With Aerie now a band and no longer holding territory of their own, reasoning away longer trips became a much easier task. What had brought him to the cold north Deus couldn't say for certain, but he'd been meaning to check out the shipwreck on the coast ever since Winterfell had abandoned the area. Deus had never been much of an explorer, but he understood the need for change if he ever would be successful in helping build back up his pack and his home. If wolves did live up this far north they'd likely be the hardiest of the species, and the stronger the recruit he could find, the better off Aerie would be. It was colder than he'd expected and neither he nor his companions could not loiter long in the cold open air. Moving hurriedly across the deck, he ushered the puppies into the labyrinth of hallways and out of the bitter wind. Beneath the deck were a multitude of rooms and the malinois' dogs wasted no time in breaking off to search each one, likely hoping to find a pocket of warmth somewhere. Deus allowed them their independence, taking his time through the hallways in quiet contemplation. "Speech"

Kaija felt a newly renowned sense of purpose after running into Ophelia again recently. Life was a little bit brighter now; not that she'd been depressed or anything, but it was admittedly hard being on her own for so long without any of her family to run into and romp around with. Though she liked her independence more than anything, she liked running into others fairly often too. Of course, she came and went as she pleased with little regard for those she left behind, but a quiet boring existence hadn't proved very satisfying for her. At least now that she was near Ophie and knew where she was staying she had plenty of opportunities to spend time with her - and drag her around on adventures sometimes too.

Still she had her responsibilities though which left Kaija with plenty of time to go wherever her paws took her. Today she'd found her way to a super strange structure near the coast, something she'd seen from quite a distance away and thought she wanted to check out. Upon further inspection, she decided it was like nothing she'd ever seen before, and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she drew closer and tried to scope it out from a distance.

The air from the sea was bitter-cold, even for someone who'd grown quite used to the chill of the north. Kaija picked up her pace, strong legs carrying her across the barren land until she was practically colliding with the ship. Only then did a vaguely familiar scent reach her nose, something that took her a very long time to place, which wasn't at all surprising given how long it'd been since her brief encounter with this wolf.

Warily she slowed near the deck, which was half-froze into the earth, and slowly placed a paw on it. Only when Deus came into view did she let out an amused little snort, the sound louder than she expected it would be as it bounced off the steel structure ahead of her. It felt strangely foreboding as it loomed at her paws, the remnants of a time long since passed, sticking out of the surrounding land like a sore thumb. "Didn't expect to see a familiar face here," she admitted, letting out a little chuckle. Her days in Valhalla seemed so far in the past that she wasn't sure she even related much to the wolf she'd been back then, just a kid, though she had a sneaking suspicion that she'd left an impression on the slightly older wolf before her.

The sound of soft crunching snow and claw on metal alerted him to another's presence, though Deus had never been flighty nor paranoid. His ears perked with curiosity, head turning over his shoulder to watch the doorway should the stranger pursue him into the vessel. Sure there were some combative and angry wolves up north, but Deus had made no enemies in his three years of life and surely even the most aggressive of stranger would need some reason to launch an assault. He watched and waited, and as the familiar tusked form crossed through the doorway, grinned. "Oh no. Come to finally follow through on your threat to stick me with your tucks?" He teased, eyeing the fierce mutations with playful caution. Kaija was a hard wolf to forget, especially when he had hated her so passionately for tattling on him when they were both puppies. The memories of the day were somewhat vague now, but Deus could at the very least remember his intrusion, Kaija's intervention, Aoife's rescue... and then something about poop... Shaking his head to clear the lingering confusion, Deus turned his body more fully towards her. "I'm happy for the company, anything to get my mind off how fucking cold it is. What brings you so far north?" "Speech"

Kaija had never been the most wary of anything either; she was one to head toward potential danger rather than away from it, and this strange metal structure and whoever might be lurking inside was no exception. Once she realized it was someone she was familiar with, she only grew more receptive to the idea of company. A similar grin touched her own lips as she drew closer, keeping a distance that couldn't be construed as anything but friendly.  

"Don't worry, I've forgiven you," Kaija admitted lightheartedly. Even as a kid she hadn't really fully believed in the idea of claiming territories and though she remembered being frustrated at a trespasser in her home, it was hard for her to identify with the wolf she'd been then. If anything, the recollection made her laugh at how ridiculous their encounter had been. She wondered briefly if he'd managed to find Aoife, but she decided it probably didn't matter now.

"Not a fan of the north?" Not that she was getting off so easy today. The bitter wind was relentless coming in from the sea and the ship offered little protection from the wind, and Kaija felt a shiver ripple down her back. Slowly she drew closer, hoping she might be able to sneak into the doorway. The male seemed open to her company and she had no reason to believe he'd try to run her off. She wondered what the ship was like inside - in the shadows she could see a long corridor that opened up to various rooms on the side, like a cave but far more symmetrical. She'd definitely never seen anything like it before and she was curious what oddities lay inside.

