His searching across the mainland of Alacritis had left him empty handed. Slowly he was loosing hope no matter how hard he wanted to hold on to what little shreds of hope he had left. He was grasping at them like they were going to keep air in his lungs. He finally had to start asking himself when enough was enough. It wasn't fair to his children to have them lose their mother and then have him absent all the time looking for them. It wasn't fair to himself to be constantly exausted from his travels and lack of sleep. He sighed as he pulled himself onto the shore of the island that was just off the coast of Fiori's lands. It was useless to think she could have been so close this whole time, but he was running out of options. He began to make his way further into the island, keeping his eyes and nose focused on the memory of her scent that was ingrained in his brain. Would that memory ever fade? Would he ever forget how her body felt or the sound of her voice? His ears flicked at the thought while he tried to bring his attention fully to his surroundings. He had seen this island so many times from his shore, but he had never come out here. It felt like a different world, secluded from his usual life and duties.

How the hell had he ended up in this scenario? He asked himself this, over and over, as he swam toward a mass of land in the nearing distance. A swim had seemed like a grand idea, but no less than halfway through his journey, he realized the distance to the island was quite a bit further than he had anticipated. His thick coat suddenly felt as though it was pulling him down toward the ocean fur. Huffing, he'd continue on - his crimson gaze set on the land mass ahead of him. He had no doubt he'd make it there, but it didn't stop him from feeling a bit annoyed at his decision, an emotion that was rare of the tusked beast.

He felt immense relief when his paws hit solid ground, and quickly he would pull himself inland. It took a few solid, fierce shakes to rid most of the water from his thick gray coat, and he huffed in faint irritation as he did so. His decisions were usually always good ones, but this one.. maybe not so much.

His spirit lightened a bit as he finally brought his head up and let himself get a look at the island. It was quite vast, and lovely too. A wide range of sand spread before him, though in the distance he spotted some sparse vegetation and clusters of trees. Though the sun was high overhead, the ocean brought in a crisp breeze, making the day quite pleasant if not a bit cool. His attitude would shift as he made his way across the beach, catching the scent of a stranger. Hey, maybe he wasn't the only idiot who had thought swimming across the sea was a good idea! Grinning to himself, he would trail after the scent, tail swinging in a wide arch behind him as the stranger came into view. "Hello there!" he'd call out, his deep voice jovial, tinged with an audible northern accent. "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one crazy enough to swim out here."

Leo continued to made his way across the sands of the island until a cheerful voice called to him, making his ears perk and his head turn to look behind him. His sapphire gaze landed on the large male trotting toward him as he turned to face the man. The larger man's cheerful nature was infectious and a smile tugged at Leo's lips, his tail wagging in turn. He chuckled and called back, "Nope, looks like you're not alone in that regard!" As the stranger drew closer he noticed the tusks that curved out from the other man's muzzle. His brows lifted momentarily with surprise before focusing his gaze back on the male's ruby gaze. Well, that certainly wasn't something he had seen before. As many multicolored wolves of all shapes and sizes as he'd seen though he couldn't say he was shocked by it. "I'm Leo," he told the man with a small grin and a dip of his head. "What brought you out to the middle of the ocean?" "Talk" "You" Think

His brief annoyance was short enough lived that, if asked later how he'd felt today, the brief few minutes of irritaiton would be easily overlooked.  To find him in a foul mood was a rarity, and his attitude would shift quickly upon realizing he was not alone here. Even though he did have to eventually make the trek across the sea back to the mainland, at least he had some temporary company.

He matched Leo's expression with an equally pleased one of his own, his head tipping in an eager nod. "For that, I am glad," the male spoke earnestly, flashing him a toothy grin. "I was worried I swam all the way here for nothing." Not that this island didn't seem nice - it seemed okay. It was mostly sandy, with only a few dozen sparse trees that offered shade across the island. Nothing overly incredible to behold; at least not for him.

"My name is Aki," he greeted the man named Leo with another brief, curt dip of his skull. "And I simply came here on a whim. Boredom, I suppose. I am driven by adventure." And his gods, and pleasure - among other things, though adventure certainly ranked high on the list. "What about you, Leo?" his tail waved behind him as he took a few strides closer, his toes splaying as they collided with the warm sand.

