The novelty of freedom had long worn off, now he was simply lonely. Soren had avoided making any sort of lasting connections with others for what felt like a life time. Not even his brother could have cracked these walls, not anymore. It was a life as a hermit for him, the only way to avoid any further pain… any further disappointment. The boy stood upon the cliff, staring out across the great expanse below. With a sigh he tipped his head back slightly letting the wind from the ocean roll over him, eyes sliding closed. Not for the first time he wondered if anyone would care if he took the step off the edge. They were merely idle thoughts, he had no real intentions to drop off but it what else did he have but to indulge in self-pity? Kismet surely would have suggested he needed to seek help, or maybe a good smacking but he wasn’t here was he? So it was just Soren, alone with his thoughts.   "Speech"

It had taken her nearly a year in Alacritis to gain the confidence she needed to venture around freely. When she had set out from her homeland she had thought that she had the skill to get around fine on her own, but no sooner than she had stepped foot in this new land that she had almost accidently walked off a cliff. Luckily she had caught herself and Aki had been there to check on her just in case, but it had all shaken her confidence in her abilities. But now here she was, straying out of the Threar borders again. She liked to think the spar training she had done with Frith had helped her confidence as well. It at least gave her enough knowledge to think she might be able to defend herself if need be. She paid close attention to her surroundings, listening to each sound and taking in each scent while she felt the ground with her paws. The salty smell of the ocean hit her first, followed by that of another wolf. She curiously turned her path toward the scent and the closer she got the more she could hear the sound of wind rushing up against a cliff face. She had been sure to memorize that sound very well last time she had encountered this particular land form. She padded closer to the male till she thought she might be a hand full of feet from him. She waited for a moment to see if he would notice her, but if he did he certainly didn't say anything. Though she did guess it was possible that since she was down wind from him and she moved as quietly as she could at all times that he really hadn't noticed her yet. "Um, yes, excuse me, I'd hate to interrupt this quiet brooding or whatever it is you're doing, but could you tell me if there is a cliff in front of you? I'm pretty sure I hear it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry before I proceed." "Talk" "You" Think

He hadn’t been aware of her, hazels peering out over the world beyond the precarious perch and thoughts dancing around in his head. Swirling darkly… just like they had since he had been young. That dark place still plucked at him, doing its best to coax him back into its arms. She spoke and he suddenly whirled around, startled. He stared for a moment dumbstruck both by how quiet she was and by the words she said. "Excuse me?" His next instinct was to be offended. Then he processed what she had said and he immediately zeroed in on her gaze, the way it almost met his but not quite and he suddenly felt very very guilty. "Oh uh-" Dammit, he was useless! He glanced back behind himself at the cliff side. "Yes there is… and it’s quite close." She was quite close! "Speech"

"Excuse me?" She raised a quizzical brow at him and his completely unhelpful response. "Did I stutter?" she asked, as sassy and sarcastic as ever. Her words were biting without meaning to be, but it hard for her not to be sometimes, especially when she was uneasy with her surroundings. Finally he seemed to catch on and would give her a half decent answer. She nodded and turned her ears forward to listen to the wind's soft whistling against the cliff side again. At least she was starting to catch on to what to look for in certain landmarks. She padded forward a few steps more, going off his scent and the sounds coming from the cliff to gage her position, before settling onto her haunches beside him. She left a few paces of space between them to keep it as a polite space, but she supposed he could move or leave if he wanted to. "I'm Kalliope. Sorry for biting your head off before," she told him simply and bluntly before turning her face away from his direction and toward the cliff. The wind coming off it ruffled her fur and she savored the feeling for a moment. It was really unfortunate this was one of her favorite kind of places to be considering the danger they posed to her. "What are you doing up here anyway? I wasn't actually interrupting your quiet brooding was I?" she asked, turning an ear toward him to listen. "Talk" "You" Think