Arwood's exciting nomadic adventure had temporarily landed him on a strange new island sometime early last night.  Since then he'd spent the rest of that evening and the better half of the current morning exploring and collecting small trinkets from inside and around the foreign constructs that inhabited the land.  So far his hoard consisted of a few glass shards that varied in vivid color, a couple of buttons, a key that unlocked who knows what, and most excitedly an unopened bottle of wine. With no sure home to call his own and nobody to share his findings with, however, the male decided he'd bury the treasure and come back for it once he'd settled down somewhere.  It was better this way, otherwise he'd end up drinking the whole bottle alone or something and drowning in the sea because he thought he was sober enough to swim, or worse.  He always did the weirdest shit when he was drunk and bored.

"Good enough."  The male beamed at the fresh new hole he'd dug into the earth before beginning to place his cool new stuff inside.

”Speech”  ’Thought’

And all I see are fantasies

The yearling had taken a slight detour as his family headed south to go on a raid. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to participate this time. Which rather soured his mood and caused him to be grumpy. His disgruntled attitude was obvious by the furrowed brow and pinned ears. If one was close enough, they could hear the grumblings under his breath. Occasionally, he would kick out at a rock and watch it tumble through the forest. He wasn't really paying attention until one of the rocks he kicked made a splashing noise. Pulled away from his pouting, Scald approached the embankment to see the large towers of decaying buildings. Curiosity would hopefully not kill this cat as he made his way through the icy waters. Giving his galactic coat a shake as he made it to the other side, Scald told himself mentally that he would spend some time here until he was ready to meet back up with his siblings and parents. So on he went, up to the decrepit buildings covered in vines, moss, and bird shit. The smell of the place wasn't exactly the best, but it would do for now. As he wandered, the noise and smell of a wolf caught his attention. Being the nosy socialite that he was, Scald followed the lead until he spied from the shadows a slightly older boy digging a hole beside a bottle of booze. This sparked his interest even more as a nice swig of alcohol did sound nice. Walking up to the boy with his head level with his shoulders but confidence filling his every step, Scald smirked and pointedly flicked a paw in the direction of the boy's bounty. "Care to share any of that?" He asked, his tones slow and lazy with a hint of mischief. S C A L D

The sudden voice made Arwood jump.  It was a slight thing, really, but definitely not so slight that his new company wouldn't have noticed if he was paying any sort of attention.  He had been so fixated on crafting the perfect hole for his little treasures that the outside world kind of got tuned out.  Having traversed much of the island without seeing a single soul the male subconsciously thought he was safe to do such a thing, though is anyone ever truly safe to let their guard down so publicly in a world like this?  He chuckled at his own stupidity.  "You scared me, mate."  the wolf akin to a latte smirked, eyeing the new arrival.

He was an interesting looking guy who's coat reminded Arwood of those warm summer nights he loved so much, the ones that just make everything feel like it's going to be okay.  They seemed to be around a similar age, maybe only a couple seasons apart.  Nice.  Maybe he could make some friends while he was on this strange soul-searching journey of his.  Arwood looked down at the unopened bottle and then back up to the starry wolf.  "I could."  His voice was laced with something playful.  "But why should I?"

”Speech”  ’Thought’

And all I see are fantasies

His ears flicked forward as he noticed the latte-colored boy startle. Anyone else would have felt sorry for scaring someone, but Scald had to hold back a snicker. Tucking away that snippet for later, he shrugged his shoulders in a silent apology. Woops. Thankfully, the guy wasn't super upset about it so Scald stayed where he was, only a few feet apart as his gaze glanced at the hole dug into the ground and the bottle of booze lying nearby. Was he trying to bury his treasure? Was he also a pirate like himself? He didn't look or smell familiar. Well, his stripey and speckled brown coat reminded him of Sparrow and Sakana, but he had grown up with her litter and would recognize any of her offspring. Nevertheless, Scald was not shy about admiring the sleek fur that covered the other boy as playful words made his gaze move back to the boy's face. "Some say drinking alone makes one a drunk," Scald's lazy tunes are playful in response as another smirk flickers across his face. "That stuff looks good too. Not sure why you would wanna save it for later," he shrugs again as he lifts a brow out of curiosity. Poking and prodding for information was delicate work when just meeting someone. "Plus you look like someone who enjoys a good time," he adds on as his smirk grows into a smile and he even winks for that charming effect. S C A L D

Oh, this guy was good.  Arwood would have to be careful drinking with him.  He wasn't sure what the stranger's game was, or if there even was a game at all, but the young adult knew he'd be susceptible to falling victim to it if the lad was capable of staying this smooth while intoxicated.  "What can I say, you got me."  His grin widened as he plucked the bottle up from the hole.  