Leo chuckled lightly and nodded in understanding when the larger man mentioned worrying over making the trip for nothing. Leo had a whole different set of reasons for this trip to be a waste, but he understood the sentiment all the same. He listened with interest as Aki explained his reasons for coming out here. Sometimes he wished he had that kind of freedom, to be "driven by adventure". He wouldn't trade his pack and family and children for the world, but his paws did itch to wander at times. "I'm actually searching for my wife," he explained when Aki offered him the same question, his expression growing a bit more somber and a sad smile touching his lips. "My pack is just off the shore there-" he said with a nod of his head back toward the mainland. "She's been missing for a while now and I've looked for her everywhere around the pack on the mainland so I figured the island was worth a shot as well. I haven't had any luck here thus far though so I guess it's a bust." It was hard to keep his emotions in check and keep his real disappointment from showing, but he managed. He was sure this stranger didn't want to hear his sob stories. "Talk" "You" Think

At the end of it all, nothing was really a waste. It was all just a part of life, which had no real goal in itself, not according to him. Living in itself was valuable, no matter how it was spent. He knew his slightly irritated mood would pass rather quickly, and it was already subsiding as he spoke to this new acquaintance.  A shiver ran through him as he stood there, still soaked head to toe, though most of the water had dripped from his coat by now. Still, enough remained to keep him quite cold. Briefly, he would lift his head to the sky, thankful for its warmth on this day - and it seemed tenfold as warm as usual due to being on the island.

Feeling at ease, his tail would sway slowly behind him. Leo explained he was looking for his wife.. a far different task than he had. He swore he caught a hint of sadness in his voice when he spoke. Had she left him? It was a question he knew would be too rude to ask, but he couldn't help but wonder it. He'd often searched - albeit a lit aimlessly - for his siblings, when he wished to see them; but the idea of looking for someone you loved when they had either purposefully left, or had been misplaced somehow by accident, seemed horrible to him.

"It does sound worth a shot," he agreed, as though to console him, but it seemed like he hadn't had much luck here. His lips pursed as he considered.  "What's she look like?" he'd ask, both curiously and conversationally.  "I travel quite a bit, and would be happy to send word if I spot her. No promises, though."

Leo was surprised when Aki offered to look for her as well, asking what she looked like. He hardly knew this man, but it was such a kind gesture and generous offer. He understood that there was no promises, but it was still a nice thought to think that there was a second set of eyes out there looking for her, a set that wasn't quite so tied down like he was. "Her fur is mostly light gray with darker gray down her back and tail. And she has tan on her legs and ears and white paws. There's a dark gray marking on her face as well that goes along the top of her nose and around her eyes, like a mask. And she has blue eyes, a little lighter than mine. Her name is Svetlana." As he described her he could feel himself growing more and more sad and wistful with each word. He tried so hard to keep these emotions away, but it was just so hard as he imagined Svetlana in his mind. He gave the larger man a sad smile, adding, "Thank you... for offering to keep an eye out for her I mean. It's been so hard to get away long enough to really search for her. I have four children that take up a lot of my time and then of course the pack." He shrugged and gave a little shake of his head. "I just can't not look for her though. She disappeared out of the blue and it seems there's a history of some kind of mental illness in her family. I just worry..." "Talk" "You" Think

Aki's whole life was about wandering, about movement and adventure - it was not entirely likely that he would find this woman that Leo spoke of, but he would keep an eye out regardless. He seemed thankful for his offer, readily offering her description, which he placed carefully in his mind. The mask would likely stand out quite a bit, if nothing else. It was a long shot, but he figured he could keep it in the back of his mind as he traveled - this man seemed quite shaken up by her loss, even if he was trying to hide it.

"Well," he started, not quite sure how to console him, or if he should at all. "I could imagine that would be hard." He had a pack, and four children. He could imagine it might be hard for them, too, to lose their mother. "I can understand wanting to find her, but.." his voice trailed off slightly as he shrugged his shoulders. "Do not let your loss consume you. It will make you stronger, but not if you let it drown you." He didn't know if his words would help at all, but it didn't hurt to try.

Leo nodded at Aki's sound advice, giving the larger man a small smile. It was something he had been trying to remind himself of constantly, but it was so hard to remember that and keep himself from obsessing over the loss of his mate. He was lucky enough to have family around him though and that helped quite a bit. "I'm going to do my best to do just that. I have to keep it together for my kids and my pack if nothing else. I'm not sure where I'd be right now without them." He was greatful to have met so many wolves that were kind enough to help him look for Svetlanna as well. He knew his friends in other packs would watch for her and now he had met Aki who was kind enough to keep her description in mind even though he had been a complete stranger just moments before. "If you ever need somewhere to stay during your travels, my pack is in the mangroves just off the shore line over there," he mentioned with a nod of his head back toward the mainland. "I'd be happy to let you stay with us. We're a pretty friendly bunch." Suddenly an idea came to his mind and couldn't help but ask even though he had already asked so much of someone he barely knew. "I don't mean to keep asking you for favors, but one of my nephews is an aspiring navigator. Since you travel so much, I was wondering if you might be able to show him a few things if you're ever in the area? He's been in pretty poor health since he was born, but he's determined." "Talk" "You" Think