The heat that emanated from beneath the ground was felt long before she located the actual source of it. Admittedly, Tethys was intrigued by the phenomena - it wasn't like she went far from home often, after all. Everything she needed was basically within her grasp within the Armada's lands, so why stray far? That was her line of reasoning at least. Maybe if she left home more often she'd have a leg up on her siblings though. Maybe she'd be smarter, maybe her training would've advanced faster, maybe she'd be just overall better at whatever she tried to do. It wasn't like she had a whole lot of wanderlust though, but she'd take the opportunity to head out a bit further from home while she was able.

As she went further south from home, the lands seemed much more forgiving than what she was used to, the jagged terrain growing more flat and predictable. Well, at least that's what she thought until she found a strange crack in the earth's surface. As she first entered the winding abyss she couldn't have anticipated just how far these tunnels would go. They were mostly uninteresting, though the darkness grew in an eerie way the further she went.

Her eyes were slow to adjust to the darkness, and the silence - which grew stronger with each step. She was acutely aware of the sound of her claws scraping against stone, and finally of the heat that seemed to be pumping up from the very ground. At first it was subtle, something she could easily mistake for simply overthinking her surroundings, but it became more and more obvious as she trekked further down. Something down here was producing heat... but Tethys didn't have the faintest idea what could be causing it.

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Ronan still wasn't sure what to make of this place- Boreas as he was told it was called. it was as vast as it was varied, and the fact that most of it was inhabitable already put it well above what he was used to. Wasn't like there had been much choice, even thinking about it now made his head throb, like he couldn't get far enough.

This place though? The heat was familiar, fires long raged where he was from, their fumes toxic and choking with thick black smoke. Common sense told him to turn back whilst he could still breathe, whilst tears didn't prick at the corners of his eyes, a cough not clawing at his throat. It was similar, sure, but not the same. For one, the heat seemed to be coming from underground, the stink of sulphur following suit. As long as he didn't get too close to the source he thought he'd be safe.

Entering from an adjacent tunnel, he didn't catch scent of the wolf till sheer darkness drowned out his vision. Taking a moment or so to adjust, and even then he couldn't really see her, not much more than an outline of her figure as she was still some distance away. If she hadn't picked up on his presence, then the glow of his fur had given him away by now.

"Am I disturbing you?" Came his dry question, a little mean and jabbing in its delivery. Accusing, almost.

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The scent that seemed to emanate from the cavern walls was strong, though not quite cloying, as she descended further down into the earth. It didn't smell like anything she could place, the odor rich and sulfuric, almost like meat that had long since gone bad but not quite. Though this place was strange, and had a mildly foreboding aura to it, it didn't strike her as something catastrophically dangerous. It seemed like these caves had been here for far, far longer than she could ever imagine. Tethys made a note to ask some of the older members of the Armada if they've ever ventured this way once she went back home. Surely her mother knew something about it.

Briefly lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the stranger's arrival until it was too late to evade his attention. Stiffening slightly, made ever-uncomfortable by the presence of those she didn't know, she tried to study him from what little light she had... which really wasn't much, her eyes still struggling to adjust to the darkness of the tunnels. At first she couldn't quite tell if his markings truly were glowing, or if it was just a strange trick of the eye, but studying him for a moment longer told her that she wasn't just seeing things. This stranger was, in fact, glowing. And his colors seemed quite bright too, though she couldn't really get a good look at him yet, both due to the darkness and the distance between them.

His tone was lost on her. Tethys interpreted most things as matter-of-factly as she could. His question seemed a simple one to her. "No," she answered easily enough. "Are you familiar with this place?" Her own question was curious, though her tone was rather neutral, not exactly friendly but not even a little bit hostile either. Maybe he knew something about the heat that seemed to be growing stronger with each step she took.

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It was hot, but bearably so, his nose was starting to feel a little dry and his tongue flicked out to wet it. He could taste the sulphur in the air, pungent and not a particularly enjoyable taste. The rock felt smooth under paw, a few grooves and divots disrupted the flow but nothing that would cause anyone to lose their footing if they weren't paying attention. Even the walls were rounded, like the tunnel was near perfectly conical in shape.

She spoke again and when he closed his eyes to blink it briefly felt like the darkness itself was speaking to him-man, he really needed a good nights sleep at this point. But she was moving, her voice drifting away, and despite himself he found himself following. The heat growing all the more intense with each step he took. Hotter than the desert sun in the dunes, pressing against his fur and making his teeth grit. He kept his distance, mostly because he wasn't some creep who lurked on lone women, but also that he couldn't say he was overly keen on going much further. He'd seen enough to know better.

"No, I doubt anyone who isn't burnt to a crisp is. I wouldn't go much further, if I were you. " He spoke louder to be heard.

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It was natural to be curious about things one didn't necessarily understand, wasn't it? Tethys spent a lot of time wondering if things she did, or felt, were normal or not. While she didn't exactly feel compelled to go further in the way some wolves might, she was admittedly interested in the source of the heat and smell, wondering if this was a phenomena that had always been here or if it was something that had only recently begun.

