The desert after a good rain was an incredible difference to desert before a good rain. Faria had camped out the day before, soaking up the warm of the hot sun, and watching as the giant rainclouds looked like they might spill over the mountains that made this a desert. Eventually she would be rewarded for her patience with a flash flood, and she would struggle to get to high ground. To worried to sleep she wouldn't find rest until the storm was over (which was fast, where in the world had all the water come from?). Soaked by the end of the night the morning light would rouse her to a transformed world. She was tired but as her brilliant blue eyes blinked open she couldn't help but to make herself throw off the leeches of sleep. She swore all of the inhabitants of this desolated land were out, weird birds, skinny hares. Odd little canine looking creatures with gigantic ears and huge eyes. There was even a little family of them! How had they made it through the flood? She was amazed at these desert dwelling creatures. She knew she couldn't make it here. Still her attention would wander as she was drawn to the amazing flowers that had bloomed overnight. Colorful flowers were everywhere. Ria was pretty sure she was going to experience sensory overload if she didn't just sit down for a minute. She would do just that, right in line to watch the little fennec fox family play outside their muddy den. ""

Shaking the sand from his coat Aksel crawled out from the rocky crevice, where he'd taken shelter from the sudden rain storm.  Grinning he paused for a moment to take in the beauty. The dusty dunes and rocks were suddenly vibrant and flowers were beginning to bloom and he could hear the sounds of wildlife desperately taking advantage of the water before the sun could lay claim to it.   Bi-colored eyes narrowed for a moment as he studied the desert basin before he gingerly worked his way down into the dunes.  What was on the menu today?  Aksel put his nose to work, taking in the scents of the wild life around him as he tried to narrow down his options, waying his chances on what he was likely to catch and what was best left alone.  Ah… jackrabbit… always a good bet if he could catch them.  With a little luck their dens were flooded or had collapsed in the rain storm giving him a good run at the long-eared rodents. Just as Aksel was about to act he was struck dumb, paralyzed by the sight of the strangest creature he'd even seen.  She was beautiful!  A wolf with a coat of starlight and vibrant blues.  If he'd eaten already Aksel would've believed he was hallucinating but she seemed real.  He stood there for a moment watching her, trying to decide if she was a threat but who was he kidding?  His curiosity won the moment he laid eyes on her. "Good morning!" he chirped as he sauntered elegantly over to the femme. "The desert is stunning this morning, though not half as stunning as you!  I can't say I've ever seen a wolf with coloring even close to yours ever in my life, where are you from?" speech

For a long few moments she would just observe the other animals that had bubbled up from the earth around her, specifically the tiny fox family. Somehow they didn't mind her stares, she must have been far enough away that they didn't mind. However as another voice was heard all of the little creatures would go scurrying for their den. Oh well. Faria's bright gaze would swing to the source of the sudden voice. He wasn't as tall as her companions, nor as brightly colored but his form was anything but dull. He held a rather handsome air about him, not that Faria was into physical attraction just yet. She'd appreciate him more in a few seasons, but for now she'd just smile brightly in greeting as he made his way to her side. He'd compliment her easily, comparing her to the desert around them and its current brilliance. Her galactic tail would pound against the earth in pleasure, obviously thrilled t his nice words. "Far away," she'd start, her accent very much obvious in her soft words, "across an ocean." And she had no intentions of ever going back even if she could. "I'm Faria, nice to meet you." ""

Ears flicked forward as Aksel paused, watching a group of fox's go skittering for shelter. Oops… he'd been so focused on the vibrantly colored woman that he'd completely overlooked the smaller canines. Oh well, they could place elsewhere. Mismatched eyes turned again to gaze curiously at the stranger. She was young and looked to be about the same age as he was. When she spoke it became instantly clear that she was foreign indeed. Her accent was heavy and the words she spoke appeared to taste unfamiliar to her tongue but he appreciated the effort. Aksel had picked up snippets of foreign languages on his travels but not enough to hold any sort of conversation. The woman introduced herself as Faria. Aksel smiled. "My name is Aksel, Aksel Frost. It's nice to meet you Faria. Across the ocean, huh? That's a long way. Why did you travel all that way to come here?" He laughed, suddenly feigning embarrassment. "I'm sorry if I ask to many questions. I'm just curious. Would you want to walk with me?" speech