"I've been hanging around the north for a while now. Left Valhalla over a year ago now, I think. What about you? Oh - my name's Kaija. Don't think we had much time for introductions when we met before." Probably not, but it was hard to say for sure. Either way she was surprised to see him this far north too and she couldn't help but wonder what had brought him all this way.

Kaija insisted she had forgiven him for the transgression and Deus grinned in reply, stepping back from the doorway and squeezing in against the hallway wall as she drew closer. "In that case, come join me on an adventure. Much warmer in here." The below deck walkways of the ship were not particularly roomy for two full sized direwolves to walk side by side, but Deus did his best to grant her a respectable amount of space to push past him if she chose. "Not in the slightest. I'm practically a desert flower, you know." It wasn't entirely untrue, either. Which brought the question of what Kaija was doing here, seeing as she was as much a tropical-bred wolf as he was. It surprised Deus to hear that she had broken from Valhalla, and he found it even disappointed him as it meant she likely did not know how Aoife had been doing either. An introduction was posed and Deus wrinkled his nose playfully, tasting the name on his tongue. "Kaija. Not a very mortal-enemy type name, I have to say. I'm Asmodeus." He dipped his head in formal greeting, then moved further into the hall. Peeking his head around the corner into one of the adjoined rooms and keeping an eye out for his rambunctious adolescent companions, he continued the conversation. "If I may ask, what brought you to leave Valhalla?" "Speech"

The cold didn't really bother her but even the toughest wolves had trouble withstanding the frigid colds of the northernmost points of Boreas all the time, Kaija included, even if she didn't want to admit it. She gave a little nod and moved in alongside him, noting the sound of his companion's claws against the metal floor up ahead. She cast a glance their way, watching as one ducked out of a room and into another. "Not a terrible place to hunker down for awhile. Surprised no one's tried to claim it," she admitted, a bit of distaste clear in her tones. For a wolf that had been raised in a pack maybe she shouldn't be so judgmental but she'd been taught by her father that wolves ought to be free, that claiming lands went against their very nature - and it'd taken her awhile to really believe that but she did now.

She didn't dwell on that thought for long though. She was just glad when she found somewhere she wanted to explore when she didn't have to worry about trespassing. Not that she'd be totally opposed to it if she had a compelling reason, now that she thought of it...

But those were thoughts for another day. Asmodeus admitted he was a fan of the desert more than the north and she had to wonder why he'd found himself all the way up here then. "Asmodeus sounds far more threatening, you're right about that. Guess I got the short end of the stick there." She let out a snort of laughter at the thought. Kaija trailed after him, poking her nose into a few of the rooms. Most were vacant, though some held strange remnants of a world she knew nothing off. She sniffed hard at the air.

His question earned a nonchalant shrug before she decided to elaborate. "Staying in one place and following rules and all that isn't really my thing." Maybe that was a surprise given how she'd been such a diligent little border-defender when Asmodeus had first met her, but she'd been testing the waters and clearly she'd found that wasn't her style, not at all. Being a pain in the ass definitely was though and Asmodeus had gotten a little taste of that. The memory brought a little grin to her lips. "I didn't like sitting around and not seeing what else was out there for me, you know? But what about you?" Had he been infected with wanderlust, like she had? He smelled of a group so she wasn't sure that was the whole story but she was curious nonetheless.

Deus contemplated that with a hum, keeping pace alongside her but tilting his head to the side as he considered, distracted. Didn't someone once live up here? This was his first time coming to the territory - and while a pup he had not been made privy of much inter pack diplomacy - but he swore that at some point, someone had mentioned a match of some sort for control of the decrepit old ship. "I think someone did." He voiced aloud. "Though I guess they didn't have what it took to hold it. A good thing anyways, otherwise there'd be nowhere for us to get out of the cold." There was not much in the north in the way of windbreak or shelter, not unless you wanted to hole up in a mountain cave somewhere and Deus had gotten lost in one already as a yearling. He did not miss the touch of disdain in Kaija's tone and that, combined with her elaboration on why she had left Valhalla intrigued him. Ears flicking forward with interest, he inclined his head to the side to give her his patient attention. "Something you outgrew, I suppose?" He teased, remembering as well how fervently she'd protected her borders against him that day so long ago. Kaija questioned him then and he grimaced, a bit dejected remembering his current predicament with his once-home and once-pack. Was he even allowed to tell others what had transpired? Aerie was built on a lot of secrecy, but Eligos also relied on the prospect of wolves outsourcing them as mercenaries-for-hire. Surely if he wanted to continue to be available for a contract, Deus would be expected to share what had become of the desert-dwelling pack. "Aerie has abandoned our right to territory and have formed a nomadic band." Deus murmured. "Our numbers have suffered since the Long Night, this is what Eligos thinks is best for us. I guess I'm struggling with it, hating not having a real home. I've been just... roaming, in search of wolves to bring back. Hoping that if I find enough, we might one day be able to return." His ears flattened to his skull, the admittance feeling almost shameful. "How do you do it? I worry I'll never be able to adjust." Pausing, Deus considered his next words carefully, swallowing before he posed his follow-up. "Don't you get lonely?" "Speech"

Kaija gave a little murmur of understanding at Deus' words, musing out loud that someone maybe had lived here once. That made sense to her, though she hadn't come this way until recently either. So much of her life had been spent rather far south of these parts, from Valhalla's lands in the west and more recently in the central areas of Boreas. It'd been a few seasons since she'd come north but she hadn't made it quite this far north until recently - and she was glad she had, both for the sights as well as the company. At this moment Asmodeus was included in that.