It seemed Ronan wasn't interested in going much further. The glow up ahead, emanating from around a corner, seemed more like a warning than anything else. Tethys slowed her pace, nodding in agreement. "You're probably right," she agreed, veering back a little. Though the heat, at least from this distance, wasn't so hot as to be dangerous... she was starting to feel uncomfortable, like how she felt basking under the summer sun. Not that the far north saw many days like that at all. "My name's Tethys Fatalis, by the way," she added conversationally. She knew her family name was something that stretched farther than the Armada; maybe this man had heard of them before?

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Ronan knew he was right, he usually was about most things. So he thought anyway, totally not biased in that assumption. Glancing back the way he came, he couldn't see the light of day even as he squinted, but occasionally the wind would blow just right and cast fresh air through the tunnel, a pleasant enough change from the stink of sulphur and volcanic rock. It was solid under paw, but he imagined if he dug with enough fervour he'd be able to able to kick some up, that it might crumble like an overcooked cake. He'd spotted the volcano on his travels, felt safe to assume this place had a lot of geothermal activity going on- not that he knew the fancy word for it.

"Mm, Ronan Reyes." If they were exchanging both names he didn't really see a reason to hold his own so close to his chest, like it was a secret worth protecting. The name wasn't familiar, nor was the Armada, he was still learning as he went. Pretty much in the dark about most things here. He could tell enough through her scent, that she was a pack wolf, that plenty of other smells clung to her form. Was easy enough to parse them through everything else. "Why'd you come here then? Adventure? Pack life not exciting enough for you?" A dry sense of accusation stuck to his tone, he was judgy.

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Tethys assumed some members of the Armada had likely encountered this place before. Maybe the danger of proceeding further was so obvious that nobody had ever thought to have a proper discussion with younger wolves about it. She wondered if that meant there were more places out there like this... places that had a strange aura of mystery and foreboding about them. Tethys sniffed hard at the air, drinking in the smell of hot sulfur and fire. It was obvious that this wasn't a place wolves should get comfortable in. By instinct, even where she stood, she realized she was poised lightly on the pads of her paws as if ready to flee at a moment's notice. It said much more about her surroundings than her company, though she was rightfully always a bit wary of strangers.

He gave his own name easily enough, though soon after asked why she was here. "I don't really care about adventure. I just want to know what's out there. Figure it'll help me be stronger." And how could it not, knowing what to be prepared for? To see how other wolves lived. As content as she was in the little section of world the Armada had claimed, she knew growing more capable meant reaching outside that realm. "Is that why you're here? Adventure?" His accusing tone was lost on her, and her own question shot back at him was simple and conversational.

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He wouldn't have gone as far to call it uncertainty, but Ronan didn't think Tethys knew what she wanted. Or maybe even what it felt like to want in general. Not basic needs like hunger and rest, but she was so blasé about it all that it made him just assume that she was stumbling through life- and naturally that kinda pissed him off. He wasn't even really sure why, couldn't quite put his paw on it, but it fit. He'd pretty much been lecturing her the whole time, was only just short of raising a paw and pointing at her accusingly whilst he went off.

He found himself scoffing at her question, adventure? As if. He hadn't come all this way to search but he found himself looking all the same, out of a sense of self-preservation? Or pondering the what ifs?

"No. I was- looking for something. Thought it might be here." Ish. He was starting to suspect it wasn't at all, and that ought to be a good thing and yet it only made him feel... a cold sort of bitterness. Jealously maybe?

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Tethys thought his stranger quite strange, but then again she found most wolves quite odd, so different from herself. This man seemed much more different than similar, that was for sure. As they spoke she found herself blissfully unaware of what he was trying to convey to her, taking his words at face value. He'd asked a question, and then answered her own, albeit quite plainly. He said he was looking for something, but it didn't seem he'd found it here.

"What exactly are you looking for? My pack doesn't live too far from here. Maybe I can help guide you." Tethys was being genuine. Going out of her way to help someone wasn't exactly something she did often, but she knew making a good impression of the Armada meant more than whatever pointless journey she was on today. It was worth the effort, at least.

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Ronan wasn't quite sure how to answer that, felt like he ought to hold his cards close against his chest. Conceal them amongst his fur. He shrugged, massive shoulders rolling as his wings tucked tighter, muscles tensing automatically with the motion. Not really something he had to think about. Now he thought about it, he knew next to nothing about any of the packs here, had a few run ins with pack wolves of course, but the political and social climate of this place was unknown to him. He'd made a point of effort to keep out of the way, but he knew it couldn't last forever, that eventually something would have to give.

"What's this pack like then?"

Her question went unanswered. The only indication she might be perturbed by that fact was the way her nose wrinkled just slightly, trying to figure out his intentions. Tethys's orange gaze surveyed his face still, searching for any scraps she could use to piece together the puzzle of this man. Nothing seemed to click together though, no matter how hard she focused.

Even if she didn't quite understand him, at least she could give him some information. The Armada was no secret, and she had no qualms sharing a bit about her birth pack.

"We're one of the oldest and strongest packs in Boreas," she boasted. As far as she knew that was true. "We allow wolves from all walks of life to join us but expect everyone to contribute as well as they can, within their abilities. We boast a strong army as well. The Armada is also open to trade - our markets are always full," Tethys explained. All things that were true and public knowledge. "We inhabit the northern section of the mountain range north of this place." And the cove, and the forest, but she figured that was more than enough information if he chose to seek them out,

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