His pelt was soaking by the time he reached a small island--one of many that scattered across the waters here. Shiki pulled himself on shore, panting with the effort. It was the first time he had really been away from his mother, having gone out to adventure on his own for once. Staying around the den had gotten boring, the same old sights and always waiting...hoping that his father would show up. Day in and day out, he'd wait. His mother always saying the same thing whenever Shiki asked about where he was. I don't know, son. Didn't Kau care? His throat grew tight and his eyes would begin to sting as he shoved that thought back. Maybe his father was simply too busy...yeah, maybe that was it.

Shaking off his pelt to distract himself, the tiny twenty-three inch wolf looked around. His pelt stuck out at odd angles, his thick fur having kept most of the water sliding off his pelt. His paws itched to explore, and already he could smell many different things and hear the sounds and cries of birds he had never heard on the mainland. Almost as soon as he had gotten here, he saw a flash of pink move behind a large rock a little further down the beach, and immediately his interest was caught. The yearling loped over, tongue hanging out as the noon day sun beat down on him, though it was welcoming after the cool swim. With Fall around, the waters were cooler but the swim so far, had been worth it. Turning towards the other side of the boulder, a large shallow pool sat in a marsh-like ground before him, a sight he had never seen before!

"They're pink!" His surprise was evident in his voice. The boy had come across brightly colored birds, their legs as long as sticks. Puzzled, he drew closer but remained hidden in the shadows of the boulder. He wasn't sure if these strange birds were friendly or not, but the way their bills looked--hooked and blunt--he was sure they could easily beat him or step on him with their stilts. He pressed himself close to the ground, tail wagging madly as his bright golden eyes glittered with fascination. If only his mother were here to see this! He couldn't wait to go back and tell her!

Her ebony and silver limbs struggled to pull her towards anything other than the water she was currently in; water scared her, now that she couldn't see where she was headed. One silver tipped toe lashed out, and the female felt land under her paw, instead of just water. Just little further. Her sightless eyes narrowed with determination as another paw landed on land, followed by the rest of her. Aniya's breath came in ragged gasps as she flopped onto the land, her ears flattening for a few moments as she struggled to get her breath under control. Each breath alerted her that there was another wolf around, but at the moment, she didn't care. If they didn't attack her, she wouldn't fight back.

The sound of the other moving away told her that the wolf had left, and, with her breathing under control, Aniya rose to her paws, tilting her head in the direction the other's scent lead to before she moved towards the other scent. The other scent, that didn't belong to the other wolf, was enough to make her miss her eyesight more than ever. As she got closer, she heard the other wolf speak. "They're pink!" What? What was pink? It was a living thing, but it didn't smell like any plants she had ever smelt.

As she moved closer, she allowed a small chuckle as she stood beside the wolf, or where his scent told her he was. She tilted her head a little. "What's pink?"

Shiki had been purely fascinated with the creatures, not noticing that someone else was coming up beside him. Eyes trained on the stick-walking birds, he'd nearly jump out of his skin when he heard a voice beside him. The boy yelped, startling a few of the closer birds but they soon settled down. His heart hammered in his chest, fur standing on end and eyes wide as he stared wildly around until finally, honey glowing eyes landed on another figure. She was black, wearing a very thin frame which made her appear tall and skeletal like. At least to him. She was a little over a foot taller then he was, yet he couldn't tell how old she was. "Hey! It's not nice to sneak up on people like that you know!" He nearly squeaked, his voice had not yet settled down.

He forced his fur to lie flat again, staring at her startling appearance for a moment before trying to distract himself with what she had asked. It wasn't nice to stare, and he didn't want to seem rude. "Um...Pink is, a really bright pretty color. Kind of like one of the colors in a sunset. Can't you see it?" He'd ask her, not knowing that she was blind.

The other wolf yelped, and Aniya pinned her ears back, her sightless gaze widening for a moment. When the male spoke, saying that it wasn't nice to sneak up on someone, the female backed away. "Sorry." Even if the male's voice had been more of a squeak, Aniya wouldn't say anything about that. It wasn't nice to comment on someone's voice, after all. And those who knew Aniya knew about the fact that she loved manners. When the male spoke, explaining what pink was, Aniya froze as he asked if she could see it. She didn't want to mention her blindness, but she assumed that the male would bring it up later.  The female hesitated, and when she did speak, her voice was quieter than it usually was. "Not anymore." She turned her head slightly, catching the scent of what smelt like some sort of bird. Was that what the male had been talking about when he said something was pink?

Aniya tried to block out everything about her brother, but she was unsuccessful in that. How was he doing now? Was he okay? The last time she had found him, he had not responded to her. It bothered her that he had became so upset over something like the accident. It hadn't been his fault.

Aniya gave her head a small shake. No. She would not think of her family. She had a chance for a new life here.

He shook his head, showing that she didn't have to be sorry. "It's alright." He glanced back at the birds, they were right there! Bright and tall. Then her whispered words caught him "Not anymore.." What did she mean by that? Turning to face her, he watched her watching the birds. But...was she really watching them? He was a little confused, and as he peered at her face, he noticed that her eyes were scarred and clouded. His ears fell back against his head, feeling bad now. He hadn't understood what she meant when she said what she did. "I-i'm sorry...I didn't know." His voice by now had fallen to its normal pitch.

He looked at the birds again, ears pricked as they moved about. And without any prompting, he began to describe what he saw to her. "They're birds, I think. Bright pink with long necks and they look like they're walking on long sticks. So, maybe it's their legs. Their beaks are long too, and curved. And they hang their heads upside down with their beaks in the water...not sure what they do with that, maybe drinking water?" He looked at her again, tail wagging a little this time. "My name is Shiki, what's yours?"
"Speech"