Steig ignored the donkeys nipping at his tail, their usual braying all but white noise to the boy after all this time. Something strange was happening, and he couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with his Aunt's disappearance, his father's disappearance...

Strolling about with a seriousness unbefitting the young bard, anyone who knew his usual prancing steps would note the difference, to anyone else, it wouldn't be noticed. Lips drawn tight across his teeth, shoulders lowered and head tipped just so to allow for better hearing forward and back, loose strides ate up the earth between the spires, the wails leading him deeper into this strange new place that almost felt like somewhere in-between.

"speech"

He had not wanted to leave the safety of the bamboo. Down there, trouble couldn't touch them. The bamboo was an impenetrable fortress made to keep others out. But... he couldn't just allow the youngsters of the pack to travel north all alone. During the night of the tremors, Kuroo had kept Nami and himself safe in their humble abode upon the shores of Manatee Bay. Even there, they were safe from the treacherous outsides that pounded on their door to get in.

As soon as the sun rose of the horizon and he noticed that it was no longer a blazing yellow and orange, he knew something was amiss. The entire sky was coated in a red that made his stomach queasy. Too many wolves went missing from his life, he couldn't allow it to keep happening. Bidding that Nami stay where it was safe, Kuroo raced after the other wolves toward Boreas. It had been some time since he'd been across the sandy land bridge, but now that he was, he wasn't sure he liked being back.

At the sight of the towering spires, he knew trouble was coming. Whether it were the statues or the veil of reality slipping once more, he didn't like this one bit. Looking around, trying to tamp down the frantic feeling that forced his hear to race, he notices a brown coated wolf nearby.

"Hello!" Kuroo calls out, feeling nervous, his brow furrowing as he approaches. "Do you have any idea about these... things?" He asks, head tilting and ears falling backward as he looks up to the spires.

"Speech"

The stranger that called out to him with a familiar accent had his brows twitching upwards. Why did he sound kinda like his mother? Was this some trickster god playing pranks? He looked like a normal wolf, smelled like one too... "No idea," he answered honestly. "Dad'd probably recommend some sorta sacrifice t'be safe but who knows where he's fucked of'ter." The uncharacteristically surly yearling shrugged.

Moving to rise up on his hind paws, he put all his weight into trying to push the spire over, but it wouldn't budge. "Seems like they've been here a while, but then why's the ground all fucked up?" He queried, not really expecting a response. Of course he didn't expect the stranger to know. He allowed his claws to scratch against the strange surface as he slid down it with a sigh. It was a high whining, grating sound that made the fur along his spine stand on end.

"speech"

The yearling's response leaves Kuroo flabbergasted. Eyes widen slightly, muscles in his face twitching as his mind tries to decide what to say. Clearly, the kid didn't have a good home life, but he hadn't had the best one either. "Dads, am I right?" Kuroo chuckles awkwardly, his smile more of a grimace.

Shrugging off the interaction, he watches quietly. More observing than adventurous. Kuroo isn't sure its really safe to be here at all. His ears turn toward behind him as the kid tries to push the metal structure over. His eyes widen once more, head canting as his jaw drops slightly. "You sure that is a good idea?" Kuroo questions, taking a step backward when the whine of nails against metal meet his downturned ears.

"Speech"