Navigation - Polar Sound

The late afternoon sun was beginning to sink in the sky as Karabela skirted around the packlands of Ivalice on her way through the Polar Sound.  She was anxious to see these fjords and the cliff faces that were said to house some of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of Boreas.  Ahead she could see the entrance to the canyon that would cut through the earth toward the sea.  Pausing she took a moment to catch her breath, dipping her head to take in the scents that marked the border.  She was unfamiliar with Ivalice.  As a fighter she didn't really get out much to other packs like the messengers did. "Hmm… I wonder what their like," she mused.

"Speech"

It was a long trek around the pack lands but such was the life of a loner. At least Peregrine had found herself some good company. Tsiry clung to her back, dozing in the faint spring sunlight, oblivious to the mostly peaceful morning they'd had so far. Sure, it was a pain in the ass to take leagues and leagues out of what would otherwise be a straight shot but the odds of two versus and entire pack? Not great. And besides, it's not like she was in much of a hurry seeing as she had no real end destination in mind. Karabela spoke up and Peregrine found herself smiling, musing on the best answer she could give. "Oh, northern wolves are always uptight. Cold and hard, just like the climate." She might have gone on in lurid detail about whom and what they might mate with, but you could never be too sure who was listening in. Best leave that part out for now. "Talk" "You" Think "Tsiry"

Karabela barked out a laugh at Peregrine's comment. "Maybe we should if we can dislodge the icicles from their butts, hm?" She shot the other woman a wink before pausing at the descent into the canyon that would form the fjords walls. "Alright, this looks like the entrance. Let's check it out, I want to see these waterfalls I've heard so much about." Prancing into the canyon she grinned as they journeyed deeper and deeper in. The walls were impossibly shear and covered with moss. Something about the air down here felt warmer than it had a right to be. Karabela leaned into one of the walls and sniffed at some moss. "I've seen some healer's use this stuff on wounds before. I wonder if I can balance it on my back? I need to find something useful to carry things in."

"Speech"

Peregrine let out her own bark of laughter at the woman's crass comment. Excellent, a vulgar sense of humor was always something she looked for in her closest companions, and so far in their time spent together she'd grown somewhat fond of this other dame, enjoying the gusto with which she seemed to exist. And why shouldn't every day be an adventure? Eventually they came to the mouth of a canyon, one which Raba eagerly dove into. Peregrine stared with wide-eyed wonderment upwards as the walls grew taller and taller the deeper they went. The moss which clung there did look soft and springy and she tested a bit with her paw. "I've seen wolves in arid climes collect moss from far away and use it to bring water to pups. If it can be used for healing too..." She paused, jostling Tsiry a bit from where she snoozed to rouse her. "Grab a bit of this for the road, would you? Just in case?" The grumpy lemur did in fact wake and, grumpily, did as she was bid. Peregrine laughed lightly once she was done and said, "Thank you princess, you can go back to sleep now." Her soft snores could be heard again in moments. Peregrine caught a whiff of something far off, faint and wet and smelling of the sea. She was eager to press forward, and also really hoped Raba knew what she was doing. The path beneath them was slick, one slip and they would have one hell of a time getting to a healer.

Karabela reached forward and grabbed a chunk of the water soaked moss in her mouth and her face promptly contorted into an expression of discuss. Bleck this felt weird! How did healers manage to put this stuff in their mouths? Maybe she was just thinking to much about it. Moving to Peregrine's bag she sought to nose it open and drop some moss in. "I was going to help but yuck! That stuff tastes funny. I'm sure Tsiry can manage and we are all much obliged." She winked to the primate before turning back to her fellow canine. "That's a clever idea! I'd never heard of anyone doing that."

Carrying on her way Karabela suddenly let out a gasp as a large and incredibly tall waterfall came into view, it's roaring seeming to make the rocky ground beneath her very feet seem to shiver. "Whoa…" was all she could manage to say for a moment. "Lets take a closer look!" Grinning she took off again.