"I do love a good time, so you better not be one of those sad drunks or you'll really owe me one, got it?"  He cracked open the bottle, took a swig, then passed it on over to the stranger.  Either they'd drink together or he'd take the fuck off with the brew the second it was in his grasp.  Either could be interesting, so Arwood wasn't too worried.  "Name's Arwood, by the way."

”Speech”  ’Thought’

And all I see are fantasies

Scald was more than pleased when the other boy agreed to drink the bottle with him. Watching it with a nearly greedy expression, he waited as patiently as he could for it to be offered to him. The stranger got a light chuckle out of him as it was mentioned that he better not be a sad drunk. “I ain’t got anythin’ to be sad about,” he responded easily enough. Which was mostly true. Aside from the jealousy, but he didn’t care to delve into the details. Taking the bottle from the newly acquainted Arwood, Scald tipped his muzzle toward him before taking a swig. “The name’s Scald,” he replied as he pulled the bottle from his lips and let the burn warm his belly. “So what you doin’ out here all alone?” Scald reaches the bottle back out to Arwood and lets his head tilt lightly to the side. He wasn’t usually the type to care about the details, but he figured a few questions would help them get comfortable with each other. S C A L D

Arwood took the bottle and knocked his head back for another swig, delighted that his company actually intended on sharing. "Hmm"  The male hummed thoughtfully for a brief moment. "Guess I'm exploring."  He shrugged.  It was sort of a lame answer, but this guy didn't seem the type to want to listen to Arwood's sob story about how he'd been kicked out by his parents so now he was just out here trying to find himself or whatever. Fuck, Arwood wasn't even sure if he was the type to want to tell the story to begin with. Things like sympathy and empathy were only good for sparks of instant gratification in situations like this, and that wasn't anything he'd been all too interested in.  Plus, this guy also didn't seem the kind to hand out things like sympathy and empathy, though perhaps it wasn't polite to judge a book by it's cover.

"How about you, Scald who has nothing to be sad about, what are you doing out here?"

A brow was quirked in the direction of Arwood. “You guess?” He wonders aloud. How did one explore unintentionally? Perhaps there was an underlying reason and part of Scald picks at him to inquire but the other half says fuck it, if the guy wanted to share, he would. There is a beat where Scald’s tiny brain squeaks at him to work on his social skills. If he really wanted to make friends or well, better to call them lovers. Scald didn’t really care to have friends unless they were the silent kind. Rather, his raging hormones had reared their head and wanted him to do whatever it took to calm their spirits. Thankfully Arwood asked about his reasoning to why he was out here before he could say anything stupid. “Explorin’ as well. My family, well some of them and my pack, they’re just south of here raiding a different pack. I only came along so I could see the sights, this raid wasn’t to include yours truly,” Scald smirks as he shrugs. He sure did shrug a lot. The boy did it to try and show that he was nonchalant, that he didn’t care, that well… he was probably ignoring his true feelings. Fuck it, right? Fuck feelings, fuck family, fuck friends, fuck everything. Ok, well… not in the fuck your sister kind of fuck, but the burn the world to the ground kind of fuck. “Find anything good here?” Scald inquire as he glances around and up at the dilapidated building. Might as well change the subject again. They didn’t need to know the gritty details about each other. S C A L D

Arwood nodded at the male's inquiry, not really feeling the need to add anything more to his story, and then nodded again as he explained why he himself was out in this neck of the woods.. Or, well, island... "Raid, huh?"  Well that was ironic.  Arwood had only ever experienced one raid, and it was the one on his people.  One he'd unintentionally caused in a moment of lapsed judgment, and what ultimately led to him getting the boot.  It's why he was here now.  The universe sure was funny sometimes.  "Alright. Well, sucks that you don't get to be a part of it.. Or maybe not, depending on whether you even wanted to be I guess."  He found himself shrugging as well.  

"Aside from a couple of interesting trinkets and the alcohol the only other interesting thing I've got is this key here."  He motioned towards the little golden thing laying amongst the buttons and glass.  "Dunno what it unlocks, but I kinda want to figure it out y' know?"  Could be something cool, could be something lame.  Only one way to find out.  

”Speech”  ’Thought’

And all I see are fantasies

Scald lets out a huff and another shrug. He knew there would be more raids in the future so missing out on this one wouldn’t be the end of the world. Right? Eh, maybe. Anyway, that didn’t matter much anymore because this Arwood fella was pointing at a shiny key laying on the ground. Something about finding some trinkets and booze but also this key. Where did it go? What did it unlock?  Taking another swig of the bottle before pushing it back to Arwood, he looks at the key a little closer. It was nothing like he had ever seen before. Letting out a hum, he reaches to pick it up and look at it. “Ya think it unlocks somethin’ in there?” Scald pushes his nose toward the crumbling building as he sets the key back down in front of Arwood. Already he feels the burn of the alcohol and the interest of an adventure. “I’m down to help ya look if ya want company,” he offers as he looks up at Arwood with a cheeky grin. S C A L D