For Keno<3 Alaria padded silently alongside the shore of Wolfpaw Lake. Her elegant head hung low, snout nearly brushing the moist clay. Her far-reaching legs dragged with agonizing listlessness. The femme's reappearance in the lands of Alacritis came without fanfare, without production. Could there be anyone at all that cared for her, that treasured the fact that she was alive? No. Impossible. Unthinkable. Alaria was alone, and that's all there was to it. Sensing a commonplace burst of rage, Alaria snatched up a fragmented chunk of driftwood that happened to lay in her path. Ria savaged it to bits, attempting unsuccessfully to eliminate the anger that permeated her entire being. Most would be heartbroken, vulnerable, weak, if they were left abandoned as Alaria had been. But no, not her. Alaria became angry. The ebony and ivory mistress would metamorphose into a creature filled with a fury unlike any other. It was highly unwise for any to exist in a vicinity within a hundred yards of her. Confusing, it was. How could Alaria begin to attempt to lose the rage of being alone when she adamantly refused any help? Ria abandoned the shoreline in preference of a moss-covered patch of ground on top of a rocky overhang. With a sigh of exasperation, Alaria flopped down, relishing the soft winter moss against the thinner skin of her belly. The air around her had gained a bit of frigidity due to the cool air blowing off of the lake. In the West, the weather was more mild than that of the North and East, but either way Alaria stayed toasty warm in her thick mantle of winter fur. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue, and the midday sun beat down on Alaria's ebony top coat. Despite the fact that her breath steamed from her nostrils, physically Alaria was quite comfortable. Mentally, not so much. Her outburst of rage may have subsided into a quiet discontent, but the turmoil of emotions that raged throughout Ria's fragile mind refused to cease. She showed no outward signs of distress, but one look in her deep amber orbs would be enough to confirm that she danced on the brink of insanity. Alaria felt an emotional breakdown hovering close-by, but vehemently shoved it away. No tears, no pain. If she didn't acknowledge the presence of her demons, then they couldn't hurt her. Alaria pondered her logic. I don't understand.. I don't know how to make this go away. I need help. But needing help is a weakness. I can't afford to be weak. If I'm weak, then wolves know. When wolves know, they take advantage of that weakness. Alaria's composure slipped for a moment, and she released a single whine, her pointed, elegant ears pinned flat to her skull. The sound was a helpless, broken one. There was no more doubt; Alaria needed help. And she needed help before the worst came to pass. Speech Thought Others

The morning came in a way that was typical for Kar. He had rose with the sun, brushing against Zanire with a touch of love before he left the den that he was sharing with the hibernating bear. Fresh snow had fallen on the ground in the west again, but Kar had another destination in mind. Every few days he would take a trip to the south, specifically to Wolfpaw Lake in search of Mako. He hadn't seen him for a while... and truthfully that worried the young male. Was his friend alright? Had something happened to him? Today seemed to be a bit colder, as winter kept Alacritis in it's tight grip. The male arrived on the lake, feeling the chill nip at his nose. There was only one scent that reached his nose here, and much to Kar's disappointment it wasn't the scent of his friend. But the scent of the stranger did have him a tad curious. He scanned the area around the lake, his ears twitching. He wasn't too sure... but he thought he heard something. A whine... Kar slowly began walking again, scenting the air. Before too long he found himself approaching a female, who appeared to be rather distressed. A gentle look passed over Kar's face, and a soft voice left his maw. "Miss? Is there anything I could help you with? Food maybe?" He already knew something was wrong, so it was pointless to ask about that. Instead he just wanted to see if he could help her out in some way. Speech, Thought

Alaria let her tired orbs close for a moment, but only for a moment. As distrustful and wary as she was, there was no possible way that Ria would sleep in the open, where any wolf could find her and hurt her. Sleeping equates to letting a guard down, and that was one thing Alaria never did around other wolves. Ria paused for a moment, flicking her eyelids open once more as she reviewed that thought process. How did I become this wolf. This wasn't me a year ago. What happened? And then she remembered, disgusted that she could forget in the first place. It began when her parents abandoned her as a young pup. What wolf wouldn't be scarred by that? And then when her adoptive mother died, it was the beginning of the end for Alaria. She morphed into a sarcastic, snarky, suspicious, and distrustful wolf, of any creature that could speak, for creatures who could speak, could lie. They could worm their way into her heart, into her mind, and then destroy her. They could leave her. Willingly or not. Alaria wasn't about to put herself through that misery again and again. It almost killed her the first time. A completely understandable feeling of frustration filled Alaria. She didn't want to feel like this. And yet, she had no other choice. She didn't know how not to. And just like that, her pity party ended when Alaria caught the scent of an approaching wolf. By the smell, she deciphered that it was a young male, most likely around her age. She could tell, also, that he meant her no harm. There was nothing whatsoever threatening about his scent, and yet despite that, Alaria's hackles rose. The ebony fur cloaking her like a shadow began to rise and stand at stiff attention. Without commanding her muscles to, Ria's lips lifted to display her fangs, a snarl building in her throat. However, it lodged itself there, not quite ready to threaten what she could not see. Alaria scrambled to her overly-large paws, scrabbling in the moss a bit. The brute came into sight, a medium-sized gray and white male with piercing, lime green eyes. Alaria lowered her head towards the ground, her amber eyes locked on the male. Her hackles still bristling in an impressive show of force, and her elegant ears pinned flat to her skull, Alaria loosed the snarl that had built in her throat. The sound ripped out of her maw, threatening the male not to come any closer. Ria may have hear his soft voice, but the words never registered in her brain. All she saw, all she heard, was a threat. Alaria slowly backed away from him, but stopped when she realized she was at the edge of the overhang. And thus, a fight or flight situation became a fight situation. Alaria was not one to enjoy being backed into a corner, and automatically she became even more dangerous. In an equally soft voice, though ten times as deadly, Alaria spoke. "If you value your life, I highly suggest that you run away. As far and as fast as you can." Alaria was a force to be reckoned with, yes. Her voice was sharp and flinty, and it could cut one to pieces as easily as fragmented pieces of glass. But her eyes. Her eyes portrayed a much different story. Her eyes plead for help, a silent scream that even she couldn't hear. Speech Thought Others

