciding that he didn't really like being looked down on, especially by someone his own size. The nickname he gave him earned a little chuckle; perhaps he'd never seen a wolf as Blue as him. The nickname was quite fitting for his siblings and mom too, though.

He didn't have long to think about that before the unnamed wolf was leaning over as if to help him. Considering it for a moment, he decided to give it a try "Sure, Horns," he thought fast of his own nickname for him, since he hadn't given him one yet. Maybe it wasn't as good as Blue but it still amused him a bit. Carefully he lifted his front paw up high on the stone - and as soon as Oki grabbed onto his scruff he kicked up with his hind paws, doing an awkward scramble up the wall and to the top. Once he arrived, he shook out his coat and steadied himself before glancing around. The view was pretty cool - he could see out a lot further than before - and he spent a moment gawking at the forest and snow just beyond the wall.

It wasn't exactly ideal or easy, but with their combined efforts Bronze managed to clamber his way atop the wall. Kuroki made a show of playing it casual as he rolled his shoulders, pretending that Blue wasn't as heavy as a hog or that now Kuroki's neck now felt all strained and achy. As it turns out wolves aren't meant to lift weights with their neck, who knew?! Instead, he made an amused tsk sound at Bronzes pretty on the nose nickname. Not that he could really judge since he'd gone and done the same, but still. He was a fairly blunt kinda guy and Kuroki liked that, he was serious but not too stuffy.

Turning around, Kuroki followed Bronze's line of sight as he looked out at the wilderness, at the endless expanse of snow and trees. His gaze was dark, his eyes barely visible against the black of his face as he wondered just how far it stretched on for. He knew of the bridge, had attempted to chase a deer across it before Hattori had butted in, but all of that made him think about the world. That it was far larger than he could ever imagine. He'd see it all one day, no one could stop him, not even the Shogun.

"Makes you wonder, don't it? Why adults always shack up somewhere when there's so much to see and do." He offered Bronze a side glance.

It'd definitely been a trickier feat than he'd expected, and by the time he reached the top of the wall he could feel the strain in his neck and shoulders from pulling himself up. Surely Oki was feeling something similar though. It wasn't like Bronze was some small wolf that he could easily drag up. He appreciated the effort though once he finally reached the top and straightened out, trying to keep his balance as he slowly spun around and adjusted his weight. The wall was decently wide at the top, and definitely gaze a good vantage point of the world beyond. It was so different here in this tundra, different from the tightly-packed forests that he was so used to.

"Wow," he breathed in quiet wonder as he gazed at the world beyond. This was kinda like where the frozen ship was, except there was a vast expanse of sea bordering those lands. Here though everything was just ice, only small bits of shrubbery and vegetation breaking up the terrain. Oki's statement did make him think though. Facing the opposite direction - directly opposite of the way his new friend had come - Bronze began to stride forward, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting the other boy to follow. "Yeah, I guess I do wonder sometimes. My mom says the world's a scary place though. Better to stay together and keep the ones close to you safe. That's what she tells me, at least," he explained with a soft sigh. "I dunno though, I do wanna see more of the world. Can't just be snow and trees forever. There's this wall, so there must be more," he mused thoughtfully.

Kuroki did not fall into step beside Bronze as he probably ought to. Instead, he overtook him with an elegant trot and shot him a smug little side glance, just being stubborn and a little rebellious for the sake of it. He had to keep flexing those muscles or he'd get all limp and flappy, Kami forbid start bending to his Sires will just because it was the path of least resistance. Kuroki did listen though as Bronze spoke and kept his mouth shit, ears perked as he took in the weight of his words.

Unable to help himself he let out an indignant snort.

