The boy ventured from the Desert region inland towards the direction where he heard about a river. On the way, however, he'd decide to stop for a rest. All he seemed to do was walk lately...and a lot of it. His little paws were tired and sore, the young boy panting with the miles traveled. Even though he was so small, he could definitely cover a lot of ground. Rolling his shoulders, he slowed his pace to a lumbering trot, seeking out a place he could rest. And finally after about an hour or so, he came upon a cave he hadn't seen before. Shiki stopped at the mouth, peering in and wondering if it'd be safe. Carefully, he scented the air and noted that he couldn't smell anything...not fresh anyway. Moving forward, he decided he would explore a bit of the cave and hopefully find some water and maybe a quiet place to rest before he continued his journey in the morning. To where, he was unsure of at the moment...

As he entered the cave, a sigh escaped his lips. Though it was suddenly louder then he anticipated, for the small sound echoed all around him. It awed him, he had never been in a cave before and if all caves were like this, then he sure as hell wanted to go explore some more! Moving further into the cave, Shiki stopped at a puddle that was fed by a steady drip of water from the ceiling, night had fallen and thus he had only been able to find it in the shadows by scent and sound. He lapped up the cool water, reveling in how fresh and crisp it tasted. Winter, after all was approaching. Moving along, he went a little deeper into the cave, at last finding a small overhang in which he could curl up in the shadows. His small stature could very easily be missed, and possibly his scent as well due to the strong scent of water.

As he peered out from his resting spot, he gazed up at a hole that was nearly over the puddle from which he just drank. And just as he was about to close his eyes to rest, a shaft of moonlight filtered in, illuminating the pool of water and making it appear as if it were a hole filled with light. His eyed brightened, the boy feeling very calm and relaxed as he watched the light filter through the cave ceiling. And as the minuted ticked by, he was soon falling into an easy slumber...

Safir would come back to the place that she had been claimed just a couple of days ago, why she came back here she had no clue but her paws had carried her back anyways and she was ready to deal with whatever would come. She would poke her head into the cave, checking to see that nobody else was here. She saw a wolfish figure lying on the ground, what were they doing in there? She wouldn’t put it past her new master to claim another slave so this wolf needed to get out of here. “Hey, you should get out of here. There’s a lion around.” She would whisper into the cave, the cave amplified her words so surely they must hear her. ""

A sound would be heard, amplified by the caves. Shiki immediately began to stir, head rising quickly as he watched the entrance of the cave. A voice carried to him...all around him in fact, as a girl came into his sight. Cocking his head to one side, he wasn't sure what exactly she meant. "Umm...I don't know what a lion is...and I didn't smell anything here when I came in.." However, doubt prickled him as well as a little fear. She appeared to be scared, why though? What was this lion thing? He'd move to stand, then walked out of the little sheltered spot he had found. Standing a few feet from her, he scented the air to catch her scent. And indeed, he found a trace of fear. Who was this girl? And why was she so scared? "Um...I'm Shiki, what's your name?"

Safir would hear a voice come from the shadows of the cave, he didn’t know what a lion was, even though she didn’t have the most normal childhood she still knew what a lion was. She would watch as he came out of the cave a bit, he would say his name and ask what hers was. The boy seemed oblivious to the danger that he could be in, Safir couldn’t hardly remember a day when she wasn’t in danger. “Do you know what a cat is? A lion is a huge cat with teeth and claws, they could kill one of us with one bite to the neck.” She would say this with a hint of fear but also a sense of urgency. “This one has claimed me as a slave, I don’t think you wish for the same fate” ""

Shiki's tail flicked nervously, his senses wary now since she had mentioned something about a lion. He looked around, as if this thing could jump out of the very walls or come floating up through the floor. His nervousness only grew as she explained to him what it was. Eyes widened, he had never heard of such a creature! Sure he had seen a cat or two, but he thought they were all around his size! "Y-you're kidding! I didn't know they were that vicious! He stammered, heart pounding. He could detect the fear and urgency in her own voice, and he found out why she had been warning him in the first place. She was a slave to this creature, so did that mean it was lurking nearby? Ready to eat him or take him as a slave? He didn't want to be a slave! He liked his freedom and liked being able to go where he pleased...but a secret part of him told him it might not be that bad. He didn't quite understand, but his submissive nature would soon be discovered in due time...he was, even as a child, submissive to his father. He loved his father, and he wished he had gotten a chance to spend more time with him.

