In the mountains

As she had expected, when she offered her paw to Erik he gently turned her down, his own larger paw ushering her daintier one back to her. Ember gave Erik a little smirk and a knowing look—a subtle challenge: impress me then. The midnight-furred girl stepped back a couple paces to give him some room to clamber up to join her, then she watched him with curiosity. He smiled, confident and charming, and then he launched himself like a rocket up the boulder. With a scrabble of claws and a ripple of muscles in his larger body, Erik joined her at the top of the ledge. Ember wasn't unfamiliar with boys—she did have six brothers after all—but none of her littermate brothers were as athletic as Erik was.  He was unlike any of the other boys in the Hallows. He was rugged, wild, untamed like a mustang. Not a wild animal, but containing the spirit and essence of one. Fascinating and intriguing to the young girl.

Erik shot her a smug look and Ember returned it with a lopsided grin of her own, blue eyes shining with a playfulness as she met his gaze and flashed her teeth up at him as she fell back in line with him, her own tail giving a delighted wag behind her. "All right, hot shot, I'm mildly impressed," she admitted, still teasing him all the while. She was no shrimp or weakling by any means, but Ember did always marvel at the raw strength other wolves larger than her possessed. He gestured to the ledge and she followed at his side over to the edge. The sights that lay sprawled out before her curious gaze left the Carpathian girl in awe. Her mouth hung open in a gasp as she drank in the view. From west to east, a vast chunk of northern Boreas was laid out before her. The north side of the mountains that made up the Maw, and beyond to the open expanse of the Battlefield, as well as the hazy peaks of the Col far off beyond that. To the east, the misty waters of the Polar Sound, and in between the massive treetops of the northern coniferous forests. Subconsciously the girl's tail began to wag enthusiastically behind her on the rocky ground, showcasing her delight at the sights. Erik had promised her a better view, and he had certainly delivered!

In his rough-hewn voice, Erik pointed out the places she had never been before. The north side of the Maw, and the distant Battlefield. Ember had heard bloody tales from her sire about the Battlefield. Gazing at it from afar, it seemed so innocuous; just a large field in the middle of nowhere. It was hard for her to imagine that was where so many wolves had fought and bled and died. She follows his paw with her eyes as he points out the landmarks, her open mouth slowly changing from a small O shape of wonder to a delighted grin. He was so knowledgeable about the lands around his home. Maybe his dad let him venture out of the pack. Ember couldn't wait for her father to give her that same freedom. "It's kind of amazing how big everything is, don'tcha think? It just seems to go on forever," she mused out loud, simply content to look around at the world as the afternoon sun seemed to make the snow-covered lands sparkle.

Ember glances to her side, then up to Erik, catching his orange eyes looking down at her. Aquatic blues meet fiery oranges as she smiles up at him. "I gotta admit, you promised me a better view, and you were right. Thank you for showing me this, Erik. If you ever come down to Auster, I'll have to show you the view from the tower." It wasn't quite as tall as the mountains were, but no other point in Auster was higher than Hearthstone's tower, save for the old volcano. Technically she wasn't allowed up in the tower until she was older, but they didn't have to announce what they were doing to her parents or anything. Besides, she had to return the favor to Erik for showing her this special secret place! "My mom's family lives up over there somewhere, waaaaay up in the north," she began to tell him while they sat together, leaning gently over into his side as she pointed over in the direction of the Col. "They also live in the mountains, but they're not as big as your mountain is." Or at least, she didn't think so. She had never visited her family in the Armada, but her father had told them that the Maw was the tallest mountain in Boreas, so that had to mean the Col was smaller. The vikings could be proud of their home, as they should be.

"Ember Carpathius"