The ground was rough and craggy beneath Maki's paws, fallen trees were ashed over and hollow, giving the territory a very end of the world vibe. She picked her way across it carefully, unable to find any signs of life as she peeked about, recalling the stories she'd heard about this place. Her daddy hadn't gone into great detail about it, had said his family- like waaay before he was even born- used to live below the volcano but had been driven away when it erupted. Hence, all the ruin and all that. She paused as she tilted her head skywards, imagining big flaming chunks of rock falling from the sky like hail, a pillar of smoke that blocked out the sun and the thunderous rumble of the ground shaking beneath her paws. It'd make for an amazing action piece in one of her stories, she thought, could imagine herself running as fast as her willowy legs would allow. The drama, the urgency!

This place brought nothing of interest to her. As far as she could see, black slate stretched out before stretching up to the sky. And while it was summer, she could feel an unusual heat radiating beneath her paws. Calliope isn't sure if she enjoys it yet. She can't place why it feels like this and would rather be anywhere else but here. Except she has nowhere to go, nowhere to be, so why not be here? Grumbling under her breath, she is surprising when a scent of wolf is wafted over to her through the acrid scent.

Blinking, she looks about until she finds the other girl. Was that a daydreaming look upon her face? Hm, interesting. Approaching at a slow pace, Calliope wonders what she should do. Be nice? Cordial? Mean? Ruthless? Attack, perhaps? Too aggressive? Her gaze flicks around, the slate beneath them is a bit too slippery, not the ideal place for a battle. Hmph, fine, cordial at best, but not nice in the least. "Has anyone ever said you resemble a cow? Because you quite look like one," there's an impish giggle to her tone as she stops a few feet from Maki, lips pulling up into a smirk.

"Speech"

Huh? That was kinda a weird thing to say, weren't it? Or at least Maki hadn't really expected the exchange to start like this. She blinked owlishly, mismatched paws all grey with dust and soot as she turned. It didn't quite occur to her that the comparison was meant to be an insult, that the person poking fun at her was in fact her second cousin. Small world, and all that. As if wolves she met were just characters on a page, only present when the story needed them.

"I don't think so." She tilted her head as she observed the pup, cooking up some comparison to offer in return. Her smile, to Maki's mismatched gaze seemed a little mischievous, but not outright malicious. She knew how evil looked in fiction, but in reality? She wasn't equipped to differentiate it, her world a soft pink with her rose-tinted glasses. Even the ruins beneath the volcano felt separate from the reality of the situation, she didn't stop to think wolves had died here. "You kinda look like a painting, you know that paint thats all watery."

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Calliope stands there, taken back a bit. Had... the girl not realized she was wasn't complimenting her? Well, she wasn't really insulting her either. Frankly, the girl did resemble a cow. What with the white and the black and the spots. Calliope also didn't quite understand the feelings that jostled inside of her as she took another sweeping look over the older girl. Her features scrunch up a bit, her mind rolling over what exactly she should say back to that. She needed to be more quick witted, more vile, but that would take time. She's still young, still... inexperienced. Silence settled before her ears are perking up, eyes going wide.

Huh? Had the girl complimented her in return? Calliope's eyes narrow as she stares pointedly at the cow-spotted girl. Was she serious? Meaningful? Earnest? Calliope watched, reading, trying to assess the situation. Honestly, the other girl seemed so up in the clouds that she wasn't even sure she knew where she was. A snort, slight shake of her head, brushing off the fact that she wasn't going to say thank you. Nope, it was a statement, nothing more or less.

"I don't paint," Cal replies back flatly after a few more beats of silence. Feeling kind of awkward, more on edge than anything. Her weight shifts, the slate rock beneath her shifting as well. "So, what're you doin' out here anyway?" She finally asks, needing something to replace the itchy feeling of weirdness she felt in her chest.

"Speech"

Maki didn't paint either, but now she thought about it that seemed like it'd be an interesting talent for one of her characters. Maybe their paintings foretold the future or something cool like that? She stowed the idea away for later, brows smushing in pensive thought, briefly at least till the stranger asked her a question. Snapping her out of her idly musings before they could take on a mind of their own. And what a question it was, maybe one the stranger would regret asking.

"Oh well, you see I'm a storyteller." Was what she'd taken to calling herself, about the same level of credibility someone who solely published on Wattpad had in saying they were an author. "My family lived here once, least my Daddy said so. The volcano erupted and everyone had to escape or die. A pretty neat start to a story, don't you think? " She skipped close, her smile a little too enthused as she thought about it all. The drama.

table coding by bunni ♥

A... storyteller? The fuck was that? Like the tales the adults told when they were drunk around the bonfires on the beach? Calliope's head tilts slightly, eyes blinking at the girl as she keeps on about this storyteller business. Brows furrow then as the girl skips close, her own lips drawing into a thin line, ears turning backward and tail tucking slightly between her legs.

"They lived 'ere?" Cal's brows unfurrow so one can lift up. "The fuck would they wanna do that for?" She can't help but ask because when she looks around, the place looks absolutely demolished. Not a plant to be seen or prey to hunt or live off of. She had seen a cave on her way, but doubted anyone would want to live in one of those. Her attention is drawn back to the girl at the last sentence. "Die? I s'pose that makes fer a good story. How many died?" Her eyes widen slightly, wanting to know the gruesome details.

"Speech"