"Course she would. It's like they all read off the same script, if ya ask me."  He'd heard a similar spiel all too often, of duty and honour and his birth right. Yadda yadda, an argument that only went around in circles. "Is that all that's stopping you? Them and their rules?" Now he was being a bit of a hypocrite here, if he followed his convictions as much as he claimed to then surely he would have left Ashen in the rear mirror by now, right? He scowled and looked like the picture image of his Father. "Nothing wrong with wanting to stay with family, I 'pose. Ain't all bad. "

It was far more complicated than he liked and he felt a bit weird holding onto so tightly to such a serious topic with someone he'd only just met.

"Anyway, if you so happened to head down south I guess I might be able to find the time to show you around." He laid it on real thick, struggling to hide his smirk.

Bronze watched as Kuroki overtook his position on the wall, strutting ahead of him. He didn't react, only moved to follow him. He was a stranger to these lands anyway and didn't necessarily think he needed to lead the charge. Though his parents had raised him to be independent he didn't tend toward being overly confident, so Kuroki's little show didn't cause him to react. However, he didn't really love what he said about his mom. "You really think so? I dunno," he started slowly. His mom wouldn't just say something for the sake of it.. Would she? As he got older it became more obvious to him that her younger life had been difficult, maybe even scary - he'd never pressed her on it but he wondered if he ought to someday. "No, it's not just that. I do wanna stay and protect my family. It's not just because they tell me to," Bronze explained.

It was hard to imagine going far away from where they lived now, but maybe for a trip? He could picture that. For a moment he thought of Silent and how she went wherever she wanted to, not tied down by responsibility or family. Part of that sounded nice, but it sounded a bit lonely at the same time. "How would I find you? I mean, how far south?" Maybe if he explained it Bronze might be able to actually find him again someday if her went further south. Otherwise he wasn't so sure.

Well each to their own, Kuroki guessed. There was a chance he might have felt the same way, except that he knew for all Hattori's faults, the man didn't need any help in protecting the family. He knew a whole lot more about fighting then the Ashen Prince did and it wasn't like Mum was a slouch either. The way he saw it, Ashen had done fine before he'd been born, it wouldn't crash and burn the moment he set a paw over the border. If that were the case the white trees of the Shrine would be ablaze as they spoke and Toxicity would no doubt lose her mind, a thought that brought a wry smirk to the Prince's lips.

Bronze perked up after a little, not so hung up on the prospect of family loyalty it seemed. It'd be a damn shame if he stayed that way, when the whole wide world was spread out before them, practically begging to be explored. Even the blank canvas of snow below had Kuroki aching to stomp all over it, to leave his mark on it all.

"Huh? Oh it's not so hard. Just head south till you see some white trees." He then paused, remembering the festival and the similarities between Bronze and what's her face...He'd never caught her name, whoops. "Met a blue girl at the festival my parents hosted, she went there. Ask her, she'll know."

Oki sparked some doubt in him that hadn't existed before. He was constantly reminded of Silent and the fact that she lived on her own, her paws taking her wherever she wanted. He only knew faint warnings from his parents, ones that had been definitely sparked by his mother's life before she'd met his dad... but were things really as scary as they were made out to be? It was hard to be sure. Maybe it was all like this - stark wilderness, ready to be explored and mostly uninhabited. He could deal with coming across lone wolves and avoiding packs, right? It sounded appealing but the thought of leaving his family was even less appealing, so he filed that thought away in the back of his mind for now.

He let out a sigh as they continued along the wall, . "A blue girl, huh? Must've been one of my sisters," he mused thoughtfully, wondering which one it might be. He supposed it didn't matter much though, especially if she hadn't given this guy his name. "Well. It's a cool view but I should be heading back." He chewed his lower lip as he stared down at the ground, wondering how he might safely get down. "I'll ask them then. Should remember the guy with horns they met," he quipped with a grin. finally he found a spot where the wall dipped a bit lower, and - steadying himself carefully, he lowered his paws along the flat edge of the wall and leapt down, landing hard on the ground with a resounding thud. He still didn't know his name but that seemed less important than it had initially. "See you around sometime, yeah?" With that Bronze set off the way he'd come, not wanting his parents to worry if he stayed away for much longer.

-exit Bronze-