Kar stopped as the snarl ripped from the she-wolf's throat. He was a bit surprised, and it showed in his lime green eyes. He frowned deeply, though he didn't take a step away from her. The way she spoke was clearly threatening, but Kar could see it in her eyes that she didn't truly want him to leave. Her eyes begged for him to stay. To help her. Kar's ears lowered, though he lifted his head so that he was meeting the eyes of the she-wolf. "I do not wish you harm, miss... and I can see in your eyes you really don't want to hurt me either." Kar took a few steps back before calmly sitting down, curling his tail around his paws. "Are you hungry? I could get something for you, if you want." Kar let his body relax. He didn't want to hurt this wolf... and he was sure that if he relaxed she would start to feel less edgy as well. "My name is Kar, by the way. May I please have your name?" Speech, Thought

Alaria snapped her jaws shut with an audible click, perplexed. A simple snarl would normally be enough to scare off a non-threatening wolf, but this male would not take it. He was surprised that she reacted so violently, that she could see. However, he seemed like a stubborn one. Realizing that she couldn't drive him off by ordinary methods, Ria resigned herself to deal with him until he realized how far gone she was. At the height of her desperation, Alaria didn't think anyone would be able to bring out the happy, carefree young wolf she used to be. "I do not wish you harm, miss... and I can see in your eyes you really don't want to hurt me either." His words gave Alaria more than pause. How perceptive could he really be? Did she actually want to hurt him? Alaria searched deep within herself for the answer. No, she didn't. However, if it came down to either her hurting him or him hurting her, Alaria would protect herself at all costs. But he didn't seem to want to hurt her, not in the slightest. So was Alaria willing to risk it? Was she really willing to risk getting her heart ripped out once again? Maybe. The brute sat down softly, proving once more to Alaria that he did not want to hurt her. Cautiously, ever so cautiously, Alaria sat down as well. Despite her slight show of trust, Ria kept her guard up nearly all the way. She let it down just a bit, but there was no way she'd let it down completely. That would be asking for him to tear her apart, piece by piece. Then something completely unexpected happened: the brute asked Alaria if he could find her some food. That was it; Alaria was utterly and completely confused. This wolf didn't remotely fit the mold that Ria knew most every wolf fit nowadays. Alaria lost almost all pretenses of defense, her ears pricking back up and her hackles laying flat once more. The only sign that she was still ready for anything was the tense set of her shoulders and back. "Um.. No, I'm not hungry." Actually, she had no idea when she had last eaten, and she didn't particularly care. She'd hunt when she felt the hunger pains. Or maybe she wouldn't. Who knows? Alaria was far from used to dealing with kindness, and she had no idea how to respond. The only thing she could think of to get rid of him would be to act as rude as she possibly could, but she just.. Couldn't. There was something about him, this Kar, as he said his name was. Alaria didn't know what it was, and she didn't know how to react. But as her amber orbs met his lime ones, she knew that he saw her. And not just her physical form. He saw what was broken inside of her, and she could tell that he wanted to fix it. The only question was, was she going to let him? "My name is Alaria." Speech Thought Others

Kar's gentle smile remained on his face as the she wolf sat down as well. It was a minor show of trust, though with Kar he knew anything of the sort was a good thing and a step in the right direction. It was also a sign of recognition of the female's part that he wasn't going to be scared off so easily, not that he wanted to do her harm. No... Kar was a unique wolf, one who had a good heart and a gentle mind. Despite those that were in the world that were cruel, Kar did his best to deal with that and show the goodness that wolves could have in their heart. She definitely seemed a bit confused at his show of kindness. But Kar remained in his relaxed, non-threatening position. His lime green gaze noticed that she still kept her guard up slightly. A wolf who had been harmed by others over and over again would still be cautious at any show of kindness... but Kar was determined to show these types of wolves that true kindness still existed.

"Alaria... It's a very pretty name." The compliment was a geniune one. The gray, white, and black wolf dipped his head, a show of respect to the female. She had declined his offer of hunting for her, and though Kar worried that she might not be telling the truth about that he would respect her decision and not press the matter. Kar looked out over the lake for a moment before letting his gaze trail back to Alaria, his gentle smile never fading. "Wolfpaw Lake is a very beautiful place... one of the most beautiful in Alacrita that I've seen thus far. You've picked a lovely place to rest." Kar pricked his ears in her direction, wanting to make her comfortable, at least as comfortable as she could be, with simple, good natured conversation.

"Have you traveled long to get here...? Or are you, perhaps, someone who was born in these lands?"