She liekd the way his eyes sat upon her form, how he wondered at her coat and was so enamored by her that he hadn't even seen the little foxes that ran off. She wouldn't focus on them though, with an innocent grin playing on her features the young girl would let her attentions sit on the boy who found her out here in the dessert. Mith and Caia weren't around, maybe she'd be able to explore this life renewed place with him. He seemed friendly, and looked like he could use a good adventure. After she gave him her own name, he'd give his own name and ask what brought her across an ocean. She would shake her head as he tried to apologize, she wasn't afraid of answering questions even if they were hard. "Of course I'll walk with you!" She didn't even have to ask if he wanted to go on an adventure. "I came here to escape my pack with my two best friends. Their family was.. um sacrificed to our gods and when they ran i had to follow them." She wasn't sure if she should go into any real detail. She could have been talking to him for days if she wanted to divulge all of her reasons for leaving. "Not a very nice place.. anyway." surely he was uncomfortable by now. "What brings you out here?" What was his story? ""

Aksel listened intently to Faria's words as the walked across the flowering desert. The breath of life was in the air, the hum and stir of creatures, the softness in the air that would soon give way to the scorching heat. Aksel was curious where such a creature like Faria had come from and he dimly wondered if there were others out there like her. However his wonder turned to mild horror at the mention of… sacrifices? Aksel's face contorted in disgust. "Really?! That's awful! I'm glad you guys got away. Beauty can be so rare and fleeting in this world and to me that seems like such a waste of it." Aksel paused for a moment as a bee went buzzing past him, landing gently on the flower of a nearby cactus. "Two friends you say? Are they nearby? I'd love to see more of your kind!" Aksel shrugged at her question. "Nothing in particular. I'm a wanderer so I just go wherever my feet take me." He let out a soft chuckle. "I know it's not the most sensible way to travel but I love to explore! Routines bore me." speech

Her past was hardly pleasant, and she would be the first to admit that. The only good in her life had escaped here to Alacritia and she had needed to follow them. She wouldn't have made it back home with out them. Mithras had saved her more than one time. She would find herself distracted from the horizon and back to the look of horror on Aksel's features. He'd offer her soothing words after his obvious disgust, "Me too," she'd smile at his compliment. She'd halt with him as a buzzing insect flew past them to land on one of the brilliant cactus flowers. "They're always around somewhere, though it has been a few days since I've met back up with them.." She was being bad and exploring more on her own than with them. Not that she had any doubt they knew exactly where she was always. His next words were almost an echo of her life style, she went where ever her paws took her. They were usually pretty good about finding interesting places. This blossoming desert had been a particularly great find, as well as the company within. "You sound like us," she'd tell him brightly. Even though they'd been born hundreds of miles away they were of a kindred spirit. "Though, you look like you've been adventuring longer than I have." He was obviously a bit older than she was. "Got any good stories?" ""

Faria stated that her siblings were around but from the way her voice trailed off it was clear that it had been awhile since she'd seen them. Aksel tried to offer her a reassuring smile. The would probably turn up sooner or later. Aksel shook out his coat, eyes turning skyward. The sun was rising and the moisture was rapidly evaporating increasing the humidity as well as the heat in the air. It was going to become unbearable pretty soon but at least they could enjoy the environment for another hour or so. Aksel grinned. Perhaps he'd found some potential traveling companions? To be honest he'd never really considered it but why not? Although… he would feel a bit out of place next to these brightly colored beauties. Next to them he was such a drabby little creature. "Oh sure, I've got loads of stories! I bet you have some to. I'll tell you one if you tell me one." He grinned, tail waving like a banner as he trotted along next to Faria. "I'm not really the best story teller but I'll give it a shot. One time I was wandering the Algoma Prairie when I ran into a little bobcat. He was pretty scared of me, holed up in this little den but I went and caught him a prairie dog and we got to talking and had a great time. Well the whole time we were talking I started getting a weird feeling in my gut. There was a stirring in the air…. well it was evening and the sun was starting to set, as I turned there was a wall of clouds to the west of us. A gleaming, leering tower of sickly yellow clouds stretching from the horizon to the top of the sky where the disappeared into this black anvil." Aksel paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing. It was starting to get really hot. "Well… I don't want to drag this out to long but long story short it was the craziest storm I'd ever been in in my life. I thought I was going to die. Hail the size of prairie dogs was falling out of the sky, the wind nearly blew me over. So this bobcat and I ducked back in this den and it was the craziest thing being shacked up with this kid while all hell broke out around us." He smile faded for a brief moment before it came back even brighter. "Man what a rush…. how about you, any stories?" speech