"Speech"

Peregrine grinned first at her travel companion's discomfort, and then wider at the notion that she'd said something clever. Or, at least, she'd take credit for it. "Oh, I'm brimming with clever things, just you wait and see!" She winked and walked on to another patch, scraping at it just for fun. They walked on, and before long a distant roaring could be heard, one that only grew louder and louder. They rounded one last kink in the canyon before a towering deluge came into view. The water crashed into the pool below it, throwing up clouds of mist. Her jaw dropped open on it's own accord and she felt magnetized towards it. Karabela suggested they go closer and Peregrine couldn't help but agree. They were nearly upon it when she realized that what she assumed were boulders sitting at the pool's edge were actually large brown seals! She gasped and turned to her friend in a whirl, prancing around with puplike excitement. "Can we go chase off the seals? Can we, can we?!" She grinned from ear to ear and Tsiry sighed, slipping off her back to find a moderately dry boulder to rest on instead. She'd learned from past experiences.

Karabela was fixated on watching the water as it fell, the cool tones shifting into while as the droplets flew off into the air and the noise was incredible. She had no idea it would be this loud. Mist rose from the pool, swirling about the rocks and the steep walls and seeming to beckon them closer. As they approached Karabela's hackles raised as she eyed the creatures sitting on the rocks, her golden eyes narrowing. Hold on a second. Were these-

Before she could finish the thought Peregrine pranced up to her with a brilliant idea. Raba grinned mischievously. "Of course! Ready, set, GO!" With a ferocious growl Karabela kicked off, her long, powerful legs eating up the distance as barreled forward. The seals bleated and dove into the pool, one of them just narrowly managing to avoid Karabela's jaws. Shoulders hunched she peered intently down into the pool, head shaking to dislodge some of the water she'd been splashed with in her chase.

"Speech"

Karabela's enthusiasm for her idea only amplified her own, and when the darker woman took off towards the lumbering fish-like mammals Peregrine was hot on her heels. She let out a wailing, warbling mixture of barks and howls, a hellish noise that sent the seals into a panic. They began flopping with even less grace than even she usually displayed. She snapped her jaws at the air just behing one's rear end, nearly recoiling at the smell of them, a mixture of wet wolf and sea scum, ugh. Still, their alarm was well worth it. Before long they had all escaped into the water, and she dreamed for a moment of the feast they'd enjoy if they ever returned with a full hunting force ready to take one down. Eventually she just sat back on her haunches and had herself a good old laugh, one that came up from deep in her guts. She raised her voice over the pounding falls and said, "Gods, that was awesome! We should come back again one day with some of your pack friends and try to kill one. Imagine the meal!" From within the pool one of the larger creatures surface and glared at them from the safety of it's watery refuge. Peregrine stuck her tongue out at it in return.

Grinning Karabela jumped down from the pools edge as she laughed. "That was fun! I haven't done anything like that since I was a pup!" A stab of pain brought a sudden longing to see her siblings again but she pushed it aside. She'd deal with it later when she wasn't with her new found friend. For now she wanted to bask in the present. "Mmmmm yea, they'd make one heck of a meal and the fat could be very useful. Granted I'm not that much of a hunter but I've been practicing and I have a few friends that for sure will join in." Her thoughts drifted to Tinaro and the badger hunting they'd been doing. It would be fun to do something like that again.

"Alright! Time to move on to the next land. Southward ho!"

"Speech"

Peregrine let out another laugh, this one more than a bit cynical. Karabela said she wasn't much of a hunter? Peregrine could hardly catch a dead rabbit, let alone a live one. She honestly been hoping her pack comrades would do most of the work and she'd make off with the spoils, not as if she'd say as much. Karabela claimed that she knew a few wolves who would like to join in, and that was good enough for Peregrine. She grinned and quipped, "Another time, then!" Because of course they wouldn't be attempting any such nonsense today. She spared a long moment so that she could stare up at the majesty that was the waterfall before them. It was an unexpected gem in this land that was starting to feel more and more comfortable in. Of course, every time she started to think that she knew a region it continued to surprise her. That was part of the adventure, she supposed! When Raba proposed they move along she felt a pang of melancholy but agreed nonetheless. If she lingered too long in one place she might miss the awe of the next. "Well, lead on, my fair navigator!" she said with a wink. After all, they'd already agreed on a return venture and she was more than prepared to call Karabela on it at the first opportune moment.