But this...life as a slave. It frightened him. "W-why don't you run away? Hide from this thing! He can't find you if you run far away or hide in a pack!" He looked around, half expecting this creature to stalk from the depths of the darkness, but no approaching scent was around. They were safe to speak, he imagined. "You can do that, can't you?" He had forgotten all about the prior introduction, not even noticing that she hadn't given him her name. He shook his head as he took a step forward "Let me help you run away, I'm...I'm small, but I know a lot of places you can go."

Safir could hear the fear in the boy’s voice, he was right to be scared of a lion. He asked her why she didn’t run away, he offered to help her run away. She liked the idea of running away and she would gladly let this boy help her, but she couldn’t not because she was scared or anything. Only because it was what she had to do, slavery seemed to be her fate. Her old mistress had disappeared and when it had almost seemed like she was going to be free she ran into the lion. She couldn’t simply run away from fate, she would slowly shake her head “I have to stay, running isn’t an option." Speech,

He didn't understand. Why did she have to stay? Maybe she was a bit like him, submissive. He was, though he hadn't been in her position before. The only one he had been following ever, was his Father. But he had disappeared without a trace. He shuffled his paws, ears splayed to the sides as he was unsure of what other options he could throw out there. The girl couldn't be happy in the position she was in, could she? "Erm...well then..." He sighed, he would help her if she wanted. But she also didn't seem like she wanted to either.

Pushing that knowledge aside, he remained on watch for any sign of this lion. He wasn't sure what it looked like, but if it wasn't anything near a wolf then he was sure he'd be able to smell its approach. Honey gaze fixed on her, things swimming in his mind on what to do, but for now he'd think on it later. "I'm Shiki by the way, what's your name?"

"Speech"

The wolf seemed a little bit stumped, he seemed to really want to help her. She would smile at him, she liked him and his offers to help her. If they ever crossed paths again if she was free, she would probably be good friends with him. But for now she was stuck with her master, the boy would tell her his name and ask what hers was. She found it silly that their names both started with the same letter, but his name was a good one nonetheless. “There’s no need to worry about me, I’ll be fine. My name’s Safir.” Speech,

She tried to reassure him that she would be fine. And he wondered if she truly would be. He had realized too, that he had given his name a first time, but she seemed to not have heard which is when he had tried for a second. And this time, success. She told him her name was Safir, and in a way he found it to be a pretty name. His tail wagged a little, well that was a start wasn't it? He looked past her for a moment, the night sky pasted against the mouth of the cave like an other worldly backdrop. He had almost forgotten where he was.

"Do you want to go outside with me?" He'd ask her politely, wanting to get away from his own fear scent that lingered in the cave. He padded towards the mouth of the cave, sitting just outside in the snow and letting the cold wind brush at his fur. He scanned his surroundings, making sure nothing would pop out and eat him. He glanced back at Safir, inviting her to sit with him. "It's a nice night out." He murmured.

"Speech"

The boy would ask Safir if she wanted to go outside, she would glance over her shoulder in the direction of the cave’s exit. She would watch as Shiki walked outside and sat down, she turned around to follow him. He invited her to sit down with him, she would sit down next to him but far enough away so as not to make him or herself uncomfortable.  He would mumble about how nice of a night it was, it sounded as if he didn’t want to do this. He was the one who choose to do this not her, she was just going along with what he had asked. “Yes, it is. The night sky is beautiful, not enough wolves take time to look up at it though.” Speech,