A wind that came in from the sea suddenly struck the ship and made the massive structure shift, only slightly but the movement was noticeable - and audible, the metal structure creaking slightly around them. Kaija was definitely glad for the ship's shelter in this moment, no matter used to the cold she might be. "Yeah, something I outgrew I suppose," she answered with a soft laugh. The truth was though that maybe that younger version of herself hadn't really been who she was at all, just something she'd been trying out, something that quite clearly hadn't stuck.

If she knew that her question would've caused even a moment of hesitation on his part Kaija probably wouldn't have asked. If there was anyone least likely to use information about Aerie against them, it was her, but Deus didn't know her well enough to know that. Not quite yet at least. "It's not so bad. But I can see why not having a pack to go home to might get lonely for some." Her closest friend was reluctant to leave such a life behind, even when Kaija had asked her to. Maybe some wolves just weren't built to be nomadic like she was. "I guess I get a little lonely sometimes. Mostly for my family though. My brother's still in Valhalla, at least one of them, and the other one..."

Her voice trailed off then and she gave a little shrug. She had hope she'd see Arne again someday but thinking about him made usually made her sad, so she tried not to dwell on his disappearance for long at all. "And I found out just recently my best friend's family moved up here so it gives me a reason to stick around these parts for a while." She hoped that didn't make her sound like she was pining over Ophie, which she sort of was, but Deus didn't know that. "I'm sticking pretty close to these parts for now though. No need to be lonely on your own when we can do it together. I mean, if you're planning on being around here too," Kaija offered with a shrug. She didn't tie herself to anyone and had no plans to but it didn't hurt to know she had someone she could pal around with, whether that meant just sheltering inside an ominous looking structure like this or just exploring somewhere new - she'd rather not be alone all the time.

Deus was struggling to find what part of this territory any pack might find hospitable. The winds outside were unforgiving and cold even in the 'warmth' of summer, and you could not escape it's influence even inside the decrepit old ship. The ship rocked beneath his feet, the rusted metal letting out a loud groan and creek further down the hall as the hull fought against the sudden gust. From the rooms ahead his pups returned, their ears slicked back against their skulls as they galloped through the hall toward him to fight for the protective bubble behind his forepaws. Asmodeus pause in his strides, putting a paw atop the female's head before directing a wordless and apologetic smile to his travelling companion. Kids. The expression said. "At least with these two I could never truly be lonely." He mused. "Though being apart from my family would be hard. Do you go back and visit them?" It was odd for Deus to think that Kaija chose to stick around the north to be nearer to a friend, but not to the west to be nearer to those who shared her blood. She offered him her companionship while he remained in the area, and Deus gave a small shudder at the reminder of the cold. "A kind offer. Perhaps for a while. I don't see myself staying long. Central in the continent is fine, I guess, not desert but not freeze-your-balls off. But I can't imagine even making a temporary home in the tundra. Where does your friends' family live?" "Speech"

The concept of holding down territories and calling a place yours just didn't settle well with her. It was a part of her Jarvela blood that she hadn't been able to outgrow, even after being raised in Valhalla. She much preferred the concept of coming and going wherever she pleased, never really laying down roots in the traditional sense, even if she often found herself gravitating around a specific place - it always changed. Right now she was drawn to the north, in all its frigid glory. At least there were places to seek refuge, like this ship, as slight as the protection might be, which she was reminded of the way the brutal winds made the structure creak almost as though it were alive. She shied away from Deus a little as his companions returned to him, giving them space to weave between his legs.

"Yeah, I guess so," she responded, not entirely dismissive, just… the idea of companions just wasn't really for her. At least it wasn't something she could picture for herself, but to each their own. "I haven't seen them in awhile, but I should. Just hard, you know? To reconnect after so much time." She'd felt the same about reuniting with Ophie too but she'd done it anyway. Reconnecting with family though somehow felt harder, but she didn't want to dwell on it for too long. "I like the cold, but I see your point. They live not too far west of here - in one of those forests outside that big mountain range," she explained. Who knew if Deus even knew the north well enough to have even half a clue what she was talking about. "Where do you think you'll go next? Have any clue?" Kaija raised an eyebrow inquisitively as she cast him an amused look. Hey, maybe he'd give her an idea as to where she wanted to go next.